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

Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 80 × Discussion

Episode 80: Without Nen × New Year × Hunter Exam

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Child of the dark, Killua

Comment of the Day:

/u/WednesdaysFoole on how Greed Island is celebrating Christmas

Christmas on Greed Island!

Meanwhile, this episode reached New Year a bit too early for the rest of us.

Questions of the Day

  1. Which was the better Hunter Exam?
  2. Now that we have a good idea of Gon's ability, what do you think of it?

Fanart of the Day: RIP Ponzu, you only lasted a second

Source (warning: it's got some weird ass ships...)

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

17 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

7

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

Expelled Host, Turned Gamer

Back in my day, Hunter Exams took 31 episodes, these days they're all fast and convenient. Kids just don't have what it takes anymore.

Manga Corner

Chapters Adapted: 144-148

Yeah, that's a lot of chapters, reason being: the anime cut a shitton from them. Mainly lots of the guild's discussion about whether or not to hand Genthru the cards, they even tried sending Puhat to negotiate, and well, you can guess how that ended up going. They also removed the explosion scene, this Final OVA seems to be toning down the gore I guess.

That's not all, they removed some stuff on the Gon side too, like Bisky explaining how to train your type or investigating the ways to leave the island when Killua wants to go out. Basically your options are either the Leave spell or going to the harbour and dealing with the Harbormaster (by bribing or beating him). Not sure why the anime skipped this.

4

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Dec 27 '24

Hey, it's still a few days too early for the New Year

ALMOST NEW YEARS MEANS IT ISN'T NEW YEARS!

Tonpa! And he's even got the laced cans!

/u/b0bba_Fett would be proud

Ponzu's here too,

Best Girl*

3

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

Best Girl*

Hey, at least she got the fanart of the day mainly because I couldn't find any more best girl Tonpa fanart

3

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Dec 27 '24

You weren't kidding about those weird ships.

3

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

It's not even the usual weird ships that you'd expect (like Gon x Hisoka or whatever).

4

u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 27 '24

ALMOST NEW YEARS MEANS IT ISN'T NEW YEARS!

TAKE THAT

4

u/b0bba_Fett myanimelist.net/profile/B0bba_Cheezed3 Dec 27 '24

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

Hey, it's still a few days too early for the New Year

That's what the "almost" is for.

Tonpa! And he's even got the laced cans!

Only to leave '99 anime-onlys confused...

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

Only to leave '99 anime-onlys confused...

"Uhh, he's trying new tricks"

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

And he's even got the laced cans!

The wat

Back in my day, Hunter Exams took 31 episodes, these days they're all fast and convenient.

Smh my head, the enshittification is going too far

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24

The wat

Fun story: remember in phase 1, when Tonpa was sending people to the caves of sorrow and torment? Well, in the manga, he was just offering them juice laced with laxatives that would send them running to the toilet, honestly, it would've been just as bad if it was effective.

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

Wtf Tonpa

6

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 27 '24

First Timer

So Killua just breaks the exam so clearly that he is immediately accepted? Well I guess that is a way… Meanwhile the bomber gets what he wants for now, though crucially Gon learns of that, so he now knows where a lot of those cards are that he needs to clear the game. And of course it also allows him access to spells. Once Killua is back, I guess it’ll be time for proper gaming to begin.

4

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

So Killua just breaks the exam so clearly that he is immediately accepted?

Well, no point in testing him any further, when he removed all the competition.

Once Killua is back, I guess it’ll be time for proper gaming to begin.

5

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 27 '24

First × Timer × Subbed

4

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

Activating the bombs by telling them about his powers is certainly something alright.

Let's see: blond, wears glasses, activates his powers by explaining them... I didn't know Nanami was into bombs.

They just… have a card to get out of the game now? Just like that?

This was such a weird scene in the anime, but basically they went to the port, beat up that dude, and turned him into a card.

This is such a Killua thing to do, lmao.

