- Last OnlineApr 13, 8:02 PM
- GenderMale
- BirthdayDec 15, 2002
- LocationUSA
- JoinedJul 15, 2020
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Jun 27, 2022
Magnetic Rose-
A legitimately impactful phycological short film. Lots of interesting things going on between the great characters, animation, and direction. My favorite of the three for sure. 9/10
Stink Bomb-
Underrated from what I've read so far, but don't think about this one too hard. Its OK plot and characters complement the absolute absurdity of the anime. It doesn't take itself seriously at all. All of this allows the directing and animation to go all out. There is legitimately a masterpiece sequence towards the end of the short. 8/10 but my heart wants to give it a 9
Cannon Fodder-
Weakest of the three, but definitely not bad.
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Its simply a metaphor for communist Russia but doesn't have much else to say. 5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 15, 2022
This show has pretty bad directing overall minus episode 6- shot composition was really good but pacing was really bad and that's often overlooked with directing. Things would happen rapid fire with absolutely no foreshadowing and it was jarring particularly in the first episode. Speaking of which, the first episode was bad. The second was pretty ok. Third, fourth, and fifth were all great but suffered from the pacing issues. Final episode was finally perfect. Jung was a stupid character and constantly flipped between being Noriko's best friend and her enemy, very confusing. Should have been a 10 but fell short.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 16, 2022
Bokura no is an anime that should have been a masterpiece.
The first half of the series dedicates one or two episodes to the stories of the pilots of Zearth. Notable episodes such as Scars and Family really hit home on some heavy existential and emotional themes and are two of my favorite episodes. This chunk of the anime ends right around episode 13 with Earth. The episode wraps up Maki's story (which was one of my favorites) and reveals a lot about the reality of the children's situation as pilots of Zearth.
The second chunk of the series kind of loses me. The episodes
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that follow Earth are centered mostly around the political conflict occurring around Zearth. I often found myself more confused than I was before during lengthy dialogue scenes that really had no bearing on the main plot of the series. This chunk ends with episode 18, Reality, where one of the main characters is unceremoniously killed off.
The rest of the show is mostly very strong, but it still falls short. The last episode didn't feel very conclusive, and Kokopeli's backstory was very underwhelming.
As I said before, the show was slated to be a masterpiece IF it continued its formula. Instead, it got lost in the sauce and dicked around until the final episode. I still love this show overall but there are some noticeable flaws.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 3, 2022
Somehow even more haphazard than the previous season, this season of AOT brings some of the best and worst episodes to the series.
Episodes like Memories of the Future, From You, Traitor, and Retrospective are genuinely some of the best in the series. Don't get me wrong, however, these episodes are only great because of the elite source material, not because of anything MAPPA is doing.
It is in slower episodes such as Thaw, Sunset, Pride, and The Dawn of Humanity where MAPPA's lack of competence shines through. They aren't particularly bad per se, but they just kind of meander only to end on a seemingly
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giant cliffhanger. Surely the next episode will be packed with action! But, once the next episode rolls around, it too meanders and repeats the cycle. This resulted in it feeling like nothing happened this season even though lots of things happened.
Characters become relevant at random intervals throughout the season. Most notably Annie in episodes 7 and 8, (and kind of in episodes 10 and 11, though her as a character isn't necessarily present). She is given all of 10 minutes for what could have been a great backstory, which is soiled by MAPPA's awful pacing and directing. Connie even gets a random plotline thrown in episodes 6 and 7 which just felt like straight-up filler, as if to remind the audience that "hey, Connie is a character as well!." Completely unnecessary.
Montage seems to be a crutch that MAPPA uses to gloss over less important aspects of the plot- ones in episodes 6 and 12 were painfully bad.
Ymir's backstory wasn't even given a full proper episode to be explained, leading it to feel anti-climatic.
AOT The Final Season Part 2 is overall a poor adaptation of a great manga with poor directing, pacing, and animation, and felt as soulless as the studio that created it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 20, 2021
Beastars is a surprisingly touching coming-of-age story about a wolf boy living in a society of predators and prey. Now, there is quite the reputation that surrounds this show. There seems to be a large group of people who dismiss it as garbage commentary about society, or something, and another chunk who dismiss it as a fetishy, furry anime, and I am glad to say that Beastars couldn’t be further from either of these things.
The show excels in its depiction of relationships (romantic and interpersonal), creating a trio of phenomenal characters, Legoshi, Haru, and Louis, who are supported by a cast of stellar side characters.
