Anime Hunter X Hunter Anime- Fall 2011

[mrsticky005]

You know, the criticism of the new HxH series reminded me of Rurouni Kenshin. Who have seen the OVA and have not read the manga?

The only Kenshin I've ever seen is Samurai X. To be honest the actual series didn't seem too interesting to me. Samurai X looks like a seinen while Kenshin looks like a shonen. Now granted I may be severely underrating Kenshin. Though I just think I would prefer something more along the lines of Vagabond which one of these days I plan on reading all.

I bought the manga first, and watched the anime later. As for the OVAs, I tried to watch them, but I couldn't bare them. Why, because they were so gloomy and too serious compared to the original manga atmosphere.

For me it's the opposite. I like that gloomy atomsphere. Now I'm sure it's nothing like the manga and probably failed as an adaptation but it was great story wise.


Now, if a remake of RK was done that covered the same materials as the OVA but made it more faithful to the manga, would the OVA fans bash this remake because it showed comedic scenes like these?

Spoiler

I wouldn't. I still have Samurai X. I got the movie I wanted. I think Kenshin fans should get the movie they wanted. Heck I would be fine if there was no Samurai X and it just was what the fans wanted in the first place. Maybe I would like it. Maybe I wouldn't. But I do appreciate a true to the source adaptation.

SHINOBI-03
You should stick comparisons to another thread probably (technically its another topic), but I think I'm an exception (when it comes to manga vs anime debates).

Spoiler

I saw both HxH and Kenshin as anime first (own them both) but also like the manga adaptations. The key difference is Kenshin (trust and betrayl) is just a flashback story not the whole series but its worse since its so gloomy and doesn't represent the manga's tone at all! It has its own unique fanbase separate from the rest of the franchise. I think that's sort of interesting anyway, and I'd probably be less then interested in seeing a remake UNLESS they animated the rest of the Enishi arc to go along with it (only then would I care to see that animated, I already own the manga version) (Though I go on the record to say the filler OVA is garbage (where kenshin dies)

Back to Hunter X Hunter: Hunterpedia omake at the end of the episodes are really cute! But the first one seemed a bit redundant, its alright so far but my hope for it is to actually goes over series tidbits the anime normally can't cover. Like maybe going over Nen details, or other things like how in Yorknew arc you get pages like this:

(Manga spoiler)

Spoiler

New episode is only two days away XD getting hype for Hisoka and seeing more Nen.

Don't you mean the anime adaptations? The manga is the original source if I am not
mistaken. That's one pet peeve of mine. When people treat what they saw first as
the original source and then think that the original was done "wrong". Not accusing
you of doing that though. Or anyone in particular for that matter.

Yeah I hope they use it to talk more about nen. It can be a rather confusing subject
so the omake might help new fans learn about it faster and get them up to speed.

Right now I'm at the point of being super excited for each episode but also having
a bit of uneasiness about how well they will do. However depending on how well
they do this arc I think afterwards I will simply just be looking forward to each
episode. Though with each episode I've gained more confidence in Madhouse.
I know they CAN make a supreme HxH adaptation. It's just...WILL THEY?

Exactly. And you know why? Because the director who directed those Kenshin OVA was the same guy who directed HxH 1999 series- Kazuhiro furuhashi. (btw Kenshin's author expressed that he didn't like those OVA.) Kazuhiro took what's essentially an shounen series and imposed his gloomy seinen take on it. I appreciate his bold and unconventional effort and many people liked them. But he basically hijacked someone else's work and overwroted it with his own darker and more melodramatic vision, which in the process sacrificed the original author's voice, the flow of the overarching series's storytelling, distorting the characterization and ultimately changing the core focus of the story.

Kazuhiro almost went even further to try to create his own resolution for the Yorkshin arc - he had it written where both Kurapika and Kuroro died at the end. There's a storyboard and screenplay floating around on the internet where you can see how the writings/frames goes (very melodramatic). HxH's author Togashi of course rejected it. But that shows you how much he's attached to Kurapika's story and pretended that HxH is over after that arc, as he obviously didn't care much for other characters, nor care for the fact that HxH is actually a shounen series where the leading focus should have been on Gon and Killua.

What's annoying for fans of the manga is that, all these people who were introduced to HxH thru the anime insist Kazuhiro's version is the canon, or that it's 'better'. When the new anime series first started, you keep hearing people complain how come the colors are so bright, how come it's not serious, not dark, no tension...etc. But if you come to the series from the manga, you won't feel there's much difference between the new anime and the manga. If you were to compare the general tone, the body/eyes proportion of Gon and Killua to the later where Togashi's drawings are more settled, they're basically the same! In manga, Gon and Killua are portrayed as cute, cheerful and pudgy, and would only appear badass where it needs to be. HxH has always been humorous and fun (with a dark streak and Togashi's odd flavors of course), even at the Chimera arc. Not to mention how cartoony the 12 zodiacs looks.

