Hunter x Hunter (2011) is a remake of the same anime of the 90s, it follows the story of Gon Freecs, an aspiring Hunter who wants to find his father, who too is a hunter. Gon teams up with Killua, and with added help from Kurapika and Leorio become hunters to achieve their own goal.
With regards to the story, as previously stated, this anime has a bread and butter objective, to find Gon's dad. As it's a shounen anime, the usual themes of friendship, perseverance, comedy and not mention epic fighting are included, as well as being relationship driven in areas. Furthermore, it's separated into (according to it's own wiki) 7 arcs, but primarily it's 6 that's the main focus. 5 of those 6 arcs have the main objective weaved inside them, making sure each arc has a main purpose. Although it seems simple, many anime's over 100+ episodes loose its focus on that matter. The atmosphere starts to change within each arc from suspense in the Hunter exam arc, to a thriller in the York-New auction arc and to a have a detailed analysis on the theory of evolution in the Chimera Ant arc. Also, plot lines can change from character driven to action packed. Training is constantly prevalent in the show, with each character trying to increase their strength regularly. Strategic fights can be strenuously complicated, similar to a game of chess in how the characters defeat their opponent. What's best about that is that they keep it entertaining by reaching a middle ground between epic and calculated. But there's a catch. The main characters don't win every fight, in fact, the lose many times. This therefore adds more of an emphasis for training to become better.
However, Hunter x Hunter does come with its flaws. For example, this is a reboot of the 90s Hunter x Hunter, this lead to a whole new cast being made, which could anger those who liked the older voice acting. Furthermore, it took 2 less episodes for the Hunter exam arc to start in this version than the previous one, so some dialogue had been cut out. Furthermore, some build up can be misconstrued as stalling for time, making it very boring. However, when the build up is fine right, it will make the experience of watching it that much better.
In terms of animation, the rebooted show is definitely no slouch. The sharp graphics are certainly nice on the eye, and fighting animations are very much fluid. The character models themselves are similar to it's predecessor, but nicer on the eye. Gon's usually stereotypical German youth outfit is still a dazzling green as usual. All in all, the detail is very good.
Regarding the characters of Hunter x Hunter, there's only 2 characters to talk about. Gon and Killua's relationship is very much like the ying and yang complex, with each character being 2 sides to the same coin. Killua's more mature, whereas Gon is more childish and blunt in his ways. Although it can look simple, each character does contain a dark side to them, even though it isn't a true representative of their true personality. Overall, the relationship is very much like a loving brotherly relationship. In terms of character development, we see distinct attitudes to the two characters and a clear view of how the characters are based on the past. Furthermore, the many episodes also show distinct contrasts in comparison to the earlier episodes as to how the characters develop.
With regards to Kurapika and Leorio, each have similar traits to Gon and Killua, but unfortunately haven't received as much screen time, but the screen time they were given showed their personalities well.
With regards to music, I'm not a massive fan of the opening and ending songs, not many have tickled my fancy as stunning moving pieces of music. The OST however does get a thumbs up, as not only can it be lighthearted, but it can easily intensify the atmosphere in thriller and suspense moments.
To conclude, for an anime which ended on an incredibly high note, I hope I see another series of Hunter x Hunter in the coming years. I do recommend this to those who want to see Shounen at its best.
