Hunter X Hunter (Original + Remake)

[LumRanmaYasha]

I don't really watch this show (waiting for a dub and possible TV airing), but I just had to link this video, I think a lot of people here will get a kick out of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf0zZw6GYdI

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I hope I'm not speaking prematurely about this, as its still very early on and the quality could easily drop at any time, but overall I think this anime adaptation of the Chimera Ant arc is slowly but steadily shaping up to be superior to the manga version. There has been filler in each of the 3 episodes aired so far, but almost all of it has been meaningful in some way. Certain death scenes are somewhat toned down for TV (which in this case is actually a good thing, IMO). I also liked how the scene with Kurt and his little sister Reina being mercilessly killed and eaten by the Chimera Ant queen had some build-up to it. You got to see that Kurt came from a peaceful village and was very protective of his sister, actually giving these people just a tiny bit of character so there would be at least a small amount of weight to their deaths. And then in this week's episode they added in another short but meaningful scene in which you see their mother weeping for her missing children, once again adding weight to something that Togashi just brushed off and used for shock value more than anything else.

It was also a nice touch to have Colt (the creature Kurt becomes after he's reborn from the Chimera Ant Queen) recognize his mother (at least subconsciously) from his previous life, during the raid on her village, and in the process sparing her life while attacking the rest of the village. It showed a little bit more compassion for the character, whereas in the manga he was shown to be just as ruthless as his other Chimera Ant brothers early on in the arc (though, to be fair, Togashi did at least humanize him later on).

These are all small touches, mind you, but to me they go a long way toward making this arc in general feel a lot less disturbingly cold-blooded and mean-spirited as it did in the manga, at times.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's good to hear. The beginning of the arc is REALLY rough and was hard to read at times.

[Foggle]

What episode does Greed Island start at in the new anime? I want to watch the original series and the first OVA, then jump to GI in the current series.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'd actually just recommend watching the new anime from the beginning. The main reason being that the voice cast, art-style, animation, and music change between the 1999 anime and the 2011 reboot, which can be really jarring and awkward to get used to.

The old anime also moves at a slower pace than the new one, and while I don't mind a lot of its additional content, I think the fact that the Hunter Exams arc alone takes over 30 episodes to complete might make things feel a bit too slow for some other people (and there are certain parts of the arc that can be kind of boring to watch).

That said, I still do personally like the older anime better for what it adapts, but at the same time, that may just be personal preference.

At any rate, to answer your question, The original TV anime is 62 episodes and the first OVA that finishes up the York New City arc is 8 episodes long. As for Greed Island, it starts on episode 58 of the new anime. Hope that helps.

[Foggle]

Well, I'll try starting with the original series since you like it more. If I find it boring or whatever, then I'll switch to the new one.

Thanks for the info!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, on that note, just be forewarned: the beginning of the series is kind of slow and boring. I'd say the first 5 or so episodes, while canon, may not do much for you. If your willing to invest in some time, though, I think it really picks things up before too long. Just keep in mind, the show is more like a typical shonen up until the York New City arc. That said, its Yoshihiro Togashi, so its still a very well-written shonen with actual likable characters.

The other thing to keep in mind is that there is a huge weird-ness factor to Togashi's art-style and some of his characterization. Its certainly not for everyone, so hopefully it doesn't bother you to much, but if it does I can certainly understand that.

At any rate, I do hope that you enjoy the series on the whole if you decide to stick with it.

[Foggle]

Well, I really enjoyed YYH when I saw it on Adult Swim/Toonami, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of my all time favorite anime/manga, so I think I'll probably like HxH.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, at the very least I'm pretty positive that you won't find HXH to be in the same class of intolerable nonsense that pretty much describes at least 90% of other shonen series out there.

[talonmalon333]

How is the background music in the new HxH? I remember liking a lot of the background music in the original series.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It starts out kind of weak, but eventually there are some good and memorable tracks later down the line. My main problem is that the music in the new series isn't as "distinct" in how it fits the series as in the 1999 anime. The first anime had a clear theme to its music, such as some tracks being about wilderness and survival, while others were about adventure. The music in the new series, while not bad, kind of feels like it could fit in any other series.

Here are samples of music from the old series and the new one just for some comparison:

1999

2011

I actually like both, but one ust has a more distinct and defined sound to it, and for me that's the 1999 version.

Now, to the new anime's credit, it does have this particular gem, which I love listening to.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I would never recommend starting at Greed Island. If you think the beginning of the anime is slow at least it has something to do with the story and isn't a glorified side-story. It's the low point of the series next to a bit under half of the Chimera Ant arc.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I agree about Greed Island. I don't think its terrible, but my problem with the arc is that it feels extremely bland, more than anything else. The villains are forgettable, the premise has promise but is completely underutilized, and nothing that Gon and Killua learn on their journey has any real use after the end of the arc, which makes me wonder what the whole point of it was to begin with. Its like except for a few key plot elements, you could have gotten rid of the entire arc and the story wouldn't be any different for it.

That said, the 2011 anime did a good job of probably making it the most entertaining it would ever possibly be without completely overhauling the arc from scratch.

The 2011 anime has also significantly improved on the beginning parts of the Chimera Ant arc from what it has adapted so far, IMO, so I may yet get to see this arc reach its full potential without any of the really negative aspects of Togashi's insanity bogging it down from achieving the true greatness that it could have had in the manga if it weren't for how obnoxious that first  third of it was. I still say that the middle and last thirds of the arc were excellent, though, with the exception of that godawful thing that happened with Gon at the end. Its such a cop-out on Togashi's part to have had things end that way, rather than coming up with his usual intelligent solution to one of the main dilemmas in his story arcs.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, as far as the previous episode goes, just to briefly share my thoughts and comments, I thought the first half detailing Gyro's back-story was excellent, and it was shown at a time that made more sense in the anime and flowed along with the story, whereas it felt so randomly placed in the manga thanks to Togashi's very lopsided narration. At any rate, stuff like this is where Togashi's talent can really show itself. He creates a very immersive and engaging back-story on a villain that the audience hasn't even been acquainted with yet, and really gets you to understand the motives of this character, and he does it all without even showing you so much as a picture of the guy you're looking at, leaving things up to you the viewer's imagination. It also ties back into the plot since it gives you the reason for NGL's creation in the first place, and the true purpose of its existence. I should also add that he accomplishes all of this without showing any gore or violence whatsoever, but rather just implying it where necessary.

Then the 2nd half of the episode rolled around, and IMO adapted some of the worst parts of the manga. As an adaptation, it did its job, and I suppose it tried to make things a bit more tolerable, but there's only so much you can do with bad writing, and Togashi's over-exaggerated gore and needless manslaughter of minor characters is jut as tasteless and annoyingly self-indulgent (on his part) as ever. I can't really blame the anime too much here, though, because there isn't much that they could do to fix this without outright changing entire elements of the plot and characters. Still, I have to stand by my opinion that, on the whole so far, this anime adaptation has been superior to the beginning parts of the Chimera Ant arc in the manga. It captures the interesting elements of the early parts of that arc while doing its best to make the more obnoxious parts more tolerable. Of course, it can only do so much, but I still appreciate the effort.

[Dr. Insomniac]