Hey there anime/manga fans! Guess what? We’re going to take one of the grittiest, most cerebral shonen fighting manga out there, and remake it despite it already having a perfectly serviceable anime adaptation! Better yet, we’re bringing in 4Kids to produce, direct, and animate this show! Aren’t you excited?!
This time around we'll actually have women in the Hunter Exam! Yay!
No, seriously. If 4Kids was an actual animation studio, this is exactly the kind of crap I would expect them to produce. It breaks my heart to say that because HunterXHunter is one of the few shonen fighting manga I can still read without losing half my brain cells in the process. And they’re taking it and kiddying it up into some crappy One Piece wannabe. “Oooh, look at me, look how I’m so fun and full of adventure and let’s ignore the fact that a guy just got his arms cut off because they turned into a swarm of pretty little flowers WHEEEE~”
What’s that you say? HunterXHunter is already for kids in the first place since it’s targeted towards the shonen demographic? Yeah, well, there are kids, and then there are kids. From the looks of it, HunterXHunter (4Kids Edition) is targeted towards the age group that still watches Barney the Purple Dinosaur… and enjoys it.
I am almost impressed at how well they’re giving the 4Kids treatment to a manga with Baccano! levels of violence. This adaptation gives Hisoka’s sole victim (so far) a bad case of flower dandruff instead of bloody arm stumps. Seriously, that’s worse than recoloring blood to look brown so you can call it chocolate syrup.
Hear that? That's the sound of the HunterXHunter verse crumbling before your eyes.
And really, it’s not the censorship that bothers me the most about Episode 3. It’s the way in which they’ve censored it. What happens is that the man’s arms slowly disintegrate into little pink petals. If you’ve read the original manga, you’ll know that Hisoka has two very specific abilities, neither of which can create this particular effect. So how the fuck does he actually do it?
If they handwave it away as “it’s magic, it’s doesn’t need explaining”, I’ll be swimming to Japan with a bazooka strapped to my back.
But Anna, you say, what’s the big deal? It’s a shonen fighting series, where characters pull superpowers out of their asses all the time without bothering to explain anything about them! Why all this fuss about some pretty little flowers?
Well. Let’s backtrack a bit.
Hi, my name is Anarchy and this is my very first post as a THAT blogger. I’m also one of those fans. You know. Those people who keep whining and moaning about how this adaptation sucks compared to the original. The difference with me, I guess, is that when I say “original”, I’m referring to the manga, not the first anime adaptation.
I will be honest and say that HunterXHunter (the manga) is like a teddy bear I’ve been sleeping with ever since I was Gon’s age. Does that mean I’m biased about it? Absolutely. Can I see past the milky white film of nostalgia clouding my eyes? Of course not. What I can do though, is give my reasoning for why I personally feel this adaptation is shit. Especially when compared to the original manga. I swear it’ll have more depth than just “THEY CHANGED IT NOW IT SUCKS BWAHHHHH”.
Remember that my opinions are just that: subjective, biased opinions of a fan hopelessly in love with the original. If you’re fine with that, read on. If you’ve been enjoying this anime so far and don’t want my comments to ruin it for you, stop reading. Now.
WARNING MAJOR MANGA/FIRST ANIME SPOILERS WARNING YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
- If you proceed without having read the manga, Hanzo will attack you with his fabulous new lashbrows.
HunterXHunter (manga) has two distinct characteristics that set it apart from other shonen fighting series.
(1) Nen
Its trademark nen system is the most elegant, parsimonious fantasy system I’ve ever seen in manga. It’s deceptively simple, consisting of a few basic laws that can be elaborated on in a myriad different ways. It’s internally consistent, yet flexible: once the rules are established, you can bend them and play with them, but you can never escape the restrictions that have already been set.
Do you see now why the flower arms piss me off so much? It’s not even that they made it kid-friendly. It’s the fact that Hisoka could not have pulled that off with the nen abilities that he’s been known to have. Which means that it was an unexplained supernatural act. Which undermines the rule-based structure of the nen system, which in turn is the basis for how the entire HunterXHunter universe works.
Honestly, even though Hisoka might have some abilities hidden up his sleeve, it’s highly doubtful that they include something like turning people’s limbs into flowers. And even if the anime eventually explains the flower trick away as an anime-original nen ability that Hisoka has (which I highly doubt they will, since they’ve been following the manga extremely faithfully so far, which implies an inflexibility that will prevent them from adding in new material to cover up the plot hole which that entire flower debacle just introduced), that’s just not his style. His style is slicing people up into bloody chunks of meat. Sure, you can say that Hisoka’s gimmick is magic and the flower trick is very magician-like, but really, the flower trick is Harry Potter fare, while Hisoka’s magic is similar to what magicians do in real life. It’s based on illusions and showmanship and diverting the audience’s attention by being as outrageously bloody and gory as possible. Okay, that last part doesn’t apply to real life magicians (at least I hope not), but you get my point.
- Yes, he’s for real, Killua. (Or so you think.)
Which brings me to my next point about what makes HunterXHunter distinctive:
(2) Bloody Squishy Bits
- squishy squishy
Now, explicit violence doesn’t necessarily make a work good, nor is it unique to HunterXHunter. Plenty of shonen fighting series have blood and gore flying everywhere, though I must say that HunterXHunter tends to take it a bit further than many of them. But what really makes HunterXHunter different from your stereotypical shonen series is that all this brutality and violence is often treated like it’s no big deal at all. Human life is cheap. Death is commonplace, sometimes not even worthy of comment. And a certain protagonist, ostensibly one of the “good guys”, is a murderer who’s worse than Hisoka in a sense. Hisoka kills other participants because he loves killing. This guy does it just because he’s in a bad mood. And it’s just treated in passing, almost like an afterthought.
This casual way in which death, maiming, and explicit violence is portrayed in HunterXHunter creates an atmosphere of constant danger and anxiety. It’s a universe in which you never truly feel safe, unless you’re on Whale Island in Mito’s house, isolated from the rest of the amoral, kill-or-be-killed world.
And what does this adaptation do with this beautifully crafted atmosphere of horror and suspense? It turns it into a Pirates of the Caribbean rip off.
Is it because One Piece is so ridiculously popular in Japan? Is that it? Are they trying to make something more fun and wacky and adventurous and cartoonish and One-Piece-esque, targeted towards the younger end of the Shonen Jump audience? Certainly seems like it.
Now, I have nothing against shows aimed towards kids. What I do have problems with is the fact that they seem to think that all children are drooling, brain-dead idiots. This anime feels like somebody talking to me in a loud, slow, deliberate voice. You know it’s bad when a show starts insulting your intelligence. It’s like they feel like they can get away with anything as long as they make it FUN and HAPPY and ADVENTURE because all kids have ADHD and oooh look at the shiny colors~
Three Reasons Why Remaking This Show For Kids Was A Bad, Bad Idea
(1) The cartoonish visuals. Everything’s colorful and vibrant and the contrast is turned up to the max. There is no depth, there’s a desperately cheery feel to it, everybody looks like billboard cutouts, and to add salt to an open wound, we have QUALITY animation.
