-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
New Hunter x Hunter Anime |OT| of Hunters and adventure and NO MANGA SPOILERS
- Thread starter Crash Station
- Start date
Jigolo
Member
Hahaha yep, when Togashi comes back we'll know. Anytime this thread is bumped I assume it's just general discussion, and new blood.
I wonder what's taking so long with this. They did announce it a while ago.
Maaan I hope it's good lol. Need a good excuse to watch it again.
The ending of the Chimera Ant is God Tier, the very definition of a satisfying conclusion.
Its also amazing because at that right moment you honestly have no idea how Togashi is going get away with all the things he stup
Its also amazing because at that right moment you honestly have no idea how Togashi is going get away with all the things he stup
The king surviving the explosion, Gon going super saiyan against pitou and its implications, all the other hunters except Palm heavily weakened. The King then was extremely powerful... I remember thinking. How could they ever beat him?
So I finally got through the Greed Island Arc and I will say the series is getting better. It still suffers from a lot of problems other Shonens do but some of those seem inherent of the genre of story telling.
That said I wasn't a huge fan of yet another major shift in the story to the card game aspects of Greed Island. Its actually one of the things I dont like about the series despite enjoying it overall and the herky jerky nature of jumping from one group of characters and events to another. It seems very hap hazard and like the author was just kind of making things up on the go.
I'm also not a huge fan of Gon or Killua despite being the stars. I think they're about as generic as anime protags go and Gon often seems like a straight up clone of Son Goku from looks to attitude and even his new Nen ability almost seems like a Kamehameha attack.
Now it seems like I'm complaining a lot but mostly to say that Greed Island really turned things around. I wasn't huge on the card game elements but really liked how they started getting strategic with things later on. I also enjoyed a lot of the battles with Razor and others and I like who these things like Gon's training are starting to finally pay off.
Also Hisoka is easily the best thing in the entire show. I really loved his dismayed "face" after he found out Chrollo had his Nen sealed and couldn't fight him and of course the fact that he gets... well turned on by a good fight. When Gon and crew encounter him bathing naked and their eyes follow his growing... excitement was laugh out loud funny. Then of course the ass grab scene later on.
I actually didn't care for him at first since I'm not a big fan of the overall style of character designs. Some look great but others are very plain and uninteresting to look at but Hisoka really grew on me. Then again it seems everyone likes that perverted sadist freak clown guy.
I'm only just starting the Chimera Ant arc so I'm hoping its as good as people are hyping it up to be.
That said I wasn't a huge fan of yet another major shift in the story to the card game aspects of Greed Island. Its actually one of the things I dont like about the series despite enjoying it overall and the herky jerky nature of jumping from one group of characters and events to another. It seems very hap hazard and like the author was just kind of making things up on the go.
I'm also not a huge fan of Gon or Killua despite being the stars. I think they're about as generic as anime protags go and Gon often seems like a straight up clone of Son Goku from looks to attitude and even his new Nen ability almost seems like a Kamehameha attack.
Now it seems like I'm complaining a lot but mostly to say that Greed Island really turned things around. I wasn't huge on the card game elements but really liked how they started getting strategic with things later on. I also enjoyed a lot of the battles with Razor and others and I like who these things like Gon's training are starting to finally pay off.
Also Hisoka is easily the best thing in the entire show. I really loved his dismayed "face" after he found out Chrollo had his Nen sealed and couldn't fight him and of course the fact that he gets... well turned on by a good fight. When Gon and crew encounter him bathing naked and their eyes follow his growing... excitement was laugh out loud funny. Then of course the ass grab scene later on.
I actually didn't care for him at first since I'm not a big fan of the overall style of character designs. Some look great but others are very plain and uninteresting to look at but Hisoka really grew on me. Then again it seems everyone likes that perverted sadist freak clown guy.
I'm only just starting the Chimera Ant arc so I'm hoping its as good as people are hyping it up to be.