So this false impression of HxH being 'dark', "serious', etc. came largely from the 1999 series. As a manga fan, I'm glad that we get another adaptation that's more shounen, which is what HxH is.

Oh really? Well that's interesting. Yeah I can see why Kenshin's author was upset.
While I did enjoy Samurai X I actually don't see it as Kenshin. I see it as Samurai X.
I don't think he should have ever been director of the HxH series. As good as the
1999 series was...it really wasn't Hunter x Hunter. Thank goodness for the 2011
series. And the manga for that matter. I think Samurai X is one thing because
it's an OVA that can be ignored. But 1999 HxH was the TV SERIES itself.
IMO the TV series should ALWAYS be as true to the original source as possible.


Wow...really? They both die? Yeah that is pretty melodramatic.
Speaking of which Samurai X WAS pretty damn melodramatic.
I wonder what an completely original Furuhashi story would be like and
if I would actually like it or if it was just the adapted elements I liked.
I think for HxH most of what I like is from the manga and I saw the
anime first. Stuff like the battleship filler bored me but Zevil Island
was intriguing. It was like...oh shiznap...A shonen with a brain? YES PLEASE!
(Death Note is more like a brain with a shonen). Yeah as much as I like
Kurapika I do think the focus should be on Gon and Killua. It's actually
really weird how the 1999 series is like THIS STORY IS ABOUT GON.
GON WANTS TO FIND HIS DAD. GON TAKES THE HUNTER EXAM TO FIND HIS DAD
GON MEETS HIS FRIENDS KILLUA, LEORIO, KURAPIKA IN THE HUNTER EXAM.
THEY ALL HAD TRAGIC PASTS. BUT THEIR FRIENDSHIP WOULD NOT BE BROKEN.
KURAPIKA WANTS REVENGE. REVENGE WILL CORRUPT YOUR SOUL. THE END.
Wait..what? The 1999 HxH always felt a little disconjointed like it was trying
to be like that movie Crash except it never ties in together.

Yeah I think you hit the nail on the head with that one. Though I actually think
the manga is the darker series. Part of the reason why is because of how much
it LOOKS like it would be all happy and cheerful. HxH is a crap-saccharine world.
And even the "light of hope" Gon Freecss just so happens to be rather INSANE.
Ironically I think the 1999 series got the OPPOSITE story. In the 1999 series
Killua is the one wallowing in darkness and Gon was the light of hope.
But reading the manga I actually got the opposite impression. That Gon
was the one heading into darkness and corruption and that Killua is the light
of hope. However neither can be considered to be saints. But I think something
like the Chimera Ant Arc and Gon's mental breakdown makes a LOT more sense
when you read the manga than going from the 1999 anime to the Chimera Ant
Arc. You don't really realize why they call Hunter x Hunter a deconstruction of
the shonen genre until you read the manga.

I think the 1999 was trying to hard to make it in a hollywood tragedy or something.
The manga to me is a corrupted shonen story. Or rather how a shonen would work
out in real world terms. Can you imagine how dark something like Naruto would
be if it pulled no punches? Even at it's dakest Naruto always feels very restrained.
Hunter x Hunter though...it's the one series where I think Gon dying is actually
a very REAL possibility and I actually DON'T want that to happen as Gon is awesome.
But I would never except Naruto to die except as the big hero at the end of the series.
Gon seems like he could hit by a truck and HxH would continue. It's just that unforgiving.

Yea I had never heard this rumor either of them both dying. That sounds absolutely horrible.

Me neither. News to me.

I will refrain from comparisons any further though since I know Mods don't like it and it derails the thread. The original 1999 Yorknew arc (and OVA that concludes it) is my favorite story arc of HxH but the Chimera ant arc is a very close second favorite. I think if I had read the manga all the way through (as my first experience of HxH) I might be inclined to agree with you on it being the best, it has some of the best chapters in all of shonen manga. While I love the quirky badasses that are the Spiders, (a lot more then the ants), NGL does such a good job of having almost every element of HxH woven together so nicely. I wasn't huge on the ending of the arc at first, but as I've been recently rereading the arc I find myself enjoying it more and more! I think that's really where Togashi's art got a lot better too (but maybe this is because of how he sketches it first and cleans it up later in volume releases, technically he spent the most time on this arc)

I don't see a problem with comparisons especially when there's not a whole lot else to talk about right now. Hopefully with the intro of nen we will have a lot more to talk about. I actually prefer the ants. I just like how it was simple. They ate
people. And then with Meryem it got really complicated. And awesome.
Still love the Spiders though.

