Anime Hunter X Hunter New Anime Discussion

[futurefrog]

Well to be fair I've given some criticism to this episode and not a whole lot of praise and I think it's much evident that I'm a 2011 fan.

But to say something positive...I liked the scene with Melody and Kurapika without the dialogue and I was really happy they got Chrollo's scene right this time.
Though if it seems like I do I just want to clarify that I do not hate this episode. I liked this episode. I thought it was good. But not everything about it was
good. Though two weeks without HxH can make my expectations grow so may be part of it. Still, this wasn't a "Madhouse what are you doing!? I'm gonna
boycott this show for the next six days!" but more of a "I know you can do better than that Madhouse." Sorry, I know I ask a lot. But I like being spoiled.

---------- Post added at 06:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:03 AM ----------

another great review shinobi-03

but two points I must disagree with you on

1. What are you talking about fugly? Pakunoda is hot. At least when she's drawn right. Early manga she's "ugh", Nippon she's "meh", later manga she's "mmm"
and then Madhouse she's "Dayum Gurl". Madhouse gets an advantage though of being in color and what not. Anywho different strokes for different folks

2. What is everyone going on about Kurapika being "cold" in the interrogation scene from the manga? The dude is totally NOT cool headed there.
I mean he just punched Uvogin in the face without receiving any orders to do so. Yes, they're interrogating Uvogin and well basically torturing him.
But you don't see Melody delivering a knuckle sandwich...which would be awesome. Plus Kurapika's expression doesn't seem very cold either
in the manga either. He looks plenty pissed off to me. Now does he seem MORE pissed off in the Madhouse version. Yes. But I don't this is
going from the T-1000 to Rambo. Or from Duke Togo to Guts. And I think Kurapika SHOULD have a hot temper here. He's in the same
room as one of the people who killed his entire tribe. Kurapika has been wanting to kill this guy for a LONG time. Of course he will be going
off the handle. But it's actually amazing how Kurapika punched him ONLY once. Or better yet how he even got to the place without
crashing the car in an angry uncontrollable rage yelling "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFU..." Kaboom.
Kurapika's temper here will make it all the more unsettling as he learns to keep his calm and bottle up his anger only to let it explode later.

Spoiler

Which is what I think will make Kurapika vs Uvogin all the more disturbing as there we'll see him commit premeditated murder.
It's not so much that Uvogin doesn't deserve it. Hell he probably does. But for the sake of Kurapika's own psyche and well being.

Dude was not aimed at you whatsoever. Nothing wrong with criticism where it is due. There is a difference between your posts and mousiehamsters.
Mousiehamster simply bashes and hates on absolutely everything for little to no reason. You on the other hand at least support your comments.

 

[shareme]

They really need to stop with the damn rock music that goes with Kurapica. The portrayal is just so wrong. It's not supposed to be a "cool" moment. It wasn't in the manga, it wasn't in the '99 anime and hell, it isn't even in the '11 anime. The soundtrack never fits the situation and is utterly horrible as a consequence. And for those of you who talk incessantly about the anime being faithful to the manga, look at how poorly they did Kurapika. He doesn't look anything like the manga version. Just compare the way he's drawn.

Car scene was meh, filler is just there and the Troupe were unnecessarily talkative. V. strange also how one of the Injyuu refers to the Troupe as "kids" (at least in the subs). Probably a reflection of what the Director thinks they are.

The troupes are talkative and argumentative. Why else would they have the "coin rule" for settling disputes?

"Kid" is used for someone who lacks experienced or as a deregatory term in any gangster/mafia movie. Being that the Shadow Beasts are part of the mafia, why not use it for trash talking?

---

Finally caught up after being away for months~

This is an excellent episode. Funnily enough, the fillers and the change of venue on Hisoka-Kurapika meet-up did it for me.

The abandoned fun house is so Hisoka. MH really like him. I just hope they do the Hisoka derp face as comically as the manga.

As for the fillers, minding MH target audience, it is a good move to flesh out parts that doesn't make sense now until much, much later episodes to avoid too many questions and confusions. They also provides hints on the "roles" of each Phantom Troupe members and their dynamics as a group.

Kurapika has always been too emotional and irrational in regards to the Troupe. Remember the Hunter Exam phase 3? Besides, we mostly see him being too emotional whenever he was alone or having an inner monologue. Any other times, he appeared calm and cold to others. The fact that only Melody picked up on his rage before the Troupe appeared should have been a clue that he's good at bottling that rage deep inside.

