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I can’t believe it’s not an adventure shonen with fillers!
If you like FMA, Naruto, Bleach, Attack on Titan or Death Note, stop reading and go watch it now until episode 3 at least. This show is one of those classics that inexplicably managed to go relatively unnoticed by anime fans, although this remake gave it some deserved recognition. Be warned, though I mention other series along the way I'm not hating on them, I like them but I'm just comparing them to this series.

OVERALL 10/10
This remake is another gem by Madhouse. I also recommend the first anime by Nippon Animation, but the remake covers a ... lot more of the manga that started in 1998. This is an incredible series and, contrary to what you might think given its episode count, DOES NOT HAVE FILLER ARCS. There are two recap episodes and that’s it. The show is faithful to the manga 99% of the time and there are only two instances that I found upsetting about this adaptation, though they don’t hurt the series overall and you wouldn’t notice them unless you read the manga or watched the NA version.
This series is about hunters: professionals that travel around the world on different, generally dangerous missions. They often specialize in a specific field, so you have archeological hunters, who find and restore ruins; gourmet hunters, who find exotic ingredients (probably the inspiration for Toriko XD); blacklist hunters, who find and catch criminals, and so on. The flipside is that there are numerous benefits to being a hunter, but it is really difficult to become one.

STORY AND SETTING 10/10
This series is ideal for marathoning, because almost every episode moves the story forward in a significant way. The story is very good, but given it is from the 90s, it starts a bit slow and generic so it may turn off impatient people. Bear with me, after the third episode the plot takes off. Every arc is totally unique but somehow connects with the rest, and there's a lot variety to choose from: an arc with chuunin-like exams and survival games, a (short) training and fighting arc, a complex thriller involving maffia and terrorism (my personal favorite), SAO done well, and one that I will not mention because it's probably the best and I won't spoil it. The plot twists are almost never predictable: the author is expert in trolling the viewer in a pleasant way. If you are tired of watching battle shonens in which every arc ends with a fight between the protagonist and the arc villain, this series is for you. The author is never afraid of subverting tropes. In some arcs the protagonist plays second fiddle or even is put on a bus, but that’s because there are actually four main characters and the story is set in alternate world similar to ours in which not everything is solved with punches. Therefore, the focus is always more on adventure; battles always take a second or third place. That doesn’t mean the battles are lame, though, there aren’t many, but they are always good because there is a great focus on strategy and psychology. As you might expect from other series of this genre, there are superpowers involved, but the author developed a pretty detailed and consistent system that makes sure there are no asspulls like in other shows, and DEATHS ARE FINAL. The nen abilities (the superpowers akin to chakra, cosmos or ki) are very imaginative and interesting, and not always created for fighting. I recommend to watch at least until episode 37, in which one of the best arcs in anime history starts. While the manga hasn't finished (actually it's on hiatus as of this writing), the anime ends at a point that feels like a very good conclusion but still leaves the door open for continuation. This is when you will hate the author, Yoshihiro Togashi, because he is prone to hiatus and the last one is one year long and counting. And yes, the current manga arc is very promising :C There are two non-canon movies as well: they are entertaining but for the most part an excuse for flashy battles that do not follow the rules of nen.

CHARACTERS 10/10
This series has some of the best characters I have ever seen. Gon, the protagonist, is initially an homage to child Goku, your standard idiot hero with pure heart and simple mind, except that he wants to become a hunter to find his father, who abandoned him to become a hunter. A bit generic, but as the series goes on, he starts developing and meets and befriends other hunter candidates that are increasingly complex and interesting. One particular example is Kurapika, the most obvious inspiration for Sasuke but less emo and more balanced. Special mention goes to Killua, Gon's best friend and a polar opposite to him in almost every way (no wonder he's a fan favorite). Oh, and he's also a former assassin, cute. As you might guess, what’s interesting about this series is that morality sometimes gets thrown out of the window just like in FMA: whether the protagonists or the villains are right sometimes depends on you. In fact, some villains are so charismatic, mysterious and complex that they steal the show every time they appear, even in short appearances. This is particularly true for the Spiders (the likeliest inspiration for Akatsuki but done right), Hisoka, and Meruem. There are no romantic subplots, but one arc (widely considered the best one) contains one of the best love stories I've ever seen in anime, I was moved to tears.