As for Yorknew's ending, I guess you can say it doesn't really have an ending? I am happy with how the conflict ends for the most part but I didn't like it that much when I first watched it. I've read the manga version of the ending and rewatched the anime adaptation many times now, and I find it mostly satisfying. It's more satisfying to me then the end of NGL actually (I'm probably in the minority with that opinion), which is why its still my favorite arc. I just think the Spiders are so cool! I nearly sprang out of my chair in excitement over the new opening and ending theme seeing all my favorite Yorknew characters again. I sort of wish I could hear some of the new soundtrack now, the translated track listings just got me more excited.

I actually thought a lot of people hated the NGL ending and the arc for that matter.
I dunno for me it was like I felt like I was left hanging with Yorknews. I want either
Kurapika to die or the Spiders. I don't want the "he'll hunt them forever" ending
nor the "give up on revenge" ending either. and of course not the "EVERYONE DIES"
ending.

I can't say I dislike the ending, untimatly only achiving sealing away Kuroro's nen was a pretty good way to conclude things (definetly better than them dying) but I always felt that togashi could top it , and when I said real conculsion, I was talking about kurapika's revenge issue. Maybe I'm beeing too shounen-istic in my thinking here, but I think a real conclusion will be reached when we see how his revenge is settled and the ultimate fate of the spiders will be, but I assume that'll be near the end since it will most likely finish Kurapika's main story.

also as far as the art goes, I'm aware togashi redaws his work and the volumes are much better, but I still had to read these chapters online. plus, I'm not sure if viz is still releasing the hunter x hunter manga so I'm hesitant in going after a incomplete collection (though collecting OP dvds has DEFINETLY been a risk...)

lastly, I have to agree I like the spiders alot more than the ants, some were good, some ok, and then some.................FRIGGIN BUTTERFLY DOUCHE!!!!!!*calm down....calm dowm......*

yeah. I agree with ya there.

but still, I'm just gonna expect a animated version of the manga's telling and then we'll see how this arc plays itself out with fans and such.

To me it's not over. It's just postponed.

Pouf is the character I love to hate. When he lost his little game it was so awesome.

Yeah, I googled a little bit and couldn't find the information in English, so I'll write about it here. It's quite a long time ago and the Japanese internet tends to not archiving data well (coz that information was circulated on 2ch). So as the 1999 series was catching up with Togashi's hiatus, the series's director Kazohiro Furuhashi decided to end the series right there with his original written ending. He sent the screenplays and storyboards to Togashi and the manga publisher. There were going to be two episodes:

Episode 61 Avici x Calling x Requiem (阿鼻×叫喚×レクイエム)
Episode 62 Red Eyes x Silence x Catastrophe (緋の目×沈黙×カタストロフ)

We don't know about the details too much but in a board summary, Kurapika ended up killing Kuroro, but as Kazohiro liked to input his moralistic "eye for an eye" view Kurapika has to die too to pay for the price. He died laying in Leoreo's arms.

Of course Togashi rejected this ending vehemently, and for the people who knew the manga well knew this is definitely not Togshi's style (his ending would be way more anti-climatic, non-endings, and got the lol/wtf vibe...that's why I think he rarely takes HxH that 'seriously'.)

The screenplays and storyboards for these two 'phantom finale episodes' was auctioned off after the TV series was over. It was up on the Japanese Yahoo!Auction for a day and was sold for 81000yen, in which you can see there were 3 images

Basically Kurapika was Furuhashi's Mary Sue. He mentioned in many occasion that he sees Kurapika as a 'tragic heroine figure' and that's why the Yorkshin arc in 1999 series took a dive and deviated from the source material drastically in terms of focus, tone and core. It's almost like fanfic. Strangely that it seems like a consensus on 2ch that Furuhashi doesn't 'get' Togashi's style at all, and he liked to impose his own views/style on things he adapted too much...but of course there're so many fans who prefer Furuhashi's re-interpretation of HxH as many found the tragic heroine Kurapika very 'moe', and prefer the dark and take-itself-too-seriously melodrama.

---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:47 PM ----------


Relax mr.sticky , Uriel was talking to that mousiehamster user, who asked why his posts kept on disappearing. That 'asking why my post was gone' is gone again so it appeared now Uriel's reply came after yours. I saw his post this morning but it's now gone, Uriel's post was not addressing you.

Ok then in that case sorry Uriel. I jumped to conclusions.

