Review:
Yep, Gon is a really, really happy person but somewhat less irritating this episode, probably because we were at least getting scene changes. We had the argument between Leorio and Kurapika in the city about whether to follow the directions Gon was given by the captain.
Then we had the argument between Leorio and Kurapika in the town when trying to answer the old woman’s quiz (though this was a bit more action focussed than the argument in the city). And finally we had… oh, Gon finally did something because we had to chase down a magical creature. Can I just ask, why does Gon use a fishing rod? And what is that thing made out of that it didn’t snap in two when he propelled himself back onto a cliff after taking a flying leap? And while we’re on the subject, why does Gon insist on flinging himself off of things. Episode one it was the boat and now a cliff. Okay, all kidding aside, I really enjoyed this. It isn’t exactly thought provoking but it is entertaining and while I’m wondering why anyone would even want to take an exam that is this hard to get to, I’ll just suspend that bit of disbelief and continue on the journey with them.
Hunter x Hunter is available on Crunchyroll.
So glad you started this and you’ve made up your mind to plough your way through these first few episodes. I’m looking forward to reading what you think as you get deeper into the wider story, as these are very much about character building and can come off a bit shallow because of that.
Just trust me when I say that by the end, you adore all of these people. I’ve mentioned before that while Gon can be irksome in his happy-go-lucky ways, in getting into the layers of his character and the suffering that exuberance is hiding, you come to accept it as part of him as you would a friend’s flaws. As for why the fishing rod, it seems to me that it’s a link to his home and his aunt Mito, as well as a reminder of how he proved himself ready to take on the Hunter exam in the first place. After the Hunter Exam arc he starts using it less and less, because the obligatory shonen battle training takes place.
And as far as going through the whole exhausting process of the exam is concerned, pro Hunters get some pretty awesome perks. The Hunter license is essentially like a Nando’s black card except it sets you up pretty much everywhere for life, discounts galore and it grants you access into areas of the world that wouldn’t be open to regular folk. I guess it’s kind of like PhD funding in a way too, because most Hunters end up doing some kind of historically or scientifically important research.
Woah, that’s how much I love this show. Every time I talk about it, it turns into a rant.
Not a rant, just a passionate exposition.
I’m slotting Hunter into my weekly review line-up to keep me on track though I may manage a second episode some weeks. Obvously this is going to take more than one season though to finish though (long running shows really do mess with timelines).
That’s a nicer way of putting it 😂
Yup, it feels like you’re going to be watching it forever when you start. So when I finally finished it, I felt like there was a rift in my life. Wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself without it.
Fortunately I’ve got enough series listed on my watch list that I don’t think that will happen. Though I know what you mean. When I first finished Bleach for the first time it was like I was at a loss of what to do without having a Bleach episode waiting for me. Even if I ignored the series for weeks/months before watching the next few episodes, it was always just waiting for me to come back to it and then it was done.
It’s funny I thought Gon was annoying too
I’m kind of hoping he tones down or at least gets a little less screen time as we meet more characters. Then again, maybe he’ll grow on me.
Yeah he does grow on you. Cause I was going to stop watching the series because of him. And he is the main character so no escaping him. But again he grows on you and calms down
He got better for me. My biggest distraction is his voice actress in the dub though, the Kill La Kill in Gon is strong XD
Omg the dubbed voice is the worst. He is way toooo annoying haha
Okay, really glad I’m not watching the dub now.
Yeah his voice and even kurapika’s voice are the worst.
You get used to it, but it took me like 10 episodes before it wasn’t completely distracting. So far I’ve really enjoyed the show regardless.
Well, most shonen aren’t known for being thought provoking. This one does much, much later on-ish, but it’s still pretty great.
You have 146 episodes to go.
Yeah, this is going to take awhile to watch I think with everything else given I don’t intend to marathon any of it.