Hunter X Hunter Episode 86
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)
With the pretty striking incident with Kite in the previous episode having set the stage pretty well, things certainly have ramped up a fair bit with the mood and tone of the series. The events in the NGL have been building for a bit and having Gon and Killua escape definitely helped since it showed some smart moves rather than just trying to hide, survive and fight. The NGL and the Chimera Ants themselves, and the fallout from Kite, is pretty minimal here but what we do learn is useful as there appears to be a way that Kite may be coming back in some form and there’s also more of the royal guards for the Queen being released from their stasis, who are utterly beautiful, and add a new wrinkle to things as we see some of their enhanced abilities and what they can offer to the show.
This episode doesn’t focus much on the Chimera Ants though, instead providing some small moments along the way and that’s about it. It’s main focus is on the two boys who have been given an opportunity to return to the NGL and face the Chimera Ants in an attempt to save Kite as Gon is convinced their alive. But what they have to do is deal with two assassins who are in the area and defeat them within a month to prove they have what it takes to survive in going up against the NGL. The two, Knuckle and Shoot, aren’t given a lot of time and it mostly focuses on Knuckle who is absolutely done for comedic effect, even if he does have some power to back him up. But the general idea is sound in that the Hunters want to make sure they’re not sending people to their deaths but rather those who stand a chance. Which is something that even the headmaster isn’t too sure he’s capable of doing when he gets a sense of what’s in the NGL.
This has the two boys back in training mode and part of it comes through the meeting with a creepy woman named Palm who is going to use them for her own plans when it comes to the NGL. She provides a bit of soothsaying in a way, but where the show gets fun is when the boys discover that Bisky has come back to help them out. While there’s a month deadline to get ready, Gon is intent on being ready in a week so that means some intense (and mostly offscreen) training going on. Bisky’s return is pretty fun in general and she has some good bits when it comes to dealing with Palm sine the two of them are polar opposites in many ways, but especially with personality and appearance. There’s a sense of danger that really does emanate from Palm and it’s interesting to see how Bisky deals with and just how much of it she feels threatened by.
In Summary:
Hunter X Hunter does some decent things here and it feels more natural than it might if the previous episode hadn’t spent so much time getting the boys out of the NGL and on the run after seeing what happened to Kite. The shift back to training is a bit tiring in some ways since it’s such a constant in the series, but it’s at least done with a reason and there’s some background movements going on with other characters that at least makes it engaging to see where it will go, either from those from the Hunter’s Exam realm or the Chimera Ants themselves. And while Bisky isn’t one of my favorite characters, having her make an appearance for a bit certainly won’t hurt as she brings a little something different to the table.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL-70R550A 70″ 1080p LED HDTV, Apple TV, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.