Dying in Leorio's arms...yeah ok that's not totally homo at all.

you mean tragic hero? I thought Kurapika was a DUDE!

The way I see it now...Kurapika is a nice guy turned cold blooded murderer. It's tragic but in a unconventional way.

Again...Thank goodness for the 2011 series.

Now these changes sound absurd, but in terms of what was actually done (and this is just my own perspective) I don't actually think Yorknew in the 1999 anime vs manga is that different. I've now read it in the manga (the whole arc). I agree it has a slightly enhanced tone, but I didn't really notice much difference. It's not like its unrecognizable or is filled with filler dialogue, the dialogue seemed mostly the same to (granted I read the Edited Mangas which aren't that accurate). That alternate ending sounds awful though! Its neat that you found the source of it, I'm just glad we didn't get anything like that in the canon of the story.

I think it has a different...vibe to it.

One thing you will notice with Hunter x Hunter is the all of the story arcs end in an anti-climax of some form or another. It's a staple of the series. I really love that most of the arcs end not with a bang but with a real honest human moment. Even the most violent arc of all ends in such a way with the most monstrous creature known to man Meryem discovering the value of humanity. Let's look at all the arcs endings just briefly shall we?

- Hunter Exam Arc: Ends in anticlimax with Gon being knocked out in the final phase only to wake up realising everything is over.
- Zoldyck Family Arc: Ends in anticlimax after Killua is simply let go by his Father and Grandfather.
- Heaven's Arena Arc: Ends in anticlimax after Gon is defeated by Hisoka.
- York New Cirty Arc: Ends in anticlimax after both warring parties make an exchange and go their separate ways.
- Greed Island Arc: Ends in anticlimax after Gon and Killua discover that 'Nigg' is not Ging but in fact Kite.
- Chimera Ants Arc: Ends in anticlimax after the King is defeated by poison and quietly passes away with Komugi.
- Election Arc: Ends in anticlimax after Pariston immediately resigns from position of Chairman after winning. Also Ging and Gon meet on anticlimactic terms.

That's every arc in the series all ending in anticlimax. All of these represent a truthful moment of humanity:

- Hunter Exam Arc: Ending represents 'Disappoint'.
- Zoldyck Family Arc: Ending represents 'Freedom'.
- Heaven's Arena Arc: Ending represents 'Defeat'.
- York New City Arc: Ending represents 'Compromise'.
- Greed Island Arc: Ending represents 'Surprise'.
- Chimera Ants Arc: Ending represents 'Love'.
- Election Arc: Ending represents 'Trolling''Expectations'


XD

Sorry for my analysis, just this talk of anticlimax endings got me going haha. I strongly believe that Togashi has the mentality that it's not about the destination, but about the journey. That is true for all of his arcs in Hunter x Hunter.

Nice analysis. Yeah it's anticlimactic but somehow it works.

ugh... its bad enough HxH has the hoyay material it does, I know kurapika looks like a girl but seriously.... UGH. (not a big fan of the hoyay within the series, its probably the only thing I dislike about it.)

But damn talk about depressing. It was a friggen story board but I was ready to tear up when I saw gon trying to go towards kurapika only to be stopped by... leorio? I thought he was holding kurapika, did that not happen yet?*part of me dies typing this* and ging was supposed to be involved in this? was kurapika little and he was hugging him?

Ah.... I'll just stop myself here.

--------------EDIT---------------------

@futurefrog
Allow me:

YOSHIHIRO TROLLGASHI

Is it just me or does the 1999 series seem to seriously ramp it up on the ho-yay?
Like Gon and Killua felt like borderline lovers in the anime. In the manga I just
see them as friends though a few scenes could be taken in a ho-yay manner.

I honestly wish they did animate it just to see how silly it would be.

No I'm not talking about the content (by that point, 1999 series knew better and stick quite close to the source material content wise), I was talking about the tone of the work. In the manga, Togashi balanced the three path really well: Gon and Killua's money making adventure, Kurapika and the mafia, the Phantom Troupe being a family. Because Togashi has this light, snappy, effortless vibe for his storytelling, so all three can develop independently and converged smoothly later.
But in the 1999 anime, Kurapika and the mafia and the Phantom troupe are like in an entire different series of their own. Furuhashi has this big budget Hollywood thriller direction for these two paths, and when we switch back to the boys, it's really jarring (for me at least). The simpler, more cartoonish looking characters (Melody, the girls) sticks out so much in that dark palette and serious tone. And if I have to pick in details, I think the portrayal of Ubojin and Phinx didn't quite 'hit' it for me, which is a let down for me. So I'm definitely look forward for another take on it, and wouldn't held the 1999 series as some canon to match.

