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REVIEW: Hunter × Hunter Episodes 14-26 Streaming


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White Lightning Alchemist



Joined: 11 Nov 2008
Posts: 51
PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:15 pm Reply with quote
Production I.G.? I thought this was from Madhouse?
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Funkatronic



Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:17 pm Reply with quote
Seriously. Madhouse, not Production IG
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everydaygamer



Joined: 10 Jul 2009
Posts: 928
PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:28 pm Reply with quote
yeah through out the entire review i was like "isn't this show done by madhouse?" lol.
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futurefrog



Joined: 09 Apr 2011
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:38 am Reply with quote
Really ANN? Production I.G? Really? Wow...

This kind of lack of research is exactly why this site has gone down the toilet. Not an ounce of credibility on ANN anymore, it's really sad.
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Uppa



Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 31
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:20 am Reply with quote
The evaluations for music and animation align fairly closely with my own, though the review text proffers some strong insights that give me reason to reconsider just how condemning I can be of this show, sometimes. It's hard to remember that the content of these episodes was new to me, once, and does have creative flair to it.

I enjoyed the review, and find it considerate and thoughtful--and the I.G./Madhouse foible can't undermine the strength of the analysis.
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Thatguy3331



Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Posts: 1790
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:43 am Reply with quote
I.G.....?

Anyway Other than that hiccup I'd say its pretty accutrate. I like the segment between Zevil Island and Killua's family more than others though because honestly, mock him you will, but Gon getting through the events the way he does says abit about what he'll be able to handle later (ok, killua's butler at the end showed that better, but I just liked it when Gon pulled Illumi out of that chair).

The Ost is still a bit questionable here, but it gets better from here on out in my opinion as heavens arena's OST is pretty solid IMHO. not outstanding but solid.
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Mr. Toto



Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 139
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:25 am Reply with quote
I think you've weighed the Final Phase a little too heavily in this review. It takes place only across two episodes.

Yoshihiro Togashi, best known for Yu Yu Hakusho, is no amateur when it comes to tournaments. Most of that series is composed of tournament arcs.

But then we get to Hunter x Hunter's tournament...which has almost no fighting at all. The first match is literally composed of the torture of a twelve-year-old. Then we get a flashback told in stills of the rest of the matches. The final match? Psychological warfare.

The fights were never the point. Rather, the dialogue is what one is supposed to pay attention to.

Also, half of the episodes (20-25) largely focus upon Killua. But your review mentions his name only twice? What about the relations between him and his family? How were your expectations broken by the family of assassins? Maybe they weren't, since you've seen the show before.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:52 am Reply with quote
Mr. Toto wrote:
I think you've weighed the Final Phase a little too heavily in this review. It takes place only across two episodes.

Yoshihiro Togashi, best known for Yu Yu Hakusho, is no amateur when it comes to tournaments. Most of that series is composed of tournament arcs.

But then we get to Hunter x Hunter's tournament...which has almost no fighting at all. The first match is literally composed of the torture of a twelve-year-old. Then we get a flashback told in stills of the rest of the matches. The final match? Psychological warfare.

The fights were never the point. Rather, the dialogue is what one is supposed to pay attention to.

Also, half of the episodes (20-25) largely focus upon Killua. But your review mentions his name only twice? What about the relations between him and his family? How were your expectations broken by the family of assassins? Maybe they weren't, since you've seen the show before.


It's just Carl showing his disdain of tournaments in shonen titles. Carl doesn't hide his dislike (to put it lightly) of tournaments, and he loves to talk down about them in a review whenever the chance presents itself. He's done so time and time again, so it's kind of expected for him to talk about them.

Not that I'm saying that Carl is "hating on tournaments", but it is obvious that he doesn't really like them at this point in his reviewing career.
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:01 am Reply with quote
futurefrog wrote:
Really ANN? Production I.G? Really? Wow...

This kind of lack of research is exactly why this site has gone down the toilet. Not an ounce of credibility on ANN anymore, it's really sad.


Yes, we know that Madhouse was the production company.
One tiny mistake from Carl and suddenly everyone on ANN loses their paycheck. Thanks for the support. Rolling Eyes

Quote:
The only thing that could possibly be worse than Hisoka disliking you is Hisoka liking you.


And episode 36 is the perfect example of that. *shivers* -__-

I would have liked to see more of the Zoldycks since they were interesting to watch despite being a family of assassins; I especially would like to know more about Killua's "sister". I'm glad that Killua got his time in the limelight. To see the side-affects of him being "raised" to be nothing more than a murderer was well-written in my opinion. Killua isn't just some bratty kid with a cynical view of the world. He could have been but, with Gon's friendship, he realizes that there is more to strength than just power over other people. The fact that he wants to live a life without killing others is quite admirable. I couldn't help but find Killua as an engaging person so now he's my favorite character in the show. ^__^

Personally, I found the mini tornument arc rather average but I prefer it over five episodes of filler action scenes. Sometimes it's better to get straight to the point.

But you're right about the Monty Python theme; it could be a Shout-Out. Like in Full Metal Panic, one of the background songs sounds a lot like the A Team theme.
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Uppa



Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 31
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:30 am Reply with quote
Mr. Toto wrote:

Also, half of the episodes (20-25) largely focus upon Killua. But your review mentions his name only twice? What about the relations between him and his family? How were your expectations broken by the family of assassins? Maybe they weren't, since you've seen the show before.


Maybe that could be better accommodated in a more lengthy disquisition on the series, potentially. I think Carl does point towards the surprise of the fatherly dynamic and the Addams Family-esque quality of the unit, and I feel the extent of his insight is well tailored to this sort of format of review.

