Hunter X Hunter (characters)

[Blewin]

who's seen it, heard of it?
it's so good! although i really really like Gon's character, it's a bit unrealistic that he got through the stuff so.. 'easily'. well, yes, that is partly because of his own ability, but uh, that guy really has luck!

my other favourite is Killua, it's funny at times.. though his profession should make him quite cold blooded, he's been quite disappointing at times, well, that gives the audience light moments. It's interesting and engaging to see the friendship developing between him and Gon.

ok, i haven't seen all the episodes though.

[Lady Arianrod]

I've also seen Hunter X Hunter. I've seen all of the original series and the first OAV. The show itself is of very good quality, and the characters range from cute and innocent to complex and realistic. I like many things about the series, especially its originality and portrayal of friendship.

Even so, too much of the series makes me feel a bit sad/strange when I realize the intensity of the brainwashing that Killua has gone through to be an assassin and the sheer graphicness of the violence itself.

I do love the show. It is very creative and is much unlike any shonen anime I've ever seen. Hunter X Hunter is very underrated.

Despite all of the good things in the series, I can't say that I'd recommend it on a Christian anime website due to several extremely violent parts (including someone's heart being ripped out) and creepy content (people who are extremely bizarre and bloodthirsty).

[Aka-chan]

I don't know much about it, but I do have a question. Is there a canon romanization for the blond guy of the main four? I've seen so many different spellings, I'm just curious.

[Psycho Ann]

Kurapika is what the most common spelling is for him ^^

Yeah, HXH is another great series (despite getting draggy at the Greed Island arc) but violence is a plenty. And one of the main bad guys, Hisoka, is really... um... insane. And crazy. Did I mention psycho? You'd think the guy is somewhat a pedophile later in the series.... ^^;;;

I wouldn't recommend it either for these points, but if you're used to and not offended by the usual Togashi violence then check it out.

[Lady Arianrod]

Just a question... why did you think that hisoka was a pedophile later on? I don't remember anything explicit...

[Psycho Ann]

There's one too many hints of Hisoka getting "excited" for me (the biggest reason why I don't like HXH that much. "Why Togashi--WHY!? Variety in characters is good, but not THAT variety!!"). When he fights Gon in the tower, he gets aroused, though argueably because of the fight itself. Then there's the one where he's naked in the lake at Greed Island. Then how later on he admires the boys' rears when walking behind them.

Though, the first two points are from the manga, so probably the anime is WAY more subtle. But the last bit is still there in the OVA. It's pretty obvious that Hisoka gives unhealthy attention to the boys ^^;;;

[Kenchii]

I just seen episodes 1-5 of the OVA of Greed Island. Its alright, I like the painted backgrounds.

[uc pseudonym]

I have read almost all of the manga, though I have not found the most recent volume...

The series is alright. Fairly complex, battle system-wise, which I found interesting. It has a tendency to go off on the excessive detail end for no true good reason, but I like a fair number of the characters. Some of the plots are interesting, though I must admit I really don't care about Gon's quest that much.

Several things annoy me. One is what Psycho Ann mentioned, for the same reasons, and I have nothing else to say. Other than Hisoka's unique weapon (the cards, not the gum) I really don't like him.

My other annoyance: the high body count. Violence doesn't really bother me, but stupidity does. It goes beyond any reasonable limits, as if he's just trying to rack up as many kills as possible.

[Lady Arianrod]

You're right-- uc-- there is a very high amount of violence in the series. Some of it is downright disturbing.

And psychoann, I never noticed those scenes in the manga because I haven't read as far as the Greed Island Arc.

Maybe I'll skip those chapters... Hisoka always did creep me out, and now I can recall one of the scenes... the fight in the celestial tower. That was odd, but I just overlooked it as someone who was too much into fighting. I hope that Togashi didn't create Hisoka to be that kind of a person.... I mean, he is weird, but I wish that there wasn't that implied sexuality.

[MasterDias]

I've read up to the beginning of Volume 10.
I've generally enjoyed it so far, but like UC, I'm rather annoyed by the high body count...
The battle system is interesting, although it is a bit overcomplicated and confusing.

About Hisoka, he is certainly one of the most insane/psychopathic villains that I've seen in a while. I can't comment on anything occurring on Greed Island or later as I haven't reached it yet...

[Lady Arianrod]

I've changed my opinion on this show... It's far too violent for my tastes. Despite its redeeming qualities of originality and the interesting friendship between Killua and Gon, Hunter X Hunter is no longer at the top of my list. The show itself made me feel odd when I thought about it for a long time... maybe God was telling me that all this violence and the dubious sexual undertones shouldn't be a part of my life.

