Four.
That’s the number of times I cringed during this episode. Compared to the near-constant cringing I was doing before, this is a vast improvement. Maybe it’s just because my expectations for this show hit rock bottom after the first three episodes, but my first impression of Episode 4 was: “Wow. This is actually halfway decent.”
I SEE THE LIGHT
We've finally reached a point in this show where it doesn't completely suck!
For me, a major part of what made this episode enjoyable was the interaction between Gon and Killua. For once, the atmosphere of HAPPY HAPPY FUN TIMES is actually working in this show’s favor. Gon and Killua have such a playful, lively relationship, and that’s brought out exquisitely in this episode. Pardon me because the rest of this paragraph is going to be incoherent fangirling, but oh my god. Their first meeting. When Killua slowly lets his skateboard float back towards Gon with that “I’m just a little bit interested in you but not particularly” expression on his face, and goes “Ne, kimi ikutsu?” (forgive the gratuitous Japanese, but the way his voice actress delivered that line was so… so Killua I had to quote it in its original form), and Gon’s goes “Oh, I’m twelve” and Killua’s like “Oh, we’re the same age. Huh.” while staring at Gon, who responds with this absolutely adorable clueless little quirky smile, and then we get OMG EPIC SKATEBOARD and Gon’s all “OMG THAT WAS SO COOL” and Killua is all “Hey dude, I’m Killua, wazzup”, and Gon sounds like an excited little puppy as he goes “I’m Gon!” and at that point I had to pause and look away from the monitor for a bit because I was too busy squee-ing and clutching my palpitating heart to concentrate.
Have I mentioned I love their first meeting in the manga? This episode captured perfectly what I adore about their relationship. The way their personalities play off each other, the easy, direct, casually intimate way they interact with each other that’s so typical of friendships between children… this is precisely the kind of nuance that was so lacking in the first three episodes. And it feels so natural because the thing that draws them together – oh hey, we’re the only twelve-year-olds in a sea of adults – is such a realistic, mundane reason for them to be interested in each other. It’s something that any of us might experience. This touch of humanity in what is basically a manga full of loonies gives their relationship a down-to-earth, authentic feel, despite how fantastic the setting is. In light of, ahem, certain events in the manga, getting to watch their pure innocent friendship done so well here – getting to experience again how it all started – it actually made me tear up just a little bit. (Wow, I’m sounding like Biscuit/Bisque/Bisuko.) Their exchange about who finished first and the little back-and-forth about buying dinner (albeit a little stupid – do they really think they’re going to be done with the exam in time to buy each other dinner?) is a good example of flexibility in terms of actual content but faithfulness in tone – it’s a change that gives old fans a new tidbit to savor, that nevertheless retains the playful ease of their relationship. Good job, scriptwriter, good job. As a fan of the Gon and Killua relationship dynamic, I highly approve.
"Let me play with your rod, Gon!" "Only if you let me play with yours!"
You're going to be best friends forever. You just don't know it yet.
Of course, nothing is perfect. I do have a couple nitpicks about Gon and Killua: (1) when they were introducing themselves, the proportion of their profiles looked slightly off around the eyes, and (2) the “ahahahaha” as they passed the finish line bordered on “what the fuck are these kids on and where can I get some” territory, but it wasn’t too jarring since it was over quickly. Overall though, I thought that Killua’s acting (again, referring to the combination of animation and voice acting) was pitch perfect throughout, and Gon seems to have been cured of his impulse to grin as maniacally as possible every second he’s on screen. The director seems to have remembered that there are other ways to show that a character is cheerful than to have him go all sparkly eyed and wide-mouthed like a crazy person, and that it’s okay to have the shonen lead not smile once in a while.
It’s not just Gon. There was almost no cheesy acting in this episode in general. I know, it’s a miracle. Leorio’s voice actor (talking specifically about the voice acting here) needs to hold back more, instead of yelling all his lines with the same high intensity, but that’s a tolerable flaw. The only point where I found something really atrocious was towards the end, when Leorio and Hanzo were doing their “I’m an idiot” faces.
Just because you're making a weird face doesn't make you funny, Hanzo.
This face is ridiculous enough on its own; paired with the goofy laugh that goes on for far too long, it’s almost physically painful to watch. I’d cut the laugh down to about a fifth of its length – if you have a cheesy frame and a cheesy sound to go with it, please don’t draw it out to make it even worse. Now, if something like this had happened in the first three episodes, I would’ve probably ignored it as merely being part of an awful whole. The fact that these few seconds stand out as being Madhouse’s obligatory cheese moment, actually signifies that the acting and timing in the rest of the episode was actually competent.
