As if Meruem needed any more power-ups…
No real surprises in the poll – I kind of figured “Chimera Ant” and “York Shin” would go 1-2. I didn’t necessarily expect “Hunter Exam” to finish so far ahead of “Heaven’s Arena” – which I think is the most underrated arc in the series – but I suspect the sheer volume of Kurapika fans has something to do with that.
I’ve had requests for a “Chimera Ant” character poll, and I am thinking about it… But it would be enormous, taking up just about the length of the current sidebar. We’ll see.
thedarktower
May 17, 2014 at 2:21 pmalthough this poll is missing the following arc, no dramatic changes/surprises would happen. and I think the results pretty much represent the level of each arc – indeed chimera is #1 as it's the most thrilling and fun to watch. Togashi really surpassed himself here because he really touches the heart of the series very elegant. all this while weaving a very good story with some extra aspects. no doubts it's #1.
YorkNew is #2. no surprises here because it was really good arc. we have the likeable bad-guys phantom troupe clashing with Kurpaica. and seriously it was very good – Kurpaica vs Uvogin and all the deal with Hisoka and Chrollo.
as for GI and the exam – are pretty enjoying arcs and deserve their place.
yes, Heaven's arena might seems underrated, but in comparison to others it provide a bit less. it had more potential that bears fruits on the following arcs when their Nen is really developed – YorkNew and GI.
LOL poll for HxH best character…never mind if it's only Chimera arc or the entire series..that's still pretty long. and hard to decide because we have such a great cast of characters (aside from Gon and Killua which are the real MC).
I'd like to see a poll for a sports series. like – best sports series in recent years. I wonder where the wind will blow since we have such great diverse of good sports series – Chihayafuru, YowaPeda, Daiya no Ace, Haikyuu, baby steps, Hajime no Ippo, ping pong, Sumo, KuroBas, Ginga Kickoff and more…now that will be hard!
Faruk Ahmet
May 17, 2014 at 4:05 pmDo this poll a hundred times and the results would never change. I can't think of another series with this much disparity between its arcs, really—in both quality and tone. It feels like there are at least three separate, unrelated shows in that list: Chimera, YorkNew, and the rest. While the Chimera arc took the whole shounen genre to new heights it had never reached before, and the YorkNew arc was a very competent and dark thriller, rest of the series was, to me, a childish, uninsteresting and wobbling borefest with no clear direction. I just feel grateful for somehow managing to power through those tedious parts without dropping the whole thing; it was worth it in the end.
Taku Sairenji
May 17, 2014 at 5:38 pmIf that's not an exaggeration, I find your opinion unique.
Even if people had to choose 2 arcs from 7, it dosn't mean they hate the 5 others. In fact, people love Togashi's diversity of storytelling.
Hunter x Hunter is like looking in to Togashi's life and Chimera ants and GI arc were spicial to me. Chimera ants arc has so much emotions in it, it feels like Tagashi is speeking through the characters. For instance, I assume Nov's breakdown is Togoashi himslf as a mangaka.
He is infamous for countless hiatus, but it kind of helps him to bild the concept of the G.I arc. His gaming life was not wasted. That arc was great. I also think it's the only ark Togashi planed from start to end. The only problem is that the manga delivers this arc way better than the anime since it's a intricated card game.
Faruk Ahmet
May 17, 2014 at 9:55 pmI find your opinion unique.
That's absolutely fine by me 🙂 …and no, I wasn't exaggareting, but I am fully aware that people love the other arcs too. HxH was—deservedly or not—being hyped to the moon well before Chimera or even the YorkNew arc, so I'm not suggesting that my opinion is a widely held one at all. That said though, I do firmly believe that those two arcs are substantially better than the other ones to such a degree that they would always be placed on top on a poll like this.
By the way, GI is probably my least favorite one of them all 🙂 I never was a gamer though, they usually bore me, so maybe that's why (I have a hard time with other gaming-based series like SAO, LogHorizon and NGNL, too).
admin
May 18, 2014 at 12:31 amYour opinion is certainly valid, though mine is that it's a misinterpretation of the results of the poll. But whatever…
In any case, I think what we have is Togashi re-casting his series from arc to arc, deconstructing different elements of the shounen genre. Your view is the ones that interest you are great and the rest are crap; mine is that each is brilliant in its own way. I think H.A. is the most underrated arc in the series, as I said – probably the best shounen anti-training arc ever, and the best balance of light and dark of any arc in H x H. G.I. is pretty well-regarded, so it's hard to call it underrated, but for me it's also sold a little short by a lot of people. It's quite subversive and in terms of straightforward entertainment value, hard to top.
