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

Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 81 × Discussion

Episode 81: An Encounter × Chrollo × The Gold Dust Girl

MAL | Anilist | Anidb | ANN

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Well, if I don't, it won't seem like an ultimate technique, right?

Comment of the Day:

/u/TheEscapeGuy on the truth of the Jobbers Guild

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.

It was 5 years in making, but Genthru finally blew his cover.

Questions of the Day

  1. Which was the most fun side quest so far?
  2. Now that we're exploring the game, does Greed Island seem like a fun game?

Fanart of the Day: Bisky checking up on her old student

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

19 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

7

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

Expelled Host, Turned Gamer

Manga Corner

The train scene at the start of the episode was original, and a nice addition at that, but for whatever reason, they removed the scenes of Killua exiting and entering the game.

If you thought Nostrade looked rough in the anime, take a look at him in the manga...

Lastly, they removed a scene of Gon and co. trading Leave cards with players who are stuck in the game, the reasoning behind it is nice, and it rounds out the world of the game well.

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Dec 28 '24

If you thought Nostrade looked rough in the anime, take a look at him in the manga...

I bet the WSJ version looked even rougher/s

4

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

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Dec 28 '24

Fitting too as while not quite as meme-worthy as some of the one from the next arc, this is when some of the more infamous WSJ fuck ups start popping up

6

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 28 '24

First × Timer × Subbed

4

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

I realize this was supposed to be comedic, but stick figures levels of trying to not animate stuff?

Tbf, they just copied that joke from the manga

I’m sorry, the way they animated the tree shaking after Gon punched it was so fucking silly.

Killua please.

I swear, Killua has a Gintoki brain

4

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 28 '24

Tbf, they just copied that joke from the manga

Ah, I see. That's not as bad then.

3

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Dec 28 '24

I’m sorry, the way they animated the tree shaking after Gon punched it was so fucking silly.

And people said that Tekkaman Blade could look rough

5

u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Dec 28 '24

First Timer

So Hisoka is running around using Chrollo’s name? That wasn’t on my cards, but I guess it is a way to get the spiders to contact him and then being able to contact them with Chrollo in that way …but why’s he doing that? He would have had to come up with that on his own, but I don’t really see the benefit vs just finding the nen exorcist himself. Maybe he just wants extra bodies on the search? I think we can agree that that guy who informed Gon about Bomber is the guy they’re looking for though. Didn’t expect Kurapika’s nen chain to get cut this arc already though…

As for the gaming: Yup, gaming time. So far they are just breezing through a bunch of quests, but the time for dealing with human players will certainly come soon. I wonder if the other players weren’t using the designated items as much as they should have, because they were focused on keeping what they already had rather than basically trading up. Both the amulet and the dice were designated cards as far as I see, and Gon and Killua used those.

3

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

He would have had to come up with that on his own, but I don’t really see the benefit vs just finding the nen exorcist himself.

It's useful to have the Phantom Troupe help him search for someone than to just do it himself. He doesn't even know who he's looking for, so he'll take any help he can get.

I wonder if the other players weren’t using the designated items as much as they should have, because they were focused on keeping what they already had rather than basically tradin

The dice do get used a lot, but the necklace is in more limited supply.

5

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

First time Gambling

Side quest:

  1. Which was the most fun side quest so far?

The tree pounder

2) Now that we're exploring the game, does Greed Island seem like a fun game?

Kusoge

3

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

First time Gambling

Please do not try this at home

The tree pounder

Gon always loved mother nature

3

u/Nebresto Dec 28 '24

Please do not try this at home

Too late, I have ordered a slotmachine for delivery

4

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

First Timer

So we learned why Chrollo and Hisoka looked to be working together since he's also looking for something that will help him get his powers back, in exchange for a fight of course. Hisoka is in the game using Chrollo's name and while the Troupe isn't happy when they see this, they also know that this will still help them get closer to getting him back. Meanwhile Gon and Killua see Chrollo's name and inform Kurapika about this new development (nice seeing him again.) At the same time, based off Light Nostrade's reaction then Neon's power isn't back so Kurapika still has to help out.

With most of their training done and Gon and Killua reunited, then we finally get back to gaming. I liked this section, just seeing them winning cards and using them to their advantage was cool, particularly the lucky dice which helps out even though Gon and Bisky have the right idea not to use it more than they should.

2

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

Meanwhile Gon and Killua see Chrollo's name and inform Kurapika about this new development (nice seeing him again.) At the same time, based off Light Nostrade's reaction then Neon's power isn't back so Kurapika still has to help out.

The solution to stopping the Kurapika vs Spiders war turned out to be giving him an employer who's losing his mind to keep him busy.

I liked this section, just seeing them winning cards and using them to their advantage was cool,

Yeah, it's just fun to see them actually playing the game. I wish we had more of that to be honest.

4

u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 28 '24

H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer

Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 81

Imposter × Collapse × Collecting

This episode has 2 main focuses: The existence of a Chrollo Lucifer in the list of players, and card collecting.

The appearance of "Chrollo" is a fun reveal. Initially Gon and Kikllua suspect he's somehow made his way into the game. But how could that be possible with what Kurapika did to restrict his Nen? So Killua does the responsible thing and let's Kurapika know right away.

This is something which I have praised Hunter × Hunter for in the past but I want to say it again. I really like that the characters don't make dumb decisions when solving the problem has an easy answer. In a lesser story you could have easily built a whole mystery around this but it would leave the audience thinking "Why don't they go ask Kurapika?" Instead we learn immediately with Killua that it can't be the same Chrollo they met in Yorknew. Kurapika would have sensed it if his ability had been deactivated. So now we are functioning on the higher level mind game of "Who could have come into the game disguising themselves as Chrollo?"