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The main trio are my favorite of the series, though, what is unique about this show is the development of its side characters. Bill, Juno, Jack, Gohin, Kai… are all written with as much care as the main cast and are each given a complex set of motives and personalities.
Legoshi is my favorite of the main cast, a wolf male whose timid personality starkly contrasts his intimidating body. He purposefully abstains from his “wolfness” in order to be less intimidating to the prey of his school, though his outward appearance nullifies much of his efforts. He is also disliked by many of the predators of the school since he is “insulting” his identity as a predator. This leads to some very interesting dynamics in his relationships with the members of the cast, and some complicated and touching internal struggles.
Louis is a deer whose ego and personality are that of a predator. He is the only prey who isn’t afraid of Legoshi. In fact, most of their dynamic revolves around Louis’ disdain towards Legoshi not taking responsibility for his strong body.
Haru is a dwarf white rabbit who is constantly being treated as if she were a child despite her strong and independent personality. She becomes the school “slut,” sleeping with a number of male students because it is the only setting where she feels on equal footing with others. This weaves some very interesting internal conflict and sparks the main point of the show- her love for Legoshi.
The dynamic between Haru and Legoshi is as interesting as it is thoughtful. Their conflicting outer appearances- a small dwarf rabbit and a monstrous grey wolf- generate conflict in how their peers view them, in addition to adding conflict to their relationship. However, because Legoshi is the only person, predator or prey, who treats Haru for who she is, they eventually fall in love with each other.
Thematically, the show is about disproving expectations based on appearance, a message that is damn near perfectly told by the interactions between the main trio. Their relationships and interpersonal struggles are fleshed out by the phenomenal writing that perfectly encapsulates the awkwardness, and beauty of adolescence.
The show’s sole weakness comes with its story. I found the mystery elements in the first episode to be quite jarring as the show misleads the audience into briefly believing Legoshi was the central villain of the show. All for what? The mystery elements of the show are barely touched upon or even mentioned in the rest of the series. I do acknowledge that this IS crucial for season two, where the show becomes much more like a mystery show, and for this, I can partially forgive it. I do think that this would have been better introduced towards the middle, or even the end of the show after we have been introduced to the Leo Group. The rest of the show consists mainly of slice-of-life romance and action sequences which build really nicely off of each other. I should also mention the composition of each episode is nicely balanced, though at points it does seem to adopt a formula- slice-of-life for the majority of the episode which highlights the internal struggles of each character, maybe an action sequence, and then a final, touching, sequence between Haru and Legoshi that highlights their relationship with each other. Don’t get me wrong, I found this to be a really good balance to each episode, it's just got a little predictable for an episode or two.
I hear a lot of people complain about the animation of the show which I don’t understand. The CG doesn't look uncanny at all, which is mainly due to the stellar character design that takes the medium into consideration. In fact, the CG allowed for much more dynamic shots which wouldn’t have been as possible with regular animation.
I also want to touch on the scene between Haru and Louis in episode 7. It's animated entirely by hand with watercolor frames, and it's one of the most touching scenes in the entire show because of how much the art enhanced Haru’s monologue. This is something that I definitely would have appreciated more of throughout the show, but it's absolutely not something I will dock points for. I know the show is pretty polarizing because of its art so take my comments about it with as many grains of salt as you want, I just wouldn’t recommend going into the show wanting to hate it because CG=bad.
The last thing that I want to touch upon is the masterpiece of a score that supports the show. Most of the tracks involve some iteration of the main theme, but are altered slightly each time in tempo, instruments… This was an incredibly smart thing to do on the part of the composer, and I wished every anime would take notes from this. This decision allows the show to have a massive score where every song FEELS different, and touches you in a different way, while also being musically cohesive due to the song’s similarities. In one song, the main theme might be upbeat and goofy, but in the next, it might be melancholic and dreary. It's masterfully used throughout the show to enhance the feelings of the characters and to build quite the atmosphere. Most of the tracks are classical or jazz-inspired, bringing a sophisticated feel to its otherwise ordinary high school setting. It's genuinely my favorite score of any anime, and I am even listening to it as I write this review.
In all, Beastars is an incredibly thoughtful and intelligent anime about relationships, romance, and social expectations that has phenomenal writing, characters, and music.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 29, 2021
I really don't know if I can quantify this anime into scores. So much of the movie is ambiguous, or up to interpretation, which is absolutely not a bad thing, but it leaves a lot of room for these scores.
