Review of Hunter x Hunter
This anime is so wildly inconsistent -- the first half was thoroughly enjoyable whereas the second half was unfathomably frustrating to watch. The first half was fun and exciting. It took some time getting used to the replaced voices (although I couldn’t ever get used to Hisoka’s new voice), and it was irritating to see blood get replaced by flowers and whatnot at the beginning, but these minor issues could easily be forgotten because the series in general was so charming and delightful. The characters had distinct personalities, and the story had momentum as well as consistency. Plus, I enjoyed watching the close bond between Gonand his friends.
The Hunter Exam and Zoldyck Family arc were excellent. The fight scenes were interesting and fairly realistic (such as when Gon’s stubbornness brings him victory over a more physically powerful opponent). And the fact that the characters were acting out of clear motivations (e.g. Gon and Killua out of friendship, Killua’s butlers out of loyalty, etc.) came across as genuine. The Heavens Arena arc was great, although with the introduction of nen, it felt like the action suddenly got much bigger. The Yorknew City and Greed Island arc were okay, though the latter took some time to get used to.
But that Chimera Ant arc was an atrocity, horrendous beyond belief. It was a struggle to finish watching the damn thing. I’ll provide the reasons below:
- It is an understatement to say that the Chimera Ant arc is slow-paced. It’s so mind-numbingly slow that I couldn’t get through an episode without fastforwarding it. In fact, there’s a part where a character says, “It’s only been 5 minutes,” when the actual running time of the event is going over 20 minutes at that point. In the Chimera Ant arc, it takes as many as five episodes to cover a single fight (or at least it feels like it).
- There’s far too much reliance on narration and exposition. In fact, this may be the most problematic aspect of the Chimera Ant arc. Without exaggeration, nearly half of the running time is filled with an old guy pretentiously narrating unnecessary and meaningless information.
- The action just keeps getting disproportionately bigger and bigger. I know that that’s a problem that all shonen animes/mangas share, but it really gets out of hand in the Chimera Ant arc. Throughout the first half of the series, Hisoka was considered one of the world’s most formidable forces. Then come Chimera Ants, who could’ve squashed Hisoka in a second if they wanted to.
- Chimera Ants seriously lack character and charm. Sure, outwardly they’re diverse -- they’re shaped like various animals. But compared to Gon and his friends or the members of the Phantom Troupe, they’re so bland and boring, devoid of personality and not nearly intriguing enough to care about.