Anime Discussion Thread - Page 6207

Most of my comments here are about the infamous Chimera Ant arc, which I could tell was the main garnerer of complaints going in. It's where my complaints come from as well. It was an interesting experience though, because it wasn't the usual shift most series go through, where there's a general dip in quality. I didn't get that sense. All the while, I hated, absolutely hated, and still hate, the Chimera Ants themselves. Completely uninteresting as characters, and unsympathetic as antagonists. Giant insects with non-insect qualities, that have massive power levels and came almost literally out of nowhere, what wasn't to hate? The arc also had a pretty bad pacing problem, it was way too long, and by the time it was over the narrator was pretty suffocating as well. When it finally ended, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I could actually tell there was a point when Togashi-sensei realized the Ants were terrible characters, because in the latter half they try to give them actual character, by having them regain memories from when they were still human, and some of them question their motives and assert their independence, but also the way the arc ended. The ending, for what it's worth, I didn't actually hate. For as much as I hate all the regular Chimera Ants, the King was handled very well, so that by the end his death made me sad. Through his games with Komugi, and his love for strategy, he had as much depth and humanity as any of the hunters. It was a good way for it to go out.

Also RIP Netero-san, you badass old man.

But through all of this, and my rollercoaster of mainly hatred for the ants, as well as that one weird as fuck episode when the Royal Guard revived the King, I still really, really enjoyed the arc. Even though the arc was all about gearing up to destroy the Chimera Ants and their King, Togashi-sensei had the good sense to introduce a lot of outside buildup scenes. Gon and Killua were forced to accept their weakness and leave to re-train after Kite's defeat, which served as the perfect segue for new characters to be introduced. New hunters, specifically. And I love them all. They're an interestingly well-written set of characters, considering how terrible the Ants were. This gives me the sense that the Ants were more of an experiment narratively, and not just Togashi losing his edge. Because even as the arc progressed and I continued to hate every Ant except the King, all the other characters managed to be interesting and awesome.

The other minus I'll give the Chimera Ant arc was the complete AWOL-itude of Leorio and Kurapika. Weirdly, I still immensely enjoyed it though.

The internal logic and consistency of the series was top-notch, overall. The system of covenants and constraints is one that remains interesting, and used well. The only time anyone had a major jump in power, not explained by training,
was through the use of this system. When Gon inexplicably summoned enough power to destroy Pitou, it was because of a tradeoff that almost took his life. But, most importantly, no character is ever rendered irrelevant. You feel a solid sense of progression as Gon and Killua continue to develop their powers, but you still feel they have a long way to go,
when you see what someone like Netero can do. Overall, it pulls of something most series really don't. Dragonball Z is the archetypical example of a series making side characters useless, but there are many others like it. Overall, I was super impressed that Hunter X Hunter always managed to keep every character pertinent and interesting. There's always a very solid sense of great world-building as you move from one location to the next, and new characters never feel fabricated whole-cloth.

The fights, when they occur, always remain interesting, because the series was never really about the fights. It was always about the mind games, deduction, and inference. What wasn't said was as important as what was. It was about the hunt. A+