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Unbelievably great. Yorknew and Chimera Ant arcs are genuinely some of the best arcs out there.
This final episode is too bittersweet. I can't take it :(
Surprisingly, they ended it well. Before starting, I was scared that it was going to cut off randomly. This is genuinely a good spot to cut it.
Wish we got a whole lot more of Kurapika (and Meruem by extension) but I know he gets much more screentime in the manga. I might read it one of these days.
Now I see why Togashi is that much respected. 🙏
So far this is the only anime with 100+ episodes that I have completed within 2 weeks. It surely has been a great journey. Wasn't a big fan in the starting of the series but Yorknew arc changed my opinion. That arc is the only reason that I love HxH right now. Chimera ant was a mess for me. It was a hit and a miss that was way too long with a big pacing issue.
If you enjoyed the time you wasted, then its not a waste of time.
Been a long rewatch of the series, but I adore this show. It's still a bummer that we haven't gotten more, but it's understandable due to the series situation. It's great though, a very solid shonen show that changes drastically once the Yorknew City arc hits and then I really enjoyed Green Island and the Chimera Ant arcs. The Chimera Ant arc does drag at times, but I've seen way worse. Like at least this show doesn't have any filler like One Piece or Dragon Ball Z does and it has some incredibly strong story moments.
One thing I love, is Killua's journey. He's honestly the best character in the show, who sees more personal growth than Gon does. Gon still goes through a lot, but you can kinda put Gon at the start, to Gon at the current end of the anime and they don't seem all that different really other than later Gon is a stronger fighter. Killua on the other hand goes on such a wild journey, culminating with the chance of saving his sister in the process of saving Gon is great.
I do hope this series can get finished some day and they are able to continue the anime too.
Very good watch, especially when xQc streamed the first 65 episodes on twitch; it was very cozy. Though I would've wanted to see more of Meruem as he was unbelievably OP as well as Kurapika because he was my favorite.
ChaserJ said: I LOVED THIS EPISODE!!! BEST EPISODE EVER, I DON'T KNOW HOW I DIDN'T CRY.
I feel the exact same way, The ending with the OP and seeing all the characters living their living their lives (I was crushed when I saw Mereum and Komugi's hands still holding) it felt like the adventure was over and I was devastated.
Episode 148 was beautiful. After many slow-paced episodes and 50% of episodes feeling like a waste of time, I conclude that my time with this franchise was ultimately unregrettable. I'm glad I sat through everything to make it to this episode. It was incredibly gratifying and tranquil witnessing Gon having a conversation with Ging atop a tree surpassing the atmosphere next to five colorful blobs. The very, very last thing I was expecting from either version of the anime was a satisfying ending with closure. Closure being: Gon locating Ging, and getting to learn the elusive details about his father. While there are still things that Gon will probably never learn about his father that the audience would like to know, the conversation they had was more descriptive than I'd have anticipated.
One other thing I was NOT expecting: Gon and Killua to part ways. I assumed that Gon and Killua would continue adventuring together as friends. When Killua said "I'll e-mail you from time to time", that's actually when it hit me, that they were parting ways. Shortly after, Killua said "see you around", and I felt a pit emerge in my chest. Like... I knew the anime was coming to an end regardless... but I simply didn't know the two MCs would be diverging at that point. So sad!
I don't know if I'll continue the story via the manga. But I DID read up on what Gon does afterward.
So apparently..... this is the point in the story (that DOES continue in succeeding arcs) in which Gon STOPS being a main character. Like, correct me if I'm wrong, but at this point, it's OVER for Gon.
According to the wiki:
Gon departing from his father isn't depicted. And apparently, Gon used up all his aura on Pitou, and he is once again a "normal" person. I guess he's able to phone his father now... after asking Ging, Gon determines he will either have to remain on Whale Island as a normal person—or, he might be able to relearn Nen from square one?? Whatever the case, Aunt Mito gives Gon a bunch of school coursework he missed out on. And that's literally it. That's the last we see of Gon, up until the most recent manga volume? Gon just stops being a central character?
