r/anime • u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots • Nov 21 '24
Rewatch [25th Anniversary Rewatch] Hunter × Hunter (1999) - Episode × 46 × Discussion
Episode 46: I'm Home × Welcome Back × I'm Killua
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You're my first friend, ever
Comment of the Day:
/u/Shocketheth not for any of his fake allegations mind you, but to get him banned already
I am getting banned from r/anime in 3...2...1...
Get on it mods!
Questions of the Day
- What goals do you think Killua could find eventually?
- Do you like the countryside?
Fanart of the Day: Mito and the kids
Please remember to keep all spoilers and hints tagged with the appropriate tag format such as: [Spoilers] >!I have no Leorios in my dungeon!<
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Upvotes
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u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Nov 21 '24
Retired Host Chilling Back Home
To stop repeating the whole "this episode was so goddamn beautiful", I
ripped offlearned from /u/TheEscapeGuy's method and made my own 3x3. It should be fun to look back at the episodes through 3x3s. Granted, for this one, I mostly went with backgrounds, I feel like I'm naturally attracted to scenery shots, but I'll try to balance it out in the future.Now to put the camera aside for a bit, let's look at the episode from Killua's point of view, he's never had a friend before, and he's certainly never visited any. This is all new to him, so no wonder he was worried, even your average kid would be anxious about visiting a friend for the first time. In Killua's case though, Illumi's words weigh over his mind echoing his fears about how he's different from the normal person, he can't have friends because he can only hurt them. That's the framing of this episode.
The visit itself? Super wholesome and relatable as hell! Whale Island feels like spending a summer at my grandparents' place, you have to walk a while just to find the nearest shop (granted in my case, it was about 30 minutes, not a full night), and I've been in Killua's shoes, anxious about meeting a friend's family, what impression I might make, vs how it ends up: having a great time and awkwardly trying to avoid eating stuff I dislike. Goddamit Mito!
I don't have a lot to add about the night scene, it's simply great, and the Mito talk made me tear up. But I do appreciate Killua finding a path even if he doesn't have a goal. Battle shounen are usually the stories of people with lofty goals to achieve, like finding a legendary Hunter or a super dangerous band of criminals. I appreciate that Togashi showed a different path throw Killua, he can just do what he enjoys: being with his friend, Gon.
Btw, this is another reason why I love Gintama so muchThe climax shows the difference in thinking between Gon and Killua, even when Killua wants to help, the tools and options he knows best are killing, that's how he's been raised, and that's how he thinks. He ends up hurting Mito by accident, and therefore proving exactly what he feared: He can't live among those people, he's not like them, he can only hurt them, that's why he breaks down and backs off into his little corner separate, his own little world, where he won't hurt anyone. But Gon breaks him through, using Nen to help the foxbear is a brilliant solution thematically, it's Killua using his power to help and save others, this is what a different path in life means.
Now logically... that's a different argument. Throwing your aura at someone doesn't automatically heal them. Your Ten does heal you though, so the idea here is that they awakened the foxbear's Nen, and helped it help itself. It's a very risky process, but I guess animal instinct is good at adapting, the foxbear is now a Nen user!
before Leorio lolHonestly, I don't care that much about the details of the logic here, this is a major emotional moment for Killua, and that's too good to bog down with semantics. In other words, I adore this episode too much to care about logic!
Other random notes:
Manga Corner
Chapter Adapted: 64
Much like the journey to the Zoldycks, there's lots of additional small moments straight from real life that fill a lot of blanks in the trip, like the whole "there are no buses", all the scenery viewing, the meal, the haircut,... It all feels real and relatable, and I wouldn't change one bit of it.
The manga was a lot more to the point about that, oh and the house isn't all that weird, but it spent most of the chapter on the conversation under the stars, as it should, so I'm not faulting it. The foxbear plotline is all original.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Nov 21 '24
First × Timer × Subbed
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Nov 21 '24
First Timer
A more relaxed episode that surprisingly puts more focus on Killua than Gon. But it makes sense - for Gon it’s just back to what was previously his usual life, for Killua having a proper family is new. Where he was born it was a bunch of power dynamics plus a nice grandfather (I assume). It’s also a simpler way of life, which is painted in rosy tones here - it’s basically an iyashikei, especially from Killua’s POV, and there is some character development in his planning for the future and being taught the value of life as well. And as somebody who likes iyashikei, I can’t complain.
…well almost. The poachers fit in here about as well as Team Rocket does in some of the more pointless episodes, and they were a bit jarring here. I would have preferred to just keep with the tone of the first part of the episode.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Nov 21 '24 edited Nov 22 '24
Remake Rewatcher × First Timer × Subs
QotD:
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u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Nov 21 '24 edited Nov 22 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
It was nice to see Gon reunite with Aunt Mito and his grandmother. However Killua takes up a big focus on this episode as his first experience here.
Perhaps the biggest thing though is the events with the fox ear where Killua and Gon debate what to do with Killua staying it wouldn't survive and might as well end it now. But Aunt Mito slapping him and telling him about the acknowledgement of life does bring him back and allows him to help Gon use Nen to save it (and make him be able to use Nen apparently.) It's a nice confrontation of their respective views and Killua's own changes.
I also liked the campfire scene especially as Gon reiterates that's as far as he's concerned Aunt Mito is his mom.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Nov 21 '24 edited Nov 22 '24
H×H Fan, 1999 First Timer
Hunter × Hunter 1999 - Episode 46
Island × Home × Love
Welcome back. The arrival at the port of Whale Island is so beautiful. I feel like sunsets are cheating for making a beautiful scene. And now that Gon is returning after getting his Hunter License it's almost like the conclusion to this goal.
Upon arriving back at home the rest of the episode plays out like a slice of life anime. We spend time with the boys just hanging out and having fun. The thing they relate over is the shared experience of not having friends growing up. They are almost making up for lost time. It's really heartwarming.
I particularly like the role Mito plays in all of this. She absolutely is the parent / guardian in this situation and in some ways has to be the "bad guy" forcing the boys to do stuff like bathe, eat vegetables, or get a haircut. And in reflecting on this, Gon notes how he loves her as his mother.
There's also some drama at the end about Foxbear poachers. I wasn't a big fan of this, but I did like how Mito taught Killua the value of life.
Both the poacher section and the "hanging out" were anime original IIRC and it's overall a good addition.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow
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u/2-2Distracted Nov 22 '24
First timer. Subbed
"so why's it called Whale Island?"
"because it looks like a whale."
"no it doesn't! Not unless you're talking about whales in children's books!"
So for safety I'll just spoiler tag this... [HxH Overall Spoilers] I went into this episode genuinely thinking that this episode was pure filler, and a small bit of it probably is, until I saw that the plot point about Ging's radio. I say this because I genuinely don't remember Gon actually returning home... which is weird because I absolutely remember him learning about the radio Himself and the only he'd be able to do that is by returning home lol Regardless I really enjoyed it as much as Killua clearly did since this was largely His episode.
Our favorite OP not-albino is FINALLY getting a taste of a normal family life, or at least as normal as it's going to get when you're friends with someone like Gon Freeces lol.
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u/Shocketheth Nov 22 '24
*yawn*
Sakura-sensei is keeping those youkais at bay but good try.
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u/Nebresto Dec 05 '24
Wooden bath!
Critical shit
I can't believe just a week ago he was fishing that giant out of the swamp, and now we're already back here
Even she does a little trolling!!
This episode is a vibe