Reviews

4 of 5 stars

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The majority game inside the tower was what really made me take HxH seriously. I mean, it was fun from the beginning but seeing the majority game made me realized that there was really a potential to this story. The different ways our main characters fight their battles against the prisoners were so entertaining and unexpected.

Tonpa's fight was really not a fight at all since he surrendered even before his opponent landed an attack. The fight only took literally a second. It was annoyingly hilarious until Killua explained that it was for the better to save time. He actually has a point because Tonpa obviously didn't stood a chance against his opponent with the fight to the death.

Gon's candle fight was simple yet amusing. It was already established how simple-minded he was, a little too naive. Gon could only win if he can make the candle's fire lasts. When he was instructed to choose between a short candle and a long one, certainly a lot of people would doubt about the candles' real status. Was it a trap? Were the candles normal or rigged? The group then let Gon make the decision of choosing the candle and it was ridiculous on how he made his choice. He chose the long candle because it was longer and so can last longer than the short one. He didn't even stop for a minute to think carefully. You see how simple-minded he was? It was funny and frustrating at the same time. But it was one of his charms, I can tell you. But the thing was, he can also be witty when he was pushed in a critical situation. As expected, his choice of candle was rigged and therefore the heat of the fire increased rapidly. But he didn't let his opponent's deception discouraged him. He still managed to backfire the situation to his opponent. As his fire got stronger, though the candle would have melted in just minutes, it would also be difficult to kill it with a little breeze. And so his cleverness appeared. Oh I loved how adorable he was after winning!

Then came Kurapika! It was so cool how calm he was despite having a 'beast' as an opponent. His opponent tried to intimidate Kurapika with his appearance but really, he was just a big fraud! Little did he knew, it was a mistake for him to pose as a member of the Phantom Troupe, a group of bandits who killed Kurapika's whole clan, thinking it would scare him. It was actually the end of him! Though Kurapika knew his opponent's lies, it was still enraging for him. He made his opponent unconscious with just a few punches. But because his fight is to death, unless one of them surrenders, it was still not his win. And with that, he refused to fight and kill an unconscious man, though it became a waste of time since he decided to wait for his opponent to regain consciousness and they can't proceed to the next fight.

I loved how they bet if Kurapika's opponent was still alive, or if he's really unconscious or not. It can determine Kurapika's win, but can also be a threat to their remaining time. Though I loved that betting part where Leorio threatened to let the man fall to his death if he still insist on being unconscious, I liked Leorio's actual betting game the least. It was a bit inconsiderate of him not to think about the game as a whole and let his opponent defeat him just like that. I mean, it pissed me a bit but I can see how necessary it was to the flow of the story.

But among the fights, Killua's fight was my favorite. Along with Tonpa, it was a quick fight, but damn! I actually don't know if I can consider it a fight at all since it was so quick and one-sided. To think that an infamous murderer, an extremely large man, killed hundreds of people with his strong bare hands as a tool for murder, fighting against a twelve-year old kid! But just a quick swipe and bam! His heart was literally stolen from him. It was so damn cool and unsettling at the same time. I prefer the anime version where Killua returned the heart after the man died than the manga version where he squeezed it. It was so shocking and dope it was one of my favorite Killua moments! That was where I decided that I loved Killua.

And then Gon's occasional wit appeared once more. The last part where the group needed to choose between two doors where (1) all five of them can enter but it was a long and difficult way, where it can last atleast 45 hours (which was impossible since they only have less than an hour remaining) or (2) a short and easy way where it would only take 3 minutes, but only three people can enter. Gon actually saved the group because of his observational skill, which I think his strongest point.

The first part of the hunting phase in the island also started. It was the most thrilling part of the Hunter Exam in the anime for me. Gon started to hunt for Hisoka's number badge and it wouldn't be easy for him, since Hisoka is not a very easy opponent. Another round for Tonpa and Leorio's fight also took place in the island. It was a very frustrating moment for Leorio and thanks to Kurapika, he managed to get his badge back from Tonpa's ally. Like seriously, Leorio's the oldest among the main characters but he acted like he was not. We also got a glimpse of the real face of Hisoka's ally.

It would only get exciting from here!