Hunter x Hunter Review

Name:Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Author:Togashi Yoshihiro
Episodes:1-Ongoing
Runtime:2011-present
GenreAction: Adventure, Fantasy

Critic’s Description Togashi Yoshihiro is a well known mangaka responsible for Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the best anime of the mid 90-s often compared to Dragon Ball Z. While I was young I practically loved that series. Around 2013 I heard of a series named “Hunter x Hunter” which I had been intentionally avoiding until I discovered that it was written by Togashi Toshihiro. So I paused every anime I kept on my ‘to-watch-list’ to see through this series hoping for the best. And in around a week I completed watching every episode proceeded to read the manga right away. Can’t say I was disappointed. It was amazing. In my opinion Togashi Yoshihiro certainly exceeded my expectations with this. Something about it gave me a nostalgic feeling. So I ended up deciding to write a review on it to share the experience a bit and recommend it to a few extra people. Cause this anime is certainly worth a try! Story

Fearsome monsters…exotic creatures Vast riches…Hidden Treasures Evil enclaves…unexplored lands The world ‘unknown’ holds magic And some incredible people ar drawn to that magic They are known as.. Hunters

-Intro of Hunter x Hunter

12 years prior to the story, one of the greatest Hunters in the world, Ging Freecss, left his infant child, Gon Freecss, to the care of his little sister, Mito. Mito, raised Gon as her own but her hatred for her brother caused her to tell Gon that his parents died. Gon lived in Whale Island an island filled with forests and mountains so he grew up around nature and often explored into the forest. One Day, Gon learned that his father was alive. So he decided to become a hunter and find his father. But being a Hunter wouldn’t be easy. To be a Hunter one must participate in the Hunter exam, a very difficult exam that can only be passed by the elites of humanity. Through the exam Gon makes new friends and foes as he continues his journey to find his father and become the ‘Best Hunter in the world!’ My take on the story The main plot, which focuses on Gon’s search for his father, isn’t very original. Along with that the first few episodes weren’t all that interesting as well. It has a slow build up. But that’s all the flaws I can point out. Nothing more. The story of every arc up to date have been absolutely amazing. Some better than others. The latest arc of the Anime easily dropped into one of my favorite arcs in all of anime and believe me I have watched plenty. So its safe to say that the story is very good.

8.4/10

Animation
The animation is very bright and colorful which makes it seam cheery at times but it does not fail to get dark when the time calls for it. The characters were done well and the special effects were done. But it doesn’t really stand out of the standard animation design so there isn’t much that can be said about it. But I can safely say that its not very bad rather its pretty good. Well I for one liked it. That’s for sure. It isn’t the type of animation that can turn people down so the animation isn’t worth much to worry about. Its on the better side of average that’s for sure.

8/10

Soundtrack
I really like orchestral sound tracks and of course HxH delivers. The adventure-ish sound track fits perfectly into the series. Each character has different themes to go with their character, and the music doesn’t do any less then fit the situation perfectly. The intro “Departure” can leave a very nostalgic feel to anybody who watched old animes like Dragon Ball. Another thing it does is get you pumped, The OST, “boys, be courageous” is a perfect example. Also there is “Legend of The Martial Artist” that emits the feel of an awesome event coming up. And my personal favorite is “Riot”. The timing of this song on the Phantom troupe arc was beyond brilliant. The hopeless, fearsome and yet the reason behind the song was kind of sad and the quotation said along it made it a truly memorable scene. “Reason” is a stand alone piece based on the friendship of Gon and Killua which was absolutely wonderful. These help this anime truly become an amazing experience.

9.3/10

Characters
Hunter x Hunter mainly focuses on four main characters. Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio. Each character has their own purpose and goal. A bond between you and the characters can grow rather quickly and you can feel their sorrow. So here is a listing of the four main characters and there respective theme songs and backgrounds. Gon Freecss Gon Freecss is a 12-13 year old boy determined to find his father. His father was one of the best Hunters in existence. Gon wants to know why his father chose his profession as a Hunter rather then raising him. So he departs his peaceful island to become a pro hunter and find his father. Gon is simple-minded, tenacious, innocent and kind. He isn’t very good with math though and isn’t very bright. His theme is “The world of Adventurers”. It keeps his character down as a determined yet childish. He might be the typical Shonen main character but something about this guy really draws me out. His happy go lucky character, his innocent point of view and even his sort of childish manner. A lot of things about this guy that can attach you with this guy even to the point on sharing his hopes and dreams. Leorio Paladiknight Leorio comes of as a selfish guy who believes anything can be done through money. And so to earn vast riches he decided to become a hunter. Though Leorio aims to use the advantages of becoming a Hunter to follow his true dream beyond earning simply money. He is a hardy character who does not like to be disrespected and doesn’t like it when people don’t take him seriously. His theme is cheeky and stylish and jazzy which suits his character. Leorio is a good guy, although he’s my least favorite of the four He is quite knowledgeable in his field but lacks an overall appearance compared to the other characters in my opinion. Though this guys jazzy theme does have a nice ring to it that’s for sure. Kurapika Kurata Kurapika is the last decedent of the Kurata clan. He was the sole survivor when his clan was killed by the Phantom Troupe, a powerful group of bandits. He seeks to crumble the Troupe and retrieve the scarlet eyes of the Kurata clan and restore their honor. Kurapikka is calm and diligent. He dislikes to put others in danger and always thinks things through. His theme matches his will to redeem his clan and also his strategic thinking. I really like this character. His goal to seek vengeance might be cliche, but unlike many characters he goes out and does wha ever he can as early as he can to do whatever he can to seek vengeance. Might be cliched yes but I like him. Killua Zoldyk Killua is an assassin from the Zoldyk family. Tired of killing he decided to run away from home (stabbing his mother in progress) and become a hunter. He is skilled and powerful as everyone in the family are born to be the perfect assassins. cool, calm and collected Killua was born to kill as his name suggests. He often puts survival above anything else and knows when to run away. His theme music bring out his sadistic and scary side. This kid is not to be messed with! Killua is my favorite character of this series for his friendship with Gon and how their relationship and trust grows together. He wants to protect his friends to the point of forgetting what he trained from his birth Aside from that I like his character design too. He really is a cool character. Overall Overall I love this anime. Being a remake of a 90-s anime it still feels like an old anime with one solid opening and multiple changing endings. The series is wonderful but its not really meant for action oriented anime viewers as it puts stratagy before anything else. Since I’m not that type I fairly enjoyed this series. Overall this anime had a huge impact on me, and also gave of a lot of nostalgia. My overall rating might be biased cause I was a huge fan of animes which shares similar elements. But that’s just simply my opinion. But I hope that by reading this review you have decided to at least check it out yourself. Thanks for reading.

I gave this 9.1/10