This anime blew me away. This anime was so fantastic that I watched the entire thing in about a month. This anime has everything I have EVER wanted in an anime, and having watched it, I think I can confidently conclude that I will never find an anime that will top it.
This anime has EVERYTHING. It has amazing fights, it has satisfying plots, it has character development. It has light, happy moments, deep feelsy moments, pure badass moments. It even has horrifying/terrifying moments, and extremely creepy moments thanks to one character named Hisoka. It will make you ride a rollercoaster of emotions.
I think the most important part is that it takes everything that other anime do, and it does it better, and it makes you feel it more. Also, this anime will make you question right and wrong so hard, and when you hit the Chimera Ant Arc (not sure if it's officially called that), it will make you ask deep philosophical questions about the human race.
I love many of the characters so much that I can't even say which one I love most. I absolutely adore Knuckle and Ging. This anime has enemies that I enjoy hating. There are even enemies that I start out hating, but end up liking and pitying.
Now that I'm done gushing, here is a more technical review:
Fighting - The fight scenes are fantastic and well animated in my opinion. The power/ability system is great. It all comes from one source that is easy to understand, but at the same time, each person has a unique and interesting ability that suits their personality and style of fighting. Each character's abilities were carefully thought out.
Character Development - The character development is noticeable throughout the anime, although I should note that the development for Leorio and Kurapika is less than I feel it should've been.
- Leorio is pretty much the same from start to finish. In the first few episodes, he is seen as greedy, but gradually you learn he has an ulterior motive. After that, he doesn't change much, but he's already a cool guy, so I still like him.
- Kurapika has the same goal throughout the anime, and is extremely obsessed with it. In the beginning, he seems rather transparent and is mainly defined by his desire for revenge and his ability to strategize and out-think opponents. In the middle, his development progresses some, because he takes his obsession for revenge to a whole new level, and is key in defeating an extremely powerful antagonist group. However, after the middle arc, he disappears and isn't seen again until the end. I am both disappointed and extremely intrigued by this. I think there is a spinoff of this anime concerning Kurapika, so that may explain why so little is seen of him after the first two-thirds of the anime.
I also want to note that while we barely get to meet Gon's father, he is such a colorful and likable character that you feel like you already know him, especially since Gon is already a lot like his father, but also his own person. The way they managed to make him resemble his father while being true to his unique identity is simply amazing.
Plot - The plot is excellent, and allows for both character development and colorful development of the world the characters live in. There were many times when I was expecting the plot to do one thing, but was pleasantly surprised and left hanging in suspense when it went in the complete opposite direction. The plot for this anime is thorough and progressive, and it will keep you on your toes. So much happened in this anime that I didn't feel disappointed when it ended. I felt satisfied and pleased. Sometimes certain aspects of the plot are left unanswered, but I feel like this was done on purpose, for a more realistic feel. For example, one main character finds out about their mentor's secret ability, while the other never learns of it.
Feels/Drama - This anime is packed with drama and feels. It starts out fairly light-hearted, and gets progressively more deep and full of feels. This anime will make you angry, frustrated, and tearful all at the same time. You will probably be crying once you get through the Chimera Ant Arc.
Animation/Illustration - I also love that, in this anime, characters look diverse. I attempted to watch Fairy Tale, but I got bored because all the characters literally looked the same, except with different hair/eyes/clothes. However, in Hunter x Hunter, characters all look unique, ranging from the typical anime face to a craggy, detailed semi-realistic face. I was never bored with a character's appearance.
Wow, this is a long review. But yeah, long story short, this anime is amazing. Anyone who watches anime needs to watch this one.