On a side note, I really like how they portrayed Dalzollene. When alone, we clearly see that he's out of his depth with the whole situation but projects calm as the head bodyguard and as a mafia through and through whenever the rest of Nostrade guards are there with him.

 

[brigid001]

Anyway back on topic I'm loving this arc!! I really have no complaints with this arc except music placements here and there but I'm really enjoying it so far. I dunno how Madhouse have done it but they've made me love the phantom troupe O__O In the old anime I didn't really care for any of them tbh. But now I don't thinnk there's not a single member I dislike which is weird considering they're criminals. Uvogin I've particularly taken a liking to,

Spoiler

which is why I'm dreading the upcoming episodes >.<

 

[kindredxiuxiu]

Car scene was meh, filler is just there and the Troupe were unnecessarily talkative. V. strange also how one of the Injyuu refers to the Troupe as "kids" (at least in the subs). Probably a reflection of what the Director thinks they are.

The troupe bickers and talks with each other like they are family (as they should be). They actually hang out and talk to each other, who would've thought? They wouldn't be nearly as interesting if they sat there plotting evil plans all day. To me, it's something that gives the troupe charm. I can't speak for the '99 version since I haven't seen it, but the troupe isn't silent in the manga, they're talkative there too.

Another great review, Shinobi. Thank you!

Oh, and seeing the run down ferris wheel reminded me of the Prypiat Ferris Wheel for some odd reason.

 

[heron bpv]

Just watched the ep (finally!) and gotta say, damn it was awesome! \o/
The fillers were minor, the change at Hisoka/Kurapika's meeting place was a surprising and welcomed twist, and Uvo just ignoring annoying terrain obstacles (like walls and doors) like nothing was hilarious!
Also, Chain Bastard track. I'm starting to like it a lot. ^^'

 

[chei]

Watched the latest episode, it's top notch! I really enjoyed the little original familial bickering moment between the Troupe members, how unsympathetic they're toward Nobunaga's plight , totally a 'stop whining brother' vibe that just shows how closed they are. The direction of the sequence of death of the Head Bodyguard and Uvogin's rage was so spot on and full of tension. The way he's instantly killed was so sudden (esp. with the built up beforehand). The torture scenes were spot on.

 

[ZonikStrike]

Just remembered, where have I seen the torture scene in manga...
http://c.mhcdn.net/store/manga/44/10-084.0/compressed/10_01_17.jpg
The episode was great, but not perfect. Everything was mentioned already I think. 9/10
I found it strange that the title said "Restraint and Vow" when there wasn't the flashback included =D Well, I do think that it's better to leave it where it was.

 

[Uriel]

Moderator Notice:
As long as I still be the mod here, I wont let bash an user just because it has a different opinion, no matter how much agreement or not I have.

If I read again a comment about any qualification of the opinion of someone, I'll start to make more direct actions. This is the second warning already, cut it out.

If you don't like an opinion, don't read it but HERE WE'RE ALL ALLOWED TO LOVE OR HATE WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE. This is a forum to discuss, I don't want to have just one view on things.
~ Uriel

---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ----------

Anyway, to the chapter.

I loved it. I enjoyed a lot the fillers since they give a better understanding on how the Genei Ryodan works. Not much as they're shown in this arc in particular, but I think they're foreshadowing considering the manga fights in the chimera Arc when they clearly show their playful side.

Anyway, this moment made it for me. I giggled like a fangirl.

And well, gif-a-thon.

Spoiler

Uvo being Uvo.

Gotta say I LOVE Owl's ability.

Nobunaga's beard.

Capturing Pakunoda EXACTLY as It should be. A killer, a mafia-like person...But a classy woman above all.

Well, this end here. Bye.

PD: Someone should make a gif of Owl.

 

[SHINOBI-03]

1. What are you talking about fugly? Pakunoda is hot. At least when she's drawn right. Early manga she's "ugh", Nippon she's "meh", later manga she's "mmm"
and then Madhouse she's "Dayum Gurl". Madhouse gets an advantage though of being in color and what not. Anywho different strokes for different folks

That was just a joke. It's not meant to be taken seriously. Also, I find it ironic how most female characters were beautified in Nippon's adaptation except Paku. When I first saw a picture of her face, I thought she was a man! The lack of makeup didn't help either!

It's just her nose! fix that and you have a hot face to look at. But of course, it's the inner beauty that matters and she proved it when

Spoiler

she sacrificed her life for her team and leader.

