Hunter X Hunter (Original + Remake)

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

G....Give it back....

**Killua crushes his heart in his palm**

I was waiting to see your reaction to that scene. Before then I knew that there was something unusually dark about Killua's character, but after that moment I started to realize just how fucked up his background must have been.

[Avaitor]

Oh yeah, the signs were already there, but that's when I truly got to get into his character, and I can tell there's a lot more to go for him.

I haven't seen an episode since, but I'll comment on what I watch later.

[Avaitor]

Awesome, done with the exams. At least, I think.

Really good so far. And I'm still really liking Gon.

[Spark Of Spirit]

And I'm worried

Starting from the beginning. No Furuhara. Current day Madhouse. Which means they'll probably overemphasize the gore and action over the story.

Not anticipating this at all.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, the Hunter Exams arc is great around the 2nd half, though still not this series's high point. The next few arcs are short but good, though they are still stuff you'd expect from a shonen.

The York Shin City arc and the first OVA that follows (which is 8 episodes long) is great stuff, though. Just so it doesn't strike you too weirdly, though, Togashi changes up the narrative and makes Kurapika the main character temporarily for that arc since its based on him, so don't let it throw you off when Gon isn't the primary focus for a while. I think its nice that Togashi lets other character "temporarily" become a main character, though, as it keeps the narrative feeling fresh throughout the series, and its better for Gon since you never get too tired of him.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I hope after this arc Togashi takes the focus to Leorio and constructs an arc around him for a while. Just to get away from the chaos currently going on, and take it down a notch. He also might be more inspired to write for a different character for a while, as he seemed really bored of the ones he was writing in the current arc.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

After reading that news....I just don't get it. Well, I do: Its understandable that they have to reboot it for people who never watched the original anime or read the manga in order to attract new fans....but the first anime was so near perfect as an adaptation that it just seems almost impossible to top, especially without Furuhara directing it.

I'll definitely be checking this reboot out....but I can't say I expect it to actually outdo the original anime. I sincerely hope that it proves me wrong, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

An arc centered around Leorio would please a lot of fans. I hope at the very least that both Leorio and Kurapika make a return in the next arc.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, at the very least it'd be nice to get other AR members to check out the reboot anime series and see what they think about it going into the series with a fresh perspective. At the very least we can get Dr. Insomniac and Foggle to check it out for the Fall seasonal Clusterfuck.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I re-titled the thread for discussion purposes. I was thinking of giving the remake/reboot its own separate thread, but since it isn't even out yet I think its fine to discuss the upcoming reboot along with the original anime, and even compare the 2 in this same thread when the reboot comes out. That said if the remake holds my interest for more than 26 episodes (the length of a full season), then I may end up giving it its own separate thread, but that won't be for months down the line, so lets just talk about the series here, for now.

Anyways, I still don't see a reboot topping the original anime, but at least we might still get to see the Chimera Ant arc animated this time, even if it won't be for another couple of years. I think my main issue, though, is that we get a completely new voice cast and animation staff. I really wanted to see the original anime staff and VAs continue the series, but perhaps this interpretation will prove to be equally as good, though I have some serious doubts about that.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm pretty sure we'll get the Chimera Ant arc here unless he continues his hiatus shenanigans, but the first chapter in his return seems like him laying his foot down in saying that the arc is going to be over soon.

It's what he does after this which will determine how long the anime will last. He needs to not take breaks and bring back his brisk pacing again. Over half the manga's length is in this one arc, and that's just silly.

[Avaitor]

You're totally right that the show picks up after the first arc. Just finished it, and was quite impressed overall, with just about everything. The show definitely belongs on our list.

I'm going to start the first OVA very soon now.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The first OVA is 8 episodes long and finishes up the arc that the TV series left off on. It still retains Furuhara as the director (if I'm not mistaken, anyways), and the animation style is still retained, but is now more consistent. Its probably my favorite part of the anime series, personally, as with the OVA the animation team got pretty much free reign to finish up the arc in the best way possible. Its even better than the manga because Furuhara actually does a better job than Togashi (and I don't say that lightly) of humanizing one of the key villains of the Spiders (you get to learn more about their history in general, as well).

After that....we get Greed Island. Its not a bad arc or anything, but after all of the build up to it earlier on in the series, its disappointingly generic shonen fair. Way below Togashi's standards (you could tell that he was getting a bit lazy by that point in the story). I suppose you kind of have to get through it to get on with the story, though, but I'd suggest reading that in the manga since its shorter than having to watch the anime, which got a whole new animation team that didn't even care about the source material to begin with (so, in other words, is a half-assed adaptation of the weakest arc in the series). After that is the Chimera Ant arc which is still currently going today (thanks to the fact that since it started almost 10 years ago....Togashi wasn't writing any new material for about 9 of those years, collectively). Having said that, though, to Togashi's credit the arc is a substantial step-up from Greed Island, and occasionally even reaches the heights of the York Shin City arc, but due to the constant hiatuses by Togashi, he clearly had trouble keeping the quality of the story and the pacing consistent, so the arc suffers from that and goes on for far too long. Thankfully it seems like he's going to be ending it really soon, though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Greed Island's biggest sin is two fold. (Don't read this until after you see it)


1. Nothing here matters. At all.

Greed Island is a lot like Skypiea in One Piece in that it's glorified filler. If this wasn't written by the author (the only indicator is which is why the whole game concept is so well designed) it would no different than anime added filler as just like that, nothing that happens here means anything at all in the grand scheme of things. It lasts way longer than it should, and if this arc didn't occur, the story would still be progressing the same. When you see the Chimera Ant arc... Well, it actually makes this arc's problems worse.

2. The villains blow.

Remember Karasu from YYH? He's back! In lame form! Once again Togashi has the villains kill a mass of people to prove how "dangerous" they are, when they amount to still being nothing but glorified thugs with a recycled power from YYH.

It's a generic arc that's only made worse because of what happens after it. Honestly, I hate arcs like this because they waste time, and it's hard to feel any sense of attachment or excitement because it never leaves my mind the fact that it just plain doesn't matter.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'd be a bit hesitant myself to say that Skypiea doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, because knowing Oda's writing style you can pretty much tell that the events of Skypiea will have some sort of reoccurring influence on later events in the story, even if they haven't been written yet. I actually don't mind arcs that don't have much relation to the main story as a sort of break in between the big arcs. My main problem is when they go on for too long and when they are sinfully boring. I don't find Greed Island to be as bad as Desensitized does on its own, but I do find it to be bad by Togashi's standards and by HXH's standards compared to what we see both before and after it. I do think its entertaining enough to read through with the whole game design concept and the strategic fights, but overall its pretty underwhelming. My suggestion is to keep your expectations low going into it.

But Desensitized is right about the Chimera arc. It does make GI seem even worse coming after it, since all of the training that the main characters did in GI is rendered completely pointless in the next arc. Its one of the few times I've wanted to personally slap Togashi in the face for making such an amateurish bad move. Someone of his level of experience should know better than that.