I mean can you explain what makes them something unique? I mean their powers are cool but they haven't stood out to me at all except that they're the driving force.
Maybe I'm just over the anime trope of a young kid being the baddest person in the room and when they aren't, they get stronger just because. When I look at Gon I see a little kid with spikey black hair who grew up isolated from the rest of the world in the wilderness that has incredible potential and defeats opponents no one ever expects him to, often times with ease. He is honest to a fault, seems to take no notion of the real dangers of the world, and everybody loves him because of his strong personality and follows him through all manner of life threatening situations.
I mean that's basically Son Goku in Dragonball and that's not even all the eerie similarities. I'm open to them adding more to him or revealing more but so far I'm not seeing what makes him stand out from the anime crowd.
Killua I just don't care for really. Maybe if they flesh him out later on but as of now he's assassin brat with electric powers. I mean aside from becoming Gon's friend he hasn't had too much of an arc.
Also Ging has to be the shittiest dad ever.
Maybe I'm just over the anime trope of a young kid being the baddest person in the room and when they aren't, they get stronger just because. When I look at Gon I see a little kid with spikey black hair who grew up isolated from the rest of the world in the wilderness that has incredible potential and defeats opponents no one ever expects him to, often times with ease. He is honest to a fault, seems to take no notion of the real dangers of the world, and everybody loves him because of his strong personality and follows him through all manner of life threatening situations.
I mean that's basically Son Goku in Dragonball and that's not even all the eerie similarities. I'm open to them adding more to him or revealing more but so far I'm not seeing what makes him stand out from the anime crowd.
Killua I just don't care for really. Maybe if they flesh him out later on but as of now he's assassin brat with electric powers. I mean aside from becoming Gon's friend he hasn't had too much of an arc.
Also Ging has to be the shittiest dad ever.
Wolf Akela
Member
Dont expect too much from Chimera Ant arc. The pacing takes a nosedive somewhere at the end but eventually recovers.
This is good to hear as the show is really starting to pick up now. I really felt it dragged during the Heaven's Arena and the Yorknew City aside from great moments like the battle between Hisoka and Gon after he learns Nen. Well animated, the build up since their first meeting, and I believe thats the first time we get Hisokas... ummm glowing crotch? Not sure if there is a name for that.
I don't hate Gon either, I just felt he's a little bland. I mean his fights are usually really fun and well animated but most of the major fights are in the series, I'm just not totally sold on his character itself.
No major spoilers but does the series ever kind of get a central driving force for the story after a while, sort of like when Tobi and Akatsuki showed up in Naruto and kind of determined where the overall story would go even if it took years and several arcs to get there?
The kind of random nature of the story is a bit off putting to me but it seems like we're finally getting somewhere with things so I'm excited.
The show is jumping into a different genre with each arc.
I guess you're right but is the entire series him looking for his father then? I mean Naruto wanted to be Hokage from the beginning but that kind of went to the wayside when a lot more "pressing" and important matters came up. That is more along the line of what I was implying unless the entire show/manga is literally Gon looking for his father.
And while the variety is nice, it really does feel haphazard and a little poorly planned out at times when a storyline starts to get going like with the Phantom Troupe then sort of peters out. I really felt for Hisoka there as I was expecting some a bit more than what came to be and yes, I'm sure they all return for more later on when Chrollo is given his powers back.
Jigolo
Member
"typical shounen protag" "defeats opponents no one expects him to, often times with relative ease"
Ummm. ok. I'll try to include stuff from stuff all the way up to GI since you've just finished that and I don't really want to spoil anything,
2 things:
One thing that makes Gon different from say Goku, Luffy, etc.. is that he doesn't even have a typical opponent in every arc (Yorkshin) and when he does face someone (which he hardly ever does) it's almost never the top dog from the faction/enemy they are facing. Gon isn't going up against the Friezas, Cells, Morias, Luccis of the HxH universe. This alone makes him different from other shounen bros and the fact that he hardly fights.
