Review of Hunter x Hunter
Ok, to begin, this the second time I make this review, due to the first time I made it it was deleted because it was in Spanish XDD, then, I´ll use the translator, sorry if some things are misspelled, but my english is not perfect, even so I´ll try to improve it. (The review contains spoilers) Well, a lot is said about Hunter X Hunter, saying that it is one of the best shounens and anime ever made, and although in many parts the series reached peaks of quality that not many works reach, I do not fully agree with all those praises, and no, I amnot saying that the series is bad, it is good, but it´s not close to be a perfect show.
S T O R Y:
I have many things to say, therefore I´ll separate this part for each arc.
Hunter Exam: Decent, clearly one couldn´t expect much from this part, I mean, it´s only the beginning, even so of the 7 arcs it´s the third in quality, it starts in a good way, the way in which each character is presented and how relationships are being formed are quite good, the parts of the exam are not bad, and you can see why they were chosen, even so it would have been better if at some more advanced point in the series the protagonists were in a situation of danger and resorted to a technique that they used in the exam because the circumstances were similar (but being discreet, not using a fucking flashback for making it obvius), a bad point is the surrealism on certain occasions, I mean, people die and the group doesn´t care, I understand that it´s "normal" for that to happen in the exam but they pass by as if nothing happened.
Hisoka works very well as an antagonist in this arc, enigmatic, unpredictable and with a unique twist, he is not the typical villain from the beginning who is defeated with a bad power up (because he´s not even "defeated"). Definitely the last 2 phases are the best ones, and Kurapika looks like a gary stu (and possibly, at least in this arc, he is). 7.5 / 10.
Zoldyck Family: It could be longer and at the same time shorter. If it wanted to show how a real arc should have had more episodes, but to make it 2/3 episodes so that it works as a closing of the previous arch, there is not much to say, to develop Killua and his family relationship serves, although it would have been better if they developed more members of his family, more involvement of Illumi would also have served. The best thing is how it serves to consolidate the relationships between the characters 6.5 / 10.
Heaven´s Arena: Not bad, without a doubt its strength is in the fights and in that this arc is where the Nen is presented, a power system (which at least in this arc) works well, makes sense and its well established rules make it even better, even so, Gon and Killua learn it very quickly, literally in one night, there is no emotion or a minimum development in the characters while they learn Nen, not that it is wrong, but an episode could be dedicated All of them practicing Nen until they dominate it to confront Hisoka, it was not very complicated. Zushi and Wing are meh, they could have had more development and are definitely wasted. Hisoka shines here, and his 2 fights confirm it. However, all this is still a simple tournament / training arc that is only relevant for Nen. 7/10.
York Shin: Very good, mystery, suspense and epicity combined in an arc that changes the tone and the way in which HxH was presented, although the change does shock something. Here Kurapika takes the role of protagonist, Gon , Killua and Leorio only come out a few chapters, taking more importance only at the end, basically it´s Kurapika's revenge arc, they are chaotic events happening all the time, all with a great touch of epicity, The Phantom Troupe undoubtedly are a great addition to the series, the only bad thing is that not all the characters in this have a lot of time and/or development, being the ones that stand out the most Uvogin, Pakunoda and Chrollo, there are too obvious references (Chrollo, the fact that there are 12, the " Hisoka's betrayal ") to the Christian religion that add an interesting touch to the arc. The battle between Kurapika and Uvogin is very fine, also that of Zeno and Silva vs Chrollo. Here Kurapika may seem like a gary stu, but his great power is justified, and that he´s so strong is not the only interesting aspect of the character. Uvogin's Requiem scene is just wonderful. Gon and Killua's mini-plot looking for information from Greed Island makes the arc a bit worse. Leorio is almost just a filler character, he could have had more importance. Between 8/10 and 8.5 / 10, I should rewatch it to give it a concise note.
Greed Island: Simple, sometimes slow, breaks the rhythm and tone of the previous and next arc, it was simpler as not making it child's play and taking it more seriously. There are workouts that are hard but they don't seem so, all happy and in reality it is not so much, the tone is very badly managed and the villain, who is a bit underrated, I mean, he´s not bad, fulfills the function for which it was made (serve as training for Gon), although the character may be forgettable. Nen gets exceeding complicated, adding a lot of techniques, it was simpler to leave it as it was, after all it was not necessary to name things as simple as concentrating power and all that that can get confusing at a certain point. Hisoka and the Phantom Troupe dont contribute anything, they could easily have exchanged them for a new well-developed character that would also help in the next arc. The best is the Dodgeball game. They stretch everything and move further away from the initial goal (look for Ging). 5.5 / 10.
