Hunter x Hunter

"Hunter x Hunter (1999)" was a fantastic adaption of this series with all the charm and warmth of 90s anime.

While limited by a continually growing source material, I enjoyed the way this adaption took its time building and introducing the characters. Those who began their journey with the manga or the 2011 adaption may have found some of the additions strange, I found them endearing and liked the subtle ways it built in more character development.

I can be prone to getting lost in nostalgia, but I just adore the filler and the way that older anime spends its time with the characters. I always find that these early adaptions, while incomplete, carry a lot of soul and it feels as if they show the amount the characters care for each other through little gestures, instead of just saying it outright.

I was very satisfied with the pace and conclusion of this adaption. I also enjoyed the design tweaks they made, which added more variety to the roster. Overall, I can't harp on how much I loved the character-driven spirit. The additional promotional material only further makes it seem as if the studio was putting their all into this. While I can't confirm whether they loved the source material, the way they treated it dripped with compassion. The animation was absolutely stunning too, despite recognizing some ways that they made it easier on themselves.

As far as the plot, I can't fully speak to how it compares, as this was my first go-around with the series. While I'm following up with the other material now, any discrepancies were minor enough that they didn't really stick out in my mind as either one being better than the other. The pacing is fine, in my opinion, with only a couple of instances that felt abrupt, and there weren't any episodes that stood out as dragging or un-enjoyable. A lot of anime has systems similar to nen, so I was familiar with what they were setting up, but I could see how others may find that a bit confusing. Though, the plot proceeds as a reasonable pace, and I'm in love with the Yorknew City Arc, especially. The spiders really steal the show as great antagonists.

I will say: the OVAs that followed saw an intense drop in quality. The spiders one landed on the okay side, because I enjoyed their characters so much, but the Greed Island OVA was a mess. Add in that neither are dubbed, and I'd recommend just taking the end of this one and jumping into 2011, rather than sitting through those. I'm a completionist, so I go out of my way to consume any related content, but if you're just looking for a straight-shot at the story, I would hazard to say you can skip the repeat arcs too.

Except anything with Chrollo, of course! Haha.