The first problems start to show up in the Yorknew arc: the story is primarily focused on Kurapika, with Gon and Killua primarily serving in a secondary role. The arc would be by far the strongest in the story if not for the resolution half-heartedly bleeding into the Greed Island arc before the entire plot thread gets dropped without a real resolution in favor of the Chimera Ant arc.
Speaking of the Chimera Ant arc, nearly half of the show's episodes are in it. While dropping everything for a bit to start a new arc isn't a problem in and of itself, freezing two thirds of the characters out of the story for 61 episodes results in a storyline that dragged on quite a bit, in spite of being based in a really interesting premise and sporting compelling themes. One of the antagonists in particular seems to exist almost entirely to delay the resolution of the arc, which makes the entire thing intensely frustrating and somewhat undercuts what should have been a satisfying conclusion to the story.
I would not call Hunter x Hunter 'poorly written', however, because of just how phenomenally the presentation of the characters is handled. The lack of real resolution to Kurapika's story arc is only frustrating because Kurapika comes across as a very compelling presentation of a fairly cliché character archetype. Leorio's presence is enjoyable in spite of him being about as useful as Krillin, and the supporting cast as a whole is very solid and well-rounded. Gon and Killua, the two central protagonists, are also worth noting, as more than anything else the interactions between the two of them frequently hold the story together when it would have otherwise come apart.
If you are reading this and wondering why I started a review of a Shonen Battle Anime with three long paragraphs about the story: there's not really much to criticize about Hunter X Hunter in those terms. Every fight - including when people aren't actually 'fighting' - is at the bare minimum interesting, with some of the most inventive ideas for powers around. Standouts include one fighter using a giant mecha buddha to hundred-hand slap someone and the only fight to ever be won through the application of APR financing. Direction is spot-on, though only rarely is the envelope pushed.
Animation quality ranges from 'good' to 'excellent', and while you are unlikely to be totally blown away by anything on display, some scenes are at the very least quite impressive. The audio has a couple of pretty good pieces of music, and one particularly terrible one featuring a sliding trombone sting that sounds not only out of place in terms of the instrumentation but also seems to be totally disjointed from the rhythm of the song.
All in all, it's a solid series; more than anything, it feels as though it was held back by the source material not yet having reached conclusions to the loose ends it leaves. It's definitely worth at least a look, particularly if you want something that will last you for a good long time.