Like the revelation that Leorio’s a teenager, for example. This is where the over-the-top-ness of this show works in its favor. The comedic timing of the “Eh?”, “Uso!” and the freeze frame was spot on. Best-paced moment in the entire episode, as well as the funniest. I’ve reread the manga countless times, and this is the first time I’ve laughed at this scene since I first read the manga. It feels so good to finally be laughing at this episode because of genuinely funny or delightful moments (compared to laughing because the only alternative is to cry at how godawful it is).
I want to know how that thing's pinned to his bare chest. Doesn't it hurt, Leorio?!
Having said all that, there were still moments in this anime that were atrocious. Out of the 4 scenes that I actually physically cringed at, 3 of them was because of the horrible use of music. The worst was Leorio’s back-to-life spurt. It’s the worst because at the beginning of the show, there was a long stretch with background music that actually felt appropriate, and I was thinking, hey, this isn’t so bad after all. And then of course, just as I was thinking that, they played that cheese bomb of a song as Leorio comes back from the dead. What is this, Tom & Jerry? That’s not supposed to be a comedic moment! It needs to have some seriousness and badass epicness to it, instead of pure “now it’s time for the fairies in tutus to come and save the day, YAY”. No, seriously, somebody said that it sounds like ballet music, and I completely agree. Even something as bombastic as RAW RAW FIGHT THE POWAH would fit better than that monstrosity. See, I love orchestral music, but not when it’s shoehorned into scenes that are absolutely wrong for it! Ugh. And there were a couple other scenes too, like when they were about to exit the tunnel, and when Satotz was staring at Gon and Killua and thinking “what the fuck are these kids”, where the music was so ridiculous it made me want to stab my eardrums with chopsticks.
And so when we reached the part where Kurapica was going to talk about his past, and I heard the beginning of an orchestral track, I instinctively braced myself for the worst. Next thought: “Oh hi there Harry Potter.” And the next thought: “…this music actually fits the emotions of the scene! OH. MY GAWD.” I think I paused for a moment there because I had to go wipe my brain off from where it splattered on the wall…
Yes. It’s true. I liked the scene between Kurapica and Leorio. The acting from both parties felt dramatic without being overly cheesy. Great voice acting from Kurapica’s seiyuu in particular. As expected of the voice actress behind characters like Celty Sturluson (Durarara!!) and Maria (Arakawa Under the Bridge). I also loved the inclusion of the brief flashback to Leorio’s friend. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time we’ve ever seen Leorio as a child in all the different versions of HunterXHunter. He almost looked like Gon to me. Almost. It was beautifully animated in sepia and the fact that it was so brief worked in its favor as well, creating a sense of vulnerability for Leorio without dragging it out to the extent where it would seem melodramatic. Of course, the constant yelling from Leorio made the scene less awesome than it could have been with more nuanced acting, but overall, it was well-acted, with music that actually created the appropriate atmosphere (save that jazz number at the beginning of their chat, which would be lovely in any other setting but this).
D'awww, Leorio... ;A; -wipes your tears away-
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Episode 4 was actually kinda epic, compared to the previous three. Too bad the horrible use of music in certain cringeworthy moments ruins it somewhat. I wish someone would go in and cut out all the great bits so I can watch them again and again without having to sit through the puke-inducing parts.
Final verdict: this episode seems to suggest that the director is indeed capable of handling serious scenes, characterization, and relationships sans cheese, but the persistent misuse of perfectly good songs does not bode well for future episodes. That said, I’m excited to see Episode 5, and hopefully they’ll keep up the good work instead of letting this show devolve into a cheesecake factory a la Episodes 1-3.
P.S. I would’ve included an obligatory comment about how Hisoka let the other monkey guy get away, but at this point, as long as it’s not all PRETTY FLOWER ARMS WHEEEE, I really don’t give too much of a shit.
P.P.S. Last night, after I watched this episode and went to bed, I had a very disturbing dream about Hisoka *coughcough* doing something extremelyunpleasantandgraphic *cough* to some poor, unlucky dude. Damn it, glowing crotch! Stop mindraping me while I sleep!
You knew this screenshot was going to pop up at some point.
15 Comments
Good to see the series growing on you. All your nitpicks this time are minor (and such nitpicking can also be done in case of the original series to the same effect). Hopefully we’ll keep seeing improved BGMs.
I wouldn’t call the atrocious music a “minor nitpick”, but eh. And lol why this obsession with the original series? I’m not blogging it right now, so of course i’m not nitpicking on it. XD
And yeah, that. -crosses fingers-
Glad to see that you found this episode more enjoyable. A few things though: the scene where Hanzo and Leorio make that weird face is actually in the manga too. It looks pretty much the same. As far as Leorio yelling during that scene with him and Kurapika talking, keep in mind that he is running and having a hard time at that. In my experience, that typically happens in real life too.
