Hunter X Hunter 2011 – 61

January 6, 2013Guardian EnzoUncategorizedAnime, Hunter x Hunter, reviews

Series this good really shouldn’t run as long as Hunter X Hunter. I’m running out of new things to say when I sing its praises.

Things great shounen can be about:

Friendship
Adventure
Growing stronger
Fighting evil
“Where are you, Dad?”

I’m going to have to repeat some of the things I’ve said in prior posts (there are 60 of them, so it’s pretty much unavoidable by now) because they really bear repeating after this episode. Starting with marveling again at just how very different the arcs of this series are from each other. I’ve come more and more to think of York Shin as “Kurapika’s Arc”, because while the boys have starring roles too, it really is just that. That arc is like am embodiment of the character – painful, brooding, conflicted, at times very cold and calculating. York’s Shin’s story is Kurapika’s story – it’s his past and his simmering hatred (and ultimately his desire to move beyond it) that drive everything that happens.

By contrast, in Heaven’s Arena and seemingly even more so Greed Island we have arcs that are very much Gon and Killua. “Pure shounen” is the term I used before and I’ll stick with it, and I still on some level think that it’s this sort of atmosphere that brings out the absolute best in Togashi as a writer – though he’s so good at everything he tries his hand at that it probably just comes down to personal preference. In Japan they sometimes talk about “martial spirit”, a concept that’s very difficult to translate accurately. I think it somehow drives the essence of shounen manga and why it’s such an intrinsic part of Japanese culture – martial spirit encompasses the notions of training and discipline, and courage, and friendship (that’s a poor attempt to encapsulate the concept). It’s most obviously the first part of the term “martial arts”, but it’s often used in reference to the education of boys – and specifically for Boy’s Day (now officially the more P.C. “Children’s Day”) the Japanese have an observance called “Shoubu no Sekko” or Iris Festival (because the words for Iris and Martial Spirit are homonyms). Iris leaves are sprinkled in the bath in the hope that they’ll help boys develop martial spirit. It’s tempting to hear the English term and think it’s about war and fighting, but it’s not about that at all – as anyone who’s practiced a martial art can tell you.

That’s a roundabout way to get us back to talking about Hunter X Hunter, but I think it’s relevant especially after this episode. I think Togashi is one of the shounen mangaka that gets the concept of martial spirit on the cellular level, and it’s most obvious when the focus of the story is Gon and Killua. As pure (that word again) friendships go, this is one of the best in anime or manga anywhere, period. It’s innocent and yet at the same time, very complex and dark (the latter especially in Killua’s case). There are lots of other elements to this ep which I’ll get to, but most of all it’s an expression of the deep affection those two have for each other. It’s reflected in Gon’s concern about Killua and the spell that was cast on him, and how he tries to smile his way through his fear so as not to worry his friend. It’s reflected in Killua’s good-natured patience with Gon’s fiery impulsiveness, in spite of what he might wish himself.

For the entire episode the boys express their friendship for each other in unspoken ways (which is after all what boys generally do) which are nevertheless totally obvious to the audience. And then in the end, Gon comes right out and does what boys generally don’t – tells his friend how he feels about him. Killua isn’t capable of that, but we get a rare direct glimpse inside his thoughts – and what we see is the pure gratitude he feels towards Gon for being the one to finally redeem him by believing in his essential goodness. I’ve said before that I think Killua wants desperately to keep Gon from having to walk the dark paths he’s walked, and I think Killua would be willing to do anything at this point for his friend – the friend Killua believes is better than he is but, ironically, is the only one who saw past his darkness to the real person inside. Really, if you can’t get emotionally connected to this sort of relationship maybe shounen just isn’t the right fit for you, because I really don’t think anime friendships get any better.

