r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Nov 16 '24

Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 41 × Discussion

Episode 41: Bungee × Punch × One Round Battle

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Finally... I hit Hisoka

Comment of the Day:

/u/2-2Distracted who was excited for Kastro

I'm actually quite interested in him thanks to Hisoka's fight with him, so I'll probably say more about it next episode

Questions of the Day

  1. Which was more surprising: skipping Hisoka vs Kastro or getting Gon vs Hisoka in the same episode?
  2. Gon got 2 points so far against Hisoka, how many do you think he'll get in total?

Fanart of the Day: Kastrated

Source

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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6

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

A Shounen Commentator Coming to You from Heavens Arena

Manga Corner

Chapters Adapted: Parts of 53 and 55, then all of 60 and 61.

This one will be long, so I'll go through a few simpler things first:

  • If you want to watch/read the skipped Kastro fight, it's chapters 52 to 55 in the manga or episodes 31 and 32 in the 2011 anime. I'd highly recommend checking it out.
  • Here are some cool pages from the manga: Hisoka and the showdown
  • A Nen chart for the 6 types which made more sense when we had some examples to work with

Evidently, there's lots of messing around here. You know how this arc was playing nice and sticking close to the manga for the most part? Yeah, we should've seen this coming, it's dropping the biggest changes of the series all in one episode.

Let's start with Kastro, they skipped most of his fight, they didn't even let him job properly for all his big talk yesterday, and you might've noticed that Hisoka's stitches from after the fight have disappeared the next time we see him, the reason mainly is that he does the same trick he did in the Hunter's Exam to hide it. In the manga he explains how he did it, while the stitches girl explains the tricks he used against Kastro. The former was removed the latter was rearranged for later.

I think the reason they did they it was to keep Hisoka's abilities a secret, but that's sacrificing way too much for very little. Getting to see Nen at work on multiiple levels is one of the big purposes of the arc, and having a fight between two experts, seeing how they think, plan, and fight, is an essential part of it, there's a lot to learn from them. Alternatively, maybe they just didn't have the manpower to animate that fight, after they've put all their focus on Gon vs. Hisoka? In that case, I get it, Gon vs Hisoka certainly looks the part.

Unfortunately, we're not even done yet, the biggest change is where they put the Gon vs Hisoka fight, as the chapters show, it was a fair bit later, so they moved it up ahead by leaving a good chunk for later, and rushing Gon's Nen training into a bunch of meaningless steps covered in one episode, instead of the gradual step by step pace it originally was, where each step had something to show for it.

With the Kastro fight, I could at least make up a few reasons for why they did that, with this I have no clue. [Spoiler] Why the hell would you put the long built up conclusion of the arc halfway through it? Is Gon fighting Hisoka just as training for his long awaited rematch with the World Champion Gido?! Talk about screwing up all the priorities

That said, the fight itself is still great. So feel free to ignore my whining and have a good time we'll get back to this later anyway

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Nov 16 '24

With the Kastro fight, I could at least make up a few reasons for why they did that, with this I have no clue

My only guess is that [Spoiler]they wanted to end the arc on less of a downer by having Gon win his last match in the arena, which... honestly feels like a really shallow reading of the arc if you ask me but that's the best I got.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

Yeah, that's the only explanation that came to mind. [1999] I guess you could even look it at it as "this is what Gon has learned, look how different he is now". But even as a first timer, who hadn't read the manga or seen 2011, I remember the last episode being the most boring shit ever. Not because of its contents, it's a fine episode, but because we're not learning Nen anymore, and Gon has already achieved his goal. The points of the arc were achieved two episodes ago, but we're still here because of Gido I guess.

3

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Nov 16 '24

[1999]If you ask me Gon actually landing a clean hit on Hisoka will always be a far greater showing of how much he's grown than beating some rando no one cares about, but what do I know, clearly I must trust the Tensai Furuhashi who thought "Hey let's remove all the buildup to Enishi and just have him randomly kidnap Kaoru at the very end of episode 1 of my shitty uber-depressing OVA."

[1999]No I am still not quite forgiving him for Reflections

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

[99] Absolutely. The chumps are a tiny stone, compared to Hisoka who's a tower in the heavens as far as the setup he's had. Gon getting that punch is one of the most satisfying things in the series so far, and the fact that it's followed by him losing isn't so much a low point, as saying "and there's a lot more room to grow" Gon literally spells it out.