As for the moment where Leorio gets his second wind, in your last post, I mentioned something about how you read the series with a different tone? I feel like that’s applicable to that situation as well. It’s not to say it’s specific to you, but I feel that everyone reads certain scenes differently when it comes to manga. How it makes them feel and how they picture it is always different. I actually found that the anime adapted it perfectly; it was exactly how I pictured it. The song played isn’t comedic–it’s sort of heroic, but also green. It fit the tone that I was imagining.
I’d actually cut out the corresponding frame from the manga and was about to put it in before deciding that it was unnecessary. I think that Hanzo’s anime face looks way more ridiculous than how he was drawn in the manga, if we want to go the comparison route, and the thing is, in the manga, their TROLOLOL WE’RE IDIOTS faces were relegated to a small frame, like an afterthought, while in the anime they were given much more attention – necessary evil of the medium change, but god was that expression awful.
Yeah, I know that, which is why I said it was a tolerable flaw – he was having trouble breathing properly because of the running. I would have liked to see the voice actor attempt to achieve a happier medium of balancing the realism of being out of breath and having a bit more variation in terms of how he delivers the lines.
Oh yeah, that’s totally just how I interpret the scene. I personally think the music is hideously out of place, for reasons I’ve already mentioned in the post, but I do respect that you think it’s perfect.
I was actually enjoying the anime until you went and ruined it for me with your last post
Hehe, glad to see you at least liked this episode, or at least partly liked it.
As for me, well, I haven’t read the early parts of the manga for a long, long, long time, so I can’t really say if the adaption is faithful or not. After the anime started, I went back and started reading the manga again (I had left it when it went on hiatus), and well, even though, I can’t remember many names, back stories and other things, I am going to have to say that the Hunter x Hunter manga is glorious. Forget the scary psycho stuff, the end of the ants arc had me so close to tears. Sniff, sniff, so sad.
Also, I am going to have to agree with you on Gon and Killua, I don’t remember much of their relationship(bad memory!), but, even the newest chapters are enough to tell me that this is one of Shonen’s better friendships.
Pretty much every Shonen under the sun boasts of friendship, but few of the relationships feel real, I think Gon and Killua’s friendship is one of the most genuine if not most genuine friendships in Shonen.
I might be jumping to conclusions here, but it looks like you are one of those “I read this manga before it was an anime, and as such I encourage thee to watch this anime” people. I am glad to see that.
Normally, whenever there is a season preview or something, I have to bear the heavy burden of marching in, ranting about how the reviewers opinion of the anime preview is totally wrong and that the manga is awesome, so they should most certainly watch the anime, only to have the anime fail spectacularly. I am glad that I can now share this burden with you, muahahaha!
Lastly, I do not mind long posts or many screen caps, but pro-tip: Be careful about how much you write and how many pictures you take, you might exhaust yourself otherwise.
The writers on this blog seem to be cursed, them all disappear into thin air after a while, so try and stick around a bit will ya?
Which was why I put a disclaimer saying that if you’re enjoying this anime, don’t read beyond this point! Something like that, I can’t remember.
I know right? Oh my god. The Chimera Ant ending. I actually cried. People were all like “WTF NO BACKGROUNDS” and I was just sitting there in front of the computer screen with tears dripping quietly down my cheeks. You-know-who and you-know-who’s relationship is one of the the most fucked up, yet sweetest romances I’ve seen.
And yeah, Gon and Killua’s relationship feels so natural, so easy, and yet really meaningful, you know? I love it.
And thanks. I’ll try.
After looking at the earlier comments here, I’m having to forcibly hold back from waxing lyrical about how much I love *bleep* and *bleep*’s relationship in the manga. Those blank pages that people complained about? They were fantastic, the perfect way to end the arc. Why did so many people not get it? Suffice to say, (yes, I know it’s a LONG way off) if the anime-makers mess up those particular characters, I will be out for BLOOD.
Anyway, getting back on track, you know which bits were good, sound-wise, in this episode? The bits with no BGM at all. I thought the simple backround repetition of the examinees endless footsteps created the right atmosphere for this test of physical and psychological endurance better than any BGM (even if it was the best BGM in the world, which in this show it most patently is not) ever could.
Instead of just saying how much I totally agree with what you’re saying about Gon and Killua were potrayed in this episode (and it WAS brilliant), I’ll add a scene onto the cringeworthy list: Nicholas’ scene. The music completely killed that bit, possibly more so than any other in the series so far. In the manga it was the perfect representation of the crushing and shattering power of failure, but here… it just sucked.
Well, it’s good to see the balance between good and bad tipping in the direction of ‘good’ for now (at least more than it was), but if this series is going to hold up in the long run it had damn well better keep tipping.
FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WHO GETS IT. -high fives- Talking about this actually makes me kinda excited for the Chimera Ant Arc to be animated…
Ohh, Nicholas. When I first read that scene in the manga it was soul-crushingly depressing. The thing that bothered me the most about Nicholas this episode though, was the annoying sounds he made while running. Ugh. Annoying, but not annoying enough to be funny, so it was just annoying. How annoying.