Phinx was incredibly bland to me in the 1999 series. But now he actually looks pretty awesome.

If you want to see how great of troll Togashi is watch or read Level E

Someday probably after I read or watch YuYu Hakusho. I know I could just find some fan sub or Edited Manga. But really I just want to get the blu-ray and watch it in style.

I prefer Furuhashi's York Shin over the manga. This "tragic heroine" and "too much melodrama" tag is just one of the many interpretations it can have; in my view, Furuhashi's approach added more depth and maturity the manga didn't have. Not to mention, there was so much artistry in his adaptation. (I prefer the manga counterpart over OVA 1, however.)

I also agree with theamericandream that the final result of york shin isn't that significantly different from what happened in the manga. It's just overthinking things, imo.

Anyway, 1999 series>>>>>>>>>2011 so far. It can copy the manga page-by-page for all I care but it will still have mediocre and soulless execution.

To each their own. Though really I think the manga is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar more mature
and in depth than the 1999 series.

Kurapika made Furuhashi's pants tighten, he knew it was wrong, but he liked it anyways.

Well if that isn't one of the most disturbing posts yet...

I enjoyed the Gon/Killua Hoyay in Chimera arc! I like it when Togashi did it, it was subtle and emotional yet epic. I like that dynamic between them with Gon being the selfish uber alpha and Killua being the wounded "wife", it's unexpected yet very in-character! (and how the 1999 series got that wrong).

But the way 1999 series hammered the Hoyay in though...was cringedworthy for me. The 'coupling' feel of Leoreo and Kurapika was so blatant, and Furuhashi was definitely writing Kurapika as a heroine (2ch called Kurapika his 'fapping' character).

---------- Post added at 06:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 PM ----------

yes Futurefrog, 'troll' is the word I've looking for to describe why I think Togashi never took his work too seriously.

I dunno I think you could just see them as friends.

Well I wouldn't exactly say he doesn't take his work seriously, it's just that he has a very distinct and overt sense of humour and likes to do exactly the opposite of what is expected. He definitely does troll, but he always makes sure to give that action a purpose. So in a way you can say, Togashi takes his trolling seriously haha

Trolling is serious business, yo.

I still don't like the ho yay aspect, but I will admit togashi did it in a way where even if it was the intetnt, I didn't really percive it as such to be honest. it felt more like gon was his ONLY friend and had he left or anything else happened it wouldn't be barable. after all, Gon was the one he spends most time with, so I couldn't really percive it as such. and I don't care about debating I don't WANT to percive it anyother way. I'm fine with my own perception of it.

Agreed. I rather not read a love story between 12 year old boys

If that's what it is, I'm just gonna pretend it's not.

I don't mind hoyay (though I'm not exactly a fan either), but I do mind hoyay between two children. It not the fact that they're both boys, even if it were a boy/girl relationship I'd mind. I simply dislike romance or any hint towards it when it involves children. A little disturbing for me I guess.

As for the relationship between the characters in Hunter x Hunter, I think people tend to look into things a little too much. It's as if every little thing lights up a hoyay/lesyay sign in their heads. Same goes with hetero shipping as well, people tend to find "signs" everywhere.

Fan fiction. Nuff said.

I have never viewed Gon and Killua as anything but incredibly close friends. I have a friend who I'd say is the Killua to my Gon, we would die for eachother, but that doesn't mean we are in gay. Two males and two females can have an intensely close friendship without it being a romantic connection. TYhe only people that see Gon and Killua as hoyay I believe are people who do not understand that kind of emotional connection, no offence guys!

The 1999 series made me it see it as ho-yay but it seems a lot less so in the manga.
Now there are still some rather ho-yay moments like them both taking a bath (I don't
think it was in the actual manga but it was a chapter cover or something). But I
think that might have more to do with innocence then ho-yay. However it certainly
leads to certain perceptions. Kinda like how the naked splash fight in Berserk
is hard to interpret as NOT ho-yay. Nothing gay about a naked splash fight between
two grown men...NOT. Anywho for now I just see Gon and Killua as friends.
Not that I really care one way or another.

Oh great, now the hoyay talk has invaded the forum!

It had to happen sooner or later

Damn! I missed everyone again.




IMO, what you see as "mediocre" and "soulless" execution is because Filipinos like their soap operas. It soo very soap opera-ish that it was given a premier timeslot in the Philippines against the local tv dramas. You know where obsessive love, revenge and deaths (killing and suicides) are the norm for the "dramatic" experience.

