I'll chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you.
„
~ Machi to Hisoka.
Machi Komacine is a supporting antagonist in the anime/manga series Hunter × Hunter. She is member #3 of the Phantom Troupe, an infamous gang of murderous thieves with Class-A bounties who originated from Meteor City, being best known for massacring the Kurta Clan. Machi's Nen creates strings, which can be used to capture and manipulate enemies and take hostages.
In Japanese, she was voiced by Noriko Namiki in the 1999 anime, and Rena Maeda in the 2011 anime. In English, she was voiced by Marcy Lannan in the 1999 anime and Abby Trott (who also voiced Spiral in X-Men '97) in the 2011 anime.
Machi was born in Meteor City. During her childhood, she was seen reporting Chrollo, Franklin, and Shalnark for barging into Uvogin's territory. She was later seen during the Troupe's dubbing, demanding to play the role of a villain. When one of the cast named Sarasa went missing, Machi is one of the children who took part in searching for her. After the group soon discovered their fellow friend's mutilated body, they mourned for her death and prepared for her funeral.
At some point in time, she learned Nen through an embalmer named Renko, who used her ability to arrange Sarasa's funeral.
She was one of the original members of the Phantom Troupe. She participated in the massacre of the Kurta Clan.
Heaven's Arena Arc
Machi watched Hisoka battle Castro. After the battle, she criticized Hisoka's reckless fighting strategy. Hisoka paid her to heal his arms, which she did with ease using her Nen. Afterwards, she told him to join the Troupe in Yorknew City, warning him that Chrollo might kill him if he didn't attend. Hisoka asked her to dinner, but she ignored him.
Yorknew City Arc
Machi met with the other Troupe members in Yorknew city. Chrollo instructed them to steal all of the items for sale in the Mafia auction, and wreak havoc. However, when they got to the auction, they learned that the items had been moved.
The Troupe all watched as Uvogin killed several members of the Shadow Beasts. When Uvogin was captured by Kurapika, Machi used her needle to track him. They chased Kurapika, but they were stopped by other members of the Shadow Beasts. The Troupe easily killed all of the Shadow Beasts, except Owl, who they tortured for information. Machi and the other members later found and rescued Uvogin.
After Uvogin was killed, Machi and Nobunaga posed as a couple to try and find Kurapika. They found out that Gon and Killua were following them and captured them easily.
Machi and the other Troupe members staged a mass slaughter of the mafia. Afterwards, they stole all of the auction items. Chrollo then used Neon's ability to see their future and saw that many members would die if they stayed in Meteor City. However, Hisoka altered his prophecy to trick them into staying.
Machi and the Troupe then captured Gon and Killua again and took them to a hotel. When the lights were turned off, Killua tried to stab her in the stomach, but she easily absorbed the would-be lethal attack.
After Chrollo was captured, the Troupe argued about what to do next. Machi supported going along with Kurapika's demands so Chrollo's life wouldn't be risked. When Pakunoda returned, she sacrificed her life to give Machi and the other original Troupe members information about Kurapika.
Greed Island Arc
Feitan and Phinks stole a copy of Greed Island. At first, Machi declined to play the game. However, she entered when she realized that they could find a Nen exorcist. She didn't want to work with Hisoka, since she knew that Hisoka wanted to kill Chrollo. She threatened to kill Hisoka if he hurt Chrollo.
Succession War Arc
Machi checked to make sure Hisoka was dead. Hisoka had previously hired her to heal his wounds. However, Hisoka had managed to revive himself. He immobilized Machi with his Bungee Gum and told her that he would kill every member of the Phantom Troupe, causing her to scream in rage.
Machi joined the other members on the Black Whale in order to hunt for Hisoka. Machi later separated from the other Troupe members to find Hisoka on her own.
Appearance
Machi is one of the few Phantom Troupe members that prefers to wear traditional Japanese-style clothing. She looks like a modern day kunoichi (female ninja). Her usual outfit consists of cycling short-like pants matched with a short-sleeved uwagi, an obi sash worn around her waist and an obijime is tied over it, a pair of finger-less gloves, tabi boots or socks with zōri, and leg warmers that cover from the ankles up to her knees. She has pink mid-back hair that is usually tied into an updo. In the 1999 anime adaptation, her hair is dark purple instead of pink.
