100% Blind HUNTER X HUNTER Review: The Chimera Ants Arc (3/3)
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2021
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Finally the day has arrived where I review one of the most critically
acclaimed stories to ever come out of Japan. A series troubled in its production,
experienced in its telling and written by one of Japan's best mangakas
Yoshihiro Togashi. I'm Totally Not Mark and it's time for me to analyse the
adventures of Gon, Killua, Kite & Netero as they journey through The Chimera Ants Arc. Welcome everyone to HUNTER x HUNTER!
MUSIC USED
-VON (Remix by Kayou)
-Kingdom of Predators (HxH 2011)
-Prophecies (Cover by Individu Lambda)
-The Last Mission (HxH 2011)
-Theme of Kage (HxH 2011)
-Restriction and Pledge (HxH 2011)
-Godzilla's Theme (Cover by Megaraptor)
-Who Will Know (Cover by Luna Lorrain)
-Rasetsu (HxH 2011)
In The Palace -Lamentoso (Cover by Michael Shingo Crawford)
-Elegy Of The Dynast (Directed by Nicolas Bogdan)
-Opening from Glassworks (Cover by Igor Kratovic)
-Legend of the Martial Artist (Cover by Pokemixr92)
-----------------------------------------
PATREON: / totallynotmark
TWITTER: / totallynotmark
INSTAGRAM: / totallynotmark
MY EDITOR: / channel 
Развлечения
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Hello
early gang
5 hours ago what?????
@@dommyWommy82 exactly
“5 hours ago”
"until the current arc is complete" hahahahaha good one
Hasn’t it been over two years since the last chapter?
It's been more than 900 days...
Yup, at least that. I for one have come to accept it'll never finish and appreciate what we got.
I wish he’ll stop where the manga is currently like what he did for his one piece review
Sir Bbyhotpocket
Ouch, I don’t think that even Berserk (RIP Kentaro Miura) had a hiatus that long.
"Until the current arc is complete"
Who's gonna tell him....
i dont get it ._.
@@penguino14wee67 hiatus.
He can cover until [spoiler]
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.
.
.
.
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they enter into the whale ship to the East Blue.
the "Election mini-arc" + crew selection
@@penguino14wee67 it’s been almost 3 years since the last chapter
@@applenewmoon4402 and about 2 years from the one before that
That final scene with Komugi and Meruem STILL gets me choked up to this day. SO DAMN GOOD.
had to rewatch the show last month with a friend of mine and it left me BAWLING when i got to that scene
I didn’t know you watched Mark’s vids
It always makes me cry man so sad.
Yep that’s what cemented Meruem as my second favorite character for me. Probably one of the sadest scenes in all of anime.
I cry every damn time. 😭😭
I still find it crazy, to this day.
Gon and Meruem have never met throughout the entirety of the Chimera Ant Arc
Gon only ever caught a glimpse of him ONCE and that was it.
I find it especially good that despite their lack of contact, they act in parallel to each other for a lot of the arc, Meruem undergoing a positive change arc as Gon descends down a negative change arc
Gon would of gotten bodied tho
@@father_yusuke no shit
The only story where the main character and the main "villain" never interact once
Knuckle is possibly the most underrated character in hxh. How they make you care for him before and after the palace invasion in such a short amount of time is astonishing
Yeah him and Melody from Yorknew are some of the best written characters
for sure one of the unspoken MVPs of this arc.
@@mugisama779 don’t forget morel
Knuckle is only that good because hes probably the newest character with the oldest and bigger background, as hes pretty much a mash between Yusuke and Kuwabara from Yu YU Hakusho. The author was already used to writing this two characters so having a character that is pretty much and reincarnation of his previous work on his newer one was genious as he knew just how to write the character the right way!
@@gilzineto exactly what I thought
Favorite touch that the anime did during Killua stopping gon after Gon transformed was throughout the entire series we never hear killua’s foot steps. But in this scene we not only hear them but they are the only thing we hear. To me showing how in that moment killua only cared about saving gon.
I never caught that! That's a fascinating detail that makes explicit use of the anime medium to communicate something.
Damn
Nice catch there
The attention to detail throughout the Chimera Ant Arc in both the manga and anime are master class representations of what this medium that we love has to offer.
That’s dope
The "Protagonist" throwing everything away for revenge and the villain throwing his ambitions away for love is such an incredible subversion of shonen tropes.
It is not a subversion
@@tremassicotte3172 It kind of is, since most of the time that happens there's no real consequence, they just get a kickass powerup.
This time it cost Gon his abilities.
@@tremassicotte3172 Subversion - To cause to serve a purpose other than the original or established one.
The "established one" being the shounen tropes that Hunter x Hunter... well, subverted. Lol
Thematically, ssj2 teen Gohan actually bears some resemblance to Gon’s transformation. To paraphrase Mathwiz, Gohan, like Gon, sacrifices everything that defines him-his kindness-in order to kill cell. This sacrifice costs him Goku’s life-yeah I know the Buu arc mucks this up but still.
I still think Togashi handled this theme better than Toriyama-no surprise there but also want to at least acknowledge Toriyama’s efforts.