The easiest thing to talk about is the art, which is phenomenal. Character designs are beautiful and complement the characters well. Environments are beautifully surreal and mysterious, with intricately woven surreal landscapes. The animation is fantastic and helps to tell the story. Frame compositions are awesome as well, with nearly every frame having some kind of visually interesting layout/composition. 10/10
The sound design and music of
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the movie are really great as well. Otherwise monotonous scenes are really kept interesting by the intense and mysterious score. 8/10
The characters are fantastic. Although there are few lines of dialogue throughout the movie, I find myself knowing more about the character's innate self than most other characters I have encountered. "Raw" would be a good descriptor. The only thing I would have liked to see is some sort of discernable motive for the boy. Despite only a few lines of dialogue being spoken throughout the entire movie, I found myself sympathizing with the girl to the point where I nearly cried when her egg was broken. It was such a brutal moment and the emotion she displayed was (as most of the movie is) raw and simple. It was a very beautiful moment.
The story appears to be about a boy who rejects faith. But I am left wondering, why? A bit more development on his end would have greatly cleared up a lot of the ambiguity in the movie.
This brings me to the story, which is really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the simple plot of the movie, which is stretched into the 70 minutes run time. It was a risky artistic choice, but it really pays off in my opinion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 20, 2021
The movie really refined its art and sound compared to the previous movie. The songs used really heighten the experience of the movie, and my previous issue with the art styles clashing is completely fixed.
What I really love about the show is how it takes basic magical elements of the previous movie in order to weave a beautifully complicated, and interesting story. Who would have thought that the cliche "cute girl" anime that the first movie started out as, would include devices such as ground-hog's-day-esque time travel and the rewriting of reality itself.
The characters also take a big step up in this movie,
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with Madoka and Homura receiving more screen time in order to flesh their personalities out. I still would have liked to see more character development which is why I docked a few points.
This is one of those anime where my enjoyment of it exceeds the sum of its parts. Enjoyment- 10/10
Overall- 9.5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 20, 2021
Shaft always really does well with their art and sound, and it shines through in this movie. Music is between great and phenomenal, and it absolutely complements the themes of the show well. The art is very creative, and I haven't seen anything like it in any other anime. My only gripe is that some of the earlier labyrinth's art styles don't really mesh well with the art of the rest of the show. I'm glad to say that as the show progressed, the art styles melded a lot better.
The story itself was good as well, with it starting off as a cliche "cute
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girl" anime show with some magical elements. The movie eventually evolved to have much darker themes and motifs, and it was really enjoyable to watch this transition. Although, the cliche "cute girl" part did get a little insufferable at times.
The characters are fine, I would have like to see more character development throughout the movie, but I'm not sure if I can dock too many points since this is very much a plot-driven movie. The characters are stuck into an unfolding plot rather than the plot happening because of the characters. So I suppose development doesn't matter AS MUCH as it would in a character-driven show.
Overall, the movie sets up the plot elements well in order for them to be twisted and used to their full potential for the next movie, and it does this fairly well. 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 14, 2021
This movie makes absolutely no sense.
Firstly, I cannot tell when it happens. It apparently happens after the Phantom Troupe arc, since it references many things that happened during that arc. But the opening sequence on the train makes no sense in the context of the plot of the show. The Greed Island arc takes place immediately after the Yorknew City arc, in the same location. So why would Gon and Kilua be on a train?
Anyways, watching the show is a requirement before watching this movie, otherwise, it won't make any sense. I'm fine with anime movies that do this, but the movie really starts to
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make me mad when it doesn't build off of any of the themes of the main show. It's an insult to so many of the main characters of HxH, and they don't seem to have the same motivations as in the main series.
Kilua and Gon bicker throughout the show in displays of childish emotion, and I hated every moment of it. Oh yea, Killua is suicidal now? This isn't mentioned at all in the main series, and it's not even mentioned for a minute before he ATTEMPTS SUICIDE. I cannot think of one good reason for why the writers thought this would be a good addition to the movie.
There are so many plot holes that it seriously gets distracting. Some are tolerable, but the mechanics and rules behind the puppets are so broken. It's established that someone needs to die to be resurrected as a puppet. It's revealed throughout the show that certain members of the Phantom Troupe are puppets. In the final moments of the movie, the rules are completely broken as the Phantom Troupe appears out of nowhere to kill their puppets to save Gon and co. Their motivations for this aren't even explained, and I can't think of any logical explanation for why they aren't dead.
