12-12-2011, 10:12 AM | #26 |
我が名は勇者王!
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Yu Yu Hakusho is a title I probably didn't appreciate fully. I'm quite unsure where I stand on it because of when it came out and how it came out. I found it "average" but I see it consistently rated as one of the better shounen, and upon reflection that is probably the case, if only because the standard of quality for its time (which included Ranma 1/2) was higher than the modern era shounen.
It's a more mature show than Hunter x Hunter. Frankly, Hunter x Hunter reminds me more of modern shounen than YYH did - some things are almost infantile, like Gon's weapon being a fishing pole, and how Gon doesn't kill the people he beats. This is juxtaposed with Togashi's trademark brutality, so it feels...unique. What I liked about YYH, and the original One Piece, was it took a simple idea and found new ways to apply the idea. Naruto followed this scheme also (but never Bleach) - the character has a handful of abilities, and must apply those limited abilities in new ways to beat different threats. I feel YYH probably did this best, as Yusuke was very underpowered compared with Naruto or Luffy. As this quality eroded (as it often does), the story got worse, but not as dramatically so. It didn't really start sucking until the ascended heritage came into play.
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12-12-2011, 11:00 AM | #27 |
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Not really a fan of Gon either, Doppel. But I think he's what comes with the territory of a story in which the protagonists are mostly children and real-life children are thus enabled to project themselves upon these kids and to imagine themselves taking the Hunter Exam. I know that they'd get killed. You know that they'd get killed. But they see Gon doing what he does and they think, "Hey, I could do that or something similar to that! " Some of them may already know more martial arts than Gon has demonstrated. Others may have marginal instruction in kendo or other weapons-based combat. Some may run middle school track and consider themselves speedy like Gon. Some may have been told they're quite clever by their parents and friends and feel that they could think of the clever things Gon thinks of (like how he did with the old man's right arm or with the candles). But above all else, Gon is just a happy-go-lucky kid. While few children are genuinely like this, the fact that Gon hasn't been developed in any other way besides the establishment that he's a happy-go-lucky fellow allows for a lot of role projection. He's so empty, such a shell of a character, that there's ample room for all sorts of children to plant themselves inside of him and to insert themselves into the world of Hunter x Hunter. Kids are less able to do this with Kurapica or Killua. These are characters whom ordinary children cannot project themselves onto: if Gon is the stand-in for they themselves, Kurapica and Killua represent the kinds of fascinating people the kids wish to meet someday. This is probably why, as adult readers, we like Kurapica and Killua more than we like Gon. They are much more developed as characters, something we've come to require after our many years spent as receivers of tales.
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12-12-2011, 12:05 PM | #28 |
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Given how Gon acts in later arcs, I would think it a bit disturbing to imagine myself performing the same actions in his place, child or not.
Basically, Gon's one of my favorite shounen protagonists next to Yoh from Shaman King because he's a cute, yet slightly creepy little fucker. He's so happy-go-lucky and easygoing it crosses into the realm of mania at some points. Sure, he doesnt kill his own opponents, but he has no problem being best buds with an assassin and watching him murder others in cold blood before his eyes? Hm... Makes you wonder if he's so different from Hisoka after all, considering he even got a masochistic high from being choked. Granted, Gon was always the least interesting of the cast after Killua and Kurapica, and perhaps even Leorio because he doesn't have much of a backstory and his character development was fairly static. The 2011 version is even more of an empty shell of his former self IMO, as for a protagonist he hasn't declared much presence or opinion on anything. Can't get that blank "durrrr" stare out of my head. I would've taken "ah ha ha" Gon over it any day.
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12-12-2011, 01:14 PM | #29 |
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Something I hadn't considered was Jump might have imposed this kind of character, as everyone in Jump during the late 1990's starred an "immaculate" child. That is,
1. They were generally fun-loving, energetic, carefree kids. 2. They never ever killed anyone. 3. They had silly, cartoonish attacks or antics. Re: Naruto, Gon, Luffy. Bleach's Ichigo sort of follows this formula, though there's nothing silly/carefree about him. He's completely, utterly bland, but doesn't kill anyone either. Yoh was cool/laid-back and so didn't fit this personality type, but it seems to be Jump really focused in on it. That, and OP/Naruto supposedly employed "video game mechanics" for the story logic. I don't hate Gon, but he feels...out of place, almost. That worked with One Piece, as Monkey D. Luffy looked, and acted like a delusional tourist in a world of pirates, but was paradoxically powerful enough to be recognized as a pirate. One Piece has since lost that innocent charm, as has Naruto, but if Gon can keep it up he might retain uniqueness in the modern shounen school.
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12-12-2011, 02:06 PM | #30 |
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Forgot about Luffy since I haven't seen much of One Piece beyond the horrible 4Kids dub, but you're right, I'd say he's probably the closest comparison to Gon. I think the age makes a difference though. It's a lot more alarming when a kid acts borderline-psycho than a teenager/adult, especially when no details of his upbringing so far seem to suggest there should be anything morally wrong with him. Sure, his dad left, but he was raised by a kind aunt. I kinda wonder if they'll animate a future episode that clearly demonstrates her and Gon's respect for animal - if not human - life, or if that was a filler in the original that screwed with his characterization further.
Oh ho, stumbled upon a relevant spoiler while reading Gon's wiki page... Certainly curious to see the new arc animated now.
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12-18-2011, 08:53 PM | #31 |
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Watched Episode 12 earlier today. It was an okay episode. The best part came at the end but, unfortunately, was rendered incredibly predictable because of ...
Spoiler: show But obviousness of the fun finish aside, it was an okay episode. Nothing great, but not too bad either. The sneak peek for next week's episode reveals that -- le gasp! -- Hunter x Hunter is going to be a series plagued with recap episodes and Episode 13 is our first one. The sneak peek alone contained footage from Episodes 02, 12, and stuff in between; and with absolutely no new footage aside from the titular "Letter from Gon" stuck in a postal box, it's all but certain that this episode is going to be a recap episode presented in the guise of Mito having received a letter from Gon and reading it. Couple this with the very real likelihood that the show won't even air the following week (New Year's Day weekend) and this means that HxH may not have anything new for the next 20 days. Guess we'll find out come next Saturday/Sunday.
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12-18-2011, 09:41 PM | #32 |
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Filler and recap? -_-
... Hmm, maybe I've not as perceptive as Talon (I only noticed the wall detail right before Gon stopped everyone) but otherwise I liked this episode. It wasn't fun fun fun like the others have been, maybe fun x1, but a nice watch. Malcom confirmed it is NOT filler, relative to the first series. So I guess the recap is the first real Madhouse filler we'll be getting.
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ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望 今 信じあえる あきらめない 心かさね 永遠を抱きしめて Last edited by Doppleganger; 12-18-2011 at 10:34 PM. |
12-29-2011, 10:17 PM | #33 |
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Episode 13:
Watched this last night (this morning?), dozed off to it, and finished the rest this evening. As we already knew, it was a recap episode. Nothing special. Mito-san gets a letter from Gon Freeccs [sp?] and reads it to herself and possibly a friend, Gon's grandma, or just some random old woman. lol It runs through the events of Episodes 2-12 at lightning speed and ends with Mito talking to (or think-talking to) a picture of Gon's dad that she has in her home, asking him what he thinks about the fact that his son is following in his (Gon's dad's) footsteps. Sneak peek for next week looks like it'll be an okay episode. Nothing special. But who knows. It's called "Hit x the x Target!" and appears to be about target practice, possibly involving (but not limited to) archery. Gon whips out his fishing pole at one point so I would presume that anything's fair so long as you're hitting the targets from whatever distance has been pre-determined as fair.
