Review of Hunter x Hunter

"You should enjoy the little detours in life to the fullest, because that's where you'll find things more important than what you want." - Ging Freecss Hunter x Hunter 2011 is a unique beast of a show. It sits in a strange limbo between genres in a space all its own, like some kind of odd Chimera of shounen and seinen. At first glance it appears to be a rather childish show, with an art style composed entirely of cartoonish proportions, large eyes and bright colors, which stems initially from Togashi's manga style. In fact, without any outside input, one would not be wrong to assumeit was targeted at children. But under this initial layer of bright colors, and messages of friendship and loyalty, lies a deeper, darker show than anyone could have initially imagined. Questions of what it means to be human, what constitutes a life well-lived, and other topics that would not be out of place in serious adult dramas. One could say that I have stared into the abyss, and I am here to tell you that the abyss has most definitely stared into me.

Story - 10/10. Story telling is really Togashi's specialty. He crafts a continuous and satisfying narrative from start to finish, with excellent pacing, lovable characters, and some entirely unexpected twists along the way. Characters aside, the story itself is fairly straightforward - Gon, the protagonist, wants to become a "Hunter" not for the benefits the title confers, but so he can find his father, who abandoned Gon as an infant so he could follow his own dreams (hence the name of the show - Gon becomes a "Hunter Hunter"). Along the way, Gon encounters a variety of characters that each have their own relative significance, makes friends and enemies, and undergoes any number of trials and adventures. But this straightforward story is presented and executed in such a way that it feels very organic and comfortable. This comfortable feeling serves as a waypoint during the darker points in the story, a lighthouse of sorts to guide one through the moral murkiness and sadness that the story presents.
The story covers what is now a total of 7 story arcs, each with their own self-contained narrative. These arcs vary in length greatly - the shortest covers only 5 episodes, while the largest spans a time-consuming chunk of 61 total episodes - over a third of the entire show. But none of these feel out of place - each one seems to last only as long as it really needs to, and none of them feel as if they left too early, nor that they overstayed their welcome. Given that some episodes take 23 minutes to cover 5 seconds of in-world time, this is a marvel of pacing and narration. Some points are slower than others, particularly the beginning episodes of each arc, but at no point does it feel as if it is dragging. This is due in part to the complete lack of filler content - aside from one "recap" type episode, each episode of the show presents some kind of story-relevant material, so it always feels like the story is moving forward. All of these factors combined come together to create an overarching narrative that feels very much as if it were adhering to the quote at the top of this review - this is a show, and a story, that focus very much on the journey, the PROCESS of going somewhere, instead of on the destination.

Art - 8/10. Madhouse has always been hailed as a studio that produces high-quality work, and this show is no different. It is not always the pinnacle of visual quality, but like the story, the visual quality remains at a very consistent and pleasing level. At no point is it glaringly obvious that they neglected to spread the budget properly. High moments (i.e. the major fight sequences) have appropriately high quality, while those in-between sort of segments maintain a pleasing, but not excessive level of detail.
My one main gripe with the animation of the show is the amount of time dedicated to hand-to-hand combat in the show. In a show that is predominantly about martial artists engaging in battles, there is a somewhat disappointing lack of choreography. Very rarely do you see two characters exchanging blows directly, even if both of them specialize in hand-to-hand melee combat. This is ultimately not enough to knock a point off of the score, but is something I would have liked to see more of.

Sound - 8/10. Much like the art, the sound quality stays at a consistent and pleasing level throughout the entire show. Any complaints here are simply my own personal tastes, i.e. I don't very much enjoy the opening song that is used for the entire show, and some of the background pieces that play during the show feel sometimes out of place. But when the music needs to deliver, it does in spades.
One thing I feel that is worth noting is that the show is obviously very aware of the value of silence. At a few points, there is no music at all, which, I feel, greatly increases the impact of these scenes. Very often now, we see shows that seem to feel as if music must ALWAYS be playing in the background, and when a show goes the opposite direction and uses silence, it creates a wonderful distinction.

Characters - 10/10. If the overall story is the bones of Hunter x Hunter, then the characters are the muscles and organs - the "heart" of the show. These are the elements of a story that allow us to connect with it personally, to draw parallels between the world that a story presents and our own reality. Inhuman or inorganic characters can completely break the immersion of a story, or if it presents characters that we dislike in a way that feels unrealistic. Togashi excels at creating likable and relatable characters, who each have his or her own (relatively) understandable motivations. The characters develop in a meaningful and noticeable way over the course of the story, lending them a definitively human feeling. Morality is very subjective in this show - very few characters fall into a black and white "good vs evil" morality. In fact, I would say that this show does not have a moral "grey area," it has instead a "moral rainbow," a multitude of different motivations and moral scales that interact with each other in an ever-changing spread of different moral hues. We see "good" characters exhibit emotional and perhaps even "evil" behaviors, while at the same time in a different place, our "villains" may be helping to save someone they care about, an action one would normally consider to be a "good" action. I would like to believe that this show does not have heroes and villains - it simply has protagonists and antagonists, two parties working in opposite, but equally understandable and justifiable directions.

Enjoyment - 10/10. I think it would come as no surprise that this is my verdict after the review above, but this is my place to reiterate that I believe this show is a masterpiece of storytelling. To have so many exceptional moments, emotions, and wonderful landmarks packed into 148 episode worth' of show is nothing short of spectacular. Togashi and Madhouse have worked together to create what I think is one of the best stories - not anime, not shows, but stories - of all time. Highly recommended.