Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show - Night of the Hunter x Hunter
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Souther
 Posts: 602 |
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Spoilers about Gon, sorry for the massive black box lol: spoiler[When it comes to his goals and acquiring strength, Gon is indeed willing to go to incredible lengths and take risks to achieve them, a mentality that doesn't belong to Gon alone; it's something that's encouraged in order to become an effective Hunter. Gon also doesn't consider the ramifications of what he does at times when it comes to achieving his goals, as seen with Zepile and when he lets Binolt go despite the fact he's a murderer. All that matters is that they've helped him. So yeah, I agree, the series shows there can be a dark side to the trope of getting stronger and achieving goals (Gon, Kurapika, etc.) Another part of it's that Gon has a simple view of things and can have a black and white view of people. When it came to the Phantom Troupe, he felt they were heartless monsters, but when he saw Nobunaga grieving over Uvogin, it clashed with what he thought of them and he was angered because if they were capable of grief, then why couldn't they care for their victims? He's also quite trusting, slightly naive and doesn't like liars, as seen with Genthru. The Chimera Ant Arc played on these aspects of Gon's spectacularly; beforehand, he saw the Ants kill humans, the armadillo Ant killing his comrades without a care, and finally, he saw Pitou kill Kite, tainting his views on them. When he confronted Pitou and saw Pitou was capable of caring for someone, it was too much for a kid like him to handle. He already felt powerless and a great sense of guilt for what happened to Kite, and he was desperate to defeat Pitou and resolve everything, but the situation was far too complicated for a simple kid like Gon and he was at a complete loss. Finally, when Pitou admitted to Kite being dead forever, Gon simply couldn't cope with the loss of his mentor and I'd argue father figure to a degree (more apparent in the manga, as Kite's the one who inspires Gon to become a Hunter and find his father, plus Gon never forgets who he is unlike the series.) Overall, I'd argue the other main 3 chars had traumatic events and experiences that marked the end of their innocence and forced them to grow up quicker than they should have. The Ant Arc was that for Gon, hopefully he'll learn from it. It's definitely possible that the events of the series up to then influenced him like you said (Gon pressuring Pitou and using a Nen Vow to get the power he needed was quite similar to what happened in Yorkshin with Kurapika and the Troupe.) Though I disagree about Kite, that wasn't down to Gon. Kite knew the risks of bringing them along, and even if Gon wasn't there, I think the result would've been the same anyway. TL;DR: for all of Gon's talents, he's still a kid and emotionally immature to a degree. His simple view on things, his innocence, and lack of consideration when achieving his goals combined with his immense potential power are what people consider potentially dangerous. Despite all that, Gon's still a pretty good kid. He cares for his friends and people in general and is willing to help others, like wanting to stop the Ant's selection in order to save lives. Some people like to write Gon off as some sort of nut, but I don't think that's true to be honest.] |
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Hidders
 Posts: 61 |
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When people mentioned watching the first episode of 1999 to know about Kite I ended up finding the pilot episode first and left it at that... That was a mistake on my part. I'm watching the first episode of '99 now and it is a must.
So what's up with 1999 and 2011 anime having different origin stories for Gon? 1999: spoiler[Mito is Gon's aunt from his mother's side and she won custody of Gon in court.] 2011: spoiler[Mito is related to Ging (it's assumed 'sister' since it never gets brought up) and Ging brought Gon to Mito when Gon was a baby and left him with her. Nothing is really known about his mother. (Which SUCKS!) If Gon didn't look and act like his dad there'd nothing to prove he's related to Ging since Ging just showed up with Gon one day with very little explanation.] I've never bothered with the manga so all I know is from the wiki and is that spoiler[Mito is Gon's first cousin once removed (AKA: cousin-aunt or second aunt)]. I just don't really see a reason to completely change his backstory or even a reason to get creative with it since it's not like spoiler[Ging would ever get romantic with Mito. Why didn't Togashi just have Mito as Ging's sister and leave it at that?] As for Ging being labeled a 'favorite villain'. I could get behind that. I'll never forgive him for having time for other people but no time for Gon. 'I never met my father because being a Hunter was more important to him than his family... Isn't being a Hunter the greatest job in the world!'  No kid, that wasn't how you were suppose to interpret Ging's actions.