- I thought Kurapica was supposed to be pretty.
(2) The hideously bad over-acting. The director seems to think we are morons, and feels the need to RAM. EVERY. SINGLE. EMOTION. AND. CHARACTER. INTO. OUR. BRAINS. WITH. ICEPICKS. I burst out laughing every time someone attempts to be all cool or dramatic in this show. You know what, I love ham. I love ham when it’s played up for humorous purposes, not when it happens because some director tries to make a character look badass and fails horribly.
(Did I mention that I’m also a theatre student and so bad acting pisses me off to no end?)
- MUAHAHAHAHA I’M SO EVILLLLLL MUAHAHAHAHAHA
Pretty much every character is a caricature of themselves, some more than others. Gon in particular is suffering from HAPPY CHEERFUL UPBEAT shonen lead syndrome, to the point where it crosses the line into creepiness. He looks absolutely manic in some scenes, suggesting that something’s not quite right with his head. Which would be a plus if it was done intentionally and the other characters actually acted like real people instead of a group of drama club kids putting on a play for the first time in their pathetic little lives. Again, the voice actors are more than competent; the director is not.
Another problem with making the acting so melodramatic is that it drags down the pace of the show (one of its only merits) because every single moment is given so much weight. There’s so much ham spurting all over the place in Episode 3 that the pacing feels heavy and sluggish compared to the first two episodes. A good director chooses only key moments to highlight, while sketching out the rest with a light touch… but if HunterXHunter had a good director, I wouldn’t be writing this post in the first place, would I?
(3) The godawful music. The way in which it is used should be punishable by death via endless loops of the Barney song. It’s so bombastic and overblown and over-the-top and just hilariously inappropriate for the scenes the tracks are used for. Especially Episode 3. The music for the Leorio-Kurapica elevator argument made me want to bash my brains out against a wall. Hell, I’d fund the anime equivalent of the Razzie Awards if it meant I could nominate it for worst use of music in an anime ever.
The use of music is almost as atrocious as this 4Kids parody:
At least Casey & Friends is deliberately trying to make the music as ridiculously mismatched as possible. Madhouse is actually being serious. Even though this version of HunterXHunter is “uncensored” and undubbed, it’s basically a homegrown version of Casey & Friends. The only difference is that they’re butchering HunterXHunter instead of Higurashi.
And fans keep gushing about how faithful this adaptation is. Ugh. No. Just because they’re following the manga practically frame by frame (except for some backstory removal in Episode 1), doesn’t mean that it’s being faithful. The style and atmosphere and tone is completely different. How is that possible, you ask?
Well. Take Hamlet, universally recognized as one of the best plays ever written in English. (It’s Shakespeare, let’s leave it at that.) Let’s say you shell out your life savings and watch a production of it done by professional actors at the West End. The very next day, you go watch Hamlet again – only this time it’s done by mentally disabled teenagers. No offense to the mentally disabled, but do you honestly think that the latter is going to come anywhere near to the West End performance in terms of quality?
But the content is exactly the same. And that is what’s going on with this adaptation. Similar content executed at entirely different levels of competence.
Even tiny little changes can make a huge difference. For example, in both anime and manga, Killua says basically the same thing when he chugs down the cans of laxatives: “Poisons don’t affect me.” In the anime, Tonpa’s reaction is straightforward: “He knew what was in there, but he still drank it?” In the manga, however, he reacts like this: “‘Poison’? He didn’t even know what was in there, and he still drank it?” It’s a subtle yet important difference, implying that Killua thought that the cans contained some kind of poison instead of a mere laxative, but went ahead and drank them anyway even though he had no idea what kind of poison it was or even if it was lethal. That gives his characterization a bit more of a dangerous edge.
The anime steamrolls over those nuances in favor of making everything as big and bold and colorful and over-the-top as possible, leaving behind nothing but an empty, psychedelic husk of the greatness that is HunterXHunter.
To be fair, there are things that this adaptation does well. First of all, it has very tight pacing. It succeeds in cramming in as much as possible while being faithful to the manga, and while a flashback had to be cut out from the first episode, I’m sure they’ll work it in at some point because it’s kinda important. Secondly, it has a kickass ending song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xsvvcSoUmo
Aaaand that’s it.
It’s questionable whether the faithfulness is a good or bad thing, actually. I’m watching the original anime adaptation alongside this one, just so I can compare the two (for the record, I think that the 4Kids version makes the original look like Oscar-winning material in comparison). Though the first anime has plenty of flaws such as the glacial pacing and yawn-worthy filler, it’s proving to be an enjoyable watch because it keeps the tone, atmosphere and worldview of the original, while putting its own spins on the actual story. It’s faithful in spirit, but not always in form. That’s the best kind of faithfulness when it comes to adaptations, because it gives fans of the original something new and fresh to enjoy.
…ah, I nearly forgot. There’s one last thing I absolutely adore about this adaptation. Learning HunterXHunter‘s fictional language via the eye-catches!
- Now I know how to write Leorio’s name in Hunterese! Whee!
That’s the only thing I love about this adaptation, sadly.
I highly encourage everybody to check out the manga (get the tankoubon versions if you want to avoid the occasions where the art devolves into stick figures). If you’ve watched the three episodes that are out so far and like them, I suggest that you consider picking up the original adaptation, starting from episode 6.
But if you’re enjoying the fun, lighter tone that this adaptation has, by all means, stick with it. It certainly has the benefit of being much faster paced than the original anime. I guess this is where I should put my disclaimer saying that people’s tastes differ and what is melodramatic and overblown to me may be lively acting to you, and just because I like my fights with lots of blood and squishiness doesn’t mean that it’s bad if a fight is cleaner and softer. Of course, as a fan, it pains me to see one of my favorite manga ever turned into something that I find hideous, but well. To each their own, eh?
67 Comments
One, why was this WHOLE ARTICLE on the main page, rather than just a preview? Weird…
And two, I think you’re being a bit forgetful about the first few chapters of the manga. They WERE pretty lighthearted. I do agree that the way this adaptation is going is not exactly filling me with hope, to say the least. But I’m going to give it a little bit longer because as I recall that the point where the true power of censorship will become apparent isn’t too far off.
Rookie is new to wordpress so I made the adjustment, no need to kill just yet.
Being a rookie reviewer is not an excuse for making a bad impression to the readers.
Sorry for the mistake. -was completely clueless when posting this- I’ll figure out the preview thing before posting next time.
