Review of Hunter x Hunter

Many of the long running shonen battle series from the late 80's all the way through to essentially now have been characterised as "Titular" and "Formulaic", the same cannot be said for Hunter x Hunter. Over the past decade Hunter x Hunter has earned its recognition as one of the best battle Shounen of its time, this success is in large part due to the immense popularity and success of Madhouse Studios 2011 adaptation of the original Manga. However many longtime fans of the series such as myself remember the series more fondly for its predecessor. Hunter x Hunter was produced by Nippon animation in1999 and whilst its quality often overshadows many of the other shonen series of its time, it has struggled to keep the same legacy as series such as Naruto or One Piece. Both of which were made around the same time as Hunter x Hunter 1999 but ended up having longer serialisations and have thus become staples in the modern anime sphere. The legacy of Hunter x Hunter however has been carried instead by Madhouses 2011 production of the series. While I'm glad that Hunter x Hunter finally got the praise and recognition it deserves, the 1999 version has been largely forgotten despite the series being my favourite rendition of Hunter x Hunter. The 2011 anime may have modernised the series and introduced it to a modern fanbase, but I personally believe that the 1999 adaptation took a much more interesting approach to the series and I really loved that about it.

(For the remainder of the Review I will refer to the series as "HXH" (Abbreviation of Hunter x Hunter) for the sake of brevity and any comparisons made to the 2011 series I will simply refer to it as the "2011 anime/series" and the other has "1999 anime/series")

HXH follows Gon Freecss, a simple minded, well meaning and hard working 12 year old boy who dreams of becoming a "Hunter". Hunters in this world are a group of elite individuals who dedicate themselves to their own trades, whether that be hunting treasure or seeking the wonders of the world, hunters must commit themselves to a "hunt" ; what that hunt entails relies on the hunter themselves. Gon is one such dedicated individual and seeks to become a hunter himself. In doing so he meets a large ensemble of supporting characters who also seek to become hunters thus taking us to the 287th Hunter exam.

HXH has a deceptively simple story, one that would not separate it from many of its contemporaries. Gon is nothing more than your titular shonen protagonist, and the Hunter association like Shinobi's or Pirates is a narrative tool for world building. However it's in this simple narrative structure that HXH is able to deconstruct its genre and produce a mature story on a wide range of themes. Due to the nature of this being a review and not an analysis, I can't elaborate on the nature of the themes or what they entail, as they will spoil the experience and story for many people. With that being said, I can without a doubt say that this is the most mature shonen series I have ever watched, the themes on display and the meaning behind each arc is one of the most brilliantly executed deconstructions of a genre that I have ever seen.

The world building in HXH however is what truly makes it a spectacular series. Each location is vibrant, life-like and full of personality, this is in large part thanks to the brilliance of series author Yoshihiro Togashi but is brought together beautifully by the surprisingly dark tone that the series has. It's this dark edge that I think the 1999 series has over 2011. 1999 was never afraid to throw its punches with its visual presentation of the world. Not that the 2011 anime was bad, in fact the 2011 anime looked very slick and I liked that, but it's 1999's gritty colour palette (This will be further elaborated on in the ART section) that was able to fully capture the finer details of the world in my opinion. This is best accentuated in the YorkNew City arc where HXH is at one of its darkest points narratively. I loved how HXH was able to create such an amazingly real feeling world, the dark edge that 1999 has given is a much more gritty tone which worked for York New. I also really enjoyed many of the other places in the story. Heavens arena is a short arc and while it doesn't have the same grandiose scale as say YorkNew the Chimera Ants and Greed island (Btw these two arcs are not in the original 1999) it is important as it introduces the staple power system in HXH, Nen. The Hunter exam is also a really good introductory arc to the world of HXH. One thing I liked about 1999 especially was actually how much some of the filler episodes were added; especially in the hunter exam. Filler episodes, especially in Shonen series, are seen as blemishes on a series. This is because filler episodes take away from the main story with often bland and uninspired "Joke" arcs which are usually skipped. However since HXH 1999 was my introduction to the series, I watched these filler episodes without any real care. One thing that actually shocked me was that I ended up genuinely enjoying the filler episodes. I wont say exactly what happens in these filler episodes, but I think for the most part they extend the story and even add to the dark tone of 1999.

[I'm gonna put a spoiler warning at this point just in case people don't want any knowledge going into the series about the power system as it is introduced later into the series than most shonens, If you do want to read my review about the Nen system, please do, Its not detrimental to the experience]

Any good shonen series has a power system. Nen, on the outside, looks like your standard power system, but like many things in HXH it's one of the most unique rule sets I've seen, maybe in all of Media. It is a technique that allows a living being to use and manipulate their own life energy, which is also referred to as Aura. Nen can be opened in two ways, slow and gradual meditation, or unlocking through Aura Nodes. This is how Gon and Killua are able to unlock there Nen in the heavens arena. Nens rules are vague enough that they are able to be manipulated in unique ways, one's nen abilities are entirely unique to themselves and Togashi is able to write interesting abilities for each character. I think the best thing that the series does is how each ability parrots its user. Gon, an Enhancer user has an ability that shows his simple minded nature, Gon's JaJaken or 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' is literally a play on Scissors, paper rock showing off his simple mindedness each ability displaying a basic defensive or offensive technique. This same idea is shown with every character. I'm not exactly the most well versed in Nen theory, I'm still yet to get my PHD in Nen, but it is a really interesting aspect to the series and I recommend that if you enjoy the series and more importantly the battle aspect of the series that you may want to read up on the finer details.