Also, you can't deny that the famous hxh OTP here is Kurapika and Leorio as most believe he's (Kurapika) a she or doesn't care (yaoi girls). Quite telling that Furuhashi is aiming for something when these two don't interact as much in the manga as they were portrayed in the '99 series.

And I'm sorry, if you read the manga, over-dramatization is NOT how Tsugashi roll and that's a fact.




That's why it's so jarring to see "innocent" Gon and uber seme Killua on fanarts and doujins I used to hunt some years back.



Before I forget, one thing I'm having problems with the 2011 hxh is the purple/violet backdrop whenever a character moves fast and/or thinking. I hope Madhouse do some experimentation with this since HxH have lots of "fast" characters and I'm wary that we'll see lots of this backdrops on fights from now on. Don't know about other projects they've done but they've also done this MAD signature on One Outs and I got annoyed with it after some time. That anime only have 25 episodes... imagine if we'll get to see this "animation technique" for 45+ eps?

Loving the ED song, btw. It's beat and tempo will fit early '90s anime.



For those who have trouble with hoyay! It actually means: Those moments of plot, dialogue, acting, etc., that fans delight in interpreting as homoerotic.

Mostly, they act gay so fans pair them up. It doesn't mean they're truly gay and unless Togashi did confirmation either outright OR ala-Alluka confirmation then it's only an "interpretation".

1999 Leorio just seems like he's a horny pervert that wants to violate anything that moves. Then again it sorta seems like ALL the characters are like that

^ convo lol. It's funny my friend only got into HxH for the HoYay! There really aren't many legitimately good man love in anime, its usually played for fanservice, but it always felt legit to me with Gon and Killua. I think the best scene for that is where Gon asks Killua to stay with him always right before Yorknew. My other favorite scenes are probably all in NGL for that. I had to look up the term HoYay to partake in this conversation

Now futurefrog: I don't think that's fair to say, I think its open to interpretation honestly. While the 1999 anime overstates it (not necessarily bad for those who like it), in the manga its still very much debatable.
It's definitely more subtle in the manga/2011 anime, which is nice cause you can still imagine it being there if you want.

I prefer the subtle. Even if I was into it I would prefer the subtle. I'm not much of a romantic.

@crudecross
I remember when I used to think the only way to confirm any sort of shipping was if a character blushed, but then I realized THAT was a overexaggeration as well and so now, I can't tell whats supposed to be what in a sense.

But I do agree that people find hints EVERYWHERE, in EVERY manga, hell, every form of media there is. Thats pretty much the basis of internet anaylisis, don't you think?

@futurefrog
I have to say I agree with you there, so I was really irked when they had killua blushing at gon's comment about him being amazing near the end in episode 25. reading the manga I could sort of guess where people were getting it from, but I always felt that it was to show killua really getting out of assasin life and forming a acctual bond with someone. in that regard: being very close friends.

@there76

yeah... sorry... I guess that was my fault...*sniff*.... I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD HAPPEN OK!!!
((watched a recording of last nights SP, your comment made me think more about the ep ))

Sometimes though the "hints" aren't too difficult to find.

cough cough Hisoka cough cough

I think Togashi realized they were getting a little too close, so he had to separate them before they ended up making out.

Spoiler

That's what you guys would like to think, you sick sick bastards.

LOL.

I think its open to interpretation, lol.

what isn't?

Well the same could be said for everything. Entertainment as a medium is really all about interpretation and how we interpret what we are shown and the response we have to it. It really comes down to the person, as I said somewhere above, I think you are more likely to understand Gon and Killua's close connection as friends if you have a similar friendship yourself to relate to, if you don't have a similar friendship or haven't experienced one, you may interpret their connection in a very different way (hoyay for some...)

sooner or later all fiction becomes ho yay.

Time to a new poll, don't you think guys? What you think it should be asked?

most anticipated pre-NGL fight.

Which arc do you most look forward to seeing animated?

Chimera Ant Arc

 

[SHINOBI-03]

Basically Kurapika was Furuhashi's Mary Sue. He mentioned in many occasion that he sees Kurapika as a 'tragic heroine figure' and that's why the Yorkshin arc in 1999 series took a dive and deviated from the source material drastically in terms of focus, tone and core.

"Tragic Heroine Figure"?!!

No wonder the fans couldn't tell Kurapika's gender if the director saw him as a "Heroine" and not a "Hero"! And that explains having things like this:

 

[TheAmericandream]

Oh boy, well to be fair, a lot of Togashi's characters are sort of androgynous. Even in the manga Kurapika passes for a good girl. :P

 

[futurefrog]

Oh boy, well to be fair, a lot of Togashi's characters are sort of androgynous. Even in the manga Kurapika passes for a good girl. :P

Togashi likes to troll. A staple of his work is androgynous characters. In YYH there is actually a fight in which Yusuke has to determine to gender of his opponent haha. I think Togashi views gender differently to most people. In his mind the walls of gender appear to be broken down, I find that to be an interesting aspect of his work.