Sure is a lot of unnecessary hate here. Everyone makes mistakes, no need to get mad. It’s not the end of the world.
I agree that the manga starts out relatively lighthearted (especially compared to the rest of the series), but it looks like, I don’t know, Berserk or something compared to this adaptation. I was hoping for a Madoka-style mood reversal at some point, but I suspect Hisoka’s appearance in this episode was their idea of darker and edgier. Though you’re right about what’s coming up next. It’ll be interesting to see how they deal with it. Wonder if they’re going to keep the flower thing up, or if it’s going to be a one time deal.
Finding out is basically why I haven’t dropped this yet. We’ll know in an episode or two whether this has any value whatsoever.
The true test of violence here is when the second phase starts and Hisoka goes mad. I think you’re being extremely hard on this adaptation when we’ve only seen three episodes so far but yeah, whatever– this adaptation can’t possibly please everyone but I’m willing to support it so we can get the Chimera Ant arc animated. Hopefully by the time that happens the timeslot gets moved or something. If not, I don’t see the point of doing this remake in the first place. I also think a lot has changed in the industry the original anime started airing, things that easily aired back then probably won’t pass by today’s standards. Anyway if it ends up being disappointing then there’s always the manga to read, the new chapters are filled with darn juicy stuff I love it.
I was going to give it the benefit of the doubt after watching the first two episodes, and I was actually just a little excited for Episode 3 because I knew it was going to cover the Hunter Exam, but the flower crap just ruined it for me. Along with many other things, but the flower crap especially. We’ll see what Episode 4 brings though. They can’t screw up Hisoka’s rampage too bad, can they?
It’s doubtful that they’ll move the time slot, given the tone they’re taking and the censorship. I think they’re really committed to making this show suitable for younger children to watch.
Oh, and I agree about the manga. I can’t wait for next week’s chapter.
I’ve been a HxH fan as well and didn’t have any high hopes for this “re release” especially when I saw that initial screen shots. It reeked of trying to cash in on an old idea cause they ran out of “new” shows.
Anarchy you should check out the original anime series and it’s OVAs. It’s very faithful to the manga and while the violence isn’t as high as the manga it’s worlds better than this series.
That being said, Nen doesn’t really make it’s true “debut” until tower tournament arc.
I really didn’t have this one my match list since I saw the first series and all the OVA’s through Greed Island arc. But I might take a look just to see how different it is.
I also think it’s because the manga’s finally got out of its hiatus (let’s see how long that’ll last this time), and there’s tons of new material to animate (i.e. the Chimera Arc). But since it’s been so long since the first anime, it makes more sense to do a complete reboot so there’s some consistency in the animation, as well as to pull in a new generation of fans, I’m guessing. See, I’m not opposed to the idea of a reboot (I was really excited about this when I first heard about it), but the way they’ve executed it is disappointing, to say the least.
Eh, it’s up to you. (I’d rather spend time reading the manga, personally.) It’s good for a laugh or two, I guess. And the ending song is sublime. (The opening song, in contrast, is absolutely ridiculous.)
Ha, you remind me of what I was like whenever Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood strayed from the manga, no matter how small the change was.
To be fair though, the new Hunter X Hunter adaptation’s alterations are noticeably more extreme, and currently at odds with the tone of the source material. Granted, I haven’t read the manga, and only watched 40 episodes of the first anime, but the overly bright visuals and frankly bizarre design choices (Hanzo’s eyebrows, Hisoka’s flower attack, dat green blob) are very jarring with the upcoming plot.
I’m no fan of needless gore, but casual violence and tension are among the chief reasons the franchise is a success; the matter-of-fact portrayal of the merciless dog-eat-dog world the characters reside is its greatest strength. I can understand toning down the blood if necessary, but not the actual content (yes, flower attack, I’m looking at you!). So yeah, I’m with you there. Even the slower pace and filler of the first series was put to great use. I’m praying that these are mostly early hiccups, and that similar to the first series, the show will find its feet in the exam arc.
Nothing has annoyed me to the point of rage so far, but I won’t claim to be as invested in Hunter X Hunter as long-term fans are. I’m still quietly hopeful the show can find its stride in time. And if not… well, like James M. Cain once said when asked if he was worried about the effects adaptations would have on his works; `What do you mean? The book is right over there, on the shelf.’
Ps. Congratulations and welcome on becoming a new writer at THAT ^ ^
Thanks for the welcome!
I agree with you, by the way. I’m a little less optimistic about this turning out well in the end, perhaps, but I’ve not completely given up hope… yet.
Wait… this means that you have yet to experience the Yorknew arc. YOU HAVE NOT LIVED
I KNOW I’M SO EXCITED TO REACH THAT POINT IN THE FIRST ANIME.
It’s just that I want to watch the old episodes as they correspond to each episode of the new one. But yeah, I’ve heard good things about that arc.
Still liking this show, even though I wish it would have a bit of a darker feeling to it. It will still be a good watch… I guess
Also, congratulations on becoming a writer
Looking forward to more
Thanks so much! And yeah, a darker feeling would be good…
I share your pain.
-gives you painkillers- ;__;
First of all I would like to say Thank you.
I have been saying since the first episode that the madhouse adaptation is not staying true to the manga. But every time I say that people practically jump down my throat. Yes the content of the 2011 version is almost the same as the manga (they change quite a few things actually) but its tone is worlds apart from the manga. I do not care if there are fillers in an adaptation so long as it stays true to what it is adapting.
I don’t mind filler or deviations so long as the tone and the world is the same, so long as it is adding something to my enjoyment, while staying true to the manga I do not mind it. Though its problems are owed to the director Hiroshi Koujina and series composition writer Atsushi Maekawa (who by the is known for making light- hearted shows), both of whom suck at subtlety which makes their involvement a bad thing, as HXH is a very subtle series, it appears safe on the surface but it quickly becomes apparent that there it is a dark world (One Piece is like this too, which is why all of its copycats fail, because they always try to completely remove the darkness from that world). The tension that was felt when I read the original manga and watched the first adaptation is gone.
-high five- I know exactly how you feel.
It’s kinda impressive, really, that this adaptation is so faithful in terms of content, but so completely off when it comes to the tone and worldview. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it before.
Haven’t seen this version yet, so I’m in no position to agree or disagree with anything you said, except that the ending does in fact kick ass.
This is as strong an opening post as I’ve ever seen. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much! And yeah, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an awesome band.
THEY PUSSIFIED HISOKA?!?!?
Now I feel a lot less thrilled about this remake D:
I have not watched it yet, but I was so pumped especially after watching the badass ending (Fear And Loath In Las Vegas is becoming one of my favourite bands
) but now that you tell me they “censored” it I’m not that eager to watch it ): I agree with all your points regarding the manga, which was indeed different from most shounen because there was always a sense of danger, so if they changed that (and consequently changed everything else) then I’m not sure I’ll be liking this.