I believe he taps those areas you've proffered in a way that makes sense in the wider presence of a review. For what it's worth, I wouldn't really want to see too much further comment beyond what he intimates here, because he gives due respect to the somewhat heterodox nature of the series and that is the primary message he has in mind. Any further elucidation beyond the implications he gives could introduce an extent of opinion that would undermine the texture of what is, all told, quite a professional review. That's what I think, at least--but it's just my own stance on where a professional review would stand. Carl's review is easy to absorb and keeps a sound consistency throughout; and it doesn't have a prolixity to it that would hurt its analysis and message rather than enhance it, a scenario that could maybe result from departing too far from the overall theme of the analysis. I think what he's done is justifiable.

On a more personal level, I think he gives us reason to want to watch the show by spotlighting those assets that are most immediately appealing--which happen to be in the Zevil Island part--rather than seeking to elucidate the more difficult elements that are better appreciated when enjoyed in a more informed context vis-a-vis the series as a whole.


Last edited by Uppa on Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:49 am; edited 3 times in total
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
Posts: 4210
Location: Towson, Maryland
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:38 am Reply with quote
Keichitsu0305 wrote:
futurefrog wrote:
Really ANN? Production I.G? Really? Wow...

This kind of lack of research is exactly why this site has gone down the toilet. Not an ounce of credibility on ANN anymore, it's really sad.


Yes, we know that Madhouse was the production company.
One tiny mistake from Carl and suddenly everyone on ANN loses their paycheck. Thanks for the support. Rolling Eyes


While its not a huge deal, it does show that its not really researched appropriately. If you're going to mention a studio a few times in a review, make sure you know what studio it is! All it would take is a simple visit to the ANN page to find out who did the anime.
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:30 pm Reply with quote
RyanSaotome wrote:

While its not a huge deal, it does show that its not really researched appropriately. If you're going to mention a studio a few times in a review, make sure you know what studio it is! All it would take is a simple visit to the ANN page to find out who did the anime.


You, along with everyone else, are correct. I am also worried about how he could confused two completely different companies with the production of Hunter X Hunter 2011. There really is no excuse for any journalist to make a mistake that can be easily fixed with a little background research. Or a quick Google search.

And it really doesn't help that no one has edited this review yet. Anime cry

futurefrog wrote:
Really ANN? Production I.G? Really? Wow...

This kind of lack of research is exactly why this site has gone down the toilet. Not an ounce of credibility on ANN anymore, it's really sad.


This statement, however, still bothers me.
While it's true that ANN has made mistakes, just like any other website on the Internet, that still does not mean that the actions of one person should effect the credibility of the entire staff.
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Surrender Artist



Joined: 01 May 2011
Posts: 3264
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:45 pm Reply with quote
Keichitsu0305 wrote:
And it really doesn't help that no one has edited this review yet. Anime cry


That is strange. I think Zac Bertschy, who is responsible for opinion content, might be busy with preparations for Anime Expo and thus not standing watch at the moment and ANN can't exactly afford an army of copy editors.

Keichitsu0305 wrote:
futurefrog wrote:
Really ANN? Production I.G? Really? Wow...

This kind of lack of research is exactly why this site has gone down the toilet. Not an ounce of credibility on ANN anymore, it's really sad.


This statement, however, still bothers me.
While it's true that ANN has made mistakes, just like any other website on the Internet, that still does not mean that the actions of one person should effect the credibility of the entire staff.


It seems pretty ludicrous and unreasonably demanding to make to make aggressive claims about a site's credibility based upon something like this. It seems more like the kind of thing that somebody would pick on because he already had a grudge against ANN, not something that actually inspires a loss of faith in the site. It's undeniably an error and a mystifying one, but given that it hardly bears on the substance of the review, it's a small embarrassment of passing significance at worst. People on the internet are entirely too in love with jumping up and down while pointing and jeering.
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Looneygamemaster



Joined: 21 Jan 2012
Posts: 192
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:24 pm Reply with quote
Okay, error debate aside...

I think I actually enjoyed the tournament part more then the island survival stuff (aside from Hisoka's moments--but I guess for a HxH fan, that goes without saying Wink). Mostly because of how bizarrely creepy Illumi was, and how intense Killua's dilemma was.

Regarding later stuff, I think the bigger tournament arc has kind of dragged on, partly because Gon and Killua's motives don't seem enough to be invested in. spoiler[Gon vs Hisoka] looks like it'll be awesome though.
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Mr. Toto



Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 139
PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 7:00 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
It's just Carl showing his disdain of tournaments in shonen titles. Carl doesn't hide his dislike (to put it lightly) of tournaments, and he loves to talk down about them in a review whenever the chance presents itself. He's done so time and time again, so it's kind of expected for him to talk about them.

Not that I'm saying that Carl is "hating on tournaments", but it is obvious that he doesn't really like them at this point in his reviewing career.

I understand. I suppose it comes across as bizarre, to me. He spends two paragraphs talking about how terrible the tournament is, but also mentions how he feels that Gon's match in this version bests the prior version. He probably talks about the tournament the most in his review, but the material comprising it doesn't even fill an entire two episodes. Though I also respect his opinion.

There were a few other things I had issues with. Particularly, he insinuates that Yoshihisa Hirano's orchestral score rips off Monty Python's theme music and the Lone Ranger's theme music. A Google search will show that both of those tracks are rooted in classical music: the Monty Python's Flying Circus theme is obviously emulating circus music, and the Lone Ranger's theme song is lifted directly from the William Tell Overture. I'd call it homage to centuries of classical music, as Yoshihisa Hirano studied it at Julliard (and just about all of his scores for other series do the same...Ouran HS Host Club, Death Note, etc.).

I don't mean to contest every bit of the review, but I'm not exactly sure that I can see where Carl is coming from with some of his scores.
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