The sound design is kinda bad. At points, lines are faintly spoken through one ear, to convey that they are a certain distance away from the camera. But they really exaggerate the effects of this, so some characters who are barely off-screen are really faint. As someone who is half deaf, there were certain lines that I couldn't even hear. A nitpick, but it was annoying.
The art is marginally better, but the movie is nearly worse in all other regards.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Jun 7, 2021
This is going to be my first review! I will try to speak in general terms but there are spoilers ranging from small to large. For this review, I'll be discussing my thoughts and ideas for some general criteria and then for each arc.
Story (8/10)
Most of the time when the show introduces a story element (or even a character), it's boring. The arcs dedicated to introducing story elements, Heavens Arena, and the first half of the Chimera Ant arc suffer from this especially. Most of the time, these concepts are introduced to the audience all at once which leaves them confused. Other times, the
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show introduces these concepts with exposition dumps which are, again, boring.
However, what the show does well is the “journey” part of the story. Once concepts are introduced, the show does very well at using the plot elements to weave an interesting story. Thank god the show dedicates most of its run time to this side of the story. I’ve noticed that in a lot of the arcs, the show sets up “rules” or a tiered system of progression that seem very straightforward. The show is linear, but it excels at manipulating its linear paths to create an interesting story.
Art (Art 6/10, Character Design 7/10, Cinematography 5/10) 6/10
The art in the show is pretty standard. There's nothing offensively bad or overwhelmingly beautiful. With this said, during the end of the Chimera Ant arc, the show really seemed to give their animators more creative freedom. This resulted in the art playing a role in telling the story, whereas, in the rest of the show, the art merely was there to look good.
The Character Design in Hunter X Hunter is fairly good. With the sheer amount of characters in the show, it can be hard making each one distinguishable. Fortunately, the show does this well. There is a fair share of bad character designs in my opinion, but all of the main characters have good to great designs.
The cinematography in the show is fine. It’s pretty standard as far as anime goes, but there really isn’t any usage of the cinematography to tell a part of the story on its own. It gets the fundamentals right, but that's all it really needs to do in a show that is mainly plot-driven.
Sound (Music) 5/10
The music of HXH is, on its own, quite good. My biggest issue is when you have a soundtrack that is the size of a standard anime's soundtrack for a show that is the equivalent of nearly 11 standard shows. I often found myself briefly taken out of the story because the music that was playing was so overused. In certain instances, the music choice was downright inappropriate. I feel like this is the result of the soundtrack being so limited. Most of the songs are either very dramatic classical pieces, eerie villain themes, or spunky adventure music, which cannot be used in all scenarios. I would have liked to see a larger variety of songs that would be applicable to a wider array of situations. With that being said, at points, the music really does add a lot to the unfolding events of the show, and at worst briefly takes me out of the plot. 5/10
Characters 6/10
The characters in HxH are fine. Generally, the main characters are inoffensive and archetypal, which makes them rather predictable. My favorite characters, Knuckle, Meruem, and Kurapika, are fantastic characters because they undergo some kind of fundamental change. Their experiences in the show directly influence the characters they become by the series’s end. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about most of the main characters. Gon, in particular, experiences temporary changes in emotion, producing superficial emotions such as anger, sadness, grief, and excitement, but he never really grows from his experiences. Aside from the Nen and combat abilities he gains, he doesn’t really grow as a person. By the end of the show, he is the same selfless, and sometimes foolish kid as he was in episode 1. Again, characters like Knuckle and Meruem really save the show at points which is why I give this section a 6/10.
Hunter Exam Arc- 5/10
It's sort of strange writing this review nearly a year after I finished this arc. I’m sure I don’t remember everything about the arc, and I may even misremember some parts in my review, but I can pretty confidently say that it was alright.
The first few episodes introduce the main characters of the arc, and in typical HXH fashion, does so rather poorly. Leorio is introduced as a hot-headed guy during a very briefly heated fight which seemed rather forced. Kurapika is a bland character at this point, seeming like the level-headed boy scout type, and doesn’t really generate any reactions to anything beyond the words he says. Gon is introduced as a selfless, but foolish kid when he jumps off of a boat to save someone who fell overboard. He loses his footing, which is when Leorio and Kurapika grab his legs to save him. This results in the trio becoming best friends. The whole scene seemed a bit fake as a whole but it wasn’t egregious.
