Story
It starts with centering around a young boy, named Gon who sets out on a journey to find his father. Sounds simple enough, but it's the journey to get there and how it does it, is what makes HxH quite special and unusual. For starters, the battles are exciting and fascinating which reflects the rules set up by this world, and it does a great job of showing it to us. It's not as simple as he is the main character and he will win every battle without any real effort or trouble since it can affect us emotionally.
At one point, you will be glued to the screen watching this young boy hunting his prey for his own goals, and while he is doing so, You get to see and hear everything that is going through his head at the time, and it leaves you with his feeling of how dangerous this situation really is and how dire the consequences could become if he where to be detected by his prey. This is just one segment among many which are directed and told so well that you can't help but be glued to your screen watching this all unfold. However, there is more.
What makes it even more fascinating, is the fact that Gon is terrified while doing so, he is acutely aware that he could die if he were to mess this up and how his character portrays this, through his actions and emotions, is a job well done. He doesn't directly attack the enemy with a one-track mind, he strategies on how to hunt his prey. He learns all the ingredients necessary trough mother nature and other hunters he managed to catch a glimpse of doing his own thing.
A big factor in most shounen anime is power, and Gon is not someone anyone sane would want to mess with, even adults. For his age of 12 years old, he is quite strong and fast, and you would rather avoid getting on his wrong side if you know what's best for you. Though, being honest, if brute force were the only thing HxH had going for it, the popularity of it would make no sense.
We have another type of power and what makes it stand out from most of the others, is how complex and exciting it is. It's not as simple like just getting stronger, unlocking your potential, to mention some. It has its categories which reflect the user's personality and depending on where you have lived, spent your times most, all of this is important in figuring out your type and which category it falls in. Gon is one you would list under Enhancer; these types tend to be simple and straightforward in their demeanor.
This focuses on the physical aspect of the user, his life energy and how to use it to achieve stronger and higher power. However, it's not that easy, if you were to mess it up, you could put your entire life in danger. You need to know how much to put in each of your attacks, and this is not easy and puts our character's through grueling and intense training segments to make them able to control this power more efficiently and figure out how you would want to use it.
There is more to this power, but if I were to delve further into it, this entire review would mostly just be focused around that. What I can say, is that at one point, the anime had a one-hour explanation for this power which was one of the most exciting and mesmerizing dialogue I heard in my all time watching anime.
Sound
As for sound, effects, music, it nails all those parts and gives you a great list of many amazing tracks you can't help but get addicted to, at least I was. It feels spot-on and does a great job of reflecting the overall atmosphere and feel of the anime. Like, it would make sense to get bored of listening to the same opening song, over and over, but the things are you don't, and I can't describe adequately "why?". First, you might start out disliking the opening (why would you, though?), yet after a few times of listening to it, most persons would be addicted and can't stop looking. It also hits those nostalgia notes well if you are re-watching the anime. The same could also be said for the ending songs.
The effects are another thing which feels spot-on, not only is Madhouse great at using it, but also manipulating to give you the sense if a character is one assassin, you can barely hear his footsteps, when he runs you can't see sand blowing upward from the steps he takes. Action segments are no exception either, the hits or slashes among other things are done exceptionally well. Madhouse seriously outdid itself and deserved all the praise they get.
Art
The art and animation is another significant deal aspect to an anime and HxH, is one of the best and most consistent. I don't think there was even a moment when I was watching this anime; I taught it looked terrible. Notably, during the fight scenes, it seems and feels, and you can't help but be drawn toward it. It's so fluid with some of the greatest sakuga I have seen.
Also, depending on the situations, Madhouse does a great job of adapting to it, like the facial expression at severe or comedic moments. Lightning, shading and colors adjustments, determined by the mood or tone of the situations or even the arc in question.
Characters
Just having a good story or writing is not enough, for me at least. You need to love or hate the characters, and I can safely assure you that HxH does a fantastic job of executing them. They feel alive, quirky, noisy, and have a likable personality which makes it, so you don't forget them quickly or the individual's name. HxH has a massive cast of characters, and they all feel necessary to progress our main characters.
Gon at the start feels simple and straightforward, but as you move forward with the story you start to see flaws in him, I mean he is 12 years old, so it's logical. It would make sense to have some noteworthy issues which make him stand out and make him more of an exciting or annoying character, depending on which category you fall in. If he or the other character's where perfect it would be tedious to follow such a main character, wouldn't you agree?
My favorite part about HxH, though, is the villains or antagonists. You start with hating them when you learn what the hell they put one of your main characters through but when you learn more about them, and you just can't help but like them.. and suddenly, you don't want them to be killed off but be incorporated in the story somehow, to maybe get them a central role in the story because they are just that much exciting and lovable and you can't help but be drawn to their silly nature and personality.
It also features one of my favored antagonists; I started with absolutely hating him and his one-track mind nature of being the best of them all. However, he was still just new to the world, and once he learns more and starts to interact with characters, which challenged his original demeanor. I couldn't help but like him and not wishing death upon him. He is easily one of the most complex written antagonists, and I sincerely hope I can find more character's like him.
You will cry for them; you will hate them, you will love them.
The Negative
This anime deserves all the praise it gets, it's not perfect by any means, but probably close. However, just like any other series, it does come with some flaws which can make the viewer drop it or entirely skip over it. For starters, it's very slow paced and takes it's time to build up. This is not an issue for me, but it might be for other persons, and if they were to stop watching. They will be skipping one amazing anime, which I think at one point, every anime watcher should give a try, it's just that worthy for me.
During a specific huge arc, the pacing became even slower, the explanations for simple things, which could be shown through the animation and art making it more enjoyable is less visible and you get tons of unnecessary info dumping which could be skipped over or replaced with more exciting events.
This is my most significant flaw in the anime. I don't know how the manga handles this, but just in this regard, the anime did fail to satisfy me. However, this is becoming one tiny nitpick that is easily solved if you watch the anime in a binge. I am one of the persons who experience this arc in a weekly airing manner, and it was not fun to sit through 20 minutes of an episode of not seeing any real progression. Thankfully, I almost looked over this when I sat through the same arc for the second time.
Conclusion
Hunter x Hunter 2011 is one of a kind anime with some amazing and intelligent way to tell a good story, boasting some great and likable characters. Not your typical shounen or anime with some awesome strategizing events and a power that is so complex and difficult to understand but is very fun to learn about. Which totals up to my reason why this still stands strong as my favorite anime to this day and I urge everyone to give it a try, at some point in your life.