Review of Hunter x Hunter
I already wrote a review for this series, but I have rewatched it since, and my opinions have changed, so here we go again. I will just start off by saying that this is one of my favourite anime and this will just be me gushing about every part of it. Story 10/10: Just looking at the premise you wouldn't think there's anything original in it, but its tendency to take usual tropes and show them in a different light is present even in the very first episodes, however subtle it may seem. Then, as time goes on, the arcs become more complex, and more charactersare introduced, so much so that you start wondering if you're even watching the same anime. As far as the arcs go, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, there definitely isn't one I dislike, but some of them are more special, my least favourite being the Greed Island Arc, and my most favourite being the Chimera Ant Arc (of course).
Art 10/10: It being such a long series, you'd expect the animation quality to drop as it goes on, but it stays surprisingly consistent, and it seems to even get better in the later episodes. All arcs are sprinkled with incredible scenes when it comes to the animation, but the Chimera Ant Arc definitely has the greatest amount of such scenes, and that really makes it obvious just how much love and effort was poured into this anime, which makes me love it even more. I adore brightly-coloured anime, and this one is just full of bright, lively colours, but when it gets serious, it gets down-right chilling, and at times the animation itself has an emotional impact on the viewer.
Sound 10/10: I am so impressed with the voice actors, for providing voices to so many characters for such a long time, and for really doing their best, so much so that you can hear some of their voices improve as time goes on. When it comes to the soundtrack, the openings and endings are of course incredible, but the background music is some of the best I've ever heard, and I say this as a huge fan of movie and anime soundtracks. In the beginning the ones that most stand out are the kind of upbeat ones, and a bit later on the action ones, such as Emperor Time, but personally, my favourite songs are from the Chimera Ant Arc, due to their use of the violin, and due to the existence of songs such as Understanding, which makes me cry every time about 3 seconds in.
Character 10/10: This category would be 10/10 even without the existence of the Chimera Ant Arc, but for me, that arc defines this category, because of how the antagonists, the characters we usually aren't expected to care about, are fleshed out, developed, and humanized, in ways I haven't encountered in other media. There are of course the obvious examples, The Ant King and his Royal Guards, but there are others such as Meleoron and Ikalgo, and Palm, and even Rammot, who in other shows would barely get a few lines, let alone real development, but in this anime they get their own arcs and their own contribution to the plot. Another thing I appreciate in this anime, is how the characterization is done. Sure, a lot of it is done through actions, but a great deal of it is also done through dialogue, internal monologue, facial expressions, and at times, even the narrator. I'm definitely not doing it any justice, but this anime does characterization right, and Togashi is a master at making you care about main characters as well as minor characters.
Enjoyment 10/10: The first time I watched it it sucked me in from the very beginning, I was thoroughly enjoying it, up until about the Greed Island Arc, where I started skipping scenes that didn't have the main characters in them, and then my enjoyment dropped to about 0.1 when I reached the Chimera Ant Arc. I just found it slow, and I didn't care about the new characters introduced, and as such I skipped a lot of that arc. Then, about two months later, I decided to watch the Chimera Ant Arc on its own, thinking maybe I'd be able to enjoy it this time around. I had no idea what I was getting into.
Ironically, the second time around, it felt like everything was moving so much faster, and I somehow became so so so interested in the plot, I would watch 12-13 episodes a day, I just could not stop watching, even if I knew what the outcome was going to be, and I got incredibly attached to all the characters, and then by the time i finished episode 135, I had used up more tissues that I had in my entire life, previously. Now, I can say that the Chimera Ant Arc is my favourite piece of any media I've ever consumed, it is an incredible masterpiece, and I have no idea how Togashi created something so special, but I am thankful he did.
Overall 10/10: This is my favourite anime of all time, and I really cannot complain about anything. If I really really had to, I might say that it would've been nice if they had made two opening sequences for the Chimera Ant Arc, considering how long it is, and the fact that it had two ending sequences, but that's a personal preference.
Other than that, there's really nothing I can say, apart from strongly suggesting to watch it, although if you do, I would definitely recommend binge-watching it, or at least watching an arc at a time, otherwise it might get hard to keep up with, or slow at times. Also a lot of people seem to dislike the first few episodes, but I found them to be a great introduction, so I don't think they're that terrible, if you're not an overly critical person.