Now let's list all his fights and their outcomes:
Gon vs Hanzo - Victory for Gon. "Often times with relative ease" -- hmm I don't know about that.
Gon vs Hisoka - Loss
Gon vs Gentru - Win. Again this was not an easy win for Gon.
Unfortunately I don't really want to post the other 2 major fights due to spoilers but I will say they won't exactly stack up with your theory.
Anyways, glad you're enjoying HxH. Chimera Ant arc is the GOAT so I hope you rike it
Ummm. ok. I'll try to include stuff from stuff all the way up to GI since you've just finished that and I don't really want to spoil anything,
2 things:
One thing that makes Gon different from say Goku, Luffy, etc.. is that he doesn't even have a typical opponent in every arc (Yorkshin) and when he does face someone (which he hardly ever does) it's almost never the top dog from the faction/enemy they are facing. Gon isn't going up against the Friezas, Cells, Morias, Luccis of the HxH universe. This alone makes him different from other shounen bros and the fact that he hardly fights.
Now let's list all his fights and their outcomes:
Gon vs Hanzo - Victory for Gon. "Often times with relative ease" -- hmm I don't know about that.
Gon vs Hisoka - Loss
Gon vs Gentru - Win. Again this was not an easy win for Gon.
Unfortunately I don't really want to post the other 2 major fights due to spoilers but I will say they won't exactly stack up with your theory.
Anyways, glad you're enjoying HxH. Chimera Ant arc is the GOAT so I hope you rike it
WATCH OUT SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! FUCKING SPOILERS YO! CHIMERA ANT SPOILERS
Well for Gon, he did start off like the regular Goku type character: Always happy, always trusting, always optimistic.
But throughout the show he's dealt several major setbacks and harsh life lessons on reality, and it changes him, he's not as quick to trust or believe everything will work out fine at the end of the Anime.
The biggest change is that we learn Gon can be pushed too far and become almost evil, he nearly kills Komugi just to get incite Pitou for example.
He's one of the few naturally good characters in fiction that have the potential to turn into an antagonist under the right circumstances, something that many Mary Sue or Goku-esque characters just don't posses.
Killua is even more impressive and grows the most of the two.
In any other anime, Killua would resent Gon, he'd turn on Gon at some point, he'd even turn traitor and whine about how Gon is always being favoured or focused on compared to him and then after much drama he'd come around and learn to accept things as they are.
Basically, he'd be a Vegeta. The template always-in-the-shadow-of-the-main-character type.
Instead Killua becomes one of the warmest, loving characters in the show, and the pain he has to go through, the struggle to try and be that way is what drives his arc throughout the series.
And finally there's the fact that their relationship is the backbone of the entire narrative.
The only time time they truly split up and go separate ways is at the very end, to me that felt like more of a goodbye to the story than anything else.
So despite starting out as seemingly cliched characters, their growth and reactions to their experiences makes them utterly unique to most Shonen epics and gives them an unusual amount of depth compared to their peers.
But throughout the show he's dealt several major setbacks and harsh life lessons on reality, and it changes him, he's not as quick to trust or believe everything will work out fine at the end of the Anime.
The biggest change is that we learn Gon can be pushed too far and become almost evil, he nearly kills Komugi just to get incite Pitou for example.
He's one of the few naturally good characters in fiction that have the potential to turn into an antagonist under the right circumstances, something that many Mary Sue or Goku-esque characters just don't posses.
Killua is even more impressive and grows the most of the two.
In any other anime, Killua would resent Gon, he'd turn on Gon at some point, he'd even turn traitor and whine about how Gon is always being favoured or focused on compared to him and then after much drama he'd come around and learn to accept things as they are.
Basically, he'd be a Vegeta. The template always-in-the-shadow-of-the-main-character type.
Instead Killua becomes one of the warmest, loving characters in the show, and the pain he has to go through, the struggle to try and be that way is what drives his arc throughout the series.
And finally there's the fact that their relationship is the backbone of the entire narrative.
