Synopsis:
A young boy named Gon Freecss, who lives on a small island, discovers one day that the father, who he always thought was dead was actually alive and well. He learns that he is also a very famous and legendary Hunter. Gon becomes determined to take the Hunter exam to seek out his amazing father and follow his footsteps. On the way he encounters Kurapica, Leorio, and Killua, and learns that there are many challenges that he must face in becoming a hunter will be beyond his imaginations. (adapted from wiki)
Rating Key:
Excellent
Good
Average
Bad
Not worth your time
= half a rating
Story-
Music-
Characters-
Video and Sound Quality-
Series length- 62 episodes
Released in the U.S.?- Yes (Recently licensed by Viz)
This series contains-
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Psychological.
Some facts about this title-
* There are 3 OVA sequels after the TV series.
Where can you purchase this series?
DVD Empire
My Thoughts:
I always heard about this series, either seeing a column on it from a site, a cosplay of the characters (not knowing what series it was from before), or randomly coming across a fan-made music video from it. XD But I never actually got myself to start watching it until several later when I just finally gave up and said "Okay, I'm just so going to watch this already!" XD
I'm not sure what compelled me to start after all those years, but I think I have Kurapica to thank, since he's the character that got me intrigued with the red eyes and chains on his fingers. XD But I think perhaps it was the main character, Gon that threw me off from it a little, and made me think it was going to be one of those generic series with a silly story, but boy did I think wrong... XD
I have to admit that when I first started watching the series, I was a bit hesitating to continue, since the story seemed to be going a bit slowly, but after a while, everything slowly came together and finally makes made and sense. I noticed you also have to be somewhat of a patient person to watch this series too, because this was a show that started around 1998, so it wasn't adapted to an audience of the 21st century, where it usually starts with action, mysterious, or suspenseful scene.
But when you do finally get used to the characters and story, you'll be greatly engaged to the storyline and the situations that will come about. The array of characters also is greatest and unusual of any other series I came across. I also feel this series has this feeling of a down-to-earth essence, where it feels very real and solid. And by that I mean that it doesn't seem very generic or skipping on the details. It feels very real-time and anything that happens feels realistic and the character grows with you rather than in his own pace or completely off camera. It also seems that the action scenes are very real. Such as if the character gets an injury, it won't disappear right away or in the next couple scenes or within that day. It actually stays there and they have to heal it or tend to it. And the character won't just magically be able to kill the enemy after failing once. They seem to really stick to the reality of what a child can or cannot accomplish compared to someone older.
I think this actually makes it more engaging, but might be harder for some to watch, since it's a bit slow and painful at times (especially some of the detailed fights and injuries). But you tend to grow and get to know the characters on a deeper level than with some characters in the newer series.
Another thing that's unique are the character designs. Not all characters in this series will be "visually appealing," even characters who are good. This is also something that leans towards reality more in a sense that not everyone who is 'good-looking' is always the good guy. I think this is why a lot of people tend to respect this show, because it doesn't "play around" in the aspect of a stereotypical or generic anime where usually a certain type of character is predictable or usually stuck to a certain role because of how they look. This is definitely a bit os a refreshing getaway to the more 'popular' anime, such as Naruto, Bleach, etc. (Some even say that a lot of the concepts and themes in Naruto probably originated from this series.) But if one gets to appreciate this kind of show, you'll find that they just don't make anime like this anymore.
My Final Opinion:
A very unique series that you'll rarely find nowadays. This anime gets to the raw aspects of growth, hardships, friendship, trust, and strength with reality and supernatural aspects. The audience will grow with these characters on this journey and those who are willing to stick to it, will be greatly rewarded. ^^
Screenshots: Here
are some high quality shots I took of this series.
