Edgar Allan Pillow
Ero-Sennin
It reminded me of Stargate: Universe. A totally different sort and completely different from the open adventure of the previous series.
I hated it really. Painfully slow, too much talking about things happening instead of things actually happening.
No one even fights. Oh, I'm poisoned. Now everyone's dead. The end. It's a super power anime where the main villain is killed by poison from a bomb. It's like Superman being stabbed by a pointy stick and dying. Or he picks up a urinary infection and dies.
You also have huge amounts of just wasted time. Gon's huge build up to the fight. Massive, massive build up to it and then it's over in five seconds and we don't even see most of it. The whole arc is just wasted. Wasted time, wasted effort.
Killua spends the whole arc doing literally nothing. I mean he enters one fight, for approximately 2 minutes and then runs out of power. And runs away.
The motivations barely made any sense as well. The only person who has a personal interest in the whole arc was Gon because Kite was killed. He knew Kite for what the total of two days, he was way too invested in him. The arc feels unimportant to the viewer because most of the characters just work for a sense of duty or pride. Its hardly engaging. Despite this, Gon's fight is totally anti-climactic.
Not to mention the show is about Gon trying to find his father. The chimera ants were just a stop he decided to make along the way. He and Killua didn't have participate at all.
The opinions on Tokyo Ghoul are very split - in that, you'll either love it, or be meh! about it all. And that seems to be the case with a lot of new-gen anime (Shigeki no Kyojin and SAO included - which come with massive hype, but often end up disappointing). I guess the appeal of Tokyo Ghoul was the cool goth artwork, the masks, Kaneki's dichotomy, the urban paranormal phenomenon (the manga was launched in the whole vampire/ zombie meta-phase), and the gripping start (remember being hooked sharpish). And like SNK, or SAO - you expect that pace to continue, but the simplistic story doesn't really whet your appetite for a meaty framework beyond the superficial lure (in that sense it's like a polar opposite of One Piece, which took ages to suck you in, but once it did - the story was relentlessly captivating).
Like, apart from little bits of Touka and Amon: I don't even remember what happened between episode #3, and the introduction of Aogiri Tree/Ayato/Yamori-Jason; it was that bland. Rize/Kaneki's metamorphosis was brilliant though, probably my favorite part of the anime:
Such sinister vibes.
I loved the way the ants are defeated actually. For one thing, it didn't follow typical shonen structure. For another it's thematically interesting to see the most physically perfect organism evolve and adopt various parts of the human psyche, and it would have been a shame for that arc to conclude by having the bad guy lose a fight to the good guy.
** I know what you mean. But it was too much I think. Breaking from the tropes could have been great but it wasn't executed right for me. I mean two royal guards and the king die from this poison. If Pouf and Youpi had been killed already I probably wouldn't have cared that much. That way it would have made more sense for the king to just give up since he would have already lost. **
And what do you mean no one fights? Netero fights Meruem. It's just that he loses then he cheats. And Gon fought Pitou, it's just that he cheats then he wins. And before that everyone and their dog fights Youpi.
** Yeah the Netero fight was quite good, but it was almost entirely the king getting beat down but taking no damage. Gon's fight with Pitou is him throwing a couple of punches. Pitou's totally destroyed by Gon. It would have been nice to see them have an actual contest.
It's true everyone fights Youpi but even then most of the fight was running away from him, or thinking about how to defeat him. ***
I guess this is more a matter of personal preference. I enjoyed all the buildup because I enjoyed the resolution. But I disagree that the whole arc is wasted; Killua and Gon go through a lot and develop as characters. Although I do wish we got to see more core characters like Kurapika etc.
*** They do grow up a bit but I don't think it's really enough to justify the length of the arc. It's mostly Gon and Killua being sad, which I don't think made that much sense. Gon was too attached to Kite and prior to this arc he had never shown that kind of side. The same with Killua he was just smashing through every emotion you can think of, even though he'd never been like that. He was crying, then he was thanking Palm, then he was angry again, etc.
