Hunter X Hunter (Original + Remake)

[gunswordfist]

I'm about to watch the finale episode of Hunter X Hunter.

[gunswordfist]

Just finished the last episode... That really was great.

[gunswordfist]

1999 Vs. 2011 arcs

1999                       2011
Hunter Exam = Hunter Exam - Hmmm, it's been a little while so I can't give too fair of an assessment as I want to. Anyway, 2011 Hunter Exam is what made me fall in love with the franchise. Because of that great start, 2011 is the most immersive series I've ever watched since I marathoned Simpsons DVDs 10 years ago. 1999's filler was a double edged sword. It had its strengths (Leorio's friend, the Hunter candidates working together, Killua's dark nature explored) but on the other hand, it was clear that it was filler and even the illusion tree or whatever went on too long.

1999                     2011
Killua Retrieval=Killua Retrieval

This really comes down to both versions of Canary's memories being just as fascinating to me personally. From what I remember, all the other parts were just as good and being mostly the same from what I remembered, with 1999 being a bit longer but not adding too much (seriously, the Zoldyck dog should have insta-killed Gon so that part didn't add anything)

1999                   2011
Heaven's Arena<Heaven's Arena

2011 wins by a sliver in just my opinion. In 1999, I liked how well they handled how much Killua using his assassination skills on the handicapped Nen users without just killing them weighed down on him. Iirc, Killua said that Gon would have been upset if he killed those guys and this was him trying to change for their friendship even though just murdering them would have been so much easier for him. Funny enough, the main edge that makes me like 2011 Heaven's Arena more is how they handled that part. Killua scaring the crap out of them was a lot funnier and probably one of my top 5 favorite HXH moments in 2011, imo. I also like how they actually animated Hisoka fight with Rando or whatever the hell that guy was called.

1999                2011
York New>>>>York New
Aaaannnndddd this is why 1999 is still better than 2011. Key things like me actually caring about Paku (seriously, I didn't give a shit when she died in 2011), me noticing Franky's existence, how much sadder is was for the dog guy to die due to seeing his pets watching his body get carried away, how much more of an emotional impact Kurapika Vs. Uvogin had on Kurapika, I could just go on and on. Hmm, this reminds me how highly I think of the arc.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I definitely agree that 1999 is better. Also, check out this article for why the Hunter Exams arc is better in the '99 version as well: https://twolongfourtwitlonger.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/hxh-99-hxh-2011-btw/

[gunswordfist]

I'll check it out.

[gunswordfist]

Just thinking about how said it is that HXH is over. While flawed, it showed how good a shounen series can be. *sighs*

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Now you can finally join the rest of us in complaining about how lazy Togashi is despite being the best modern battle shonen mangaka ever.

[gunswordfist]

And I suffer with the rest of you and try to keep up with the manga.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I didn't really know which thread to rant about this in, but I figured this one made as much sense as any. Anyways, I just watched WatchMojo's Top 10 Anime Deaths list which came out today. Now, WatchMojo's lists are, in general, very poorly and arbitrarily made, which makes sense considering it's voter-based. With most subject, though, they at least put understandable picks in them. Their anime lists, however, are mind-boggling to me in how random and downright awful some of their choices are. Take for instance this list. There are some choices that I thought were good, like Franz and L, and others I accepted because they are popular, like Mami and the School Days kid. But at #1 was a Hunter X Hunter character. Now, I'm not sure if my personal favorite death scene in anime/manga would be from HXH, but there are a lot of great deaths in Hunter X Hunter that would be worthy contenders for a list like this. Uvogin, Pakunoda, Kite, Meruem & Komugi, etc. A lot of really poignant and powerful death scenes to choose from there. So guess who, out of all the characters who died in the series, made their list?

Ponzu.

No, seriously, the WatchMojo voters voted Ponzu as the #1 anime death of all time. Out of all the deaths in the series, Ponzu's was considered by the WatchMojo people as the best death in not only Hunter X Hunter, but in all of anime.

What the fuck? What the actual fuck? How does something like this even happen? I would think maybe it's a troll choice, but the rest of the list had understandable if not decent choices, so probably not. Is there really a big portion of the HXH fanbase that for some reason thinks Ponzu had the best death in the series? Really? People really felt more at her death than Pakunoda or Kite or Meruem? A fucking minor character who had like zero personality and whose only notable moment in the series was in the fact her death was kind of unpleasant (and stupid and unnecessary)? And they thought it was better than L's death from Death Note, Mami's death from Madoka, and way better than stuff that didn't even make the list proper like Ace from One Piece or Hughes from FMA, and a ton of other better deserving characters that didn't even make the honorable mentions like they did? I just...I do not understand this at all. It's absolutely baffling to me. This isn't even the worst anime list WatchMojo has made, I'd say the fucking Top 10 Anime Couples list takes that cake, but holy shit, that one, random as fuck choice puts it pretty close up there.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

First of all, I just want to say that I can't stand sites like Watch Mojo. They do nothing more than make glorified articles/videos (mostly these lists) that are based primarily on popularity from their userbase, and there is not an ounce of credibility or even passion that goes into them. It's just an easy pay-check to these people without any creativity or effort.

You can tell that the writers of these lists have barely even watched any anime that are on there, constantly spewing out inaccuracies and blatantly ignorant statements that any casual fan could call BS on. So in that regard, it doesn't surprise me that they would rank something as stupid as Ponzu's death as number one and pretend like it's actually a big deal, because they honestly haven't even watched HXH and don't know what a minor and irrelevant character she was, or how her death is nothing more than shock value.

It's more surprising that this death would even be remembered by anyone. As CX pointed out, aside from being a poorly done death scene, there are tons of better options within the series, from more important and meaningful characters. Even then, as a huge HXH fan, nothing from this series would be even close to my favorite anine death of all time (maybe lower top 10 at best).

This list is just another reason of why click-bait sites/channels like WM need to be wiped off the Internet. They get a ton of money in ad revenue and millions of views per video without actually earning any of it, yet there are sites and channels run by far more dedicated and hard-working people who can barely even get a tenth of that amount of views per article/video.

[gunswordfist]

The death scene did a good job of setting the ton for the arc to me but yeah, it should not even be in the top 100. Did Wolfwood make the list? I believe that's the death that effected me the most, once I think about it.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Did Wolfwood make the list? I believe that's the death that effected me the most, once I think about it.

Nope. He didn't even make their honorable mentions.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh, and just to point out how lazy and unoriginal WM is, this isn't even the first anime deaths list that they've made! They already did one less than a year ago!

[gunswordfist]

 

Did Wolfwood make the list? I believe that's the death that effected me the most, once I think about it.

Nope. He didn't even make their honorable mentions.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Oh, and just to point out how lazy and unoriginal WM is, this isn't even the first anime deaths list that they've made! They already did one less than a year ago!

Oh god, you're right! I totally forgot about that! 

Holy shit, WatchMojo really is scraping the barrel for ideas at this point. Though I guess that's to be expected when you blow your load churning out like a dozen fucking videos every day.