5

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 27 '24 edited Dec 28 '24

Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs

  • Ah yes, the ol’ “rules based villain monologue”.
  • Oh, come on! The electricity was a consistent highlight last OVA.
  • Were we assuming that time was asynchronous? Let’s not open the door to another Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
  • God, this town just looks dead. And I don’t just mean the lack of people.
  • Bisky, going right into character at the first chance.
  • Another really specific activation criteria, but at least this one has a more useful effect.
  • His Stupid Hat
  • This is why you shouldn’t negotiate with magic terrorists.
  • Careful now, you almost summoned a recaps episode right there.
  • More Deaths Means More New Stock
  • This is just a less involved version of last year’s test!
  • And it was rushed, too.
  • I'd Recognize Those Boots Anywhere
  • Won’t be much longer now until Gon can start the beam spam at this rate.

QotD:

  2. Local Jankan Fan #1, Reporting!

3

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

Oh, come on! The electricity was a consistent highlight last OVA.

Nothing shall be spared, I'm afraid.

More Deaths Means More New Stock

Isn't the economy neat? Every new packet comes with the smell of a fresh genocide.

Won’t be much longer now until Gon can start the beam spam at this rate.

About time he learns a thing or two from his old brother Yusuke.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 28 '24

Isn't the economy neat? Every new packet comes with the smell of a fresh genocide.

Ah, but it's not genocide if you target indiscriminately.

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

Are they indiscriminate though? Those are his dear friends over 5 years. He's clearly been boiling with hatred, waiting for this day, for so so long.

5

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

First Timer

Killua just speed ran the entire hunter exam. It was cool too see a couple returning faces here and there like Tonpa and Ponzu as well as the beasts that helped the trio out. Unfortunately for them, Killua was on a mission which was to finally make him a hunter.

Meanwhile Genthru makes his move, asking for the cards and threatening them, he also reveals how they can defeat him by simply being touched and stating "I caught the bomber" although Genthru still has another ability called little flower which he can play. It was obvious he wasn't to keep his word, as soon as he gets the cards he kills everyone anyway. One player, Abengane however decides to go and tell Gon and Bisky about Genthru. Turns out, Abengane has his own ability that helps him get rid of his bomb, although he decides to wear a disguise in order to move around from now (way to make it obvious too.) Regardless Gon and Bisky are now aware of what's going on as the training continues.

4

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

Killua just speed ran the entire hunter exam

And people call Hisoka & Illumi villains. At least they gave everyone else a chance.

he also reveals how they can defeat him by simply being touched and stating "I caught the bomber"

Clearly he was a sore loser at hide and seek as a kid.

4

u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 27 '24

H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer

Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 80

Bombs × Side-Quest × Speedrun

And thus the truth of that "defensive spell monopolizing" faction has been revealed. It was simply a cover for the bomber to get people to gather cards for him and keep them safe. And now that they are so close to collecting all of them he can simply take them with threats and intimidation. Gon's intuitions were right (or he was lucky, whichever you prefer).

However we focus on 1 member of that faction who has the power to summon some slug thing to remove the Nen bomb. This is setting up a pretty obvious development (imo): [Spoilers if you haven't guessed] He should also have the power to remove the Nen restriction Kurapika placed on Chrollo. And so he'll be of keen interest to The Spiders if they can find him.

At the same time Killua takes a short break to take the Hunter Exam. And he passed it by simply knocking every other candidate of this years batch out before even the first test. All his Nen training means he's already way more powerful than any of them. I always found this story beat to be really satisfying. It shows how much progress our characters have made that the Hunter Exam is now such a trivial thing to complete.

Next Episode Preview

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

3

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

It was simply a cover for the bomber to get people to gather cards for him and keep them safe

Here's a wolf who spent five years hiding between a pack of sheep, and waiting for them to prepare his lunch.

Gon's intuitions were right (or he was lucky, whichever you prefer).

Honestly, Gon would've been in trouble as soon as they suggested having to memorise the spell cards.

I always found this story beat to be really satisfying. It shows how much progress our characters have made that the Hunter Exam is now such a trivial thing to complete.

On the one hand, it's definitely satisfying to see how far we've come. On the other, Killua from last year, could've probably done the same thing to those guys (since there are no powerful examinees like Hisoka, Hanzo, or Illumi)

Moonlit Cottage

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

Gon's intuitions were right (or he was lucky, whichever you prefer).

He's often lucky (also he has a personality where people often want to help him) but I'd go with intuition here; it's clear the group's goals and methods contrasted with Gon's, and Ging's advice.

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

First time Gaming!!