The other reason I feel as if this sort of arc might just be Togashi’s most natural habitat is that it really brings out the geek in him. We saw some of it in the Exam arc and more in Heaven’s Arena (even a bit in YS, mostly through Zepile and the auction – not to mention in Level E) but it seems as if in Greed Island he’s going to finally be able to let that side of him fully take flight. The man’s love of exquisite detail in his mythology really comes through here – it’s like “The Silmarillion” except not a sleep-aid. It’s going to require a great deal of restraint on my part not to compare Greed Island to other highly popular series of 2012 revolving around this sort of virtual world, but I’ll try – it seems to me as if even after a couple of episodes the differences between this writer and that one should be pretty apparent for those who choose to see them (and will only become more so).

There’s a lot of new information dumped on us here – the existence of spell cards and how they’re ranked (from SS to H for difficulty to obtain, plus their transformation limit). The rules governing logging out of the game – if you’re out for more than 10 days, your card save data disappears. And critically, about the politics of the game – those players who’ve chosen to become killers for the sake of gathering cards (you can’t take a player’s cards if you kill them, but their transformation limit increases) or in some cases seemingly for the pleasure of it (such as “The Bomber”, possibly, though it’s too early to tell). Gon and Killua meet up with a thief who prays on new players (he’s the one who casts a “Trace” card on Killua), a seemingly common occurrence – and later, a confederation of players teaming up to try and beat the game within three months. They manage to recruit many of Battera’s new players, but the truth of the matter is they intend to win the game by stealing cards too – the easiest of the three means of obtaining them. They’re just pledging not to use violence in doing so – though whether they can be trusted I’m not at all sure.

Interestingly it’s Gon – not the ever-suspicious Killua – who rejects an alliance with these players, even though it means they won’t be able to have the spell cast on Killua removed. Gon feels profoundly guilty about this of course, but his reasoning is simple – this isn’t the spirit of Greed Island as Ging envisioned it, or at least as Gon imagines he did. Gon is as full of martial spirit as ever, and he’s in Greed Island to try and get closer to Ging by seeing Greed Island for the rousing adventure Ging described. Killua of course is there for a very simple reason – Gon wants to be there, and Killua wants to help Gon get what he wants and protect him from those that would harm him. Where that happens isn’t especially important to him.

The big tease for next week (along with the promise of a Jan-Ken-Pon tournament) is the arrival on the scene of the heretofore silent – and memorably named – Biscuit Kreuger (Yokayama Chisa – Madhouse reached deep into the glorious shounen past here) who seems interested in the boys mainly for mischievous reasons, for now anyway. As the first really significant female character in the series (apart from the androgynous Melody and of course Mito, whose significance is undeniable but whose appearances are few and far between) Biscuit is going to be interesting to watch. There’s also the matter of Shalnark inviting Shizuku and Kotolpi to join him in Greed Island, meaning six of the Spiders will now be inside (we get a nice moment as he contemplates Pakunoda’s grave). It should also be mentioned that Madhouse – again – did an amazing job with the animation here. Both in the exterior – making the world of Greed Island come to life – and the interior, with the close-up facial animations, especially of Gon and Killua. All in all H x H kicks off 2013 without missing a beat – and next week the theatrical film “Phantom Rouge” opens, with a promise of a “special announcement” after the credits. Return of the manga, anyone?

Greed Island Tutorial: “Return”

Guardian Enzo

22 comments

K

Karmafan
January 6, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Reply

Biscuit is my favorite character in the series (after Gon). She is going to be amazing.
T

TigerxDragon
January 6, 2013 at 9:26 pm
Reply

Same. I also like the voicing choice for her too from the small amount we got. It is just going to fit so well.
K

Kamen Rider Kekkaishi
January 6, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Reply

I think you do a good job of finding new things to say. It helps that H x H always has new things to talk about.
l

leokiko
January 6, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Reply

Biscuit is awesome, truly looking foward to the next episode.

And I loved that last shot with Killua and Gon. Perfectly animated. Madhouse is doing some mad job(sorry for this) on HxH, they have already started this arc much better than the OVA's.

