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May 18, 2017 11:04 AM
#1
| Whether you believe it's flawless, that it didn't live up to expectations or actively hate it; it's impossible to deny the popularity and widespread critical acclaim of 2011's Hunter x Hunter. In this thread, we will break down the individual elements of the show that either entitle or disqualify it from the top spot in regards to shonen anime. Spoilers for the entire 2011 series and the manga below. Please tag spoilers for any other series, or don't, as we've said: we only have one rule and it's not about spoilers. |
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May 18, 2017 11:21 PM
#2
| Hunter x Hunter is not the greatest thing out there, it isn't even a 10/10. The main problem that I see in the series are the characters. It is not because they are the stereotypical anime character, but because of their motivations and abilities. For starters, Gon seems to be one of the strongest kids there are out there, and while Kilua's strength is justified by his background, Gon appears to have found the ultimate trying by fishing. Also, a kid that sets his whole life course based on what his father (that he didn't even meet once before) did by abandoning him doesn't seem very appealable. |
May 19, 2017 9:31 PM
#3
Ferchi said: Hunter x Hunter is not the greatest thing out there, it isn't even a 10/10. The main problem that I see in the series are the characters. It is not because they are the stereotypical anime character, but because of their motivations and abilities. For starters, Gon seems to be one of the strongest kids there are out there, and while Kilua's strength is justified by his background, Gon appears to have found the ultimate trying by fishing. Also, a kid that sets his whole life course based on what his father (that he didn't even meet once before) did by abandoning him doesn't seem very appealable. Let's break down your criticism of Gon into its two categories: 1)His motivation. You must take into account how much of a simplistic character Gon is. He is actually a child, and it's not until later arcs that we see him struggling with the mature themes that most coming-of-age stories deal with. As a child, his motivations are simple and plain. If his father left him to be a hunter, then being a hunter must be pretty fucking fantastic. This is a gross oversimplification of how things actually happened, but it's how a small child would see it. Furthermore, he doesn't really see Ging as a father. He is not going on this adventure to meet his father and reconnect with him, but to be able to understand him. Even when he does meet his father, the conversation they have is less father-son in its dynamic and more like a meeting between equals. Because, through his journey, that's what Gon becomes,an equal to his father. Not in power, or status, but in their understanding of life. There are no rough feelings between the two of them because ultimately following after Ging was not a decision that Gon regrets. Lastly, wanting to leave your home is a good enough motivation by itself, especially for a kid as powerful as Gon who wasn't exercising his full potential within whale Island... Which takes me to point number two. |
May 19, 2017 9:45 PM
#4
| 2)His strength. Admittedly, this is harder to justify but I believe there are many ways to explain it away. Firstly, he comes from a long line of very powerful Hunters. His father being the obvious example, but Don Freecs being the more notable one. Say what you want about nature vs nurture, but at least some degree of potential and natural strength is definitely inherited. Second, he's really strong, but he's not the strongest. Throughout the series he gets totally schooled by a variety of foes, because despite his natural potential, he is still a beginner and must learn more before he can hope to be on the level of such hunters. Third, we have probabilistic tunnel vision. Of course our main character has incredible power from the start, because we chose to focus the story on a main character like that. Speaking in terms of probability, prodigies are bound to eventually arise, and the fact that the series chose to focus on on one of these is of no discredit to the story at large (but the fact that two child prodigies just so happened to be taking the exam for the first time at the same time is one coincidence too many, I'll concede that). I'd actually say that Gon is one of the best Shounen characters in terms of power balancing. He never feels too powerful to the point where foes don't represent a threat to him but neither does he feel too powerless so as to be unimportant in the story. Characters like goku, naruto, and even yusuke follow a strict power progression of finding stronger and stronger foes with the end result always being that they're the strongest person around until a new villain appears. Hxh avoids this by creating a vivid world in which powers are non-scalable and their effectiveness varies by foe. Thus, in hxh there are many ways beyond brute power to defeat a foe more powerful than oneself. |
May 20, 2017 10:45 PM
#5