That fact is incredibly saddening, but interesting at the same time. Gon is one of the most iconic shounen main characters of all time. He's up there with Luffy, Goku, and Naruto. Imagine one of those other characters simply disappearing from their respective stories. Imagine—not only does the focus of the story shift to another character; but the original MC becomes absent altogether. Insane!
However, in a way, I respect this storytelling avenue a lot. After all, what else is there to do with Gon? The last known detail is that Gon was more interested in "finding" Ging than "meeting" him. Gon's lifelong ambition has been fulfilled. We know Gon doesn't have any other major goals. I figured the introduction to the "Dark Continent" lore would inspire Gon to accompany Ging to the world "outside the map"??? But... apparently not? And Killua, who previously vowed to always be by Gon's side, is now interested in traveling around with his younger sister, so I guess the two will be separated for quite a while. And that's it! Even though the story continues, it's so shocking to learn that (directly after the anime) Gon is pretty much irrelevant!
Via glimpses of the wiki, I see that Kurapika may become a central character in the future. Which makes sense. Of the four MCs at the beginning of HxH, Kurapika is the only one with an unresolved storyline.
I guess the anime ended at the perfect point in an ever-continuous story. If the story IS to continue, it makes sense that Gon is now no longer in the picture. Relative to the reference material in the manga, we couldn't ask for better closure in the anime. Everything's very bittersweet to me. My only gripe—there should be an OVA showing Gon back on Whale Island. It WAS touching seeing Gon viewing the birds (first mentioned a while ago) with Kite's team. But the ONE thing that could have made the ending all-the-more complete would be seeing Gon's remaining story components all tied up with a bow.
Truthfully, I was not expecting Gon to meet Ging. In the span of 2015-2024, I spoiled many things about this show for myself—periodically consulting the wiki out of curiosity to learn various things about the show. Even while watching the 2011 version, I'd occasionally accidentally happen upon important future plot points while researching where I currently was in the story. And I really, really thought that Gon and Ging would not cross paths. After getting a feel for this franchise's storytelling rhythm—after getting to know Gon and Ging's characters—getting to witness the two having a heart-to-heart (in anime form) just seemed too good to be true. Every ounce of myself was expecting Episode 148 to end with an unsatisfying cliffhanger... Then, I made it to the Election Arc and saw Ging randomly and nonchalantly becoming a front-and-center main character, much of his elusiveness evaporating. In the end—in typical unconventional HxH fashion—in a surprisingly fitting and characteristic way—Gon would just happened to waltz into the Election meeting, and against all odds, run right into Ging.
Now that I think about it. The breadcrumb trail that Ging laid out for Gon is as follows: Gon becomes a hunter, Aunt Mito gives Gon a Nen box, Gon acquires Greed Island, Gon plays Greed Island, Gon is the only player to manage to beat Greed Island, Gon uses one of three prize cards outside of the game to teleport directly to Ging. The end.
However, since Gon wanted to bring Killua along, he chose the incorrect means of teleportation, and was thus programmed to teleport to Kite. This effectively ended the breadcrumb trail Ging laid out. For as much as Gon and Killua discussed Ging "planning" for things to happen, I genuinely don't believe Ging had a breadcrumb trail prepared—if Gon were to end up getting teleported to Kite. If anything, Ging simply knew Kite would be able to provide Gon with enough experience to figure out a new means of tracking Ging down.
The reason I write all of this is simply to contextualize how much of a coincidence it is that Gon and Ging's paths eventually ended up crossing. With or without Gon, the Chimera Ants would have probably reproduced, and the Ant King would have probably died regardless. Perhaps Kite would have lived if Gon weren't present... perhaps? But, all in all, I don't believe Ging accounted for Gon choosing to accompany Kite on an excursion that would get Kite killed -> causing Gon to hospitalize himself at a point in time that converged with the Eleection that Ging had to attend. Ultimately, it was Leorio being present at the function that led the recovered Gon to the building.