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01-14-2012, 03:55 PM | #34 |
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Episode 14:
Just watched. It was a good episode. It unfortunately (?) sets the stage for what seems like an epic arc. I'm very interested to see how this will play out. I say "unfortunately" because, given how epic this arc looks to be, it would seem that this arc is going to be drawn out for at least the next four weeks, possibly longer than that, which means it'll be a while before we can get closure regarding all that it possibly entails. Predictions for how it'll turn out: Spoiler: show
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01-14-2012, 08:14 PM | #35 |
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Episode 12:
I went and rewatched the end of Trick Tower in the old series myself, and yeah, I really preferred how the old version handled it. If episode 12 of the new series was overall fun x1 and the finale fun x2, the old version overall was fun x3 and the finale fun x4. Spoiler: show Episode 13: ...Not even going to bother saying anything. Episode 14: This was the most epic part of the exam, so I am definitely excited for it. Was surprised to learn that the preceding exam portion (which took place after Trick Tower) in the first series was actually a filler. Sure was a good one though, and helped lend this portion even more tension and impact. (Aw, I felt really bad on Honey's behalf during that one scene. ^^; Even though I knew what would happen afterwards.)
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01-15-2012, 12:28 AM | #36 |
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I really adored this episode. Gon's insight at the end was the kind of adventure discovery angle I like seeing in shounen manga and anime. He was looking to practice and realized something tremendous, and insidiously clever.
Observation: The lack of necessity of killing a target means a role reversal is possible even without killing. Your badge and your opponent's badge are worth 6 points, meaning even if you lose your badge to your opponent, the opponent suddenly becomes a 12 point target. There are 24 participants. A maximum of 12 will advance to the final round, and 6 if someone does the 1 point method. We know Gon and Killua, Leorio and Kurapika aren't targeting one another, but it's possible Leorio or Kurapika have to hunt Gon or Killua. I'm guessing, then, that Leorio drew Killua, and so will probably try the alternative method of offing six people. I don't necessarily think the black guy is Gon's hunter. Unless it's demonstrated, I'm not going to believe it. Conventional logic suggests Hisoka advances to the final round, but I'm hoping HxH does something surprising.
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01-15-2012, 12:34 AM | #37 | |
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Quote:
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01-15-2012, 01:37 AM | #38 |
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Hisoka is an obvious favourite and is fully capable for that. But on the flipside, only Tonpa would potentially be a less likely person to go that angle, and from an organizational standpoint, the "most likely" and "least likely" candidates for something are both "most likely". :P
HxH 15's out.
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01-15-2012, 02:42 AM | #39 |
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Episode 15:
Just watched this and ... wow. So much stuff happened in just twenty minutes. I could easily see them stretching this content out into three episodes back in the day. Major props to the writers here for giving us so much in such short order. Spoiler: show
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01-15-2012, 03:06 AM | #40 |
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I see you've gotten revenge for that Rider spoiler I dropped a while back. I was warned to not watch the previews for just that reason.
Spoiler: show
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ふたりの想いが見つけだす希望 今 信じあえる あきらめない 心かさね 永遠を抱きしめて Last edited by Doppleganger; 01-15-2012 at 09:08 PM. |
01-15-2012, 10:07 AM | #41 | |
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Quote:
Spoiler: show I really miss the filler test for this reason as well, since it fleshed out the minor characters and built up a sense of camraderie - before you witness them turn into enemies and start killing each other off. =/ But oh well. This arc is still shaping up to be very solid so far. I'm especially pleased with how they handled the tense, creepy atmosphere at the end with the red and purple color pallettes. Gives me hope for the later arcs that despite the new series' brightness, it can still pull off the coming darkness.
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01-16-2012, 03:06 AM | #42 |
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I got that impression from Tonpa. I gleaned from his comments toward the end of Trick Tower that he wanted to push forward, though it was a lot more subtle than it probably should have been.
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01-29-2012, 06:05 PM | #43 |
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So, apparently none of us posted when we watched Episode 16. Weird. Maybe Yuki and I discussed it on Skype.