2. What is everyone going on about Kurapika being "cold" in the interrogation scene from the manga? The dude is totally NOT cool headed there.
I mean he just punched Uvogin in the face without receiving any orders to do so. Yes, they're interrogating Uvogin and well basically torturing him.
But you don't see Melody delivering a knuckle sandwich...which would be awesome. Plus Kurapika's expression doesn't seem very cold either
in the manga either. He looks plenty pissed off to me. Now does he seem MORE pissed off in the Madhouse version. Yes. But I don't this is
going from the T-1000 to Rambo. Or from Duke Togo to Guts. And I think Kurapika SHOULD have a hot temper here. He's in the same
room as one of the people who killed his entire tribe. Kurapika has been wanting to kill this guy for a LONG time. Of course he will be going
off the handle. But it's actually amazing how Kurapika punched him ONLY once. Or better yet how he even got to the place without
crashing the car in an angry uncontrollable rage yelling "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFU..." Kaboom.
Kurapika's temper here will make it all the more unsettling as he learns to keep his calm and bottle up his anger only to let it explode later.

Okay, maybe "cool headed" isn't the right word to describe it. He is still angry, but more composed I presume? You can tell he's still angry, but in the manga he tries to keep it all in his head. He doesn't yell and doesn't talk back to Dalzollene like how he did in the anime. Plus being black & white helps that you don't see the scarlet eyes under his lenses and you can't tell if he's calm or not.

 

[mrsticky005]

That was just a joke. It's not meant to be taken seriously. Also, I find it ironic how most female characters were beautified in Nippon's adaptation except Paku. When I first saw a picture of her face, I thought she was a man! The lack of makeup didn't help either!

It's just her nose! fix that and you have a hot face to look at. But of course, it's the inner beauty that matters and she proved it when

Spoiler

she sacrificed her life for her team and leader.

Okay, maybe "cool headed" isn't the right word to describe it. He is still angry, but more composed I presume? You can tell he's still angry, but in the manga he tries to keep it all in his head. He doesn't yell and doesn't talk back to Dalzollene like how he did in the anime. Plus being black & white helps that you don't see the scarlet eyes under his lenses and you can't tell if he's calm or not.

The nose is just fine to me. But again we all have our tastes.

Again, Kurapika doesn't look calm at all to me in that scene. Even as it is black and white I see a dark fire in his eyes. No not literally. But those are eyes burning with
hate. Now I don't think Kurapika was as mad as he was in the Madhouse version. But he was still a loose cannon in the manga who had to be calmed down.
Basically I see Kurapika less as "keeing composed" and more of "on the verge of exploding".

If I had a problem with the scene I think it's more of seeing Kurapika's scarlet eyes there. I mean I don't think it's a bad thing.
But I think it would be good to have scenes with a pissed off Kurapika where due to the lighting we DON'T see his scarlet eyes.
He IS supposed to be wearing black contact lens after all.

But still I much prefer it to how the Nippon version did it where Kurapika was all like

"I really don't appreciate you killing our comrades. That upsets me."

Yes, I know he didn't say that. But it felt like he might as well have said that. If Madhouse had too much emotion in that scene than Nippon lacked emotion there.

Though I actually like Uvogin's nosebleed smile BETTER in the Nippon version. Madhouse...well he looks kinda stupid. Not their best.


In any case next episode looks to be pretty good quality.

 

[Beans]

I’m serious here: The tattoo looks like cr@p here!

I agree, and actually it looks crappy because it wasn't drawn the way it was supposed to be.

This is how the spider is supposed to look like :

not like this :

 

[mousiehamster]

I disagree that the portrayal is wrong. The song fits him it just doesn't fit the mood of the scene. Like you said it's not a "cool" moment.
Though I think of the song as more of a "hot temper" moment. Which character wise DOES fit with how Kurapika is feeling in the scene.
But the scene itself is more dark and sullen with what all is going on.

It seems more like a "let's-roll" rock song. I don't know why they thought it was a good idea. I personally think the show would be 2x better if they just scrap the music.

dunno what the problem was with Kurapika's drawing? He looked fine to me.

Compared to the manga the drawing is rather different. In the manga he looks SOULESS. When he's angry his face loses its ordinary proportions but there is no grimace or tightening of the jaw - no outward expression of anger. I find it interesting that both the '99 anime and '11 adaptation appear to have problems adapting Togashi's depiction of the characters. I think a large part of it is because Togashi really, really plays it straight and much of the time his characters exhibit a distinct lack of reaction that runs the risk of confusing the audience.