SOUND 9/10
The sound effects are very good. The music is just awesome, as expected of the same composer that worked on Death Note (expect some familiar motifs). Mozart’s Lacrimosa is played in one especially epic scene, and if you don’t get goosebumps from it you’re probably not human. The only problem is that a few tracks are misused and break the mood of some scenes and the SAME OPENING SONG is used in all 148 episodes, albeit with a few remixed versions (yes, it's annoying enough to not give Sound a 10). The are many endings songs which kinda make up for it. The all-star cast of voice actors do a great job. Many voices will ring a bell: KENN, Ayumi Fujimura, Miyuki Sawashiro, Kouki Uchiyama, Hiroki Takahashi, Daisuke Namikawa, Aya Hirano, Fumihiko friggin' Gendo Tachiki, ROMI PARK, MAMORU MIYANO, BANJOU GINGA!! you get the point, the list goes on and on. With Kana Hanazawa and Hiroshi Kamiya the list would've been perfect :C

ART AND ANIMATION 9/10
The art is pretty good, although the mood and style is a bit more colorful and happy than the dark style of the NA version, which nailed it in my opinion. The art style and effects improve upon the manga but manage to stay faithful, and the animation is pretty good for a long-running series. I don’t remember instances of cringe-worthy “quality animation” that made Shippuuden and other series so infamous. However, some episodes feel a bit uninspired in their use of angles and animation, probably to save budget for more action-packed episodes. There are a lot of gory scenes in the manga that were cleverly toned down (no lazy black fog censoring), since this was aired on a Sunday morning timeslot.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
Totally recommended, and a mandatory watch for battle-adventure shonen fans.
The NA version became my favorite anime of all time, but I can't deny the awesomeness of this remake. Even after witnessing other hits such as Attack on Titan, Evangelion, FMA or Death Note, this series remains my favorite.

First: What happens when you take the best of Hunter X Hunter, The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, SAO, Mirai Nikki, and some Death Note-like tactics and put them in a blender? BTOOOM! Your blender explodes with awesomeness (ok, no more lame puns).
Second: Is it possible to cram 50 chapters' worth of plot in just 12 episodes and do it well? I can't believe it but this series proved it, it's like a miracle. Kudos to Madhouse for this gem.
If you like ANY of the works I mentioned above, you must definitely watch this show.

*This review might feel vague in some parts to avoid spoilers.*

STORY 8/10
This ... is an interesting take on survival games. It may not seem original from this review, trust me, it is. You have your typical battle royale hunting game in a contemporary setting, with basically only one rule: collect chips from other people in a remote island similar to the tag-hunting game in the 4th phase of the Hunter's exam. This game is a bit more extreme in that killing is enforced, similar to other works. As expected, you will see a lot of strategic alliances and betrayals. What sets this show apart from similar works is that there are characters of any age and they are only given bombs to fight. The different types of bombs and their limited quantity ensures the strategy element is always present. This leads to a cool metagame because the characters have to figure out how the different bombs work by trial and error (in some ways like the hidden rules of the Death Note), as they are only given basic information on each one. The one with more knowledge obviously has the advantage. This leads to some parts that may feel like asspulls, but they are explained in more detail in the manga. This is one of the few weaknesses, but it is to be expected since they adapted 50 chapters in just 12 episodes. But rest assured, this is no Tokyo Ghoul where you need the manga like a manual to make sense of it. The BTOOOM! manga uses big panels constantly, so the chapters feel short in general. The anime took out most of the filler chapters, changed a few things, and re-arranged others for the better. As a result, the pacing is exhilarating but everything feels logical. Just like it would be expected, it feels like the characters rarely have any time to rest. On the downside, the anime does not cover the whole manga (there isn't enough material yet), but the studio stopped at the best possible point to end the season. You can pick up the manga right after watching the series, though. At the time of writing there are 77 chapters and the series is entering its final arc, so here's hoping for another anime season to conclude the story.
There is a romantic subplot that is well done and not forced (at least in my opinion), although at first it relies on a coincidence a bit implausible... well, that's just my opinion. My only warning, though, is that contrary to the Hunger Games, which has a big focus on romance, this series is a seinen, so you won't have romance all the time; in fact, expect some crude scenes here and there. Just in case, I have to mention there is a rape scene and an attempted rape scene that take place fairly early in the story. They're not that graphic and serve to develop a character, but you are already warned. They're more graphic in the manga, though. Justified or cheap shock value? That's up to you.

