Review of Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter, shortly after completing this masterpiece I finally figured out why it's even called that, despite knowing almost nothing about this show going into it, with my only key words being "shounen" "action" and "very very long". But now, 148 episodes of pure epicness later, I can say with extreme confidence that this is one of the best anime made to date, and why it should take up a spot on your favourite's list. Story: 10 Wow, what an absolute adventure, the story may not grasp you in the first few episodes, but once your hooked, you can't stop. HxH follows the story ofGon Freecss, a young boy who plans to embark on a journey to find his father, who abandoned his son to become a hunter, an occupation in their world which constitutes doing whatever you want, as long as you do it well. Gon takes on the hunter exam to become a hunter himself, to firstly see what it's all about. During the exam he meets fellow exam takers Kurapika, Leorio and Killua, who all have brilliant back stories and motives. (with the exception of Leorio, no dark stuff for him) Gon quickly makes friends with all of them, and the story proceeds with their adventures together. The story consists of about 6 arcs, varying in length, and all feature different characters with fantastic roles. All these arcs can sometimes feel slow to get into after finishing the previous arc, but as aforementioned, once it grabs you, you can't stop. One of my friends who had been watching this as it aired described watching it only once a week as "hell"
Art: 9
The art of HxH is fantastic, far better than the original (although that is expected) The character designs are fantastic, and keep the best aspects of the original artwork, while maintaining a good design. The fight scenes of this show are absolutely stunning, all the colours and vibrant punches thrown never get old, and with the surplus of surprises in the story, the artwork simply compliments the already perfect flow of the anime.
Sound: 10
I think only one thing needs to be said here: *ahem* YOU CAN SMIIIIIIIIIILE AGAIIIIIN!!!!!!!!
Ah, but in all seriousness that opening will never feel boring, and will never be skipped. Both versions of "Departure" are fantastic, and suit the show so well. Now the endings though, these blew me away, especially "Hunting for your dream" played through the Yorknew City Arc, was just too good, I listened to that song everyday, and still do, the ed for most of the Chimera Ant Arc, "Nagareboshi Kirari" was also fantastic. Amazing choice of music, and the ambient, suspenseful, happy, sad, and every other kind of music used in this show could not have been better, created one of the best atmosphere's every episode.
Characters: 10
Loved almost every character that was introduces throughout this series, even the bad ones like Hisoka, Chrollo, the Chimera Ant King, Etc. The way that all the character's interact with each other is just amazing, they all have their ups and downs, but sometimes you get those badass moments where you can't help but just get this feel-good feeling in your stomach as they obliterate their enemies and save their friends. The relationships between some of the characters, the most obvious being Gon and Killua, is incredible, the friendship between them is questioned throughout the whole series, and there are so many obstacles they must overcome in order to stay friends. The struggles only make the beautiful resolutions feel that much better.
Enjoyment: 10
It took me a little while to get into the chimera ant thing at first, every other arc was just amazing, can't complain about anything else. Enjoyed every minute to the fullest.
Overall: 10
If you haven't watched this series, do it, you will 100% not regret it, if you are daunted by the high episode count, watch it arc at a time, and savor the moments that feel best, because when you've finished this anime, the amount of satisfaction you feel inside is only matched by the emptiness of realising it's over, so take action now, and embark on your very own journey of Hunter x Hunter!
~Xeno156