Review of Hunter x Hunter

I can see why this is some people's favorite anime, but due to personal preferences and some problems with the story the highest score I can give this is a 7. Greed Island is one of the most pointless arcs in anime I've seen. Even some of the Naruto filler arcs are better than Greed Island. That arc in particular felt like a waste of time for me, nothing happened in it, and that was when I noticed the biggest problem with the show. That problem is Gon is a Gary Stu who, while does lose on a rare occasion, always gets what he wantsin the end. Every time Gon has a setback it's usually undone, and people in the series give him unnecessary praise he didn't earn because of who his dad is. Even in his most dire moments, he bounces back due to major asspulls. The Chimera Ant arc went on for way too long, and I almost dropped the show because there was too little pay-off vs. time needed to complete the series. My friend convinced me to continue, and after a reasonably short break from the show, I continued and found it enjoyable.

That being said, there is a lot to enjoy about Hunter X Hunter 2011. The Yorknew Arc is the best arc in the show, and Kurapika is definitely my favorite character. If only he got more screen time, and more story arcs involving him that would have been great. Hisoka and Pariston are great too. My second favorite arc is actually the last one in the show because it had great political intrigue, and made me the most interested in the show since Yorknew. Characters, in general, are really well fleshed out, and the power system is both creative and well thought out. It isn't as broken as others we seen from battle shonen in the past. The more upbeat tone is refreshing if you been enjoying a lot of darker stuff lately.

The final piece of advice, if you're going to watch this show skip Greed Island, and pace yourself. You'll have a good time with it.