Getting trapped by the Phantom Troupe, Gon and Killua find the stakes rising fast.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With Killua and Gon having been brought before the Phantom Troupe, the danger has certainly increased, though there’s a sliver of hope since Hisoka is there. There’s a cute bit of recovery at first since Killua tries to play their relation to Hisoka cool and that leads them to a bit of dialogue about Shizuku, the girl that Gon had arm-wrestled before. It actually gives us a bit of an idea of how her mind works which is definitely interesting, but it also leads the others to be impressed that he beat her even a little bit. And that gets Gon to arm-wrestle with one of them so many times that it just turns harsh and bloody for Gon. There’s a deeper reason for this match though as they’re trying to get information on this mysterious chain user that took down Ugovin.
The tension is well played as things go on here but also because it shows the way the Phantom Troupe operates since there are no fights allowed between members. This lets things be resolved in other manners that lets them avoid anything that could be problematic later on, which is useful for this kind of loose group with varied goals. A bit of luck enters into it too when it comes to how they get out of the initial round of troubles, but it opens them up to some other troubles as Killua realizes one of the members has the ability to read memories that are along the surface. Amusingly, the way the discussion turns has Killua on edge because of this since he’s realized who it is they’re after but also because they’re being recommended to join the Phantom Troupe.
The tension for the episode does ramp up along the way because of all of this as Killua gets a better and better idea of what they’re trapped in. Gon is kind of oblivious to part of it, but there’s a growing push on Killua’s part for them to get away, or at least let Gon get away, before the boss returns and things turn even more serious. This gives us a rather fun little locked room segment with one of the Troupe watching them that’s rather friendly in his own way. He knows the kids are solid at what they do, but not a real threat. And he’ll easily put them down as well should the need arise. It’s kind of a comical escape plan that goes into effect since the pair do realize they were being rather stupid in a way for so long about it but they have a real sense of fun about it.
In Summary:
With a bit more expansion on the Phantom Troupe here and its members as well as how the organization works in a few ways, Hunter x Hunter fleshes things out well here. It’s pretty serious for the majority of it as it deals with the situation Gon and Killua have landed themselves in but it ends with a certain lightness that is wholly Gon when you get down to it. What we do get from all of this though is a better understanding of how this group works and that will make things a bit easier for these two when they end up meeting up again, which is pretty much a given with the way events are moving forward. I do wish in a way that they had worked from the inside of the Troupe for a bit since that would have been an interesting approach to take.
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.
