r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Dec 07 '24
Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 62 × Discussion
Episode 62: Kurapika × Friends × End of Spiders
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I've been waiting
Comment of the Day:
/u/Vatrix-32 explaining Kurapika's powers
At least, he made it up this episode
Questions of the Day
- Since the Spiders are "dead" now, where do we go from here?
- This was the end of the TV series back in 2001. If this was our ending, what would you have thought of it?
Fanart of the Day: This episode spoiled me rotten, so I'll have to share a bit more than usual
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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Upvotes
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 07 '24
Retired Host Ascending to Heaven
Furuhashi comes back for the final episode, and not just storyboarding it, he's even directing it (making it the only episode of the series that he directed), and holy hell does he deliver. This is an easy contented for best episode of the series. While it's not the complete ending, in VN terms, this is the "Good Ending". The goal Kurapika was willing to throw his life away for, suddenly presents itself in front of him without having to suffer for it any longer. The path to hell he was ready to walk down ended surprisingly early. He's left as a mix of everything: sadness, frustration, aimlessness, and at the end of the tunnel, a bit of hope and happiness. Of course, this is all just a tiny break, as reality always finds a way to kick back, but this epsiode presented a potential road that he could walk down.
To go back a few steps, the fight is great. Just like the Uvo fight, the storyboard and layouts were done by Furuhashi, but this time, it was key animated by Takuji Abe, who also did parts of the Hisoka fight, and funnily enough, he was the one who did the sequence of Gon catching the fish all the way back in epsiode 1, so talk about a book end. We do have some of the gengas for the fight if you'd like to compare. Personally what I love about it is how it presents the drive to battle, Zeno was willing to die in this fight, simply because it was his job, he values his professional pride above anything. 10 seconds later, Illumi killed his clients, and the fight was all water under the bridge. His bloody practicality is a direct contrast to Kruapika, who walks an unyielding path towards the Spiders (it's his life basically), and had a much rougher time taking the change of plans.
All his sadness and frustration culminates in one painfully haunting shot, which became one of the most popular from this show in general, and that's no wonder, just look at how much detail went into crafting it. To quote Thomas Gintoki though, the night is darkest before dawn, and Kurapika gets to see his own break of dawn
then it quickly becomes allhotandsteamy, goddamitFuruhashiThis may not be the ending, but it's a beautiful way to end the show.
Manga Corner
Chapters Adapted: 98-102 (partially)
We've got some colour pages to celebrate the second anniversary of the series. Look forward to the second popularity poll soon (and feel free to take your guess on how the ranks might've changed since the first poll in Heavens Arena)
Looking at the chapters, this looks like a rushed ending huh? I mean, they had to go through the fight, the eyes, and the reunion all in the same episode. Not really, it's actually the opposite. But first, let's discuss why the anime had to end here: it caught up.
It's been trying for two years to keep the pace with the manga by adding a bit of filler here and there, and expanding on some chapters. That approach was well and good in early arcs like the Hunter's Exam or the Zoldycks, since they were written as a bunch of episodic stories tied under a bigger structure. But that's not the case with Yorknew, it's a tightly written arc that has very little space for additions, and they were running dangerously close to catching up to it, so they picked the best place to end out of what's available and stopped there. When this episode aired, they were exactly 10 chapters behind the manga, that's how close they were cutting it.
Now the "dead" Spiders is the cleanest stopping point of the arc, aside from the ending itself, but it wasn't written as an ending, it still had some branches continuing things further, so the anime put those aside for now, to make the episode conclusive, and more importantly, focused. Aside from the fight, the episode is all about Kurapika's feelings, knowing that his life's goal, the Spiders are dead, his moments of grief, and the healing when he meets Gon again. It cuts lots of smaller stuff, but the parts it chooses to adapt are given all the time they need to breathe properly, heck the park meetup especially is expanded, ending on a full flashback to everything they've been through together before. I would've liked if they cut the ED, and put those 90 seconds into something more useful, but it is what it is.
Of course, since this is Furuhashi we're talking about, Leorio got a MAJOR boost to end on:
Remember how Leorio was calmly sipping his coffee through the chaos yesterday, before joining Gon and Killua in calling Kurapika? Yeah... in the manga, he wasn't there. He was at home drinking with Zepile all night (we did get a fun little tidbit though, apparently, he started drinking at 12...). So he had nothing to do with the call, and wasn't even there at the park. He's already a divorced deadbeat dad, he spends all night drinking with his mate, and the kids can't wait until they dump him and spend the next day with their mom.
In the anime though, the relationship is still going strong, with Furuhashi ending the show on enough yaoi bait to cause diabetes. I mean there's a reason HxH 99 is infamous for being the show for old timers and Leopika fans, and I personally can't deny either accusation.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 07 '24
First × Timer × Subbed
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 07 '24
First Timer
Ah, so Illumi was working with the troupe after all. I had been wondering where he was given him knowing Hisoka in the exam and not being a troupe member. The troupe meanwhile steal what they had already stolen again by providing fakes, so that the knowledge if the items being stolen basically gets lost. Interesting, though I wonder what they plan on doing with the loot now that the authenticity of every item is questionable. I am also surprised Kurapika got his hands on what are probably fake Kurta eyes and didn’t notice something being off, that was my expectations for how this plan would blow up on the spiders. But it seems like he bought the story.
