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.