This post was very fun to read Enzo, nice one.
A

Anonymous
January 6, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Reply

It amuses me that the whole "death game" aspect of Greed Island which has been heavily hyped as basically the only thing non-players know about it seems to arise from a set a of poorly thought out rules designed to discourage killing.
A

Anonymous
January 6, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Reply

Actually, I'm pretty sure the rules were made to ensure that players WOULD kill each other. It's not like Ging (and Hunters in general) really cares about human life.
A

Anonymous
January 6, 2013 at 9:48 pm
Reply

If he wanted to make them kill each other he could easily have let them loot each other's cards. The fact that the transformation limit has become restrictive enough to make killing other players attractive even if their cards disappear is just because the game has been going on too long without a winner. No game designer can predict what the situation is going to look like 10 years down the road.

Presumably the limit was originally meant to enforce the rarity of rare cards, and therefore encourage trading. The fact that you want to intentionally destroy rare cards seems counterintuitive.
T

Thatguy3331
January 6, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Reply

A special announcement, for my sake I really do hope its the manga, it'll help ease my nerves a bit and be that series that entertains me on a thinking level again (the others I read are more of a fun-loving level)

I've said it once and I'll say it again, I think I'll like this arc alot more animated (by MH of course) than in the manga, which is wierd because its normally vice versa. I also can't wait for biscuit to officially show up!
A

Anonymous
January 6, 2013 at 10:13 pm
Reply

The animation seemed especially good this episode, I agree.

And the music in the opening minute of the ep made me think the audio had gotten mixed up with Shin Sekai Yori, haha…
e

elianthos
January 6, 2013 at 11:51 pm
Reply

*grins* well, it seems you are more than up to the task of finding new things to say about HxH even after 60+ episodes.
While the bromance moment was my favourite this week – cling-to-the-scren-with-starry-watery-eyes-worthy moment, martial art component and all – the episode as a whole was a rich varied menu. This is going to be a fun arc. And Biscuit is promising. I do think not only her demeanor but her appereance as a whole is not what it seems. Can she shapeshift? After this episode somehow I'm expecting her to.
—
Aaaand… waiting for a certain magician to enter the scene. Where art thou Hisoka?
e

elianthos
January 6, 2013 at 11:58 pm
Reply

P.S.: the Silmarillion has its moments. And sometimes a good literary sleep-aid can do wonders.
A

Anonymous
January 7, 2013 at 3:36 pm
Reply

Six spiders? I thought the only spider members already inside the game are Feitan and Phinks. Who is the sixth memeber?
A

Anonymous
January 10, 2013 at 8:21 am
Reply

5 spiders actually…

Feitan, Phinx, Shizuku, Shalnark and Coltopi.
J

Justinnnnnn
January 7, 2013 at 8:40 pm
Reply

Oh man oh man, much like someone said in the previous post, I too marathoned HxH in like 4 days. And while I did find the first few arcs very, very boring (except for Hisoka's oh-so-disturbing appearances and turn-ons), YS turned out to be fascinating in many ways and worth the wait, just as I hoped for, fortunately. For that, HxH has shot up in my anime list, or at least between shounens.

Now we're entering the typical JMMORPG thing that many animes always do…But, surprisingly enough, I don't find myself hating this change of pace. It's refreshing, really. After YS's dark, rainy episodes, watching Gon and Killua go on an adventure feels like it'll be fun. And I'm sure that if it's the same author writing this than the one who wrote the YS arc, it cannot possibly turn out to be a pile of dump – the game's rules alone are quite the original rules for a virtual world, for starters.

I too worry that HxH won't be able to keep the bar as high as it is now till the end, much like other shounens have had their climax and then went downhill really fast (Bleach, to name an example). I'll be crossing my fingers!
A

Anonymous
January 8, 2013 at 2:25 am
Reply

Don't worry. HxH's bar will remain high and may end up exceeding it.

Though until it reaches the latest manga chapter while it's on haitus. O.o
J

Justinnnnnn
January 8, 2013 at 3:02 am
Reply

That's another of my worries, actually…Is the latest manga chapter somewhere near the end?
I'd be really sad if HxH 2011 suddenly added fillers that don't match up to the original material's quality, or ended up being cancelled/stopped because it caught up with the manga.

