Category: Hunter X Hunter

Okay. I’m going to be a fanboy now. You see, this episode in the first season was my favorite Hunter X Hunter episode ever, outside of the Yorkshin arc. If I blogged it, it would have gotten a fantastic rating, and quite possibly even higher. There was no way in which this episode of the second season would surpass it. This entry will probably go a lot more in-depth than usual about the differences between the two adaptations. I know that these are two adaptations and should be judged as such. But I still consider this version to be inferior.

There first is of course the matter of the animation budget. That was probably the biggest disappointment of this episode. I rewatched this episode, and there Nippon animation really went all out. The art perhaps wasn’t consistent, but the way in which the characters moved around was incredibly dynamic. Here? We got several still shots of a fountain, and suddenly three hours pass. It’s a shame: apparently the producers seem too focused on making Hisoka look scary in that episode, but here they really passed up a chance. In fact, the animation in this episode looked too much like they just coloured in the manga pages, and had the animators put a bit of movement into them.

On top of that, there was the dialogue: some was the same, but the most disturbing parts were cut. In the first series’ version, Hanzo also disabled Gon’s eyesight and ears. It was completely disturbing to see how Gon was slowly being beaten to a pulp, and also how Hanzo described everything in the slightest details. Here, the dialogue was much more childish. However, I do admit that it was quite intense for a while.

And when, when Gon put up his anti-climax, something felt missing. Animating isn’t just about moving things around, it’s also about bringing things to life. It’s here where the way in which Gon immediately recovering from the poison dart starts to bite back: he’s not the fragile child he used to be in the first series. The first season really made it look like he was in pain. This was much more cartoonish. It didn’t really look like Gon was in pain when he stood up.

What also starts to bite back, is the lack of characterization on Hanzo. What I loved about him was that he wasn’t a major player in this story anyway: he was just a skilled warrior who also wanted to get his hunter’s exam, and completely disappeared from the story afterwards. And yet the first season treated him seriously. In this episode though, the acting of this guy was wooden. He just had two moods: quirky and serious. There was no subtle difference in it. It’s interesting: the dialogue between the two is similar at a lot of points, but this episode felt so barren, compared all of the little details that the first series put into it (everyone laughing at Hanzo’s blood nose, for example, or Hisoka laughing at Gon’s stubbornness, which made him much more than the usual psychotic clown). This is also why I pay so much attention at the people who are going to be adapting source material: the mentality that the creators are in when they depict their characters has a lot of effects on how well the source material is translated. Having good source material of course also is very important (heck, this episode remains very good either way), but it’s not the only thing.

What I also think played a part here was the use of the music. Like, the point where Gon kicked down Hanzo when he used that strange handstand of his: the music immediately started to play this out of place upbeat tune that somehow ruined the mood, rather than building up for it. Scenes that should have progressed slowly to build up an atmosphere suddenly had fast-pacing drums accompany them. It all just… didn’t fit here.

I understand that in this season, this episode could have just been building up to something. I did recognize how Killua was much less supportive of Gon, and I can imagine that this jealousy of Gon is going to play a major theme later. But heck, I’m being a fanboy here. Like I said above: this episode was my absolute favorite outside of the Yorkshin arc, and I am a bit sad to just see it delegated to buildup episode. I’ve got the same fears of the Yorkshin arc: I closely rewatched the original episode this time for some good comparison, and the dialogue was cut at a lot of points. The best thing about the Yorkshin arc was how well the dialogue was written.

And I know that I’ve been one-sidedly praising the first season. Don’t worry. Next arc will be the opposite. It’s there where the first season just dragged on for too much and took way too long to get going. That arc was why I ended up rating the first season of Hunter X Hunter relatively low, and where this new adaptation will really set itself apart. I admit though: I am completely biased. I know that it’s very annoying when people start talking about how differences in adaptations, and I apologize for that. This week though, my inner fanboy just couldn’t hold itself in.
Rating: * (Good)

Okay, I know what I’m going to do this season. The thing is that Ano Natsu, Black Rock Shooter, Inu Boku and Smile Precure are all series that are interesting, yet not interesting enough to be blogged weekly. So instead I’m going to do another Kaleidoscope and blog one of these four shows each week. Hunter X Hunter however has nothing to do with that. This show is great, period. And I’m going to bring it back from hiatus now that Hyouge Mono has finished.

