By Dimitris Topalis,
Undoubtedly, a plethora of anime are distinct for their plot, animation, music, fight scenes, romanticism, and so on. From One Piece, Bleach, and Death Note, which are considered classics, to more modern anime, such as Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer), Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), and Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins), an anime fan is put in a rather difficult situation if asked what their favorite anime is. In my opinion, there is a variety of extraordinary anime out there; but there is a particular anime I enjoy quite a lot, and that is Hunter × Hunter.
Hunter × Hunter has had two adaptations. The first one began airing in 1999 and lasted until 2001, consisting of 62 full-of-suspense episodes, animated by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. Due to its old animation, the series got reanimated in 2011 by Madhouse, whereas its director was Hiroshi Kōjina. The plot in both adaptations is pretty much the same, but I will focus and explain the plot of the second adaptation, which aired its first episode in 2011 and its last one in 2014. Of course, we ought to note the creator behind the great manga — and later on — anime series: Yoshihiro Togashi.
As you can probably guess from the title of this very article, Hunter × Hunter is divided into six arcs (little stories/adventures, one might say), just like most — if not any — anime/mangas: the Hunter Exam Arc, the Heavens Arena Arc, the Yorknew City Arc (also known as the Phantom Troupe Arc), the Greed Island Arc, the Chimera Arc, and the 13th Hunter Chairman Election Arc. In the first part of the Hunter × Hunter review, our main focus will be the first three arcs: the Hunter Exam Arc, the Heavens Arc, and the Phantom Troupe Arc. And as always it is not spoiler-free, so you are reading at your own risk!
The Hunter Exam Arc
The adventure begins. Our protagonist, Gon Freecss, achieves a great feat at eleven years old and is allowed to take the Hunter Exam. He returns to his home to announce the news to his aunt, Mito Freecss, who is not so happy about him taking the exam at all, let alone to that age, due to the peril that looms in the exams. Then we find out the motivations behind Gon wanting to take the Hunters Exam, as he wants to meet his father, who abandoned him as a child. Mito is the sister of Gon’s father and the one that raised Gon when his father left. Mito still does not want Gon to take the exam, but Gon sails on to the Hunter Exam. On the ship, he encounters two other characters that are about to get into a fight. One is Leorio Paradinight and the other is Kurapika, the last member of the Kurta clan. The fight is eventually broken down and the three decide to go together to the site of the exam. Then we have the introduction of another main character, Killua Zoldyck, who is a member of a renowned assassin family.
Eventually, Gon and Killua quickly become best friends. The four pillars of the show then pass, almost, most of the exam. Then, they encounter Hisoka Morow, a deadly opponent, who searches for worthy victims. Kurapika runs away with Leorio following him, but in a twisted turn of events, Leorio decides to charge at Hisoka, who easily defeats him. After that, Gon goes for the save but is easily overpowered by Hisoka, who chokes him.
Gon, afraid that, is going to lose his life, accepts his fate, but Hisoka releases him saying: “You and your friend are worthy. You will not die here”. After that, they all reunite and head for the final exam, where they meet the Chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero. He tries to play with Gon and Killua stating: “If you beat me, you will earn your Hunters license”. Surely enough, they fail, as Killua is fully aware that they are not going to win, but Gon continues to fight, and the Chairman acknowledges that. Then, in the final exam, Gon and Kurapika succeed and, after a strange meeting with his brother, Illumi Zoldyck, Killua kills Leorio’s opponent and is disqualified. Gon was knocked unconscious by his fight and learns what happened. Then he goes to confront Killua’s brother, who was also participating in the exam undercover. They exchange words and Illumi says that if Gon wanted to try and get Killua, he would have to pass his parents at their mansion.
In the end, they all receive their licenses and leave, but we see Illumi and Hisoka talking friendly. Gon, Killua, and Leorio all reunite in order to find Killua and, after a variety of tests, they succeed to get him back. After successfully getting Kurapika back, each of them goes on their merry way: Leorio’s mission is to become a doctor, which is his dream, Kurapika goes to find information about the group that killed all the members of his clan, and Gon and Killua go to the Heavens Arena, which is the following arc after this one.
The Heavens Arena Arc
Gon and Killua decide to go and fight in the Heavens Arena to increase Gon’s fighting skills and experience, due to the fact that he felt useless against Hisoka. The Heavens Arena was founded by Chairman Netero. The two teenage boys manage to make it easily into the upper floors. Killua encountered a kid, named Zushi, who tried to use a technique against him that reminded him of his brother, Illumi, ending up in Killua panicking because of that. Afterward, Zushi’s teacher, Wing, shouted and told his apprentice not to use Nen, a technique that allows the Hunter or any living being to control their “aura”, their life energy, as the anime and manga claim. Killua won the battle against Zushi and he and Gon advanced to the upper floors where they met Hisoka, who used Nen to forbid them from entering. To everyone’s surprise, Wing showed up and told them he would teach them Nen so that they would make it past Hisoka. He then taught them about Nen and its whereabouts. After successfully learning how to use Nen, they make it past Hisoka. After Gon did well, he managed to fight with Hisoka that did not disappoint both the anime viewer and the manga reader: intense, fast-paced, showcasing how well Gon had grown and how Hisoka was still on another level. The fight ends with Hisoka as the winner. Gon was amazed at how he was able to do against Hisoka and he and Killua leave the Heavens Arena to go and search for his father, Ging Freecss.
The Yorknew City Arc
Kurapika works to find the group that murdered his clan, while Gon and Killua search for a tip about a game that his father created in Greed Island. Later on in the series, the four of them reunite, with Leorio and Kurapika telling them what they had found out and agreeing to help Gon. The ones that killed Kurapika’s clan were a group known as “The Phantom Troupe”. The group was known as one of the most dangerous and best criminals of all time. The group contained very skilled and great Nen users, with Hisoka working among them. Kurapika received inside intel about the group from Hisoka, because he wanted to face the boss of the Troupe one on one, as he was one of the strongest people he had ever seen. Kurapika learned Nen and took a deadly vow to defeat a member of the Phantom Troupe which angers them. They were also known as the “Spider”, and their leader, Chrollo Lucilfer, believes that a leader can be replaced, but the legs cannot, meaning the other members are more important. Kurapika, Gon, Killua, and Leorio manage to capture Chrollo with the help of another friend, but the Phantom Troupe captures Gon and Killua. They are arguing if it is worth it to save their leader because of their philosophy.
Eventually, they decide to save Chrollo, while they make a deal with Kurapika for a hostage exchange. Kurapika uses his ability, judgment chain, on both Chrollo and the Phantom Troupe member, Pakunoda. Kurapika’s ability renders their Nen useless because if they tried to activate it, the judgment chain would kill them instantly. While they exchange their hostages, Hisoka appears and demands he fights the boss; otherwise, he would kill Gon and Killua. Hisoka asked for Illumi’s assistance, brother of Killua, who can manipulate his appearance to look like him and he sneaked to the location of the exchange. Kurapika, Gon, Killua, and Leorio leave, and Hisoka makes his intentions known to Chrollo and says he was never really a member of the Troupe, but Chrollo explains he is useless because of Kurapika’s ability.
In the following part of the Hunter × Hunter review and arc analysis, we will talk about the remaining three arcs — the Greed Island Arc, the Chimera Arc, and the 13th Hunter Chairman Election Arc. Stay tuned!
References
- Hunter × Hunter Story Arcs, hunterxhunter.fandom.com, Available here
