Okay, let's start off by saying that this anime is sublimely good and I would recommend it for people who had trouble digesting the original. I wouldn't go so far to say that it succeeds the original but it's on par from what I've seen so far. I'm on episode 83 at the moment, so I've watched a fair chunk in the last 3 days. The episodes go by so quickly, they really don't feel like they're roughly 25 minutes long.
SUMMARY:
The beginning is slow, deliberately so that it can set a storyline on our main protagonist, Gon. It gives a brief overview so that we understand that Gon is under guardianship of his Aunt whilst his nomadic, almost estranged, father is off completing tasks as a Hunter. We find out that Gon wants to be a Hunter like his father so he can find him and in order to do that, he must take the Hunter Exam and become a Pro Hunter.
SEASON 1:
The first season is about Gon participating in the Hunter Exams and becoming close friends with Kurapika, Leorio and Killua. That right there, is golden. It emphasises on the importance of friendship and growth. It also introduces a recurring character, Hisoka, whom we can't trust nor distrust as we see him both help and endanger Gon and his friends.
SEASON 2:
Then season two sees the completion of the Hunter Exam and an pact formed between the four friends to meet in Yorknew City, six months after the Hunter Exam. Each one (with exception to Leorio) has gained strength through the application of Nen, a way of using and manipulating one's aura to their advantage. The season is revolved around the evolution of Gon, Killua and Kurapika. There is a climax which involves the Phantom Troupe, the group whom slaughtered the Kurta Clan, and is he centered around Kurapika and the Troupe.
SEASON 3:
Season Three was arguably the best, with Gon and Killua discovering that Ging had created the infamous "virtual" game, Greed Island, they enter the game in order to find clues for finding Ging. They meet many foes and gain many allies whilst simultaneously levelling up their Nen and strengthening their individual skills. With completion of the game, Gon and Killua happen to misinterpret a clue from Ging and come across Kite, an unofficial student of Ging's. That's where in my opinion, the show goes down hill.
SEASON 4:
The fourth season is based off of the Chimera Ants and their evolution. It's an amazing concept, one that could very well be a reality soon enough for us, but I hate it. The Frankenstein's monster concept is very daunting and dark. Don't get me wrong, in the previous seasons, with Hisoka and Genthru's abilities on show; the anime has been dark but this is a whole new world of black. With the Queen Chimera Ant discovering the nutritious values of human meat, the season progresses in horror with the realisation that the hatching ants have the agility and strengths of various animal mutations as well as the intellect of a human being. The thing that really makes me dislike this season so much, has to be when Rammota gains the knowledge on how to activate Nen. Sure, it's not a far fetched idea considering though they're predominantly animal based, they have human genes added into their Double Helix (DNA). It's chilling because it seems that Nen is the only way Gon and his friends can fight off the ants but now that they have discovered how it works, it seems that they are in a huge predicament. I didn't expect a whole season to be dedicated to the Chimera Ant revolution but now that I've realised that it's not just a side story, I'm not enjoying it. It has devolved from the original contention of the show, Gon finding Ging, and turned into Tokyo Ghoul or Parasyte: The Maxim. I'm really disappointed but I enjoyed the first three seasons enough to rate it high. This may not be my cup of tea at the moment but I will finish it.
