Review of Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is a clusterfuck of perpetually unfulfilled potential. I think the general framework behind what it means to be a Hunter, the use of Nen, and the animal kingdom make for a great stage. Unfortunately these aspects were never looked at carefully, and instead were only used as tools to make another generic shonen. Given that there already exists the old show, the goal of the new edition should have been to improve on the older episodes and finish the story. Which to many, they did: obviously they completed the story of the manga, and gave the animation new touches... but making an animehave a generic modern look doesn't mean the art is any better, so I don't see any improvements. For those who think the original beginning is too slow, I (along with many others) was originally interested in the show because of the intro scene with Gon and Kite, as I saw thought-provoking potential in this scene. Alas, anime remakes tend to adhere to an action-addicted audience, removing the character development found in the slower episodes and replacing them with flashy animation and slow motion fight scenes (the emphasis on fighting is not AS BAD as Naruto and DBZ, but does " not as bad"="good"?).
The animation is fine. It's not interesting, nothing stands out as shockingly different or beautiful. It is top notch in terms of budget and cleanliness, but certainly not noteworthy for style. The voices are great, music not so good.
There is an enormous cast of characters, and most are given at least a few episodes to be somewhat developed. This is probably the strongpoint of the series. That being said, I really find that the main characters only become more ridiculous than the beginning of the show. My favorite character was Netero, who met my expectations of a great character.
Story.... it pains me to truthfully say I didn't enjoy it. I can't believe how the philosophy of being a hunter is completely side-swiped. Such a shame. Instead of embracing such an innately interesting topic, the aspect of hunting is abused just to carry Gon from one arc to the next.
Hunter x Hunter is very strange in how the arcs are so different from one another. The way they are set up, each arc is incredibly distinct from the last once it begins. I have seen many reviews in favor of this, and I just don't understand why. This is a classic taboo in storytelling that seemed to be successful only by stuffing all the Shonen things into one story: young boy characters, video games, aliens, crime syndicates, magic... yet after the Greed Island arc I found myself thinking "that was pointless", and the complete separation of the Chimera Ant arc made it difficult to watch.
I actually really liked the show up through Yorkshin city, and I even thought Yorkshin was the best arc (probably a rating of of 8ish). Hisoka, Chrollo, and the other spiders were good antagonists, and like others tend to rave about, Nen seemed like a magical super power that was a little more interesting than the ones found in other Shonen. All of these pluses get completely shit on by the end of the show.
The Chimera Ant arc in particular really sealed the deal for a lower rating. You find yourself asking (in this order) "Why does this matter? What happened to the main antagonists? Maybe there will be some interesting insight into animal nature? Wait, how did Gon and Killua just happen to get involved in this event? Is it really going to get more Shonen than it has already become?..." Nen becomes just like every other superpower, Gon goes super saiyan (which is fitting since Meruem is basically Cell), and NO use of the ants biology to ask bigger philosophical nature/nurture questions. Ugh.
Finally for those who praise the epic nostalgic words of Meruem and Ging: this is a writing cop-out of diving into the meaning of the story. After any long dreary story, one can say "life is about the journey, not the destination". That's why there are thousands of tramp-stamps out there with that exact quote. Say it over a montage of the 148 episodes of said journey, and TADA! You've got yourself a suckered audience. Every lengthy anime can do this...
If you are pretty set on giving Hunter x Hunter a try, I recommend simply watching the original incomplete version. While finishing that series may leave you wanting closure, you won't find it in this version either. The best arcs are in the original, and you get a better less-cliche feel for the characters.
If you disagree with my comments, please let me know what I may have been missing.