The first HunterxHunter movie
from Madhouse, Phantom Rouge, was a slight mis-fire, but felt like an
event. There was a Togashi-approved backstory for Kurapika, complete with
original tie-in manga chapters in the midst of one of the longer recent
hiatusxhiatuses. The Ryodan showed up and lots of them looked awesome, and we
even got more from the deceased Uvogin. I couldn’t wholeheartedly recommend the
film, sloppy as it was, but it was enjoyable.
The second film feels far less
exciting, far less of an event. It’s a very simple, rather dull story and there
are no surprise cast members – though there is a funny little wordless
cameo from a certain vice-chairman of the Hunter Association, messing with
everyone as usual. The new characters introduced aren’t even as interesting as
the last film’s uninteresting baddie, and there’s no cute cross-dressing Gothic
Lolita girl to offset these ones either.
After Greed Island but before the
Chimera Ant arc, Gon and Killua return to the Celestial Tower to see the show
they’re putting on – a big tournament between all the floor masters. In a nice
touch, it seems Zushi has risen up to become one of them, allowing for a
reunion with Wing and Biscuit. Kurapika is still working for the Nostrades, and
as Neon is watching the tournament, he is there too.
But the tournament never
happens. An old adversary of Netero’s appears to interrupt proceedings, take
control of the tower and kidnap Netero using a formidable power. Why they don’t
just kill him and what they actually hope to do is a little unclear. But the
interlopers are using an alternative to nen called ‘on’, which gives them great
power but at the cost of their lives, like most dark powers in anime that are
effectively doping analogies. Hisoka watches from the wings, as well as helping
get Leorio involved, and things are neatly arranged so that there’s one strong
opponent for Killua and Gon, one for Kurapika and Leorio, and then a final
boss. Despite the moment where inexplicably everything changes because Killua
pierces through the unbreakable barrier and touches the dead girl on the
shoulder to free her from being dead, mostly the combat scenes are flashy and
satisfying. There’s lots of fancy moves, explosions and heartfelt speeches as
Gon once again prepares to sacrifice himself for those close to him. Very sweet.
But ultimately this comes over
as a fight about nothing much, to prevent nothing much, which doesn’t improve
the world or enrich the characters in any real way. It’s a fight in a big
tower, and feels inconsequential. It’s very much standard shounen anime filler,
and that’s a shame because HunterxHunter only really succeeds where it
shows that it is atypical and idiosyncratic. This could easily have been a
sub-par movie version from any of the Big Three.
The Madhouse anime is winding
up soon, because Togashi hasn’t finished the next arc so they’re not confident
in beginning it – I assume. That’s a real shame, because I love to watch it.
Conceivably, I should have saved this for after the series ends, and I want
something to fill the void. But I’m quite glad I didn’t leave this to be my
final viewing experience of the Madhouse adaptation (bar future releases based
on the current arc). Because ultimately the word I would use to describe the
film as a whole would be ‘anticlimactic’.
No comments:
Post a Comment