LogFAQs > #900819389

Episodes 18 to 22

Recap: Gon helps everyone escape the cave, and after some interviews, Stage 5 begins: ultimate loser. In a sadistic match, Hanzo breaks Gon's arm and threatens to cut off his legs, but Gon refuses to yield, ever. Hanzo forfeits and KOs Gon, who wakes up to find his license granted and the exam over - but that Killua has been DQ'd for killing an old guy. Gon finds out from Killua's brother Illumi that Killua is at home.

That Hanzo episode is fucking intense as shit. Hanzo has seemed largely like a joke, with his most notable contribution thus far being Killua's punking of him. But he wrecks Gon's shit in a single hit here, and somehow they never lose sight of exactly how silly he is. He gets hilariously unnerved by Gon's proposition to have a different sort of contest, and no one fails to point out the irony in his business cards.

And man, Gon has indomitable willpower. I believe it in an instant. I don't think it's particularly intelligent, and he's lucky that it hasn't gotten him killed yet. But one aspect of Gon that I think has come through really well in the show: his purity draws people to him. Whether it's a predator like Hisoka, or a dude who's seen it all like Hunter Leader Man, or his slight elders who are much more cynical like Leorio and Kurapika, or his more dark-hearted peer Killua - they all find inspiration in Gon's purity. I can't relate to it, but he's a great hero.

How creepy is Illumi? His scenes aren't exactly as mesmerizing as his creepy-ass eyes are, but that episode managed to be pretty terrible to watch, too. (I love the fact that we find out all the results in flashback.) I was totally thinking that during his trash talk, Killua would kill him. But thus far, no weaker kid has beaten an actually stronger elder character. Love the way we're seeding not starter villains, but major arc villains, here in the opening part of the series - and giving us reason not to fight them yet. Glad Gon broke that bitch's arm.

The serious violence in this show can feel really strange given how goofy it is and how young the characters are. It's also a little bizarre given the technological age it appears to be set in, with aircrafts and internet. I guess we'll eventually find out how bullets stack up to character powers, if they're at all significant? Why do Hunters matter, and why is this organization so openly given ridiculous authority? Will this be addressed?

One neat angle here was the people that everyone picked to avoid fighting, and the people that they most noticed. Virtually everyone had Hisoka or Gon on their lists. Even Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika didn't pick one another - but mostly noted Gon. Props to Hisoka to telling us his motivation straight-up - dude just wants a license to kill, no strings attached. Interesting how amoral the Hunter organization is, despite the fact they know they attract scum and don't seem to want that. I hope we learn more about why Hunters even exist to begin with, and what it means to be one.

Along with our villains and the next obvious quest in Kukuroo Mountain, we're seeded a few questions/mysteries for the future. Satotz, aka purple-mustache, tells Gon that he's heard of Ging in archaeology. And of course, the Hunter Exam... is still not over. Well that seems bush league. They tell us that many Hunters lose their cards in the first year. Wonder how that will play out, too...

Lots on our plate, but first, a boring sidequest.
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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