Back to SgtSpringRoll's Profile SgtSpringRoll's Profile

I don't even know where to begin with this review. I don't think I have enough words to describe or express how much I enjoyed this series, or as to why it is so underlooked by the anime community as a whole. Bearing in mind that I have not seen the original 1999 series, nor do I even want to after this rework as it is utterly amazing. I am also going to start this review with my conclusion...Togashi, please finish Dragon Quest and get back to drawing up weekly Hunter x Hunter again. Please for the love of all that's holy!

Story (10/10):
Considering it's starting ... point as an underdog story whereby everything goes the main character's way somehow, Hunter x Hunter does its best in showing you why you are completely wrong with that view point.

The anime takes a sudden turn once all the character and ability backgrounds have been covered. It becomes a very dark and psychological story, surprising viewers with a fair bit of gore and violence. Put it this way, Hunter x Hunter is a shounen alongside that of One Piece, Naruto etc. which are very tame when it comes violence. The former however, adds a fair amount of gore so be prepared to see some limb loss, highly detailed broken bones as well as other things you would not see from a general shounen series.

For anyone who reads the HxH manga, the anime does it complete justice in bringing it into animated form. There is barely any filler (much like FMA Brotherhood). As well as this, the entire ability/power basis in HxH is probably the best explained out of any combat anime, whereby tactics are explained fully, leaving no room for viewers to question how anything actually happened, especially regarding character's ability levels. I was even more impressed at how this was put across in animated form.

Art (10/10):
The art style used in HxH suits the anime perfectly. Although you will question why some character aura's are the colour they are, but this is mainly due to colour connotation effects, not any actual problem revolving around the art used. I absolutely love the art style and have nothing more to say on this matter.

Sound (10/10):
The soundtrack for HxH compliments every scene perfectly, particularly during fight scenes where the music will have you on the edge of your seat, or covered in goosebumps at how awesome it is. I love the opening theme as well. Although coming back to my earlier point of HxH surprising you with how dark it suddenly turns within the story, the opening is a prime example of this. The opening theme is happy and feel-good. It does not give you a full outlook on how dark the story turns suddenly. Ending themes are also fun to listen to, particularly during the first arc. The band who wrote that ending song for the first arc have quickly become one of my favourite Japanese artists.

Characters (10/10):
Some of the most interesting characters I've ever come across in anime. I won't say much because many spoilerinos. But you will love almost all of the characters in some. Personally I enjoy villains, so to see a large number of them in this anime was piqued my interest of this series even more. If you can do a villain to such a good standard that you like them more than the main characters, you're doing a banging job like. Togashi does just this in the manga and the anime portrays them perfectly.

Enjoyment (10/10):
I don't even think I have to say how much I enjoyed this series. One of the, if not the best anime series out there. It rivals FMA Brotherhood for best anime ever for me. This series will never get old. I consider it that good that I wished I never watched it in the first place because I want to watch it afresh again, without knowing any details. Such an unreal piece of work by both mangaka and anime studio. The only thing I can say that was probably the least enjoyable part of the series is that it had to end again, due to the mangaka not publishing any further chapters. For HxH anime fans, I'd highly recommend reading the manga from the point the anime left it on. And for manga and anime fans of this series alike, pray to any God you believe in that a new chapter is out soon.

Overall (10/10):
Absolutely amazing series. For those who have started watching anime, or those who have been watching for years, I urge you to watch this series as soon as possible. It is highly underlooked by the anime community, for no good reason. Anyone who has not seen this series is missing out on one of the best anime around. Forget Naruto (which totally steals the chakra basis from HxH, js) and all the other mainstream series at the minute. Put this at the top of your watching lists and just enjoy anime at its best. For anyone who reads this, pray to the manga Gods that Togashi writes another chapter soon.

This my first ever review so please be patient with me :'). *Spoilers*

So this One Piece Special covers the back story of how Sabo made it to Dressrosa whilst observing the overarching events from the main plot by Luffy and the Straw Hat crew. It does kind of drop a few spoilers from the manga which has not been animated as of yet, particularly Sabo losing his memory. Although he does not say he suffered from amnesia after being blown up on his boat leaving the Goa Kingdom, it is hinted at in the special that Sabo regained his memories of Ace and Luffy when ... he saw the former's picture in the newspaper headlines.

Story (6/10):
I was a bit disappointed with the story to be honest. I feel like it was a bit of a cop out, particularly by Oda. He is not known for being a bad storyteller in One Piece with character's back stories. But I was not impressed with the Sabo suffering from amnesia storyline that was presented in the manga and portrayed slightly in the special.

The special recaps all of the events that have happened in Dressrosa so far from Sabo's point of view. So you do see a lot of repeated fights from the anime. I have enjoyed Dressrosa so far, but overall the backstory to Sabo lets me down a fair amount.

Art (6/10):
Toei's animation as of late has been very lackluster and highly disappointing. I will not say much more on this. If you do not believe me, I would watch the Sabo vs Fujitora fight again and how it could have been done a million times better than in its animated form. For other sources of Toei's bad animation, you can look at Dragon Ball Super and World Trigger. Both have very average animation. This does not take anything away from a viewer's and particularly my enjoyment of the special however.

Sound (8/10):
Not much to be said on the sound, it is exactly the same style as used in the anime. If you enjoy the One Piece soundtrack, then you will enjoy the soundtrack in the special.

Characters (6/10):
All characters in the special have already been introduced in the anime. For me, they are some of my favourite characters. All of the interesting aspects of Sabo have been covered in the anime already and I felt like this was just a recap for me. Other people may not feel the same way however.

Enjoyment (8/10):
I thoroughly enjoyed the special, mainly because it focussed on the brother's story throughout its entirety. However, for the second year in a row, I have been subjected to Ace's death which does bring a tear to my eye every time I watch that scene. So thank you Toei for almost making me cry, for 2 years in a row. If you felt the same as me, or even cried at that particular scene, be prepared to do so again. Have the tissues ready people.

Overall (7/10)
Like I say, I enjoyed it due to the nature and background of the special. But I do feel like it was just a complete recap of Dressrosa so far, only from another perspective (Sabo's). Toei also still have the same animation problems as they do with all their anime as of late. The characters are fine however and it is a good watch. If you don't want spoilers of Sabo's back story until the anime reaches that point in the manga, then I would advise you to watch carefully if you don't want spoilers.