ART (8/10)
The art is really nicel, as expected of Madhouse. The art style is consistent with the manga and with the studio's most famous works. The animation is good enough and the camera angles often enhance the action. It clearly doesn't have the same budget as Death Note or Highschool of the Dead, but it is really fitting for the setting. And you will see a lot of good explosions, given the story.

SOUND (7/10)
The sound effects get the job done. The music gets the atmosphere right but the tunes aren't particularly memorable. I'd say this is a good thing since in a survival game it can be distracting if the music has too much presence. I think there aren't any insert songs at all. The seiyuus fit their roles very well, this is to be expected since there are some famous names involved.

CHARACTERS (9/10)
In a survival game, at least half of the enjoyment comes from the characters. And the big question is, how can you to relate to them if deaths are certain to come? Well, this show manages to make you care about them, they feel real. On the surface, the main character doesn't have any redeeming qualities, he’s a dislikable character overall. But once he's forced into the survival game and you stop screaming “Yeah, serves you well, dumbass!” he goes through a ton of development and you will root for him. One of the other main characters, Himiko, first comes across as an excuse for fan service, but her dark past reveals her to be much more complex and you want to hug her for more than just two big reasons.
While supporting characters are given a good amount of character development and they feel deep, the author tried too hard to give some of them redeeming qualities in the form of Naruto-like flashbacks (don't worry, these aren't long). One particular example is a kid that is deranged from the start (deranged like Yuno, just not yandere) and no matter how many flashbacks they throw at you, he still makes you shit your pants… and also want to kill him. Don't get me wrong, though, not all characters are like him. Finally, a few characters are underdeveloped because they become relevant much later in the manga, so they almost feel like cameos.

ENJOYMENT (8/10)
I marathoned this in two days, but only because I just wanted to check the first episode before going to sleep, and in the end I went to sleep after watching 8 episodes. That should say something about this show. The plot twists never stop coming and the characters have to stay on their toes all the time, given that they have to survive not only the fights with other players but also the natural dangers on the island, all while securing food for themselves and staying as mentally stable as possible. The bomb metagame keeps the survival deathmatch strong all the way through.

OVERALL (8/10)
This is a must watch for any fan of survival games, period. At the very least, you will have something new to compare to your favorite flavor of hunting. The only downside is the open ending, which kinda sucks unless you read the manga. I'm actually considering to give this series a 9, maybe a rewatch would help.


tl;dr Good balance of deep characters and action, some fan service and also gore. Good pacing. Very faithful to the original manga, which you can pick up immediately after. Go watch it.

What happens when you have Gen Urobuchi, Hiroyuki Sawano, and Kalafina all working in the same project? Pure awesomeness you say? You'd be wrong, but it's not precisely their fault... or yours. If you are thinking of watching this series, think again. This is one of those series that start up great but do not live up to their potential. Be warned, if you are a hardcore fan of mechas you will probably want to pass on this anime. I'm serious; I think I didn't hate it precisely because I'm not a big fan of mechas.
Is this series terrible? Personally, I think it is enjoyable, ... but really underwhelming considering the people attached to the project. Now I have to mention that Urobuchi only wrote the first 3(!!) episodes, so that explains a lot.
STORY
I'm not a big fan of mechas so I think I enjoyed the story more than a fan of the genre. Still, from my own experience, this feels like Code Geass and Gundam, (that is, politics, deep characters, complex plots, and betrayals left and right) but doesn't manage to even hold a candle to them. I'm not knowledgeable enough to call it a Gundam ripoff, but it’s a common opinion in the forums. After all, there's not a lot originality here, just your typical sci-fi conflict of people living on earth against those who live in space and, in this case, Mars. There are even some Evangelion vibes here.
In order to get the full story you are absolutely required to watch the second season, which is not very good. This is because the first season ends with a huge cliffhanger, and if you get this far you will probably be invested enough to continue watching. Think of it as a 2-cour show with a break in between.
If you know Urobuchi's previous works, you will know what to expect in terms of plot twists regarding characters. Without giving away details, you will find a lot of underwhelming subversions to his writing. I found myself constantly thinking "Is this really Urobuchi's work? How can this be?" Well, that was before I knew he only wrote the first 3 episodes. The most likely explanation is that Urobuchi's original idea was changed by the rest of the writing team (I read that he actually left the project), probably hoping there would be more seasons. Now the story it's not bad, I kinda liked it but it certainly doesn't live up to Urobuchi's potential. The science behind the titular Aldnoah, a mysterious source of energy, is never explained or explored in detail!! Other sciency aspects of the show are not explained and only hinted at; the show forgoes spoonfeeding entirely for the sake of better pacing. The problem is that this happens frequently in battles, so expect a lot of asspulls. The first episode starts really slow, a lot of infodump in the first half followed by jaw-dropping action on the second half. The 2nd and 3rd episodes are pretty solid, but after that the plot is not that good. So yeah, this goes to show that the 3-episode rule doesn't always apply.

Art
The animation and art are pretty good, this will certainly catch your eye. My only complaint would be the use of CGI for the mechas, they have a decent amount of detail and their movement is good BUT the animation is not that fluid, like when a video game skips frames. Your eyes will become used to it, as it's not as noticeable as it was in knights of sidonia. Still, the battles are very well done. Special mention goes to the fire animation that is used when they cut to a specific character's flashback.

Sound
Sound effects get the job done. There are many known seiyuus (eg. Cloud from Advent Children among others) and to me they fit their roles very nicely. The soundtrack, as expected of Sawano, is pretty awesome. If you liked his work on Guilty Crown, Ao no Exorcist or Shingeki no Kyojin, you will definitely like it. Many tracks and motifs will remind you of his previous work, and he again colaborates with artists such as mpi, Mika Kobayashi, and Aimee Blackschleger, it's like a Sawano-verse of music. The only problem is that some tracks are a bit overused, but this is not as much of a problem as it is for the second season. Seriously, I only watched the series because I had listened to the entire OST before and thought the series should be just as awesome. The opening is another gem, a song by Kalafina, a band you might remember from Madoka.

Character:
I didn't really hate any characters (actually that would've made me stop watching as the plot is not that good), but I think I'm a minority in this regard. There are interesting characters but to me the main problem is that few of them show any progression whatsoever. Basically, only the main characters are developed and supporting characters are just there to worry about the main ones, sans one or two exceptions. There is one character that mildly annoyed me because at least half of her lines consisted of repeating the same question to mock another character. While I initially like that Inaho, the main character, is always cool-headed and fights with intelligence and strategies rather than with the power of nakama or similar clichés, he later becomes more similar to Kirito from SAO (speaking only in terms of intelligence/knowledge and natural abilities). This quickly hurts the suspense of the series. Another problem is that Inaho almost never shows emotions. I mean it, you will show more emotions when something happens to him. Speaking of emotions, most other normal characters react way too calmly to shocking events. It is a little refreshing in that you're not hearing "KISAMAAA" every five minutes, but this being a series about war makes it feel a little too unrealistic, and almost everyone is able to keep their problems to themselves. One of the main characters showed promise but was forcefully derailed because the writers couldn't create a better villain. There are hints of romantic subplots but almost all the focus is on the overarching plot for the sake of pacing; don’t waste your time shipping characters.

Enjoyment:
The battles are pretty good, but as the series goes on the suspense will diminish. They start to feel like a mandatory fight-of-the-week and this doesn't get better on the second season. The sciency stuff that I mentioned earlier doesn't help much in this regard. Just turn your brain off whenever there's a battle and you will enjoy it.

Overall: 7/10
While this show was enjoyable for me, it didn't really deliver, and the second season is worse. If you get tricked into watching it for any reason (like I was) you'll feel compelled to watch the second season and trust me, IT IS worse, you will know it from the moment the cliffhanger at the end of season 1 gets resolved. The series conclusion, while feeling final and hopefully with no hope of continuation, is rushed and really, really underwhelming, and a character that was introduced two episodes before basically changes the entire ending. The final battle is pointless, forced and could’ve been better. Just so you know, I gave the 2nd season a 6/10 but I'm not writing a review for it, I'm hoping this review can stop people before they are invested. Just to give you some perspective I should mention that I marathoned this series right after the second season finished airing; I would have hated the ending (and the show) had I been watching weekly.

tl;dr Decent-to-Good series overall, a lot of wasted potential in terms of writing and characters, awesome music, and probably a waste of time if you are a fan of mechas. This goes to show that name-dropping doesn't necessarily make a show good.

