Hunter x Hunter Review

First off, for the sake of simplicity I'm going to cover all four series (one TV series and three OVAs) in one review, since they actually form a single continuous story.

Generally I approach shounen titles with care, since many of them strike me as a bit shallow and vacuous. Hunter X Hunter, however, sounded quite interesting. On the strength of one solitary review, I gave it a watch.

I'll begin with a brief summary: Hunter X Hunter revolves around a ten-ish year old boy named Gon who discovers that his permanently absentee father, Ging, is, in fact, one of the most famous and respected Hunters in the world. Hunters hunt various things, from criminals to recipe ingredients, depending on their individual talents and preferences. It seems to Gon that the only way he is going to have access to the resources to find and finally meet his father is to become a Hunter himself - so he cheerfully sets off to take the Hunter Exam. The four Hunter X Hunter series document Gon's attempts to become a Hunter and find Ging, punctuated by various distractions that result from the myriad troubles of the friends he makes along the way.

After two or three episodes, it seemed pleasant enough but uninspiring. By episode seven or so, when the Hunter Exam starts in earnest, it begins to become more interesting. Before long, I was completely absorbed. Unlike many shounen series I've glimpsed, Hunter X Hunter doesn't rely too much on fighting (except for the Celestial Tower arc - the weakest of the lot, but necessary to everything that follows it) and actually has engaging characters who I ended up sincerely caring about. That's a rarity for me in any form of TV/film, but particularly in anime, and very particularly in shounen. In this case, I actually almost wept a single sorrowful tear when the final episode of the final OVA ended, so attached had I become to the central group of characters.

One of the great things about Gon as a 'hero' in a shounen title is he isn't the most powerful character, nor does he want to be. He wants to be good enough to qualify as a Hunter and find his father, but that's all - and he often fails to triumph in difficult situations, whether in combat or a battle of wits or a game. He is surrounded by stronger, faster, cleverer characters; in particular, the mysterious and repellent Hisoka is leagues ahead of anyone else in the series in sheer power and skill.

Again, though, combat is not as prominent as one might expect in Hunter X Hunter. It does occur, but it slots smoothly and naturally into the flow of events rather than feeling crowbarred in, as is so often the case in anime of this type.

One of the strongest points of the whole thing is the interaction between the core characters. It's hugely enjoyable simply watching them together, seeing their friendships develop, shift emphasis, come apart, and take on new dimensions. And every single one of the characters has more depth than I thought was possible in shounen.

Now to the negatives. They are few, but worth mentioning.

The first thing to mention is this series does take some time to get going. The first half a dozen episodes meander along quite sedately as though they're little more than a travelogue. After that, everything is fine up until the Second Test of the Hunter Exam, which really irritated me. I'm not going to say why, since I want to avoid spoilers, but quite how none of the characters stabbed anyone in a fit of rage is a mystery.

The first major low point, though, arrives during the second arc, when some of the characters undertake a stupidly DBZ-like weight-training regime. I nearly took my head in my hands in despair. Fortunately, it was over fairly quickly.

The most sustained of the poorer points of the series is the aforementioned Celestial Tower arc. Fighting tournaments do little for me unless I'm participating (I mean Mortal Kombat etc, not actual, real fighting. Good grief, what do you take me for?). The major developments of this arc are pivotal to later events, but it was still a bit of a chore to sit through the duels - except the all-too-brief outings for Killua, who is always entertaing to watch in confrontations.

One of the things that unsettled me about Hunter X Hunter as I went along was the change in tech. The first plot arc is all sailing ships, bows and occasional scraps of near-ruined modern technology (with the notable exception of a motorbike in Gon's photo of Ging), but each arc increases the tech level until, by the time we reach the York Shin arc, cars, automatic weapons and the internet are commonplace. This is somewhat jarring at first, but the more time is spent in York Shin, the less noticable it becomes.

One more thing I'd like to mention is the music. The reviews I've read of the several Hunter X Hunter series all claim that the music improves as the series progress. While I concede that some of the music in G.I. Final is good, I actually preferred the early music. In particular, I rapidly grew to pine for the melody I think of as 'Gon's Theme', which is rarely heard outside the first story arc.

I'll end my poorly-structured rambling there (listening to this month's Terrorizer cover CD isn't conducive to coherent writing) with a high recommendation. Hunter X Hunter is among my top three anime. Fans of harem anime or fan service may want to avoid; fans of good character, interesting plot and colourful action with the odd touch of the strange and sinister should watch at the next opportune moment.