HunterxHunter
has now reached the stage where it’s a long-runner, and I have to say it’s
maintained its status as one I definitely want to watch as soon as it’s
released each week. It hasn’t ended, but it has just entered the Chimera Ant
arc – which means that we are now at last seeing material that has never before
been animated. The previous adaptation ended after the Greed Island OVAs,
so after 76 episodes Madhouse’s version has caught up.
And
it looks as if much will change. With Togashi still not producing any more
material and the anime moving at an impressive pace, it’s likely the Chimera
Ant arc, which took so many years to tell in the manga because of ‘Hiatus x
Hiatus’, will be quickly swallowed up by the anime, which may mean we get
filler. Episode 76 saw the introduction of Kaito, who appears at the very
beginning of the manga and the Nippon adaptation, and
not only did that have a very different (and lesser) impact, but Madhouse also
put in a filler backstory about his childhood. Does this mean we’ll be seeing
more filler in the weeks to come? I can’t tell yet, but filler has done nothing
buy harm for other big shounen series, especially Naruto – though as I
often say as a proviso on this subject, some of my favourite One Piece anime
moments have come from filler episodes. It may be that HunterxHunter does
some good things with its material. Or it may mean the anime just ends again.
Either
way, with the excitement of seeing the likes of Palm, Morau and Neferpitou
animated for the first time in the intro, it seems a good time to break my
impressions in two – not least because I’m going to have waaay too many
screencaps.
Despite
the Kaito situation and some odd changes to the first episode (as detailed in
my first impressions), this version has largely been an attempt at a more
accurate adaptation of the manga (albeit of course having to be somewhat less
violent), with a faster pace, and as such does a better job of that NaruTaru-like
trick of presenting a happy-go-lucky typical world and then increasingly adding
depth and darkness to it, until it actually shocks. It doesn’t go as far as
NaruTaru, of course, and certainly not as far as its manga, but it’s after
all a Jump title, and it retains its action and adventure elements.
It’s
in part just a change in the general aesthetics of popular anime, but Madhouse’s
version manages to be a lot more cutesy. With simple lines, Gon and Killua in
particular are made to look very baby-faced and I have to say, it oddly made me
like Killua much more than I did before. Their somewhat homoerotic friendship
is emphasised, especially in the little comedy skits at the end of each
episode, but at the same time they seem more like innocent kids than in any
other version, even knowing each of their pasts.
I’ve
read a lot of people who seem to feel that you can only like one version. Manga
readers hold the original supreme, fans of the original series criticise this
one for rushing this or not placing enough emphasis on that, and then some
newer fans tried the original but found it horribly dated, slow and
uninteresting. But I’m yet again with that minority that sees each anime
adaptation as a different spin that doesn’t replace the manga but brings its
own little elements, and I love all three. Madhouse’s effort is beyond a doubt
the most pleasant to look at, has main voice actors I prefer (even if some of
the Ryodan’s original voices were much creepier and seemed to me to work
better), plus tends to get the humour right far more.
Honestly,
I have little but praise for this new effort. HunterXHunter is probably
my favourite overall Jump manga, having a clever edge and an ever darker tone
that I really enjoy, plus in the Ryodan probably the best group of antagonists
of any show, the Bomb Devil seemingly an intentionally unimpressive follow-up
act.
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