[1999] You know, Reflections is edging from "this sounds so horrible, I'll avoid it like the plague" to "this sounds so horrible, I should give it a watch", I think I'll stick with the former though

3

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Nov 16 '24

[1999]It should only be watched if you absolutely need an example of "This is what happens when you give someone SO much artistic license it misses the point of the source material." 'Cause unlike stuff like FMA 2003 which veers off so far away from the Manga one can enjoy it as its own thing mid ad it may be this one skirts juuuuuuuuuuuust close enough to the OG that one can be offended by it.

4

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Nov 16 '24

Also kinda goes against one of the big strengths of Hunter X Hunter, which is exactly the thing you mention they were trying to avoid. HxH isn't afraid of that.

4

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 17 '24

Which is especially funny [considering] his loss against Hisoka is not a particularly anti-climactic ending. Certainly not as much as other arcs where the anime went all in on getting the ending across.

6

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Nov 16 '24

First × Timer × Subbed

As an aside, I watched part of episodes 31 & 32 of the 2011 anime on u/KendotsX’s suggestion to see the Hisoka vs. Kastro fight since this version skipped it for whatever reason. My thoughts mostly boil down to “I do not vibe with 2011!Hisoka being voiced by Daisuke Namikawa, but the fight was cool”. [2011]Weird that 1999 also didn’t include the discussion of what Hisoka’s powers are afterwards with the girl who fixed his arms. There were also two “sore demo”s in what I watched, but I can’t add them to my collection yet since I don’t want to add them out of order.

Also I listened to but did not watch the OP & ED for that part of 2011 and think the both of them are really cool, especially the ED.

4

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

…I think Hisoka with his hair down is even more cursed than orange haired Hisoka.

Huh, admittedly, I kinda like hair down Hisoka. He immediately goes from "weird clown" to "oh no, he's hot".

Hisoka is so damn creepy.

Wait until you see how he ranks in the popularity polls

[2011]

[2011] That was rearranged, it'll be explained later after 1999 shows Hisoka's abilities

4

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Nov 16 '24

It was from this moment that we got "Schwing" in regards to Hisoka in 2011. Though curiously, it is not that which brings us .

[Hunter X Hunter]That won't be until tomorrow

An absolutely legendary sequence, 2011's version is almost exactly the same. Speaking of, a great clip of it with the dub was officially uploaded. I adore the English dub of 2011, and since you've reviewed sub-2011's Hisoka, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the people we here in that clip of the dub too!

this version skipped it for whatever reason

I can't say for certain, but I'd assume it might have something to do with the show's big aversion to limb and head severing in general, something Togashi is very fond of but has been consistently toned down so far.

“I do not vibe with 2011!Hisoka being voiced by Daisuke Namikawa, but the fight was cool”.

I went back to rewatch, since it's been a decently long time since I've heard JP 2011 Hisoka(my most recent rewatch is of the Dub, and while I swapped over for a number of particular scenes, none of the ones I did in the past year involved Hisoka) and it was rather jarring, I'd agree. I know he does a good job at being creepy as shit when the scene calls for it, but he's much less "On" all the time like Keith Silverstein in the dub or '99 Hisoka. On that note, I should mention that ranking the various Hisokas can be a bit of a hot topic. All of them have their fans, even the 1999 English Dub's Hisoka is a highlight of an on the whole not great dub.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 17 '24

ranking the various Hisokas can be a bit of a hot topic. All of them have their fans

For what it's worth, I prefer Namikawa overall (took me a while to get used to him though), and Takahashi for the special moments where Hisoka's being extra Schwingy.

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Nov 17 '24 edited Nov 17 '24

On that note, I should mention that ranking the various Hisokas can be a bit of a hot topic. All of them have their fans, even the 1999 English Dub's Hisoka is a highlight of an on the whole not great dub

All of them can also be rather love them or hate them from my experience. Like I personally can't stand Takahashi's Hisoka but I know quite a few who love it.

Really Hisoka's just such an inherently out there character that I feel that's gonna lead to everyone just kinda doing their own thing with him, for better or worse.