TwentyXanax said: Ferchi said: Hunter x Hunter is not the greatest thing out there, it isn't even a 10/10. The main problem that I see in the series are the characters. It is not because they are the stereotypical anime character, but because of their motivations and abilities. For starters, Gon seems to be one of the strongest kids there are out there, and while Kilua's strength is justified by his background, Gon appears to have found the ultimate trying by fishing. Also, a kid that sets his whole life course based on what his father (that he didn't even meet once before) did by abandoning him doesn't seem very appealable. Let's break down your criticism of Gon into its two categories: 1)His motivation. You must take into account how much of a simplistic character Gon is. He is actually a child, and it's not until later arcs that we see him struggling with the mature themes that most coming-of-age stories deal with. As a child, his motivations are simple and plain. If his father left him to be a hunter, then being a hunter must be pretty fucking fantastic. This is a gross oversimplification of how things actually happened, but it's how a small child would see it. Furthermore, he doesn't really see Ging as a father. He is not going on this adventure to meet his father and reconnect with him, but to be able to understand him. Even when he does meet his father, the conversation they have is less father-son in its dynamic and more like a meeting between equals. Because, through his journey, that's what Gon becomes,an equal to his father. Not in power, or status, but in their understanding of life. There are no rough feelings between the two of them because ultimately following after Ging was not a decision that Gon regrets. Lastly, wanting to leave your home is a good enough motivation by itself, especially for a kid as powerful as Gon who wasn't exercising his full potential within whale Island... Which takes me to point number two. A simplistic character is a really bad way to describe Gon as demonstrated by the Hunter Exam arc. Apparently, a simple character just found a way to gain enough experience in two weeks of the exam and just 5 days of actual fighting to steal Hisoka's tag. I can't understand how a kid that is smart enough to survive the 4th phase of the Hunter Exam would be smarter than following another person's dream. Not any person, but according to you a person that Gon dosen't even consider a father, that he hasn't even met before, and that Gon has no intension of having a relation with, just for the sake of fun. |
May 21, 2017 9:49 PM
#6
Ferchi said: A simplistic character is a really bad way to describe Gon as demonstrated by the Hunter Exam arc. Apparently, a simple character just found a way to gain enough experience in two weeks of the exam and just 5 days of actual fighting to steal Hisoka's tag. I can't understand how a kid that is smart enough to survive the 4th phase of the Hunter Exam would be smarter than following another person's dream. Not any person, but according to you a person that Gon dosen't even consider a father, that he hasn't even met before, and that Gon has no intension of having a relation with, just for the sake of fun. How is "simplistic" a bad way to describe him? His strategical intelligence is only above that of a very apt hunter (like, actual hunter, not hxh hunter), which he was before the exam. He has extremely good physical capabilities, and a good survival instinct, but I would never call Gon smart. Lastly, it's not just according to me... When Gon meets Ging, he never calls him father. When other characters ask him why, he says that it's because he never considered him a father figure. AND FOR THE RECORD, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF FUN IS EXACTLY GON'S MOTIVATION, THAT'S WHAT THE WHOLE FUCKING SPEECH AT THE END OF THE ELECTION ARC WAS ABOUT! |
Sep 22, 2017 11:10 PM
#7
| I believe that I have given sufficient arguments as to why Gon is a very well constructed character, without even needing to mention to the emotional depth he reaches in the chimera ant arc (a highly uncommon complexity for Shonen protagonist standards). Shall we move on to other characters or do you want to keep hammering on about Gon? |
Sep 27, 2017 8:04 PM
#8
| You say that Gon is not as strong or intelligent as a lot of characters during the series, but then you say that his strategical intelligence even before the exam was "only above that of a very apt hunter " as if that was anything. We saw during the Hunter Exam that it is no easy task to become a hunter. As for him not being smart, I would tell you to watch the series again and pay attention to all the planning that he does. During the Hunter Exam, we see how heavily he plans against Hisoka, however, after Killua enters the group Togashi makes Gon more stupid and goofy to strive for the generic shonen protagonist. Also for the record "THE WHOLE FUCKING SPEECH AT THE END OF THE ELECTION ARC" which I am imaging is the one with Gon and Ging on top of the world tree, never mentions Gon's motivations, rather they just spend the time saying how Ging waned the truth of the world, how Ging wants to go outside their world, and just talking about their adventures. I am fine if you want to change the theme, we can also talk about how Kurapika is a terrible character, or how Nen makes no sense. |
Oct 5, 2017 8:11 AM
#9
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Oct 5, 2017 8:11 AM
#10
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Oct 13, 2017 8:22 PM
#11
| "Gon is an athletic, rustic, and friendly boy who is searching for adventure. Also, he is not very good at math. However, having spent a lot of time in the woods as a child, he is very good with animals. Gon is an Enhancer, who are known for being simple-minded and determined. This determination and talent leads to both potential allies and potential enemies trusting in him and taking his side. He has inhuman senses; Gon has a heightened sense of smell almost like a dog's, he also has very good vision, as well as having very keen taste. Gon wants to become a Hunter because he wishes to find out the depths of an occupation that would cause a father to choose the profession over being with his own son." This explains Gon's character archetype perfectly. |
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