The only time time they truly split up and go separate ways is at the very end, to me that felt like more of a goodbye to the story than anything else.
So despite starting out as seemingly cliched characters, their growth and reactions to their experiences makes them utterly unique to most Shonen epics and gives them an unusual amount of depth compared to their peers.
WATCH OUT SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! FUCKING SPOILERS YO!
Prophet Steve
Member
No, there won't be an overall plot point, or isn't yet, although you could see finding his dad as one.
But the Chimera Arc is pretty big.
Well I mean you cant say Gon is like everyone else though. He pretty handily passes the hero test despite all the stuff thrown at him like having to grab Hisoka's badge and he and Killua can at least partially keep up with Netero on the airship despite having no real training and knowing nothing of Nen at that point.
Then of course they plow through something like 200 floors in the Heaven's Arena and without a bit of trouble. I mean Gon is knocking guys out of the ring with a single push for nearly all of this.
They learn Nen and continue to learn it at a rate that everyone else is totally flabbergasted by, even Bisky and Razor and the rest are constantly blown away by their amazing seemingly unheard of progress.
And even with Gon not fighting the major or strongest opponents and not always winning, its not like he loses outright or with ease. I mean I'm sure it will happen, I'd be surprised if they didn't throw some kind of Freeza or Majin Buu type "HE CANT BE BEAT" character in there.
I dont know he still feels like the epitomy of the main character of a Shonen series and while that's not the worst thing in the world, I'm also not exactly blown away by it.
In fact I prefer a lot of the side characters to Gon and Killua, I actually like Leorio and Kurapika when they are around and of course Hisoka has turned into the best and weirdest character in the show for me.
(Chimera Ant Arc Spoilers follow)
One other point is that despite being the main characters,
.
Think about that.
That's pretty damn unique to me.
One other point is that despite being the main characters,
Gon and Killua never even meet Meruem
Think about that.
In what other series would the central protagonists never even come face to face with the main bad guy? Especially in such a long arc?
That's pretty damn unique to me.
Prophet Steve
Member
Honestly, although I think the rest of the show also does okay in establishing that Gon and Killua are not the most powerful characters in the show, the next arc makes it much clearer and not just by throwing a more powerful enemy in there.
Also I think it is rarely the case they are directly stronger than their opponents due to how Nen works with weaknesses and strengths. Usually it involves a lot of strategy.
Prophet Steve
Member
You know betty, read the context of those spoilers in the first post and they are still spoilers...
Fixed, for your pleasure.
heliosRAzi
Banned
Eureka Seven. I think that's the only one.
More Chimera Ant spoilers
Another unique thing going for Gon is that -- aside from the villain protagonist Light -- Gon is the only Shonen character to seriously threaten an innocent person to get what he wants. Like straight up "If you don't do this, I will kill this other person who has nothing to do with our conflict."
Eh... I kinda disagree here.
I never seriously felt that Gon would have ever actually done that. More like an emotional bluff driven by narrow mindedness at the time but, if push came to shove, he would never actually kill her.
And that's something I feel shounen protagonists do a decent amount of. The feigned nonchalance of innocent life in tight situations to get at the villain instead. The villain goes, "You wouldn't...!" while the innocent person gasps or goes, "But I believed in you..." And then the protagonist does something that saves both the innocent life and beats the bad guy.
And that's something I feel shounen protagonists do a decent amount of. The feigned nonchalance of innocent life in tight situations to get at the villain instead. The villain goes, "You wouldn't...!" while the innocent person gasps or goes, "But I believed in you..." And then the protagonist does something that saves both the innocent life and beats the bad guy.
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
I think he would have done it if Killua wasn't there. The anime didn't show it that well, but Kite was the one that introduced him into the world of hunters and he was a very important figure for him. Given the circumstances, I honestly do believe he would have killed Pituou there.
Gon would absolutely have done it if Killua hadn't made him reconsider, and even then Gon wavered on doing it or not after Killua tried to reason with him.