Chimera Ants: This was the arc that consolidated HxH as one of the most recognized anime, and I understand why, it has the second best anime villain (obviously only surpassed by Johan) the best fight Ive seen(Netero vs Meruem), the best Power-Up and the third best death in anime (good night, Meruem ...), Gon is also consolidated in the top of the best protagonists and a lot of great moments. Even so, it also has several problems, the narrator, who in some moments is fine, but in others he tells you the most obvious things and in others he makes the scenes a bit worse (like Killua's Godspeed); which is slow (I don't want to imagine the manga where this lasts more than 100 chapters), at the beginning it winds up in any kind of thing. From the episode after Kite's death to 116 (if I'm not mistaken) not much happens, they add too many characters that most end up forgetting (except the villains), I do not see the role of the Phantom Troupe in the arc, They forget about Kurapika and Leorio as if nothing else, they focus too much on the place where the ants started that it seems that instead of being a global threat they are only a local one considering the importance they give to the danger they represent, another thing is that I feel like Colt is wasted, or that we went from the best anime fight to Pouf and Youpi having orgasms .__. Even with all the problems presented, these dont ruin the arc at all, Meruem is an excellent character, without serious errors, the only thing is that it would have been better if his relationship with Komugi was explored more (many say they are a couple, when never It showed something like that), the fights are incredible, it has many dramatic and well-achieved moments, Gon´s development (involution) and Killua´s (evolution) are also extremely fine. The royal guard fulfills its role and they are also more than decent characters. The idea of this arc is nice, the chimera ants were well presented and the opening is quite entertaining honestly. A clear example of good writing, since where it fails the most is in the narration, even with all this, it is an 8.5 / 10.
Elections Arc: God, who decided to do this? Was it a mediocre mangaka who doesn't know how to create memorable characters? Oh, it was Togashi, the same one who created an immense amount of positive achievements in the anime / manga like having one of the best fights and a magnificent villain. Very disappointing, almost nothing is saved, only the relationship between Killua and Alluka, the action scenes, Ging and something else. They use a damn Deus-Ex Machina to save Gon, really ????? I thought HxH was better than this. Of the zodiacs, save for Ging and Pariston, none are good, extremely wasted (well, it was actually better that they weren't even there). Hisoka and Illumi are there to do nothing. Except for Killua and Alluka, nobody has development. At least Pariston is an endearing character, but highly wasted. Forgettable and mediocre, 5/10.
The series has the serious problem of changing the tone and setting from arc to arc as if nothing else, I ain´t talking about the quality downturns but rather that we went from a criminal gang in a big city to an Isekai with letters, from destruction, death and killer ants to elections more false than those of LATAM. The story, including the characters and the narrative, is a 7 (or a 6.75 which I round off because I don't like to use a lot of decimals XD) /10.
A R T (animation): Very good. The designs are sometimes strange, certainly there is an extravagance in this sense (although it is not bad as in the manga), although at the beginning the lines are not well drawn and there are some other errors, but nothing that kills the eyes, Over time it progresses, until it reaches almost perfection in the arc of the chimera ants (as in the fight between Netero and Meruem), then it declines a bit, even so it keeps being very fine. 9/10.
S O U N D: Well, the voice acting is very good, the OST is undoubtedly spectacular in every way, each song very well chosen, the ending 2 and 5 perfectly represent their respective arcs, the opening (despite being the always same) at the beginning it goes with the series, then no longer, in addition to the fact that the letter is a contrast with the darkness of the penultimate arc. 9.5/10.
E N J O Y M E N T: I loved the first arcs, with the elections arc it was where I got the most bored, as well as specific moments in the ants arc. There are no characters that I dislike, they all have their appeal, I really love Kurapika, Gon and Killua. And as it appears on my profile, it is one of my favorite anime. By the way, I dont count the "enjoyment" rating for the average series / movie because it´s subjective. 9/10.
A V E R A G E: The final grade for what is probably one of the most praised shonen of all time is a 7.5 / 10, if you add the notes it´d be an 8.5, out there, but hey, clearly animation and sound do not have the same importance than story. I round it up because I like this anime.