Hunter x Hunter

I cannot recommend this anime for anything but comparison since the 2011 anime came out. While there may be a bias on my part having seen the 2011 adaptation first, if I had seen this version first I likely would have never stuck with the series to become a part of the fandom.

There are a couple of things this series has over the later adaptation: the first episode actually introduces a certain character, even though it never makes it to the famously large arc for that decision to pay off. 1999 also has the original take on Phase 2 of the Hunter's Exam, changed in ... that I suppose the mangaka now realizes that foreigners know what sushi is, therefore a plot point is rendered a little ridiculous but the examiner's motivations and testing material remain in a consistent thread of logic.

However, detracting from that is pretty much everything else. All of the filler added to the first arc or so of the series. The pacing slowed down to the speed of a snail. The tone is needlessly more somber. The art is, of course, rather old and doesn't feel nearly as sharp as the 2011 adaptation. Even the sound of the fighting feels like it has less impact.

Every day I pushed myself to watch this so I know I've seen all there was to Hunter x Hunter, each time it felt like a chore, which Hunter x Hunter should NEVER feel like.

There are a couple reasons to watch select episodes and clips. Some ongoing gags that are exclusive to this adaptation, seeing how your favorite scenes played out differently, those couple moments from the manga adapted here that the 2011 anime didn't touch. But I must say, going through all of this didn't feel worth it.

I'm still planning to push ahead through all of the OVA episodes, which continues this series through what I believe to be the conclusion of the Greed Island arc in roughly another 30 episodes. Seeing as how the latest of those OVAs was back in 2004, that's at least a good few years for some techniques to improve, but I don't see the majority of my opinion of the series overall changing very much.

I admit much of my criticism is cosmetic, but that's because the source material is wonderful no matter how you slice it. The way that it was animated here was just too boring.

This negative review is mostly because of the plot holes. Keep in mind, while I did drop this in the middle of the Hunter Exam arc, I skimmed the wiki.

The world would logically be a dystopia. (hunters can kill without legal consequence) This is never shown, mentioned, implied, or hinted at.

In addition, the hunter exams are very poorly made. They measure things that are only tangentially related to hunting monsters and finding treasure. There are thousands of overpowered abilities that would be disqualified solely because of being useless in distance running. The tournament would promote surrendering until your last match with the biggest loser, and ... you can disqualify a candidate of your choice solely by interrupting. If your opponent is petty enough, you cannot win.

Something especially illogical is the old woman's riddle in one of the beginning arcs. Something like "Would you rather do X or Y? You must choose one." The answer is that the main characters couldn't choose, so not choosing was the correct answer. This violates the rule of having to choose an option.