Review of Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is your typical Shounen, Action, Adventure anime with the usual plot-devices but with a pretty unique concept of “hunting”. This series may not adrenaline filled action sequences but it is still highly enjoyable, with plenty of tension. HxH start of about skilled individuals trying to become professional hunters for their own individual reasons. The story follows a young boy (Gon Freaks) on his quest to become hunter, in order to find his hunter dad. The beginning is just about candidates undergoing treacherous tasks and challenges, whilst forming bonds during the long hunter exam. Some, including me, may be bored by the lackluster beginningbut sometime into the hunter exam arc the series picks up and become very interesting and captivating to watch. The following arcs manage to up the level, bringing so much to the unique story but it’s a shame that it never finishes within the TV series.
The characters of HxH are the usual batch of protagonist and antagonist found in shounen anime and each of them manages to fit the bill. They all are interesting and unique in their own way. They develop so much throughout the show, even though most of the time it revolves around Gon. Gon himself is what you’d call a typical protagonist and even though his ideals are somewhat annoying, he can do astonishing things that will surprise anyone. Not to mention the other main characters: Killua, Kurapika and Leorio who all manage to bring something astounding to the show.
The first thing that may come to your mind with the animation, is how dated it looks however when you put that aside you can easily take the animation for its merits. The art style is great and there are plenty of fluid fights but they can be a little fast paced. The music is pretty good, as it can help build up the tension and can just as easily release the tension with some upbeat tunes. Nonetheless the music itself feels more dated than the animation.
Overall HxH is a very entertaining Shounen, Action, Adventure but with an intricate plot and concept, which develops as the story goes on. There’s plenty of stupid comedy to enjoy, plus a lot of major developments and intense combat. The series may not focus entirely on fighting but the methods of fighting actually evolves later on in the series, into something more diverse and complex (Nen). It’s a shame that the TV series doesn’t resolve anything and the OVAs don’t provide much resolution either. Other than that this is definitely a shounen anime series worth watching, if you're in this kind of thing.
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