I’ll give it a try when I can though and see for myself.
I’m waiting until Episode 4 before officially declaring Hisoka pussified. The badass ending is actually one reason why I still have hope for this series. If they bring the tone closer to the feel of the ending song (instead of the pukeworthy opening song), the show will be much, much better. They even have Hisoka’s glowing crotch and his crazy faces that are lifted directly from the manga itself. I could recognize exactly which manga frames the expressions were taken from as soon as I saw them. So that gives me a little bit of hope.
But yeah, you should judge for yourself. Like I said, I’m really biased.
Also, Fear and Loathing are insane. Have you seen their PV for Jump Around?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ky-DrP2-4k
The keyboardist/screamer is completely off his rocker. And the lead singer reminds me of Mello, for some reason. Must be the hair.
I just watched the ending (I just listened to it before, without watching the actual video) and HOLY CRAP THAT SHOULD’VE BEEN THE OPENING (which I watched once and could care less of). That’s a LOT closer to what we’re supposed to be watching. I really liked Hisoka’s crotch shot, it made my fujoshi clogs run like crazy by the shota possibilities (yes, I’m sick) so it’s nice they added that, plus the crazy faces he does (I really like the one on the right
)
Jump Around MV was actually the first MV I saw of FALILV, pretty awesome and crazy awesome
The crotch shot and expressions are lifted straight from the manga. The face on the right is the creepiest Hisoka face you’ll ever see. It used to haunt me when I was a kid -shudder-. And yeah, in the manga at least it’s pretty obvious that Hisoka is pedo for Gon, ahaha XD I mean, his crotch is GLOWING just before he fights Gon. WTF?!
The opening is pretty meh compared to this ending, I do agree.
I know, the only thing I know about HxH is the original source, a.k.a. the manga ^^ (I never watched the first anime adaptation, it’s on my watchlist though). I hope they fix this up quickly, they’re disappointing us lol WE NEED OUR BLOODY GORE HXH
I am with you. To be honest, I first fell in love with Hunter x Hunter thanks to the original anime adaptation, which was aired actually several times in my national tv channel because of the massive popularity. I remembered it was one of the series that dragged me to love anime and manga, and the reason for it was because it was a really smart series and pretty gloomy, even ruthless (some scenes even made me flabbergasted). I loved the tension each episode created, and it kept me wanting for more.
As soon as I saw the name 4Kids for the remake, I was like, that’s it. And the scene of turning arms into flowers is completely ridiculous that it makes me grimace and unable to concentrate to finish the episode anymore -_-
Yeah, the flower thing was pretty much the moment when I went RUINED FOREVERRRR
What Hisoka did to this guys arms was indeed possible with his texture surprise ability.
Eh, no, I don’t think so. What happened was that the arms slowly disintegrated starting from the fingertips, and dispersed in petals. Even if Hisoka had cut off the arms and covered it with something to simulate the look of the guy’s skin and then slowly removed the illusion bit by bit, I think that for the texture ability he has to be in contact with the surface he’s retexturing in order to remove it, and most importantly, the guy would have screamed and reacted when the arms were cut off in the first place instead of waiting for Hisoka to set all that up. Furthermore, the texture dissipates into many little discrete particles which burst out and twirl through the air very realistically – and while it’s possible that Hisoka used his other ability to manipulate the movement of the petals, his power is based on the properties of gum which means that it’s more of a stretching and contracting action, and therefore it would be impossible for the petals to move through the air in precisely that manner. Plus, there’s too much of them – Hisoka may be an excellent nen manipulator, but it’s impossible to get all of those tiny little petals to move exactly in that way all together.
But yeah, the fact that it’s a disintegration pretty much excludes the possibility of his deceitful texture ability being used.
He extended his aura over the guys arm and simply changed the texture on the fly… from petals to invisible. It’s not that hard to grasp. He kept his aura over the guy’s arms for the duration. And the guy wasn’t screaming in pain because he was in shock. He FELT his arms being cut-off but what he saw was the texture surprise ability. I feel you and others are just looking for something to be wrong with the new series.
The thing is, the texture ability has to be imprinted on something physical – remember how during the tournament arc he had to use a handkerchief to disguise his arm? Theoretically, he could have used a huge cloth with a texture of spinning petals and then just pulled it off, but then there’s the problem of having to animate the texture of the stuff that shows between the petals – and different people will see different things from different angles, so no matter how good he is at animating textures, only one or a few people will see the cloth like a lot of disconnected petals, while the others will see very weird shapes that look that the background and the people around them, but distorted.
And hey, I feel like I was one of the most enthusiastic fans when this remake was announced. I really wanted this to be successful.
Yeah, hisoka can only use deceitful texture on things that are thin like paper. It was explained when he first used it. But in the case where he used it on the screen in GI , I think there was an exception.
I agree 100% with you and same here ,I’m a huge huge HxH fan
Anarchy,GO NOW and watch the original,the animation kicks up at ep.11 and believe me you have yet to see the greatness of the original,it even surpass the manga (the tv series)
so as fellow fan,I think you shouldn’t watch it with the 4kids one as I think that will lessen your enjoyement,I really hope you go watch it and come back with a great review but it’s up to you
really enjoyed your review
I’ll probably be reviewing the original along with the newer edition from now on, so yeah. Since I’ll be watching both of them side by side. It’s actually a better experience than you might think: the first version is so much more enjoyable if I watch it right after this monstrosity.
And thanks!
You just made my day with that video (still can’t stop laughing). I am glad that someone isn’t afraid to just say that sometimes things just aren’t that good the second time when they make such odd changes to the original content. I respect that people like this and maybe it doesn’t bother some that the show is targeted towards a younger audience. Hell I enjoyed mew mew power despite the cheese. But as a true fan it’s clear where the upset is when you aren’t given the same atmosphere. It’s like having that great love from high school come meet you ten years later with stretch marks, peach fuzz, and rollers in her hair. The love is gone.
I actually really, really like cheese. I think it can be awesome and hilarious at the same time when something is really over-the-top. I guess my problem with this is that it’s over-the-top in all the bad ways? Or maybe it’s just not cheesy enough. It’s taking itself seriously, and the cheesiness is completely unintentional. They want us to think this is cool, which is the sad part.
Well, I guess if you have no knowledge of the nen system, the flower thing might look cool, but as somebody on the TvTropes fora said, it’s going to make Hisoka look very silly when the time comes to explain his powers:
“So you have two abilities, the recolor thing and the stretchy thing, right? So how did you make that guy’s arms turn into flowers?”
“…magic?”
And lol I’m glad you liked the video. I think it’s hilarious too.