But overall I think it's the pacing that means I criticize it so much. If you go back to the Phantom Troupe eps where they kill the ants in their home town, I think it's really well done. Exciting, there's a fight, we learn more about the characters. ***
To be fair, that's not unusual for Hunter x Hunter. The only person with motivation in the Yorkshin arc was Kurapika avenging his people, with Greed Island it's Gon trying to clock the game and find his dad, etc. Also, for me a lot of the second half is more about the ants' motivations than just the humans. Meruem's desire to rule is affected by Komugi and his fight with Netero, while Pouf's loyalty to the king is warped by his ideal version of a king; in fact these 2 are more like the protagonist and antagonist in some later episodes, and if that doesn't work for you then fair enough, but I loved it.
And Hunter x Hunter is only broadly about finding Ging. The Zoldyck Family arc is only about getting back Killua, and the Heavens Arena arc is only about getting strong enough to punch Hisoka in the face; neither are about Gon looking for his dad.
*** True, but for Yorkshin Kurapika is really the center of the arc. The story is being driven around him, so even though he's the only character with a personal interest it's still quite compelling. On the other hand, Gon and Killua are also trying to get Greed Island which they can't do if there's no auction, so they did have to stop the Phantom Troupe.
I can understand it being about the ants motivation but then it was just constant Pouf crying and shouting meruem. Then eventually Youpi starts crying. But the King losing his memory and trying to get it back, didn't need to happen. He remembered everything as soon as he saw it. Pouf and Youpi healing the king by feeding him was pointless because he dies minutes later anyway, from poison. I just couldn't enjoy it.
For the other arcs, they weren't exactly about finding Gon's dad but they were broadly. Apart from the Zoldyk family, but Gon, Kurapika and Leorio all wanted to get their friend back. Heavens arena is about getting stronger and earning money so that they can enter the auction to get Greed Island, Greed Island is about finding clues, the Hunter exam was about finding clues. The chimera ants are totally different from that. It just felt like Gon was unnecessarily getting side tracked. ***
Tokyo Ghoul was incredibly captivating. I knew it was flawed but still accepted it for what it was. I just wish they didn't run out of ideas in the seasons that followed.
Another show that I really wished didn't get cancelled was Gangsta. That was some incredible anime right there.
I know what you mean. But it was too much I think. Breaking from the tropes could have been great but it wasn't executed right for me. I mean two royal guards and the king die from this poison. If Pouf and Youpi had been killed already I probably wouldn't have cared that much. That way it would have made more sense for the king to just give up since he would have already lost.
*** For me the having 3 of them die of poison works, because none of the royal guards were defeated "fairly". I like that the things humans create out of our tendency to destroy and kill are the things that killed the ants, and the only one defeated in combat was possible by Gon basically selling his soul. ***
Yeah the Netero fight was quite good, but it was almost entirely the king getting beat down but taking no damage. Gon's fight with Pitou is him throwing a couple of punches. Pitou's totally destroyed by Gon. It would have been nice to see them have an actual contest.
It's true everyone fights Youpi but even then most of the fight was running away from him, or thinking about how to defeat him.
*** I liked the one sided nature of most of the fights actually. Netero was presented as one of our best fighters, so watching a whole fight of him going 100% and landing 0 meaningful hits was great, really drove home how physically ridiculous the ants were. Same with the couple of punches thrown in the Pitou fight, basically showcasing Gon's full potential at a terrible cost.
(This is a tangent, and it doesn't apply to anyone else probably, but I always used to wonder what it would be like if bad guys in DBZ had their arcs in a different order. Like, what if Piccolo had attacked earth later in the manga, when Goku was way stronger? It's good thing he was before Frieza, who was before Cell, and good thing he was before Buu etc. But on some meta level it was hilarious to me to watch Gon destroy Pitou, like she was a bad guy who got her timing wrong and should have attacked 2 arcs ago and was just too late.) ***
They do grow up a bit but I don't think it's really enough to justify the length of the arc. It's mostly Gon and Killua being sad, which I don't think made that much sense. Gon was too attached to Kite and prior to this arc he had never shown that kind of side. The same with Killua he was just smashing through every emotion you can think of, even though he'd never been like that. He was crying, then he was thanking Palm, then he was angry again, etc.
