Forum - View topicREVIEW: Hunter × Hunter Episodes 27-52 Streaming
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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While it's certainly not my favorite arc (that would be Yorknew), I actually really enjoy the Heaven's Arena arc. It's interesting to learn about Nen, a system that becomes incredibly important in later arcs, because it's so much more complex that most shounen superpowers. And two of my favorite fights--Hisoka v. Kastro and spoiler[Hisoka v. Gon]--happen in this arc. With Hisoka so involved, it can't be a complete waste! I think it's really a testament to the show's quality that it manages to be entertaining even during something as mundane as a tournament arc. (A tournament arc that's only purpose is to introduce the system of magic, at that.) Though of course, as evidenced in this review, "entertaining" is a matter of personal opinion xD
Last edited by rheiders on Thu Nov 01, 2012 3:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Merida
 Posts: 1946 |
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I think i'm mostly enjoying the current arc so much because the Phantom Troupe members seem so much more interesting than the main characters. Gon & Co. aren't bad but rather...boring (like most shounen heroes, to me at least), so if the story focusses too much on them, i tend to lose interest. That's why i'm always grateful for complex villains and/or side characters and HxH seems to offer plenty of these.
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CrownKlown
 Posts: 1762 |
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I would not lump Togahi's notion of Nen and the rest as typical shonen powers. His system has by far the most depth, and can get really in depth and intricate.
I also like the Heaven's Arc because you get some screen time with Hisoka, who is probably one of the better grey villain/anti villain characters. |
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sainta
 Posts: 989 |
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That's the exact problem. The first time I watch it I got lost with all the names like Nen and Sen so I thought that the author was throwing names to look complex. And they give abilities that are from crazy to typical in shonen. They can do whatever like creating fake buildings, use super bumble gum, create a curse that disables Nen, create lightning, energy balls, enegy punches, etc. Just like most shonen shows. The Phathom Troupe is my favorite arc from the series but I think its ending was one of the worst things made by Togashi to start Greed Island: spoiler[The second person that Kurapica killed became a ghost that torments him (no idea what happened to the first one). All the Spider is suddenly afraid (they are mass murderers) that Kurapica will turn into a ghost if they kill him so they decide to the stop..] Also Kurapica's character spoiler[is never developed in this arc. By the end, Kurapica keeps thinking on how many Troupe member are alive and does not think how dangerous were the previous fights for him and his friends.] Last edited by sainta on Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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malvarez1
Posts: 2113 |
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Oh yeah! In the manga and original anime, the York New arc was the highlight, so I'm glad to hear that its awesome in this anime too.
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Gasero
 Posts: 939 Location: USA |
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I think that's the point being made. HxH started off seeming like a shonen show based on normal physical abilities and strategy, then it became a show about ridiculous powers that are ridiculously specific. The show is still okay to watch, but the complicated nen system takes away some of the enjoyment. |
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redranger
 Posts: 271 |
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You're all bitching because the nen system isn'y typical shonen. And if it was typical you'd all still be bitching. Pathetic.
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Mr. Toto
 Posts: 139 |
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I must contest your criticism of the Heavens Arena arc, particularly your use of the word "pedantic." Heavens Arena is the only natural and logical progression for the show following the Hunter Exam arc and I have found that madhouse has done exceptionally well in portraying this.
This is Gon's arc and key in his development. Prior to this arc, Gon suffered severe humiliation during the final phases of the exam and had his pride (and therefore, also his masculinity) severely wounded for the first time in his life. He was physically violated by two adults and left completely unable to control his situation. Prior to Heavens Arena, Gon does not engage in a single fight...he is beaten, bruised, and tortured. He can only win in a contest of wills, so naturally, Nen gives him the ability to compete as an adult. He can level the playing field. His climactic match against Hisoka isn't just about returning a badge... It's Gon refusing to be a victim. He refuses to be pitied. You're watching a boy's transformation into a man, and a strong one at that. Demeaning physical contests and tournaments at every turn serves no purpose Carl, especially since Gon and Killua do not fight to win a prize. They come to the tower in order to earn money, but from the very first episode, Gon's inner monologue indicates that his priorities are very different from what he's stated. Rarely do you see a tournament arc about someone (comparatively) helpless and deserving of pity outright deny and combat against his role in society. |
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sainta
Posts: 989 |
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It's actually like typical shonen, RPGs or even Avatar where people actually have different attributes to perform different abilities. The problem is that the concept of Nen is full of explanations and it gets tiring trying to remember each of them |
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Wyvern
 Posts: 1598 |
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Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with Sainta here. Nen is needlessly complex. Togashi devotes entire chapters to explaining it, but in practical terms it's barely any different from Naruto's Jutsu's or One Piece's Devil Fruits: everyone gets a different crazy power, and that's that. But those series never devoted the better part of a story arc to giving us long, unnecessary lectures about how the superpowers work. The one cool unique thing about Nen is the condition system, but even that only seems to apply to certain characters. When it's at its best (the exam arc and the Yorkshin arc) Hunter x Hunter is a classic. Unfortunately, it has a bad habit of self-indulgent world building, which leads to arcs like Heaven's Arena ("let's drop everything to spend five episodes talking about superpowers") to and the even longer and more plodding Greed Island ("let's drop everything to spend five episodes talking about a card game.") |
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CrownKlown
Posts: 1762 |
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Im sorry his abilities are not as simple as saying gomu gomu in front of attack x and that's it. At least among fans of the show they appreciate the Nen system, and it gets a lot of praise for trying to actually do something special with its system.