I think the issue with the cheese isn’t that it’s cheesy. It’s the fact that it’s cheesy IN HUNTER X HUNTER.
Yeah I agree with you. I would expect this out of something like Phi-brain, not a H x H where there’s so much bad assery.
I COMPLETELY disagree. At the moment it’s following the manga perfectly, much better than the original anime did. We’ll see how it handles the upcoming content, but the manga wasn’t brutal when that guy got his arms chopped off. In-fact, THERE WAS NO BLOOD.
Some of the filler in the original anime was just HORRIBLE. For instance, Leorio leaving the wounded man to go get an herb… That doesn’t even make sense since he was supposed to be praised for staying by the guys side.
Yes, well, like I said, it’s being extremely faithful in terms of content, to the point where they’re actually using specific frames and angles from the manga itself, but the tone and atmosphere is so completely off. It’s as if The Dark Knight was produced by Disney instead of being directed by Christopher Nolan – same script, but you can imagine how the tone would differ. But hey, if you like that kind of atmosphere, all the more power to you.
And yes, I’ve read the manga countless times, and I do remember that particular frame. (Hisoka is mai waifu, do you think I wouldn’t remember every single detail about the very first page where mai waifu appeared?) My issue is less “OMG NO BLOOD” and more “WTF FLOWERS?!” Like I said in the post, I feel it’s completely ruined the rationality that the HxH-verse runs on. If anything, the fact that they’re choosing to censor even such a harmless image of those arm stumps (you can still tell they’re supposed to be “bloody” because they’re shaded black, you know what I mean? Though of course, the blood isn’t gushing out or anything) is unsettling. If they went to such lengths to “censor” such an innocent scene, what’s going to happen with other scenes which are much more bloodier than this?
We’ll see what happens tonight.
And yes, like I’ve said, the filler in the original does not always please me. But the atmosphere and tone is much more in line with the manga, and the director seems to know the meaning of the words “subtlety” and “emotional impact”, in contrast to this one. That’s how I personally feel, anyway.
http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3811661&postcount=309
There’s no blood in that arms scene in the manga either. They’re just gone. Nothing spurting or bleeding. The original series had Hisoka stuck inside of a wall instead, which he also couldn’t do using Nen. Also, the acting in this version is significantly better from the original series at this point. Rewatch the first three episodes of the 1999 series again. The actors for Kurapika and Leorio can’t act a lick at this point.
Listen to the music for the Kurapika and Leorio argument in the original series. Compare. It was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXkKZB0iqZg&feature=related
The original series also refused to show blood until episode 14. And if you think the visuals are bad, keep in mind how the show would have looked if Nippon Animation had continued it. The Greed Island OVAs are a good indicator of that–their colors are much brighter and much more cheery. Madhouse’s adaptation is a pretty good medium.
Your criticism of the nuance and tone being different solely is due to the way you read the lines. This new version follows it much better than the old. You’re just looking at the old version (at this point, anyway) through rose-colored glasses.
Oh, so was that what happened? The animation was so dark I couldn’t see it clearly.
Re: manga
Like I’ve said in the above reply, I’ve read the manga a ridiculous number of times, and I remember that frame very clearly. Again, it’s not the blood (or lack thereof) that pisses me off, it’s more the fact that it’s something completely implausible given Hisoka’s abilities.
Yeah, Kurapica’s acting in particular was very stunted in the original, I feel. The new seiyuu is much better. But again, it doesn’t matter how good the seiyuu are if the director and the animators make the characters’ facial expressions/gestures/body language etc so over-the-top. I group all of that into “acting” as well. As I said in the post, I think all the seiyuu in this version is perfectly competent. The director, on the other hand…
Re: Blood
Again, I don’t mind there not being blood as long as the atmosphere is still dark/anxiety-inducing/suspenseful/not HAPPY HAPPY ADVENTURE FUN TIEMS.
I haven’t watched the Greed Island OVAs, so I can’t really comment on that, but hey, if you can create a decent, non-cheesy atmosphere while still having bright colors, I’m all for it~~~
Re: Last paragraph
I have to disagree with you on that. Like I said in the post, this version is much more faithful in terms of lifting every single frame and line of dialogue straight out of the manga. However, in terms of characterization (via the animation of character motions/expressions, as well as certain adjustments in the dialogue – don’t forget Episode 1!) and atmosphere (via the cheesy, bright visuals, the horrendous use of music, and the over-the-top caricatures) is completely different from the manga. This makes me feel like I’m watching Barney and Friends. It’s not simply a matter of me reading the lines “differently” (different from what? your personal interpretation?).
I probably didn’t make this clear when I posted, so let me do so now: I’d never watched the first anime until this version aired. In fact, this Madhouse version was the first animated version of HunterxHunter that I saw. You are correct though, that I’m looking at the old version through rose-colored glasses. But the only reason I’m doing so is because I’m watching it after I watch this 2011 version, which makes anything look good in comparison. Heck, if I’d watched the first anime without watching this, I probably would have dropped it three episodes in because of the filler.
this is how i’m going to sound like if i’m antagonistic towards the original series as you are to the remake (i’ll limit it to the episode 3 counterpart of the remake plus a bit more):
-what? are they stupid? it was beans who gave the plates to the trio, not the navigator. how the hell would the navigator have that? it’s an inconsistency!
-why is this series so serious? the manga doesn’t have that atmosphere. this series takes itself too seriously. this is not hxh >:(
-that filler on pietoro. lololololol retarded
-how the fuck can satotsu fly? explain this in-verse. nao.
-the way tompa introduced the characters is really lame. the viewer had no time to even register the faces of cherry, three brothers, gereta, etc. and they will be very important later on. they didn’t even introduce gitaraku! so what, he’s going to suddenly make a scene in the final exam without any foreshadowing?
-geez, nicole’s entrance is stupid. he suddenly approached tompa and shit. he didn’t even know tompa’s the rookie crusher, which is completely at odds with his character of being good at gathering information
-and the laxative scenes! the laxative scenes! how can they take it out? it was the best part of the chapter! T____T
-hisoka’s entrance, what a joke
-they changed killua’s personality. killua isn’t a loner, he’s a friendly kid who approached gon first
This is exactly the right response to this review.
I’m actually going to respond to your comments seriously, because you bring up some good points even if you don’t mean to.
1. That’s a narrative inconsistency that doesn’t destroy the foundation of the nen system, so it’s not as atrocious a change as FLOWERS~~~~
2. I’d rather have the series take itself too seriously and give us something to connect with on an emotional level than this over-the-top HAPPY HAPPY ADVENTURE FUN TIMES WHEEE joke of an anime. The atmosphere in the first anime is actually closer to the manga than this version despite this version being much more faithful in terms of content. I agree with you that the manga doesn’t explore the emotions of the characters with as much depth (first anime first episode, I’m looking at you), but I’d rather they do that than make everyone a hollow caricature. More depth is better than completely unbelievable acting, at least for me.