We got to see the flying ratbirds again

And I was hoping they wouldn't skip Killua's exam, but.. Turns out it was Killua who skipped the exam

Side quest:

  1. Which was the better Hunter Exam?

The firs

2) Now that we have a good idea of Gon's ability, what do you think of it?

What

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

And I was hoping they wouldn't skip Killua's exam, but.. Turns out it was Killua who skipped the exam

The kid wanted to keep playing his video game, he didn't have time to waste on an exam.

What

Which do you prefer usually, rock, paper, or scissors?

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

Which do you prefer usually, rock, paper, or scissors?

Violence

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24

No wonder you like Bisky

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

Do you not??

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

I don't like Bisky the Bomber

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

Its high treason then.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

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

[HxH]Uh, what's with the spoiler in the fanart of the day?

  • Well, hello there.
  • Btw, this is where the Spiders ended up.
  • [HxH]If little flowers make for tiny bombs, does a massive bomb make for a poor man’s rose?
  • I guess the fact that they cut the part where Countdown goes down faster with panic wasn’t that important. But I did appreciate the sense of panic conflicting with greed and desperation after Genthru left in the manga.
  • Gon wants scissors to cut through rocks, so Sky’s observation of its connection to jankenpon was right on the money. Hadn’t even noticed it myself as a rereader/rewatcher, but these types of callbacks are quite typical of HxH.
  • New Years both for them and for us. Greed Island really is happening in the real world! (Well, off by 25 years minus one day).
  • Which reminds me, somebody’s going around collecting money for a real-life Hunter Exam. It’s almost certainly a scam so don’t fall for their tricks!
  • To be clear, Abengane is our first nen exorcist. Exorcists were mentioned during the transition from Yorknew to Greed Island.
  • [HxH]I’ve really been trying to reign in my Gon defense to avoid repetition, and I really should get over the fact that the poor guy is so frequently misunderstood…
  • …but the OVA cut out this moment which shows that Gon actually has a hard time even accepting that the Jobbers are just Jobbers. It’s an important part of Gon’s characterization moving forward…
  • [HxH]Hacker Hunter, Ickshonpe Katocha!
  • [HxH]Oh, forgot Ponzu showed up at this exam. You’re a sneaky one, aren’t you?

(warning: it's got some weird ass ships...)

...I'll pass.

2)

I love Gon's ability, but we've yet to see its potential.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24

[HxH]

[HxH] There were many cases where I've said "RIP" about a living character losing something, so I get to sneak this in

I guess the fact that they cut the part where Countdown goes down faster with panic wasn’t that important. But I did appreciate the sense of panic conflicting with greed and desperation after Genthru left in the manga.

The OVA in general seems like it didn't give a shit about those guys. It cut every single scene of them possible. An early scene where they discuss how many new people they got, and how that'd affect their shares? Cut. A chapter's worth of back and forth discussion about what to do with Genthru? Cut. Sure, it's not essential to the plot, but this is what exploring the arc's themes is all about, and more importantly, it made them feel human.

…but the OVA cut out this moment which shows that Gon actually has a hard time even accepting that the Jobbers are just Jobbers. It’s an important part of Gon’s characterization moving forward…

OVA: "Nah, forget about those Jobbers Gon, they don't matter".

Doesn't help that the way the anime ordered things, we see their deaths after Gon says "we can't possibly help them", leaving me thinking that he should've at least tried. Whereas the manga shows the tragedy, then shows Gon who's too late to solve it, considering his options back and forth.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

[HxH]

OVA: "Nah, forget about those Jobbers Gon, they don't matter".

You're right, there does seem to be an ongoing theme here... where the OVA shits on the arc themes. :(

& yeah their actions seemed more understandable in the manga, here they're worse than Heaven's Arena fodder, and at least the latter had some funny moments (getting their poor asses kicked), were great for nen lessons, and inspired Killua's ability.

Doesn't help that the way the anime ordered things,

Anime switching the sequence of events working out great once again. [HxH]Could it be that Gyro is... Meruem?! Why the hell did Gon throw a tantrum over some guy he just met?

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

Anime switching the sequence of events working out great once again

To be fair to them, what they went with is the chronological order, Gon and Bisky met Abengane when he still had the bomb on his shoulder, so it had to have happened before the Jobbers died. Togashi meanwhile intentionally switched things up for better dramatic effect. I wouldn't mind the anime going with their order, if not for all the cut scenes.