I agree that the car scene was meh. Well...it's not too exciting in the manga either but well I was hoping Madhouse up the ante. Oh well.
When I say not too exciting in the manga I mean the actual chase itself. It seems like literally a vehicle to the next plot point.

There was a sense of speed in the manga that the anime didn't capture.

I thought filler was fine. Nothing amazing. But I don't really have much complaints about it.

I just have no idea why they added it.

I don't have a problem with the Troupe being talkative. I don't see them as being a group of doom and gloom. I mean yes they are murderers and kill
people without batting an eye. But I don't think we need every scene with them being all DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM DA TROUPE IS HERE!

Hell I'm glad they are making the Troupe so giddy right NOW. Because after "that scene" happens. Fire and brimstone. Spiders are gonna bring it.

I think they should be a little more forthcoming only once we get to know them a bit more but that's just my opinion.

 

[mrsticky005]

It seems more like a "let's-roll" rock song. I don't know why they thought it was a good idea. I personally think the show would be 2x better if they just scrap the music.

I think they were focusing too much on Kurapika's character there and not the overall atmosphere. I think what they wanted the music to show is that
Kurapika is falling apart. He's about to just lose it. Notice how the end of the song gets all crazy like? I see that as Kurapika's mind set.
Some people wonder if Kurapika's more gentle side was a mask to cover up this more violent and ruthless side. But actually I think Kurapika's
gentle side is WHY he is so violent and ruthless. The Kurta Clan was his family and it meant everything to him. Kurapika can't just "move on"
because he is too nice. It is moralistic nature that forces him to do "the right thing". But the question here is what is the right thing?
And I think Kurapika's attempt to answer that question is like driving a stake into his heart.


Compared to the manga the drawing is rather different. In the manga he looks SOULESS. When he's angry his face loses its ordinary proportions but there is no grimace or tightening of the jaw - no outward expression of anger. I find it interesting that both the '99 anime and '11 adaptation appear to have problems adapting Togashi's depiction of the characters. I think a large part of it is because Togashi really, really plays it straight and much of the time his characters exhibit a distinct lack of reaction that runs the risk of confusing the audience.

I dunno could you point out which drawing?

There was a sense of speed in the manga that the anime didn't capture.

Agree. But I think it can be easy to overlook as the focus even in the manga is on Kurapika's inner conflict.

But still I still think Madhouse could have done a lot better.

The animation while I don't think it was terrible was a little below par here.


I just have no idea why they added it.

Fill in time so they can end the episode at a certain point.

I think they should be a little more forthcoming only once we get to know them a bit more but that's just my opinion.

I think the opposite.

I think they should appear as this one big happy family---though a incredibly badass and homicidal one big happy family.

Spoiler

but then after Uvogin dies it's like someone shot the family dog. Chrollo may be the leader but Uvogin I think really was the one who brought everyone together.

Anywho I think ultimately what the problem with the episode...

Timing.

The timing was off in a lot of things. In the music. With the animation. Etc.

 

[Chain Bastard]

Episode 45 : 4,7 %

Awesome, guys ! Really awesome !

 

[riniloves]

Episode 45 : 4,7 %

Awesome, guys ! Really awesome !

I think its gonna enter the 5% mark on the upcoming days... I'm just worried... on one thing... they (producers) originally says 48 episodes.... Do we have list now of episodes name up to 50?

 

[Pokymonn]

I think its gonna enter the 5% mark on the upcoming days... I'm just worried... on one thing... they (producers) originally says 48 episodes..

Rest assured that it will go beyond because as it is of now the project seems to be a real money-spinner.

 

[mrsticky005]

does anyone know what HxH is rated as?

G
PG-12
R 15
R 18
?

 

[futurefrog]

Rest assured that it will go beyond because as it is of now the project seems to be a real money-spinner.

THat was the tentative episode number in case the series flopped. It didn't and there is no end in sight now.

 

[Divinenega]

I think its gonna enter the 5% mark on the upcoming days... I'm just worried... on one thing... they (producers) originally says 48 episodes.... Do we have list now of episodes name up to 50?

The original count was actually 45 episodes and we're clearly going beyond that so...we're good.

 

[mrsticky005]

THat was the tentative episode number in case the series flopped. It didn't and there is no end in sight now.

Question.

What would qualify HxH to be a series that "flopped"?

Obviously bad ratings but what would be considered as that?

I mean I'm pretty sure the 5% number is good. But how good?
I mean is HxH doing comfortably well...or is it toeing the line?