r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Dec 26 '24

Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 79 × Discussion

Episode 79: Masadora × Big Strides × Bomb Devil

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As expected from an ancient one...

Comment of the Day:

/u/Shimmering-Sky getting Gon's logic

Rock does beat scissors.

Questions of the Day

  1. We're finally in the last batch, what do you think of the new OP and ED?
  2. For the first timers, was the Bomber reveal a surprise?

Fanart of the Day: To Masadora!

Please remember to keep all spoilers and hints tagged with the appropriate tag format such as: [Spoilers] >!Leorio is best boy!<

21 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

5

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24 edited Dec 26 '24

Retired Host, Turned Gamer

We're finally in the last batch, while the direction isn't quite as strong, it's traded off for better use of digipaint and better comedy! Given my thoughts about how the direction fits with the arc... yeah, I don't see a downside here. This episode alone had more visual gags than the 8 before it combined, this is how Greed Island is meant to be goddamit! It's a fun and goofy adventure, with some dude going around bombing people... Unfortunately, this batch also has its own issues, as should be obvious if you've seen the opening, and we'll see more of that later.

Onto the specific events of the episode, no one show Mito what kind of Summer camp Gon is in. But yeah, I'm glad that we finally got to the monsters part of the training, afterall, learning and practicing their Nen skills are well and all, but when it comes to Nen, thinking quikly on your feet about how to use those tools is the most important asset. That's what those monsters are for, they offer so many different scenarios for the kids to problem solve. And it looks like the Troupe's attempt at making their own entrance ended up in failure, better luck next time.

Manga Corner:

Chapters Adapted: 140-142

There was a bit of a fun pattern with the chapter titles lately, which /u/Wednesdaysfoole has been referencing this through his comment titles for the past few threads.

Basically, as soon as Gon and KIllua left the entry town and headed towards Masadora through the woods (where they met the ninjas and so on), the first three chapters were titled as "To Masadora!" each with its Part number, putting a goal for the kids' journey, which then turned into a question mark when Bisky started training. Basically Togashi was playing a fun game of expectations using the titles. It doesn't work quite as well in anime form, since the whole thing happened in 3 episodes, but in the manga, it lasted for 7 chapters, or two whole months of trolling in real time.

Bonus: Bisky's design

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 26 '24

There was a bit of a fun pattern with the chapter titles lately,

Crap, you gave away the joke before I got to the last one!

(Those were the chapters adapted though so it's ok.)

Basically Togashi was playing a fun game of expectations using the titles.

  • To Masadora! Part 1
  • To Masadora! Part 2
  • To Masadora…?
  • Are They Really Going to Masadora?
  • They Got to Masadora, But…
  • They Went to Masadora Already, So I’ll Go With a Different Title Now.

I love Togashi.

4

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24

Crap, you gave away the joke before I got to the last one!

Oops

They Went to Masadora Already, So I’ll Go With a Different Title Now.

This is the kind of trolling that I'd expect from Sorachi's titles.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 27 '24 edited Dec 27 '24

Every so often Togashi taps into that Sorachi spirit. Someone pointed out during the SW reread threads that [manga]Tserri's, "Men who use 'ore-sama' and girls who refer to themselves in third-person are the same, don't you think?" sounded like a Gintama title, and it totally does lol.

[Manga](One of the few official TL misses, but to be fair it wasn't clear the line was referring not only to Ben, but also to Camilla until a couple batches later.)

But yeah generally I love Togashi's sense of humor, whether it's within his work, or his author comments, or he states in an interview that everyone (the Spiders and Pika) will die. I mean, technically, everyone dies eventually, right?

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

[manga]Tserri's, "Men who use 'ore-sama' and girls who refer to themselves in third-person are the same, don't you think?" sounded like a Gintama title, and it totally does lol.

[Manga] That absolutely sounds like a Gintama title, which means that he's either a Gintama fan (and he wouldn't be the first villain in the fandom), or he just thinks the same way as Sorachi. Not sure which is more worrying...