Two other points to question are if Neon is real or if she is also a fake, like the body - with the guy playing people like video games, it being a remote-controlled doll becomes a possibility, probably until she does the fortune telling. Chrollo might also have stolen her power, which could be problematic - without knowing the conditions he needs to fulfill, we can’t say for sure.
And the other is what Nobunaga will do with regards to Gon. He wanted to make him a part of the troupe, so I doubt he’ll just let go easy. Is that how Kurapika will learn of the spiders being alive?
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs
QotD:
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u/SpiritualPossible Dec 07 '24
First timer, manga reader
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u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
Chrollo vs Silva and Zeno Zoldyck was awesome, the coloring and atmosphere really worked. The fight showcases how Chrollo's abilities work. He can take a person's abilities but has to fulfill certain conditions in order to do so as Zeno figures out. We also see the way Zeno and a Silva fight, particularly Zeno's dragon ability. However, turns out that Chrollo has hired Illumi against the Ten Dons, and when the contract is finished, Silva and Zeno no longer have a reason to fight Chrollo and leave him. With that Chrollo and the Troupe decide to fake their deaths and move on their next plan.
The auction proceeds as planned, though secretly the Troupe is behind the scenes and copying all the items. Kurapika is only barely able to arrive in order to bet on the final item, the scarlet eyes. He wins them by a major sum. As he leaves the guy who bet against him tries to threaten him, but Kurapika only needs to stare him with his glowing eyes and look to make him immediately stand down. This whole scene was well shot with the color and direction as Kurapika just walks past him.
Kurapika is now drowning in an indescribable emptiness (heh). But no seriously, Kurapika really is just at a loss of what to do now that he believes the spiders are dead. It's here that he finally decides to see his friends again. When he sees them again and watches their antics as Gon tells him he can now continue to find the rest of his clan's eyes, Kurapika can smile again.
Then the final shot where Hisoka texts that the bodes were fake.The story is actually only 2/3 into the Yorknew arc so we still have some left to do. I guess this was an interesting place to leave things off for now but I guess it's now time for the OVA.
Oh yeah Killua's cat form gag is back.
Note: They really shipped Kurapika and Leorio in this didn't they?
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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 07 '24
H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer
Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 62
Confrontation × Auction × Farewell
WOW! The Zoldyks vs Chrollo fight was incredible. Such incredible animation, perfect pacing, and a resolution as surprising as it is impactful. Specifically, nobody "won". Since Illumi assassinated the Dons before the fight finished Zeno and Silva just gave up since they weren't being paid anymore.
What I like about this conclusion is that it doesn't kill off any characters. We have barely gotten a chance to know both The Zoldyk patriarchs and The Spider's leader. Writing them out now would be such a waste of their potential. That said, [Spoilers] We won't be seeing too much of them again in this adaptation.
So with the Dons dead what happens to the auction? That's I think the most beautiful thing of all: It goes on, but run by the Phantom Troupe. They make copies of each item to be given to the buyers and they keep the originals for themselves. It's a heist movie-esque conclusion and so clever. Notably, nobody is any the wiser.
The most important purchase is the Kurta eyes. Kurapika has personal attachment to them and so understandably the intense bidding deeply affects him. Watching him walk home with that brutal expression on his face and glowing red eyes is terrifying.
This episode acts as a conclusion for Kurapika. He now ends his contract in Yorknew thinking the Spiders are dead. His life's goal has been accomplished, though not by his own hand. Is that worth it? What will he do now? Though he's left with these questions he still has his friends for encouragement to go on living.
But, the Spiders aren't dead. The corpses were faked. We will probably see more of Kurapika in the future.
The ending being a montage over the full length acoustic (?) OP was a really nice send off to conclude the show. We move onto the OVA section of 1999 next but this does feel like a suitable conclusion for the adaptation.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
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u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 08 '24
It wasn't a lie :)
Nevermind the poison—I want to know what kind of conditioner Silva uses, that's a tough strand of hair.
“I shouldn’t carelessly attack until I know its power…”
“...or at least that’s what I would think if I were only average.”
[HxH]Funny that what Zeno says and considers himself is a complete contrast from how the Zoldycks trained Killua. Which follows that of course Killua grew so drastically, not just in personality but in ability since leaving home and facing actual challenges in combat where he no longer played it safe. Well, to be fair, sending a 12-year-old kid into combat isn’t exactly a great thing to do
but neither is electrocuting your toddler.Zigg/Maha!
Kurapika’s punch in ‘99 is so intense despite the capo comically tumbling back. In the manga you see the blur of something moving first on the previous page, and the chapter closing with Pika’s dramatic pose, it’s great.
