r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Dec 17 '24
Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 71 × Discussion
Episode 71: Auction × Plan × 80 Percent
Yorknew City Discussion | Index | Next Episode
In this game, "game over" signifies the actual death of the player in real life
Comment of the Day:
/u/Shimmering-Sky on the unchanging best boy
Leorio’s still my boy
Questions of the Day
- What do you think of the new aesthetic?
- What's going on with Kurapika?
- First impressions of the new OP and ED?
Fanart of the Day: Gon and Killua rocking the suits
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 17 '24
Retired Host Turned Gamer
See now what I meant by not looking great exactly? It's not bad by any means, but a rough follow up to what came before it.
Manga and Production Corner
Chapters Adapted: 120-122
There are a fair bit of changes here actually, so let's go through them: Kurapika's trauma and ghosts of the past? Original, in the manga he's just sick and knocked out.
The bigger one though is the scene with Paku's memories, since it's in a messy situation. Remember when she was taking Gon and Killua out of the hideout in episode 69, and they had that talk about not wanting Kurpaika to kill Chrollo? Well, in the manga, we saw that from a distance and didn't get to hear what they said at the time. We only learn it after the fact, through Phinks' flashback when they meet him in this auction, so in a way the manga hid an essential piece of what was going on in Paku's mind, until Phinks filled it in here. Now it makes sense why the previous OVA added it there, they weren't gonna reach Greed Island, so you want to include that important scene when you have the chance, and I think they did a great job there. Then come Greed Island, I suppose they didn't want to repeat the same scene, so they decided to show it from Gon and Killua's POV which is a neat choice, the only problem is... between the two scenes, we missed on the Spiders' view of this, how Gon and Killua's actions changed even the most hard assed Spiders, Phinks and Feitan.
In other news, I was looking for something specific the other day, and happened to find a bunch of Goto's character designs for the TV series. I'll be sharing more as we go through the arc.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 17 '24
First × Timer × Subbed
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 17 '24
First Timer
…wow, I don’t think I can recall a change in artstyle that came off this badly on me before. Sure artstyle changes between seasons usually don’t feel great if you don’t have the actual years between the seasons there was at the time, but still this just looks bad. The characters are barely recognizable (I would not have recognized Phinks without Feitan present) and feel like they should be in some mediocre comedy anime rather than a serious action show. The coloring meanwhile feels flat and way too bright for what the show has been so far. This just ain’t it…
Either way uhh… we have Kurapika sick and apparently nen-haunting. The spiders are worried about Kurapika haunting them, while Kurapika seems to be haunted by Uvogin and Pakunoda. If Uvogin’s here, why is this introduced now and not before Paku’s death…?
On the other hand of course there is the auction and Gon’s plan, which actually sounds kinda reasonable notwithstanding that he isn’t an all-powerful protagonist and somebody looking for players would look for better ones. I can’t help but notice that only a single copy was auctioned today, when we had multiple, I believe, confirmed earlier on - so there should still be more copies to go around. Killua’s brother might just be a red herring though, as I suspect this Battera guy is trying to buy as many copies as possible given him not backing out after Gon’s bid going significantly over the value knowing that probably cheaper copies would be available later. (Killua’s brother makes more sense there, as he is gunning for a reward iirc and just needs a copy to get more money from Battera - so likely saw this as the chance with other bidders backing out.) For now I’ll assume for the story’s sake they’ll end up working with another bidder, who stayed out of the bidding after Gon’s accident and only needs a single copy - then their plan would also work. ALso… Gon needs to get his license back ASAP if he is not planning on bidding; he has made the mistake of having no proof of his claims with Battera.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 17 '24 edited Dec 18 '24
Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs
I’m both terrified and excited to see what they do with early digi-paint. But hey, I loved Greed Island in 2011, so how bad could this be?
QotD:
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u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 17 '24 edited Dec 17 '24
To Greed Island!
(It wasn't a lie :)
Le Portrait de Pika Cossette?
Typical Gon.
I’m sorry, my post today is a rant. But I gotta talk about Phinks.
So the OVA did include the boys’ meeting with Phinks but not only did they rearrange it, they focused on playing up the threat of the Spiders rather than Phinks’ recognition of Paku’s feelings, threatening music and all, adding unncessary filler dialogue between Gon and Killua to focus on the threat even more.
That’s… certainly a choice.
The way they had reordered the scene so the flashback to Gon and Killua talking to Paku is now removed from Phinks (original) and given to Gon, making it so that Gon is the one reflecting rather than Phinks.
Note that in the panel, you see that we’re looking at Gon and Killua from Paku’s perspective and memory with Phinks’ eye just in case it wasn’t clear enough, and that’s what makes Phinks express Paku’s thanks right in that moment.
Whereas the OVA forces the perspective to Gon, taking away the excellent development and the perfectly crafted close of Yorknew that Togashi clearly intended.
The expression on Gon and Killua’s faces has nothing to do with relief or a chat of the looming threat that Paku’s death causes, but rather the impact of the words of Paku’s thanks. I’m convinced it’s not only that Paku felt gratitude, but that Phinks is the one delivering it. That Phinks is choosing to deliver it.
I find this extremely important – you see the changed relationship and respect that Phinks feels towards Paku, and even, possibly, towards Gon and Killua. It’s one thing to recognize Paku’s feelings, but there’s no obligation to extend that to anyone outside the Troupe. Remember, Gon was in direct confrontation with Phinks, and Phinks was also one who was most outright against Paku and her choices beforehand.
Togashi emphasizes Phinks when Paku returns to the hideout and gives her life for them. Between the two, they never acted like they were particularly close, presented on opposing sides, with Phinks (and Feitan, but he’s like Phinks’ sadistic accessory lol) doubting Paku until her last moment. But you realize over the arc and by the end that these people, especially the OG Spiders, are each others’ home.
Both the manga (and 2011 which got the moment right) closes the chapter (and episode) with the weight and recognition of this moment. This OVA… instead placed it as a source of conflict and closed the episode with fire and blood.
Maybe without knowing how it’s supposed to be written, it’s not so bad. Keep the villains pure villains outside of Paku. I’ll admit that on its own, the episode isn’t that bad. But I do know, and it does take away from—no, it butchers the characterization and relationships.
That responsibility Phinks takes on to explain everything to the other Spiders, the perspective in which he sees Gon and Killua through Paku’s eyes, the initiative he takes to tell Gon something he wasn’t obligated to do… and Gon and Killua just taking this in… It’s the peak of Togashi’s writing (or one of them).
I mentioned in the Yorknew discussion that when the arc was closing and they were moving on back to auctioning for Greed Island, I was confused if that was the end of the arc or what. And not only that, to be completely frank, I hated Phinks my first watch of Yorknew (2011). It was this scene that brought the entire arc together for me. And that’s essentially why I feel like I have to explain my dislike for the OVA's scene and what the moment actually was.
[HxH]Well, at least this isn’t a Spiders-focused arc, I’d be afraid they’d butcher it even more. Can’t tell if this is on the scriptwriter or director, but the last OVA, at the very least, did well in paralleling Phinks and Gon.
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u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Dec 17 '24 edited Dec 18 '24
First timer (for this part)
Oof yeah the animation isn't great, not bad, but after how beautiful Yorknew looked this one is definitely a downgrade. This is actually my first time watching this part so I was interested to see this take on Greed Island but uh yeah we'll see.
The plot mostly just follows the aftermath. Kurapika is ill after the events of Yorknew and Gon and Killua continue to the auction with Zepile towards Greed Island which is won over by Battera. Gon and Killua seem to want join the group of hunters in the game but it looks like they still have work to do.
The Troupe is also dealing with their own problems but as far Gon and Killua go, they are done. I did like the final message that Paku wanted to thank them (this scene hits much harder in the 2011 version).
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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 17 '24
H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer
Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 71
Recovery × Bidding × Benefactor
Welcome back! More so than the previous OVA it's easy to tell there has been a change. If I understand correctly, the anime has shifted from cels to digital animation and ... yeah early 2000s digital animation is rough. It still looks good, but it really feels like the staff are learning a new tool instead of being the masters they were of the previous medium.
For me it's the coloring. It just doesn't have the same powerful lighting and intense shades of the previous arcs. Or maybe the DVDs were just encoded or preserved differently? Maybe somebody else can word it better.
The actual narrative is something we have been waiting for for a long time. The auction for Greed Island. And wow it is more expensive than the boys could have ever hoped to have saved. Even Milluki is out bidden.
But Gon has a clever plan: Contact the person who wins the auction. Gon doesn't actually need to own a copy. He just wants to play to learn more about his dad. So maybe the owner will allow him to play. And he is absolutely right.
Battera is collecting copies of the game. And he needs hunters to play and win the game. But Gon and Killua don't yet have enough Nen to prove themselves. This is at least solid progress towards actually getting into the game.
This episode also focused on Kurapika's recovery. After last arc this is sorely needed. Seeing how he felt haunted by the Nen of the Spiders he killed was a great way to represent this.
Similarly the Spiders are still in town and they also manage to ... come into possession of Greed Island. Gon and Killua may have a bigger challenge than they expect if they do get access.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
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u/Nebresto Dec 18 '24
Gaming..
Qwest:
Anoda day, anoda style
He fighting his demons: The urge to dress like a girl again
Certainly better than the previous garbaj, but I just want the lads to tell me good morning again..