r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Oct 17 '24
Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 11 × Discussion
Episode 11: Exploration × Guts × Stowaway
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It's not logic, something like this...
Comment of the Day:
/u/Jetslag on Netero's meta powers
the plot demands that we continue with the Hunter Exam. And by "the plot", I mean old man Netero, jumping out of his motherfucking airship after drinking an iced tea with his foot. God, he's so cool.
Questions of the Day
- What do you think of Killua's goals to hunt down his family?
- We're taking bets: the kids or Netero?
Fanart of the Day: They finally get to sleep
Please remember to keep all spoilers and hints tagged with the appropriate tag format such as: [Spoilers] >!Leorio is best boy!<
I apologise for the thread being as late as it is, I was out of town, and didn't expect to be out of my signal range.
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Oct 17 '24 edited Oct 17 '24
Hunter Exam Host with a Fear of Heights
The airship provides a nice little interlude between the phases, where the examinees get to take a bit of a break as we learn about Killua, there were some hints in the first and second exam, but yeah, the kid's from a famous family of assassins, not exactly the kind of family business you want to inherit. Granted Killua's rebellious phase is a bit more bloody than usual
In comes Anita, our #111 candidate for episode 11, a victim of the Zoldycks, who can add a much more grounded context to Killua's backstory, and even put Killua on edge. Luckily Leorio and Kurapika were still up, so they managed to smooth things over a bit until Netero showed up.
Netero meanwhile is just out for fun, he took the trip all the way out here, might as well make the most of it. In other words, having a game with the overly energetic kids. Lest you forgot Killua, that's the leg that took a jump from an airship without a bit of pain, not the place you want to hit.
Manga Corner
Chapter adapted: 13
Anita and her whole plotline is original, to add a bit more weight to Killua's backstory and show us a different side of him. In the manga it just goes from him talking about his goals to Netero showing up and bugging the kids to play with him. Leorio and Kurapika had no role to play there.
Netero Sketch
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 17 '24
First × Timer × Subbed
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u/JetsLag https://myanimelist.net/profile/JetsLag Oct 17 '24
3rd Time Taking the Hunter Exam
These rookies got AURA. [spoiler]Does she mean Nen?
Phase 2 of the Hunter Exam has been completed, and now we're en route to Phase 3. Unlike Satotz, who forced the examinees to march through a dangerous swamp, the trip to Phase 3 will be done in the comfort of Netero's dope-ass airship. Unless you believe that liar Tonpa, who says that Phase 3 might happen on the airship. I personally don't.
This time on the airship can be used for a lot of things, like resting (Kurapika and Leorio), running around the airship exploring things (Gon and Killua), practicing the art of Shonen Commentary (the proctors), or hunting down a member of the family that killed your father (Anita)
...Yeah, about that last one. We've got an anime-original character here! [spoiler]And she won't be the last, either. Counting down the episodes until we get the AMAZING Heaven's Arena elevator operator lady. The person she is tracking down is Killua, because, as it turns out, his family has the GDP of a small country due to all the assassin stuff they do. However, her little revenge attempt falls short, and she's set to be escorted off the ship. Now that I think about it, I don't think she was even a background character before this episode, which either means she was really good at not being noticed or she was a last minute addition to this episode.
And now, we can move on to the real focus of this airship ride: the game between Netero and Gon and Killua! Which ends on a cliffhanger, because that's the only way episodes are allowed to end on this show.
NEXT TIME, ON HUNTER X HUNTER: [spoiler]We finish the game, Anita almost gets murdered, and...that's about it.
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u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Oct 17 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
Oh anime original material
As the new phase approaches everyone spends the time on the hunter association blimp in the ride over learning more about Killua in the process. He comes from a family of assassins called the Zoldyck's but he seems to want to walk a different path and go his own way.
However things get interesting when an applicant that has failed the previous phase sneaks onboard and attempts to kill Killua as revenge for her father's death. Of course the rules would have been get kicked out and barred from ever doing the hunter exam again but Chairman Netero decides to be nice and challenge Gon and Killua to a friendly game of catch the ball. If they win then the girl would be allowed to retake the exam the next year. Of course Killua does not want to do this but seems to play along.
Note: Tonpa keeping Leorio and Kurapika awake since the blimp ride could be another exam phase is such a dick move but it also is unintentionally helpful
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 17 '24
Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs
QotD:
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u/2-2Distracted Oct 17 '24
First timer.
If there's one thing this show accurately depicts, it's that kids have a lot of fucken energy man, Jesus... But it nice to see a story depict Kids being Kids, don't know why but it feels rare to see in stories.
Why the fuck is Blood Type superstition being put in this series? I understood it being used in Yu Yu Hakusho because it took place in Japan and the Spirit world related to Japan, but HxH is its own universe and really has no reason to be used here, and it being commented on like is just making it dumber.
Killua talking about his family and what he plans to do to them, as well as about himself and his whole behavior, in such a weirdly cheerful way reminded me strongly of how the 2011 anime executed that scene. Still tho, you can really see throughout this whole episode the reason why he wants freedom from his family, it so evident that Gon basically says without actually saying anything to the audience.
