What is Hunter x Hunter(2011)?
So Hunter x Hunter is a series which is not really new. In fact the anime series had its debut already in 1999. The HunterxHunter(2011) anime series is simply a restart/remake of the 1999 series by MadHouse and is being extended by three arcs.
Since both series adapt the same manga they have somewhat the same content.
But let me tell you, HxH is not your average shounen series you might expect. I’ll tell more to this later on.
Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio; these are the names of the protagonists you’ll meet in the beginning. In the world of HxH people seek to become a hunter to get more rights, a higher reputation and power. The first arc features these four and shows the hardships of becoming a hunter. The first three episodes mark a slow start but steadily the series gains the pacing it follows for the rest of the series. In total HxH has 7 animated arcs.
With each arc we get to know a new set of protagonists and see many different actions taking place at the same time. So Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio are not the only characters you get to see, in fact you might not see some of them for several arcs. That’s typical for the HxH franchise and what makes it interesting.
I’ve heard from many people things like “it’s not about kids fighting or some bullshit like this, right?” Don’t be confused. On many promotion posters you see covers of Gon etc. and yes, they are kids but this will not bother you. The development of each character throughout the series is remarkable and you will hardly notice that there are actually kids. You will only be reminded of this fact by watching the fighting scenes where their inferiority to the adults is displayed. It’s often shown that Gon and Killua are skilled and strong but they are just kids and lack the power and experience adults have.
It says “shounen” series, so can I expect that friendship and effort are needed to achieve your goal? Do I get to see some kids fighting and half-hearted action fights? Nope. It’s true through friendship and a lot of effort the goal can be achieved but the fights in HxH are exceptional and well thought. Personally I think the series has a pretty slow start. The first 26-30 episodes should be seen as some kind of long intro. We get to see a lot of action taking place in these early episodes but this is hardly what HxH consists of.
If I were to describe the tone of the series in the beginning I’d say it’s somewhat bright. The tone changes later on extremely and the series gets darker. Especially after episode 36 we get to know the cruelty and darkness of the society. Don’t think you will not see heads, limbs or blood flying around. This is what HxH truly consists of.
In many other shounen series we see protagonists fighting and winning the fight through friendship values or who has the bigger muscles. But in HxH we actually witness the hard training Gon and Killua for example have to go through to achieve their goal. The fact that they are kids is indeed some kind of handicap for them. They can’t be stronger or have more experience than adults. But this doesn’t restrain them in any way. Bigger muscles or more power are not needed, fights in HxH are often won through technique and knowledge. There are a lot of characters who are actually stronger and more skilled than the protagonists. Gon for example knows that he has no chance against his opponent but he keeps going on and comes up with a plan to defeat his enemy. This is something that you sadly don’t often see nowadays in shounen series.
I would even go so far as to say that HxH defines the point of the shounen genre anew which as been forgotten in last years.
But let me tell you HxH doesn’t only consists of action, the comedy deserves its own section. With Gon we have the usually simple- but also broad-minded shounen protagonist. He has a somewhat childish character that is often displayed in the comedy scenes. Killua on the other hand is the one who acts more like a grown-up of the duo. Killua as a descendant of an assassin family is more skilled and acts more reasonable. He actually is the one who comes up with the plan and acts like the brain of the group. There are often some quarrels between both of them which helps to refresh the situation. The comedy scenes always have the right timing and leave you at least with a smirk.
So what can I say to the music? Without naming anyone I can say the music is another forte of HxH. Throughout the 148 episodes MadHouse used the same opening with different visuals though. The ending changed for each arc and there are some good songs among them. The sound composer has done a good job on conveying the situation by using some epic OSTs.
I should have mentioned this way earlier but I hope some of you are still reading this. So what’s up with the animation? MadHouse had in the last seasons a rise in well-known anime series. The animation is high quality as to be expected of the studio. The character concept got a full revamp: slightly new designs and new voice actors (compared to 1999 version). Personally I am someone who despises the use of the CGI technique. If it’s not needed it’s not needed. But you hardly get to see any CGI textures or movements in the series. As to be expected of nowadays series, HxH has well-animated effects, surrounding designs etc. The fighting scenes as I said before are what make HxH unique. You can almost see how much love the animators put in the fighting movements. In many series you get to see the, I’d would name it, “rubber-effect” where the movements start to melt and you just see some wobbly characters moving (as in Naruto). This is not the case in HxH though.
One last thing I’d like to mention would be the Nen system. Without spoiling anything, everything that is happening in HxH can be explained through Nen which is a power almost every human can gain through training. This complex system is another forte of HxH and shows how much thought the mangaka has put into his work.
Throughout the review I’ve mentioned some other series for comparing. I didn’t intend to criticize them in any way. Every series has its weaknesses and strong points.
Conclusion:
Well, that’s what I think of this series. Hunter x Hunter is a series worth of its rating and should be seen as something that could be on par with the top 5. To be honest I’ve seen many people not watching this series because of the length (148 episodes). Yes, it is long but worth the trip. You will soon get absorbed by the atmosphere it emits and will enter a totally new world you will surely fell in love with. Trust me you will not regret your decision.
My rating
Story (9/10)
Music (9/10)
Characters (9.5/10)
Action (9.5/10)
Comedy (8/10)
Animation (9.5/10)
Developlment (9.5/10)
Overall rating: 9.14 (on MAL: 10)