Just finished Episode 17. It was good. Like 15, a lot happened in just one twenty-minute session. We saw ... Spoiler: show Sneak peek seems to suggest that next week'll be a slow one. Let's hope not. I'm hoping for an end to this round by then. On to Round 5!
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01-30-2012, 08:43 AM | #44 |
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I didn't watch last week's episode, cause of all that bad mojo. I caught up this week, and found I liked Episode 16 more than Episode 17.
First off, I think Leorio's arc shouldn't have been saved for last. I'm growing frustrated with how much Togashi is trying to hammer in Leorio as a butt monkey. Yes, I understand the guy is under-powered compared with his team mates, but you don't have to go out of the way to show him as totally useless! I mean he's supposed to be a manga doctor, meaning that bag of his should have an anti-venom...and he doesn't even know if he's got it. Way to diminish his strengths and reaffirm how dependent he is on others. Episode 16 was a tad predictable. It was obvious that Hisoka's target's button would be connected with Gon's team. I originally thought the button Kurapika and Leorio gave up would be Hisoka's, but it turned out to be Gon's hunter. Would have preferred a twist where Hisoka monologues that he killed Geretta but Geretta wasn't his target after-all. Otherwise, it was a really exciting episode, especially cool to see Gon maturing so quickly.
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01-31-2012, 03:54 PM | #45 |
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Discussed 16 with Talon in brief the other day, but I just want to amend something was I mistaken about regarding Gon's characterization in the 1999 series:
Spoiler: show Watched 17 yesterday. Dopple, I'm not sure where it was implied Leorio didn't even know what was in his medicine bag. Spoiler: show
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02-06-2012, 07:29 PM | #46 |
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Watched Episode 18. Once again, an episode in which quite a bit happens.
Spoiler: show With only six episodes until 24 or eight episodes until 26, it's looking like Phase 5 of the exam will eat up the rest of our time before we reach the next scheduling block of episodes. It'll be interesting to find out next episode what the break-down is for the tournament. Whether it'll start with three groups of three or whether it'll start with four pairs and one bye or whether it'll be something completely different, who knows. (I guess Yuki does. ) There are still four silhouettes in the group of hunters which shows up right before the OP who we still haven't met. From left to right, 1, 4, 7, and 9. We've met 2 and 3 (Phase 2's proctors), we've met 5 (the old man) and 6 (Phase 3's proctor), and we've met 8 (Phase 1's proctor). Wondering if we'll meet some of the others before the exam ends or not.
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02-06-2012, 08:09 PM | #47 | |
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Aw, the "written" exam portion was a filler too? =( They're missing out on all the classic comedy.
Oh, well. Final tournament agogo. Episode 18 is where I've first started to really take note of how inappropriate the soundtrack is. Up to now I've ignored the complaints and tried not to make comparisons, but two scenes in particular just seemed so glaringly mistimed to the music that I couldn't help but wince. Spoiler: show At both these moments, the tracks played just felt way too/prematurely triumphant for the dramatic tone of the actions/dialogue. Very distracting. For Dopple: In the 1999 series, Tonpa makes one last attempt at progressing to the final exam. After escaping his bonds, he comes across the unconscious Ponzu, and makes a move to steal Bourbon's plate. Ponzu wakes up to see him leering over her, and, well, you can probably guess what happens next. Quote:
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02-06-2012, 09:58 PM | #48 |
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I watched most of the episode last night but didn't get around to finishing it because the withdraw from HxH is really bad each week. Here we have a genuinely interesting series I want to watch a lot of, but can't. So I do self-harm like stretch a 22 minute episode to 22 hours.