I do want to say though, that it will probably be impossible for me to not blog this as a fan of the ’99 series. I will try to also write some impressions about actual episodes, but blogging this series for the past months, I really realized that I just have to draw comparisons between the two, so I really apologize for being a bit inaccessible to the people who are only now being introduced to the franchise. These comparisons will mostly be in the ’99 series’ favor for the current arc, while the next arc they will be very likely in the 2011-version. And after that, anything can happen.

Gon really impressed me in this episode. For me, the really big difference of the past few episodes between the two adaptations is that Gon immediately recovered from his poison in the new adaptation. Because of that, the moment where he stood out in this arc has shifted. This version doesn’t have the agonizing time that Gon spent, trying to recover from the poison. Instead, he had to wait all alone with his pride hurt and do nothing but wait for his friends. That gave this episode a slightly different meaning here, and instead made this episode really stand out for him. I really loved how he forced himself to help Leorio and the others.

Now, the next episode in the ’99 series was like, my absolute favorite Hunter X Hunter episode outside of the Yorkshin arc. That’s another reason why I really had to pick this show back up, because even though I’ve already seen it again, and the impact probably won’t be near what it was when I first watched it, I really want to see how the creators handle it this time. The ’99 series had a lot more time to devote on fleshing out the side characters. It even treated the characters who were just destined to die or drop off seriously here and this lead to a wonderful side-cast. This new series doesn’t have a lot of that, but I’m still impressed with how they made Ponzu in an interesting character despite only know learning what her personality was.

With this episode however, I can also see that the 2011 series put a lot of time into fleshing out the nine remaining contestants. The questionnaire from the chief was still really great to watch. I also really liked Hanzo here, even though he only appeared for like… 30 seconds; it took me a while to realize, but that guy actually had three tags worth of one point with him. That actually means that he couldn’t find the tag that Killua threw away, and I can only imagine how he desperately had to try and find two other tag holders in order to get the right points. I managed to track one down to being that one guy with long black hair, but I just can’t find out who the other was.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

I’m now really starting to see the purpose of the fillers of the first series, and especially the boat arc: they gave character to the other contestants. At this point, the difference is really starting to show, even when I’m ignoring the fact that I can see all of the plot twists coming. Back when I watched the first series, I actually cared about the other contestants. This new version though, only gave them a few lines here and there. It’s a shame, because this bonding with everyone was one of the things that made the Hunter Exam arc so great there.

While watching this series, I’ve also gotten a bit of understanding of why why people keep going on about faithfulness in an adaptation. I’m starting to notice myself that because I already know what’s going to happen, I end up focusing much more on the details. Even small flaws stands out now. You have this image of how this series should be, and when it deviates from this, it feels more annoying than anything. Because I’m so focused on this, I’m not really enjoying this series like I used to in the first season. This is really a dilemma, because really: this remains the best shounen plot we’ve had in years. How come there weren’t any more series like this that showed up in Shounen Jump? Did the manga have no influence whatsoever on other authors or something?

This is also why I hate recap movies, and I can only watch these series when they actually try to stand on their own, instead of trying to tell the same story with only slight differences. I think that the bare minimum of changes was the Nanoha Movie: the story might have been the same, but the creators there successfully brought it down to an hour length and made it watchable for the people who didn’t watch the series. These two series however… they’re just way too similar. Right now my advice is just to watch the Hunter Exam arc of the Hunter Exam arc. After that you can just swap back to the new series for the next arc, because that will likely be done better. They’re completely interchangeable right now.

This is also why I fail to understand why people would want to watch the anime version of a manga they’ve read, when it’s just going to be the same anyway, save for some minor details that stand out.

For example, I’m not sure if this was in the first season or not (my memory of it isn’t THAT good), but it really bugged me that that monkey guy did such a terrible job at hiding himself. He went into a completely different direction, and yet they easily caught up with him. I do think however that I would have brushed this aside as a minor detail when watching the story for the first time. And I really fear that I’m going to have the same reactions when we get to my favorite part of this series, the Yorkshin Arc.
Rating: * (Good)

Now, this was actually the point in the first TV-Series that I became a fan of this show. The point where Gon realized who he was going to have to hunt just blew me away with the kind of subtlety that I just did not see in any other shounen series. And ever since I have not seen any other shounen show that could equal this.

