Another part of what makes Hunter X Hunter so good is that every part is different. Unfortunately, this does mean that we’ve just entered one of the two most boring arcs of the series. It will very likely take much faster to go through than the 1999 series, but this episode remained a bit boring.
The biggest reason for that is having already seen this episode. Again. During the previous episode I wasn’t bothered by this too much, but now that the pacing has slowed down again it gets a bit tedious again to watch the same thing twice. Next week will probably be the same. The only part which really caught my attention her was the point where the hunting dog Mike was revealed, and where the butler started talking.
Still, this episode is necessary for building up for later. It’s because of this episode that Killua’s family gets fleshed out, but I do think that it could have gone though things a bit faster. Not showing the family is also a good way to flesh them out.
Rating: (Enjoyable)
I wonder what kind of impression Mike left for those new to the HxH series. I remember him leaving a bigger impression of being a monstrous killing machine in the original series; all spiky teeth and drool dripping out of his mouth. This Mike just looked like a plain oversized dog to me, but having already seen the 1999 series I already *know* he’s not friendly.
Yeah, the dog doesn’t look scary at all, I only know that he’s supposed to be scary because of Gon sweating buckets.
I was disappointed after all that build up.
He’s looks like a plain oversized dog because he is one
This wasnt the episode I remembered at all… What I remember is Leorio training to open the gate and I also remember them running from Mike
Is that in a later episode or did they change it completely?
Gate training is next ep. Running from Mike was a ridiculous filler.
That’s the next episode Frost. 🙂
@Stars
No, actually, that was all filler. None of that will happen in the series.
Ah I see.
The biggest differences I’m noticing between the two series is that a lot of the parts which focussed on building bonds between characters were actually fillers and/or not included in this 2011 series.
It’s making me wonder what the reasons for the characters to journey together will be if the reasons aren’t their strong friendship bonds.
Unless Gon still passes through everywhere turning everyone and everything he meets into his (assumed) lifelong best friend…
This is Gon, the kid who thought he could make friends with a gigantic beast who ate two people practically in front of him, remember. Of course he runs around thinking everyone is his best friend. It’s what he does. (That said, Togashi deconstructed this trope really well, IMO. It gets disturbing at times.)
Killua never had any friends and comes from a dysfunctional like whoa family, so when there’s a guy who proclaims himself to be one and is willing to risk death to prove it (repeat, because that’s what Gon does), of course he values the friendship. The point of this whole arc and about half the Hunter Exam arc. It becomes A Plot Point later on, if you’ll remember.
Kurapika and Leorio don’t really follow Gon around. They have their own agenda. When they do act together…Kurapika keeps his distance the most, but he has lost his entire clan and it’s often hinted that he feels more lonely than he admits when encountered with the camaraderie of the Life-And-Death-Together Hunter Exam, not to mention how he seems drawn towards Gon’s innocence (which is one thing the world that killed his clan doesn’t have). Leorio just has this incredible, incredible heart of pure gold. Gon is innocent, but Leorio is Morally Good. Of course he’ll help out and travel around when asked.
They also travel together a lot less in the manga, and thusly, this 2011 adaptation. Not to say that one is better than the other, I liked the old version in its way, but just that the manga/2011 version’s internal logic works out.
@psgels
I think you need to watch this series with an open mind instead of comparing it to the old one. Not because of what you think of its quality, but because you’re missing some of the things that the director is trying to do in this adaptation.
Gon did something extremely stupid in this episode. He literally almost died. If he had proceeded with climbing over the Testing Gate, the series would have lost its protagonist. In other Shonen series, “breaking in” is seen as a sort of “cool” thing for a protagonist to do. That’s a childish notion. And you can bet that numerous other shonen series actually would have had their protagonist climb the wall and somehow making it out due to their courage. But courage gets you nowhere. It was almost the same with Hanzo, but Gon lucks out because the ninja is sociable and actually likes people.
Gon sees in this episode that the world doesn’t always work this way, but whether or not he learns anything is debatable. Keep this in mind.
I’m sure he understands that, however it does not stop the episode from being boring.
I’m not saying that either. It’s something that should be brought up, however. Psgels says that he’s seen the same thing twice. While that’s somewhat true, if he’s going to compare the two, the differences should be discussed.
The same thing happened in the 1999 version as well, didn’t it?
Yes, but it’s important to consider the nature of this episode’s climax in contrast with the 1999 version of the show. The 1999 version continued on to make Mike a threat to the protagonists; Leorio foolishly uses all of his strength to open the normal gate and Mike attacks our protagonists. Gon has divert Mike’s attention and there’s a big chase sequence–this is the climax of the encounter with Mike in the 1999 series. But in the Madhouse version, things are a little different: this episode is the LAST that we’ll see of Mike. No chase, no thrill.
Now in the context of the series, why is this scene in the show? What was the purpose of including Mike if he wasn’t going to be a direct threat to the protagonists’ journey? What genre would you even call it? It’s hardly a conventionally “thrilling” moment and it’s definitely not horror either.
Keep watching to see how else the shows are different.
Also, Gon’s actions are slightly different between the versions and should be considered as such. In the 1999 series, after Gon gets pissed off by Gotoh, he intends to climb over the Testing Gate but never actually starts doing it. He tells Leorio and Kurapika why he’s mad. But overall, his actions are somewhat understandable.
But in the 2011 series? Gon just gets irrationally angry. He starts climbing the gate, fully intending to hop right on over. He won’t explain to his friends why he’s mad. This is something that you should be keeping in mind–what causes Gon to do such crazy things?