Leorio's butt-monkey status is really disappointing, but I'm starting to feel that's his role in the series, meaning I'll probably be moving him away as my favourite character. I think Leorio's going to become a textbook example of a guy who would be an excellent Hunter, but wouldn't be able to get past the examination under normal circumstances. Gon's gotten some moments to shine that he otherwise wouldn't have at Leorio's expense. In particular, I liked how this episode showed Gon lacks the one major, often debilitating flaw of young shounen protagonists - naivety. Quite paradoxically, the world-worn Leorio is full of nothing but, so maybe HxH assumes naivety is an inborn trait. Gon fully duped Ponzu here, saying nothing about what he was going to do with the badges but convincing her to go along with it. I'm actually surprised Ponzu was defeated so easily. She seemed genuinely surprised that Bourbon would have anti-venom on him, considering she's a chemical weapon user too but apparently didn't think of the idea. Not only that, she didn't have any way of preventing herself from succumbing to the sleeping gas. One would think she would try to hold her breath while Gon carries everyone out of the cave.
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02-06-2012, 10:33 PM | #49 | |
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Quote:
Her surprise that a snake charmer would carry antivenom on him: Ponzu wasn't so much surprised that Bourbon might have any at all as she was surprised that Gon would risk his life on an uncertainty. If we transpose HxH characters to Kaiji, Ponzu is the character who would not have taken the leap of faith in human horseracing while Gon is one who might have. Ponzu will not risk her life on uncertainties. Gon will. But nonetheless, you're absolutely right: it was all but certain that Bourbon was going to have antivenom on him -- not only to heal himself but, as Kurapica pointed out, to also be able to heal others who his precious snakes might bite and who he wants to keep alive. Do I blame Ponzu here for her "cowardice"? Not really. I'm disappointed she didn't have the idea to use chemicals against the snakes, but I can forgive her for not risking her life to get the antivenom. Notice that Gon himself was in no shape to even be able to administer the antivenom to Leorio: he had to ask Kurapica to do it for him. How then was Ponzu to administer it to herself had she attempted what Gon did? Had she attempted it, Leorio would have found two dead bodies in the cave instead of just one. Her not having any way of preventing herself from succumbing to the effects of her own chemicals (e.g. her sleeping gas): Okay, this one is pretty ridiculous. I agree with you 100% here. She totally should have had chemicals which would neutralized the effects of all the other chemicals in her arsenal. Something which neutralizes her sleeping gas. Something which neutralizes this venom or that venom. Epinephrine to handle anaphylaxis caused by her bees. Not only to help herself out, but again for the very same reason as Bourbon: so she could administer things to people who she doesn't want to die from her attacks. The excuse could be made that, much like Leorio's briefcase, Ponzu's own portable stock of chemicals isn't a hammerspace where she's able to hold infinitely many compounds for quick retrieval. She may have had to pick and choose and decided to bring 12 attacking chemicals and 4 antidotes rather than 8 attacking and 8 matching antidotes simply because she really needed the breadth of attack options 12 would offer her over 8 and she figured that the four antidotes she was leaving at home were the four she'd least likely be in need of. An antidote to a sedative might have been one such thing she opted to leave at home. I guess. But ... I don't find the withdrawal for this show to be that bad. Are you really enjoying it that much? Well that's good! I'm sure Yuki'll be delighted to hear that. For me, HxH is a time-passer of a show. I'm enjoying it okay ... it's not bad ... but while I do feel the shounen burn each time an episode comes to an end and I'm left wanting more, that desire period passes by pretty quickly. It doesn't even compare with my longing for more Fate/Zero episodes. That was some serious withdrawal. I mean, hell: I'm still acutely wanting Season 2 now. Just not as intensely as I had been for the first two weeks after we got the season finale for S1. ^^;
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02-07-2012, 12:34 AM | #50 |
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Shounen manga has an inherent cliff-hanger quality to its chapters, I can't really explain it. It's like chopping a snake into equal pieces, when strung back together they form a seamless whole (metaphorically), compared with shoujo that is a lot more monster of the week and less overtly ongoing. All shounen adapted anime seem to possess this quality, from Yu Yu Hakusho to Dragonball Z. HxH is no different and it's lack of anything offensive or distasteful (unlike Bleach) is quite endearing.
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