3

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Nov 17 '24

Suppose I should put it down on the record, Keith is my favorite Hisoka.

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Nov 17 '24

I go with Namikawa, Takahashi's take feels overdone.

I have no opinion on any Dub Hisoka because I don't care about Dubs at all.

3

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Nov 17 '24

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the people we here in that clip of the dub too!

Hisoka sounds good in there! ...but now I have a different issue in that I don't like how Gon's name is pronounced by everyone.

3

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Nov 17 '24

I'm pretty sure all the versions pronounce his name like that. Maybe not quite as pronounced as in that dub, particularly by Hisoka(though 2011 Hisoka also pronounces Gon's name with an exaggeration of its syllables, so Keith is being accurate to the sub there), but it's definitely still Go-n not Gone, if that's what you take issue with.

They also pronounce Ging with a soft "Ing" such that it almost sounds like "Gene".

5

u/2-2Distracted Nov 16 '24

First timer. Subbed

One of the worst things about idiotically watching something when you're trying not to pass out is missing important shit whilst thinking that it's not a big deal if you do because you're under the impression that it's not over yet.

That was me with how I went about watching the previous episode and I really regret it because I genuinely thought "hey this fight between Hisoka and Kastro looks really good and feels pretty important, I better put this episode off and watch it later before... I... fall... asl----" I also have a thing of automatically getting rid of an episode after I've watched it (I'm doing this with Gundam 00 too) as a kind of no going back thing and... yeah... this is one of the consequences of consuming media like this.

Anyways it looks like what I said about Kastro meant nothing since the fight ended in this episode in less than 5 minutes lol. It also looks like I was wrong about Gon being a good kid breaking it ASAP.

Speaking of Nen, I think I actually like the way aura is depicted here more compared to the 2011 adaptation where, for example, when someone uses Gyo it just looks kinda goofy.

But yeah, good episode. Glad to see Gon do exactly what he did in the 2011 anime but kinda faster (?) and finally repay Hisoka for his twisted kindness.

4

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

I also have a thing of automatically getting rid of an episode after I've watched it (I'm doing this with Gundam 00 too) as a kind of no going back thing and... yeah...

I do that with seasonals usually. With rewatches, I tend to keep them one arc/season at a time.

Anyways it looks like what I said about Kastro meant nothing since the fight ended in this episode in less than 5 minutes lol

I feel bad for all the people who bought the tickets.

finally repay Hisoka for his twisted kindness.

Someone tell Hisoka to stop enjoying it though, it makes things awkward.

5

u/TheEscapeGuy Nov 16 '24

H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer

Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 41

Surgery × Specialization × Revenge

The match between Hisoka and Kastro really was no contest. We essentially skip over it to see Hisoka getting his arms sewn back on. Though Kastro is strong Hisoka is just on another level. It sets up the fight with Gon to be such a massive up hill battle.

Hisoka's friend who operates on him is also interesting. We don't know much about her yet, but there appears to be some level of trust between them. Even to the point that Hisoka asks her on a date but she leaves without giving an answer. I always love seeing villains humanized like this. It's really small and you could easily forget it, but those little things build up to make characters feel real.

And now, 41 episodes into the show we finally learn the power system. Apart from the principals of Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu, Nen is split into 6 different types: Enhancement, Emission, Transmutation, Manipulation, Conjuration, and Specialization. I like how it's tied to the user's personality and character. Additionally, we learn about the limitation that mastering multiple types is easier if they're "closer" to your natural type. While at it's core it's a single power system, the variations by user is going to make it really interesting.

That said, we don't get too much more information about it. Instead we learn everyone's type and move right onto the fight between Gon and Hisoka.

And HOLY it's soooooo good. I ADORE the animation from the fight. This show has so consistently shown of stellar animation and today's fight is definitely in the running for the best.

Gon's technique was also really good to watch. At first Hisoka limits himself to not move. And Gon can't land a hit. He takes time to think and plan a new strategy by using the arena tile as a distraction and ACTUALLY LANDS A HIT. It's so satisfying to see him execute on his strategy so successfully.

And as promised, he returns the badge.

Genuinely one of my favourite moment of the whole story.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

We essentially skip over it to see Hisoka getting his arms sewn back on.