And I agree completely about the no BGM bit. It was great in the beginning where the running was accompanied by just the sound of footsteps.
You know, I feel like this show in general would be much improved if we had the option to turn off the music. Why can’t animes be more like visual novels. WHY.
The music is a distraction, yes. They are all great pieces, but some of them are simply just not used right.
I wonder if we’ll get a “creepy” music piece soon, or something along the lines. I mean… since you know what *bleep* will do enough in the third test.
If they do use a “creepy” piece, I just hope it’s creepy in a genuinely disturbing way, not in a cheesy horror movie way. -crosses fingers-
This is actually a rather awesome OST. It’s unfortunate that it’s so horribly misused. I’d totally listen to it outside of the anime.
Read the review, can’t help but say that I agree for the most part.
I just watched episode five of this anime, and you’ll probably have a similar reaction to the one I had when I watched it. It’s kind of sad that Hisoka’s massacre is so watered down.
I actually thought of a pretty apt metaphor for this anime. This anime is like Hanzo’s sushi during the second exam.
The people in charge know what it’s supposed to look like, but they can’t get all of the small details that are essential to making it good.
…that’s an excellent metaphor, actually. Wow. You’re right. That’s exactly it. It’s sad how they can be so “faithful” in content and yet so off with everything else.
It almost smacks of desperation, how faithfully they’re following the content, to the point of lifting frames straight from the manga (telling that the frames/angles/composition that are anime-original tend to veer on the side of suckiness).
episode 5 is out and net sunday is gonna be epi. 6 and you still haven’t reviewed 5 , I’m waiting for your review because I agree with you on everything you said on the 1-3 eps review and also on that one , it feels like they have toned everything down and all of that to attract new fans , so the new fans have to be kids ? they can’t be teenagers or anything …. umm how about kids that are older than 5 or do they have to make it appropriate for toddlers in order to be satisfied , the mystery and suspense and sense of terror and cruelty of the hxh characters are gone , all the characters kinda acts the same or just as a really dumb version of themselves , the first arc (in the manga ) wasn’t the best arc but it wasn’t like this , the old anime made the first arc really good if I had read the manga first I might have been upset because of all the things they added but since I watched the first anime first it feels on that arc that the manga has removed lots of things that were important to make the characters likable , and after the first arc the first anime faithfully followed the manga with the atmosphere , same pace right until the last ovas , however this one is just …… I was really missing the words to express it until you mentioned it it’s the atmosphere , yup same events but different atmosphere , it really shows you the difference between what good directors can do , although I realize they can’ t take their time and all in today’s animes but come on ! hxh is a popular manga and before anime so even if they take their time on the first eps it wouldn’t get cancelled , The most disappointing thing of all is that I hoped that maybe this would at least top the former anime by showing everything without censorship instead it’s censorship + atmosphere ! , in the old anime the hunter’s exam was censored but bec. togashi kept going on breaks and the anime stopped alot and all they removed it along the way and in the ovas , while here since they have a lot of materials to work with I don’t think the censorship is coming off anytime soon since there is no reason to just remove it from it’s designated time slot .
Episode 5 review is out! Sorry, I had exams and papers due this week and I didn’t want to post something rushed and unfinished.
I agree with you about the censorship. It’s actually not censorship that’s the problem, as we can see from the original anime, which had censorship but still got closer to the tone of the manga, but the general attitude that this show has to be all bright and cheery and adventurous and for little kids. Resulting in the horrible atmosphere AND censorship. Episode 4 gave me a little bit of hope that the show might improve in terms of tone… but Episode 5 kinda demolished that.
Ah well. Guess I should check out the OVAs if I want to see an newer animated version of HunterXHunter that’s doesn’t completely fuck up what this series is all about.
yeah I notice your reviews are always detailed and with pictures and I agree on episode 5 as well on everything you said especially relating to killua and hisoka’s relationship I was so disappointed they were supposed to show his eerie assassin side by now ! , but there is one thing I don’t agree with you on , you may have liked the hisoka exposure but for me it felt weird because of the smoke and his movements seeming slow and yes he was a bigger pervert than ever but that doesn’t necessarily make him better or more dangerous , to me it seems like he lost his sense of danger .
one question that goes through my mind , why is it that censorship made this show a kiddy version with kiddy designs and no blood yet after they do all this they show a more perverted hisoka , I thought that was supposed to be censored too , maybe it depends on the director’s mode !!!
oh and if you’re gonna check the ovas check the genei ryodan one , the other 2 have verrrrrrry bright animation I first thought it was fine because I was just happy with anything hxh but you may feel slightly disturbed (you’re hereby warned ) . keep reviewing hxh you rock .. oh and can you please review the old anime as well because I would like to see your detailed opinion on it .