Hunter X Hunter 2011 - 21

Well, I guess those rumors that Madhouse would be toning down that side of Hisoka’s personality can be put to rest…

It’s great to have H x H back after a hiatus week – it’s so unlike anything else in my blogging rotation that I really missed having it around. This was an episode that was quite a bit more low-key than the intensity bombs of the last few, but nevertheless packed a lot of punch in subtler ways. Naturally, it’s quite interesting to see the way both Gon and Illumi responded to the events of the 20th ep for starters. Gon’s reaction was very much in character – especially his irritation with everyone else’s bickering about the exam results when he was the real issue as Killua’s state of mind. Loyalty is obviously of paramount important to Gon, much more so than conventional morality or the license itself.

Even more interesting to me was Illumi’s behavior. Obviously he plays the impassive card well enough, but even when Gon broke his arm his expression never broke. Illumi seems primarily driven by intellectual curiosity, though it seems to me that there was some genuine malicious glee in the way he manipulated Killua last time. There was no anger at Gon displayed, just a kind of bemused puzzlement that betrayed just a hint of astonishment by the end of their confrontation (though as Illumi never responded, that seems too strong a word). The key moment of the exchange was when Illumi challenged Gon’a assertion that he hadn’t earned the right to be Killua’s brother – to which Gon replied that Killua didn’t need to earn to right to be his friend. It’s clear that the seal on this can of worms has barely been broken, and Illumi will be heard from again.

When Illumi tells Gon that Killua has gone back to their clan’s home on top of Kukuroo Mountain, Gon’s path is immediately clear to him – and probably unsurprisingly, Leorio and Kurapica are happy enough to tag along. There are loose ends to be tied up – in the orientation meeting Pokkle briefly challenges Kurapica to reveal what Hisoka whispered to him (no dice) and Leorio briefly argues that he should be disqualified instead of Killua, but as Gon says “It is what it is”. And then there’s the parting between Hisoka and Illumi, which is one of the most genuinely creepy scenes you’ll see in a mainstream anime. Whatever else drives the mysterious Illumi,, he seems to consider it wisdom not to get in the way of Hisoka’s obsessions. There’s also the matter of goodbyes with Hanzo – who reveals his top-secret ninja business cards – and an abortive effort by Pokkle to look up Ging’s information of his H-Pad (for lack of a better term). The mystery around Ging deepens – not only is all information about him top-secret, but Satotz apparently idolized him for the great work he’d done restoring old ruins with his own money – a fact he shares with Gon, whom he increasingly seems to have taken a protective interest in.

That’s just the appetizer from Satotz, but he doesn’t serve up the main course until the “winners” have left Hunter HQ – though his affection for Gon apparently almost prompts him to spill the beans – the hunter exam isn’t actually over. That’s fascinating, as the survivors have been sent on their way with their Hunter IDs and stern warnings about not losing them, and scattered to the four winds. The implication of course is that whatever this last challenge is, it must be more difficult than all the others that led up to it – the question is, what sort of challenge is it to be when the candidates have apparently been allowed to choose their own destinations and travel freely? I confess I didn’t see that development coming, though it did seem as if the exam portion of events had ended a little anti-climactically. With that cagy old bastard Netero behind it, I can only assume something nasty is in story for the seven survivors.

17 comments

leokiko

March 4, 2012 at 8:45 am

Finally the Hunter Exam arc is officially ''over''. Now, this second arc should be good if done right, I look foward to that.

Also, is the opening going to change anytime soon?

shareme

March 4, 2012 at 1:06 pm

Actually, the Hunter Exam arc is not over. The two arcs coming up are just sub-arcs of the Hunter Exam arc. You know the reason why Satotz says that "the Hunter Exam is NOT over" because yes, it isn't.

admin

March 4, 2012 at 5:46 pm

I hear rumors of a new OP next week, but haven't heard anything official.

Anonymous

March 4, 2012 at 7:32 pm

Yey! I've been waiting for a new opening! 🙂 Hahaha. The upcoming arcs cannot be considered as sub arcs.. It's just that the final test of the hunter exam spans more that two arcs. It won't even start in the the next arc. I just can't wait for the third arc to start. That's the most awaited arc for me.

Hey Enzo, can you suggest Divine to have a simulcast of Hunter X Hunter at Randomc? Like your Another posts?

