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One Piece episode of Sabo... Overall I enjoyed it, but definitely have some complaints.

For a special called episode of Sabo, there really wasn't enough Sabo. Like, the majority of the special is the Dressrosa arc in hyper-speed or something, and most of it just feels like padding. Counting all the new material this probably wouldn't have even been 15 minutes long...

As I just mentioned, the pacing is way too fast, and full of stuff that's really irrelevant to what most of us want. Like the Law, Fuji, and Doffy bits felt so slapped in there.
Again, another issue with the pacing is some stuff felt ... really... not so impactful. Luffy's reunion with Sabo, Sabo's fight in the Colosseum, Luffy and Chinjao etc. The anime did all of those scenes much better.

The animation and art is... not as good as I'd hoped. I wouldn't say it was bad, but some parts were clearly better done than others. Some Toei art quirks are in here too.


Too much of it was recycled content. I know there's obviously not much canonical material to pull from and all but still.

Overall, and this is probably gonna be an unpopular opinion, but this really felt like a cash in on Sabo's crazy popularity right now. I didn't hate the special or anything, I love Sabo too and seeing more of him was definitely a treat. It's just I really don't feel like what Toei did here was necessary at all. If you don't care for Sabo, don't bother. If you're a diehard Sabo fan, give it a watch because the sliver of new content was definitely enjoyable.

Hunter X Hunter is essentially a Shonen battle series that takes all the common tropes within the genre and flushes them down the toilet. It's so well crafted, and easily a cut above just about any other Shonen series I can think of. If Togashi claimed the majority of his hiatuses were to gather material and think things over, I would believe him.

Story: 9- The story of Hunter X Hunter follows Gon Freecss, a young boy who's long dreamed of becoming a "Hunter" so he could explore the world and find his dad, Ging.

Now, don't be fooled. Hunter X Hunter is NOT ... a series about hunting... or at least not in the kind of hunting you're thinking of. Hunters are part of an organization of elite humans who typically use their skills to discover, and help the world. For example, some Hunters specialize in assassination, while others may work to uncover ruins. Hunters are granted permission to go nearly anywhere they choose, and do whatever they want.

I don't want to say too much about the story, because I think the less you know, the better, as with pretty much any series. Only other thing I'll add is, like I said, this is a Shonen battle series without the Shonen battle traits. Battles are almost always tactical, each character is incredibly unique as far as abilities go, characters can be killed off just like that... It actually tends to be quite dark at times.

One other thing, is that the manga of this series has been on hiatus for quite awhile (over one year) and because of that, the series has also stopped. Don't let that deter you from watching it, though, as the anime does give you enough closure for now to feel satisfied, until Togashi starts working on the series again.

Art: 9- Madhouse captures Togashi's art style for the series perfectly in this adaptation. I'd even argue that they do a better job in fact. (Togashi got really lazy with his art sometimes)

Character: 9- While it may share some common elements of Shonen, Hunter X Hunter is really in a league of its own, creatively.

Enjoyment: 9- From beginning to end, I had a blast with this series. A lot of people seem to think it gets slow at times, and some episodes border on an entire 20 minutes for narration, but let me tell you that when it gets going, you'd be hard pressed to be as an enthralled as Hunter x Hunter will make you.

Overall: 9- As mentioned, Hunter x Hunter is really its own breed when it comes to Shonen series. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting plot, great characters, and something that's generally much different than anything you've experienced. If you're looking for a dumb over the top action series, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

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