Out of the shonen on Toonami that nobody watches...

[Jman]

I enjoy railing on HxH. It's fans seem to think it's some sort of brilliant subversion of the Shonen genre instead of a poorly written and paced Shonen by an author who burnt out years ago and only returns to churn out a few more chapters when his funds are running low. And no it's not because of his back.

 

And you get insane logic defying justifications for the shaky plot points, like Top guns "Well his house is out in the wilderness so obviously that's why a 12 year old is  unphased by the massive body count and seeing hearts ripped out of chests."

 

It's good stuff. Look how much action this thread has gotten! A OP thread wouldn't have gone this far.

 

Well that's because the OP horse has been beaten to death over several years with everyone save Moose having abandoned and condemned the show.

[Bookend47]

This place is so cancerous, no offense but holy shit. Thank god this cesspool at least has some worth serving as a good containment zone. Sorry to derail this topic but it started to get to me and no, it's not about HxH. The course of this thread went exactly as I'd expected it would, because like time the discussion for this show is a flat circle. I have nothing else to say, don't take it personally and if you're not part of the problem I'm not talking to you, good day.

[moose]

This place is so cancerous, no offense but holy shit. Thank god this cesspool at least has some worth serving as a good containment zone. Sorry to derail this topic but it started to get to me and no, it's not about HxH. The course of this thread went exactly as I expected it would, because like time the discussion for this show is a flat circle. I have nothing else to say, don't take it personally and if you're not part of the problem I'm not talking to you, good day.

 

You can pretty much see that the place (ASMB) was not the problem...

 

 

It's the fucking clientele.

[Jman]

When you're not in Moose, we all have a laugh at the ratings, calm down, and then rinse and repeat.  But you argue and argue and everyone argues with you.  You are the issue.

[moose]

When you're not in Moose, we all have a laugh at the ratings, calm down, and then rinse and repeat.  But you argue and argue and everyone argues with you.  You are the issue.

 

You're mad if you think I'm the only problem. I only complain when OP is receiving slander. That's only the tip of the iceberg of the negativity that happens here day in and day out.

 

You know the problem ? Everyone thinking their opinions are law, here. Like since they consider a show bad, that it's somehow factually bad. That ratings and popularity somehow equate to a shows true quality. Delusions like that.

 

That is the problem.

[Jman]

Calling cracks at OP slander proves you're no better.

[Daos]

A lot of people take criticism of shows they like a bit too personally. But even fans of HxH have taken note of the odd attitude towards death in HxH.

 

[Bookend47]

A lot of people take criticism of shows they like a bit too personally. But even fans of HxH have taken note of the odd attitude towards death in HxH.

 

 

This is a interesting topic of discussion since there could be many interpretations for why life is cheap in that world. Personally I never paid attention to it being a problem until the show started airing on Toonami and many first-time viewers pointed it out. Until it got pointed out enough that I started thinking that it was a legitimate writing flaw. Which would be odd because I can remember any significant deaths in the series being written with impact and weight to them, imo.

 

Not to discredit those opinions, I think I understood what they meant when I'd watched the penultimate ep of IBO and the first three eps of Aldnoah Zero. Honestly I felt a bit sick at all the unceremonious deaths on display, so I understand where they're coming from. Personally I'm ok with HxH's treatment of death since even though it's basically a mirror version of our reality with fantasy stuff, it's pretty much just not a great place to live.

[Daos]

This is a interesting topic of discussion since there could be many interpretations for why life is cheap in that world. Personally I never paid attention to it being a problem until the show started airing on Toonami and many first-time viewers pointed it out. Until it got pointed out enough that I started thinking that it was a legitimate writing flaw. Which would be odd because I can remember any significant deaths in the series being written with impact and weight to them, imo.

 

Not to discredit those opinions, I think I understood what they meant when I'd watched the penultimate ep of IBO and the first three eps of Aldnoah Zero. Honestly I felt a bit sick at all the unceremonious deaths on display, so I understand where they're coming from. Personally I'm ok with HxH's treatment of death since even though it's basically a mirror version of our reality with fantasy stuff, it's pretty much just not a great place to live.