Its not about the final outcome of the ability, well it is, but its about the intricacies to using them. Take Kurakipa and his ability against the Troupe. He doesn't just become super powered for no reason, there is a lot of risk and thought that went into his power that he can use only against them. Its not like naruto or bleach or even one piece, oh now I have haki, everyone bow before me. His system really has a cost and effect notion to it, really caters to each character, and honestly its not that hard to follow. I assume older fans are more likely to appreciate HxH over younger fans. |
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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I generally agree with this post. One of my favorite things about Hunter X Hunter has been its use of a traditional shounen child hero who is not born invincible. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of shows like Astro Boy and I have a love/hate relationship with Dragon Ball, but it is really interesting to see a show which starts off with a similar protagonist to those shows, yet the character struggles with loss after loss, defeat after defeat despite his extraordinary qualities. Throughout most of the first arc, Gon took constant beatings, and even in Heaven's Arena, he continues to get slapped around by the tougher foes (though it is the first point in the series where he does start to turn the tables, as Mr. Toto indicated, and that was a joy to watch). Even after Heaven's Arena, Gon is still constantly faced with challenges that he cannot overcome. One of the reasons why the Phantom Troupe arc is so much fun is because it shifts the focus of the story away from the protagonist and gives us an intriguing view at the villains and Kurapika, who up until that point had been mostly ignored. If it hadn't been for the Heaven's Arena arc's narrative which allowed Gon to transform from uber-talented but comparatively weak boy to a powerful tested fighter, I don't think the story could have realistically been able to shift perspective to the Troupe and Kurapika. Remember that before the Heaven's Arena, Gon had never actually been any kind of fighter. Only Killua (and perhaps Kurapika) had that kind of experience. How cheesy would it have been for the plot if we had just skipped right to YorkNew and all the sudden Gon was a super powerful fighter with fantastic combat skills? I don't really understand the criticism of the Heaven's Arena arc. I thought the production team was very smart in how it was executed. Instead of building up each of the boys' opponents as terrifying, life threatening challenges, like we usually see in shounen series (e.g. Dragon Ball Z or Bleach), they were mostly dispatched in quick battles which didn't drag the boys' character development. I think the Heaven's Arena arc accomplished everything that it needed to without wasting our time with the over dramatic stuff we usually see in shounen. |
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rheiders
Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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I appreciate the Nen system precisely because it's needlessly complex. There are reasons behind everyone's specific abilities, the reasons they choose them, what conditions they place upon themselves, the training they have to endure to achieve it, and when they level up DBZ-style, there's a rhyme and reason to it. I enjoy learning about the system because it's well-thought-out and I find it interesting. I also like how Togashi is able to make abilities that seem lame at first (like Hisoka's Bungee Gum thing or Gon's rock-paper-scissors attack) completely awesome.
I will agree with Wyvern that the card game explanations in the Greed Island arc were a bit indulgent at times, but I enjoyed that arc as well^^ (That dodgeball game is one of my favorite things in the entire series! xD) |
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mrsticky005
Posts: 133 |
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C+ for the animation?
What long running series would get a B or an A? But yeah...Looks like a "I wish this show was about Kurapika" review. A bit similar to the "Soul Society was the climax of Bleach" reviews. There's not so much anything wrong with thinking that way. But really if you find Gon and Killua boring--you're not going to like this series very much because they dominate it. Heavens Arena has been my favorite arc thus far but that's probably because Gon and Killua are my favorite characters. |
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mrsticky005
Posts: 133 |
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Here's the secret to HxH: It's basically an R.P.G If there's anyone who actually keeps track of "power levels" it would be Togashi. |
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