In many ways, I think this is probably the toughest post I’ve ever had to write. The other day, at Sanbunzaka Studio, the place of all the beginnings, we conducted the recording for episode 148 of Hunter x Hunter, which will serve as the turning point for the anime for […] Read more
“Zodiac x and x Zoldyck” This, then, was the final arc of the Hunter X Hunter anime in full force – the twin pillars of the “Election” arc revealing what would make them so compelling. Pariston is in his glory as the master troll, manipulating everyone and everything around him […] Read more
“Coming x of x Age” We’re getting close to the present timeline now, so these reminiscences are inevitably becoming shorter in proportion to the elapsed time. Episode 131 is going to stand as one of the most memorable and controversial in Hunter X Hunter history though, and with good reason. […] Read more
“You x Only x Hurt…” The phenomenon of the “6” episodes is strong with Hunter X Hunter. Pretty much all the episodes of this series are great, but the ones that end in 6 have always tended to be epic in every sense of the word. And in terms of […] Read more
“King x and Prisoner” Let’s face it, when it comes to “Chimera Ant” it’s really almost harder to decide what episodes not to call milestones – but I can’t include them all. I picked this one for a number of reasons, but probably most of all because it’s a showcase […] Read more
“Darkness x and x Light” Not even “Chimera Ant” can be relentlessly dark and morose for its entire length – that’s not the kind of series Hunter X Hunter is. It’s not a monotone, in some measure because of the brighter emotional spectrum that surrounds Gon. #87 an episode […] Read more
“The x Perfect x Team” Episode 71 is one of those that fans of the manga and the 1999 series had circled on their calendar even before they knew what episode it was going to be. In short, this was the legendary dodgeball game – probably the most talked-about sequence […] Read more
“Hostage x and x Hostage” There are many different definitions of brutality – and sooner or later, Hunter X Hunter gets around to demonstrating most of them. But fundamentally this series is about psychological brutality more than any other kind, and that’s the heart of the unbelievably tense and suspenseful […] Read more
“Kurapika’s x Darkest x Hour” There were many Kurapika-centric episode from this arc that merited a special call-out – he’s the protagonist for most of it, after all. So why this one? I could start by talking about what a great episode it was, but if that was the standard […] Read more
“Killua x the x Boss” So why not include this episode and #48 in a single post, since they’re consecutive? Because unlike 35 and 36, these are milestone episodes for completely different reasons – indeed, the tone and feel of them is starkly different (especially once this one enters the […] Read more