 

Well my interpretation leans towards.... the writer isn't very good. The fans seem to think this isn't a bug, but a feature.  That's being pretty charitable IMO.

 

Apparently this show takes main character deaths more seriously when they die later on. But if you're not a main character you can be slaughtered and there will literally be no reaction or consequences.

 

Remember during the egg hunt part of the exam... two guys jump into that chasm with the updrafts that lift you back out .... except they mistime it and die. Except no one even reacts. No one even says... oh that's a shame. Gon doesn't seem bothered that he just saw two more people fall to their deaths. I wasn't even sure they had died at first by the lack of reaction all the characters had.

 

And from what I've read, almost all the main characters in HxH seem to barely care whether or not they live or die. I'm sorry, but if your fantasy world is like this, you need to provide a few reasons why.

 

Have the movie announcer guy come on before the show and do a voice over.

 

"IN A WORLD.... WHERE NO ONE CARES ABOUT DEATH....."

 

 

 

[moose]

Well my interpretation leans towards.... the writer isn't very good. The fans seem to think this isn't a bug, but a feature.  That's being pretty charitable IMO.

 

Apparently this show takes main character deaths more seriously when they die later on. But if you're not a main character you can be slaughtered and there will literally be no reaction or consequences.

 

Remember during the egg hunt part of the exam... two guys jump into that chasm with the updrafts that lift you back out .... except they mistime it and die. Except no one even reacts. No one even says... oh that's a shame. Gon doesn't seem bothered that he just saw two more people fall to their deaths. I wasn't even sure they had died at first by the lack of reaction all the characters had.

 

And from what I've read, almost all the main characters in HxH seem to barely care whether or not they live or die. I'm sorry, but if your fantasy world is like this, you need to provide a few reasons why.

 

Have the movie announcer guy come on before the show and do a voice over.

 

"IN A WORLD.... WHERE NO ONE CARES ABOUT DEATH....."

 

I dunno man, HxH must be doing something right, since you keep watching it.

 

You've said before that you don't watch One Piece or Naruto, so if HxH was really that uninteresting or worse than those two, then I dunno why you wouldn't have dropped it by now and ignore it like the others.

[PokeNirvash]

He could always be a masochist. 

[Daos]

I dunno man, HxH must be doing something right, since you keep watching it.

 

You've said before that you don't watch One Piece or Naruto, so if HxH was really that uninteresting or worse than those two, then I dunno why you wouldn't have dropped it by now and ignore it like the others.

 

When I turn on Toonami it's on for the full duration. I don't flip around =P

 

I'd say I watched the first 15 episodes of HxH, the last 20 it's just been background noise where I catch bits and pieces. I even catch bits and pieces of One Piece with that giant paw palmed devil fruit guy summoning a giant air explosion ball. No idea what they're fighting about though.

[Bookend47]

Well my interpretation leans towards.... the writer isn't very good. The fans seem to think this isn't a bug, but a feature.  That's being pretty charitable IMO.

 

Apparently this show takes main character deaths more seriously when they die later on. But if you're not a main character you can be slaughtered and there will literally be no reaction or consequences.

 

Remember during the egg hunt part of the exam... two guys jump into that chasm with the updrafts that lift you back out .... except they mistime it and die. Except no one even reacts. No one even says... oh that's a shame. Gon doesn't seem bothered that he just saw two more people fall to their deaths. I wasn't even sure they had died at first by the lack of reaction all the characters had.

 

And from what I've read, almost all the main characters in HxH seem to barely care whether or not they live or die. I'm sorry, but if your fantasy world is like this, you need to provide a few reasons why.

 

Have the movie announcer guy come on before the show and do a voice over.

 

"IN A WORLD.... WHERE NO ONE CARES ABOUT DEATH....."

 

That's absolutely fair to think, Togashi shouldn't be immune to criticism even though he writes whatever the hell he wants. Personally I think that the man is too in love with explaining mundane things and thinking that they're interesting enough to spin tension of them. It's really hit or miss a lot of times. Like there's this fight in the arc after this one that should be the most boring thing for a action anime to spend multiple eps on but it's actually pretty hype. Every character gets their time in the spotlight to contribute and it's overall really fun and one of the highlights of that arc. But I can see most people would be like, "eh, just get on with it already".