Yes, rational Gon would never do that, but he was so deeply focused on avenging Kite that I'm positive he would've done it.
Yes, rational Gon would never do that, but he was so deeply focused on avenging Kite that I'm positive he would've done it.
heliosRAzi
Banned
Hm, I guess I either misinterpreted or have a minority opinion of what he would have done if things hadn't unfolded differently, or I misremember just how
I think my perception is colored by a fundamental issue I had with the Chimera Ant Arc:
crazy Gon had become at that point.
I think my perception is colored by a fundamental issue I had with the Chimera Ant Arc:
Kite had come out of nowhere and suddenly he seemed like the most important person to Gon. It was weird, so his anger never felt quite right to me. Possibly why I didn't fully believe he would have killed Komugi at the time.
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
in the anime for sure. That's why I mentioned it in my comment. In the Manga, he appeared at the beginning, saving Gon from a huge bear, forcing Kite to take its life and leaving a cub behind. Gon takes responsibility and raises it, and Kite becomes his mentor and introduces him to hunters, where he explains that he knows Gin. That's why I truly believe he would have killed her right on the spot if Killua wasn't there.
Yeah, in the Manga Gon meets Kite right at the start of the story via flashback, it's partially thanks to Kite that Gon makes the decision to become a Hunter. So Kite has more time to gestate in the readers mind as this big figure in Gon's life.
It's not the abilities, it's the personalities that make a protagonist. Gon is immature, and unlike w/ other shonens it works against him. The dynamic between he and Killua is symbiotic. They are basically yin and yang. As others have said, the next arc really highlights it, but even through Greed Island you can tell. They are both broken in their own ways, and despite being protagonists, they are both still just kids who are in a grown ups world. There are massive hints that Gon has had a fucked up childhood, and they're in-your-face about it for Killua. So not very typical at all.
And yeah, Ging is a POS. Best advice is keep watching.
Agreed. Gon was emotionally compromised, and was not thinking rationally at all. The only thing that stopped him was Killua.
So I binged most of the chimera ant arc while recovering from a rotator cuff injury and I will gladly say the show has gotten a lot better.
The pacing is a bit wonky with a lot of random side stories and side characters coming and going. Though to be honest I dont mind most of it except the pointless NGL king back story and Palm, ugh Palm and her yandere sadako BS.
It is finally nice to see Gon and Killua finally getting some serious challenges and even defeats under their belts. Seeing them having to actually mature and react to situations and characters that won't end nicely.
Speaking of damn some fucked up imagery with pitou operating Hannibal style and odd lingering crotch shots of the chimera ant queen coming to mind.
Also liking most of the new characters especially Morel and Knuckle. Even the Chimera Ant King and the blind girl are pretty fun to watch as well. Really pleased with the mini arc of the Phantom Troupe saving Meteor City and all their powers.
Speaking Feitans and the Mummy Boxers power look stupidly OP, Feitan especially. Dude made a fucking sun!
I'm just at Netero blasting that cat girl bitch with Zeno. Can't wait to see how this first large scale arc turns out. Still funny we went from card collecting to this.
The pacing is a bit wonky with a lot of random side stories and side characters coming and going. Though to be honest I dont mind most of it except the pointless NGL king back story and Palm, ugh Palm and her yandere sadako BS.
It is finally nice to see Gon and Killua finally getting some serious challenges and even defeats under their belts. Seeing them having to actually mature and react to situations and characters that won't end nicely.
Speaking of damn some fucked up imagery with pitou operating Hannibal style and odd lingering crotch shots of the chimera ant queen coming to mind.
Also liking most of the new characters especially Morel and Knuckle. Even the Chimera Ant King and the blind girl are pretty fun to watch as well. Really pleased with the mini arc of the Phantom Troupe saving Meteor City and all their powers.
Speaking Feitans and the Mummy Boxers power look stupidly OP, Feitan especially. Dude made a fucking sun!
