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.