You can still watch the show if you want, but proceed with caution. It may seem inncocent at first, but Hunter X Hunter is a dark journey.

[Lady Arianrod]

Has anyone been reading the manga of HXH as of late?

[uc pseudonym]

Not at all. I cannot find it anymore. What issues are you speaking about? There is a chance that I have read them already.

[MasterDias]

I still haven't read past the beginning of Volume 10 or wherever but I plan to read some more, once I finish up with one or two other scanlated series.
How many volumes are out now anyway?

[Lady Arianrod]

I don't know how many issues are out... I was referring to the most recent chapters (221 or so). I wasn't that thrilled with the "chimera ants" arc as I prefer the TV series to the manga, but I was wondering if the manga's been updated recently. It seems that Yoshihiro Togashi is only releasing one chapter every two or three weeks...

[Psycho Ann]

The last chapter I 'read' is a couple of chapters after the Greed Island arc. With the giant insect creatures and stuff. And Togashi is known for his... tardiness so I'm not surprised if he does drag a bit XD He and Naoko are probably too rich to be concerned about money anyway XD

[uc pseudonym]

Ah; you have read further than I.

To the side, I grew bored with the series simply because I didn't care that much about the central plot: Gon finding his father.

[Lady Arianrod]

I've dabbled a bit in the "Ant" arc... It seemed odd and took me a while to understand what was going on.

The series itself was great when it focused on the characters' individual strengths & abilities and, of course, Killua's evolution from murderer to Gon's best friend.

[MasterDias]

Overall, I think I technically like the characters of YYH better even though I've read more of HxH.

Although, I do like the relationship between Gon and Killua.

[Lady Arianrod]

Overall, I think I technically like the characters of YYH better even though I've read more of HxH.

Although, I do like the relationship between Gon and Killua.

I like their friendship a lot. I thought, however, that the characters were generally more developed and three-dimensional in HxH than in YYH, but the YYH characters had a higher "cool" factor in general. Most of them were easier to like or admire than the blood-thirsty assassins and hunters in HXH.

[shooraijin]

Since we have two dissimilar (but titled the same) Hunter X Hunter threads running in tandem, I'm altering titles to reflect what topics are being discussed since I don't find any easy way to merge one into the other.

[uc pseudonym]

Good call, shooraijin.

I actually thought differently in regard to characters. At this point, I have liked YYH's characters better than HxH's, and not merely due to aforementioned "cool factor." However, the depth of characters is partially based upon how you perceive them, so that makes sense. But at the point I reached (nearly two hundred issues in) I felt as though very little development had taken place (outside of Killua).

[Lady Arianrod]

Good call, shooraijin.

I actually thought differently in regard to characters. At this point, I have liked YYH's characters better than HxH's, and not merely due to aforementioned "cool factor." However, the depth of characters is partially based upon how you perceive them, so that makes sense. But at the point I reached (nearly two hundred issues in) I felt as though very little development had taken place (outside of Killua).

Good point, uc. I think that I was partial to HxH for a while mainly because of Killua's character development and his relationships with his family and Gon. The other characters may have their quirks or faults, but they're rarely explored. That's a good way of explaining another reason why I got tired of HxH... The characters are sometimes interesting, but they're hard to get into or relate to.

Maybe YYH's characters are more human (Yusuke, Kuwabara) or more diverse (dark tournament, anyone?) than HxH's. Hunter x Hunter had quite a few characters, but the whole series was fast-paced and lacked a certain depth when it came to the background characters. Only the main four were generally focused on, and they were fairly conventional anime characters. (well, Gon was the typical "lovable hero" and Kurapika was the "revenge-seeking pretty boy".)

Both series have their good and bad points. HxH, I think, is far too long and rambling at this point.... It's become confusing and the characters that we once were interested in have all but disappeared.

The fighting in YYH got repetitive, but I thought that the Dark Tournament was pretty cool for a fighting anime. It wasn't exactly like the endless "martial arts tournament" cliche that has been used in many shonen titles since Dragon Ball.

However, when I initially compared the two, I felt that HxH had more originality storywise (most arcs) than YYH simply because YYH featured more of the standard elements that often appear in a shonen anime.

I'm not sure if all of you agree with these differences because, after all, everyone sees each anime differently. I liked YYH because the characters were both interesting and fun to watch (fighting or interacting with each other), and I liked HxH because the storyline was original and because the storytelling was mature and well-paced.

Both can get slightly frustrating after a while because, even if they're well-done, they still lack small, subtle things that can make or break a series. *



*every anime has its faults, however. Even favorites like Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, and Dragonball Z have their flaws. Heck, even my current infatuation, DN Angel, is far from perfect.