Hunter X Hunter

loooooots of words though.

I find that people tend to exaggerate how different this series is. Like near the start of the anime thread you have someone seriously talking about how subversive it is to have the main character lose the climactic battle in a tournament arc. I also remembered a youtube video about "how Hx H moved Shounen forwards", which was just the dude talking about things he liked about the series but never bothering to compare it with other shounen or proving that the series had any kind of effect on the genre.

Edited by Druplesnubb on Jun 22nd 2023 at 10:54:24 AM

Uh, Gon didn't lose the climactic battle of a tournament arc. Gon lost the FIRST battle of a tournament arc, while technically winning it. The tournament arc didn't even happen, Gon won the first battle unconscious then woke up when the whole thing was over. That's pretty damn subversive.

Saying that HXH moved the shonen genre forwards is definitely overstating things, its clearest influence is probably how much Narutos Chunin Exams were blatantly based on the Hunter Exam.

I dont really see any evidence that HXH caused a particular shift in how shonen stories are told.

Yeah, I'm sure people overstate the subversiveness of HxH but it is pretty subversive, regardless.

And how much Sasuke is based on Kurapika.

My opinion has always been it doesn’t subvert nearly as much as people say it does, and some of the things it does subvert it’s not better for. Which isn’t to say it isn’t good, but it tempers my expectations on it.

Edited by LSBK on Jun 22nd 2023 at 6:18:22 AM

To me, rather than setting out to make a commentary on the genre by subverting tropes or some such, the series usually feels more like it's questioning the necessity of the standard tropes. Like the story doesn't bend over backwards into to get the entire Chimera Ant arc to come down to Meruem vs. Gon, because why should Gon fight Meruem. That sort of thing.

It's funny to watch people go through the Chimera Ant arc, get bored of the fights before the palace invasion, then watch the palace invasion expecting some insane battles and there are only like 4-5 fights. Gon vs Pitou, the Youpi Raid Boss, Netero vs Meruem, and the various mooks Ikalgo deals with. There's a ton of screentime that's just characters literally sitting around. Pouf doesn't even really have a proper fight at all, and all the fighting stops abruptly at a certain point to meander for several episodes of philosophizing. I'm not saying it's bad, the philosophizing is great, but it's just funny to see people gloss over the fights before the palace invasion when those are like 80% of the fights in the arc.

Gon lost the climactic fight of the Heavens Arena arc.

True, but Heaven's Arena wasn't a tournament arc.

I am starting to realize that most of us have either exaggerated and/or misrepresented things. Hunter x Hunter is a good anime/manga series but I am not sure if it is all that subversive.

It is, but only in the sense that it doesn't force ideas to a conclusion if the protagonists have already met their goals. Gon loses his fight during the Hunter exam, but his goal was to earn a Hunter's license. Gon didn't go to the top of the tower, but he was only there to A: reach the point Kilua reached before and B: deliver Hisoka's badge once he learned he was there. He doesn't fight Meruem, but he didn't care about Meruem to begin with. Greed Island is the only traditional goal he meets, but thats because winning Greed Island would lead him to his dad. It served his personal goals.

Edited by Zeromaeus on Jul 5th 2023 at 12:15:02 PM

Not fighting Meruem is such a funny case cause we are hardwired to assume the MC will always fight the main big bad. So the fact they never interacted is rather funny.

It's even funnier since Meruem ultimately turns out not to be the true Big Bad of the arc. Instead, it's Shaiapouf. And Gon has no real interactions with him either.

So, hmm, I have bad news(?), Togashi will present in a Tv show on the 21st a "dropped ending" for the series, with the message that (quoting the source): "if he passed away before finishing the series, that'd be its ending" and also he apologizes in advance. Well, that was certaintly some news to wake up to (at least for me).

well at least it will have an ending no matter what, unlike berserk

I hope the author does well and that his condition improves.

I just hope that Togashi is doing fine health-wise.

Here's the article. Specifically, he talks about four different endings he's considered, which he calls A, B, C, and D. D is the ending he reveals here, but he says that it will only be the canon ending if he does not live to write it himself. Conversely, if he does get to write the ending himself, it will be A, B, or C. He says his personal favorite is C, but he also thinks that's the one the fans will like least so he doesn't know if he should go for it.

Kind of a strange situation, but I think I understand it?

Edited by HamburgerTime on Nov 20th 2023 at 11:10:46 AM

That's definitely the man who thinks up all those complicated Nen battles.

Kinda morbid, but with the current release scedule I cant exactly blame him for thinking that this might possibly the only way for the story to have some kind of conclusion.

If he ever does get around to finishing it, I hope he chooses option C. He should make the ending he thinks is best, regardless what the audience might think.

Agreed. Stick to his guns.

Some Jump Festa news: There will be a HunterxHunter fighting game developed by Eighting, the developers of Marvel vs Capcom 3. More information to come in January 6.