Day 12- Hunter X Hunter
So I realized a few days ago I might
have started this a day early. I think I was supposed to end this on Christmas day
itself, but really ending it a day early isn’t bad. But that doesn’t really
matter. What matters is that today I talk about one of the most important, most
touching moments in anime that has happened this past year. I mentioned before
that Space Brothers wasn’t the only long running anime that I loved to end this
year. The second one was Hunter X Hunter.
Probably my second favorite manga
of all time is Hunter X Hunter. The first is Rurouni Kenshin, but that is because
of a lot of sentimental attachment I have to the series. Hunter X Hunter was
and is this dark and beautiful story, more mature then me as a reader to even
notice at first. I was probably too young to read this series when I first started.
I didn’t catch the very adult themes in this story about kids, being forced to
grow up faster than they should have. I didn’t catch Gon’s near lust for the
fear that Hisoka provided him in the early chapters on a first reading. I didn’t
understand how tragic a figure Leoreo was at first, or how fragile a character
like Killua or Kurapika was, both characters who could fall apart at any moment
because of the suffering of their past, and barely holding it together with the
help of their friends. When I heard about the 2011 anime, I was extremely excited,
but also worried. I knew that the author was still on hiatus, and I don’t even
think he had finished the Chimera Ant arc, much less started the following
Election arc. But he did eventually finish it, and even gave us a true ending
to the manga. Then the author wrote one more chapter, starting the next arc and
didn’t write another chapter for three years. But he gave us an ending, the
ending which the anime used. That ending is one of the best things in anime I have
ever seen. The buildup, of Gon first saying goodbye to his dearest friend, both
of them now embarking on new, separate journeys for the first time since the
series began, which eventually led to Gon’s journey up this huge tree was
masterfully done. But then once he was on top of this enormous tree, look out
upon the world, his face lighting up like in the same way that it did when he
first went on this long crazy journey, was something really special. And
finally, Gon meeting his father Ging, completing the journey that he first set
out to do, really gave this series a sense of completion. The problem with a
lot of anime is that they are unable to give a true sense of completion at the
end. They have to leave the ending open in some way or form in case there is
ever a need to make a new season, make a movie, or make something that
continues the story. This problem is kind of industry wide, there are tons of
shows whose endings aren’t quite as satisfactory as I personally want them to
be, but that is a personal complaint, and an ending doesn’t have to be perfectly
complete to be a good ending. Space Brother’s ending left a lot unsaid because the
manga is still going on, but it was still a great ending. But Hunter X Hunter
went beyond my expectations, actually completing its story and fantastically
done was well. That scene, of Ging and Gon laughing and talking, with the first
opening theme playing as the sun sets around them, was one of the best scenes I
have ever seen in anime. Of course I am a little biased.
Hunter X Hunter has surpassed so
many of my expectations. The anime is near perfect, both as an adaptation of
the manga and as a story on its own. I am honestly sad to see it go, but I also
know that anything new would be flying blind, and sometimes it is better to fly
with a map. My only hope is that one day soon the manga author gets better,
starts writing the manga again, and in a few years we will have enough content
for more of this wonderful anime. And those were my 12 days of anime Christmas.
Now it is time to rest and play with family and friends. But soon, there will
be even more anime to watch, and it will be time to start next year’s shows,
and have a set of brand new moments throughout the year. But until then, I wish
you all a happy holidays, and keep on watching.
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