Hunter × Hunter (1999)

Hunter x Hunter (1999)
Junko Takeuchi, Yuki Kaida, and Annika Odegard in Hunter x Hunter (1999)

What Is It?

The 1999 Japanese anime (animated) television show Hunter x Hunter.

Hunter x Hunter Trailer

Hunter x Hunter Series (1999) anime opening

What Is It About?

This is how Wikipedia describes this anime (animated) television show:

Hunter × Hunter is an anime television series that aired from 1999 to 2001 based on Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter × Hunter manga.

The story focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss, who one day discovers that the father he had always been told was dead is in fact alive and well.

He learns that his father, Ging, is a famous “Hunter”: an individual who has proven themselves an elite member of humanity.

Despite the fact that Ging left his son with his relatives in order to pursue his own dreams, Gon becomes determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, pass the rigorous “Hunter Examination”, and eventually find his father to become a Hunter in his own right.

Hunter × Hunter was produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi.

A total of 62 episodes were broadcast on Fuji Television from October 16, 1999 to March 31, 2001.[1]

The series has additionally aired on the satellite television station Animax.[2]

Marvelous Entertainment released all episodes of the series in Japan on DVD in 13 separate volumes between September 20, 2000, and September 19, 2001.[3]

Viz Media licensed the Hunter × Hunter anime for distribution in the Region 1 market, where it was released across four DVD box-sets.[4]

The first set was released on December 9, 2008, and the final was released on December 1, 2009.[5][6]

Starting with the second volume, Viz partnered with Warner Home Video in distributing the DVDs.[7]

Hunter × Hunter began airing in the United States on the Funimation Channel in the spring of 2009.[8]

The background music for the Hunter × Hunter anime and the three OVA series was composed by Toshihiko Sahashi.

The anime series features two opening themes, “Ohayō.” (おはよう。, lit. “Good Morning.”) [01–48] by Keno and “Taiyō Wa Yoru mo Kagayaku” (太陽は夜も輝く, lit. “The Sun Shines at Night”) [49–62] by Wino, and three closing themes: “Kaze no Uta” (風のうた, lit. “Wind Song”) [01–31] by Minako Honda, and “EJan-Do You Feel Like I Feel?” (Eじゃん-Do You Feel Like I Feel?), [32–50] and “Hotaru” (蛍, lit. “Firefly”), [51–62] both by Nagai Masato.

Hunter × Hunter (2011)

Source: IMDb

What is it?

The 2011 anime (animated) television show Hunter × Hunter (2011).

What is it about?

This is how the IMDb describes this anime (animated) television show:

Gon Freecss aspires to become a Hunter, an exceptional being capable of greatness.

With his friends and his potential, he seeks for his father who left him when he was younger.

What do I like about it and what would other people like about it?

While this was a long show, 142 episodes, it was still shorter and more consistent and had less filler than many shows of this type.

I also like the nen system that was used.

Final Thoughts

This is possibly now my favorite long form anime television show in the Shōnen genre.

This show had less filler and even the filler-like episodes were better than the average filler episode, but the various arcs were not balanced when it comes to the number of episodes.

The Chimera Ant arc was more episodes than almost four other arcs combined which is way too long, it did have some of the best moments though, but overall it was possibly not my favorite arc.

The Election arc was possibly the worst arc in my opinion and it was not needed, and that time could have been better spent bringing all the characters together to end any plot holes and to end the series nicely.

The last episode was very disappointing and rushed and incomplete, some characters did not get shown and did not get to talk, and this was a problem with the entire last arc where some major characters did not get to even talk with one being a part of the main team and he only got shown a few seconds once the entire arc and he had no dialogue.

For some reason that main character was not in the last two arcs really and never got to talk to or reunite with his friends, which did not make sense to me, and that hurt this show in my opinion.

While the show ended on a lower note, overall it was possibly the most balanced show of this genre that I have seen, and it deserves to be better known and it deserved a better ending and final arc.

The end,

-John Jr