Review of Hunter x Hunter

Probably going to get some disapproving glances for only giving it a 7, but hear me out. Also, I am not always the most eloquent person, but I will try my best to get my point across without rambling too much. *Spoilers ahead* I was having a great time with the anime until the Greed Island Arc. The Yorknew arc was my favourite because I love Kurapika's story line and the Uvogin vs Kurapika fight was my absolute favourite. The Greed Island arc was fine, just a little drawn-out in my opinion, and I feel Greed Island the place was extremely over-hyped by the characters on termsof difficulty to beat and the deadliness of the situation. You didn't even need to beat the game to leave for christ's sake- anyone who knew nen well enough could leave Greed Island easily.

But regardless, the arc was needed to set up the events of the Chimera Ant Arc as well as solidify Gon and Killua's skills and establish Gon as a selfish and childish character (when he beats Genthru without sticking to the plan) and the Dodgeball fight was probably my second favourite of the whole series.

Now, The Chimera Ant arc.

I understand why people like it- it's just not for me. I wasn't a fan of the slow start first of all, I feel that a good 5 episodes were all but wasted on explanation and basically just walking around NGL until the king was born. Yes explanation was needed, but that amount? Not really. Not to mention, the character design of the Chimera Ants are so ugly it took me out of my emersion at certain points. Yes, I get a lot of shounen have weird character designs, but there is a difference between out-there style choices and just plain BAD style choices. For instance, Jojo's art is weird as hell but it adds to the funky, bizarre story, and once you get used to it, the art becomes quite appealing and one learns to appreciate it.

This is not the case for HxH. Why are we expected to take a wolf man wearing a thong seriously. And an octopus that is basically just a blob with eyebrows? I dunno man, I really wasn't into most the Ant's designs.

The castle invasion sequence was so overhyped for me. I wasn't a fan at all of the way so many fights start and then just never end. I didn't feel suspense at all because I didn't care about the side characters. They were introduced like 15 episodes ago and we're supposed to care about them as much as Gon and Killua, who we've been with since the very beginning?

The fights are so drawn out and over explained it became almost painful to watch. Show not tell, please- that is what animation is for. To show us what is happening, to convey emotion through faces and body language and even environment. I also would've rather had more inner monologue rather than the narrator just downright telling us what the character is feeling. That too, brought me out of my emersion. I felt more like I was being read a textbook than watching a show with characters and plot at certain points.

Frankly, I also thought Netero's power was sort of lame. I was really looking forward to seeing Meruem and Netero fight- but, I'm sorry, I just couldn't find it cool- Netero's backstory was certainly very interesting but his nen ability is just a giant golden statue y'all??? I study Buddhism at the school I attend, and whilst I thought the reference to Boddhisatvas and other Buddhist traditions was pretty clever, I don't know why but it just didn't appeal to me at all.

The last 5 or so episodes of the arc were great though. The way everything ties together, the ending and ironic twist of fate where the remaining ants die due to a shameful human bomb that makes humans no better than the ants themselves- it was extremely enticing the watch. It's just a shame I had to sit through mind-numbingly boring fights to reach those last golden episodes.

And yes, I did cry at Meruem and Komugi's death. Alas, he was finally human.

Meruem's character story as a whole is the main reason I would say The Chimera Ant arc isn't completely bad. The toying of the ideas of the fine line between human and ant, the idea that one can choose whether to be monster or human- that a monster could learn to love and the way his love was so unexpecting of Komugi because after all- he doesn't hold societies standards of who should be loved, and Komugi is loved because he wants to love her, and he has no external ideology stopping him from doing so. He loves Gungi, and he loves Komugi, and so he decides to die a human with the person he loves, regardless iof if that person is blind or snotty or if they only care about Gungi. And that was beautiful.

Anyways, it probably sounds like I really hate the Chimera Ant arc, and though it was my least favourite to sit through, in hindsight it was quite artful. The cinematic parallels of Meruem and Gon were so interesting, the way they both teeter on the edge of human and monster simultaneously, and Killua's character development! The way he overcomes his family's torment, and it leads him to finally realise the new path he must take in the final arc. Just... *chef's kiss*

I suppose it was worth sitting through boring parts to reach, but if I ever decide to re-watch you can bet your ass I'm watching the boring parts at 2x speed or in dub because- fuck that. 3 minutes passing in what, 7 episodes? Nah.

The final arc was pretty great too, I enjoyed Alluka and Killua's interactions immensely, and the comeback of many characters I had grown to miss during the Chimera Ant arc, considering none of the supporting characters in said arc really captured my attention like the originals did.

For further reference, I feel it's necessary to point out that I personally am more into fights in anime that flow and can be seen on screen rather than told.

If you're the type that enjoys a lot of explanation and narration, as well as slower but more insightful fight sequences and intricate power systems, then you will love this show! But personally, I am more into stylised and fun fight sequences when it comes to action, that aren't based on such a tight-knit fighting system such as nen. Though I enjoyed Jojo a whole bunch, usually confusing and long fights aren't my cup of tea.

Final ranking explanations:

Story: 7, The Chimera Ant arc brings it down slightly for pacing

Art: 6, It was alright. Some fight scenes were amazing but the character design for so much of it was just YIKES.

Sound: Holy shit the SOUNDTRACK. THE OPENING, THE ENDINGS, THE OSTS YES!!!!

Character: 9, Would be a 10 if The Chimera Ant supporting characters weren't so boring to me. I genuinely didn't care about anyone but Meruem, Komugi, Gon, Killua, Neferpitou, Colt and Morel. That's barely any of the cast considering how many characters were introduced. Regardless, there was some amazing character development in this.

Enjoyment: 7, again, I got so bored at the explanations. I like fast-paced things, y'all.

Overall: 7. Still a great show. Just not my cup of tea in many areas. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece in all honesty.