The challenges continue as Gon and the gang head for the real Exam.
What They Say:
Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika have arrived at the city where the exam will be held. They follow the captain’s advice and head for a shortcut to the exam site. On the way, they pass through a slum where a group of old ladies are waiting for them. The ladies tell them that they must pass their quiz or be disqualified from the Hunter exam.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the opening episode of Hunter x Hunter introducing us to Gon but also doing the rare but welcome piece of also bringing in two other main characters right away with Leorio and Kurapika, the show had a relaxed but fun feel about it as it set the stage for a little bit of what a Hunter is about but also showing that the trip to the island for the Exam is also a part of the Exam. And it eliminated a number of participants which is good since it gets rid of those that can’t handle the simplest of things. Amusingly, now that they’re on the island, finding the Exam location itself is also part of the Exam. And while it’s not exactly planned at first, the three end up traveling together mostly based on Gon’s intuition, which intrigues Kurapika.
Within the Exam arc of the series, it’s all about the challenges and those have a certain kind of fun to them. The first one is one that Leorio have to deal with when he at first opts to travel himself and realizes he may have chosen wrong. The more interesting one as it progresses is when the trio come across an old woman that has them answer a question to which there is no right answer, one based on circumstances. It’s an interesting little twist when you get to it and it certainly challenges the participants to thinking outside of the box, which is the real truth of these Exams overall it seems. To not go by the obvious, the expected, but rather to think for themselves and figure out what it is that will let them get past a situation.
The show does bring some action to it as well so it’s not all about mental puzzles or seemingly trick questions, and that has a good bit of fun as well as we can see some different kinds of creatures that exist in the world. Of course, going up against creatures that speak adds something to it as Gon has an affinity in general, but there’s a bit more to these creatures and the Native American vibe they and the people they’re with give off which makes them a bit more. Of course, it does all come down to a puzzle, but that’s the point of it all. To test the participants strengths and to let us see more of their real personalities.
In Summary:
Going through the motions, fun as they are, Hunter X Hunter lets us see more of the pre-exam here as the main trio we get to follow at this stage deals with a variety of challenges. What I like, beyond the characters themselves, is the way that we do get three challenges in the space of an episode rather than something that’s drawn out over multiple episodes with a challenge. It could easily go that direction but they instead are working us fairly quickly towards the main Exam while giving us an idea of who these characters are. It’s not exactly a wonky series of challenges, but it has that kind of wacky feel to it in that there’s no consistency beyond just eyeing up those who’ve made it this far and letting others decide if they’re worthy of passage. I like that it’s not quite so defined and strict and a bit more free form, which is appropriate considering what they’re really testing for.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
