“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

“Dictation x from x God” There’s one main reason Episode #48 stands out so much in my memory, and that’s how much fun it is. There are certain episodes over the course of Hunter X Hunter’s run that are simply a blast, and they often come in the midst of […] Read more

“The x Eccentric x Family” Of all the episodes that’ve found their way into these posts so far, this one is probably the simplest and most straightforward.  There’s no Gon or Killua, almost no Kurapika, and no doubt what the point is – the announce to the world that the […] Read more

“Sasuga x and x Sakuga” Just as it has the finest opening episode, I would argue “Heaven’s Arena” has the best closing episodes of any Hunter X Hunter arc.  And the stuff in-between is pretty great, too. I’m including these two episodes as a single milestone, because they’re effectively one […] Read more

“Secrets x and x Lies” This is another great “Heaven’s Arena” episode – truly, this is the most underrated arc in Hunter X Hunter – and one that would likely have made it into this feature no matter what measures I decided to use.  It’s just that great an episode, […] Read more

“Ren x and x Nen” In many ways, one could look at this episode as the real beginning of Hunter X Hunter. It was heady (and exhausting) days for an anime blogger in April of 2012.  We were a few weeks into a season that was already establishing itself as […] Read more

“Father x and x Son” Hunter X Hunter is about surprises if it’s about anything – Togashi-sensei always has the ability to take the story in a different direction than you expect.  And that certainly applied to the inner workings of the Zoldyck family. Gon’s quest to meet Ging is […] Read more