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Valhern
 Posts: 916 |
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Mito is literally Gon's aunt. Ging's cousin. There is nothing weird going on behind. Gon calls her Aunt Mito but he considers her his mom. In the first chapter of the manga, which wasn't covered by the 2011 anime, we know that Mito told Gon that Ging and his mother died in an accident, and when Gon (I think he was 7-8 years old at this point) is saved from a Foxbear by Kite, Kite reveals to him that his dad is alive and is a Hunter. For more information on the Freecss family, Gon's great grandmother clarifies it in chapter 65 like this: Abe (Gon's great grandmother) > Unnamed son + Unnamed wife > Ging + Unnamed wife > Gon Abe > Unnamed daughter + Unnamed husband > Mito About this, Ging's father one day "went for fishing" and never came back. We don't know a jack about his mother. And Mito's parents set for an adventure and disappeared too. After this is when Ging leaves Whale Island to become a Hunter, which scared Mito a lot, also explaining why she didn't want him to become a Hunter. So Mito's actually Gon's aunt because she is Ging's cousin, not his sister. Regarding how Gon stayed with Mito, it's slightly different. When Ging came back with two years old Gon, he asked his grandma to take care of him for a while, because probably he was in a dangerous quest and couldn't bring Gon with him. Then Mito started a case for Gon's custody, and won because Ging basically never presented himself, either because he couldn't because of his mission, didn't want to, or the most likely decision, he realised that he would be in a better place with Mito, and if he wanted to be a Hunter, it would be his choice, so he set up a plan for that. And Ging's villainy...sadly, my post about analyzing that has all the images deleted (thanks puush), but basically, Gon never cared if Ging was a good father, or if he had a good mother. All the mother and father he ever needed was Mito, Mito, and Mito. Maybe his grandma...But mostly Mito. Ging is a prey challenge for him and as of now, Gon still hasn't had any reflect on why his father didn't stay with him, but he seems to be okay with that and it's not sure whether Togashi brings up later the "I probably don't have the qualities being a son". That, if this means that he is, in some way, depreciating himself for being abandoned by his father, it'd be really interesting if Ging and Gon connect like that, not in a super dramatic arc, but rather a good conversation between them. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4438 |
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So far, I'm having a little trouble getting into Hunter X Hunter because comparisons with YYH keep creeping into my mind when I watch each week. I suspect this will wear off though, as lengthy shonen series tend to take a while to really get going. Plus, YYH had an advantage in that it was one of the first things I watched when I first started watching anime, so it has a major nostalgia bonus.
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jr240483
 Posts: 4380 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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NOPE! cause Gon have the same oblivious syndrome that the other shonen jump type characters like naruto, luffy , and ichigo have in common . their completely and literately dense towards the opposite sex. and in Gon's case is density is in the same level as luffy. and lets not forget that he's also 12 yrs old too. |
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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All right. Prior to this topic, I didn't know the 2011 anime was not originally intended to go as far as it did, so it was confusing to me why they removed Kite but expanded on Katzo. That's an interesting what-if scenario for One Piece, if it managed to flop. That being said, there was no indication early in the series that Eiichiro Oda would randomly bring back characters from hundreds of chapters prior, the closest being an enigmatic condition: A background character in Buggy's flashback, Silvers Rayleigh, was not to be referred to as a captain despite him running the ship Buggy was on. The reason would not be revealed until about 450 chapters later: spoiler[Rayleigh is actually the first-mate.] The people who did casting must've been scrambling to find these actors again, because they're really on-point with making sure the same character is always voiced by the same person where possible. (Certainly it tripped up FUNimation when they cast Troy Baker to do what they thought was a minor role until that character showed up again years later, and by then Troy Baker had moved on from anime voice acting.)
I would argue that Ging DID want Gon to interpret his actions in that way, considering he left behind a spoiler[Greed Island save file and a message on a tape for his son.] He expected Gon to take and pass the Hunter Exam, and thus he expected Gon to see him as a role model. That being said, when we DO see Ging again, spoiler[a bunch of people, Leorio included, point out that he's being a bad father, and large chunks of licensed Hunters dislike him for his neglectful parenting]. |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3662 |
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Thanks all, I'll skip the first series and continue to see how the current one goes. Maybe I'll check out the first chapter / episode of the first though it seems like it was mentioned above already.
