Kurapika shows exactly how far he’ll go to do what he needs.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the slow but steady growth of events in the past few episodes as things started to come together, it’s definitely managed to solidify Kurapika as a character more leading the charge for this story. Which works well since he’s definitely needed it overall, though that now leaves Leorio as the most undefined of the characters when it comes to getting their own story. With Kurapika having taken control of the bodyguard group for Neon and working directly for her father now, he’s ended up in a one on one confrontation with Uvogin after he escaped and has come back for his revenge. Some people just don’t take kindly to any kind of humiliation, and even though Uvogin was willing to ignore it all if they let him go, they didn’t and that means it’s time for an ass kicking.
Which sets the majority of this episode towards their fight, something we don’t get too often overall here. Whereas the Exam phase had plenty of fighting and challenges, it shifted the characters regularly enough and across different subplots to keep it from being too singularly focused. The Heaven’s Arena had it a bit more though, but even there it wasn’t overkill for the most part. Here, we get to see Kurapika go all out on Uvogin to deal with the threat he faces while trying to get the information out of him that he wants to find what the Phantom Troupe has stolen. It works nicely in giving it some impact as the realizations start to come from Uvogin’s side and he really begins to cut loose as the brawler that he is.
With the fight dominating the episode, it does bring in some other characters with a minor flashback for Kurapika that lets him remember some of the struggles he had with mastering Nen and the chains and also some of the dangers for it as well. Though the fighting isn’t constant, there are some good internal moments from Uvogin as he struggles with the situation and trying to discern the right way out of it. There’s an almost incredulous look from him at times that’s spot on when it just comes from shear physical differences, but he’s also a man that knows there’s more to it than just that. The resignation that creeps into him as he realizes more and more of what’s happening is really well done here, almost fascinating, as we see the destruction of a man who, while confident, was honorable in his own way about it. That downfall is quite engaging to watch here.
In Summary:
Hunter x Hunter makes it all about Kurapika here and that works very, very well. It may be simplistic, but it’s here that it’s really made clear what a badass he is, but also just how far he’ll go in order to hunt down those that he made it his life mission to deal with. He’s cold, brutal and efficient here overall when you remove the dramatic pauses and the like. Comparing this to the original anime series, we’re getting something far more true here that shows just how far Kurapika will go and that definitely changes the mood of it, giving it more depth and resonance. These aren’t all bland and likable characters as there are dark sides to them and it’s used well here in the fight against Uvogin as Kurapika wants what he wants and will go the distance to get it, something we usually don’t get to see from many male leads. Definitely an engaging episode that easily merits repeat viewings to soak it all up.
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.