 

It does, every single death of a important character is memorable enough that I can remember it off the top of my head. I can list the aspects of them that I like but that would be getting into spoiler territory. The most I can say is that they're rarely the cliché flashback, happy memories then death thing that tricks you into caring about a underdeveloped character, which is kinda refreshing.

 

Unfortunately, not even half of that is spare for the nameless unlucky redcoats who get swept up into the carnage. That's pretty much one thing that will stick out like a sore thumb if you're bothered by it and doesn't get improved on, it's really bad. I think that it's kinda justifiable because they're in a survival of the fittest type test and they knew that they can die coming in but even that would require a bit of mental gymnastics. I mean it's fine to have "heroes"(I wouldn't say anyone in the main cast except Leorio is heroic) with grey morals and everyone except Gon has a kind of character defining backstory revolving around death. But even characters who are forced to take lives as part of their job have a reaction to death and acknowledges the weight of it, so you're right there's no excuse to not explain that.

 

If they just had a like a small five seconds scene of the applicants having a moment of silent or a plaque for all those who died at the end of the arc it would have fixed so much and we wouldn't be having this discussion. It doesn't break the immersion of the story for me and I will accept that as a mark against the show. But it just is, what it is. Funny enough, it's the Zoldycks, you know Killua's crazy ass assassin family that realize how terrible death is and willingly goes out of their way to avoid innocent casualties.

 

[Sketch]

Starting One Piece from the beginning can be pretty fun. There's some dry spots but it gets good faster than the other two IMO. Eventually you'll find that continuing One Piece feels like a slog even when you marathon it and will probably want to switch to the manga.

 

Only watch certain fights of Naruto Shippuden  in anime form. For the story read the manga.

 

HxH starts slow, slower than I thought at first but it it get tremendously good and is the best adaptation of the three overall. IMO HxH is better as anime while One Piece and especially Shippuden are better as manga.

[Daos]

Yeah I mean, just some sort of "Oh that's too bad about those two guys falling to their death."

 

Even that would go a long way.

 

And did Killua actually kill those 2 guys on the airship? I thought he just knocked them out.

[moose]

Yeah I mean, just some sort of "Oh that's too bad about those two guys falling to their death."

 

Even that would go a long way.

 

And did Killua actually kill those 2 guys on the airship? I thought he just knocked them out.

 

Pretty sure he killed them since he was frustrated for not beating Netero and that was also the episode where you learn he's an assassin.

[Top Gun]

Apparently this show takes main character deaths more seriously when they die later on. But if you're not a main character you can be slaughtered and there will literally be no reaction or consequences.

 

Remember during the egg hunt part of the exam... two guys jump into that chasm with the updrafts that lift you back out .... except they mistime it and die. Except no one even reacts. No one even says... oh that's a shame. Gon doesn't seem bothered that he just saw two more people fall to their deaths. I wasn't even sure they had died at first by the lack of reaction all the characters had.

Here's a valid question: would that benefit the story in any tangible way?  Would it aid the narrative that Togashi is telling?  Because I don't really see how it would.  Hell, if anything I think a reaction to a couple of background characters who don't even get any dialog would feel jarringly out-of-place.  "Here, have an artificial shocked reaction over randos that no one gives a damn about!"  The Hunter Exam is a very dangerous trial that frequently turns deadly for the foolish and unprepared, and any of the entrants who knew anything at all about it going in would implicitly understand and accept this.  They all had more than enough to worry about with keeping themselves alive and dealing with the challenges of the exam.  Most of the candidates, people like Hisoka and Killua, have been surrounded by and/or directly caused death for their entire lives.  Why should anyone blink at what's going on?  You keep talking about wanting all of this extraneous background as to why lives are cheap in this world, but at the end of the day isn't it enough to simply know that they are for now?  It's a principle of good storytelling to keep the narrative as trimmed-down as it possibly can be without compromising what needs to be told, and the Hunter Exam is a perfect example of "show, don't tell" in terms of establishing a particular tone.  The lack of characters' reactions says far more about the setting than any sort of narration ever could.  There's ample time later for Togashi to further explore the overall social situation of his world if he chooses, but it would be very much extraneous and out-of-place this early in the story.

 

As for Gon, the reason I cited his childhood was to demonstrate that he didn't have a standard upbringing.  Yes, he was raised by his aunt, but he spent a great deal of time out in the wild, which is what honed his extraordinarily acute senses.  For my money it's also a big part of what makes Gon somewhat unique among shounen protagonists.  He initially comes across as your typical plucky happy-go-lucky Goku-mold Jump lead, but dig a bit deeper and there's a certain coldness below the surface.  Gon frequently has trouble with controlling his emotions, and his entire motivation for going after Hisoka is simple revenge for a perceived personal humiliation.  He's already flat-out threatened to kill at least one other person thus far, something that the likes of Goku or Luffy or Naruto would never do.  Normal societal conventions are essentially alien to Gon: while Leorio and Kurapica recoiled at Killua ripping that murderer's heart out, Gon didn't bat an eye at it, simply because he'd already pegged Killua as a Good Person that he liked.  They were friends, so it simply didn't matter to him.  In the same way, he barely noticed when Hisoka killed multiple people around him, because the desire to beat him was paramount.  Honestly it's this sort of interesting dynamic that made me a fan of the series, because Togashi's able to play these standard shounen conventions perfectly straight, and then turn right around and subvert them in surprising ways.

[Daos]

The Hunter Exam is basically a gigantic massacre where hundreds of people die in a variety of brutal ways. This is something that  most people would consider cause for at least a witty comment or two.

 

And from what people say, death does matter in this world ....but only if it's to an important character. So I'm pretty sure it's just bad writing, and not some sort of deliberate feature.

 

Killua has murdered what.. 4 people now? Why does Gon want to be friends with him again?  Seems like he had a pretty stable upbringing without any serious trauma. Why the need to befriend the mass murdering kid? How many people can Killua kill before Gon comments on the fact that Killua seems to murder a lot of human beings?

 

Why is the Hunters Org giving the incredible power of a Hunters Licence to mass murderers and assassins again? If they're trying to cause mass death and chaos then... that makes sense.  But I kind of doubt that's what they're trying to do.

 

It's just illogical actions piled on illogical reactions piled on an illogical world that really doesn't make much sense after 30 something episodes. If you can get past that and still enjoy it that's fine, but it's gonna be a deal breaker for a lot of people.

 

 

 

 

[PokeNirvash]

At this point, the only thing here that's illogical is the fact that you're still challenging him with your bullshit. Is your opinion so goddamn important to you, that you don't want to admit that he's right? That's totally fucking it, isn't it?

[BUU8800]

He's already flat-out threatened to kill at least one other person thus far, something that the likes of Goku or Luffy or Naruto would never do.

 

I dunno...does Tambourine or the Red Ribbon Army count as people? Goku could be pretty ruthless in Dragon Ball.

[Blatch]

So he's taking the Gman route and simply not giving up despite the argument's pointlessness. That's nice. S:

 

[hey, the boards are back up!]

[naraku360]

So he's taking the Gman route and simply not giving up despite the argument's pointlessness. That's nice. S:

 

[hey, the boards are back up!]

He makes the same 3 points over and over no matter how many times each individual point has been thoroughly addressed. I've stopped replying to him altogether out of sheer boredom with it.

[PokeNirvash]

Huh. Apparently I burned Daos so hard it broke the boards. Nice.  8)

[Daos]

So he's taking the Gman route and simply not giving up despite the argument's pointlessness. That's nice. S:

 

[hey, the boards are back up!]

 

Arguing about anime in general tends to be pretty pointless and only for purposes of amusement =P

[Top Gun]

The Hunter Exam is basically a gigantic massacre where hundreds of people die in a variety of brutal ways. This is something that  most people would consider cause for at least a witty comment or two.

What is there to comment on?  Yes, people die.  Everyone taking the Exam knows and accepts this.  Despite the sheer difficulty in even getting to the Exam's first stage, and despite the risk of death at every phase of it, people are still willing to try for it in droves because of the massive benefits that being a Hunter conveys.  There's not any need to harp on what is essentially a basic fact of the setting.

 

And from what people say, death does matter in this world ....but only if it's to an important character. So I'm pretty sure it's just bad writing, and not some sort of deliberate feature.

Soooo other characters being upset when an important character dies yet not really caring when background mooks die is "bad writing" now?  The sort of dichotomy that pretty much every story ever written engages in, because it's a direct reflection of the audience's emotional engagement?  This is just silly.

 

Killua has murdered what.. 4 people now? Why does Gon want to be friends with him again?  Seems like he had a pretty stable upbringing without any serious trauma. Why the need to befriend the mass murdering kid? How many people can Killua kill before Gon comments on the fact that Killua seems to murder a lot of human beings?

Again, it's made clear very early on that Gon doesn't exactly hold by general societal norms.  He befriends Killua based on his instincts about what sort of person Killua is, and the fact that he happens to have been raised as an assassin doesn't faze Gon at all.  To date, Killua has only killed one person in front of Gon: a mass-murdering psychopath who was himself intent on killing Killua and was standing between the group and progressing through the Exam.  While the method Killua chose was certainly...extreme, the kill itself was hardly undeserved, and Gon had no real reason to comment on it.  (For reference, Kurapica threatens his own opponent with death an episode or so prior.)  And when Gon hears about what Killua did in the final round of the Exam, he recognizes immediately that Killua was coerced into killing someone, and this drives his anger and determination to get Killua back.

 

(See also: Gon willingly letting a fellow competitor walk freely towards Hisoka without warning so that he could get a clear shot at Hisoka's badge.  He doesn't blink too much at death.)

 

Why is the Hunters Org giving the incredible power of a Hunters Licence to mass murderers and assassins again? If they're trying to cause mass death and chaos then... that makes sense.  But I kind of doubt that's what they're trying to do.

I'm not familiar with enough of the story to say if Togashi ever expands on the Hunter Organization's overall place in the world, but I think it would be extraneous information this early in the story; I'd certainly be interested in learning more about it eventually.  It's not hard to imagine the Organization as being relatively amoral in its nature, but if one of its members did cause enough trouble I'm sure they'd have no qualms with policing their own.

 

It's just illogical actions piled on illogical reactions piled on an illogical world that really doesn't make much sense after 30 something episodes. If you can get past that and still enjoy it that's fine, but it's gonna be a deal breaker for a lot of people.

Simply repeating "illogical" or "bad writing" without providing any sort of real critical analysis doesn't make it so.  Most of your complaints are trivially explained away or are extraneous to the story that's actually being told.

[Zenigundam]

ITT: Top Gun, naraku, and Poke try hopelessly to justify bad anime.

[PokeNirvash]

>implying we're not the winning party here

[Daos]

You think the authors ambivalence towards death in this series is logical. Without providing any justifiable reason for the characters acting this way.... it really isn't.

 

Killua and Hisoka? Sure. An assassin and crazed killer. Wouldn't expect them to care much. But everyone else? Their attitudes aren't any different.  You keep saying Gon doesn't hold any societal norms... but why wouldn't he? He seems happy go lucky, raised in a stable house in a fishing village by an Aunt that seems pretty nice and easy going.  But despite that he's basically a sociopath who doesn't blink at the deaths of others, or when his own life is in danger. I mean... if he's supposed to be a sociopath..... then his character makes sense. But the story hasn't established that.

 

This is something that people are going to notice and find off putting.

 

And really, giving Hisoka a Hunters licence..... after almost 40 episodes you should probably explain why any organization thinks this is a good idea.

[Daos]

>implying we're not the winning party here

 

It's certainly not winning anything in the ratings dept.

 

Cheap shot!

[naraku360]

And really, giving Hisoka a Hunters licence..... after almost 40 episodes you should probably explain why any organization thinks this is a good idea.

Daos, I'm going to reply to you this one time.

 

Simple question:

Who else is going to police someone like Hisoka?

 

Are civilian cops going to protect society from Hisoka? Are normal, everyday non-Nen users going to police Hisoka?  -_'

[Daos]

They can't monitor Hisoka without letting him become a Hunter? Keep in mind this is what he gains.. as an insane killer.

 

"There are also many material benefits to being a licensed Hunter, which include:

 

95% of all public facilities can be used at no cost. Furthermore, all such services are provided at first class.

 

Unrivaled freedom to travel around the world. Access is granted to about 90% of countries which normally restrict the entry of outsiders, and access to 75% of areas that the general public is prohibited from entering.

 

Almost no legal responsibility for murder.

 

he ability to sell the Hunter License as a valuable collector's item. Though only the original owner of a Hunter License can take advantage of its normal benefits, it can be still sold for enough money to support the seller for at least 7 generations in luxury.

 

The ability to use the license as collateral for a zero-interest loan of 100 million jenny (approximately 90 million yen) at any bank.

 

Access to the secret Hunters Only Website, where secret intelligence about various subjects, uploaded by other Hunters, can be purchased."

 

Do they ever actually say they let him become a hunter to keep an eye on him? Or is that just a guess you're making to fill in a bit of a plot hole?

[Zenigundam]

Wow Daos has exposed a bunch of plot holes with Hunter x Hunter that I didn't really catch the first time around.

[ben0119]

I flipped over to Hiatus a couple times for a few minutes last week.  Gon and Killua are looking for a vintage game console.

 

 

I think Pat the NES Punk's Flea Market Madness has me covered there, thanks.

 

Hiatus is more disappointing than going to the theater and finding out Episodes VII, VIII, and IX are the re-mastered Ewok movies and Holiday Special.

[ben0119]

Daos, I'm going to reply to you this one time.

 

Simple question:

Who else is going to police someone like Hisoka?

 

Are civilian cops going to protect society from Hisoka? Are normal, everyday non-Nen users going to police Hisoka?  -_'

I'm surprised civilian cops even exist in a world where the reaction to death is a shrug.

[CorbeauKarasu]

(Talking about Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, and One Piece really)

 

...I think One Piece is the easiest one to get into. I'm thinking about watching it online from the beginning of the Funi dub. Shippuden and Hunter x Hunter don't seem worthwhile. I only watched the first fifteen or so episodes of HxH and it sucks. People say it gets better in later arcs, but a good anime doesn't take sixty episodes to be enjoyable. Shippuden is a lot like HxH with characters spending entire episodes explaining something instead of getting along with the action and plot.

 

i really dislike your characterization of HxH, as I think it's prey great. and even Shippuden was a good series up until Pain was introduced..

 

that being said, though, One Piece is a masterpiece without equal. it's definitely the best of the three yuve just mentioned. if you haven't seen the first few arcs, watch it from the start (though try to skip filer arcs)

 

i tought OP was brilliant from the get-go, but once you hit arlong park (in the middle of season one) it's a nonstop ride.

[Jman]

[Zenigundam]

I watched about the first sixty or so episodes of the 4Kids version, but I didn't pay attention to OP when it started airing uncut on AS Toonami. I'll probably just start it from where I best remember leaving off because I don't feel like starting all over from episode 1.

[ben0119]

i really dislike your characterization of HxH, as I think it's prey great. and even Shippuden was a good series up until Pain was introduced..

 

that being said, though, One Piece is a masterpiece without equal. it's definitely the best of the three yuve just mentioned. if you haven't seen the first few arcs, watch it from the start (though try to skip filer arcs)

 

i tought OP was brilliant from the get-go, but once you hit arlong park (in the middle of season one) it's a nonstop ride.

One Piece was good from the start and didn't take 50-something episodes "to get to the good part," because it doesn't suck like Hiatus does.  And at this point I'm thoroughly convinced the mythical "good part" does not exist.  The show is just a big ball of nothing.

[ben0119]

I watched about the first sixty or so episodes of the 4Kids version, but I didn't pay attention to OP when it started airing uncut on AS Toonami. I'll probably just start it from where I best remember leaving off because I don't feel like starting all over from episode 1.

Doesn't take long to get through if you binge, which goes pretty fast if you get sucked into the show.  Well, if you've got the time, anyway.

 

I mean, it's not like Hiatus where you have to force yourself to slog through the dull nothingness, frustratingly nonsensical world, and boring "plot."

[ben0119]

I'd  agree with this.  The Hunter Exam in particular felt a lot more compelling in the 1999 version, and the bits of filler content that were added did a lot for fleshing out the characters.  I've wound up feeling very similarly about this series as I did Brotherhood vs. the original FMA anime: the later adaptations breeze through the early material too quickly and take some time to find their legs, but they definitely become worthwhile after that.

Hiatus doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as FMA.  It's insulting that you would even compare them.  There's also the fact, that, the early part of Brotherhood, while rushed, was still actually good.  So, yeah. 

 

And I love that we have one of the staunchest defenders of Hiatus admitting it took filler and padding to make the first part of the show good. >

[ben0119]

The HxH anime is kinda iffy in some respects.  The first 2 atcs are leaps and bounds better in the old school 1999 version. 2011 feels like they were saving it for the post-Heaven's Arena arcs. Like, I'd argue '99 is immediately genuinely good, but makes some strange missteps in later arcs (namely Heaven's Arena and Greed Island).

 

But between the listed shows, HxH is easily the best, even with the failings of early arcs in this version.

A show that sucks for dozens of episodes before supposedly getting to the mythical "good part" is "the best" over a show that's good throughout and one that started out good but turned to cancerous shit.  Okay.

[ben0119]

In other words, Hunter x Hunter is mediocre and forgettable.

Yes, yes it is.

[ben0119]

Mediocre is being generous. The last episode was about buying a video game. There was that episode about opening a door. There was that episode where they spent half the episode on the phone. Then there was that recap episode. I remember a fight with a guy dressed like a Snifit.... and a fight with a guy in a wheelchair that had ... electric eels... or something?

 

The stuff this show thinks will interest people just isn't interesting. I never thought I'd see a Shonen on Toonami that has zero memorable fights.

[ben0119]

I'd say '99 holds up most of the way through Heaven's Arena, too. They minimally handled the censorship creatively (albeit.... choppily). Even HA felt like it had better character growth in the old version, to the point where most of my hesitation toward that version comes from switching the order of the last 2 fights, which makes the end putter. Could've done fine had they simply omitted the rematch, imo.

 

Yorknew is great in both versions and it's a shame people would miss it by writing off the 2011's start. Almost like a completely different show.

 

The FMA:B comparison is fair. One I've made as well.

 

But yeah, Hunter Exam was surprisingly good in the first adaption. Some of the filler was absolutely how it should be done, especially with the section where Gon has to get by through several days of paralysis.

So what you're saying is we should watch a completely different show? :-D I'll take that advice. :-D

[ben0119]

That's the other thing, the tone is just so.... inconsistent.  One minute they're two kids buying a video game, next minute Killua is ripping a guys heart out or ambushing a fellow hunter test taker from behind and murdering him in an unprovoked attack.

 

And nothing explains why Gon the young happy go lucky kid is ok with seeing all this death at such a young age, or why he doesn't have second thoughts about being best buddies with a mass murdering assassin.

 

I mean, the show goes out of its way to tell us how special Gon is at every opportunity, but apparently this includes the ability to be unphased by seeing massive amounts of death at a young age.

 

So on top of being boring and mediocre at its very best.... the storytelling is just bad.

 

How is it they all live in this wacky world where everyone can murder everyone without any repercussions? I'm willing to suspend my disbelief, but the author never even tries to explain.

[moose]

I watched about the first sixty or so episodes of the 4Kids version, but I didn't pay attention to OP when it started airing uncut on AS Toonami. I'll probably just start it from where I best remember leaving off because I don't feel like starting all over from episode 1.

 

Eh, 4Kids deleted about 39 episodes, some being canon content. You're gonna be lost later on if you do this because the author of OP constantly calls back to older arcs... some arcs that 4Kids skipped.