As a die-hard Hunter x Hunter fan, I expected this movie for months. Personally, I would say it is an enjoyable mixed bag, in the sense that it might feel like a long gaiden episode that has enough elements to be canon. This is the first in the likely inevitable series of movies (a second one has already been announced). The film follows Gon and Killua in a quest to recover Kurapika's stolen eyes. There are a few new characters but a lot of known faces show up along the way. You might be confused as to where this movie fits in the HXH canon, ... and with good reason: the series is so tightly knit that writing a movie that manages to feature new material but that also includes all the four main characters AND the Genei Ryodan is really easy to screw up. If you have been avoiding the trailers and the info on the internet as I did, then you might get lost during the first thirty minutes of the movie, because the characters travel to a town never mentioned before without previous explanation and... well, that's just how side stories work normally. Logic aside, the movie is set right after the York Shin City arc (you probably know that there's no logical time gap between it and the GI arc, but whatever).

The music is for the most part taken directly from the series. This might sound cheap but also gives the movie a sense of consistency with the series. The new themes are awesome and help make the action more memorable, and there are also some new versions of old tunes. The sound is also great, no complaints there.

Animation and art are also consistent with the series, but additional efforts are noticeable, especially during action scenes. There's no abuse of CGI, it's pretty much the same as in the series. There are, however, a few shots that while showing the characters far away from the camera, are noticeable enough to be "quality animation meme"-worthy considering this is a blu-ray release. Still, this is only a minor complaint and doesn't really detract from the enjoyment.

My only major gripe with this movie is the plot, which sometimes loosens the rules of the HxH universe a bit too much and breaks the suspension of desbelief for hardcore fans. The issues are for the most part related to the rules of Nen. There are times when you will think of Gon and Killua: "Wait, can they really do that at their current nen level?" "Can they really survive that?" This feeling is enhanced by the lack of strategy in the battles, a staple and one of the best things in the series. It feels like most of these fights served only to advance the plot or for fan service (some really fit in the "what if-?" scenarios), so don't take them too seriously. On the other hand, you won't get any Naruto-like spoonfeeding due to the lack of strategy. Battles aside, the plot works for the most part, but it's somewhat predictable. There are some convenient coincidences here and there which I guess were included for the sake of better pacing. The tone of the movie is balanced: you can expect some funny moments in the right situations, just like in the series.

The characters are also a point of complaints. The title of the movie might lead you into thinking this movie is about the spiders and Kurapika, but Killua and Gon (yes, Killua more than Gon) get more screentime. Their development is similarly unbalanced: Killua is the closest to a protagonist while Gon shows little development. Retz, a new character, was a nice addition but some unnecessary emphasis is put on her from the beginning and this bugged me throughout the entire movie. Leorio mostly acts as a support character, and the spiders themselves are not that prominent (practically cameos) but they steal the show whenever they appear. The real antagonist, the much hyped Omokage, feels a bit like wasted potential. His motivations feel somewhat generic for a Spider and he really likes to talk about them, so I wasn't 100% sold on him. Still, his very existence is explained in a believable way (he was supposed to be dead in the series). His nen abilities, on the other hand, left me with some questions even after it was explained how they work. Finally, there is some insight into Kurapika's past, but you can find out much more about this by reading the Volume 0 of the manga, which you can find by googling (it was originally given away to those who went to the theatrical release). I encourage you to read it before watching the movie, it complements it and it doesn't give away any major spoilers. Flashback aside, Kurapika feels less important to the plot than he should.

Overall, this movie is a fun ride. It won't make you question the meaning of your life, but it is an enjoyable watch, and totally recommendable for shonen and HxH fans. Just turn your brain off during the fights, they aren't the ones you're used to from the series, though they are still fun and flashy. For the second movie, I'd like to see a prequel story, perhaps related to the origin of the spiders or the adventures of a young Ging or Netero. In my opinion, trying to fit a movie story into the main canon is just WAY TOO difficult.

7/10