This episode had the disadvantage again of having the exact same plot, so the surprise was ruined and it didn’t make the impact it did as when I watched it for the first time. But damn it still was really damn good! The creators still nailed Gon as he realized the kind of task he stood before. I loved how they handled the part where he and Killua show each other their numbers. This still stands as one of the highlights so far.

Also, this episode just pretty much nailed the training arc. Screw overly complicated plans: Gon didn’t even spend half an episode preparing for his task, but this practice was essential. This wasn’t about him learning a new technique for the sake of being stronger. He analyzed his opponent and the situation he was in, and came up with a strategy to take him on. This is done in a way that again very few other shounen series have. Without actually dragging on, this episode accomplished a lot here.

One criticism is that female announcer: if you want to break the mood, go for it all the way. Her acting felt really out of place, and missed the anti-climax that she intended to be. I’m also glad that the creators kept the soundtrack to a minimum this episode. The one good track was used well when Gon observed what the other contestant was doing, and the scene on the boat was completely silent. Apart from that though, this show really needs some more tracks that really stand out. Hirano Yoshihisa usually excels at those kinds of tracks, but yet here he for some reason feels too constrained.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

I’ve said it before, but at the moment I’m currently really busy with moving in real life. I managed to buy my own house and right now, I’m finally moving out of my parents’ house, and I’m going to live on my own now, and I’m pretty overwhelmed by everything that you need to take care of. So with that in mind I kindof appreciate that this was a recap. That definitely helps to ease the workload a bit, especially on a day when two major series also end.

So yeah, recap. Nothing special: Gon writes a letter to his mother telling everything that happened. Yadda yadda yadda, nothing special at all. Next week will be the infamous new year break, so we’re pretty much into a two-week break right now. January 8th things will start again, and then it’s time for things to really get fired off.
Rating: – (Lacking)

The first half of this episode was just amazing. That was just an episode that could never happen in any other shounen out there, even though it’s a genre known for wasting time. Just seeing the characters waste 50 hours was an amazing way to flesh these guys out, and I especially love how the creators took their time to show that for half an episode, before the characters could continue. Between the lines, this show really is a battle of endurance, and this part nailed that.

I also love that the creators remembered that the organizers provided daily meals for the different contestants. These are the fun details.

As for the second half, that probably worked better for the people who didn’t watch the first series.It went all mysterious about the way in which they would make it, but having seen the first series I knew exactly the way they’d do it. This is the big disadvantage of watching a different adaptation of a story you already know: every single surprise is gone, taking away a crucial part of the suspense. In fact, this is something that I’ve kept wondering about people who often watch anime adaptations of mangas or light novels that they already read: is it really fun to watch something, knowing everything that’s going to happen in advance? Especially the ones that rely heavily on suspense.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

I’m afraid to say it, but this episode was won by the first Hunter X Hunter series. It’s here where the difference in direction and acting unfortunately worked against this series’ favour. The difference is very much in the details, but there are a lot of details here that when stacked up, unfortunately weigh this episode down quite a bit.

First of all there’s that character design of the female prisoner. That was just… way too much. The whole mind game between her and Leorio had much less impact due to Leorio’s overacting. Then there are these details like when Leorio had to grope the girl to confirm whether she told the truth: there they came up with a creative way to censor it. Here, it’s just the same. Or take the part where the ninja manages to finish the trial: the joke the first series had there, with Hisoka and that other guy, worked much better.

Killua’s match was the real downer, though. This is supposed to be one of the worst mass murderers out there. Why then did they play this cheesy rock tune when they explained who he was? The gore was toned down, showing that while this show is willing to get quite gory, it won’t cross the usual borders. There, that scene really made impact, but here it just lacked something.

