This is the most unique shounen I have ever seen in the story and characters department. Hunter X Hunter is my favorite anime of all-time and is what really got me into the anime medium (similar to when people watch Naruto or Dragon Ball) I watched Naruto and Dragon Ball before watching HxH but those never really made me want to go out there and watch other genres like HxH made me feel. HxH was the anime that opened my mind to watching more anime genres. The show definitely has some typical shounen troupes (which I don't mind), but it was so different from every other anime I had ever seen that it had got me hooked. This show has one of the most passionate fan bases I've ever been a part of and it's for good reason. Let's get this review started.
Actually one more thing, this show has essentially no fan service. Now I don't hate fanservice as long as it doesn't interfere with the main story, but Hunter X Hunter not having any fanservice whatsoever just felt more mature. Like the show was respecting itself in some sort of weird way I don't know I appreciated it
Story: The world of HxH is huge filled with all kinds of unique creations, locations, concepts, and creatures. It feels unfathomably grand. The first arc in HxH made me feel like I was watching the original Dragon Ball again. The show was charming, timeless, adventurous and innocent. This is something I miss in modern shounen. Right off the bat, I was starting to fall in love with this series. Nowadays it's more about what the next power-up is as opposed to the next adventure that awaits them. HxH's adventurous tone was something I was missing and I was absolutely loving it.
Before we move onto the second arc, I want to highlight how seamless every arc flows feels like an actual story funny enough. In most anime, after every arc feels like a story in itself. While this is somewhat true for Hunter X Hunter, it all flows really nicely which makes the show easy to marathon through. Also, there is no time skips in this series. It just flows. Time just goes by instead of skip. Don't get me wrong I love time skips, they add hype and change a lot in the story but this again helps Hunter X Hunter feel fresh and unique compared to other shounen.
Now moving on into the second arc where Gon and Killua are introduced to Nen in the Heavens Arena. This is by far the best use of an anime power system. The more Nen someone has doesn't mean anything. It's all about how you creatively use your Nen to outwit the other person. It's also amazing how Togashi manages to fit so much personality with each Nen ability. Every ability in the series was tailored to that character specifically and it's truly amazing to experience I love the power system. It allows for a lot of unique and diverse fights which make the show never get repetitive but aside from that, the Heavens Arena arc was kinda lame to me. There's a sweet fight scene but that was it really. There wasn't really anything too interesting in this arc so let's move on.
The 3rd arc was where this show became my favorite anime of all time. This is where the best villain group of all-time makes their debut. I'll be talking more about them in the characters part of the review. Overall this arc was amazing, the characters were fantastic and this was where we really get to understand the true motivations and resolve for the main figures in the story. It felt like all the previous arcs were just leading up to this one. Lots of action and overall a fantastic arc. I'd be getting spoiler territory if I were to go any further so I'll stop.
Let's just skip the 4th arc because it was essentially a training arc and to go over some details would be heading into spoiler territory. Anyway, I loved Biskey. She's one of my favorite characters in the show for sure.
The final arc I'm going to talk about is the Chimera Ant arc. This is where shit gets real!!! This arc in the show reveals one of the most interesting villains of all Shounen "The Ant King" is one of the best and certainly most interesting take on the whole "learning to be human" and "who am I really" philosophy. His character development through this arc is nothing short of pure brilliance. The entire arc does an amazing job at building up the action scenes and making them as epic as possible. The narrator did admit-ably get somewhat annoying though. Also, things did slow down too slow a little bit too much in my opinion. And this is coming from someone who marathoned the whole show in a week and a half. Throughout the arc, we see different sides of some characters which also makes you question who is really the good guys. Which is amazing storytelling in my opinion. It makes the story feel like it was just a bunch of people being people and not good guys vs bad guys. Makes the story more realistic. By the end, I honestly didn't know who to cheer for.
Characters: Gon is your typical Shounen main character. Stubborn, childish ignorant etc. Unlike other Shounen main characters, he isn't born with some unfair advantage. He is talented indeed. 1 in 10 million talent I believe. But he isn't some sort of "chosen one" or anything. His family is legendary but people don't really recognize him at the moment. He's just another human. He wants to find his dad which is kind of a lame goal (kinda glad he doesn't want to become chaiman of the hunter association or anything like that). Good thing most of the show doesn't revolve around that goal.
