Battle Shonen is an extremely difficult genre to get right. It has become an extremely oversaturated market, and you hear of a new one being released almost every year. Hunter x Hunter however, proved that the genre still has an impact. I would argue, that this series, and its manga, is still innovating the genre today. I've rewatched this anime something like 5 times now over the years, and I've never gotten tired of it. The reason why is because, this series which is made in a genre that is generally aimed towards children and teens, actually has a very mature story.
Hunter x Hunter (Alongside One Piece), is one of the most well-known battle Shonen out there. It innovated on Dragon Ball's idea of an innate power system, and made it actually interesting. Because unlike Dragon Ball's rather simplistic linear power scaling based on 'levels', HxH popularized the concept of having a power system with complexities and counters, where the winner of a fight is not necessarily the 'strongest', but more who can use their power the most intelligently and effectively. This is what makes Nen such a strong system. Each fight is much more than just a punching match. It ties strategy and tactics intimately into the story. Characters need to think outside the box in order to win their fights, and none of their solutions ever feel like ass-pulls either.
Madhouse also truly did wonders with the art and animation. You just almost never get long-airing weekly shows with animation quality this consistent. I don't think I can name.... any episodes which had a noticeable drop in quality. The art is within the style of the manga, and though I do prefer the more gritty color pallet of the 90s adaptation, the color design is still quite good.
The soundtrack is an absolute Masterpiece. Yoshihisa Hirano, the composer, studied in Julliard. He absolutely perfectly is able to compose in just about any genre, from rock, orchestral, classical, atonal, and even dances such as tangos. There are many references to classical works in his music. Most notably, in OST 2 there is an adaptation of Lacrimosa by Mozart. In OST 3 there is a post-tonal composition based on a theme from Holst. Probably my favorite piece from the soundtrack is the Themes of Kage and Rasetsu. They were composed for the Hunter x Hunter movies but were also included in a particular favorite scene of mine that was in the TV series.
The characters were brilliantly written. Gon and Killua are one of the greatest character foils ever written. Gon, though you may miss this on your first watch through, is partially a tragic hero. Killua, has more of a redemption arc. They influence each other though, and throughout the series it is interesting to watch. Gon is a child, and he is engaging in an adult world that he does not understand. This series depicts his coming of age, and realization that morality is often not as black and white as he originally thought. Villains are always extremely well written. There are never any villains who are stereotypically evil. It is, in some cases, arguable that the antagonists of the story are less villainous than the protagonist and the hunter association. I do enjoy that kind of moral greyness in a story, because it requires more thought while viewing.
Togashi also very much fixed issues with his previous shonen, Yu Yu Hakusho. I think one of the best examples of this would be in regards to gender representation. The characters within this series are extremely gender diverse. You see women always placed in equal roles to men, or in positions of authority in the world. Often times in the series, woman are shown to be even more capable than a man in some situations and nen battles. There is also great LGBTQ+ representation in this series. Characters like Kurapika and neferpitou who are non-binary, Alluka who is transgender, and Kalluto who is gender nonconforming.
If you were to only watch one battle shonen, this would be the one to watch. There's not a lot of good out there. This one though, it's different. There's not really any that can match. It even overtakes the other big three (Dragon Ball, One Piece, Bleach, though I haven't seen Bleach yet at the time of review).
Rating: 10/10
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