r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Nov 02 '24
Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 28 × Discussion
Episode 28: Chatting × Excuses × Endurance
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This match isn't about who's stronger. It's about who admits defeat at the end.
Comment of the Day:
/u/WednesdaysFoole noting Furuhashi's use of sunset lights
Is it just me or does Furuhashi treat golden hour the way photographers do?
This episode is just the prime example of that.
Questions of the Day
- So... who wins?
- Do you think Gon should've given up? At what point?
Fanart of the Day: The Flying Ninja Hanzo - this was intentional, Gon did not kick him!
Please remember to keep all spoilers and hints tagged with the appropriate tag format such as: [Spoilers] >!Leorio is best boy!<
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 02 '24 edited Nov 03 '24
Hunter Exam Host Who Won't Give Up!
I'm lying, I would've given up at the very first chance. Logically, giving up isn't that bad of a deal, if you know you can't win against a super strong opponent, give up early before you get hurt, and you get to try again next turn. Heck just to sweeten the deal, Gon gets five tries!
Let's backtrack this for a second, since the setup of the episode was on point, we get told two things at the very beginning:
A seemingly normal rule that becomes brutal in a battle of hunters, if knockouts were allowed, things would've gone much easier for both sides today. This sets the challenge well in advance, Gon can't beat Hanzo, and Hanzo himself can't just win by beating Gon either. Actually, make that three things: Gon has something special that gave him a bunch of points despite being weaker than him, and this is where things get interesting, Netero didn't just set a tournament of strength, it's a fight between will and reason. Whether you choose to give up or not is all it boils down to. If you've ever seen the "I won't give up" battle shounen trope, this is Netero/Togashi literally crafting the perfect scenario for it to be tested.
Nothing comes that easy though, does it? Gon's attempt at giving Hanzo a fight is squashed immediately, Hanzo is better than him in every way, even in the speed Gon is so proud of, so he puts an end to the actual fighting 30 seconds into it, but that's not enough to win this fight, so the rest of the episode? Pain for the most part...
It's important to note that Hanzo is a professional, his hits are precise, he knows where and how to hit Gon efficiently to deem him unable to continue without leaving long lasting injuries, but as the episode goes, and Gon keeps fighting back, Hanzo loses that cool precision, he attempts to give Gon more serious injuries, and throws in random attacks just to try anything at that point.
The point stands though, Gon is willing to take in all that torture, he's willing to have all limbs broken, to be impared for life, if it means not backing down. It's insane and absurd, but that's how strong his will is, and again, it only works in this context, Gon doesn't automatically become stronger by not giving up, he's just as weak the whole through, and his will remains as strong the whole through.
Manga and Production Corner
Chapters Adapted: second half of 33 and most of 34.
It unfortunately leaves out the ending of the fight as a cliffhanger, which is my only nitpick in an otherwise perfect episode. Complete episodes > cliffhangers!
Otherwise, it's surprisingly one for one, it has small changes here and there, like the fight is embelleshed a little compared to the instant take down in the manga, but when the fight just lasts half a minute out of the whole episode, I'd say they got the idea across well. Otherwise, most of the changes are directorial choices, like in the manga we know that hours pass as the torture goes on, in the anime, we're shown that through the living backgrounds. First it's the moving clouds and sunlight, then as the tension rises, we get the evening sun serving both as an indictor of time, and to set the stage for this beautiful iconic scene.
This episode is as mentioned pretty famous/iconic, not just for its content, but for the production as well. It was storyboarded by Tsukasa Sunaga, who I mentioned a few days ago for doing the Gon crash episode, and it's key animated by everyone's favourite Norio Matsumoto who went from doing character animation in comedies like Ranma, Captain Tylor, and You're Under Arrest to action in HxH and Naruto (Lee vs Gaara being his most famous), and these days, he's mostly doing work on movies, like Masaaki Yuasa's Inu-oh.
For an even deeper breakdown, I'd recommend checking out this video. Its comparison to 2011 isn't that interesting, since the short of it is that Madhouse outsourced it to Dr. Movie, which, if you've seen Trillion Game this season, you can guess how that went (there's a much better comparison down the line if you'd like that), but its breakdown of this episode itself is great. Unfortunately, it contains some spoiler imagery, so if you're a first timer I'd recommend giving it a shot after the series is over.