In the best case scenario, it'd end just as the manga releases its final chapter, much like FMA:B did…
K

Kob264
January 8, 2013 at 6:20 am
Reply

The manga ended whith the closure of an arc and the setting of new characters and the very start of the next. Something like if this adaptation would have gone on a pause right in last ep. by the scale of things it could bethe last arc but it could be just the middle point, who knows?
admin
January 8, 2013 at 10:31 am
Reply

The most likely "special announcement" after the movie Saturday will be a restart of the manga. Madhouse would still catch up, but let's cross that bridge if we're lucky enough to get to it. I very much doubt that they'd go the anime-original route on a venerated series like H x H – most likely they'd take a year off.
A

Anonymous
January 12, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Reply

A special teaser after the ending credits of the Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge film announced on Saturday that production on a second film has been green-lit. The teaser featured Netero, the chairperson of the Hunters Association, in front of a backdrop of a dimly lit street with a tall tower similar to the Heavens Arena. No further details about the second film were made public. The first film's advance screenings did not have this teaser; it was only added to the film on its official opening day
S

Stöt
January 7, 2014 at 1:21 pm
Reply

Woho, I'm only 1 year behind HxH now!

Great stuff, but HxH 2012 is not on par with SSY, let's see if HxH 2013 truly deserves the recognition.

More importantly, your reviews are absolutely great (thank you Enzo!) and a perfect complement to the brilliant and deep events in the series that absolutely need some discussion and afterthought( even during a marathon such as mine). BUT. Your site is making it really really hard to get to the episode reviews I want to read.

using your sidebar and labels are out of the question, they're useless for a 100+ episode series such as this. the best way to do it so far is e.g. googling the exact phrase:
lostinanime.com "hunter X hunter 2011 – 61"
or manipulating the URL in the adress bar, changing the month and episode number, and hoping you didn't screw up the URL as you did in episode 54.

Anyway, it makes me wish you didn't order reviews by date, or that you reworked the label system so that I can get a higher maximum of results than 20 per page, (see this ugly link: (https://www.lostinanime.com/search/label/Hunter%20x%20Hunter?updated-max=2013-09-22T17:49:00%2B09:00&max-results=20&start=20&by-date=false)
or just had a "read next/previous series review button" such as the ones found on RC.
admin
January 7, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Reply

If there"s a way to do that on this platform, I haven't found it yet. I'm always looking, though. Sorry for the inconvenience.
D

Dee
June 25, 2014 at 5:52 pm
Reply

Hi Enzo!

First, thanks so much for blogging this series. I tend to shy away from long-running shounen anime (I fear the filler), so I probably never would have gotten into HxH if not for your glowing reviews. I'm playing catch-up right now, and reading your episode reviews as I go has been a real treat.

Second, I've been working on a piece for my own blog where I describe the shounen genre, but darn it if you didn't just sum it up perfectly in this post. Would it be all right if I quoted you a bit? I'll cite you and link to your blog and all that good stuff too, of course. ^^

Cheers!
Dee

Hunter X Hunter 2011 – 61

Guardian Enzo

22 comments

Karmafan

TigerxDragon

Kamen Rider Kekkaishi

leokiko

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

Thatguy3331

Anonymous

elianthos

elianthos

Anonymous

Anonymous

Justinnnnnn

Anonymous

Justinnnnnn

Kob264

admin

Anonymous

Stöt

admin

Dee

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Lost in Anime

Guardian Enzo

Related posts

22 comments

Karmafan

TigerxDragon

Kamen Rider Kekkaishi

leokiko

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

Thatguy3331

Anonymous

elianthos

elianthos

Anonymous

Anonymous

Justinnnnnn

Anonymous

Justinnnnnn

Kob264

admin

Anonymous

Stöt

admin

Dee

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply