Review of Hunter x Hunter

Hunter x Hunter helped me understand something about anime that has really opened my eyes as to how we percieve it. There's a particular aftertaste I get after watching fighers that is really quite bitter-sweet. I couldn't really peg it until now and I can only thank HxH for granting me that clarity. Without muddling myself, I'll first illustrate my point with this example paragraph: ~ [Shonen anime name] is an anime about a giddy young [boy/teenager/man] named [protagonist 1]. After [being admitted to / revealing to be a member of] an illustrious [group / institution], [protagonist 1] learns of means through which to become stronger;a power called [derived universal power]. [Protagonist 2] is his [rival / best friend] who also seeks to become stronger. He behaves similarly to [protagonist 1] at times, however more commonly demonstrates his [superior/inferior] cool-headedness and intelligence. [protagonist 1] and [protagonist 2] commonly keep up with each other in terms of strength, however possess different talents. Along the way they are acompanied by [serious / greedy [pervert character]] , [strong headed female character] and [useless fan-favorite character/animal].
~

You can see what I'm trying to get at here. Having previously watched Fairy Tail , Bleach, BnHA, some dragonball and a few more of the "big shonen fighty shows" it suddenly occured to me that practically any character can be pulled from one respective universe and dropped in another with little to no contradictions bar swapping out a few key words. And you have to wonder why that is. I mean, if you look at some of the most popular works both nationally and internationally (Using both this site for a more western view and anikore for a more 'local to the taste' idea) you can tell that some of the most popular works in the field are structured completely differently, portray characters uniquely and tell stories that are far more entangelled. Death Note, Steins Gate, Full Metal Alchemist, Code Geass. These are all shows that reach us because they are (evidently) backed up by the enthusiasm of the fans back in Japan. But therein lies the contradiction. Why then, are shows not encouraged to reach outside the box more if this is the case, if only just a little bit.

Thats not to say theres no excuse for being a show not being good, or even that you need to reach outside the box TO be good. Perhaps what I see as generic in HxH and other similar shows is just something so common that you wouldn't really think about it. Like how sex scenes are so common in western dramas, and how major characters pretty much have to die in a season finales because "that makes it good". But even so the aforementioned thought box is so small for fighting animes compared to what it is for many of the shows we see elsewhere. Every show is obsessed with some form of internalised power, grunting, long drawn out fights, conversations mid punch, naming your moves and above all else QUANTIFICATION. Its like everyone has the same colouring-in book, but different coloured crayons. I suppose you could say the same about the MARVEL franchise but they all openly exist within the same world and come from the same mind(s). There is so little that is truely unique about HxH that it surprises me that it's as highly rated as it is, but at the same time, I can kinda understand why it gets away with alot of it - because it's extremely well refined and some of the areas where artistic merit can actually roam free are actually stellar - most of it anyway.

So, onto actually talking about HxH. Its good.... Most of it. I would say that, in its peaks, this has set a new personal bar for other similar animes, but in its troughs, its a tedious lecture in what not to do.
The main characters are great, not because they're particularly deep, but because they're just likable. They've done a really good job of emphasising the kind-hearted nature of both Gon and Kilua, as well as they're playfulness, we are constantly shown their metaphorical ability to push against "the real world" with their childish optimism, which is exactly what you want in this media centralised around escapism. I'm confident that all this was intentional, but it's just so well done that I can't help but give it due credit.
Other characters start of cripplingly generic but most of them come into their own after a little while. Some take a little longer to flourish and a small few just flat on their face, however these 'small few' arn't really relevent enough to disturb the (sometimes very very gradual) flow of the story or ruin the overall narrative - they're just very cringy. In regards to the very former catagory, I'll have to give credit to Hisoka for just being really fucking weird all the time, and never really getting boring about it, like so many trope-centric characters tend to do. He's written like a genuine wildcard with no loyalty and it makes him really interesting.

The overall story is Ok. Annoyingly stories in fighting animes don't really try that hard, as they only serve as catalysts for characters to do their thing. There are a few moments that really stand out (like the end of the ant arc, the kind-of-epilogue arc and a good amount of the yorknew auction arc) however there's a significant amount of really generic plot points and mediocre hurdles that just go on and on and on in between these moments. Again, peaks and troughs.

Ok so now I've got one more thing to shit on and one more thing to praise. So lets start with the former, as it applies to more than just HxH. There is a real common trend of time-wasting in anime that was so desperately prevelent in a lot of episodes - especially 86-125. To break down a 22 minute episode: 1 minute recap, 1 mintute intro, 2 minute outro, 1.5 minutes of grunting, 1-3 minutes of further recap, 1-3 minutes of explaining something thats already been explained. Leaving, on average, around 14 minutes of actual new stuff. Like come-on. I get deadlines are tough and conditions can be shit but it really diminishes the viewing experience when its so padded.
Also, and this is specific to HxH in this case, why does the narrater turn the whole ant arc into an audio book? A chacter would throw a punch and the narrator would go off saying "he threw a the hardest punch with every last bit of spirit he could muster into being, this was, for all intents and purposes... a mega-punch". I mean what was the point of even drawing it? I could have had a game open or something if I knew I didn't actually have to watch the fucking thing.

I complain alot as it's only human to, but ultimately a 7 is still a "watch once and keep an eye on" on any sensible scale. As I said this anime does an excellent job of refining a tried and tested structure while adding some of its own zest. The flat out best moments in this show lies within its characters (specifically the villains IMO) and how these characters all fall into place come an arcs conclusion. Despite being very traditional in its origin (and in practically in every new arc's start) its amazing just how well the author has implemtented these twists and turns that eventually work to create a really great conclusion wherein I find myself sympathising for the villain in some way.

My score ultimately reflects an average. All elements of this anime flow between a 9 and a 5 on an episode by episode basis (1-19 = 5 , 20 - 85 = 9 , 86 - 125 = 5~ and 126 + = 9).
Not to repeat myself too much but this show is made by its peaks and represented at its worst by its troughs. I highly reccomend you watch this at least once if you're interested. And give it a bit of time to really come into its own. However don't expect anything groundbreaking.