Review of Hunter x Hunter
Overrated, but not by much. HxH 2011 has evolved over the last decade from somewhat of a cult classic, to #3 on MAL with a 9.11 and top 25 in popularity. The reviews from 4-5 years ago that claim this show to be under appreciated couldn't be further from the truth in 2019. It boasts some of the best-selling (and best looking in my opinion) merch at anime conventions and is CONSTANTLY being recommended to new anime watchers. I'll admit, I held out on this show for a long time just so I could wait for a good time to binge watch all 148 episodes.I was instantly impressed. It wasn't too slow like other shounen anime, and the characters that it introduced had mystery and charm. In fact, the best part about HxH is its characters. I got even more into the show during the Spiders arc. Again, the show's characters were the driving force. The Greed Island arc was a bit less enjoyable for me but still good. But then...
Just about half way through the show...the largest arc begins. The Chimera Ant arc. This arc was painfully slow compared to the previous pacing which I had grown accustomed to. But the worst part was it introduced a slew of characters who I cared nothing for. Now introducing characters isn't a bad thing, but introducing the most OP characters to appear on-screen thus far by having them be birthed by another random character who you met a few episodes ago was awful. This arc spans about half the show, but it felt much longer. And its conclusion is sp sub par it hurts.
I was practically cheering when it finally ended and we got back to characters I actually gave a shit about for the last dozen episodes or so. These last finishing episodes were good and introduced a major discovery about the world which explains why the Chimera Ants were so strong. However, this episode seemed like it should have launched the series into the beginning of a 500+ episode adventure with Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio getting stronger and traveling the world.
Instead the show just ends. That's it. It's over. No conclusion. And also no development for the characters. This show was good, but a disappointment. I am aware a lot of this can be blamed on the Manga being on hiatus about 50% of the time. And even the creator has addressed concerns he might die before he even finishes the story; saying, “Sometimes I’m not sure which will expire first, the series or me.”
TLDR: A show with great characters and great potential that has no conclusion and a mediocre arc that takes up half the episodes.