Hunter X Hunter Episode 95
What They Say:
Gon, a young boy who lives on Whale Island, dreams of becoming a Hunter like his father, who left when Gon was still young.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Hunter x Hunter has moved closer to the main storyline recently, which has been helpful in reigniting my interest in it. The time spent with Gon and Killua’s training is done well enough overall, and it made sense to push them to the side for a bit so events in the NGL can really ramp up and become clearer with the shift in leadership and the split that happened among some of the Chimera Ants, but that was all done in the background for the most part. And that just left me watching more and more familiar material with Gon and Killua growing and changing. Which, after ninety-odd episodes, I’ve seen a good deal of. Thankfully, we’ve gotten some different fighting material right at the start here with one of the Chimera Ants dealing with some of the Hunters who finds himself outclassed more than he expected, which provides for a fairly tight and engaging opening act.
When the show does shift back to Gon and Killua, it’s where they get the reveal of what’s going on with Kite now that he’s been captured and sealed in the Hotel Raffelsia power. He’s long gone from who he wants, certainly not the man he was before, but you can see how Gon attempts to get through to him. While it’s easy to understand how others might recommend against that, when you take into account the way Gon connects with wild animals, it makes a lot of sense with the approach that he takes, the calmness of it and the way he accepts the hits that Kite throws upon him. And that everyone else will just watch. Some of the commentary is good from the others, but it’s how they all really understand what’s going on and how it takes Gon time to really accept it is worthwhile.
Because of the changes Gon has gone through, the show does shift a bit as it moves ahead a few weeks and the boys and a few others from the Hunters Association head off in a different direction for awhile for a new mission while events in the NGL are still unfolding. The show brings the group to the Republic of East Gorteau where a founding anniversary celebration is about to occur, but there’s the knowledge we have as the viewer in knowing that the supreme leader there is being controlled and manipulated by the Chimera Ants. The team knows something is going on and that a lot of people are at risk, which has them intent on stopping it before it happens if they can figure out what the real plan is. There’s a good bit of tension going on here but there’s also a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere about it in some ways and almost some hilariously excellent comical nods working in the background as well.
In Summary:
Hunter x Hunter is working through a few different things here, including the return of Gon’s nen power and the reveal of just how intense he can be when he puts his mind to it and has a goal. Gon is definitely one scary person, but it’s wrapped up in such an enigmatic package that it can be hard for others to figure out how to really read and understand him. There’s a lot of good stuff going on here in general as the events move towards where the Chimera Ant king is, but also in dealing with Kite after all this time as well and putting Gon in a really interesting position when it comes to him. There’s some good action and excellent tension in this episode as well as a good little bit of fun that will make the observant grin.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.