Re: Hunter X Hunter New Anime Discussion
So true. The 99 version, especially the Gon characterization, made him into scared shitless bawling kid sometimes (scared shitless when Hisoka used Ren on 4 th exam; spend the whole day moping after Hisoka punched him; The 1st episode where Gon lied to Mito when apparently GON NEVER LIES!!; excessive tears of Gon in front of Kurapika). Props on the 2011 version on staying true on the manga impression of Gon.
I also got the impression on the 99 like the chemistry between Gon and Killua is similar to Mido Ban and Ginji from Getbackers. Noting this, Gon is the idiot one that sucks up and is wholely dependent on Killua (something like that).
But on 2011 I feel their friendship feel is more balanced or equal.
IMO, 1999 Gon...was a pretty boring character actually.
Leorio was comic relief. He had melodramatic backstory told through
that flashback with Piedro. But it sorta felt like it was trying too hard.
Killua was a cool character...but he had too many emo/bipolar moments.
Basically 1999 Killua was a superior version of Sasuke but not by much.
Kurapika was the annoying bookworm who then suddenly became supercool
out of nowhere during his fight with Hisoka. Now, I do think the fight itself is
portrayed lamely, storywise it was like Kurapika was all confident and cool.
Then there was of course all the shipping going on. Of course it's there in
the manga and 2011 version. But I dunno, it just seems more bearable in the
latter versions...but that could be partly due to the fact I've grown used to it.
But anywho that aside, back to Gon. Why was the 1999 version of him boring?
Well you basically start off with 9 year old Gon finding out from Kite that his
Aunt Mito lied to him about his father and mother dying in an accident. His
father, Ging is still alive and is according to Kite, this really awesome hunter.
Gon is inspired. But he also has his sad panda moment where he's just like
"Why did daddy abandon me?" Now, I can't blame 1999 Gon for feeling that way
but that we never see manga Gon or 2011 Gon (I think) like that is one reason
why Gon is so interesting. You'd THINK he'd be hurt by it but instead it only
makes him more motivated. Then we get the filler with him chasing Leorio
around and he just comes off across as this persistent little bugger.
Then Gon gets all moralistic with the fake hunter and is just like "poaching is bad."
And basically for a good deal of the series Gon feels like a goody two shoes.
His fight against Hisoka feels more like it's to overcome his fear than to mend his
wounded pride. Really the thing made 1999 Gon interesting at all was that he get
his ass kicked on a consistent basis. It was like Believe It Naruto except he'd get owned.
It felt like the focus was really on the reunion of Gon and Ging rather than the journey.
So it made me think that Gon had ADD or something because he kept getting sidetracked.
I dunno part of this view is due to being less familiar with Gon (he's a deceivingly simple character when he's actually rather complex) but I do think there are little changes here and there in the 1999 series that make Gon seem this way.
And now let's talk about another enhancer
Uvogin.
I'm actually really starting to like this guy. I mean I always thought he was cool because he's strong as hell. But I mean his personality although disturbing is also incredibly likable.
I think a good portion of this is due to the voice actor. I don't speak Japanese so I can't
comment on how well of a voice actor he is. But even so, there is a charisma there.
I mean it's like you want to cheer on Uvogin...even though he's supposed to be the bad guy. Of course it's not like there much reason to like the mafia either. One thing I like
about Uvogin is a quote he has from the manga that is simple but says a lot about him
"I wanted to get stronger...simply to be strong."
Now that may sound like a pretty shallow reason. But it's actually pretty deep when you think about it. Uvogin isn't wanting to get strong to impress anyone or make people fear him or so he can beat up someone (though he loves doing that) he wants to get strong so he can be strong. I was watching this weird film called Charlie Bronsan with Tom Hardy (Bane) and it was about this British prisoner who just kept getting into fights no matter
where they locked him up and even as they tried negotiating with them he could never
figure out what it was he wanted all he knew was he wanted to punch someone's face.
Tom Hardy did an excellent job acting the role of Charlie Bronsan, though the movie itself
got a bit too artsy for my taste. That all said, it reminded me of Uvogin. I think if Uvogin
and Charlie Bronsan were real people and the latter knew nen then they would be the bestest of friends or the worst of enemies or maybe both. Anywho long live Uvogin
and now a question
who is your favorite shadow beast so far?
Rabid Wolf
Porcupine
Worm
Leech
Mine is Rabid Wolf.