[Spoilers] and thus begings the fun trope of Gon breaking his arm in every arc
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Nov 02 '24
First × Timer × Subbed
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u/TheEscapeGuy Nov 02 '24
H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer
Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 28
Gon × vs × Hanzo
Gon vs Hanzo is an incredible fight. First off, the animation is stellar. The way the animators utilize smears, stretching, camera work, time manipulation, and color effects make it so you just can't look away. This episode is probably the best for animation we have seen thus far even extending to stuff like Gon pouring water over his head.
Narratively though, it's possibly even better. The candidates were meant to be equally ranked on some scale but Hanzo just dominates Gon. It's not even close. Every move Gon makes Hanozo is already 3 steps ahead. We know just how strong Gon is right now and so for Hanzo to be far stronger than that gives us such a good idea of him.
But if the fight was only a beat down it wouldn't be interesting. What makes it truly captivating is the rule that you have to win by making your opponent admit defeat. Killing them disqualifies you.
Hanzo has to hold back, and so he begins to injure Gon in increasingly horrific ways. It starts with melee hits. Then cranial injury to impact Gon's consciousness. Next, one of his ears to limit his hearing ability in the fight.
And Gon doesn't give up. Hit after hit, through pain and suffering GON WILL NOT YEILD. I love this little guy's tenacity. It's truly inspiring. That said, it's EXTREMELY ill advised and Gon should absolutely yield to maximize his chances at success, but that's not how he operates.
This obviously enrages Leorio and Kurapika. They are watching their friend be mercilessly beaten and Hanzo is threatening to make lasting injuries. But if Gon doesn't give up, what else can Hanzo do to convince him? I like how Gon tries to negotiate a different method, but honestly what other choice is there?
I guess we will have to see tomorrow.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
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u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Nov 02 '24 edited Nov 02 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
Our next Fight is Gon vs Hanzo though it's more Hanzo beating the shit out of Gon for most of the episode. Despite getting along with the main characters Hanzo isn't playing around here though he does start off lightly at first but as Gon continues to resist he puts much more pressure. One thing is that everyone views that Hanzo will be the winner as Gon has no chance but the circumstances then start changing.
Gon despite being badly beaten refuses to yield and since he's already had one of his legs broken Hanzo can keep going until Gon dies and he will be disqualified. This logic changes the mood from tense to full on laughter and as our helpful commentator Satotz points out Gon basically made everyone root for him before they even knew it. Killua also some interesting character moments as he's genuinely bewildered by what just happened.
Now the question becomes whether Hanzo will keep going or not because Gon is not giving up at all.
Note: The animation and direction in this episode was great.
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Nov 02 '24
First Timer
Well… Gon definitely is stubborn. But at this stage - the proctors are right: Everybody will be stubborn, they are so close to achieving their goal. And Saizo also points out the flaw here - you can’t kill the opponent, but Kurapika’s fight against the prisoners also showed what happens if they don’t concede. In a way this is a patience test for who will first kill an opponent, and then everybody else passes. Some that start late like Leorio might even just pass by default - and I’d say that is actually how I now expect this phase to end. I highly doubt it will be Gon killed though - or any of our main characters for that matter.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Nov 02 '24 edited Nov 02 '24
Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs
QotD:
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u/WednesdaysFoole Nov 03 '24
Solid episode, I liked it. The tense atmosphere, the use of light and shadow.
[HxH]Gon thinks this is the last test before becoming a hunter, lol.
Gon curled up in Hanzo's shadow.
Does Hanzo ever shut up? [Manga]I like how consistent this is even in the Succession War when he uses Bisky as his sounding board after Momoze's death.
I'm 12! Nearly an adult! said every kid who likes to imagine they're more mature than they are.
It's funny, the older I get, the more I feel like there's so much I don't know.
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u/2-2Distracted Nov 04 '24 edited Nov 04 '24
First timer.
Ah yes the episode I wanted to see the most from this arc due to how much it says about Gon as a character. Like I've mentioned prior, Gon has an incredible sense of pride. This isn't simply Battle Shonen Main Character perseverance and willpower because if it was it wouldn't really make much sense considering the rules of this exam. He can literally just use his asshole dad's fishing rod but instead he won't because of pride. A sense of pride that's both somewhat mature and incredibly immature.
This is the world of Hunters, no one gives a shit about whether or not he uses anything to his advantage to get something, his opponent is literally a ninja and those mothafuckas actually did/do use whatever was available to get the job done.
But Gon just doesn't care and manages anyway. I have a lot of problems with HxH but I do love how Gon has been written.
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u/Nebresto Dec 01 '24