Hunter x Hunter 2011 - 07

I confess, I’ll be very interested in seeing what the fans of the first series think of this week’s Hunter x Hunter. To me, they seem a pretty surly and hard to please lot – much the same as they’re saying about me when it comes to Last Exile…

I think there’s quite a difference between a remake of an adaptation of a manga, as this is, and an original sequel to an original series. Nevertheless, expectations are expectations and they can be a cruel weight for a series to bear. I was a little worried after last week’s episode, which was poorly paced and not especially interesting. But this one was much better, maybe the best so far. It’s always interesting when a shounen series like this one shows us something surprising and dark about one of the characters, and the events as played out were interesting and fun to watch.

Killua was certainly in the spotlight here, and he’s been something of a mystery man so far. He was the last of the four leads to have his backstory filled in. Everyone in this show is either running away from something or chasing something, and he’s quite literally in the first category. A rebellious son from a family of assassins, he quite cheerfully tells Gon that he stabbed his mother in the face before he ran away from home. Gon, that canny soul, doesn’t show any shock and that surprises Killua. More than anything what I’m getting from Killua is arrogance, a sense that no one in the world can touch him. And there’s no doubt, he’s a lot deadlier than meets the eye, as he shows in dispatching a couple of bullies and showing off some fancy moves in a “game” with the exam committee head, Netero.

This game is interesting for a lot of reasons, not least that it tells us a lot about all three players. Killua realizes fairly quickly that Netero is toying with the boys in his game of keepaway, not even using his right hand or left leg. Killua wants no part of a game he can’t win, and though he later says he only held back so that he wouldn’t kill Netero, I suspect he was trying to convince himself that was true to spare his own ego. Gon, by contrast, is fully invested in the challenge of the game even if can’t win – it’s quite victory enough if he can simply make the examiner use his right hand. He also doesn’t appear to have Killua’s analytical skills, but Gon is extremely and deceptively clever. I think his earnest and straightforward nature is genuine, but at the same time it’s also a bit of a cover for his keen strategic mind. With Gon it might be more instinct than training, but it’s just as effective.

The two boys make an interesting contrast at the heart of the series, stark opposites in every superficial way, and it’s no coincidence that they’ve caught the attention of the examiners. There’s always a sense with Hunter x Hunter that there’s more going on than meets the eye, and I suspect that the relationship of those two is going to be more complicated than it looks right now. When a shounen series has a likeable and engaging main character and a charismatic foil, you’re in pretty good shape for the long haul.

8 comments

Anonymous

November 14, 2011 at 2:49 am

I have not seen the first series, but im happy with this remake so far, and i know we're just getting start it.

Znail

November 14, 2011 at 3:37 am

I don't think you will get many comments from viewers of the old series on this episode as it's as far as I can remember the episode with the least change compared with the original so far. Else so have the main difference so far been a faster pace and cutting away some details to speed it up even more. I don't know if the pruning has improved it that much, but the overall faster pace do for sure.

I also think it's an interesting thing for the future as we might see more fast paced adaptations of long running series. It's an interesting alternative to faithfully doing a normal adaptation or an anime original plot. I can think of some severely botched animes that could have been better done this way.

Mira

November 14, 2011 at 8:15 am

As someone who's read the manga and watched the original series, I happen to be enjoying this remake so far. One of the reasons is that it's paced much faster than the first adaptation and because it doesn't try to be a carbon copy for the '99 series. The '99 series was very good and definitely one of the most underrated anime out there. However, it's good to see another version of the story. It'd be boring to see/read the same thing three times.

(To me) The characterization seems to be following the manga much closer, you'd be right that Killua wouldn't want to be in a game he can't win, he was raised to think so and it comes with the nature of being an assassin. His character contrasts with Gon and Hisoka, which I find very intriguing.

I talked about this in my blog but I'll talk about it here too, there's an interesting study of 'nature vs. nurture' between Gon, Killua and Hisoka which I find beyond fascinating. I think this will come into play even more in the later parts of the series.

Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the remake so far. It's nice to read the thoughts of someone who is new to the series.

Mormegil

November 15, 2011 at 6:39 am

Well, you know how it is with the most hardcore of the hardcore. They will never be pleased with anything.

Like Mira above me(even though I've only seen the original series), I'm perfectly content with the remake so far…barring the music and bright, vibrant colors.

At the same time it's still difficult to form a solid opinion on the remake. The real test will come in the near future.

But hey, they left in Killua brutally killing those two guys. I'm optimistic.

Anonymous

November 15, 2011 at 9:33 pm

As a hardcore fan of the original series, I like this episode very much, compared to the first six. What I really like about this version is that it is very fast paced and the characters and setting are happier and easy to enjoy. If I haven't watched the original, I would have loved this version very much. I would have been new and something that would have piqued my curiosity.

But since I watched the original version, I will say that I like it much more than this for two (maybe three) reasons.

1. You can see that the art in the original is better than the new version. I wouldn't say that the 2011 version's art is very aweful, on the opposite, it's actually very good. But the drawing in the original draws me in much more than this one.

2. The characters are so happy go lucky. I like the original because they seem more serious, darker and I think original. The characters on this one is just so happy go lucky, especially Killua. The thing that I like most about Killua is his character, he is just a kid but is very intelligent and mature. I didn't like that he was the one who was surprised by the night view in this episode because that is more of Gon's character to be in awe of those stuff. So, what I'm trying to say is that the original version's coloring and visualization of characters are more beautiful and curious to me, making me feel that there are more to these chara than meet the eyes.

3. I like and dislike the pacing at the same time. I like it because we can see more interactions between the characters that we didn't see in the original, makes it so different than the original and most of all, because of the fast pacing, we can see the new arc we haven't seen yet much faster.
What I don't like about it is that it takes something away from the characters I love. I love the slow pacing because you can see the character developments better and it explains stuff more. The original version makes us like and hate the characters more. I makes us remember them and care about them. Well, I think I shouldn't be saying these stuff since it's only the beginning of the series but I don't really care about character developments in this new series because I already saw it.

Anyways, there are a bunch of good stuff in this new version and scenes they changed from the original that it is worth watching anyways. I think of it as a completely different anime from the original. If you haven't seen the original, then you'll definitely like this. If you have seen the original, you can still like this but can be kind of pissed with what they changed. But I think it goes both ways. If you saw this first and then the original, you'll like this better because you got used to the fast pacing and the slow pace in the original will just kill you.

Overall, I hope they quickly finish this version till where the original one ended and then continue from then on. I would like to watch how the manga continued in action.

Anonymous

November 16, 2011 at 1:26 am

@Anonymous

regarding #2:
in this episode, killua's personality is exactly as in the manga.

the remake has its good and bad points, but consider that a few or some of those you consider "bad" points could possibly be because it is trying to be more faithful to the manga

admin

November 16, 2011 at 3:05 am

I've seen others mention that faithfulness argument – that this version is actually closer to the manga at times, but punished for it by viewers who haven't read the manga but love the first series.

momogoldfish

November 16, 2011 at 11:35 am

Well I have to say that this episode had at least quelled my worry about them botching Killua's characterisation. And the ball game with Netero had excellent fluid animation. I still think that the original series excelled in original writing (anime original content that adds extra depth to the characters), aesthetic and music but this remake is getting pretty fun too, though obviously aimed at a much younger audience. But leave me be while I pray again that they'll get rid of the narration – seriously, it was already a bit overpowering when World Masterpiece Theatre used it in Aozora no Romeo and probably make the anime seems more 'hand-leading' and kiddish than it actually is.

Other than that things should be fun and fine with this adaptation till the York Shin arc which will either be emotionally intense or just wangsty depending on how Kurapika's story is handled. Though the following tower test will probably be a good litmus test to see how far this anime will go in terms of another form of 'maturity' XD.

Hunter x Hunter 2011 – 07

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