[End of Spoilers]

As I've already mentioned, HXH as a series can get really dark at times narratively speaking. 1999 capitalised on the darker aspects of the series through great use of colour. After watching both of the anime adaptations, I can firmly say that I much prefer the tone of 1999. 2011 while slick, I just dont think is quite as memorable as the almost disturbingly dark colours of 1999. I'm also quite biassed towards older animation styles, that kind of old shitty looking art style is actually my favourite type of art style. It's something that I mainly realised when I first watched the EVA rebuild movies that I just adore that very 90's look. That being said the animation quality certainly isn't good, the look by today's standards is totally dated and the quality has peaks and troughs; unlike the 2011 anime which is consistently slick and polished. 1999 had its moment of sakuga but I would say overall it's mostly on par with its contemporaries if not then maybe just slightly better. The actual character designs as well are oddly strange to me and actually for some odd reason they reminded me a lot of the Rave master characters. Something about the look of Gon and Killua looking back at it after seeing 2011 really just throws me off. Especially Killuas design, I don't find any of the character designs reprehensible or bad to look at, but the design for Killua at least to me seems far too adult-like, almost as if he's more so a 17 year old boy than a 12 year old. The only character design I would say that I actually prefer is Kurapikas, but I think that's just more because he's a dark character and he fits the darker tone.

HXH 1999 has really, really bad audio quality. When I watched this series again in bits and pieces for this review I pirated it, and I'm not sure if it's because of the website I used or because the Audio is just that way but it was really poor quality. I'm willing to be lenient on the series for this but the Audio quality was really poor. SFX are actually really important to the audio enjoyment of a series and HXH is ok. The SFX are cute, they are very reminiscent of the 90's and I still have that Nostalgia bug but it doesnt change the fact that the actual quality of the SFX is really bad; not quite Hell's Kitchen level bad, but the SFX are just really goofy.

The opening songs "Ohayou '' by Keno (Side note; Keno is genuinely one of my favourite 90's Jpop bands) and "Taiyou wa Yoru mo Kagayaku '' by Wino. Ohayou is just a fun catchy up beat pop tune that really sets the mood for the first part of HXH, It has cute visuals and a fun backtrack. Juxtaposed that to the second opening Taiyou wa Yoru mo Kagayaku, Its got this sort of Haru Nemuri esc screamed lyrics to this super cheesy instrumental that just reminds me of the Berserk opening. The opening is total cheese but I absolutely adore it, the funny part about the song is that it sort of almost perfectly fits that super edgy dark tone of the YorkNew city arc. As for the ending songs, "Kaze no Uta '' is an unironically beautifully sung song with these incredible eastern inspired instrumentals that calm the soul. The second ending song "Do you feel Like I feel" is the complete opposite with the radio friendly pop tunes that I could play all day long. It gives me a vibe that's a mixture of something like Snowkell and Weezer. As for the third ending song "Hotaru '' It's easily the most forgettable but still kind of a banger song. It gives off this major Pillows/Judy and Mary/Sentimental Bus. A lot of these openings and endings are all very similar to their contemporaries, and even though I liked most of them for what they were, they are nothing special. The OST on the other hand I genuinely Love. Some of the tracks on the HXH 1999 OST are just pure nostalgia to me, my personal favourite is 100% the harmonica version of Ohayou which just screams that sort of childhood nostalgia Shonen is so great at capturing. Konapaku no elegy is by far the most iconic thing to come out of the 1999 anime, it's this beautiful melodious cross of Western/Eastern music that perfectly portrays Kurapikas sorrow. The Hunters theme that plays continues the Eastern inspired dream like music with a Flute that makes me feel like I'm back on my Nintendo playing Ocarina of Time for the first time again. Some of the more understated tracks like Ame Agari just calm me down in a way that not many other anime OST's have. The OST can also get pretty poppy and 90's with songs like daichi no kodou which is a modern synth sort of version of the main theme. Overall I would say that the music is one of my favourite aspects of the HXH 1999 experience.