But overall I think it's the pacing that means I criticize it so much. If you go back to the Phantom Troupe eps where they kill the ants in their home town, I think it's really well done. Exciting, there's a fight, we learn more about the characters.
*** I do think you're right about Gon being too attached to Kite. For someone who he met literally a week earlier, his sadness was too much. It might have helped the audience more if they had showed him saving Gon early on like the manga, but even that wouldn't be enough.
I disagree about Killua though. Most of his emotional breakdowns and swings came after he removed Illumi's needle, so I saw it more as someone who was going through dangerous high emotion situations for the first time with his own conscious to dictate his thoughts. ***
True, but for Yorkshin Kurapika is really the center of the arc. The story is being driven around him, so even though he's the only character with a personal interest it's still quite compelling. On the other hand, Gon and Killua are also trying to get Greed Island which they can't do if there's no auction, so they did have to stop the Phantom Troupe.
I can understand it being about the ants motivation but then it was just constant Pouf crying and shouting meruem. Then eventually Youpi starts crying. But the King losing his memory and trying to get it back, didn't need to happen. He remembered everything as soon as he saw it. Pouf and Youpi healing the king by feeding him was pointless because he dies minutes later anyway, from poison. I just couldn't enjoy it.
For the other arcs, they weren't exactly about finding Gon's dad but they were broadly. Apart from the Zoldyk family, but Gon, Kurapika and Leorio all wanted to get their friend back. Heavens arena is about getting stronger and earning money so that they can enter the auction to get Greed Island, Greed Island is about finding clues, the Hunter exam was about finding clues. The chimera ants are totally different from that. It just felt like Gon was unnecessarily getting side tracked.
*** Yeah out of all the arcs the CA one is the most out of the blue, but I suppose if I disliked it as much as you do that would be more of a problem. Plus Gon and Killua only get involved because they're hanging around with Kite, a former student of Ging who they only found while looking for Ging. But yeah a lot of characters are of new people meet (pussy Knov breaking down, Shoot manning up etc).
The constant Pouf cryingthat got on my nerves sometimes, as did Youpi when he started up with it. That 3 or so episode run was the weakest of the arc in my opinion, but even then I liked the tension of the royal guards' lie.
Our tastes just seem very different. I am curious, what's your favourite arc? My least favourite is Greed Island, if it's your favourite that confirms it lol***
For me the having 3 of them die of poison works, because none of the royal guards were defeated "fairly". I like that the things humans create out of our tendency to destroy and kill are the things that killed the ants, and the only one defeated in combat was possible by Gon basically selling his soul.
(This is a tangent, and it doesn't apply to anyone else probably, but I always used to wonder what it would be like if bad guys in DBZ had their arcs in a different order. Like, what if Piccolo had attacked earth later in the manga, when Goku was way stronger? It's good thing he was before Frieza, who was before Cell, and good thing he was before Buu etc. But on some meta level it was hilarious to me to watch Gon destroy Pitou, like she was a bad guy who got her timing wrong and should have attacked 2 arcs ago and was just too late.)
*** See, I agree with you about this. And for me, in theory it is interesting and exciting to see the tropes played with like that. And having the main villains die from man made weaponry should be a nice twist. The problem was it was such a huge arc, but with an anti-climax like that. It's more the execution than the plot that I dislike. Even if the ants died from poison, it might have been good if Gon, Killua or Knuckle, or someone (why did the hunter association send like 6 people, when 3 of them were apprentices and two kids tag along. Not a great idea.) had fought the king or Pouf.
Same with Gon fighting Pitou. Having the tables turned on her and Gon getting his revenge could've been really good. Seeing Pitou totally outclassed would've been great, but she goes down in one punch before she can even move. Then Gon blows her head off and it's fight over. She was still a strong character, even if Gon had powered up but it was like she was totally worthless. Feeling her en was enough for Knov, a pro hunter, to lose his hair but she was completely annihilated in an instant. Why not have a slightly longer fight and show her struggle a little bit. That would allow a better crescendo for Gon's emotions. ***
I liked the one sided nature of most of the fights actually. Netero was presented as one of our best fighters, so watching a whole fight of him going 100% and landing 0 meaningful hits was great, really drove home how physically ridiculous the ants were. Same with the couple of punches thrown in the Pitou fight, basically showcasing Gon's full potential at a terrible cost.
***Same as above. (Clearly we have a difference in taste). Would have been that bad for the King to put up some resistance, couldn't they have an actual contest. I feel like it was already pretty clear that the ants were stronger than the humans. It wouldn't have detracted from the king's strength for him to be challenged slightly by one of the strongest nen users in the world. Especially since the 100-type Buddha was such a powerful ability. And that was another thing that frustrated me, was the King was beyond belief as a nen user but he never used any power. He died before actually every showcasing what he could do. So it would have been good if he had used some kind of power to defeat Netero. ***
I do think you're right about Gon being too attached to Kite. For someone who he met literally a week earlier, his sadness was too much. It might have helped the audience more if they had showed him saving Gon early on like the manga, but even that wouldn't be enough.
I disagree about Killua though. Most of his emotional breakdowns and swings came after he removed Illumi's needle, so I saw it more as someone who was going through dangerous high emotion situations for the first time with his own conscious to dictate his thoughts.
*** Yeah it would have helped if they had emphasized Gon being saved from the bear more. The only mention of it focused more on Kite saying he didn't like to kill. There was just no real connection between them in the end but Gon loved Kite so much. Most of the dialogue between them also seemed to be Kite saying: "Are you prepared for this? It's dangerous. You might not be ready. You've gotta do something differently, Gon". It wasn't even like they were friends it was Gon constantly trying to prove he would be useful.
With Killua, that does make sense. But at the same time, when he removed the needle he gained confidence. That was the moment he started living and doing things he wanted for the first time. It was just strange that he'd always been strong but quite aloof before but as soon as Gon tells him he's not upset about Kite, he has a breakdown. He didn't like Palm before entering the palace but 3 minutes of their time later and he's her best friend. He was angry about not being able to help Gon, he picks a fight with Youpi, and then runs away. It was just a roller coaster of emotions that happened in 10 minutes of his time. ***
Yeah out of all the arcs the CA one is the most out of the blue, but I suppose if I disliked it as much as you do that would be more of a problem. Plus Gon and Killua only get involved because they're hanging around with Kite, a former student of Ging who they only found while looking for Ging. But yeah a lot of characters are of new people meet (pussy Knov breaking down, Shoot manning up etc).
The constant Pouf cryingthat got on my nerves sometimes, as did Youpi when he started up with it. That 3 or so episode run was the weakest of the arc in my opinion, but even then I liked the tension of the royal guards' lie.
Our tastes just seem very different. I am curious, what's your favourite arc? My least favourite is Greed Island, if it's your favourite that confirms it lol
*** I did like Greed island. For me, that was mixing up the shounen formula done right. The final fight being a dodge ball match comes out of nowhere but it still shows off all of the characters nen powers. Gon letting his arm get blown off by the bomber was a brilliant moment as well. It definitely hit the mark more for me than the ants. My favorite arc though was probably Yorkshin. The Phantom Troupe has some interesting characters, with unique powers for one. The nen applications was one of the highlights of the show for me. Kurapika is a total badass at that point and his desire to kill the troupe is relate-able.
The ants arc started promising too, which probably ruined it even more for me. There's some decent character design (hit and miss admittedly), the premise is interesting, Kite is introduced. We then see the ants power build up, the royal guards hatch etc. You start to get the feeling this is a real emergency situation. Then you get to Pitou appearing and taking Kite's arm. Then, that entire fight is skipped. WHY? WHY? WHY? Kite has the roulette nen power, it's cool. I wanted to see more of it. Even if Kite is over powered in the end, seeing him beaten would've helped show the ants power again as well.
Overall Hunter x Hunter kind of felt like Dragon Ball Super for me. It set up big expectations and then kept letting me down. Build up the strength of two people, train and train and train to get stronger and then anti-climax. ***
Only read the post-anime stuff, just read chapter 357Really? It left me disappointed. Didn't have anything that I liked in previous arcs. Long, tedious, slow episodes, gloomy..overall not a fun watch. For me the Heavens Arena and Greed Island were the best arcs followed by maybe Hunter Exam.
Has anyone read the manga?
Only read the post-anime stuff, just read chapter 357
I'm not sure mate, I usually watch them on Kissanime.Nice. Hisoka is a very interesting character and deserves to be a protagonist in his own arc. I'd love to see more of him, Illumi and Ging.
Any place where I can download the whole bunch of episodes?
@Edgar Allan Pillow
What did you think of the Chrollo - Hisoka fight? Reading some forums and there are loads of people people moaning about the way Hisoka revives himself, but I think that's pretty cool to be honest. But six/seven chapters was a bit fecking much honestly, started getting bored towards the middle/end of the fight.
Also, the fight between the princes thing - boring too, in my opinion. I don't know any of the characters, if someone I liked was thrown into the equation it'd be pretty exciting, but for now it's a bunch of randomers fighting for somehting I couldn't care less about.
To be fair the 2011 anime doesn't show it but it's in the Manga and original anime. Gon actually meets kite at the very beginning of the series on whale island before the hunter exam and tells him that he's his dad's student etc. Builds a bond with gon and then leaves to find jing which is why gon has such a strong feeling towards kite I have no idea why they excluded it from the 2011 version.
For me the original anime did the first 2 arcs far better.
@Edgar Allan Pillow
What did you think of the Chrollo - Hisoka fight? Reading some forums and there are loads of people people moaning about the way Hisoka revives himself, but I think that's pretty cool to be honest. But six/seven chapters was a bit fecking much honestly, started getting bored towards the middle/end of the fight.
Also, the fight between the princes thing - boring too, in my opinion. I don't know any of the characters, if someone I liked was thrown into the equation it'd be pretty exciting, but for now it's a bunch of randomers fighting for somehting I couldn't care less about.
Shite, sorry. Thought you had.I haven't read it mate. Still looking to get it as a complete series of everything that's out till now.
What's it about?Just started Anohana. A little exasperating to watch but I can't stop.
Not sure how you'd like me to put it. I guess it's about a group of friends brought together again by past tragedy (that was also holding them back in their respective lives).What's it about?
Didn't get through the first five minutes first time around, but realised it's brilliant second time around. Love the opening and ending music too.Just started Anohana. A little exasperating to watch but I can't stop.
Yep!Anyone watched this anime?
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It's really good. And quite underrated - probably one of the best 'character development' themed anime I've seen in recent years.77. RAINBOW
77 is quite low.Yep!
It's really good. And quite underrated - probably one of the best 'character development' themed anime I've seen in recent years.
With the benefit of hindsight, one might say that that I didn't think a lot of things through with that list, particularly with those outside of the Top 25 to 35-ish. Though in fairness to the anime ranked above RAINBOW, I like them too; so it's very much a - can't win any which way - situation.77 is quite low.![]()
It is pretty awesome. The next two arcs are just as good if not better.Not gonna lie, One Piece is so awesome, I don't care what anyone says.
The Sabaody Archipelago and Amazon Lily Arcs have been fantastic, and the animation has improved massively lately. I kind of regret not watching the fillers now as I'm getting close to catching up
This might be my favourite anime series.
The rating on MALThe cgi animation in the new Berserk series, ugh.