The strange thing about the music of this series: it’s composed by Hirano Yoshihisa. This guy is usually awesome. He composed the soundtracks for Himitsu, Real Drive, Death Note and the Book of Bantorra. It would have been great to hear his epic and experimental style here, but it really doesn’t sound like he’s trying for this series. What gives?
Rating: * (Good)

What also sets Hunter X Hunter apart from all other shounen series: the slow pacing means something. One of the big problems with shounen is the “I’m about to kill you… but first let me explain in the fullest detail how I’m going to it, and then explain some more about it in case you didn’t get it the first time”. Hunter X Hunter meanwhile is meant to be an endurance test. Battles in this series aren’t a matter of whacking each other until one side goes down. Furthermore, this exam is all meant to draw time. Finally there are some explanations about why things have to take a long time. And that makes up for a lot here.

Last episode I was confused because the bit about the disfigured guy pretending to be unconscious, because it was introduced by someone else. In the first series, it was the bald guy who did all the talking for the prisoners here. It’s a matter of characterization, really. In the first series, this turned the bald guy into a leader figure, while he was an idiot in this episode. Instead it made the female prisoner much more ominous, which is why I’m really looking forward to next week, knowing what she has in store for Leorio and instead she was a bit of a one trick pony in the first series.

Bizarrely enough this show does include more explanation than the first. That was my one complaint about this episode: the explanations feel a bit out of place in tone with the cartoonish distorted faces, and how the explanations feel too much like a lecture for a young audience. It’s again about the delivery and the voice acting here. And really, if the voice acting of the first series wasn’t so damn good I probably would never whined about it. To try and explain it, the voice acting there had more depth to it, if that makes any sense.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

The first half of this episode, I think it actually worked better than in the first series. It was simple and more to the point, just like Gon really. It had a nice build-up of “oh, this is going to take forever”, only to solve things in minutes afterwards. Although, Gon’s voice actress was trying a bit too hard again in this episode. It’s mostly her range. She’s very easy in just yelling all of her lines. The second half however… it was a bit of a mess. And it’s not the pacing really. When you just look at pacing, then the new series is actually better than the first. It’s just that the voice acting is so much, much worse. The voice actors are trying too hard and especially the blue guy (why is he suddenly bright blue?) was hamming it up. Compare that to the first season, which had fantastic voice acting and which had voice actors who knew exactly when they should be subtle, and when to raise their voices. What’s even worse is that we suddenly got to see entire inner monologues of that blue guy, which killed off all of the tension that was there already. It added some nonsensical stuff, while it cut out the stuff that made him quite charming (like the way in which he broke his fist, for example). Also, I’m surprised here: the way in which he refused to wake up, was actually a filler of the first season? I really would not have guessed. That really was something good they added back there. And then there was Kurapika, who really managed to save this half when he saw the spider. It again suffers a bit too much from acting too hard when compared to the first series, but the moment where Kurapika got his red eyes: that was just wonderful. It wasn’t just a great scene. It also showed that the creators here know how to deliver the darker scenes. Overall I’m quite positive of this series so far. The creators might actually nail it. However, there is one character who I’m positive that they’re going to ruin if they keep going on like this: Senritsu. I won’t say why, for the sake of the people who aren’t familiar with Hunter X Hunter, but I really cannot imagine her with the current focus on overacting from this series. Rating: * (Good)]]>

The beauty of Hunter X Hunter: most other shounen heroes would probably have died by now if they also would have taken the exam. The start of this episode deliberately took its time, to show how stupid it is to just rush in without any idea of what you’re up against. Also, it’s interesting to see that the pacing has slowed down tremendously here: in this episode they only got to wrap up the fight with Tonpa. I think that in two weeks, we’ll get to the point in which the original series really caught my eye. That will be the point to see whether this series did a good job in building up. As for the Tonpa-fight though, that is unfortunately something that the first series did better. This is because Tonpa already revealed himself to be a total bastard during the running exam. Everyone knew that he shouldn’t be trusted, and that made for a very awkward episode when they learned they had to work together with him. In this episode though, we had Leorio yell at him for no possible reason. At this point they had no reason to really distrust Tonpa, as the only one who realized the nature of the laxative was Killua. And perhaps Gon, if he put 2 and 2 together in his head about the laxative and the frog. Still the crowning moment of this episode still did work. The point where Killua revealed the big prisoner’s strategy was just wonderfully done. It was hilarious, but at the same time it just showed how easily you can screw up in this series. And that’s also the beauty of the fights in this tower: they’re not just “spam powers and punches until the other side goes down”. No, the characters really have to use their heads here. Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>