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Episodes 6-10

Recap: The hunters pass Stage 2 by first hunting boar and then diving into a canyon and being lifted out by thermal updrafts. Then they board an airship to Stage 3, during which Gon and Killua play a game with the chief examiner. They are now a few steps into Stage 3, 'Majority Decision.' In a best-of-5 tournament, Tonpa tanks Round 1, Gon wins Round 2 with a candle, Kurapika smashes a guy pretending to be of his parents' clan's killer, and Leorio gets into a wagering game on the veracity of the victim's unconsciousness. Hisoka passes Stage 3.

These episodes for the most part are pretty straightforward and unexciting. The best thing I can say is that Gon is an excellent protagonist - he has yet to have a bad moment on the show, which really impresses me. He's pure-hearted, but less aggressively stupid/annoying than Kid Goku. He's not afraid to play a little dirty (e.g. to get the examiner to use his right hand, or to blow out the second opponent's candle), but he's also not a conniver (and he doesn't feel the need to explain everything aloud to us).

My favorite part of these episodes is when Killua rage-quits the keep-away game with the examiner and explains that he and Gon are being toyed with by the examiner, who hasn't even used his right hand or left leg. Gon realizes the chasm in skill... and decides to keep playing anyway. Time and again, Gon is handed the "solution" to the puzzle (you don't need to pick A or B in the quiz; you can't beat the examiner at all). But it's not just the winning that Gon is interested in - he's interested in challenging himself, whether it's with a hypothetical moral dilemma or trying to make an old man use his right hand.

In contrast, Tonpa had the series's worst moment in Episode 10, when he spent 3 or 5 straight minutes having a verbally detailed orgasm about how MAJORITY DECISION is now TEARING THE TEAM APART. It's a miserable momentum-killer that explains something pretty damn obvious and legit feels like padding. Thank God for Hisoka's section where he catches the knives thrown by an ex-examiner Hunter - short but sweet.

As for the rest of what's happening, most of it has been spent in majority decision mode. It hasn't been awful, but I'm ready to see something more interesting. Also, props to Leorio for making such smart bets.

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* When it really comes to decisive blows, the series's art has shifted to look more intense. So far, that's Hisoka's one-punch KO of Leorio and Kurapika's one-punch KO of Maritani (or whatever that Burter-looking motherfucker's name is).

* While I don't like the setup much, I'm pretty invested in Leorio's betting game - because depending on its outcome, Killua would be next.

* The prison guy administering Stage 3 is ugh.

* Even after Stage 2 has ended, Killua is still killing random redshirts for bumping into him. Interested in seeing where Killua goes from here.

* That "TOP NOTCH ROCK CLIMBER" redshirt who tries to climb down from the tower outside... Incredible.

* Enjoyed watching smug Kurapika getting punked during the taste test in Step 2.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness