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Hunter x Hunter Episode Twenty-Two

PUPPY!

(OK. This time I'm not drunk after a USA soccer game. Not even tipsy. I sobered up the second Portugal scored the equalizer. Then I was sad. Then I realized that the USA has a good chance to advance even with the draw. But, enough soccer talk. On to the episode.)

Apparently the home of famous assassins is both public knowledge and a tourist attraction. Because that his how hardcore this world is. Or it's that most people don't think the Zoldyck Family is even real. However, whether or not they are real is not really something anyone is thinking after a couple of guys decide to break into the side door of the main gate. The two of them are quickly eaten, and their bones thrown back outside the door. With the tourists gone, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika attempt to get inside do meet Killua, with Gon insisting against all obstacles that he wants to meet his friend. They are let inside the main gate, and get to meet the guard dog who made a meal of the would-be intruders, named Mike. At this point, Gon realizes what real badasses this family is made of, just after meeting the family pet.

By now, Gon also has been shown to have a real stubborn streak. If it had done anything but served him well thus far, I would call it a flaw, but it hasn't. And I honestly hope that changes at some point in the future. It's all well and good for a character to have a strong will, but sometimes discretion is necessary to keep oneself alive. Also, it's getting a bit annoying to have a kid, albeit a powerful kid, getting his way all of the time. Gon naively thinks he can just walk up to the Zoldyck estate and see Killua. This despite knowing that Killua is both not on the best terms with his family and that Killua's family doesn't think highly of him. Maybe this isn't the time where Gon really gets hit with a reality check, but at sometime in the future, that check is going to hit. And it's going to sting like a bitch.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Twenty-One

Woo-hoo! Time to start the plot!

Today's episode marks the end of the Hunter's Exam arc. There is a bunch of talk about how Illumi was a dick, how Killua may have been hypnotized into killing Bodoro, what exactly Hisoka said to Kurapika, and so on. Really, it was mostly just a summary of the loose ends still dangling and the characters who might matter going forward having one more moment before Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio get a move on with the plot. In this case, the plot is searching for Killua, which means it's time to visit his home. Which is in a faraway country and ends with them running past a bunch of people stuck in traffic as a montage of the Exam plays, putting a nice bow on things, and signaling that it's time to move on.

The big takeaway from this episode between all of the talking was that Gon's father is a big fucking deal. When one of the new guys tried to look up information on him, it was behind a security wall. And even one of the examiners wanted to meet him. What I'm getting at is that maybe there was a good reason for him to stay away from Gon and have no part in raising him. My guess is that I'll find out about Gon's dad sometime in the next twenty to two-hundred episodes. Unless we go full One Piece and it's closer to five hundred. And I just felt a chill run up my spine.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Twenty

I totally see the family resemblance.

Well, that was an eventful episode. Several Candidates ended up passing before a fight between Killua and Pinhead, who turns out to be Killua's older brother, Illumi. Apparently, all those pins were there to change his face for a disguise. Either way, their fight is a war of words. Illumi tells Killua that he exists only to kill people, and that is the only way he can ever feel joy (much like people who use the term "objective opinion" seriously). He claims that Killua is unable to want anything else. Killua retorts by saying that he wants to be friends with Gon, and once he realizes the two of them are already friends, Illumi says he is going to kill Gon and stalks off toward the waiting room where Gon is lying unconscious. After a tense moment where it looks like the brothers will fight, Killua surrenders, only to come back and murder Bodoro, the old man, in the following fight for reasons unknown. This means everyone else passes the exam, much to Gon's anger, and the episode ends with him storming to the orientation session for the newly minted Hunters, and demands that Illumi apologize to his brother. Because of course that will fix things.

So, while the Hunter Exam is now officially over, there are new questions that require answers. First off, what is going to happen to Killua now? I know he's a main character, and maybe he can hang out with Gon even if he isn't a Hunter, but that kind of came out of nowhere. And then there's Hisoka, who whispered something to both Kurapika and Bodoro in their respective fights that made Hisoka lose his first fight and win his second. And seriously, why did Killua murder Bodoro? I'm happy that things haven't wrapped up nicely yet, it keeps me interested. As for the last question, which is how Gon will fight Illumi with a broken arm, I think that's going to be answered like everything is answered with Gon. He'll fight him using super protagonist power.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Nineteen

Here we see a wild Gon giving his opponent a brain aneurysm.

And it turns out the Final Phase is ... a losers bracket. Basically, if a Candidate wins one fight by getting their opponent to surrender, they pass the Exam. The person who loses all their matches will fail at this final hurdle. And they can't kill their opponent (sorry, Hisoka). The tournament is seeded so that the best Candidates get the most chances, with the bracket setting up like this:

Fight 1: Gon vs. Hanzo (bald ninja)
Fight 2: Kurapika vs. Hisoka
Fight 3: Pokkle (poison dart dude) vs. Loser of Fight 1
Fight 4: Bodoro (old dude) vs. Loser of Fight 2
Fight 5: Killua vs. Loser of Fight 3
Fight 6: Leorio vs. Loser of Fight 4
Fight 7: Pinhead vs. Loser of Fight 5
Fight 8: Loser of Fight 6 vs. Loser of Fight 7

In Fight 1, Gon gets beaten up quite badly by Hanzo. But, he refuses to surrender, no matter what Hanzo does to him, including breaking his arm. Hanzo realizes he can't force Gon to surrend, and he can't just kill Gon to end the fight. So, Hanzo surrenders, meaning Gon and his protagonist power of will has won the fight and passed the Hunter's Exam! Yay! Although, I feel like now is a good time to ask this, am I a bad person for wanting to see Gon get knocked down a few pegs at some point? Does that make me a horrible person?

Hunter x Hunter Episode Eighteen

Snakes on a Gon! (Yeah, you can boo me for that.)

In this episode, Gon proves his pure badassness by managing to get everyone out using the power of the protagonist! First, he willingly gets bitten by a bunch of snakes so he can get the antidote off of the dead snake charmer's person. Then, he somehow holds his breath for five minutes so Ponzu's sleeping gas can put the snakes to sleep and carries all of the living out of the cave. And he steals Ponzu's badge so Leorio can pass the Fourth Phase of the Exam. The final results of which are listed below:

Hisoka: 6 pts
Kurapika: 6 pts
Gon: 6 pts
Pokkle (poison arrows): 6 points
Pinhead (Real Name = Spoiler): 6 points
Killua: 6 pts
Hanzo: 6 pts
Leorio: 6 pts
Bodoro: 6 pts
Ponzu: 3 pts

Tonpa: 0 points

Sommy (Tonpa's friend): 0 points

Imori (brother hunting Killua): 0 points

Umori: 0 points

Amori: 0 points

Kyu (guy attacked with poison arrows): 0 points

Gozu (guy who attacked Hisoka with a spear): 0 points and dead

Siper (sniper hunting Pinhead): 0 points and dead

Geretta (Gon's Hunter): 0 pts and dead

Agon (last guy Hisoka hunted): 0 pts and dead

Bourbon: 0 pts and dead

(21/24 Candidates accounted for)

After that, it's back on the airship for the preparations for the Final Phase. The Chairman asks each candidate some questions about why they want to be a Hunter, who they have their eye on, and who they wouldn't want to face in a fight. There are various answers to the last two questions, but we do get to hear Hisoka's answer. Not surprisingly, he wants to kill people with impunity. What a guy. The reveal for the Final Phase waits for the next episode, as it looks like this arc is going to wrap itself up soon. 

Hunter x Hunter Episode Seventeen

One-on-three? That's not fair ... for them.

Today, it's time to see how Killua is doing in his attempt to earn his six points. We've already seen him taunting the man hunting him, one of three brothers (Imori, Umori, and Amori) who have made it to this Phase, so on Day 4, he decides to confront him. He does this just as the other brothers show up to check on his progress, and in the fight is able to acquire his own target's badge, giving him six points. And just to make sure we still like him, he doesn't even kill one of them. How nice of him. However, he does dispose of the other two badges he does not need by chucking them far into the forest. This leads to one of the other Candidates, a bald ninja named Hanzo to chase the badge he thinks belonged to his target. But, since Killua is a complete badass, he switched the badge at the last second, meaning Hanzo found the wrong one. Womp, fucking, womp. In the second half of the episode, Gon meets up with Kurapika and Leorio, and becomes the team's bloodhound, using the chemical scents that Leorio's target, a woman named Ponzu, uses in her attacks. This leads to a cave where a snake charmer named Whiskey Bourbon has made it so that anyone who tries to leave gets attacked by snakes. But, there's no convincing him to call the snakes off, because he is dead. And Leorio has already been bitten. Which brings me to today's standings. I was able to find all the names (with descriptors), and here are the standings as of Day 6:

Hisoka: 6 pts
Kurapika: 6 pts
Gon: 6 pts
Pokkle (poison arrows): 6 points
Pinhead (Real Name = Spoiler): 6 points
Killua: 6 pts
Hanzo: 4 pts
Leorio: 3 pts
Ponzu: ? pts

Tonpa: 0 points

Sommy (Tonpa's friend): 0 points

Imori (brother hunting Killua): 0 points

Umori: 0 points

Amori: 0 points

Kyu (guy attacked with poison arrows): 0 points

Gozu (guy who attacked Hisoka with a spear): 0 points and dead

Siper (sniper hunting Pinhead): 0 points and dead

Geretta (Gon's Hunter): 0 pts and dead

Agon (last guy Hisoka hunted): 0 pts and dead

Bourbon: 0 pts and dead

(20/24 Candidates accounted for)

Hunter x Hunter Episode Sixteen

This scene didn't make me feel as bad as seeing Andre Ayew's shot hit the
back of the United State's goal. 

Note: I am not sober. I have been celebrating the USA's 2-1 win over Ghana in the World Cup with beer. I apologize for the change in quality of the writing, whether it is for the better or the worse.

Today's episode was quite eventful. First, Gon follows Hisoka as he hunts down Leorio and Kurapika. He plans to help defend the two from Hisoka, but that becomes unnecessary when Kurapika agrees to hand over the extra badge he is carrying (giving Hisoka two of the three extra badges he needs to pass this Phase). After an ultra-creepy scene where Hisoka becomes consumed with lust for blood (and perhaps, um, other things), Gon finds himself in the position he planned for all along, hunting Hisoka while Hisoka hunted someone else. And his plan works, in the middle of Hisoka's attack, he is able to snare the badge, giving him what he needs to pass the exam. Except that Gon himself was being hunted by a man using poison darts, who takes Hisoka and Gon's badge. But, a few moments later, Hisoka returns. He is impressed by Gon's ability to steal his own badge, so much so that he returns both badges Gon needs to pass. That's because the man who was hunting Gon was Hisoka's own target, and with his target's badge plus three extra badges, he has the six points he needs. When Gon tries to refuse him, Hisoka knocks Gon out with one punch, and remarks that he is waiting for Gon to mature before he kills our main character. Which leaves the following standings at the end of Day 3 (of 7):

Hisoka: 6 pts
Kurapika: 6 pts
Gon: 6 pts
Guy from last ep with poison arrows: 6 points
Pinhead Guy: 6 points
Leorio: 3 pts
Killua: 3 pts

Tonpa: 0 points

Tonpa's friend: 0 points

Guy who got poisoned (and bandaged by Gon): 0 points

Spear guy who attacked Hisoka: 0 points and dead

Sniper guy who tried to hunt Pinhead: 0 points and dead

Guy Hunting Gon: 0 pts and dead

Last Guy Hisoka Hunted: 0 pts and dead

(14/24 Candidates accounted for)

Hunter x Hunter Episode Fifteen

Here we see a wild Gon stalking its prey, the murderous Hisoka.

On today's Hunter x Hunter, it's more action from the Fourth Phase. Gon is able to locate his target, Hisoka, thanks to some butterflies that are attracted to blood. As he lies in wait, we move to Leorio, who gets fooled by Tonpa into losing his badge. Thankfully, Kurapika was also waiting around as Tonpa happened to be his target, and the two of them are able to retrieve Leorio's badge, Tonpa's badge, and the badge of the man working with Tonpa. Back at Gon stalking Hisoka, another man shows up and challenges Hisoka to a fight. The man ends up dead, not at Hisoka's hand, but at the hand of the Pinhead-looking guy who is friends with Hisoka. The Pinhead-guy now has an extra badge, after killing the person who was targeting him and taking his badge, so he gives it to Hisoka. This plays right into the clown's hands, as he wasn't planning on hunting for his target, just getting three random badges in addition to his own. When he finally goes off to hunt for two more targets, he finds Leorio and Kurapika, with Gon hot on his heels. As far as I can tell, here is how various Candidates stand after Day 2 (of 7).

Kurapika: 6 points

Guy from last ep with poison arrows: 6 points

Pinhead Guy: 6 points

Leorio: 4 points

Hisoka 4 points

Gon: 3 points

Tonpa: 0 points

Tonpa's friend: 0 points

Guy who got poisoned (and bandaged by Gon): 0 points

Spear guy who attacked Hisoka: 0 points and dead

Sniper guy who tried to hunt Pinhead: 0 points and dead

Hunter x Hunter Episode Fourteen

Sorry Gon, Japan's World Cup team is not that good this year.

The Fourth Phase of the Hunter Exam is introduced in today's episode. It has the following format: the Candidates each draw a number that is the number badge of one of the remaining Candidates. They are then taken to a deserted island where they have to hunt each other to steal their badges, by any means necessary. As for how they pass the exam, it uses a point system for each badge.

- Three points are awarded for your badge
- Three points are awarded for your target's badge
- One point are awarded for any other badge
- Six points are required to pass the Fourth Phase

The Candidates have one week on the island to acquire (and hold on to) enough badges to get the six points necessary to pass this Phase. Which means that, at most, half of the Candidates can pass the exam. I really like this game, it's a survival game that actually makes sense, much like most of the tests in the Hunter Exam.

After the cast makes it to the island, the focus is on Gon as he tries to figure out the best way to get his target's badge. This is especially pertinent because Gon drew Hisoka's number. And I'm just going to guess that Hisoka is the last person anyone wanted to draw as their target. The only person less lucky is the person who Hisoka drew for his own target. Either way, Gon is shown trying to hunt animals on the island, and coming to the realization of the best way to successfully hunt something, hunt it while it's hunting something else. And we see the person who picked Gon's number as he stalks his prey. Which means the next episode should be Gon's hunter hunting Gon hunting Hisoka hunting Hisoka's target. It's a huntception!

Hunter x Hunter Episode Thirteen

"Why did they send me the script to the first twelve episodes?"

We've got recap sign! And if this show is going to mail it in, then so am I! Time for a super lazy favorite characters power rankings post. I'm going to stick with the main four. Because effort is hard.

4. Leorio - He's the semi-competent comic relief character who is funny, even if that's only sporadically. And really, I usually tire quickly of any character who only exists to scream what is happening on screen. Even so, he did have a couple crowning moments of awesome, like how he confirmed Kurapika's win in the contests against the prisoners. Still, everyone else is more interesting in my opinion.

3. Kurapika - More often than not, the "last of my kind, need to get revenge" character is really boring. But, Kurapika is sort of the exception. He is actually capable of going an episode (several episodes actually) without bringing up his tragic past. And when it does come up, he completely wrecks some stupid shit trying to act all tough. And while he has some silly code about not killing people when they're not fighting back, he seems to have an interest in murder, as shown by his conversation with Killua after the heart removal incident.

2. Gon - If Gon had a cynical bone in his body, he would not work as a character. Instead, he's a kid with a big heart how can kill you if he chooses to do so, but he chooses not to most of the time. While he isn't the most book smart person on the planet, he is highly observant and a good fighter. I usually don't like the protagonist of a shounen show that much, but Gon is proving to be the exception.

1. Killua - While Gon may be the innocent kid of the group, Killua is anything but. He has killed people, a lot of people. And yet, he is able to relate with someone as pure as Gon. Maybe it's his need to have a friend of his own age and skill level, but that really makes him interesting to me. The friendship between him and Gon is what is driving the show right now, in addition to the Hunter Exam of course. But, if not for the two of them and the dynamic between them, the entire show would just be a bunch of weirdos in funny clothes competing in a bunch of deadly challenges. Killua and Gon are the ones who give the show a heart, and are the reason I care about what happens to them, and their other friends by proxy. That's a sign of a good show.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Twelve

Gon reaches for his Friendmaker.

The Third Phase of the Exam is completed in today's episode. But, first the Candidates have to spend fifty hours locked in a room. The only thing of consequence that happens is that the tension between Leorio and Tonpa increases as they banter at each other over who was worse in the series of contests. After a montage of some of the following challenges in the tower, there is one final choice of which path to take. Because of the time lost, they must choose a "short and easy" path, which only three of them can complete while the other two are handcuffed to a wall. The other path is the "long and difficult" path, which all five could complete but takes forty-five hours when they only have one. After it looks like the group is going to have to fight using all sorts of pointy implements of destruction to decide the three, Gon somehow figures out a way to get all five of them to the finish together. And he does it using the power of friendship axes.

The reveal that all five passed was quite effective, and I commend Hunter x Hunter for pulling it off. In the middle of a fight between Leorio and Tonpa, with Kurapika and Killua looking ready to join, we see Gon reach for an axe. Then, it's a cut to the bottom of the tower, with only three minutes left on the clock, incidentally the length of time the "short and easy" path takes. One of the doors that lets Candidates who have finished Phase Three opens, and it is revealed that Gon, Killua, and Kurapika have passed this Phase of the Exam. The audience figures that they are the ones who won the fight, as not only are they there, but they are covered in bruises that look like they were just in a fight. But then, Leorio and Tonpa show up, finishing the exam with them. Now, how did that happen? I won't reveal it completely, but it's a funny trick, one of which I completely approve. And seeing as the name of the tower is the Trick Tower, it looks like the Examiner approved as well.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Eleven

You could say he really knows how to steal your heart.

The series of contests is wrapped up in today's episode. First, Leorio's predictably loses his match after losing bets on the gender of his opponent (so that he could examine her himself, because of course) and a game of rock-paper-scissors. This sets up a fight between Killua and a mass murderer as the deciding contest. And it's to the death. And it's over quickly. Killua rips his heart out. Not a figure of speech, he walks to the super-strong killer and rips his beating heart out of his chest. Because this isn't an early '90s OVA, the heart is covered in a shred of fabric, but it is still beating. And when it stops beating, and the mass murderer is dead, Killua sets his heart back in his hand. But hey, my prediction of Candidates in 5 was correct!

And while this arc was literally predictable, I don't think that detracts from how good it was. Every person, save Tonpa, had a part in winning the contests and we even learned something about a couple of them at the same time. The most interesting thing to me is how the rest of the group reacted to Killua straight up murdering someone in front of them. Leorio was horrified, Gon was nonplussed (as he knew about this already), and Kurapika asked him how he pulled off that technique. As for Tonpa, wait, no one gives a shit about Tonpa so I'll move on. Now, the action moves to a room off to the side where the group must spend fifty hours after Leorio's contest involved betting (and losing) that much time. Hopefully something interesting happens.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Ten

Leorio, when you're arguing for someone to murder a person in their sleep,
you might want to reevaluate your stance on the matter.

The majority of today's episode was spent confirming the result of the third fight. It seems that Kurapika's punch only knocked out his opponent, which becomes an issue when it was supposed to be a fight to the death. So, after Leorio tries and fails to convince Kurapika to murder his unconscious opponent, he starts the fourth fight with a woman named Leroute. It is a series of gambles, and after a couple of gambles confirms that Kurapika did in fact win his fight to officially give the Candidates a 2-1 lead. Meanwhile, there is a scene where a former Examiner tries to get revenge on Hisoka, and in the process loses his head. Hisoka then becomes the first Candidate to clear the third trial. Yeah, he's still creepy.

As for what I thought about this episode, for the first time I really felt like Hunter x Hunter was spinning its wheels. The first half was just an argument where we learn that Kurapika has some moral code that doesn't allow him to kill someone if he's not actively fighting back. Which is all well and good, but Leorio points out that it doesn't really help them out as far as getting past this challenge. Killua pipes in that he's willing to do it, like the good little psychopath that he is, while Gon agrees with Kurapika. Tonpa, as usual, is just sitting back and watching the fireworks between them. Thankfully the wheel spinning only lasted for half an episode, as the action picked up with the gambling. I'm looking forward to seeing how this mini-arc resolves itself. And I'm still picking the Candidates in 5.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Nine

When a Kurapika's eyes glow red, someone's face is about to get messed up.

Good news! There were two more fights settled in this episode, so my fears of this taking an inordiante amount of time were completely unfounded. For today, I'm going to summarize the fights. Just to do something different:

Fight 1: Tonpa surrenders to the badass Bendot, because Tonpa is a piece of human excrement.

Prisoners lead 1-0

Fight 2: Gon and Sedokan enter into a competition where Sedokan produces two candles, one long and one short. Gon picks which candle he thinks will burn longer. When it turns out that Sedokan has a trick for whichever candle Gon picks, Gon sets his candle down and runs up to Sedokan where he blows the candle out. Thus, he secures the group's first win.

Series tied 1-1

Fight 3: After a bunch of blustering by Majitani decides to show off how tough he is with his fake tattoos of people he's killed and a trick arm before showing off his fake mark of the elite Phantom Troupe. This sets off Kurapika's badass switch, and in one punch the fight is decided. It turns out that Kurapika doesn't like the Phantom Troupe very much, and knew from the moment Majitani appeared that he was all bark and no bite (for the record, Gon and Killua knew this too). Hat tip to Sawashiro Miyuki, Kurapika's voice actress, for a great delivery of his lines after he knocked Majitani the fuck out.

Candidates lead 2-1

And this is where the episode ends. It looks like Leorio is up next, then Killua (if necessary). With that in mind, I'll make a pick for how this ends up and it's a pick I'm very confident in.

Candidates in 5

Hunter x Hunter Episode Eight

One of these things is not like the others ...

The Third Phase's goal turns out to be quite straightforward. The Candidates must make their way to the bottom of a tower in seventy two hours. After one Candidate tries to climb down the outside and gets eaten by a flying monster, the main group of four finds some trap doors on the roof of the tower. They end up in a room that is the start of a path where all decisions are made by majority rule. This necessitates a fifth person to join them who ends up being Tonpa, the perennial Hunter Candidate who enjoys hazing rookies. The five make their way to a room where they must fight a group of five hardened criminals one-on-one, and must win three of the five fights to pass. Tonpa goes first, immediately gives up in his fight, and reveals that he is a professional troll Candidate with has no interest in passing the Exam. Instead, his greatest joy in life is watching the Candidates fail. He's a delightful person, I hope he dies.

Yeah, this episode is mostly set-up for what I hope ends up being a short fighting tournament arc. I'm not opposed to tournament arcs, but if I spend the next ten or fifteen episodes watching these guys fight, I'm going to get very bored, very quickly. So far, Hunter x Hunter has moved along at a good pace, and I'd hate to see that stopped in its tracks like too many other shounen series. And really, that's all I've got for this episode. Yes, the guy getting eaten by a flying monster was a good reminder that the Hunter Exam is dangerous and life threatening, but that wasn't any new information. Here's hoping that this set-up pays off, and pays off quickly.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Seven

Killua is shocked at Gon's nonplussed reaction to what his parents do for a living.

The forty two Hunter Candidates fly on an airship bound for the destination of the next phase, and are told to get some rest. Naturally, since they are two twelve-year-old balls of energy, Gon and Killua stay up playing a game with the elderly head of the Exam Committee. But first, Killua finally tells Gon about his backstory. He comes from a family of assassins, who are none too happy that he has decided to become a Hunter instead of making his living killing people. Gon's reaction to this is his reaction to most things, he thinks it's pretty damn cool. As for the game, the object is to take the ball away from the old man, who is barely trying in keeping possession as the two come at him with every attack in the book. In the end, Killua leaves while Gon tries to get him to use his other hand during the game, and when he succeeds, the old man decides that three hours of sleep is a bit too little for a growing boy, and orders the airship to slow down to give him more time to rest.

This episode is really about Killua, specifically his personality in direct contrast to Gon. This is at its most apparent during the game. I compare Gon's awe at the old man's skills as far as dodging, dipping, ducking, diving, and dodging their attacks to Killua's building frustration. And when Killua's temper breaks after he leaves, two Candidates end up knocked out and possibly dead on the floor of the airship. That kid has issues. And in Gon, that kid has found someone it appears he has never really had, a friend. That Gon's wide-eyed wonder applies equally to the powers of the old man and the violent upbringing that Killua must be a good thing for him. It shows that Gon doesn't see him as a monster just because of his parents, even though most of the world probably sees him that way. And if anyone needs a friend like that, it's a child who has run away from his parents to live out his dream.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Six

"IT'S RAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!!!! YOU DONKEY!!!!"

After running through tunnels and swamps, the Candidates reach the Second Phase, where they try to impress a female version of Gordon Ramsay with crazy hair wearing short shorts with their pork dishes. This being a Hunter Exam, this means they have to hunt and kill their pork, which is comically large and doesn't go down without a fight. However, when their Examiner's standards are higher than any of the Candidates' imaginations, they all fail. After the entire group of Candidates call bullshit, the head of the Examination committee shows up, and forces her to choose a different task. This time, the Candidates have to retrieve eggs from a ravine, where the only way to get back up is to be carried by the intermittent updrafts. This ends quite poorly for those who mistime their jumps, as they are able to grab an egg, but there is no updraft to bring them back to the top. In the end, Gon and company all pass Phase Two, along with only thirty-eight other Candidates. 

This episode serves to illustrate the variety of Hunters there are in the world of Hunter x Hunter. In addition to bounty hunters or treasure hunters, there are people called Gourmet Hunters. These people search for dangerous-to-find ingredients that taste better than anything in the world. And while several of the Candidates don't take these types of hunters seriously, their tasks show both how serious they take their job and how much skill it takes to do it will keeping themselves alive. It's a good way to flesh out the world, and while it wasn't the most compelling episode, it was a nice breather after the heavier fare of yesterday.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Five

"Hi."

Today, it's running, but in a swamp! And instead of withdrawing because of exhaustion like in the tunnel, the Hunter Candidates who withdraw in the swamp do so due to being horribly killed. Either by being impaled on spikes after falling down a pit, getting eaten by some giant animal, or straight up killed by Hisoka. After killing a group of Candidates that were about to attack him, Hisoka sets his sights on Kurapika and Leorio, the latter of which decides it's a good idea to attack him with just a large stick. This leads to Gon's first confrontation with the creepy clown, one that ends with Hisoka's hand around Gon's throat. But, Hisoka is apparently the type that likes to play with his adversaries, so he lets Gon live, telling him to become a Hunter. But, he takes Leorio's unconscious body with him, for reasons I'm not sure we want to know, as he had knocked him unconscious during the fight.

Now, this is what I was waiting for with Hunter x Hunter, shit getting real. I saw people get eaten in a creepy swamp today. I saw the bad guy show that he ain't nothing to fuck with. And I saw Gon's first moment of pure badassery. It's one thing to help your friends when you're just trying to make it to a test site, it's another to go back and help them in a life and death fight. What I found more interesting than his nobility was how Gon talked about the simultaneous feelings of fear and excitement that coursed through him during the fight. It's like this was the first time he had really felt a rush of pure adrenaline in a long time, which was probably the case given the quiet life he has lead up until taking the Hunter Exam. Either way, I think I'm hooked on this show. It was quite tempting to go on to the next episode today, but I'll wait twenty-four hours. Somehow.

Makeup Exams

Exams are hard.

As promised in a previous post, I gave a few shows from the Spring 2014 season a second chance to impress me. How did they do? Click the jump and find out!

Hunter x Hunter Episode Four

If what I've heard about this show is true, their happy, innocent faces are going to get fucking broken.

Most of today's episode was the Hunter Candidates running through a tunnel, followed by them running up stairs. This sounds like a good time to explore some character motivations! Gon talks about his deadbeat dad deciding to go off and be a Hunter instead of spending time with him. Kurapika talks about how his clan was hunted for their pretty red eyes. And Leorio talks about his friend who died of a curable disease, then reveals that despite looking like he's closer to my age, he's a teenager like the rest of them. Cue deadpan anime reaction shot. After they reach the top of the stairs, the Candidates find out they still have to run through a swamp filled with creatures that will use deception to try to kill and eat them. And if the Candidate is lucky, the creatures will do it in that order.

I enjoyed this episode for being smart about how it used the time in an otherwise slow section to really lay some groundwork for future plot points. Gon and his future best friend Kilua begin to bond as they race through the marathon, while Kurapika and Leorio are quickly having their abrasive and combative banter lower to a simmer as they learn more about each other. Also, the scene where a creature tries to lure a bunch of Candidates away by saying their Examiner is a fake works in two ways. One is to both show the danger of the swamp they're about to enter. The other is to once again show again how dangerous (and creepy) Hisoka is. This show is keeping up a good pace to start, and while I'm happy that is the case, I'm hoping I'll be saying the same in twenty or thirty episodes.

Hunter x Hunter Episode Three

He's in the OP, so he must be important.

After Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio make it to the Hunter Exam's testing site, they meet a seemingly helpful guy named Tonpa who is really there just to mess with the newbie Exam takes. He introduces them to several candidates, including a bunch of repeat Exam takers, as well as some powerful newbies. He then tries to give them juice laced with a powerful laxative, which Gon sniffs out thanks to his keen sense of taste. He seems to specialize in this sort of thing after episode two's bit with the shapeshifters. The eventual fourth member of the group, as indicated by his prominent place in the OP, is introduced, a boy named Kilua who has developed a resistance to iocane powder Tonpa's laxative. Also, we meet the creepiest clown ever (non-Tim Curry Division) in Hisoka, who makes a dude's arms transform into flower petals for bumping into him. The dude is less than pleased with this development, as not only does he not have arms, but he is disqualified from taking the Hunter Exam.

It's at this point that I dropped the series when it first aired a couple of years ago. I was wary of picking up a long running series at that point, something I am now actively doing to right an apparent wrong. It just goes to show that while I write and rant and rave about how I feel about shows every season, sometimes I'm wrong. And despite my best efforts, some shows slip through my fingers. As an earlier post says, I'm giving some shows a second chance, mostly because the whole reason I started watching everything was to avoid missing the great shows as they come. Which, if what I read from people I trust is true, is exactly what I did in the case of Hunter x Hunter.

Spring 2014 Post-Mortem

This season made me accidentally my face.

Under the cut, we have a conversation between myself and my more assholish alter ego (in bold). It has insights as to what I thought about this season, the state of anime, and an announcement going forward. Enjoy!

Hunter x Hunter Episode Two

Do I have to put you two in timeout or something?

The second episode of Hunter x Hunter is all about the other two members of the current main character trio, Leorio and Kurapika, as the group makes their way through a pair of pre-tests for the Hunter Exam. Leorio is the hot-headed type with a heart of gold, and is shown to have good medical knowledge. Kurapika, on the other hand, possesses a calm demeanor and a bit of a cruel streak as he deals with being the last of his clan. And watching these two polar opposites clash can be entertaining. Especially because it doesn't seem like one is portrayed to be more suited to being a Hunter than the other.

The other thing that this episode establishes is how difficult it is to become a Hunter. The pre-tests in this episode involve an impossible ethical dilemma, where the correct answer to a basic "which important person to you would you save, A or B" is neither. Then, there's a situation involving a husband and wife seem to be attacked by shapeshifting monsters, which has multiple solutions, three of which are found by our heroes. I do like that there is an emphasis placed on quick and clever thinking, rather than brute force, in passing these pre-tests. It shows what the people running the whole Hunter scheme are looking for in prospective candidates. As for Gon, he takes a bit of a backseat in this episode, only showing off his powers of pure awesome when he is able to tell the two seemingly identical shapeshifters apart. He is a bit overpowered at this point, though he seems to be more than a bit naive, which could come to bite him in the ass in the future.

Hunter x Hunter Episode One

Remember, dads. If you abandon your kid, he'll end up with hair like this.

I've been looking for a long-running show to watch daily and write about as I catch up. It's a project that would do two things. One, I'd get to watch a show whose episode count is way too high for me to ever hope to catch up. Two, I'd get in the habit of writing and posting every day, something that after my three week hiatus is sorely needed. These won't be long recaps, a couple hundred words at most. But, it'll be something for my ten readers to enjoy. As for which show I'm watching, well after the entirity of Anitwitter exploded over episode 131, it looks like I'm going with Hunter x Hunter, as this post's title would suggest. I originally failed this show three years ago. Apparently, that was a mistake.

As for the first episode itself, it does a perfectly passable job introducing us to three of the main characters. The protagonist, Gon, is trying to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Hunter. Because his father abandoned him while being a Hunter, it's that important. As for what a Hunter is, it is some type of an adventurer crossed with crystallized badass. At least, that's what I gleaned from the way other characters talk about them. On board a ship to a testing site, we meet Leorio and Kurapika, who give out the most basic of character information before teaming up with Gon to save a sailor in a squall reminiscent of the climatic scene of The Perfect Storm. It's a good first episode, it shows enough information to ground me in the world while giving me a chance to meet the characters. And Gon seems to be an easy kid to root for, which he'll have to be, because in a show as long as Hunter x Hunter, I don't want to spend it hating the people I'm supposed to be rooting for.

Spring 2014 3ET Master List

Yeah, I'm going to lose my mind this season.

After taking too long to write all the reviews for the shows that finished in winter, I only had a one day break before starting on the Spring 2014 shows. But, third episodes are out and the show must go on. Under the cut, I have a list of all of the shows I'm going to watch, in the order I'm going to watch them, and with links of the 3ET as I publish them. The dates are when the third episodes will be available in English, though I can't promise I'll have a 3ET out on those days (seven on the 19th would be a bit much). Either way, I hope this helps people in some fashion.

3ET: M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane

Darkness so dark I call it Wesley Snipes.

Studio: Satelight

Director: Satou Junichi (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Kaleido Star)

Writer: Okada Mari (Aquarion EVOL, Nagi no Asukara)

Main Cast:

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu as Saginuma Akashi

Hikasa Youko as Hazaki Emiru

Maeno Tomoaki as Namito Iwato

Yahagi Sayuri as Kasumi Raika

Kakihara Tetsuya as Maki Minashi

Fukuen Misato as Yuzuki Maamu

Murase Ayumu as Isaku Heito

Koiwai Kotori as Izuriha Sasame

Character Design: Inoue Hideki (Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, Grenadier)

Music: Sakita Hajime

3ET: Mekaku City Actors

Where are her feet? Did someone screw up her program?

Studio: Shaft

Director: Shinbou Akiyuki (Bakemonogatari, ef – a Tale of Memories)

Writer: “Jin”

Main Cast:

Kaida Yuuko as Kido

Hoshi Souichirou as Seto

Tachibana Shinnosuke as Kano

Hanazawa Kana as Marry

Kashiyama Nanami as Momo

Asumi Kana as Ene

Terashima Takeru as Shintarou

Togashi Misuzu as Hibiya

Miyano Mamoru as Konoha

Character Design: Abe Genichirou

Music: Nakanishi Ryousuke (Kuroko no Basuke, Sakura Trick)

3ET: Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi

"This book would be really interesting if I knew how to read!"

Studio: Studio Gokumi

Director: Iwasaki Yoshiaki (Love Hina, Zero no Tsukaima)

Writer: Urahata Tatsuhiko (Cardcaptor Sakura, Saki)

Main Cast:

Murakawa Rie as Escha Malier

Ishikawa Kaito as Logix Ficsario

Character Design: Nakano Keiya

Music: Kazuki Yanagawa and Asano Hayato

3ET: Sidonia no Kishi

Well, looks like shit just got real.

Studio: Polygon Pictures

Director: Shizuno Koubun

Writer: Murai Sadayuki (Boogiepop Phantom, Mouryou no Hako)

Main Cast:

Oosaka Ryouta as Tanikaze Nagate

Toyosaki Aki as Shinatose Izana

Character Design: Moriyama Yuuki

Music: Asakura Noriyuki (Ruroni Kenshin, Major)

3ET: Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin

Oh wow. I hope this ghost girl living in my room isn't an obnoxious bitch ...

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Director: Kamei Kanta (Usagi Drop, Oreshura)

Writer: Kurata Hideyuki (OreImo, Samurai Flamenco)

Main Cast:

Ono Yuuki as Yama Juugo

Tanabe Rui as Ryuugajou Nanana

Character Design: KawakamiTetsuya (Shigofumi)

Music: Hoashi Keigo (Tasogare Otome x Amnesia)

3ET: Ping Pong the Animation

The next person who complains about the visuals in this show gets a racket up their ass.

Studio: Tatsunoko

Director: Yuasa Masaki (Kemonozume, Tatami Galaxy)

Writer: Yuasa Masaki

Main Cast:

Uchiyama Kouki as Tsukimoto “Smile” Makoto

Katayama Fukujuurou as Hoshino “Peco” Yukata

Character Design: Itou Nobutake (Kemonozume, Kaiba)

Music: Ushio Kensuke