In the previous version, Hisoka always shows hints at Illumi that "I will kill you, Gon is my prey" ever since Illumi revealed himself. He portrayed that creepy scene more that once.

admin

March 4, 2012 at 9:05 pm

They don't generally pick up series mid-stream at RC, so I don't think that's a possibility.

Again, nothing official on the OP – if there is a new one, obviously I'll link it.

shareme

March 5, 2012 at 11:44 pm

@Anon

They're really sub-arcs as the whole Hunter Exam arc is a giant introduction to Hunter World; the rules, major players, politics, etc. The 2nd arc (York Shin) is when it got serious. All that we learned from the Hunter Exam arc had hit the fan.

Also, it's a major contentious by the HxH fandom that their are currently 4 arcs and the 4th being the Chimera arc.

As for Hisoka's "I will kill you" vibe to Illumi on the old anime, it was portrayed incorrectly. In the old anime, Illumi was described as "afraid" of Hisoka thus implying Hisoka is stronger than Illumi. The 2011 version is right that Hisoka warned Illumi only once and it occurred in the courtyard. When Illumi backed off it's not with a vibe that Hisoka is stronger than him… rather, they're portrayed as equals.

Kcaco

March 6, 2012 at 4:16 am

Exactly shareme, the "Hisoka threatened to kill a frightened Illumi" in 1999 series is one of the many MANY things it twisted and got wrong. In the manga, these two are true equals. So I'm glad that the 2011 series got it right again. When Hisoka stated that Gon is his prey, Illumi agreed out of respect for him as a peer, not because he was afraid of Hisoka. In fact in the recent manga arc there's a flip of this same situation between these two.

Anonymous

March 6, 2012 at 10:56 am

Wow, thanks for that. I haven't read the manga yet so I have no idea how strong Illumi is. Well based on the 1999 version, I would say that the Hunter Exam ended when they showed their "Hatsu" (I don't think this is a spoiler. I think Enzo has no idea what it is.) to that pointy eared guy to enter G.I. Thus the York Shin would be considered a sub arc?

shareme

March 6, 2012 at 11:27 am

@Anon

Nope. The York Shin arc is not a sub-arc. For Togashi, shifting "tones" is his way of showing arc transition.

The Hunter Exam arc tone/vibe is different from the York Shin tone which is also different from Greed Island tone which is vastly different from the Chimera tone/vibe. See the pattern?

Anonymous

March 6, 2012 at 5:39 pm

Yup, though I have no idea what the Chimera part is. I can guess it's after GI and I can't wait for this series to reach that part. :))

leokiko

March 4, 2012 at 5:21 pm

Thus the ''over'' ^^

Arabesque

March 4, 2012 at 7:17 pm

''Well, I guess those rumors that Madhouse would be toning down that side of Hisoka’s personality can be put to rest…''

Yeah … expect a whole lot ''ewwwwww'' to follow …

No comments on what we learned about Ging this episode? I found it fascinating that he had something of an archaeological twist to him, with him trying to not only uncover and preserve the heritages he finds, but also think about the long term and how the future generation will use them. It's this sort of Togashi touch that makes more engaged about his stories, since in any other shonen series you'll hear about how the missing dad is some badass hero who had saved the world at some point, not an activist who's trying to preserve past relics for future generations to learn from them.

Not saying that saving the world isn't something that's worthless, but hearing about how someone is going the extra mile for preserving history makes me warm up to Ging already even before meeting him 🙂

Oh and love the author cameo during the taxi scene 😛

admin

March 4, 2012 at 9:07 pm

I commented on Ging…

Was that Togashi driving the cab?

Arabesque

March 5, 2012 at 12:59 pm

Bleh, yeah I've seen it. Sorry.

It was actually the dog, but that was already commented on so …

Znail

March 4, 2012 at 9:23 pm

The great thing about HxH is that there is plenty of foreshadowing for the future arcs before time so things feels a lot more connected then just random arcs that are happens after each other. For instance so we had clues not only related to the next arc, but the one after and for the one after that plus the one after that…

Tai

March 5, 2012 at 3:15 am

The exam arc is finally "over"! There's not much for me to say about this episode, but I guess I liked how they added the taxi scene and them running out to catch the plane (plus the author cameo made it more awesome! The little dog figurine if you didn't know XD )

admin

March 5, 2012 at 3:34 am

D'oh! Yeah, I see it now.

Hunter X Hunter 2011 – 21

Guardian Enzo

17 comments

leokiko

shareme

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Kcaco

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leokiko

Arabesque

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