Zeta Zero
May 18, 2014 at 2:45 amI do play games and I thought GI was a poor arc. Apart from Biscuit, everything in it became tedious – training, villains, using the same spell cards over and over, convoluted "rules", that annoying Dwun guy at the end (I'll label that one author conceit). So no, not my favorite arc. Heaven's arena towers over that.
TajRoy
May 19, 2014 at 2:20 amChimera Ant and York Shin are definitely stand outs. York Shin to me is HxH ditching the Shonen genre all together, transforming into a Seinen neo-noir thriller; and an incredibly well executed one at that.
The Chimera Ant arc on the other hand is a complete homage to and inversion of Shonen tropes, using that inversion as a foundation from which to build what is to me a a complete masterpiece of literature.
Next to that, the other arcs do seem more tame; but though they are less ambitious, they are still memorable, not just because of the differences between them but because of the skill and thoughtfulness in execution of each arcs own constituent parts. They are all entertaining, mixing intellectual spectacle, interesting character psychologies, and what can only be described as a complete mastery of tension and suspense-building, as well as a tendency towards heterodox storytelling.
And I agree with Enzo about Heaven's Arena; it is arguably my favorite arc – it is the one I rewatch most often, and is the most pure fun. Sure, it is arguably (alongside Greed Island) the most traditional arc, and is, aside from the characters and the unique depth and intricacies of the power system, a straight tournament arc, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that, and I never understood the stigma towards tournament arcs in anime and manga.
Greed Island was flat out my least favorite arc in the manga – too much training, and the bad guys are without argument the worst main antagonists in HxH (which is otherwise populated with one of the most brilliant casts of baddies), especially when the showdown with them had to follow the incredible confrontation with razor – very anticlimactic. The anime sped things up (G.I. was the only arc that felt like it was being moved through quicker) and honestly did a lot to make the main Bomber seem more psychotically threatening, and make the final confrontation between him and Gon more tense.
ZonikStrike
May 22, 2014 at 9:46 amI still think GI was awesome. Even if it was more or less classic shounen, I still enjoyed the gaming element pretty much to the point of it being my favourite arc. CA and YS still come pretty close.
As about the contrast between light/dark elements, I think the next arc tops HA. It was also very fun to read while it was ongoing, and for me it comes about as high as YS does.
admin
May 22, 2014 at 10:42 amI loved Greed Island as well. The Bomber isn't a first-rate villain, but the arc isn't really about that – it's a brilliant spin on one of Togashi's many fascinations, and a showcase for Gon and Killua. It's also got their great chemistry with Bisky, which is really quite unlike any other relationship in the series.
Gary Cochran
May 18, 2014 at 12:29 amChimera Ant is my favorite arc followed by Greed Island. But then I'm a big Biscuit fan.
Duke of Earls
May 18, 2014 at 1:20 amMy favorite is Greed Island, followed by Heaven's Arena. Chimera Ant is possibly the best arc at its high notes (like, right now, during the climax), but I think it was the second weakest arc of them all when taken in its entirety (above Zoldyck Family). The middle of Chimera was just not very interesting and, given its length, that detracts from it considerably.
I also really like the Hunter exam… probably third place for me. I love lighthearted, fantasy RPGish style Hunter x Hunter the best. Apparently most people feel otherwise.
Duke of Earls
May 18, 2014 at 1:25 amAnother problem I have with Chimera Ant is that I don't like that all the cards are on the table in terms of power, now. I liked it when there were mysterious enemies and hunters out there in the world that even Gon and Killua, prodigies they may be, could not yet compete with. The world seems so much… smaller now.
whemleh
May 18, 2014 at 1:23 amI went with Whale Island. I don't actually have a favourite arc, but it's the one arc I think I really need right now.
Greed Island was probably my least favourite, but only because Genthru "The Bomber" never really interested me as a villain
Kohmata Reizno
May 18, 2014 at 5:15 amChimera Ant arc is by far my favorite of the series. After that, Yorknew is by far my favorite of the series. After that, Greed Island is probably my favorite. The Hunter Exam & Heaven's Arena are about equal to me honestly. Zoldyck Family arc is definitely my least favorite & I don't consider Whale Island an arc so I can't say I disagree with this ranking at all..