3. Pietoro filler? What? Ohhh that. Hey, at least it increases the homoerotic quotient, which is totally faithful to the manga itself. XD I would actually consider that “good” filler, because it fleshes out Leorio’s backstory a little bit. Rather cliche, of course, and not necessary to the plot itself. But for someone who’s read the manga a thousand times (like me), it’s nice to see a little change in the plot now and then, if it makes sense and fits the storyline.
4. I actually didn’t notice Satotsu flying (not paying attention to the first anime as much because not blogging it specifically), but that doesn’t bother me as much because Satotsu is basically a complete mystery. Unlike Hisoka, whose style and personality we know, and whose abilities we know. But yeah, whoo more ass pulls!
5. I’ll group this together with the laxative scenes. For me, I’d rather have those scenes cut out, than included in a completely butchered form. Say you have a favorite dish that includes chili sauce. Would you rather have it without chilli sauce, or with chilli sauce that’s been mixed with pee? Exactly.
6. That was rather horrible, I agree. Another thing about that particular filler scene is that Kurapica’s supposed to have this ridiculously encyclopedic knowledge, but somehow he didn’t know about the illusion-causing sap? WTF? That is what really killed it for me, rather than the Pietoro filler.
7. At least it didn’t have FLOWERS. But yeah, the stuck-in-the-wall scene was… bleargh.
8. I really loved the scene of Gon’s and Killua’s first meeting in the manga where Killua’s all like “whoah, another 12 year old like me, this is kinda cool”. While in the first anime, Killua’s like “….” and Gon’s being kinda stalkerish on him. So I was disappointed that they chose to change that relationship dynamic (I guess I can see why fans of the first one like it, because the two of them have to actually work towards the point where they can say “hey lend me your skateboard”, “only if you lend me your bitchin’ fishing rod”, but as a fan of the manga I love that casual connection they have at the very beginning, that slowly builds up to be a really powerful, close relationship), but at least they did it in a way that’s competent, unlike the overacting of this version.
I have to say though, you seem to be assuming that I’m a fan of the first anime, which I’m not, really. The 2011 version is the first anime adaptation of HxH that I’ve seen, and I’m watching the corresponding old episodes after each new episode comes out. If it’s seems like I’m being lenient towards the first version, it’s because the new version is so obnoxious the old version just feels so nice and soothing to my mind… I never denied that it had flaws though. The fact that the tone and atmosphere is closer to the manga, though, makes me like the first anime more than this new one… which isn’t saying a lot, since I think this version is worse than taking a dump after you’ve eaten something really really spicy. Not at all pleasant, I can assure you.
Seems to me there’s a lot of handwaving going on here. So the narrative inconsistencies in the first series’ episodes don’t matter to you; the filler is apparently all contributive; the inconsistencies with the manga are negligible; “scenes cut out? well, better than being butchered, I guess!”; and even completely changing the dynamic of the characters (Gon/Killua) is ‘competent’. And you’re not seeing it through rose-coloured glasses how?
You’re not being lenient towards the first anime, you’re being blindingly apologetic.
I never said that the fillers were all constructive, only that particular example. For example, I think the second episode is completely unnecessary and should have been cut.
Narrative inconsistencies? As in multiple? I was only responding to the “who gave out the cards” inconsistency, not anything else. And like I said, changing the plot is different from changing the actual way the HunterXHunter universe works, as in the nen rule breaking.
And about Gon/Killua, I didn’t like that their dynamic was changed, but the acting involved from both parties was competent, compared to the cheesy, silly, melodramatic acting we have in this version. I didn’t mean that the actual change itself was “competent”.
If you’ve been reading my replies, I actually acknowledged that I’m seeing the first anime through rose-coloured glasses. However, that’s only because this version is so horrible that anything – ANYTHING seems like mana from heaven compared to it. If I was blogging the first anime by itself without having watched the Madhouse version, I’d probably be as hard on it as I am on this. I’d probably be all “OH MY GOD THIS PACING IS HORRIBLE WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH ALL THAT FiLLER RAGE RAGE RAGE”. But as it is, it’s like a nice, soothing balm for the wounds on my soul caused by the newer version. <3
EDIT: Have I mentioned this is my first time watching the first anime, so I don’t have a nostalgia filter in place for it?
Hoo boy, what a mess.
>4Kids? Really? Either you haven’t seen any 4Kids shows or has no sense of comparison. Because we see a guy lose his arms in the third episode of all those 4Kids shows. >_>
> “crappy One Piece wannabe” This had me ROFL-ing a good while. HXH is superior in many respects, but One Piece does many things HXH can only dream of.
>”HunterXHunter is already for kids in the first place since it’s targeted towards the shonen demographic? Yeah, well, there are kids, and then there are kids.” So you know what shounen is supposed to be, but you want to give it your own definition. Got it.
>Yes, the Hisoka scene is different from the manga. But it’s a shit ton better than what the first anime did with it, nen rules aside.
>Bloodiest shonen manga? Claymore would like a word. Hell, even Toriko is probably just as gory.
>Yes, the colours are brighter, but that’s the norm for shonen anime these days. HXH is not a seinen manga, nor even half as dark as Death Note, and has shounen enough tendencies for it not to be a big deal that the colors are a little brighter.
>AFAIC, the voice acting is on par with the first anime, and this is just a prissy complaint.
>The music everybody knows is not as good, but in my opinion, the only real downside we’ve had so far. Still not as bad as 4Kids bgms. See: Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece
>Really? You’re going to complain about one line of dialogue being one word different? Indeed, that must doom this adaptation for sure. This series is much more faithful to the manga (which is the best form of HXH) than the original.
>At least this review isn’t 100% blind as these complaints make it seem, because the strengths of the adaptation (like the pace) are still evident to you despite the RRAAGGGEE.A
1. My intention was to make fun of the stereotype that 4Kids edits, dubs, and censors anime in such a way in order to make them more appropriate for kids. I wasn’t referencing any 4Kids show in particular.
2. Oh, like bore the reader to death? I tried getting into One Piece multiple times, actually managed to make it past a few volumes before realizing that every single page of it was so boring, I’d rather read a history textbook. Seriously, what a yawn-fest. Again, that’s my opinion, you obviously have yours, and I respect that. But when I make comparisons, I’ll be making them based on my opinions of the works being compared, eh?
3. That was actually supposed to be a hyperbolic joke, as I thought would be obvious from the Barney reference. Pardon my poor sense of humor. But my main point is (as I pointed out later in the review) is that just because a show is for kids doesn’t mean that it’s a show for idiots. For example, the Ghibli films are aimed towards kids, but they’re one of the most sophisticated anime around. Making a show in the shonen demographic doesn’t excuse the melodrama and cheese.
