>>727Its been years since I watched HxH 99. I've been meaning to do a rewatch one of these days since its a genuinely good show, adaptation, and directed by the great Kazuhiro Furuhashi.
Gonna reply to the points I find interesting so bear with me lol.
>who don't really fit that niche at all which makes the term "Hunter" kind of confusingThat is part of what maks HxH great. The title of "hunter" can mean anything and so allows Togashi to explore a variety of genres and settings. Hunters aren't constraint by expectations like other archetypes are like pirates or ninjas.
>and thus the guy you go to for troubles, like an official bounty hunter or mercenary.That is one of many types of Hunters, yeah. In fact, I believe Togashi was partially inspired by the video game series Arc the Lad when it came to the conception of the manga since ideas and characters like Hunters, mode of transport and even Gon's father all look lifted straight out of Arc the Lad.
>What surprises me the most about this show was that I expected Gon to be the main part of the whole showYep, that is another great quality of HxH. The world isn't centered around the protagonist. Characters can and will interact heavily with each other and have a significant influence on the plot with or without Gon. He is only one kid after all. I also view Gon more like vehicle to see the world and characters from his perspective since I often find the seconary characters to be more interesting and better written. Not that its a bad thing, Gon is a very good shonen protagonist all things considered.
>and not want to be friends with Gon but he opened up pretty damn quickly to him.The 1999 show actually somewhat changes their interaction. In the manga, it was Killua who introduces himself to Gon and seeks friendship since that is whole character early on, wanting to bond with others. Meanehile 1999 changes it to having Gon introducing himself to Killua. Its not really "bad" but I do prefer how the manga does it since lets Killua be more proactive.
>The fourth section (battleship) was also REALLY good,Its basically an anime exclusive filler arc but a damn good one, especially since it gives the later phase more tension.
>but the entire arc afterward has just been kind of boring.Heaven's Arena is hands down the weakest arc in both the manga and anime. Tons of exposition, weak fights, bland setting and not enough stakes or emotional investment since you know Gon is never in any genuine danger. Hell, its worse in the anime since they actually cut out the Hisoka/Kastro fight and replaced it with some Darth Maul wannabe. Really jarring but that probably has to do with censorship since 1999 unfortunately tones down some of the really violent scenes of the manga. Your complaints about Nen are fair, again this is the fault of Heaven's Arena for poorly dumping so much exposition and not enough applying it in a variety of ways. HxH gets a lot better at explaining Nen better when it expands upon it like how En was introduced during Nobunaga's hunt against Gon and Killua.
>why don't mangaka creators understand that those are the characters we want to see more of,Going to have to disagree there. When it comes to long running manga/anime like HxH, seeing the same characters over and over can get stale so instead, Togashi employs an ensemble cast to shake things up. Cast members come and go at their leisure, only joining and staying when its toward their benefit. Some want to watch over Gon, but must return to the business they left off. Some see Gon as a simple good deed and leaves him be the moment he is in safety. Others even want to use him for their own personal gain or plans. This comes together and works towards another of HxH's major strengths: It's characters. They all feel unique and distinct and real despite playing closely to established tropes. And when the characters feel deep, the world feels deeper as well.
>just knowing Nen sort of made this all irrelevant.Most if not all Nen abilities syill rely on the natural skills and knowledge of characters since they create the ability that fits their tastes.
>since it just feels like Nen can be used to do anything by anyoneThis is a positive IMO since it means Nen can be better integrated in the world and have an influence beyond combat itself. Sort of like bending does in Avatarr the Last Airbender where its a critical part of how the world works. Nen itself also becomes a whole more abstract and subtle later down the line, moving away from its very shonen roots, pretty much acting like Jojo Part 7/8 stands.
>but I do think it was a bit lackluster to have a random bad guy introduced at the end of the series to be the final bad guy defeated by Gon,Genthru, the Bomber guy gets memed a lot for looking like a random background character who somehow manages to be very intelligent and a legitimate challenge to Gon. If there is one thing I would have liked changed in the Greed Island arc, it would be to have the Bomber's identity not revealed so soon and have it played out as a mystery, a threat that looms over everyone but no one knows who it is, it would make his unassuming appearance all the more effective.
>>3212>Perhaps I'm an idiot and Nen was explained PERFECTLY well hereNah you are right on the money. The Kastro fight being skipped puts a significant hamper on the viewer's understand of Nen which in turn also robs us of seeing Hisoka in action for the first time. Its the only arc I feel 2011 does better than 1999.
>I also think that 1999 has a better Hunter Exam whereas 2011 has a better everything elseFor me, 1999 does the Hunter Exam and Yorkshin arcs better whereas 2011 does Heaven's Arena and Greed Island better. Yorkshin especially is the real highlight of 1999 and why I watched it in the first place since the still frames anons had shown of that arc looked awesome. And it is, the direction, music, and animation are all well done. 2011's Yorkshin by comparison falls a bit flat due to washed out colors, mediocre music, and so so direction. Its almost akin to the difference between the orignal Sailor Moon anime and Sailor Moon Crystal. Sure the latter is more manga accurate but the original adaptation had so much character, atmosphere and beauty. However 1999 kind of blew it with Greed Island since they switched to digital animation and Furuhashi stopped directing.
BTW, 1999 was originally going to have an alternate ending that involved Kurapika and other main characters dying. If you want more info about that here:
https://desuarchive.org/a/thread/275836743/>>3217Cool, I'll check that out. I always enjoy seeing newbies watchiing or reading HxH for the first time and reading their thoughts about it.