As far as the plot goes; to begin with, it’s much better when compared to the first movie. This time a group of underground assassins known as “The Shadows” are the antagonists who want to take revenge on the Hunter association (specifically on Netero) for annihilating them. This story is about “Nen” Vs “On” in which “On” being the ability of the enemy which is explained in the movie. The movie mainly focuses on Netero, Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka and the 4 members of the Shadows. This story is simple. It doesn’t have too much depth to it nor is it complex to understand like some of the arcs in Hunter X Hunter anime, which some people might come to not like but then again, not every writer has the same skill or vision of what he/she wants to make. This isn’t telling much but if I mention any more it would just spoil the movie.
The soundtracks and animation: Since movies tend to have a bigger budget and taking into consideration of how amazing Madhouse’s regular animation is, this animation is top notch and amazingly done, so much so that I recommend watching the BD version of the movie on 1080p. As for the soundtracks, a lot of them come from the anime and they are perfect fit for the type of movie this is so you won’t be disappointed there.
From a pure HxH fan’s perspective who loves everything about Hunter X Hunter, I was kind of disappointed about how the movie turned out to be. Even though it wasn’t AMAZING, it was definitely good and was satisfying to watch as I was fully indulged in it and was not pausing every now and then. Also I really appreciated the end of the movie. It was nostalgic to see the gang back at the Heavens arena. I always wanted to see the Battle Olympia in action and this fulfilled my request. It was sad in terms of real life as we know that the previous voice actor of Netero (Nagai, Ichiro) passed away after he finished his work on this movie which gave a nice closure to his role of Netero in the HxH universe as well as in the real world. All in all, its a good movie which should be given a shot if you are bored and want some more HxH action.
Final score: 8/10