4. Yeah, the first anime’s scene was pretty shitty. Doesn’t change the fact that both scenes still break nen rules to hell and back though, which is my main gripe with this.
5. I didn’t say bloodiest, I said it was bloodier than many shonen fighting manga. And awww Claymore! I love that manga! I remember marathoning it and then dropping it when I reached the latest chapter… I’ll pick it up again when it’s finished so I can marathon the whole thing in one go. Also, re: Toriko. I feel like I’m the only one who thinks it was blatantly inspired by HunterXHunter’s cooking exam arc. I dunno. Maybe it’s just me.
6. I think the colors are part of what makes it feel so cheesy and melodramatic, but hey, like I said in an earlier reply, if they can create a good atmosphere of menace and anxiety while keeping the bright colors, I’ll be all for it.
7. I agree with you completely. Kurapica in particular has a much better seiyuu this time around. (At least from the episodes I’ve watched.) What I’m talking about mostly is how the characters’ emote, the way their facial expressions, gestures, and so on are animated… and even what expressions to include, and what expressions to exclude – this is more a criticism of the director and animators than the voice acting. I tend to look at anime acting like I look at real life acting – encompassing all aspects that determine their characterization – so when I’m criticizing the acting, I’m not necessarily talking about the voice acting. In fact, I went out of my way to state that I think the voice actors are good.
8. Haha. If you say that there’s worse out there, I really, really don’t want to know about it. (Yu Gi Oh the manga was my childhood, and I really don’t feel the urge to watch the anime, especially if, as you say, the BGM is horrible.)
9. It was merely one example of the kind of subtlety that this adaptation doesn’t get. That one little thing by itself doesn’t ruin the story, but add together lots and lots of little things that are just a little bit off, and you get this trainwreck of an anime. This adaptation is all about being BIG. It ignore all the nuances in the story and the characterization. That’s why the tone is so off – it’s getting the big picture, but not the little things that make HunterXHunter what it is. As a fan of the manga itself, I do agree that it’s being extremely faithful in terms of content – you can recognize individual frames and angles and a lot of the dialogue is lifted word for word from the manga – but the music, bad acting, and so on makes the atmosphere so cheesy and silly, it doesn’t FEEL like HunterXHunter at all to me, a long-term HxH fan. Whereas the first anime is much closer to the feel of the manga, while going off on its own tangents and digressions in terms of content. I prefer something that feels like HunterXHunter but looks somewhat different, compared to something that looks exactly like it but feels completely different.
10. The pacing is indeed well done. However, that merit is overshadowed by the sheer horribleness of everything else. The good thing about this kind of pacing, though, is that we’re going to get to the more exciting bits faster (compared to the first anime, which dithered about for I don’t know how many episodes before getting to the point).
In the end, I think that the main thing we can both agree on is that the manga itself is LOVE, yes? XD
We’ll have to agree with disagree, especially about One Piece (is there a manga series that has a better sense of adventure? I very much doubt it.). Disbarring the Hisoka scene, as neither anime did that right, I’m going to assume your main problem is with the “tone/atmosphere” as you keep mentioning.
The main difference seems to be is actually the pacing itself, though I know you say you appreciate that. The first anime had manga scenes much more spread out, with filler to pad out the episode. The shapeshifter couple in the forest for example was a separate episode in the old anime, but the slower pacing allowed for more time for the characters. The new anime included all the manga bits, which was good enough for me as a manga fan, but didn’t dwell on any of the moments. The old anime was hard to watch for the same episodes that covered this content because of how goddamn slow the pacing was. A lot of the filler was in line with the tone of the series and added to it in your opinion, but quite unnecessary and redundant in my own. Togashi did well enough in characterization in the manga and if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.
The characters’ facial expressions and the direction of the animation might be a personal problem for you, rather than an objective one. The art and animation in this series are easily above anything we had seen by this point in the first anime. Nor have I encountered the complaint by any other watchers of the new anime that the characters’ expressions don’t line up with the author’s vision, as you insinuate. Perhaps, because you have expectations based on real life acting sensibilities, this anime doesn’t match up, but like I said, since this is the first I’ve heard of the complaint, it might just be you. The characters on screen for me as just as much the ones from the manga as they were 10 years ago with the first anime.
Yes, the BGM so far has been fairly mediocre, but the first series’ wasn’t perfect either. It will probably even take a tonal shift for the darker arcs. As for the colours, I don’t really feel that to be a valid complaint because even if you look at other major shounen anime of the 90s, such as Rurouni Kneshin or Evangelion or Cowboy Bepop, the colour scheme for anime was generally not as vibrant compared to shounen anime today. Could it have used darker colours to emulate that look? Yes. Is it really so different and above other shounen that it should necessitate a seinen look? Not really.
Seems to me like you’re letting the first anime define the series for you, so the majority of these changes are poisonous. I know you’re watching them concurrently, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be biased.
And in regards to the BGM, the 4th episode already introduced two great new pieces for Kurapika and Leorio’s backstories. We even got a bit of goriness this episode, so it should make you feel a little better. Still too colourful though, I’m guessing?
My post for HxH Episode 4 is up. Go comment there if you have any further questions.
Re: Colour
Like I’ve said in a couple other replies, if they can create good atmosphere/tone while retaining the bright colors, I’m all for it.
First of all, I think I get what our problem is now. You seem to think that I’m trying to state my opinions as objective fact, when I actually went out of my way to emphasize – more than once, in fact – that all of this is just my subjective opinion. The overacting is my personal opinion? Of course it is. Didn’t I say so in my post? I glad to hear that the characters’ acting is in line with the manga with you. For me, it wasn’t until the latest episode that I could go, “ahh, that actually looks like Gon from the manga” – again, not in the sense of content (because this adaptation has been good about lifting everything straight from the manga), but in terms of the character actually FEELING like the character. My personal response. My personal reaction. All right?
And ahaha, no, the only thing I’m letting define my biases is the manga itself. I think you’re making that assumption because most fans of HunterXHunter are fans of the first anime. Like I said, I watched the old version AFTER I watched the new version, and I was raging on the first episode even before I watched the corresponding episodes from the old anime. The reason I’m hating on these three episodes is because it doesn’t line up with how I interpret the manga, because they’re so horribly melodramatic, cheesy, and desperately cheerful. The tone of the corresponding manga chapters are more serious, dark, and suspenseful than this.
You just know this show is a bad remake when you see rainbow colors everywhere (4 kids).