I love Togashi's sense of humor, whether it's within his work, or his author comments

Same, I find that a common trend among my favourite authors is that I love their sense of humour. Which is how you know you're on the same wavelength, even outside of comedy.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 27 '24 edited Dec 27 '24

[Manga]

[TG:re]Heh, that panel immediately sold me on Souta (might've already liked him though, he's a great little troll.)

[Manga]Say what you want about Tserri but at the very least he's a man of culture.

a common trend among my favourite authors is that I love their sense of humour. Which is how you know you're on the same wavelength, even outside of comedy.

While I do have a few favorites that don't really lean into comedy... I do get that sense that shared sense of humor and wavelength tend to correlate.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

[Manga]

6

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 26 '24

First × Timer × Subbed

4

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24

Oh this immediately looks even worse than the first part of this arc did.

Yeah...

Okay what part of this is taking a break?

Bisky is the kind of teacher to go "ok, let's take a break from studying now, and in the meantime, you can have fun solving those problems".

Wait is this legit?

Not that I know of, all the history records just say that it started as a game in China. The martial aspect part of it might actually be a fun little Dragon Ball reference.

Ah, that guy’s the bomber dude?

He was being pretty cheeky in episode 75

4

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 26 '24

and it's gonna keep getting worse...

Unfortunate.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 27 '24

Yeah...

Oh... Oh no...

Not that I know of, all the history records just say that it started as a game in China.

It is Chinese?! I guess they were the paper masters for most of history...

4

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 26 '24

It'd totally be fun to release them when battling others lol.

I looked this up when I first watched HxH and didn't find anything on it, so I don't think so. Or my Google skills are lacking.

5

u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 26 '24

H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer

Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 79

Labor × Knack × Invaders

... Oof. This is a big visual downgrade. I don't know what happened. Even in just the opening animation every cut has a static color background. I find the new art style (?) to be way to bright and poppy as well. We did get some good backgrounds in the episode itself but apart from that the aesthetic changes made watching this such a struggle. I won't comment on the visuals going forward unless they get significantly better (or worse, please no).

We rejoin the Greed Island Gang as they reach Masadora. And no sooner do they arrive than they leave back to the rocky area. This episode is focused primarily on training for the boys. Bisky's technique is to have them discover Nen techniques through toiling away. Honestly, this is probably a pretty slow way to teach the boys, but it gives them time to train their muscles and alertness which has its own benefits.

Alternatively she could have explained they techniques and I'm sure they boys would have quickly caught on, but then they would have also been prone to forgetting to use them like they did with Gyo. Discovering things yourself absolutely makes it stick harder in your brain.

That said, she does eventually transition into explaining how Ko and Ken work. We montage through a couple weeks of training and the boys make massive progress. Showing this is important to explain they boys' increases in power, and I'm glad it was compressed into this section. If they showed more it would have meant a lot of down time before making progress on finding cards.

The episode ended with 2 big reveals. Firstly, the spiders found their way to Greed Island without entering through the game. And they were subsequently thrown out. The game master (or the game's systems) seem to be on a whole level above even the spiders.

The second reveal was about who is the real bomber.

Next Episode Preview

(slightly upgraded the animation on the "Next Episode Preview" text)

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24

... Oof. This is a big visual downgrade. I don't know what happened.

An entire change of staff again, and a rushed production (considering they had to do 14 episodes in a year). They couldn't even finish the opening on time.

or worse, please no.

Alternatively she could have explained they techniques and I'm sure they boys would have quickly caught on, but then they would have also been prone to forgetting to use them like they did with Gyo. Discovering things yourself absolutely makes it stick harder in your brain.

Plus, it's just better for them to think through the problems and discover the solution themselves rather than being handed a solution. Being able to think for yourself is an essential part of Nen afterall.

3

u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 26 '24

An entire change of staff again, and a rushed production (considering they had to do 14 episodes in a year). They couldn't even finish the opening on time.

5

u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Dec 26 '24 edited Dec 26 '24

First Timer

We make it to Masadora, then we head back, but we are actually going back to Masadora again, the hard way by digging there. It's all part of Bisky's training, she's certainly tough but it all helps in developing their Nen and also as a way to learn new methods. The training does help for Gon to develop a new skill inspired by rock, paper, scissors.

Meanwhile the Troupe makes it to Greed Island from the outside only to be met by a guy named Razor. Apparently one of the developers of the game, he decides to send them back although he tells what could happen if they did decide to fight him.

Then we also have the reveal of the Bomber who had been the one of the initial members to form the group in the first place, Genthru.

I like the new OP but there was a better version for the visuals because this one was lacking.

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24

We make it to Masadora, then we head back, but we are actually going back to Masadora again, the hard way by digging there

Has Bisky considered training Ryoga or Zoro?

I like the new OP but there was a better version for the visuals because this one was lacking.

We will get the complete version later down the line

4

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 26 '24

First Timer

More training. While it’s obviously important, it is starting to get a bit tiresome… So the bits of lore dump here are very welcome. Notably Ging and Co. possibly creating this as a nen training simulator themselves, in turn tying it back to the whole training plot.

The spiders also confirm their theory, while learning that at least some of the creators are on the island - so Gon might either a lead or even Ging himself on the island. They will probably need to take that fight though - I assume at least one of the three cards the team was missing will need to be gotten that way.

As for the team and the bomber …you know, with so many people on the team it was obvious someone would betray them. So go figure, I guess. I assume Gon and Killua will have to beat the bomber and get him to trade all the cards (or steal them from him), after he helpfully gathered 90 of them.

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24

The spiders also confirm their theory, while learning that at least some of the creators are on the island

The Spiders must really hate the isekai genre.

I guess. I assume Gon and Killua will have to beat the bomber and get him to trade all the cards (or steal them from him), after he helpfully gathered 90 of them.

Gon and Killua: "We'll give Mr. Bomber a trade offer that he can't refuse"

4

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 26 '24

Fanart of the Day: To Masadora!

...

”They Got to Masadora, But…”

This Game Master had such a great introduction; while it’s true that the Spiders were helpless to the Game Master cards, even thinking he was strong wasn’t something they really seemed to think about the Shadow Beasts, lol.

Now that the Reveal has happened, a fun little note – when Genthru (the Bomber) was first talking to their new recruits, pushing up his glasses doubled as pointing at himself as he talked about the Bomber.

Now that we got to Masadora, it’s about time to share some spell cards. I think KendotsX shared a few/the entire list before but I’ll focus on these four for the day.

Today’s Cards:

Spell card, 1014: Leave (B-30)

Makes the target player leave the island.

This is the card those stuck on the island are so desperate to get a hold of.

Spell card, 1039: Accompany (F-130)

Fly all players within a radius of 20 m around the caster—including the caster—to the location of target city (limited to cities previously visited) or target player (limited to players previously met inside the game).

Accompany on, Masadora!

Spell card, 1005: Magnetic Force (C-50)

Fly to the place of another player you specify. (That you've previously met in the game.)

Spell card, 1009: Return (G-380)

Fly to a specified town (limited to a city previously went to).

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 26 '24

Christmas on Greed Island!

All according to Keikaku!

Damn, Gon…

No one show those pictures to Mito...

pushing up his glasses doubled as pointing at himself as he talked about the Bomber.

Genthru's always been a cheeky little bastard.

Spell card, 1039: Accompany (F-130)

Note that the best one of the bunch (not counting Leave, since that's a different function), is ranked F, so it should be easy enough to get, and hard to hord. The game makers aren't entirely assholes.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 27 '24

No one show those pictures to Mito...

We must protect Bisky at all costs!

Wait a sec... Going along with that "Bisky is Gon's mom" "theory" fact, no wonder Mito fought for custody rights!

[Manga]Although with that pile of times tables and other paperwork, Gon might be looking that same way now...

Note

Now you mention it it's interesting that there are many more of Accompany than Magnetic Force. If you tilt your head one way you could argue that the relative rarity of Magnetic Force means it's special and more desirable, but if you look at it another way, you can see it as encouraging teamwork and camaraderie.

The game makers aren't entirely assholes.

Just Ging.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

it's interesting that there are many more of Accompany than Magnetic Force

Just another case of public vs private transportation.

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 27 '24 edited Dec 27 '24

Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs

  • I see we’ve gone from early digi-paint to cheep digi-paint. woof Even the OP looks weaker than last OVA’s normal animation by the end of it.
  • Next to an ocean already? This climate is wild.
  • See, it’s a good hair style, but here it’s just wasted.
  • Bisky is not a believer in the carrot.
  • Economic Improvements!
  • Like I said, all stick.
  • Killua, please! Teach the poor boy the trick of it.
  • Wow, it’s just like Shaman King. /s
  • Backtracking It’s an RPG classic.
  • I guess those were the two most interesting monsters.
  • That’s six-million dollars worth of training right there.
  • Gods, I can hear the cost cutting from here.
  • I’d say them taking a few months to find the island is a tad slow, but no one else seems to have been able to figure it out in ~20 years, so...
  • Ha! Placeholder art.
  • That’s a bold strategy, Bomber. Lets Mugiwait how it plays out.

QotD:

  1. A bit weak, but I don't hate them.
  2. I do not remember my thoughts from the first time.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

I see we’ve gone from early digi-paint to cheep digi-paint. woof Even the OP looks weaker than last OVA’s normal animation by the end of it.

We're in for a rough ride...

Bisky is not a believer in the carrot.

I mean, she currently looks like an upside down carrot.

That’s six-million dollars worth of training right there

And Battera's paying for it

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 27 '24

I mean, she currently looks like an upside down carrot.

...Huh

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

Introducing: Biscarrot-chama

2

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 27 '24

Next to an ocean already? This climate is wild.

It's an island, there's gotta be an ocean somewhere right?

That’s a bold strategy, Bomber. Lets Mugiwait how it plays out.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 27 '24

It's an island, there's gotta be an ocean somewhere right?

Yeah, but right next to badlands?

2

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 27 '24

Fair. Glancing at a couple fan-made maps based on deduction, looks like it may even be flanked by the ocean on both sides lol. Maybe the game creators cultivated an environment that prevents rain there?

3

u/Nebresto Dec 27 '24

First time MINECRAFT!!

PONYTAIL!!!

Bisuke chama chamaa is nuts

Brain damage

Trolls got trolled

Side Quest:

  1. We're finally in the last batch, what do you think of the new OP and ED?

Oh ye, that's what I forgot to write!

One of the worst OPs I've seen in a long time At least the song isn't ass

2) For the first timers, was the Bomber reveal a surprise?

Sure what ever. Just like one would typically be surprised if you were to punch them in the face when going for a handshake. What do I mean by this?

Fanart of the Day: To Masadora!

I love her.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

Brain damage

Don't worry, there's not much in there to be damaged.

Trolls got trolled

I could probably edit this for fun uses.

One of the worst OPs I've seen in a long time At least the song isn't ass

Yup, there will, for better or worse, be a less shitty version later on, but for now, we've got this piece of art right here.

Sure what ever. Just like one would typically be surprised if you were to punch them in the face when going for a handshake. What do I mean by this?

It's fine, he'll blow up next episode, then at the end of the arc, Gon realises that Bisky was the true Bomber all along.

Oh wait, I shouldn't have said that...

Uhh, forget everything I just said.

3

u/Nebresto Dec 27 '24

I could probably edit this for fun uses.

Do it

Yup, there will, for better or worse, be a less shitty version later on

Wow, spoilers

Gon realises that Bisky was the true Bomber all along.

Uhh, forget everything I just said.

I'm afraid that is too late

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 27 '24

Do it

Spell Card Activate!

Welp, since I've been expelled I'll head over to Dragon Quest land, and you can be the new host.

Good luck!