Personality
Machi is one of the coldest members in the Phantom Troupe, almost never losing her cool or displaying any of her feelings. However, according to Shalnark, she is soft behind her uncaring façade. She is shown to care for Pakunoda, as she was one of the members who mourned her death and watched over her grave. Furthermore, Machi is fiercely loyal to Chrollo, going so far as to challenge two other members of the Troupe for his sake; moreover, she stated that she would hunt Hisoka down if he were to kill Chrollo. She is very confident in her strength, and, if threatened, she responds accordingly. Machi is also occasionally on the receiving end of Hisoka's flirtatious advances, which she usually coldly brushes off.
Machi also has sharp intuitions, which have turned out to be true most of the time and are trusted by some of her comrades, such as Nobunaga and Chrollo. Hisoka seems to have high regard for Machi and her abilities, although she treats him as a pest at best and a potential enemy of Chrollo's at worst; however, she seemed to care for Hisoka to some extent after he died, and, after he woke up, she merely told him she hoped he had learned his lesson, although her job was to ascertain he was truly dead. When she was restrained by Hisoka, she revealed a much wilder side, screaming in anger at him.
Powers & Abilities
Enhanced Strenght: As a member of the Phantom Troupe, Machi is shown to be incredibly strong despite her small size. With her wires, she's capable of lifting the weight of several adult men and she's also shown to easily subdue Killua, who's had extensive assassin training throughout his whole life. In the arm-wrestling tier list of the Spiders, Machi is ranked as the 6th strongest member of the Phantom Troupe.
Superhuman Speed & Reflexes: Much like most advanced Nen users, Machi is able to move in nigh superhuman levels and has strong reflexes and perception. She was able to instinctively appear behind Gon and immobilize him in the moment he began moving to help Killua. While utilizing her Nen Stitches, Machi is capable of moving her hand in incredible speeds and finish the job in a matter of seconds.
Enhanced Durability: Machi is shown to be have very high physical endurance and immense resistance to pain. Without flinching, she was capable of tanking a lethal hit from Killua that pierced her abdomen, which was stated to have broken some of her ribs, all the while she remained her firm grip on Gon the entire time. She was later seen walking and breathing normally, despite the internal damage caused by Killua's claws.
Photographic Memory: In the 2011 anime, it is suggested that Machi also has some degree of photographic memory as she was able to meticulously memorize the indents of Hisoka's wounds right before getting started on his arm.
Nen Type: Transmutation
Nen Stitches (Spiritual Suture)
Machi's primary nen ability is to transmute her aura into thin, silky energy threads that she can use for a variety of ways. Her threads are shown to be very resistent and unable to be cut or torn, though, according to her own words, their strenght is inversely proportional to their lenght, as in the longer they are, the weaker they will be.
Beffiting her status as the Troupe's healer, Machi's primary use of the ability is for medical purposes. By utilizing her threads, Machi is able to stitch wounds and even entire severed limbs, which she does by sewing the torn nerve ends, seemingly leaving behind no apparent scars. In combat, Machi also utilizes the threads as weapons, using them to strangle, bind and puppeteer her targets. She's also able to use the threads as a tracking device by attaching them to a needle and piercing it to her desired target, locating them through its vibrations.
Trivia
In the official databook, her name is spelled as "MatiyKohmatiyneit".
Machi's name, when spelled in kanji, can be read as "襠" ("Gusset"), which is a material added in tight fitting clothes in order to relieve its stress. It could also be read as "待ち" ("waiting").
Not counting Hisoka, Machi is the first member of the Phantom Troupe to appear in the series and the first to show off their abilities.
Machi is the only woman (and to an extent, the only character) in the series that Hisoka has expressed a more conventional romantic interest in. Despite this, he still shows no qualms about trying to kill her while enacting his revenge on the Phantom Troupe.
According to Yoshihiro Togashi, he considered having Hisoka kill Machi after his fight with Chrollo, but ultimately decided to keep her alive. Despite this, he stated that Hisoka did want to kill her in that moment, but held himself back.
In the manga, Hisoka asks Machi to spend the night with him right before she leaves his room, while in the 2011 anime, the line was changed and Hisoka instead asks her out for dinner.
Machi is possibly the only member of the Phantom Troupe to be aware of Hisoka's Texture Surprise as he explained his ability in depth to her during their meeting in the Heavens Arena and she also saw it in action during Hisoka's revival, where he would use the ability to recreate his mangled body parts.
Villains