Gon’s chances to get Hisoka’s badge are running out but he’s got other problems now.
What They Say:
Kurapika and Leorio are being stalked by Hisoka, but they managed to negotiate their way out of a fight. However, the encounter leaves Hisoka aroused, so he leaves in search of a new target. Gon is able to use his fishing rod to snatch Hisoka’s tag right when Hisoka attacks his target. However, as Gon tries to escape, he is attacked by another applicant and loses his tag.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The island match that sets everyone against each other has been interesting to watch so far, especially as we saw some really neat abilities in some of the members in the previous episode that lead to at least one killing, if not more off screen. We also got to see Leorio and Kurapika working together to survive this, which is a good element to have as those running the Exam don’t want it to be an every man for themselves scenario. There are many times when Hunters have to work together, so it shows the diversity of options that everyone has when choosing what to do with a challenge. For Gon though, with half his stakes riding on Hisoka, his fear is strong after seeing what just happened and the powers involved.
Hisoka himself is a whole lot of fun because of his sense of style and personality, which is vividely seen when he comes across Leorio and Kurapika together. They enter into a curious challenge where Kurapika insists that he’ll just give over the one tag that’s needed to him rather than fight, knowing that they can achieve more elsewhere than in fighting him, especially with Leorio. Having Gon watch all of this, thinking his friends would be killed, has him running out of chances to do something with Hisoka. It says a lot about Kurapika though in how he handled the situation and even Hisoka very much approves of what he does, realizing that the two he was facing has grown and changed quite a lot over just a few days. It’s the kind of encounter that shows a bit more creativity and thinking about what’s at stake and how to survive than we often get.
The focus on Hisoka is really well done here because as the Exam has worn on and his challenges grown, he’s become unhinged in a sense. More that his true nature is coming out more rather than his control as he’s getting excited by it all and that has him with a nearly deranged and unhinged look after dealing with Kurapika and Leorio. Watching how Gon handles this is beautiful though, even as he doesn’t truly realize it or understand it, but lets his own instincts take over and comes up with his last ditch plan to get the badge he needs. There are some fun twists that come with this action though as it moves on and it does a great job of exposing not only Gon’s weaknesses which are a big part of his age, but also the variety and depth to Hisoka’s personality and how he views the world.
In Summary:
As this phase of the Exam continues on, it hits some really engaging sections here and shows some variety to the applicants that are left in how they handle themselves. And while action-capability is a big part of the Exam in general that those running it want to see, they’re also watching heavily for personality and the nature of those involved as to who will make the best Hunters. And what we get here is a very good look at those personalities and approach to hunting in the literal sense. Gon and Hisoka’s story is one of my favorite things about the series and it hits some great notes here as we get a very good look at both of them with new revelations and twists. And others aren’t ignored either, which is good, as we get some good stuff out of Kurapika that says a fair bit about him This show only continues to grow and change while remaining thoroughly fun and engaging and one of the best things I watch every week.
Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
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.