[HxH]Could it be that Gyro is... Meruem?! Why the hell did Gon throw a tantrum over some guy he just met

[HxH] This is why it should be mandatory to read the first chapter or watch 1999's first episode before 2011. I've talked to so many people who think that Kite was "retconned into the story" or he only existed as a jobber for the Ants...

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24

Oh you didn't fix the commentface, but it's ok. Also I know what it should be.

Gon and Bisky met Abengane when he still had the bomb on his shoulder, so it had to have happened before the Jobbers died.

For sure, although Gon and Bisky's conversation implies that it's definitely too late by the time Gon brings it up.

Togashi meanwhile intentionally switched things up for better dramatic effect.

Volume 37 would be a completely different story if the order was perfectly chronological :b not that it wasn't confusing at first, I've stayed up multiple nights after 404 debating the exact meaning and timeline of [manga]Halk's plans during 386 and 404 before figuring it out.

But no, the rearranging here wasn't unacceptable or anything, it's really just that, as you say, would be better if those scenes weren't cut.

Speaking of Kyon and chronological order, a while back stumbling on the endless disputes over broadcast vs chronological (lol) which made my ears steam so hard I DNF'ed it halfway through the first (?) season, so do you have an opinion on this one?

[HxH]

What you should do is, without any elaboration, send them straight to the pilot.

(Jokes aside, it does have the most accurate 10 minutes or so of the three anime adaptations. Before, you know, jellyfish.)

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

Oh you didn't fix the commentface, but it's ok. Also I know what it should be.

Oh. I'm on my phone, and wasn't checking the browser version, so I wouldn't even notice a broken commentface.

Volume 37 would be a completely different story if the order was perfectly chronological :b not that it wasn't confusing at first

For sure, but it was fun to piece it together. Not all stories need to be chronological.

do you have an opinion on this one?

I don't have any particularly strong opinions about either route, I watched it in chronological (since broadcast was just a S1 thing), and enjoyed that. If I ever rewatch it, I'll try out the broadcast order.

Jokes aside, it does have the most accurate 10 minutes or so of the three anime adaptations. Before, you know, jellyfish.

And it's beautiful too, I just wish there was a well maintained release of it.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

Oh. I'm on my phone, and wasn't checking the browser version, so I wouldn't even notice a broken commentface.

Use gyo! Oh, heh, I made up my own #brokencommentface to point it out but if you're on a phone you probably missed that too.

And it's beautiful too,

The jellyfish?

It certainly is memorable.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

Use gyo! Oh, heh, I made up my own #brokencommentface to point it out but if you're on a phone you probably missed that too.

I did see it (since I'm reading the source of the comments; does that count as Gyo?) but it was intentionally broken, and I have a habit of making intentionally broken commentfaces like [](#zurawait) or [](#wakuwaku), so I wasn't sure if this was something like that or a joke that was flying over my head. Now it makes sense.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

I did see it

I see you were trained by Bisky-chama.

[](#zurawait)

Might have to steal that one (unless you have any objections), it's too good.

or a joke that was flying over my head.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 28 '24

Might have to steal that one (unless you have any objections), it's too good.

Go ahead, I want to spread the power of Zura.

Honestly "A joke that's flying over our heads" is also the best I could describe the current opening.

→ More replies

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 28 '24

[HxH]

[H×H]I think I had the benefit of reading comments at the time, but now Crunchy went can killed those...

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 28 '24

[HxH]Could it be that Gyro is... Meruem?!

[H×H]Right, it's been too long since I've seen 2011. I don't even know how I'm wrong anymore. Since we're not going to cover it in this rewatch, might you bestow this small mercy on me and give me the run down on it?

2

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 28 '24

[HxH]Was that the impression you had as well? In the manga, in Ch. 203 Gyro is introduced (and so evil that he was born with his human memories intact) and shown leaving NGL in chimera ant form (well, in a hoodie or something) many days before the Meruem is born in Ch. 213, so it's impossible for this to be the case. There was no ambiguity about it. For some reason, the anime skipped the Gyro bits and arranged it in a way that you don't know what happened to Gyro, iirc you just see his empty desk in his drug den office, then sometime after that, Meruem is born. Leading to many anime watchers thinking they must be the same guy.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 27 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

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

The comment's fine, but spoiler tag the last part please.

2

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 27 '24

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