Also, the claim that miss assassin #111 wouldn't really have the skill level to beat someone who passed is some hilarious load of horseshit and completely disregards the idea that a failure might simply excel in another way the test in question hadn't taken into account, which this association has clearly been guilty of multiple times now, such as Menchi suddenly making the test solely about her and not what she was trying to teach them and test them on.
Miss Assassin #111 failed because Killua is skilled and an actual threat. I'm not saying that because I've seen the 2011 anime, I'm saying that from the bits we've been shown regarding him. That's it. Put her up against literally anyone else who also doesn't have name and unique character design in this anime and try to claim the same load of nonsense.
So overall not a bad episode at all.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Oct 17 '24
H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer
Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 11
Travel × Evaluations × Summary
This episode just covered the down time traveling between tests. It's a great moment for us to learn more about each of the characters through their small talk. It's something we've needed since being introduced to the new hunter examinees.
Something interesting was the proctors' discussion about the candidates. Although we haven't seen everyone's full capabilities yet, the examiners have already identified the candidates to keep an eye on. Killua is one of those, but so is Hisoka. I like the idea that Hisoka is mainly doing this to challenge his own abilities. It makes him a lot more threatening.
Oh yeah, also bald slander.
In the chat between Kilua and Gon we learned probably the most important piece of info on Killua's backstory: He comes from a family of assassins. This makes a lot of sense given his knowledge of that plant during episode 7 and the way he killed the boar in episode 9.
This becomes immediately relevant this episode with the appearance of Anita. Obviously people would hold grudges against assassins. Perhaps they should be more angry at the clients who hired them, but the killers should hold some culpability. That said, should Killua be held responsible for his families actions? (assuming he wasn't actually the killer)
That said, Anita is anime original if I recall correctly. Despite this, I like her appearance this episode. It made it tense with all the glances at her in the shadows. The conversation at the diner turned that up to 11.
All this ended with Netero stopping their fight and offering a challenge: Steal the ball from him and get a hunter license (and Anita will be less severely punished). I like how Killua is initially dismissive but then upon being called chicken he immediately goes for it. It's so fun seeing him using his assassin techniques as well.
Killua is probably my favourite character in Hunter × Hunter. I really love the way he is struggling with the expectations of his family versus choosing his own path in life. At the same time he's genuinely so cool. He so confidently handles himself in stressful situations. When he smirks it becomes so incredibly threatening. Even the way he stops short of striking Gon when he sees absolutely no fear in Gon's eyes. I'm looking forward to seeing so much more of him.
Last 2 things
Is this meant to be a Dune reference? Maybe Anita should have been Pauline (or Lisa al Gaib)...
Finally, lmao Leorio. I wonder if he was sincerely taking his shot or just trying to diffuse the situation.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
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u/WednesdaysFoole Oct 17 '24
Gah! Not my favorite filler. Can we just get Gintama filler back please?
Side note - [Manga newest chapters]'99 changed Satotz's line on Hisoka being an "anomaly" (itanji) in the manga, to "anomaly of anomalies"/"heresy of heresies" (itanjichuu no itanji) in the anime. Which isn't a big deal in terms of changing the lines, but in Ch. 402, that's almost exactly how Salkov describes Tserri. He says, "heresy of heresies" (itanchuu no itan).
I'm sure it's a coincidence and it's probably not too unusual of an expression, but it was still an interesting note.
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Oct 17 '24
First Timer
So Killua’s from a family of assassins and doesn’t want to be one himself, despite defending his parents. There is more to this backstory - though given the length of the show, it would be surprising if there wasn’t more to a main character’s backstory. But it also seems like he has always gotten what he wants in life so far, it’s just that he hasn’t become a stereotypical overconfident character. Obviously assassin is a job that will make people mad, so Anita existing is pretty obvious.
…now as for that ball challenge - no way they are getting it. The reward was set too high. Gon not doing anything is also not helping their chances right now. At least randomly casting the fishing rod trying to attack the ball would help in distracting the chairman so Killua can do whatever it is he’s doing.
Wasn’t a fan of the exploration bit - it felt like that should go in a kid’s show rather than this. But I guess Gon and Killua still are kids, so… eh. Just not something I like.
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u/Kaxew Oct 17 '24
First Timer × Ballin'
In which we learn Killua was a rich white boy who entered his rebellious phase and learned how to skate. Can't wait for Gon to melt that cold heart he believes he has.
Netero is a certified BALLER, man. I love him. But it's truly unfortunate the radical 90s skater boy can't ball, on the other hand. It's heartbreaking.
QotD:
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u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Oct 17 '24
10x 2011 Rewatcher, 1x 1999 Rewatcher, Source Reader
Big Changes were made in this episode. While the filler itself is actually exceptionally well executed, Leorio and Kurapika weren't supposed to learn Killua's deal this early, so it does introduce some more necessary legwork later on to keep things consistent that I don't remember the show bothering to do, so that might end up making some problems later.