[ben0119]

...because he spent the majority of his childhood running around in the wild dealing with wild animals and thus implicitly understands the principle of kill-or-be-killed?  Seriously, this takes about five seconds of thought.

Because clearly every fictional universe abides by the same ethical standards as our own, right?  Combat to the death is a ridiculously common trope.  And just where have we seen "everyone murdering everyone"?  The vast majority of the people in the HxH universe live perfectly normal, mundane lives.  The people we've spent time with throughout the course of the series thus far represent what could euphemistically be described as its fringe: mercenaries, trained warriors, assassins.  Last time I checked, those types tend to do a great deal of killing and dying in the real world too.

 

Like, if you're going to troll, at least be mildly entertaining.  This shit is just boring to debunk.

Because animals killing each other to survive is clearly the same as people killing each other for the lulz or sport or as part of some sort of game.  And why was Gon living in the wild when that island was clearly populated, developed, and civilized?  It's not like Goku where he lived in the middle of nowhere.  He had no choice and it was the only life he knew.  Gon lives on this island with a town and decides to be a wild boy, because... because.

 

It possibly doesn't, but the author can't seem to decide what sort of ethical standards it operates by, since the it conflicts with itself and is inconsistent and nonsensical. 

 

ZOH MY GAH LOOK AT ALL THIS KILLING IN A GAME FOR SPORT TO GAIN A LICENSE THAT GIVES YOU FREE PERKS TO DO EVERYTHING AND A LICENSE TO KILL!  NOBODY CARES WHEN ANYBODY DIES! 

 

OH LOOK A JAIL BECAUSE THAT'S NORMAL AND RIGHT I GUESS I SHOULD PUT THIS IN RIGHT?! 

 

It's like Togashi doesn't understand human psychology or how the world works, so he randomly grasps at whatever he thinks is appropriate, but also wants to have this wacky crazy world, so it's all over the map.  Too bad this world is incredibly boring and uninteresting for all the shit he's thrown at the wall.

 

More like everyone in this show lives a boring, mundane life.  If the characters' lives we're following are supposed to be "interesting" and "exciting"... then good lord.

 

Lol... yes, because Daos not liking the show and stating his views is "trolling."

[naraku360]

They can't monitor Hisoka without letting him become a Hunter? Keep in mind this is what he gains.. as an insane killer.

 

"There are also many material benefits to being a licensed Hunter, which include:

 

95% of all public facilities can be used at no cost. Furthermore, all such services are provided at first class.

 

Unrivaled freedom to travel around the world. Access is granted to about 90% of countries which normally restrict the entry of outsiders, and access to 75% of areas that the general public is prohibited from entering.

 

Almost no legal responsibility for murder.

 

he ability to sell the Hunter License as a valuable collector's item. Though only the original owner of a Hunter License can take advantage of its normal benefits, it can be still sold for enough money to support the seller for at least 7 generations in luxury.

 

The ability to use the license as collateral for a zero-interest loan of 100 million jenny (approximately 90 million yen) at any bank.

 

Access to the secret Hunters Only Website, where secret intelligence about various subjects, uploaded by other Hunters, can be purchased."

 

Do they ever actually say they let him become a hunter to keep an eye on him? Or is that just a guess you're making to fill in a bit of a plot hole?

None of this answered the question:

 

Who else is going to monitor Hisoka?

[ben0119]

None of this answered the question:

 

Who else is going to monitor Hisoka?

Instead of monitoring, why don't they just kill him?  It's obvious this world plays fast and loose with the law and order, and such.

[Daos]

Other than the Hunters just not letting him be a hunter and keeping an eye on him? I have no idea. The author is very stingy with details about the world and how it works.

 

I would assume every country in HxH had it's own military with powerful nen users  in order to deal with people like that.  But that's just a wild guess at this point.

 

But are you really going to tell me that giving a serial killer the ability to go almost anywhere and kill with almost no consequences isn't the tiniest bit illogical? Unless the Hunter Org is just a bunch of aholes intent on sowing death and chaos everywhere.  From the lack of information ... that could be the case as well.