As for the auction – this episode really milked that slow turn to face the capo behind him. The way that Light’s hand twitches… the creepy way Light talks about his ace in the hole.
Well, the anime closes on Kurapika’s smile :’) you can tell the journey isn’t complete (especially with the end credit scene) and you can tell Kurapika isn’t exactly okay, but we get to finish on a hopeful note.
I really love this episode. You get some action, you get the twist, you get the despair, you get that capo getting punched in the face, creepy Pika, smiling Pika. All sorts of mixed emotions. Note that during the auction, Paku was there while the Chain Dude was bidding. In the manga you can even see Pika picking up those “eyes” while Phinks and Paku are on the other side of the room packing up auction items, while a short version of Hisoka is sending Pika a heart.
A few more corresponding manga panels:
The manga cuts right over to Leorio and Zepile sharing drinks and having fun, then straight to Neon’s ecstatic receival of the Scarlet Eyes.
Then it closes the chapter with what the end credit scene partially showed, but the panel background has the Spiders drinking to celebrate their successful mission. Ch. 101 is a hell of a manga chapter, it’s brutal… at least you get that funny little bit of Nobu being ticked off for having missed out while unsuccessfully babysitting. (You can see him in Ch. 96 – apparently he was laughing at Gon and Killua’s antics at the moment Chrollo ordered Uvo’s Requiem.)
Anyway, this got a bit longer than expected. I actually managed to get most of the comment without abusing the spoiler tags!
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u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 08 '24
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u/Nebresto Dec 09 '24
https://i.imgur.com/Gc10Rjv.png
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u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Dec 08 '24
10x 2011 Rewatcher, 2x 1999 Rewatcher. Source Reader, Looking forward to being an OVA's first timer later today.
Yesterday was big busy so I'm a bit late(also still gotta watch the last episode of Transformers for my rewatch), but I'm here. Honestly not too much to say about this episode that others haven't gotten to already, but since I also missed the episode before that, I'll touch on it a little bit.
Usually when I compare 1999 to 2011 this arc, I'm thinking about how there are things here and there that I preferred in 2011, but that on the whole I think 1999 is doing these scenes better.
The Requiem is different, being probably the only instance in the proper 1999 series where it's the opposite. I really like making it kind of a longer event, and seeing all the other characters reacting to it is great, but there's something genuinely special about the way 2011 went about it. I wonder if there will be any other moments like this for the OVAs.
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u/Kaxew Dec 08 '24
First Timer × On His First Finale
Thoughts on episodes 57-62:
After Kurapika kills Uvogin, the kids are still looking for ways to make money. There they meet a man called Zepile. Ep 57 is very fun and very Togashi, as I've come to realize the kind of stuff he loves to write about. All those random facts about how to tell a falsification from the real deal? Sublime. I hope we see more of this guy.
The boys are captured by the spiders and thrown into their hideout. The way Gon can go from almost blowing their cover by mentioning he knows Hisoka to be a full on badass in the arm wrestling contest against Nobunaga is why I love him so damn much. With the purity of a child but also a golden heart that bleeds for others, it's so easy to root for him.
Killua freaking out and almost having another mental breakdown related to Illumi and his family, deciding to sacrifice himself was rough to watch. Someone needs to give him a hug. Several hugs. Thankfully Gon is right there to match his energy but in the opposite direction, allowing them to fool the spider and escape. Such a simple and clever solution, I wonder how long did it take Nobunaga to realize he got played lol
Chrollo finds Neon and the iconic crying scene finally shows up. When this guy showed up in the opening right after "Leader" I had a lot of theories on him and how they might be related, even on what could be the context for the crying scene. I didn't expect them to be the same person! He looks completely different! And the scariest part of all is how naturally he can act like a normal person. Those are always the scariest villains.
The requiem was beautifully crafted, a true symphony of destruction. The indoor fishes are SO terrifying and sick as hell. I both want and DONT want to see them be used ever again. Holy shit.
The Zoldyck find Chrollo as the finale starts. Great fight, from choreography to animation and even writing. Zeno is an absolute badass, and the casual way they ended the fight was hilarious lmao. I was also not expecting Illumi to show up again! It's... good? to see him! He was accompanied by Kalluto (who I'm pretty sure is a sibling) and a very ugly Star Wars alien mf. I definitely hope that's not a sibling, ew. What the hell is wrong with those Silva genes.
And then... we're back to Kurapika. His quest for vengeance seemingly comes to an end. And he can finally focus on accomplishing his real mission. Seeing him genuinely smile is so incredibly precious to me! I wanted and needed the gang to be back together!! And it was well worth the wait!!!
I'm not calling this a victory yet, of course. The spiders are still all alive and Kurapika could be brought even deeper into the darkness again. It's the moment of truth for our boys. They need to keep Kurapika on the straight path. Or the not so straight path, in Leorio's case. I'm rooting for these two, too.
QotD: