His friends all get their time to shine (some more than others) in a respective arc, but since Gon is the main protagonist, most of the arcs presented in this story, are revolved around his development.
The entire story felt as if it were just one huge training arc. The protagonist has never been the strongest in every arc presented. He is constantly one-upped by nearly all of his enemies. And that's one thing I enjoy. Where the main protagonist (even though he is considered a genius/having a lot of potential) still gets constantly beat because of the huge difference in experience. And I actually enjoyed watching the training and the growth of the main characters. I absolutely hate it when they off-screen the training (usually in the form of a time-skip) just to become overpowered.
And unlike most anime, instead of gaining power through random means, usually by the conventions of the plot, you MUST sacrifice something to gain power, which is very, very similar to FullMetal Alchemist.
The Art. The art is probably the largest gripe I have with this anime. Many people will immediately judge this anime because the two main protagonist are both children and the atmosphere in the anime looks very bright. Especially at the beginning of it. The 1999 version of the Hunter Exam was done much better and had the atmosphere similar to that of the Chimera Ant Arc. And because of all the brightness, I'd assume that's why many people were caught off-guard by the brutal and "grim-dark"-ness of the Chimera Ant Arc. I've had many friends, who only watch Seinen anime, immediately reject watching it because of the brightness and how Shonen-y the art was.
Sound - The sound in the first two arc of the story is very lacklustre, but the sound immediately improves ten fold when the Yorknew City arc hits, playing some opera/classical music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE2muDZksP4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBq7yu8H2kI
It was absolutely magnificent and it stays consistent throughout the rest of the series (Starting from the Yorknew Arc), having another immediate increase in quality when the Chimera Ant Arc hits. I have no idea how so much people have a problem with this. The 1999 Sound is just as good, maybe even better though, it's all a matter of preference.
Characters - The characters are absolutely phenomenal. Togashi threw in so many characters, you were bound to find at least one that you liked. Nearly every single character is memorable and had their own personality. No characters were carbon copies of each other, like in many other anime.
This anime has a few things that could have been done better, especially the beginning, but it is absolutely amazing and you cannot watch this entire anime through without finding at least one or multiple parts that you'd think "Oh, that was pretty cool!" I recommend to anyone who's into story driven battle anime like FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
If you are a One Piece or Naruto fan and watch this out of spite because people keep referring to it as the "best shonen," you won't enjoy it as much and will be quick to cherry pick all the small inconsistencies (like a lot of the people referring to Episode 131 as an asspull which clearly shows how much they were paying attention to the story) If you're expecting 30 minute badly-paced fights, then you will be disappointed. This is a very story driven anime, if you are one of those people who mindlessly watch anime for the fights, then do not watch it and stay far away from it. If when you're watching this, you're expecting most of the characters to stay static (namely the main character) and be some sort of "beacon of light" like Naruto is in his Universe, then do not watch this anime. Gon (the main character) has some of the most realistic personalities, unlike Naruto and Luffy, and there are times where he hurt his own friends and puts his selfish desires in front of everything else.
Go into this, not having much expectations and you'll probably have one of the best rides watching this.
Please watch more than the first two arcs, because they happen to be the two of the worst of the series and do not immediately be turned off by the art.
