• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

LTTP: Hunter X Hunter (2011)

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Enter the Dragon Punch

Banned
I just got through the first (and hopefully last) recap episode, 13. So I've basically watched an average anime series length worth already, and figured it'd be appropriate to make a LTTP with my first impressions.

I'm actually... Really liking it! It feels a little slow at times so far, but the characters are interesting. Design wise I really like Leorio over the others, but he seems destined to be the comic relief jobber for the time being. Which sucks, but whatever, because Killua is pretty great. Gon is... Interesting. I HATE his design, but like his character building and back story.

Also, the clown guy (I can't remember his name) seems like a great character so far. I hope he really is pretty much just a hunter looking to get better and better by facing stronger opponents, though. It'd be a little lame for him to be the big villain of the series.

The opening is great, tho I hate the definition of a Hunter each episode.

Back to watching, please tag spoilers if you can. Really excited to see where this show goes.
 
The first arc is all about welcoming to the world and a first taste of what is too come.

It just goes up up and away from here.
 
I may join you in this LttP soon. I keep hearing good things about it. And it's made by the Yu Yu Hakusho guy!
 
BKatastrophe said:
Really? Most opinions I've seen were of the mindset that
Greed Island
is the worst arc.

For me it's the
Battle Tower.
Click to expand...

GI
is fine in my opinion, its just different. Though I am a fan of
MMOs and TCGs so that affects my opinion.

I thought the
Tower
was quite good in that
its an entity that doesn't revolve around the protagonists. They don't magically asspull their way to the top, they just leave after they're done. It was one of the first moments in the show that definitively says "this world is bigger than and doesn't revolve around the protagonists." Also I dug the in depth nen explanations.
 
You have another recap episode with episode 26 so skip that one with no worries. The Hunter definition at the beginning of each episode eventually goes away. Clown guy's name is Hisoka. Just keep on watching. I'm not gonna try to hype you up for upcoming moments as that's a bad habit for posters in ongoing LTTP threads. Plus, you could end up underwhelmed due to being overhyped.

Just enjoy! Make sure to check out the 1999 adaptation later on for a different tone and read the manga afterwards.
 
Glad you're enjoying it. Also not gonna spoil anything, but it gets much better later. (imo)

I think that's either the last recap episode or the the second last one so you should be safe. I was worried it was gonna be a regular thing when I started watching, but they phased them out pretty quick.
 
Permanently A said:
GI
is fine in my opinion, its just different. Though I am a fan of
MMOs and TCGs so that affects my opinion.

I thought the
Tower
was quite good in that
its an entity that doesn't revolve around the protagonists. They don't magically asspull their way to the top, they just leave after they're done. It was one of the first moments in the show that definitively says "this world is bigger than and doesn't revolve around the protagonists." Also I dug the in depth nen explanations.
Click to expand...

vocab said:
Greed island
was pretty meh in the original.
Click to expand...

Mental Atrophy said:
I agree with you. Both of those arcs still have their high points though, like the
duel with Hisoka
and the
dodgeball match
.
Click to expand...
Oh don't get me wrong. I enjoyed both immensely.
And they do have some of the best moments, but they are probably two of the most just straight up exposition heavy arcs. Especially for how long they are.
 
The beginning is the worst part, and Hisoka is...well, you'll see.

Anyway, enjoy! I wish I could wipe my memory and watch it all again for the first time.
 
Interesting I didn't think HxH had slow pacing. I thought it got it right in transitioning from arc to arc and everything in between.

Prepare for some awesome arcs yet to come!
 
I really enjoyed the show but ended up dropping it halfway through the
Ant
arc. Since I was watching on Netflix and that is where the episodes stopped. Wasn't into the arc enough to find another way to watch, I should probably get back into the show though.
 
Chase17 said:
I really enjoyed the show but ended up dropping it halfway through the
Ant
arc. Since I was watching on Netflix and that is where the episodes stopped. Wasn't into the arc enough to find another way to watch, I should probably get back into the show though.
Click to expand...

Netflix stops right before that arc starts getting crazy too. A shame.
 
Chase17 said:
I really enjoyed the show but ended up dropping it halfway through the
Ant
arc. Since I was watching on Netflix and that is where the episodes stopped. Wasn't into the arc enough to find another way to watch, I should probably get back into the show though.
Click to expand...

That is literally all prologue to the proper arc.
 
Love this series, felt the
Ant
arc dragged on a bit too long but enjoyed it nonetheless. Especially enjoy the Nen abilities and how different even two users of the same type can be.
 
baseball-player-triesajs3s.gif


Breh you haven't seen anything yet; can't wait for your reaction to later episodes
 
The series was really good aside from the
Ant arc. There were a lot of awesome moments, but the pacing was fucked. Should have been at least 10 episodes less.
Also Kurapica is the best!
 
I started watching it a month or so back. It has some pretty high highs, but also some pretty low lows. There's one arc that just drags on for fucking ever, recycles tons of information/analysis, and has very little pay off in the end. I wouldn't be surprised if it kills the series for American audiences watching it on Cartoon Network, because it's literally going to go on for more than a year.
 
BriGuy said:
I started watching it a month or so back. It has some pretty high highs, but also some pretty low lows. There's one arc that just drags on for fucking ever, recycles tons of information/analysis, and has very little pay off in the end. I wouldn't be surprised if it kills the series for American audiences watching it on Cartoon Network, because it's literally going to go on for more than a year.
Click to expand...

