The story shifts, awkwardly, to that of Kurapika.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Hunter x Hunter gave us a pretty good couple of episodes of downtime that let us get to know more about Gon’s parental past, at least in relation to his father, Ging. Gon’s not wanting to know about his mother is a curious choice, but one that lets him stay focused on the new goal that he has firmed up now of finding his father. With the challenge laid out before him and one that Killua has definitely signed on for since it’ll be interesting and fun, it’s the impetus the two needed to finally move on from the island and get hopping to Yorknew City to meet up with the others. Getting that last bit of down time with the two friends is important, partially because of their age, but also just because we need to see them just having fun unwinding after all they did in Heaven’s Arena.
With this episode, the focus shifts away from them for a bit and lets us see what was going on elsewhere in the world. With the bit we got before about Kurapika, he’s definitely ended up in a pickle where he’s had his Hunter license stolen from him and is being challenged over getting it back. Kurapika’s journey is obviously a shortened one since we spent so much time with Gon and Killua, but it’s a pretty nice one as we see him work through the whole Nen aspect quickly in order to get what he needs back. Well, not as quick as Gon and Killua did which is pretty amusing, but Kurapika had more than enough reason to learn as much as he could since he has a date in Yorknew City with Hisoka in the future. Bringing that experience to bear definitely is helping him with what he’s dealing with in the present now.
With the jobs he’s taking to get himself immersed in the city in the present, it’s definitely interesting to get a look at what the place is like and the kind of underworld jobs he’s taking in order to get a real lay of the land. Kurapika’s arrival also gives us a look at more of the cast of characters that will be arriving as it goes on, showcasing some encounters with the police and other members of the underworld. Yorknew City is definitely given a good bit of character all of its own at this point and it hits some very fun little notes with it as it expands.
In Summary:
While there is a lot going on here, both in back story with Kurapika and in the present with him in Yorknew City, it all feels just a little disconnected in a way. There’s a lot of things going on and it all does eventually come together, but it may not click well until that moment happens. I liked seeing the abbreviated form of what Kurapika went through with his Nen training and how it landed him where he is now. And I like that he’s making some good, advance moves in the city in order to secure a position. While he is waiting for the others to get there as well, he also has his own threat to deal with based on what Hisoka had gone on about quite some time ago. The small parts of all of this I like, but as a whole it takes time to really get to where it needs to be. But once Kurapika arrives at his assignment, it takes on a really key feeling, especially where he’s assigned to find something quite important to him. Giving him an active mission is what he needed and in general we really need more Kurapika material in order to identify with him more.
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.