Akai Shuichi
May 18, 2014 at 3:09 pmHunter X Hunter has been a series that has grown a lot in me over its progression, making it, honestly one of the best "anime rides" ever.
I have to say, reading Enzo for quite some time now, the series has definitely been growing slowly inside of me than inside of him. I remember reading the episodes review, and I was a little bit "well, he is a little bit of a fanboy of HxH" (no offense intended). I liked the series, I actually liked it quite a lot, but it wasn't the sort of anime I consider a masterpiece.
While I did watch some of the old Hunter X Hunter anime in the past, I never watch it with order (I just saw some episodes, skip some, etc), so it never had a nostalgia factor in me. I was enjoying the first part, but I didn't consider it nothing special. It was certainly well written, but, were I'm trying to get, it had nothing to do with the later part.
As many have said, York Shin was the first change. It was a very interesting thriller, with some great combats and characters. Hisoka is simply awesome. Here you do get some memorable scenes. I think the BGM really began shining here more than ever (well, until Chimera, that is). The scene with Mozart's Requiem and Chrollo literally "directing the orchestra" is one of the better moments in Hunter X Hunter.
Heavens Tower was a very important arc, and while maybe not on the level of others, just like the Hunter's exam, it's really important for introducing something as important as NEN, they give as a whole lesson of terms and stuff, and they manage to do it in a fun way.
Greed Island was original, had a good idea, and it wasn't but executed… though I do think the spend more time than neccessary on the training. Besides that, it was a very different arc. I loved the creativity desplayed here.
Now, Chimera Ant is just… here is when I really bought all the hype available from Hunter X Hunter. The series completely changed its tone to one much darker.. to something much more serious, to the point I have a hard time calling this a shounen. This arc doesn't take too much time to change into something very serious, when the Chimera Ants really start te become a real threat to humanity. Kaito is a great character also, which made the thing all the more interesting… Oh, but it was just beginning.
Then Pitou comes to the show, does what (s)he does, Gon snaps, and the real show begins its final building process. Eventually, Meruem comes to the party, along with Youpi, Pouff and Komugi… and things turn just epic.
I've never read the manga and probably never will, but since the moment the operation to invade the castle begins, thanks to that brilliant narration, Chimera Ants quickly does become a real anime masterpiece. I mean, I was really impressed episode by episode (I still am), and while, of course, some have been better than other, every single episode in this siege has been simply fantastic. I've never seen this narration, which went along an epic story, with awesome character development. Seiyuu's work here is outstanding. Megumi Han's work in this tension room with Pitou is one of the best things I've ever watched probably. When Gon snaps and starts raging at Killua… I mean, I was speechless. As Enzo's stated more than one time, Wataru Hatano's work as Pouff is amazing. I don't know how's the manga, but the anime adaption is simply fantastic here, doing things that you certainly can't do just on paper.
Chimera Ants became a unique ride for me, something definitely unforgettable, and something I'll definitely repeat when the arc is over, as I really want to watch all this episodes, that somehow were interesting the whole 25 minutes, even though, in the series, every episode was… what 30 second?. I think it's just brilliant.
Akai Shuichi
May 18, 2014 at 3:09 pmNow I can only pray (even though I'm an atheist xD) for an ending worthy of such an arc, but I think Togashi has won my vote of confidence.
So yeah, about the poll, while I do think the whole series is very good, I think Chimera Ants just take things to another level, so it's by far the best arc from Hunter X Hunter.
GrimMoody
January 8, 2015 at 5:04 amForgive me for the sin I'm about to commit.
I hate the Chimera Ant arc.
It's pointlessly violent, the death of children isn't entertaining, and it's agonizing to watch our two protagonists do more scenes of pointless training while a huge threat to the entire world grows and spreads. No, this isn't the point where the show got better. It's the point where it devolved into boobs and violence.
Palm was a great character, though.
admin
January 8, 2015 at 7:20 amHey, don't sweat it – everyone is entitled to be wrong! ;-P
I will say, watching earlier stuff like the Zoldyck Arc does make one appreciate happier times for Gon and Killua.