HXH is in large part carried by the brilliance of the cast. The Main ensemble consists of some of the best, most well written characters I have seen in anime to date. The Main 4 of Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio are probably the most fun quartet of characters I've seen. Each character has their own role in the group and they all have their own dynamics, the best outlined dynamics however is the obvious friendship between Gon and Killua and the friendship between Kurapika and Leoreo. Gon's childishness and carefree nature bounces off Killuas colder and even more mature tone, but it's through this childishness that Gon has that we see Kurapika's own childishness. Actually a lot of the time throughout the story Killua even acts more mature than Leorio. But it's that juxtaposition between Gon and Killua that make their friendship so intriguing. Killua on his own basically steals the show in terms of character growth, maturity and even likeability, he's just one of the most well written characters in the series and even at times does a better job at being the protagonist than Gon. Gon while not my favourite character is definitely not bad, he's definitely the weakest link for me in the trio, but he's definitely a good protagonist, my favourite part about Gon's characterisation is how childlike he's written; a lot of anime especially shonen anime tend to write there characters as far more mature than they should be (Naruto, Tokyo Revengers, even in Togashi's previous work YuYu Hakusho) but Gon is just a kid, and that works. His childish perspective gives the world of HXH the wonder and pizzaz. Kurapika is one of the most fleshed out characters in the entire series, that being said due to HXH 1999's relatively short run time he doesnt get the proper time to develop as a really great character like he does in the Manga and even in 2011, that being said we see a lot of Kurapika's development especially in YorkNew. Kurapika seems nothing too different from other characters, think of him like a mix of Sasuke/Sanji and Kakyoin, he's smart and has a very typical revenge story. What separates him from these characters however is how he never really "turns to the dark side" like Sasuke did but more so had a Patrick Bateman mental breakdown, his story is very closely related to some of the main villains of YorkNew "Phantom Troupe" which I will touch on later. Leorio is the final piece of the ensemble and is generally left to the wayside in discussions about HXH's characters. I personally loved Leorio. He's obviously the comic relief of the group and comes off as the least intelligent of the bunch. But out of all the characters Leorio manages to be the sympathetic glue that holds the entire group together. He cares for his friends like nothing else and I absolutely love him, he's not hell bent on revenge or hung up on familial issues (as interesting as they are) Leorio works in the best interest of those who are around him and he is definitely one of the best characters in the series. In the most emotionally poignant way I can put it, Leorio is the Kurosawa of HXH.

HXH however has more than just a strong central cast of characters; it has one of the strongest supporting ensembles I have ever seen. The pizazz and energy of the Characters is one that can only match the likes of Cowboy Bebop and Baccano!. It's a mystery to me as to how Togashi was able to craft such a wonderfully realised group of characters that are astoundingly emotionally resonant, fun and evil. The shifting nature of this ensemble also gives a fresh tone for each arc, some of these characters come in and out of arcs, some minor characters become pivotal later on, its this shifting and weaving that the characters do that makes it such a fun supporting cast; and something that only a story as grandiose as HXH could do. Being such a large ensemble I can’t touch on the brilliance of all the side characters; however I will touch on a key few. Hisokah is one of the best recurring antagonists throughout the story, his complex twisted unhinged elements perfectly contrast together the goofy moments of absurd sexual tension and comedic relief. This makes him not only a terrifying antagonistic force, but he adds a lot to the more absurd aspects of HXH’s story. His continued presence throughout the series extends further than just the YorkNew City arc especially in the Manga. Chairman Netero was one of the more memorable characters in the story, due to the unfortunate much shorter length of the 1999 anime we don't get to see the full character arc. However Netero’s carefree and almost childlike playfulness earns himself a spot as one of my favourite characters in the series.

While I love the main cast and the exciting supporting group, probably the most important part of the characterisation in HXH, the villains. For the sake of brevity and the fact that this review is already too damn long, I decided that I would focus on the most vocal villain group. The Phantom Troupe or the spiders are some of the funniest, most badass, tragic and evil groups of villains I have ever seen written. Without going into too much detail about the troupe, they are essentially like a family. In fact they remind me a lot of the type of Mantra that Hollywood portrays Mafia as, “What happens in the family stays in the family” a lot of themes of loyalty are seen in the phantom troupe. The aspect of the troupe that really makes them special is how they are portrayed by Togashi. These aren't classic one dimensional bad guys. They are multi-layered and sympathetic almost anti-heroes, almost like Al Capone or how the people once viewed someone like Pablo Escobar. They are evil and they definitely kill people but they have found a crowd of sympathetic supporters who relate to the struggles of not having a family. This grey morality is what makes the phantom troupe so good and it's impressive that Togashi was able to write such a diverse group. The hardest characters to write are complex and grey characters like the phantom troupe, the same effect could have been done by just making them a one dimensional group of thugs, but that grey morality humanises these inhuman bastards and I love that. This also ties nicely back into the core themes in HXH and especially that of YorkNew city.

Overall, HXH is one of the best shonen on the market right now. From the wonderfully conceptualised world, to the bombastic ensemble of fun and interesting characters, to the nostalgic sound and dark toning of the series. HXH continues to be a personal favourite of mine. If you have seen the 2011 or are looking to get into HXH, I highly recommend this version of the anime because I can assure you that it is a worthwhile experience to both new fans and old fans alike.