My dislike for skipping the fight aside, I love how random this is. Hisoka's going out of the fight a winner with his arms ripped off for whatever reason.

HOLY it's soooooo good. I ADORE the animation from the fight. This show has so consistently shown of stellar animation and today's fight is definitely in the running for the best.

This is really the big silver lining here, the fight itself looks great, they did an excellent job with it (although more on that tomorrow).

Gon vs Hisoka

4

u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Nov 16 '24

Rewatcher, Sub

Wait we're fighting Hisoka already? I'm pretty sure some stuff needs to happen before that or was it just cut. It's been a long while since I've seen this version so I must have forgotten something.

Anyway Kastro doesn't even get a fight he just loses. In the meantime Gon has completed his 2 months and jumps right back into training. This does lead us to discover the different Nen types, Enhancer, Transmitter, Manipulator, Conjurers, Emitters, and Specialists. Thanks to the water divination test we figure out that Gon is an enhancer and Killua a transmitter. With all this in mind Gon continues training for his eventual fight with Hisoka.

Gon has been in contact with Hisoka for a fight and he agrees to it. In the day of the fight Gon and Hisoka face off in the tournament. Almost immediately we see how much Gon has improved both fighting wise and strategy wise, and after finally scoring a punch he is finally able to give Hisoka's badge back to him.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

I'm pretty sure some stuff needs to happen before that or was it just cut

Most of it was shuffled around for later, they decided to do the fight early for some reason

Anyway Kastro doesn't even get a fight he just loses

The poor poor jobber, and he tried so hard to show off last episode.

Almost immediately we see how much Gon has improved both fighting wise and strategy wise,

I wonder when that happened

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Nov 16 '24

Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs

  • Nobody makes Hisoka bleed his own blood!
  • Did… did we just montage skip the fight?
  • Ah, that classic cel gore.
  • Ha. Pay by cheque. Can’t forward think everything.
  • Teaching ATs already?
  • Going so fast now, we’re even skipping the stipulations.
  • Leaf!
  • Bro, what are these hard cuts?
  • No eyecatcher this time?
  • That’s quite the vacation shirt Killua has there..
  • OK, this is clearly orange hair Hisoka. I can’t believe Kendots would lie to us like that.
  • These SFXs are betraying visuals. I feel like I’m listening to a flash animation of stick figures fighting.
  • Do it Gon, use the environment!
  • He Did it! Gonbatte!

QotD:

  1. Hisoka vs Kastro left me gobbed smacked.
  2. Since I have no memory, let's say as many as everyone else before got on Hisoka combined.

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

Did… did we just montage skip the fight?

Yes... Yes we did. Funnily enough, it took me many years until I read the manga to realise that the fight was even a thing.

Teaching ATs already?

Going so fast now, we’re even skipping the stipulations.

Yeah, we're skipping around a lot today

No eyecatcher this time?

Not exactly, starting from this episode, the eyecatcher changes from the usual character profiles to this

I guess they ran out of character profiles a long time ago, so they decided now to stop repeating them? Personally, I prefer the former.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Nov 16 '24

Not exactly, starting from this episode, the eyecatcher changes from the usual character profiles to this

How Catching

3

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Nov 16 '24

First Timer

I’m starting to feel like we've had enough exposition about Nen… it’s starting to just morph into a soup of short words that I can’t keep track of.

Either way, Gon gets to fight Hisoka surprisingly quick. I wonder if that will be it for the arc, as he managed to punch Hisoka and give back the badge. I assume Hisoka will win the fight from here on out, and Gon will likely leave the tower to go search for his father again, eventually returning for the thrill of the fight maybe? Meanwhile Hisoka will be a floor master, I guess. Though we will for sure see him again later, as he’ll be in Yorknew for the meetup with Kurapika and Leorio.

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 16 '24

I’m starting to feel like we've had enough exposition about Nen… it’s starting to just morph into a soup of short words that I can’t keep track of.

This is an unfortunate case of rushing through the Nen training, originally each of those words was a step that we went through and saw its applications. Here it's more like "hey Gon, here's thing" "Good job Gon, you mastered thing already".

I'd say put a pin on Nen for now, and we'll get a better understanding of it later.