 

[chei]

God damn Furuhashi! Puts his own perversion and arousal ahead of accurately adapting the source material!
His boner does all the directing for him!

jesus that boob....

Yeah Furuhashi stated that they portrayed Kurapika as a heroine "変わらない部分としてはクラピカがヒロイン兼任する部分とキャスティングの大部分かな。 " (the quote used to be on wikipedia but I can't find it now)
If you type "Kurapika" "Heroine" (in Japanese) on google, you'll find a lot of 2ch threads making fun of that quote.

There's column write up when the roboot was announced, a critic wrote this also: The Fuji TV version/1999 has the "Kurapika = Heroine" hidden setting (フジテレビ版では「クラピカ＝ヒロイン」という裏設定があったが )
Kurapika act fine as a boy in the manga, but in the anime you get stuff like beating Leoreo up for sharing bed (something like that), closing up his legs, etc. This is one of the things some people complain about the 1999 adaptation.

 

[Beans]

Basically Kurapika was Furuhashi's Mary Sue. He mentioned in many occasion that he sees Kurapika as a 'tragic heroine figure' and that's why the Yorkshin arc in 1999 series took a dive and deviated from the source material drastically in terms of focus, tone and core. It's almost like fanfic. Strangely that it seems like a consensus on 2ch that Furuhashi doesn't 'get' Togashi's style at all, and he liked to impose his own views/style on things he adapted too much...but of course there're so many fans who prefer Furuhashi's re-interpretation of HxH as many found the tragic heroine Kurapika very 'moe', and prefer the dark and take-itself-too-seriously melodrama.

Well, that explains this :

Spoiler

Leiorio got beaten for no reason.

wtf!!

 

[chei]

If you want to see how great of troll Togashi is watch or read Level E
Someday probably after I read or watch YuYu Hakusho. I know I could just find some fan sub or Edited Manga. But really I just want to get the blu-ray and watch it in style

You can basically understand who Togshi is after reading Level E because basically, the Prince character = Togashi
There's a quote in there sums up Togashi (and relationship with his readers), it goes something like "The Prince relishes in how to maximize his capacity to toy/troll other people without sacrificing his popularity with them in result". He likes to troll yet he'd do it in ways where you'll still end up supporting him (Oh the hiatus).

 

[hxhfanboy]

God damn Furuhashi! Puts his own perversion and arousal ahead of accurately adapting the source material!
His boner does all the directing for him!

I read your "anit-climatic" hxh reason. I don't agree, your to into typical shounen where the main character has to beat the bad guy with some special move.BORING how many times do we need to go through that again(bleach, naruto, one piece). I feel its more ORIGINAL since it something different it nice to know the good guy doesn't when all the time. Theirs a reason why this series is one out of a million.

 

[Riku]

I read your "anit-climatic" hxh reason. I don't agree, your to into typical shounen where the main character has to beat the bad guy with some special move.BORING how many times do we need to go through that again(bleach, naruto, one piece). I feel its more ORIGINAL since it something different it nice to know the good guy doesn't when all the time. Theirs a reason why this series is one out of a million.

If you read accurately, you would have noted that he concluded the anti-climatic arc endings as a good thing.

 

[Noonealive]

I never once though Kurpaika was a girl, even in the 1999 series, but like the little scenes posted above didn't make much sense to me in the 1999 adaptation. I was like WTF is going on in these scenes.
With Gon and Killua i just thought they were friends nothing more nothing less. The hoyay aspect doesn't make much sense to me either. How else is a cool kid, and a happy go lucky honest kid suppose to interact with each other? They're 12 yrs old!!! lol...

Anyways can't wait for the next episode tomorrow!!

 

[ZonikStrike]

I agree to the whole anti-climatic endings things. Nice said. And I too think that those are better than standart ones.
The only thing is Greed Island, I think it ended in a pretty standart way - they actually cleared the game, beat the antagonists etc etc. In general, GI was one of the most shonen-ish arcs imo, and dunno why but I liked that; GI is my fav. Though I love original plot twists in other arcs.