Urgh. The fourth episode really annoyed me. Not because it was terrible, mind. It was a damn sight better than the last one. The problem was the way some of the scenes had me thinking: “Right, I’m never watching this piece of crap again”, but others (Killua’s scenes in particular) were so brilliantly done I wanted to give the guys behind them a great big hug. That’s the problem with this anime, really. It alternates so much between good and disastrous that it’s hard to make up your mind about it. I can’t completely bring myself to like it, but I don’t feel able to abandon it yet either. DAMN YOU, MADHOUSE!
Are we mind twins or something? I had the exact same reaction, only you seem to like it less than I do. Ah, the wonders of lowered expectations.
I still did not read the whole post, but i dont understand the comment under the first picture.
“This time around we’ll actually have women in the Hunter Exam! Yay!”
This time around? This means you think they werent there in the original? Leorio had to take the wasp using green haired girls plate. And the girl with the gun was there too. Sorry if i misunderstood
It was a lame joke about how all the hunters in that very same frame in the manga were males. Sorry for my horrible sense of humor.
I love the manga and adore the orginal anime. That said, I completely DISAGREE with your opinions. In fact, I find myself enjoying this remake a whole lot. Honestly, the level of vitriol you have in your review is too much compared to the number of episodes released. It shows a pretty closed mind, which you admitted to anyway. Let’s see, updated animation, good seiyuus, remaining true to the manga… I don’t see how it can go wrong. The studio has said the worst they’re going to do is make Hisoka less sexually creepy and slightly tone down the violence. If the next generation of kids who watch this get hooked, then they can go on and read the manga or watch the original anime. How can that be bad? It’s a remake. Why make a remake if one will just copy the first anime. Of course, it’s going to be different. It doesn’t necessarily mean it will be bad.
Like I’ve argued in the main post, staying true to the manga in terms of content does not necessarily equate to staying true in terms of tone/atmosphere (putting aside the assumption that faithfulness of any sort = goodness). These first three episodes have already gone plenty wrong, but Episode 4 seemed to have picked up a bit in terms of quality… we’ll see how it goes.
And ahaha, first you say it’s faithful to the manga, then you say it’s different? As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of the first anime per se (only watched it after I watched this version), and more importantly, nowhere in my post do I argue that these three episodes are bad because they’re different from the first anime. I think they’re bad because (->refer to main post).
Re: Open-Mindedness
I think part of having an open mind is respecting that different people are going to react to the same work in different ways, yes?
What makes you think I don’t respect your opinion? I didn’t say you were wrong. I said I disagreed. Quite strongly, obviously.
Also, didn’t YOU say you were biased or did I misread that?
And if you read what I wrote closely you’ll see that I meant the two anime are different. The first is more dramatic. Very very good. The second anime is more shounen, just like the manga. So far, I’m liking it very much.
I agree though, the original is the MANGA. Not the first anime adaptation. I’m not sure how true it is, but in the other forums they say this remake is being supervised by the mangaka himself. If that’s true, then bonus point methinks.
The reason I posted a comment is I cannot leave a negative HxH review alone. Especially if I disagree. I gotta put it out there how awesome some other people think this is despite this different opinion of yours. Cheers.
Thank you for clarifying your statements.
Re: Bias
Bias (in a specific case) /= Close-Minded (a general personality trait)
I think our definitions of bias and close-mindedness differ = source of our disagreement on that point
When you argued that the two anime are different but not necessarily bad, I assumed you were arguing that I thought this anime was bad because it was different from the original, and all I said in return was that I don’t think it’s bad BECAUSE it’s different (I think it’s bad for other reasons). But thank you for expanding on your comment and making it clear what precisely your point was with that statement. In response to that, I do agree that the original is more dramatic, but I cannot agree that this adaptation is “just like the manga”. It’s more shonen, “just like One Piece”, is what I would call it. I think that the manga’s tone is more of a middle-ground between the first and current anime, though in the way I interpret the manga, the first anime comes much closer to the the manga compared to these three episodes if only because these three episodes look and sound like they belong in >insert the silliest, cheesiest cartoon for 2-3 year olds you can think of< Even Kim Possible looks cooler than these three episodes, which I wouldn’t think is possible. *cough*Not that I watch Kim Possible or anything…
And oh, trust me, I am very much aware of how awesome some people think this adaptation is. But thanks for letting me know anyway.
Finally. You have no idea how good it feels to hear someone rant about this remake. I honestly thought I was alone for awhile there with the rapid amount of ad hominem attacks from 2011 supporters. I was introduced to the first adaption (fortunately) around the last month of 2009..out of all the Animes I’ve watched (many), Hunter x Hunter began to stand as something truly special to me. After finishing the series and OVA’s, I was on a streak, and went straight to reading the Manga. The Anime seemed to follow the Manga rather well minus the fillers..which I thought were completely acceptable.
You’ve pretty much covered every thought I had of the this new remake, being 7 episodes in. I have a strong dislike for it but I won’t deny it has its good parts, but like someone else on this thread mentioned, it’s so hard to make up your mind if you hate it or just have many dislikes of it.
The first adaption of the Anime was truly special to me, as I’ve said. The soundtrack/BGM it had was beyond perfect for me, and created quite a quaint and fascinating aesthetic along with the art. Killua and Gon are characters I personally relate to in some aspects..and while Gon isn’t necessarily drawn bad in this remake, Killua and everything else just seems bland and plastic compared to the first adaption. After watching the first adaption of the Anime my first time, and then picking up the Manga (I don’t read TOO many Mangas), I had the entire time the OST/BGM from the first adaptation and 1st OST playing in my head as I read the chapters beyond what the Anime reached. The first anime spoiled the fans that appreciated it the most, and it’s really such a sad thing to see how a lot of things these days are being destroyed by modern standards and censorship.
Messy post, my passion is in control of me for the moment I admit, but just wanted to say it feels great hearing someone Else’s opinion and perspective of the remake. I honestly lack the vocabulary to welt on this remake anymore than I already have, and this is only 7 episodes..suppose I have a long way to go. But thanks for sparing me the motivation of a full blown rant mode on this.
i’m absolutely agree with you!!! Where’s the dramatic, gore and awe feeling I had when I had watched hunterxhunter?
I actually don’t like the voice, the fast pace of the anime and where are all those dramatic scene?!!!
This sounded plastic and whatnot for me…
I felt that they downgraded this manga and the original anime, I hope people realized this and trying to find the original one, and compared it, not just watching it and thought that hunter x hunter is just another one-piece wannabe (BTW, I do love onepiece, but 1 onepiece is enough, we don’t need another fake)
I felt that Gon’ uniqueness, Killua’s sadistic personality, Kurapica’s beauty and even Leorio crazinesses are really toned down here.
I love the old anime where everytime there’s a gore or awesome scene happened the very dramatic BGM was being played. The 2011 anime BGM are very dissapointed.
BTW, I also read the manga, but actually give up at the ending, caused the artwork becoming too much core for me, and the plot becoming weird.