Ranked #214

Hunter x Hunter (Manga)

Welcome to the world of Hunter X Hunter where people pursue to become Hunters. But to become one, one must undergo the Hunter Exam. Thousands of people participate in this exam. Among them is a kid name Gon Freecs who longs to meet his father, a great hunter, but in order to do so, he must become a great Hunter and follow his footsteps. Along the way, he meets Killua, a kid whose family is famous for being assassins, Kurapika, a kind and loyal friend but at times reckless due to his revenge motive and Leorio, a brash man who aims to be a successful Hunter specializing in medical treatments.

Yoshihiro Togashi is the same guy who wrote the 1994 hit YuYu Hakusho, a successful long running shounen. And this manga is no exception.

Nearly all long-running shounens throughout anime history has already been labeled tedious, dull and unimaginative. Without fail, HxH will relieve you of that perspective.

Hxh simply has it all. Action, check. Pragmatic characters, check. Psychological contest, check. It can be a psychological thriller or an action-packed manga. Either way, HxH is superbly crafted.

The anime played out with touches of pathos and humor creating a superb atmosphere. The manga provided numerous slap-stick comedies to lighten the mood a little. But when its serious, its serious. The intensity of HxH cannot be denied.

While it isn't groundbreaking in the concept aspect, the real treat is in the execution. Supernatural abilities aside, this manga undertakes a realistic approach. The little things actually matter from getting adapting your eyes to the dark to increasing efficiency on running, every small thing counts. This results to intense an conflict for both the mind and the muscle during battle's. HxH concentrate's on the adventure aspect more so than the fighting aspect. So dont expect any out-of-this-world "sudden power outbursts" to save the day because HxH wont allow it. And thats one of the many things you'll like bout this manga.
Regardless of this, HxH still proves to be enough to considered an action. The action does play it safe but it is still highly invigorating. It succeeds in keeping many readers on their toes, and often leaves readers with cliffhangers that are big and small.

The rather slow paced scripts are fleshed out with a set of tremendous central and supporting characters. The various other characters and factions involved in playing the manga do not end up seeming flat. They take the time to develop and flesh out even some of incidentally encountered characters appearing only for a chapter even if it would have been easier to simply have them appear for their necessary encounters without giving us any real insight into their personality.
Also character developments are a plus. While Gon remains static, Killua and Kurapika in particular, goes through massive changes throughout the manga .

To some the art is horrible. But I dont think its bad at all. I mean, it isnt amazing but is simply good. Another issue is the amount of text. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to the reader, since HxH will rain you with texts everywhere on the panel. HxH doesnt want to seem miss any explanations and leave some plot holes. It wants to be rational, as much as possible. Incredible sense of detail shows in key points of the story.

Once you reach the Hunter Exams, everything will shift to overdrive. If that arc doesnt interest you in the slightest, I suggest you stop reading it from there as by that time, it should have caught your attention.

This anime is light years ahead of all shounen out there. No shounen anime holds a candle to Hunter X Hunter when it comes to being ardent and scrupulous. Amidst all monotonous shounen that have come out on the heels, HxH was able to crank it up a notch. read more