5
This episode was a complete disaster. First minute was wasted on recap. Then for the next 7 minutes we've had a
Pokemon display, poorly done at that. The director should know that what works for manga doesn't necessarily work for anime, alas he doesn't. When I have a name of an imaginary animal written on a margin of the page it doesn't bother me. But when the animation stops and I'm forced to watch it, it's another matter. Also, they've even screwed up copying what was in the manga which is a pathetic fail on their part. Claymore mushrooms weren't spewing poisonous gas when they were stepped upon, they were exploding. Hence the name CLAYMORE (claymores are mines). Killua and Gon being swallowed by a frog was also a very bad idea and a waste of time. It made them look like average hunter-wannabes since they've let themselves to be swallowed even though we've seen how aware of his surroundings they were (specially Gon), how good reflexes they've had and how strong and fast they were. I don't get what was the purpose of that scene besides wasting seconds. Even more stupid was the way they got out.
A can of juice with a bit of laxative wouldn't work on some humans but it was enough for a being 20 times their size? WTF? Not to mention that what works on humans doesn't necessarily work on other species. Creators clearly wanted to show they're not only copying but also show their own ideas. Well, they've failed miserably. Leorio being attacked by this strawberry turtle was also a waste.
The second half of the episode wasn't much better. In a way it was worse since they've spoiled a great scene. For starters why the f*ck did these three wanted to attack Hisoka (I'm talking about the moment just before Killua warned Gon about Hisoka)? Especially after seeing what they saw at the beggining of the episode (i.e. him killing the impersonator and attacking Satotz). It gave them nothing and they were risking failing the exam so why do it? Neither in the manga nor in the new anime (which is better than the manga) was sth like that but they've had to show their "creativity" *sigh*. Later, when they were separated from the main group they've also attacked him first, lol. There were other things that I didn't like but the point is - they've managed to spoil such awesome scene and make it look horrible. And if someone thinks I'm overreacting I suggest they watch the first series (episode 7 I think).
I have to mention one thing though that wasn't mentioned by anyone from what I see.
Kurapica was shown as a coward which is completely off the mark. He saw the fight and Leorio struggling and yet he did not come out to help. We know he knew since he screamed Leorio's name in the moment Leorio came to face Hisoka and also later he knew exactly what Gon was talking about with Hisoka (and I'm not talking about the part which Gon told him) and that Gon managed to hit Hisoka without him telling him that. And before you start your "but it was similar in the manga too" routine, let me tell you that
I consider older anime as a better creation than manga.
Gon's fear mixed with excitement was also better displayed in the old version, in the new one his panting was plainly annoying. And the scene where Hisoka killed these small fries was also bad.
A red circle could work 40 years ago, when the budgets were 10 times lesser than today and when drawing something more complicated would require a lot of work. But when over 10 year old anime shows a more detailed fight and shows Hisoka's finesse better I say there is something wrong with the new one. I thought that the new anime would be better at least on a technical level but even here it fails. Music is also a lot worse, for example at the start of the episode when they were running through the swamps. It was drawing too much of an attention and didn't fit too well. Or heavy metal bits (about 8th minute) and awful ending which aren't kids' music at all.
Another big fail was revealing who Hisoka was working with. I don't understand why they didn't show Gittarackur's face in the first place when they've shown everything else (i.e. his number and pins that he had all over his body). They did the same thing with Tonpa, following the manga closely instead of following the example of old anime but this time it was even worse. Anyway,
it's another example of treating viewers like idiots and hand-holding. In the new anime we could see Hisoka talking with Gittarackur and nothing else, director did not think it was necessary to show the radio with navigation (the same Hisoka had) and the person who was holding it.
Last but not least, at the end of the episode narrator said that Gon has experienced mortal fear for the first time in his life, which is not true. If they ever include the scene that should have appeared in the first episode it will be a HUMONGOUS fail. For now it's just a fail.
Anyway, another proof that old anime > manga > new anime.
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and it seems their omitting the blood which is fine since theres hope the blu rays will be uncut.
