Hunter x Hunter is one of my and many others favorite manga/anime of all time. This review will concentrate on the 2011 anime adaption, which follows Gon's and his friends and frenemies adventures. But don't be fooled, this is not a typical kid's show, with every arc HxH gets darker and more enlightening.
Yoshihiro Togashi has created many other works in the shōnen genre, such Yū Yū Hakusho, but HxH is his most successful publication, for good reason. The plot is engaging, all the characters are unique and bring the story to live, I mean the world building is first class AND makes logical sense. You can't even hate the bad guys because they are so well written and mesmerizing, you have to be a master storyteller if the audience is falling for the bad guys, like Hisoka, Chrollo or Meruem.
HxH starts in a very stereotypical shōnen manga way, we meet our young protagonist Gon Freecss, who discovers that his long-lost father, Ging Freecss, is a legendary Hunter, and now wants to become a Hunter as well and find him. The story is set in a world where Hunters, individuals with special skills and abilities, are highly respected and sought after for various tasks. To accomplish that, he has to pass the hunter's exam along with many other hopefuls. During the exam he meets his new best friend Killua, as well as Leorio, Kurapika, and the strange clown Hisoka, who will become his first rival throughout the show.
He passes the exam and can now start his adventures, and those rapidly grow in difficulty. We learn more about Kurapika and his life's mission to avenge his dead clan members. To avenge them, he has to kill Chrollo and his spider gang, strong nen users that won't be beat easily. Btw, nen is the magical ability in the HxH universe. Every hunter has to have a nen ability to be able to fight strong opponents.
The next arc revolves around Killua and his assassin family. Everyone in his family is crazy, as well as strong. Gon is trying to help Killua escape the home, so he can join him in his adventures that involve Greed Island, a virtual world Gon's father build, which will bring him one step closer to finding him. It's a running joke in the anime community to refer to Gon's dad as one of the worst dads in anime, since he abandoned him as baby to work as hunter and then never really bothered helping him in any way. Once he gets Killua out of that hell house, the gang decides to help Kurapika, and once that is done, they visit Greed Island and power up. After that, HxH's most popular arc begins, the Chimera Ant arc, aka one of the best arcs in shōnen history.
As the arc progresses, it becomes apparent that the Chimera Ants are not just a physical threat but also a moral and ethical one. The Chimera Ant King, Meruem, emerges as a character of great intelligence and power, and his interactions with humans, including the blind girl Komugi, lead to profound philosophical discussions about humanity, power, and identity.
I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read/watched the series yet, but the whole arc is a masterpiece, the character design and fight sequences are marvelous and catapult the show from shōnen to complex seinen real quick. Every battle matters, every dialog matters, every detour has consequences, and you sit there with full suspense following how this drama "Humanity vs. Chimera Ant" will end. And boy, does the end not disappoint.
So in short, if you love action anime, you must give Hunter x Hunter a try!
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