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Hunter x Hunter (2011) Hunter x Hunter (2011) |
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Rose Faerie's Review Violence: Hunter x Hunter is pretty violent. The first few arcs do depict death and fighting, as well as a human heart being ripped out. (The heart just looks like a sack, but still.) After the magic system is introduced, the level of blood is significantly increased. Lots of limbs come off. It's pretty common. The Chimera Ant arc and the Yorknew City arc definitely have scenes that, were it live action, would receive a solid R. People are eaten, sometimes rather graphically. A guy bites another one through the skull. One character punches another until his head falls off, though all you can see is blood flying. Sex and Nudity: One villain gets aroused at the aspect of fighting others, particularly our twelve year old protagonist. He appears frequently, though his comments aren't frequent. The same character is shown naked from the behind twice, as well as from above, with the perspective blocking out everything. A minor villain is shown to be lecherous, and he is presumed to have relations with various women who he technically keeps prisoner. He may have had relations with an important female character in disguise, though it's a fifty fifty chance that nothing happened. Characters wonder if the female character was forced to have relations with the king of the Chimera ants. This turns out to be false. She is shown nude, but all parts are covered by the king's arms (this doesn't actually happen, it's just a mental image). Quite a few of the female characters wear revealing outfits, which show cleavage. A female chimera ant spends an episode wearing an outfit that barely covers anything. In the same episode, a female character loses her outer garments to a sticky fluid and briefly has to fight an enemy in her underwear. The camera doesn't sexualize her, and a male character loses some clothes to a villain in the same episode. In general, this show is pretty tame, particularly since it is very long and all these instances are spread out. Theological Themes: Nen, the magic system is based around controlling auras and life force. Nen is pretty crucial to the plot. Half-human, half-animal hybrids seek to evolve beyond humans at one point. A character is heavily implied to have reincarnated, though it may have been a result of his nen abilities. Another character believes in reincarnation. One character who appears very late in the series is transgender. Problematic Themes: The s-word, d-word, and h-word are all used, though the s-word is used very infrequently. They're all used almost exclusively when the characters are under stress or in life threatening situations. One character gains his nen ability when he smokes a pipe, which he uses to create smoke puppets. Another character is shown smoking cigarettes a couple of times and is implied to be addicted to them. Overall: Hunter x Hunter is a very nice show and definitely well written. I did lose interest about half-way through the Chimera Ant arc, as it dragged on for far too long, and it could have easily been cut down from the whopping sixty one episodes. Part of the reason I lost my patience was because the pre-established characters were sidelined for most of it. I'm probably just salty about the lack of screen time my favorite characters have received since Greed Island. Though after a certain point, it didn't really feel like Hunter x Hunter anymore, and I never really was on board with the concept of chimera ants in the first place. The characters are all very well written and receive wonderful development. As opposed to many selfless shonen protagonists, Gon is very much a selfish hero, and he definitely has a dark side. Killua is a great character as well, who has believable motives and development. I do wonder why Kurapika and Leorio are considered protagonists alongside Gon and Killua, since they're absent for probably over half the series. They are definitely interesting characters, Kurapika especially. The Phantom Troupe are some of the coolest villains I've seen in a while, as well. I just had a hard time vibing with Gon as a protagonist. I'm fine with selfish characters. I'm fine with irrational characters. I'm fine with stubborn characters. It's just when they mix when it irritates me. I really lost my patience with him in the chimera ant arc. While the other characters develop, he is a static character, though he has dimensions that are hard to perceive at first. The background music and the ending themes are great. The opening gets old, since they keep it the same for all 148 episodes. The art style is very clean, and while it's not my favorite stylistic choice, it works very well. It was worth a watch, though I didn't enjoy it as much as many people, nor do I consider it god-tier, as most of the fan base does. It's a solid, well written show, though I wouldn't consider it a favorite. I recommend this one to older teens and up due to violence, language, and Hisoka. |
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| Added: August, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