Despite being the main character, Gon lost many of his fights which isn't normal in Shounen. He's also a forest boy which keeps him lovable. Luckily, because of his simple character, I am able to enjoy the other more deep and complex characters more. His morals and motivations were unclear to me in the first time watching but after rewatching the show twice now, I understand him more and he is a surprisingly complex character. He embodies a child with his behavior and actions which weren't readily apparent the first watch. Gon is also one of the only MCs of a shounen anime I actually like joining the likes of Goku and Luffy. People like to say he goes through some sort of character development but I never understood that. He doesn't develop into anything. In the last episode, he's the same character as in the first. He simply goes through a character phase which leads into major spoilers so I won't go over it,
Next up is Killua who comes from a family of assassins. Gon and Killua are best friends despite seemingly coming from a completely different manga, but it works well because they work off each other so perfectly. Gon accepting Killua despite dark and sadistic ways. It shows that Gon doesn't care about your past. He just cares about where you are now. Killua accepts Gon because it's his first real friend and he brings out the best in himself. The 2's friendship is beautifully presented. They don't let each others differences become a reason to not be friends. Killua seemed like sort of a blind fan towards the end but Gon was really all he had and he wanted to protect it no matter what. They are really just kids at the end of the day which people tend to forget. Killua comes from a family of assassins and rejects everything about them. Right now you could say he's just a kid who just wants to play. Whether he will shift his character and become an assassin is unlikely yet still possible. This is where he and Gon differ. Killua is locked up with his family controlling everything. Gon has all the freedom ever. He wants the freedom Gon has. He wants to live his own life. He strives to be like Gon. Gon truly is the light for Killua. For someone who has never had a friend before he's pretty good at being one himself. For a majority of the series, Killua does not know his purpose. He just knows he doesn't want to be with his family.
Let's talk about the villains, first off the Phantom Troupe. It's obvious from the start that there's something different about this group compared to other Shounen anime groups. These guys are stocked to be criminals. Most villainous groups would sit down somberly lamenting the existence of the heroes and what the best way to dispose of them is. The phantom troupe, on the other hand, are shotgunning beers and playing cards whilst doing their task. There's kind of a mutual friendship between them. You can tell through their actions and dialogue that they've been through a lot together and enjoy each other's company. Their comradery is also something to respect. They will go to hell and back for each other. Most other villain groups don't care for each other. These guys do and it only adds more to this already awesome villain group. They also all have their unique quirks and charm to them that gives them a weird sense a balance. Each character feels so unique yet so charming.
Let's talk about the other villains. I love how the main villains (apart from Hisoka) of the show don't care about Gon. They just mind their own business. Gon doesn't really come in contact with the main villains. I don't think Gon or Killua even speak a word to the Ant King. (Speaking of the Ant King he is the best/most well-developed character in the series.) The side characters are the ones who are in conflict with the villain which is something not only unique but also beautiful. Gives them a chance to shine. The main characters are usually caught up in conflicts with the side (not as powerful) villains. The main characters aren't very strong in the grand scheme of the story. They aren't weak by any means but they are often overwhelmed. This is a great way to develop the side characters while also having the main characters grow and become strong. There isn't any pure evil nor is there pure good. The characters have so many levels of depth that you sometimes forget who is good and bad. I really appreciated this as it made the show seem as if it were a show about real people as opposed to good guys vs bad guys. Nobody's perfect. We see the evil and good parts in both the heroes and villains.
Something I found really odd about this show is that absolutely no one is afraid of death or even hesitates to kill. It does make the show feel less real and more make-believe. I know this is a fake story but I just went on praising the show about how real every character felt and how they were actual human beings but now I'm talking about this common human aspect everyone seems to lack. I don't mind it, it would take away from some of the awesome moments in the show if they second-guessed themselves
Art: This show is beautifully animated for a show with 148 episodes. It makes the manga look like trash. The fight scenes are great and everything. Absolutely no complaints
Sound: This show has a lot of memorable soundtracks that fit every scene of the show perfectly. However, the opening got boring listening to it 148 times over and some of the minor arcs had some forgettable tracks.
Enjoyment: If you couldn't tell, I enjoy this show A LOT! The only problem is that some there isn't enough fights and when there were fights, they were often one-sided. I'm not the type of guy who just loves fights all the time but there were a bunch of fights teased throughout the show that never happened.
Speaking of fights, I love the way this anime uses music to make the fights stand out. Or rather the lack thereof. It makes the few fights we do have all the more epic. Sometimes there will be epic music pumping in the background of some spectacular animation, or sometimes there will be nothing at all and we just see some badass martial arts complemented by nothing but the sound of raw fists.
Overall: This show is the pinnacle of anime. This show deserves all the praise it receives. It's a testament to the show how most people's main critique to the show is how there isn't enough of it.
Individual Arc review scores:
Hunter Exam/Zoldyck Family Arc: 9.5
Heaven's Arena Arc: 8.5
York New City Arc: 10
Greed Island Arc: 8.5
Chimera Ant Arc: 10
13th Chairman Arc: 9.5
Mean score: 9.33
But if you take into account that the Hunter Exam/Zoldyck Family, York New, Chimera Ant, and 13th Chairman arcs take up 119 out of the 148 episodes, the mean score is closer to 9.5. And then when you consider the good moments stick with me and HEAVILY outweight the bad (I mean there's 148 episodes, ofc some stuff is gonna be bad) it's closer to a 9.8 or 9.9. Some REALLY minor points stop it from being a 10 but regardless, it's my favorite anime.