The rest of the arc is fine, with it at points feeling rather monotonous and linear. It eventually succeeds at establishing the main protagonists and villains and gives them compelling motives for the rest of the series. Overall it is between fine and good, and is a 5/10
Zoldyck Family Arc- 2.5/10
Unfortunately, this is the worst arc. Fortunately, this is the shortest arc. This arc primarily focused on introducing the Zoldyck family. Again, the show does not introduce things well. It's boring, and the Zoldyck family characters are, at this point, boiled-down, archetypal versions of what they will become. There is apparently some internal family conflict between Kilua and the rest of his family, as they literally kidnap him and put him into restraints, but the reason for this wasn't really obvious to me. It just seems more like a poor excuse to introduce the Zoldycks. 3/10
Heavens Arena Arc- 3/10
One of the most boring arcs in the show. Its plot is highly linear and the show doesn’t do much to twist its linear path. The main characters Gon and Kilua embark to climb the ranks of Heavens Arena to win money. It's about as boring as it sounds, especially when compared to other arcs. Each battle seems meaningless as they could only result in a temporary demotion to a lower floor. I understand that the monetary reward is very important to Gon and Kilua to purchase a copy of Greed Island, but the show never really makes it seem too important.
The Nen training scenes in this arc try to explain the aspects of Nen, Ren… I honestly lost track of all the terms. There are too many terms thrown at the audience at once, and even if I pause the show to digest each individual aspect of Nen, it really doesn’t matter. Sure the show frequently mentions the terms in the succeeding arcs. However, visual cues such as aura surrounding different parts of the main character's bodies are more than enough to convey the purpose of each move. There are boring, drawn-out scenes where the main characters do nothing but repetitive training for minutes at a time.
It's a very boring arc with some offensively bad parts, but some redeemable scenes. 3/10 overall.
Yorknew City Arc- 8/10
Yay! Finally a good arc. What I really appreciated about this arc is that it didn’t spend too much time introducing anything new. Nearly all of the characters at this point are already established, and even the Phantom Troupe has already been mentioned several times. The action in this arc is really great, and it does a good job at manipulating the “rules'' of Nen that were established in the Heavens Arena Arc.
Characters like Kurapika and Lucifer really shine through in this arc. Lucifer was an especially compelling character for me, despite his sparing presence.
I don’t really have much to say about this arc other than it is an 8.5/10
Greed Island Arc- 5/10
I don’t necessarily dislike this arc, it's just kinda pointless. From what I gathered (it's not really explicitly stated from what I remember) the game Greed Island is designed to train Gon into becoming a powerful Nen user. However, the game itself never really does much to teach Gon. Instead, Biscuit coincidentally happens to be in the game who offers to train Gon and Kilua. These scenes are by far the most boring in the entire arc, with long, drawn-out scenes of repetitive training.
The rest of the arc is fine, with most of it seeming like a rebranded Hunter Exam Arc with its tones, themes, and conflict. There aren’t necessarily stages per se but the plot is highly linear. The main villain in the arc, Genthru, really doesn’t seem all too powerful and it's kind of baffling as to how he wasn’t defeated earlier. He lacks any real personality, really no compelling motives, and he really isn’t too compelling.
At points, this arc was dull and boring but is mostly mediocre. 5.5/10
Chimera Ant Arc
For the sake of this review, I will be splitting this arc into two halves. It is a massive arc with 61 episodes, and has one discernable tone change around episode 93 when the Queen Ant dies.
Chimera Ant Arc pt. 1- 6/10
There are just so many new characters in this arc. Unfortunately, they need to be introduced. Aside from Kite, and most of the important Chimera Ants, most of the character intros seem borderline offensive to the character they are introducing. Knuckle in particular is introduced as an opponent to Gon and Kilua, and appears to be hot-headed and blunt. However, his status as an opponent is soon lifted as the audience learns of his true compassionate nature. I do not know why they decided to introduce him as a villain at first as it really doesn’t serve any purpose.
I don’t get this show’s affinity for including romance between underage characters and older ones. For whatever reason, they dedicate nearly an entire episode just so Gon (12) and Palm (22) can go on a date. It's just as pointless as it is gross as it serves no purpose later on in the series.
The action is fine. There are minor action sequences between low-tier ants and the main characters, but the battles don’t really seem all too special.