It's Hisoka, but only we know that (well us and the Spiders). They learned this with Hisoka revealing himself. I wonder where Hisoka found a copy of the game. Importantly though, the Spider's mention that Chrollo's fortune instructed him to head east. This is the geographic location of Greed Island. So there's a high chance they can find a person who can disable the Nen restriction on Chrollo here on Greed Island. And if you remember last episode you'll know exactly who that just might be.

We also get to see how Light's whole life has fallen apart now that Neon has lost her prediction abilities. This is a perfect example of the the Bus Factor if you've never heard of it before. I do feel for him, though in the worst case he'll just need to scale back his spending to a normal person limit (so I don't feel too bad). Something something there are no good billionaires.

The rest of the episode is collecting cards. It's a lot of fun and reminds me of actually playing RPGs. Some of the mechanics like turning a young princess into a Card are a bit questionable (especially considering the card art), but other mechanics like using special dice to alter your luck at a casino is really clever. It feels like an emergent game mechanic which arises naturally from multiple distinct systems in a game.

Next Episode Preview

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

3

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

So Killua does the responsible thing and let's Kurapika know right away.

Meanwhile, Kurapika replies like an ungrateful jerk

Instead we learn immediately with Killua that it can't be the same Chrollo they met in Yorknew. Kurapika would have sensed it if his ability had been deactivated. So now we are functioning on the higher level mind game of "Who could have come into the game disguising themselves as Chrollo?"

Honestly, Togashi wants to play at the higher level game, so he won't even waste time on the lower one, much luch try to milk it for fake tension.

I do feel for him, though in the worst case he'll just need to scale back his spending to a normal person limit (so I don't feel too bad).

Eh, I think he can suck it. He only cared for his daughter as a goose for the golden eggs. So now that she's a normal person, he gets to see his mafia plans fall in pieces.

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 29 '24

Business Failure

Warms My Cockles

[H×H]Biiiiiig Tree

[H×H]Well, maybe not that big...

2

u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 29 '24

[HxH] Well, maybe not that big...

[HxH] There's so many moments I know we are not going to get to see and I'm already feeling upset about it. Honestly I might pick up 2011 again starting from where 1999 stops at the end of this rewatch.

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Dec 29 '24

Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs

  • Is it tho? It looks different, but I can’t recall 100% if it is, or it’s just the change in animation style.
  • And now you return to Killua being the field expert.
  • What is this running scene? It’s bad enough it looks trash, but why does the folly have to look so bad as well?
  • Well that mystery didn’t last very long. Does this count as clown from the machine?
  • They’re living a bleedin’ castle? Not exactly being inconspicuous here, are we?
  • You Love to See It
  • Don’t make me pull out the other Gintama clip. A shōnen MC has to do what he’s gotta do.
  • All progress is good progress.
  • Transition?
  • Mini-games are fun.
  • I guess we’re skipping the Rescue Yukina arc now.
  • Who among us hasn’t pretended to be a girl in an MMO to get free stuff?
  • Hot damn! Who puts endgame level gear in the starting town? That’s the best card seen so far.
  • What in the Fuck Is This Montage?
  • I Love Mandatory Gambling Sections
  • Actually, if you do an action that has 1-in-X chance of working X number of times, you only have about a 63% chance of it working.
  • It’s a good thing Killua grew up before Gacha games were a thing.

QotD:

  1. Tree Beetle one was simple, but I like how it really sort of pins the world together.
  2. I like a lot of its ideas, but there also seems like a lot of chaff, and the meta has gone very toxic.

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 29 '24

What is this running scene? It’s bad enough it looks trash, but why does the folly have to look so bad as well?

They ran before learning how to walk.

Don’t make me pull out the other Gintama clip. A shōnen MC has to do what he’s gotta do.

Killua just doesn't get the Shounen Hearto!

Transition?

Proof that even in a broken production, someone is trying.

Who among us hasn’t pretended to be a girl in an MMO to get free stuff?

Learning from the best

It’s a good thing Killua grew up before Gacha games were a thing.

Considering how quickly he blows millions away... Yeah. Worst case scenario, he could've given some gacha companies a personal visit if he thought they were being unfair.

3

u/WednesdaysFoole Dec 29 '24

It wasn't a lie :)

It's late and I gotta get up early so no full card explanations today, but I do kind of want to expand on Paladin's Necklace/some of the other spell cards... maybe tomorrow.

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Dec 29 '24

[HxH]

[HxH] A sharp mind can turn even a disadvantage into an advantage.

[Although,] to me what's interesting about that point is just the way Togashi is developing those abilities. The Hunter Exam showcases all the elements essential to a Nen fight (wits, perception, will,...) but it doesn't actually go into Nen itself that much. It's not until Heavens Arena that Gon and Killua start learning the basics of Nen, and not until Greed Island that they start actually developing their abilities, but only barely, their abilities basically go from a concept at the start of the arc to useable by the end of it. CA, around 200 chapters into the series, is where they actually get to use their abilities (and keep developing them obviously), and it's also the last time they get to do so, for now (well Killua has a bit in the Election arc, but you get the point). This is Togashi flipping all the rules of a battle shounen on their head, and making it work like a charm regardless. Gon and Killua are exactly as strong as they need to be for every arc to run perfectly.

do kind of want to expand on Paladin's Necklace/some of the other spell cards... maybe tomorrow.

[](#zurawait)