About Yorkshin being not so dark in the original manga... I wouldn't say so. I think the whole thing that mark out Yorkshin arc as well as NGL one is the atmosphere of HOPELESSNESS. Not to mention the brutallity level go up, and GI actually is also pretty harsh but there's not so much despair.
Look, in Hunter Exam arc even though their opponents were Illumi and Hisoka, as well as pro-Hunters as Examiners, which are also very strong enemies, their goal seemed to be not to kill, but rather to teach. Even Hisoka's and Illumi's.
Zoldyck's Mansion arc could also have the vibe of hopelessness but it was too short so we didn't even have time to get the whole thing that they might be fighting the world's most dangerous assasins. Even though they actually didn't.
Heavens Arena had only Hisoka as a fearful enemy, but there were rules that restricted him, so you couldn't really fear for Gon. Though Hisoka acts friendly with Gon either way, he wouldn't kill him yet. And even if Hisoka was serious, he was only one.
Yorkshin then had thirteen enemies worth of Hisoka. Well, twelve, as Hisoka himself is not that of an enemy (that's an arguable question tho). Even with Kurapika, it was a REAL danger. I had no idea how would they cope with Phantom Troupe. And that was real hopelessness.
GI had a rather strong antagonist but not an undefeatable one. Also, it felt more like a game. And yeah, HxH games are ALWAYS AWESOME =D
Chimera Ants were really scary enemies. They weren't humans so they couldn't feel a bit sorry for their prey. That, and they were really strong. The King with his Guardians looked just undefeatable. Same as Yorkshin arc.
Well, Election arc has a mixed feeling. While Alluka's storyline was kinda Yorkshin/NGL-like, the Election one had only bits of it. Pariston himself didn't look strong, he himself said being one of the weakest Zodiacs so they could easily defeated him. But his Ants cocoons could be a big problem... (oh btw, here's another anti-climatic ending - where the hell is Day X?!) Then Illumi being the enemy isn't too dangerous either, he doesn't want Killua to die, the only problem was Alluka. (anti-climatic ending as well...) In general, I think this arc was about as dark as GI.

So, what I was talking about? Anyway, HxH is awesome. Proved.

 

[SHINOBI-03]

Well, that explains this :

Spoiler

Leiorio got beaten for no reason.

wtf!!

I think this shot represents the first scene better.

Seriously! He acts like a girl trying to protect herself from a rapist!

 

[riniloves]

"Tragic Heroine Figure"?!!

No wonder the fans couldn't tell Kurapika's gender if the director saw him as a "Heroine" and not a "Hero"! And that explains having things like this:

I think this shot represents the first scene better.

Seriously! He acts like a girl trying to protect herself from a rapist!

If I remember correctly anime was like 10-15 chapters away from source material, no wonder the director got confused.

 

[Pokymonn]

Pals, here's the cover of the 6th volume of the DVD which looks creative imho.

In addition, there's also the cover of the 2nd OST which is nothing special, but which I guess does hint at the colour of their 'Nen'.

 

[thatguy3331]

Ah those look nice! I have to say though I like the OST track cover a bit better for some reason. Ilike how they did the blimp thing for gon vs hanzo, but knowing how THAT went juts sort of boggs down my appreatiation of the pic I guess XD

well only a few more hours til the new ep, hisoka and nen ahoy!

 

[futurefrog]

We will start seeing some Nen colours in todays episode I think.

I hope that these are the following character's nen colours:
Gon = Green
Killua = Blue (Some think purple but I think Godspeed would look strange that colour later on)
Kurapika = Red
Leorio = Yellow
Hisoka = Pink
Chrollo = Black
Machi = Pink
Uvogin = Red (I think we will see repeated nen colours, Uvo and Kurapika having same would be interesting)
Nobunaga = Silver
Netero = Gold
Mereyem = Black/White (I think it would be awesome if it changed with his mood)

Thats just some off the top of my head, what colours does everyone else think?

 

[mrsticky005]

Eh I'm not too concerned with color as long as nen itself looks cool and like the manga.

 

[Crude]

I hope that if some colours are repeated (which they most likely will be), then at least they'll be different tones/shades of the colour.

 

[Uriel]

There is as many colors as persons, so I don't mind actually. More than Hue I'm more interested in saturation.

 

[mrsticky005]

We will start seeing some Nen colours in todays episode I think.

I hope that these are the following character's nen colours:
Gon = Green
Killua = Blue (Some think purple but I think Godspeed would look strange that colour later on)
Kurapika = Red
Leorio = Yellow
Hisoka = Pink
Chrollo = Black
Machi = Pink
Uvogin = Red (I think we will see repeated nen colours, Uvo and Kurapika having same would be interesting)
Nobunaga = Silver
Netero = Gold
Mereyem = Black/White (I think it would be awesome if it changed with his mood)

Thats just some off the top of my head, what colours does everyone else think?

I think Netero's will be purple and blue...based off the cover of Volume 27