No pay off? That's baffling to me. I think that arc has the greatest pay off out of any shonen arc I've seen. Even one of the best for anime in general.
 
I can't wait for the roller coaster of emotions he is gonna go through with
Chimera Ants Arc. It had me gripped until the very end.

Also
Meruem
has the BEST character development I have ever seen in any piece of fictional media ever.
 
Leorio is my favorite character.
j.rob said:
I can't wait for the roller coaster of emotions he is gonna go through with
Chimera Ants Arc. It had me gripped until the very end.

Also
Meruem
has the BEST character development I have ever seen in any piece of fictional media ever.
Click to expand...
Bellamy.
 
Nemesis121 said:
I don't know how people can say that arc is good, i was really enjoy the anime then came that DBZ arc, shit was weak and dragged to the finale..
Click to expand...

I would never compare HxH to DBZ despite them sharing some things. Its a far far different show and story that constantly plays with Shonen tropes and cliches.
 
HStallion said:
I would never compare HxH to DBZ despite them sharing some things. Its a far far different show and story that constantly plays with Shonen tropes and cliches.
Click to expand...

People say this all the time but when examined it does those cliches and tropes. You give anime way too much credit. Especially a shallow shonen.
 
The
Ant arc is the "Boys go to war" arc and while it uses elements that can be found in other shonen it adds a HxH spin to them: everything comes with a heavy cost - nothing that is pulled from the ass just works because the characters want to.

Personally, I love that arc; great animation and fantastic music.
The pacing could have been better but I imagine it won't be that much of an issue if you binge-watch
 
Subpar Spatula said:
People say this all the time but when examined it does those cliches and tropes. You give anime way too much credit. Especially a shallow shonen.
Click to expand...

Care to give some examples in spoilers because one of the things that sold me on the show which I actually hated through the first two major arcs was how much it played with a lot of the tropes. There were so many times Togashi set something up and I was already rolling my eyes going,"Oh a tournament arc? I know how this will turn out!" Except that it didn't turn out at all as I was expecting and this happens through out the series to the point that I actually expect Togashi to do this very thing but of course he still likes pulling the rug out from under us and our expectations of him attempting to do just that.

You can argue about the exposition but it does a lot of things most Shonen's would never consider and actively go in the opposite direction, namely the big 3.
 
HStallion said:
Care to give some examples in spoilers because one of the things that sold me on the show which I actually hated through the first two major arcs was how much it played with a lot of the tropes. There were so many times Togashi set something up and I was already rolling my eyes going,"Oh a tournament arc? I know how this will turn out!" Except that it didn't turn out at all as I was expecting and this happens through out the series to the point that I actually expect Togashi to do this very thing but of course he still likes pulling the rug out from under us and our expectations of him attempting to do just that.

You can argue about the exposition but it does a lot of things most Shonen's would never consider and actively go in the opposite direction, namely the big 3.
Click to expand...

Friendship beats all
Deus Ex Machina powers (Gon)
Deus Ex Machina powers x2 (Alluka)
BIGGER AND BADDER FOES!
Protagonists get stronger and learn faster than anyone (tournament arc looking at you, boy)

It's very basic when you actually examine the material. It goes through the motions but there's nothing about it that actually screams originality.
 
I've actually been catching up on HxH too, OP. I'm at episode 40 rn (right before
Yorknew
I guess?), but it's just not clicking for me. Which is weird, I expected it too considering how much I love Togashi's other work, Yu Yu Hakusho, but I just don't get it. None of these characters are particularly interesting to me (except Hisoka) and it just doesn't feel like it's doing a whole lot that's special. The animation is fantastic, but from a story and writing standpoint, it feels just kind of average. Does it pick up at all, or should I just drop it?
 
Subpar Spatula said:
Friendship beats all
Deus Ex Machina powers (Gon)
Deus Ex Machina powers x2 (Alluka)
BIGGER AND BADDER FOES!
Protagonists get stronger and learn faster than anyone (tournament arc looking at you, boy)

It's very basic when you actually examine the material. It goes through the motions but there's nothing about it that actually screams originality.
Click to expand...

Except a lot of those things you bring up are used in very unconventional manners and underwrite the intial trope because of how they wrap it up or handle it. Also when does friendship beat all? Friendship is a huge theme in the series but its not like friendship itself is some magical cure all that saves the day as friends fail time and again to save one another.

You even use the bigger and badder foes theme but then don't discuss how many of those foes were defeated in very non traditional ways where as most Shonen's would have the hero just getting stronger and learning a new ability to defeat their enemies. Togashi uses tropes, I won't say he doesn't, but plays with them which was my whole point. You use the fact that he has tropes at all in his work as somehow making it lesser but don't consider how he uses many of those tropes in weird and unexpected ways.

Edit: Having tropes there is by no means a bad thing since tropes are in everything by their inherent nature, its a pattern or theme or idea that constantly pops up in fiction. Everything has tropes from Tolstoy to Michael Bay, its how you use those tropes that sets the masters apart from the amateurs. Just stating that tropes show up as a negative is a weak argument.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Hunter x Hunter serialization resumes in 3 days!
18
5K
rubik's dude replied
LTTP: Deadwood
2
55
357
kpopSuperstar replied
LTTP: Train to Busan
30
611
Bojji replied
KPop Demon Hunters 2 Aims for 2029 Release on Netflix
14
842
MayauMiao replied
X-Files Reboot
2 3 4
164
2K
jason10mm replied
Top Bottom