All that said, Gon and Ging's meeting was by pure coincidence. Ging's breadcrumb trail ended at Greed Island. Gon had a 50/50 chance of teleporting to Ging or Kite; and by unknowingly choosing the card linked to Kite, (Gon may have been able to learn about his father via Kite, but) he screwed himself. But the fateful chain of events that followed Gon choosing to accompany Kite's execration team leading him to Gon's location is interesting to ponder.
2015-2020: My first five years of anime. As I gained more awareness of Hunter x Hunter, I deduced it wouldn't be worth my time, and I never expected I would pick the show up.
2020: I was becoming more aware of the pedestal the franchise sat on. The final straw was someone I met online telling me HxH was their favorite anime and recommending it. I insisted on starting with the '99 version. I fell in love with the '99 version and binged it all. Admittedly, the OVAs (up to 2004) paled in comparison to the Hunter Exam and Yorknew City arcs.
2022: I watched the first 20 episodes of the '11 version of HxH. The '11 version seemed to be held in higher regards than the '99 version; but the '11 version failed to meet my high expectations. The rushed pacing, condensed arcs, and overall art style turned me off. I indefinitely placed the series On-Hold.
2024: From February to March 2024, I binged the rest of the '11 version. Every arc in the '11 version pales in comparison to the '99 version (the Heavens Arena arc was equally as bad) except for Greed Island, which had slight improvements. However, I was finally able to see the Chimera Ant and Election arcs. The first half of the Chimera Ant arc was hard to sit through, but the second half had my attention. The Election arc was quite decent... decent enough to make me feel as I did when I first started the '99 version.
March 22, 2024 marks the end of my HxH anime journey (unless they revive the show).
TL;DR. While much of the show felt like a waste of time, I ultimately regret nothing. If nothing else, it gave me something to focus on while getting my cardio in.
I began watching anime around 2016. I'd always heard of Hunter x Hunter, but I remember thinking it was never going to be something I'd watch. Since my beginning with anime, the shounen genre was never something that appealed to me. Yet, in 2020, I met someone who then recommended it to me, as their personal favorite anime. I figured I'd appease them and sample some episodes—but since I'm a perfectionist, I started with the '99 version. I don't regret doing this; I instantly fell in love with the late 90s art style, and to this day, I think there are aspects of the '99 version that outperforms the '11 version. In 2022, enough time had passed for me to re-introduce myself to the world of HxH; even if it meant sitting through most of the arcs I'd seen before. After all, the 2011 version of HxH is one of the most well-ranked anime on MAL. Some consider among the best anime. Tbh, after watching the first 20 episodes of the '11 version, I was not impressed. I was disappointed at how the beginning arcs were condensed and faster paced. The art style lacked the '99 charm. Everything seemed blander. I placed the show On-Hold for to more years... in February 2024, I picked the show back up again. I needed something to passively watch on the stationary bike and figured this show could suffice. Truthfully, the Heavens Arena arc was as awful as I remember it being... same goes for the training segments of Greed Island. The Yorknew City arc also paled in comparison, but was still relatively well-done. But finally... I made it to the acclaimed Chimera Ant arc. In the past decade of me watching anime, I was well-aware of the Chimera Ant arc's status, despite never watching it. I'd seen and acknowledged all praise it got from the anime community. How it was much "darker" than prior arcs; how it was "mature" and "well-written". And..... eh. The first half of the arc, I admit, I hated. The pacing was bad and the animation became minimal... I actually had to watch each episode on 2x speed. (Meaning it took about 10 minutes to speed my way through episodes.) While the Chimera Ant arc failed to meet my high expectations, I will say that the latter half was much more interesting. Finally, I've binging the Election arc, my final all-in-all conclusion is..... I regret nothing. I'm glad I watched HxH. I'm glad I'm now familiar with the lore. While 50% of it felt like a waste of time, the other 50% justified the experience.
Honestly one of the best Anime I've ever seen by a long shot.
I loved every moment in this Anime and I can gladly say it is one of my favorite anime shows ever