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4581 |
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I fully support your theory, even if I know it's just wishful thinking on my part that the main cast wasn't a total sausage-fest. 
I first got into HxH when a friend just about dragged me into watching the 1999 series. My first superficial reaction to it was probably the same as many people's: "Man, this looks like the most generic shounen setup ever." But as I watched the first several episodes, I started to see that there was legitimately-skilled character work, and the start of some intriguing world-building. (I also started to see just how liberally Kishimoto had cribbed from the Hunter exam for his Chuunin Exam, down to some extraordinarily-small details.) I wound up enjoying the ride a great deal, though I stopped after the first OVA and the end of the Yorknew City arc, since according to my friend the following OVAs' treatment of the Greed Island arc was mediocre at best. I've started in on the 2011 series on Toonami, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the material beyond where I left off. If there is one thing about the newer series that gives me pause, it's that so far it's produced some of the same uneven reactions that me that FMA: Brotherhood did a few years back (albeit not quite as viscerally as the latter). It feels like the 2011 series is blazing through the shared material, cramming into a single episode the content that it took the previous version 2 or 3 to cover, and eliminating some valuable character interactions (particularly excising Kite completely). I understand that this version is covering a much greater volume of story content overall, and that the first version used a bit of filler to pad things out at times, but I honestly feel like said filler wound up helping it out in the long run, as it allowed more time to focus on some side characters that will (presumably) get little to no screentime in this version. Couple that with the 2011 version already feeling a bit too lighthearted compared to the 1999 version's darker tone, and at this point I feel like I'm enjoying it based more on my nostalgia for the characters than I am on its own merits. Hopefully this changes sooner rather than later. |
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bleachj0j
 Posts: 923 |
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The YuYu Hakusho points are interesting. I finished it recently and it becomes very clear by the Shinsui Arc that Togashi was looking to do different things with the story. It was here that you kind of see things that would later show up in Hunter x Hunter. Abilities based on games, Shisui's character arc, by the end you can see also that he was rushing. The art took a massive dive and the story was rushed to conclusion.
My favorite arc is definitely the Chimera Ant arc. I know its pretty divisive given its length and pacing, but I love for that reason. The Ants were some of the more interesting characters in a series full of them. Its an arc that you won't really find in most other shonen arcs. The primary focus is first and foremost on the "antagonist" of the story.
Well, the Hunter x Hunter Exam in general is not that dark than the other arcs. The 2011 anime follows accordingly and is actually more violent than the 1999 version. I honestly like the 2011 version more and that is coming from someone who was exposed to 1999 version first back when Viz licensed it. |
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bleachj0j
Posts: 923 |
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I think you missed that scene in the Chimera Ant arc where it showed Gon wasn't oblivious to the opposite sex. Where he decided older women "teaching him things" and why he knew how to talk to girls older than him. |
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Animechic420
 Posts: 1728 Location: A Cave Filled With Riches |
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You keep trying to convince your wannabe canon-so-badly brain that that's the case with Kurapika. Still won't change the fact that he is indeed a boy. |
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3983 |
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Had fun with YYH, been enjoying the first couple of eps on Toonami so far. Looking forward to watching it build up.
Also, Vic was awesome and hilarious in Level E as the prince. And yeah the assistant was funny in both languages. I need to finish it some day. |
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Night fox
 Posts: 561 Location: Sweden |
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I'm suprised that noone has replied to this yet, because on these forums there are those who adamantly claim that quality is something subjective and that you can't measure the quality of a work of art, or fiction.  (I'm of a different opinion though)  
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GVman
 Posts: 729 |
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That scene is the only bit of censorship in the US printing. Considering how violent the rest of the manga is, I have to assume Viz accidentally receive the pages used for that chapter's printing in WSJ in Japan (which is where those bars originate). The tankobon version has them removed, I believe. |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Ah, interesting. I thought it was pretty weird to see the censor bars there, and I thought that it got so graphic but couldn't be toned down.
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