I'm just at Netero blasting that cat girl bitch with Zeno. Can't wait to see how this first large scale arc turns out. Still funny we went from card collecting to this.
Wolf Akela
Member
Nice to see you ended up feeling a bit better about it, also I cant remember exactly when, but Palm's Sadako ripoff stops being a thing, she sort of just changes, but I won't say more on that.
Also yeah Knuckle and Morel are great, I love the entire Ant extermination squad, they are my favorite support cast in the series. Knuckle's power is brilliant and the implication that he has to do fast mental math to make it work is hilarious seems he seems to be an idiot for most of the time.
Keru_Shiri
Member
Based off this: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/laughing-tom-cruise
Yeah I really enjoyed Knuckle for both his personality and one of the best Nen powers yet.
I think a big part of what makes this arc so good is the great cast of side characters. I think in part because they introduce so few new characters for such a big arc that its easier to connect with them. It also pulls characters from earlier arcs that aren't Hisoka and use them well. Even the Archer and Beehive hunters from the Hunters test even if they didn't stick around long.
Almost forgot to Mention Kite. Hope he comes back and we see more of his weapons. If we only saw bad rolls I wonder what a good one looks like.
Yeah the side cast on this one is great, they all get their moment to shine, and Gon and Killua are not stealing all the spotlight.
Burned through a few more episodes and I'm pretty damn excited to see Gon and Killua throw down with Pitou after even more training and ultra pissed Gon.
And of course want to see Netero and Zeno can do against the King.
Finished the Chimera Ant arc. Still digesting it all a bit and will probably go back and watch those couple of episodes again, you all know which ones.
Seems like a totally different show by the CA arc, at first it was nothing world threatening, in fact a lot of it didn't really affect anyone but the characters involved. The tone was a bit all over the place as it went from more disturbing scenes from children eating to eating children's brains to picking someone's brain, literally. Same characters but felt like a different show at times.
I did enjoy it overall, those highs were pretty damn high and seeing what Netero could do and how he won that fight in the end were great. Gon's umm, whatever that was came out of nowhere and the huge power up wasn't the greatest idea but damn if I wasn't blown away by the fact it was happening, oh and that hair!
This show is like the exact opposite of a lot of Shonen series where the beginning sections are the strongest and as time goes by they tend to lose steam or get too bloated or fall apart or all of those together, we all saw how Naruto turned out and where Bleach is going by now. HxH starts very slow and takes a long time laying things out before really going all out once we have all these ideas, characters, etc. established. I actually liked how that played out even if the pacing was a bit fucked at times because of that.
And on a random note that ended rather sweetly with the King and Komugi dying together. Was not expecting that either though it makes sense with how powerful he was even compared to Netero. Cant kill a guy like that by normal means but still, was rather impressed how they gave him a nice if sad ending.
Seems like a totally different show by the CA arc, at first it was nothing world threatening, in fact a lot of it didn't really affect anyone but the characters involved. The tone was a bit all over the place as it went from more disturbing scenes from children eating to eating children's brains to picking someone's brain, literally. Same characters but felt like a different show at times.
I did enjoy it overall, those highs were pretty damn high and seeing what Netero could do and how he won that fight in the end were great. Gon's umm, whatever that was came out of nowhere and the huge power up wasn't the greatest idea but damn if I wasn't blown away by the fact it was happening, oh and that hair!
This show is like the exact opposite of a lot of Shonen series where the beginning sections are the strongest and as time goes by they tend to lose steam or get too bloated or fall apart or all of those together, we all saw how Naruto turned out and where Bleach is going by now. HxH starts very slow and takes a long time laying things out before really going all out once we have all these ideas, characters, etc. established. I actually liked how that played out even if the pacing was a bit fucked at times because of that.
And on a random note that ended rather sweetly with the King and Komugi dying together. Was not expecting that either though it makes sense with how powerful he was even compared to Netero. Cant kill a guy like that by normal means but still, was rather impressed how they gave him a nice if sad ending.