[Manga] Hunter X Hunter

Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other men. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.

source: Hunter X Hunter Mangarock

About

Hunter × Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It was first published on Weekly Shounen Jump by Shueisha on March 1998 and is still ongoing despite extended hiatuses. Togashi is also known for creating the global anime-hit Yu Yu Hakusho (Ghost Fighter).

Thoughts

There is no doubt that Hunter X Hunter is probably one of the best anime there is. From its action-packed fight scenes, to its lovable cool characters, to its humor and entertainment value, Hunter X Hunter has it all for you.

The story starts off when a young boy named Gon Freecs discovers that his Father was alive and is an accomplished hunter. He then set off on a journey to find him. With no leads to where to go, Gon decided to take the Hunter License Exam to become like his father. There he met his best of friends, Killua who came from a well known family of assassins, Kurapika the last member of his clan who were massacred for their red eyes and Leorio, a simple average guy who just wants to be a doctor. Everything at this point of the story is your typical shounen plot. A group of friends helping each other in order to pass and survive a series of gruesome challenges that tests their physical, mental and survival skills. With the introduction of 'Nen' however, things start to get interesting and complex. Nen is a technique that allows a living being to use and manipulate their own life energy (known as aura).

What makes Hunter X Hunter different from other animes/manga, is that it takes a logical and realistic approach to almost everything. In HxH, there is no such thing as a sudden power-up due to a character being on the verge of dying or the main character wants to save someone so badly. No there is nothing like that. The battles tends to be more tactical and strategic which is why I like this anime.

One bad thing about HxH though (except of course for it's extended and long hiatuses) is that if you are new to the world of anime is that it would definitely confuse you. Its power system(nen) is just too complex although explained in great detail. But once you've grasped the concept of it, you'll see that's what makes HxH , Hunter X Hunter.

The manga of Hunter X Hunter however has a quite different feeling from its anime counterpart. While the anime is all fun to watch, even the whole complex system of how nen fully works is often overlooked by the shows humor and light atmostphere. The manga tends to be boring and is too tiring too read. Never have I ever seen speech text bubbles to be filled with a paragraph worth of text. To top it all off those paragraph worth of text are most of the time too complex to understand so you have no choice but to reread it all over again.

Overall, Hunter X Hunter is a fun and entertaining series if we are talking about the anime version of it. HxH is one of those typical shounen plot stories that might hook us up at first glance due to its familiarity but has a more realistic approach to things. As for it's manga, if you have no patience and don't like to read long paragraph worth of texts then I suggest you just stay away off it. With the mangakas unexpected and long hiatuses, you'll surely get pissed and dropped interest in the manga whatsoever if you are not a big fan.