Overall, this half of the arc is fine in lots of ways and boring in others. 6/10
Chimera Ant Arc pt. 2- 9/10
The action in this section really shines through, with nearly every battle sequence carrying some weight, purpose, and meaning. The action is animated really well, and artistic moments are allowed to shine through especially in the battle between Youpie and Knuckle, which ended up being my favorite battle sequence of the entire show. The battle between Meruem and Niero was also phenomenal and it deserves all the praise it receives.
All of the characters that were previously established have important roles which I really appreciate. Additionally, this is the first time where we see our main characters, Gon and Killua, finally endure some kind of maturing change. Gon develops a more serious disposition, which physically manifests itself in some phenomenal tension building and action. Kilua also becomes more compassionate and selfless as he starts to act as Gon's protector. Their dynamic has always worked well throughout the show, and it really starts to shine in their moments together in this arc.
Of course, I can’t leave out my two favorite characters in the show, Knuckle, and Meruem. Knuckle has grown a lot since when he was first introduced, and this culminates in his battle sequence with Youpi. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are really great, but their battle is also a psychological one, which makes it even greater in my opinion. The moments before their battle ends, when Knuckle realizes he is about to die, are probably some of the best moments in the show. It's beautifully animated and captivating, giving a terrifying look into the mind of someone who is about to die. It’s fantastic.
Meruem is another character who endures tremendous growth. After being established as the merciless evil villain in the first part of the arc, he begins to display glimmers of humanity after playing Gungi with Komugi. (Quick interjection, but even the most mundane scenes between Meruem and Komugi while they are talking over a game of Gungi are fantastic and really help to develop Meruem's struggle between his humanity and his mercilessness.) These glimmers eventually manifest into affection for Komugi which gives him compassion and humanity and ultimately turns him from villain to just another character. By the end of the arc, there are no villains, which is a risky move that the show pulled off flawlessly.
I’ve noticed some people complaining about how his death was “anticlimactic” since he died from the poisonous gas released by a bomb, but I can’t help but disagree. His knowledge of his impending doom forces him to live out his last moments doing what he truly loves- playing Gungi with Komugi. In Romeo and Juliet fashion, Komugi commits suicide to be with Meruem in his final moments. The second to last episode of this arc nearly had me in tears with its closing dialogue,
“Komugi, I wanted...to spend my final moments playing against you. But this poison is contagious. If you stay near me too long, you will also...
Meruem-sama… Right now, I am very happy. I may not be worthy, but please allow me to join you.
I see… I… I believe that I was born to be here today. ...was born for this moment.
Komugi, are you still there? Yes, I sure am. I'm not going anywhere.
Komugi, are you still here?
Yes, yes... Right here.
Komugi, are you still here?
Yes, of course.
I need to take a short nap. Will you hold my hand? Komugi? Komugi, are you there?
I can hear you. I understand. Like this?
I'll wake up shortly. Will you stay by my side until I wake?
I've never left your side. I'll always be here. Komugi...
Yes, yes? What is it?
Thank you.”
Absolutely phenomenal writing.
That's about all I have to say about the arc. 9/10
13th Chairman Election Arc- 6/10
Kind of a mixed bag for me. There are two distinct plots to this arc. The first being the election of the 13th chairman, and the second being the revival of Gon.
The 13th Chairman election half of this arc was pretty bad. It was mostly the introduction of characters (presumably for future episodes), and the time it spends fleshing out the characters isn’t too great. I like nearly none of the characters who are participating in the election, nor do I care about any of them. Also, it seems so… pointless? I mean, electing the 13th chairman should be a huge deal, especially for such a massive organization as the Hunter Organization. However, it's never really established that the chairman possesses any important roles, powers, or responsibilities, so to the audience, it really seems like a meaningless title.
The Gon revival half of the arc is quite enjoyable. It has some compelling conflict and characters. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kilua and Alluka with their unconditional sibling affection for each other. (Small nitpick but for whatever reason Illumi refers to Alluka as “he/him” whereas Kilua refers to Alluka as “she/her.” It's likely a small translation error but I figured I’d mention it.) Again, this arc does a good job of establishing rules and manipulating those rules to weave a compelling story.
13th Chairman election half- 4/10
Gon revival half 7/10
Overall- 6/10
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Taking the weighted average of each arc by episode count gives me an average score of 6.5/10 which I feel is a very fair score for the show. Arcs like the Chimera Ant and YorkNew City arc are phenomenal, while other parts are downright bad. I definitely recommend the show for these arcs specifically. The show has a lot, meaning nearly everyone can find some kind of enjoyment out of at least one section of the show. It will be interesting to see if the last manga arcs ever get adapted.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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