A little detail i like is how when Gon is watching Pitou, he's sitting in the exact same position Meruem was vs. Netero (and also Hisoka in the hallway at Heaven's Arena). It's like, the official HxH "don't eff with me" pose
edit: another nice touch? Netero loses his left arm and right leg... the same limbs he couldn't use in that keepaway game back in the first arc
Didn't notice all that. Thanks
Royal ease
That's actually blood lust or killer instinct in hxh
Also Killua in one of the full page spreads in the Hunter Exam arc in the manga
Pose also used in the photo of ging we saw way back in the beginning
Mark:*Mentions Godzilla* Editor: "MY TIME HAS COME."
@Editor-san A fellow king lover! all hail the KOTM!
When that cover of Who Will Know played I got chills
The next arc isn't the "Succession Contest", it's the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc. The Succession _War_ arc is the current unfinished one.
Good… I was not the only one that noticed
Wouldn’t the hisoka fight be considered a mini arc or would it be consider part of the succession arc?
@@Yoobbi part of the succession arc seems the time of the events overlap.
@@Yoobbi it is considered part of the Succession War
@@Yoobbi it's part of the succession war arc
Meruem's En is so blindingly bright, because his name is "The Light that Illumiates the World". Its such a beautiful touch
also the wings and his ability to feel everyones emotions is really godlike
It's interesting too because his name "meruem" sounds similar to words relating to death, both in English and other languages. Mortality, murder, mortal, muerte, mortem, morte, mortis...
the meaning of his name really adds heartwrenching irony to his death considering he died blind and in darkness...
Meruem became blind at the end. He didn't just close his eyes. That's why he kept asking if Komugi was still there.
Really? I don't know that
@@jeetadhvaryu5680 Yup the poisoning started shutting down his internal systems and his eyes went first
@@ziongamer6905
Is that based on the manga or an assumption made due to the effects of certain other poisons?
@@spudman1734 Well, everything goes black and he keeps asking if Komugi is still there. And the poisoning is the only thing that could've caused it. I think it's a safe assumption.
If this is true, then it only means that Komugi and Meruem proved that "Love is blind".
Welfin: "Koo - muu - gi..."
Elegy of the Dynast OST plays, Meruem sees the light
Pouf: "This is how deeply he values her"
That's the moment pouf dies, before the poison takes him later.
That part was the best part of the arc when that music hit the feels were real.
Yeah the 2011 isn't always perfect but that's one of the best scenes I've ever seen in an anime, the way it goes from black and white to full colour too. Amazing.
@@damarkomoore5236 and the fact that the character with most "ant" traits, dies knowing how does it feel to love, and how he never had an opportunity against that.
It's interesting how one sentences bring about utter darkness for Gon and the most blinding light for Meruem
A detail you may've overlooked is that the games between Meruem and Komugi tell a story that acts as parallel to the main plot. The strategy Kokoriko, created by Komugi herself, tries to isolate the "king" in the board, but she's aware of it so she has several counters.
In the end they only have their own "kings" remaining, and so, the game cant end. In this moment of the story, they both die in the company of each other.
Excellent catch thought I was the only one
Never noticed that before thx for pointing it out
That's a really popular one, but I personally like this other one where they're playing but Meruem stops in his tracks as he notes: "The shinobi has done nothing the entire match and suddenly out of nowhere, now controls the whole board", before admiting defeat.
To me this is foreshadowing for Komugi's role throughout the invasion as she's explicitly represented as the Shinobi piece from the game. Komugi during the early events of the invasion doesn't much have importance other than being a victim caught in the attack of the Hunters but after Meruem's memory loss she's the piece that controls the whole board despite having done anything significant other than being *there* in the middle of the battlefield as she's the only one that can make the king see reason and make him stop on his tracks as seen when he hears her name.
Effectively "The shinobi has done nothing the entire match and suddenly out of nowhere, now controls the whole board". Every single decision made after the nuke in some way has something to do with Komugi, protecting her, killing her, hiding her, you name it.
@@unsightedjorge458 Oh my god, this is amazing! HxH is so genius!
@@unsightedjorge458 fuck me thats amazing catch man
"I may not be much, but if you'll have me..."
I always let people know that that line from Komugi is an old Japanese way to accept a marriage proposal. Rewatch the scene with that in mind. She accepted at that moment that they would be together until death.
I think you completely missed one of the most important parts of the arc. The story did in essence have a bright spot. The ants as more time passes start to regain their human memories of who they used to be. And the scene where the little girl ant goes home to her mom and her mom welcomes her like she is the same person she used to be literally had me crying my eyes out. To see it come full circle like that such good writing, and basically fully illustrated the point that the ants and the humans aren’t really that different from each other after all.
I think Mark might have rushed through this too much. Imo, not a terribly good review.
Totallynotmark rushing through and over looking the entire arc, basically just flipping the pages to read keywords of each panel?
Wow. How fucking shocking./s
He really complains and cries about things that are given in the story.
Nothing but disrespect. He gave a dragon ball evolution review of this fucking show.
@@jamesbenz3228 yeah I agree, especially considering what we are used to seeing out of him. Basically just glossed over the ants that switched sides, Morel, Knuckle, Shute, and the royal guards. Killua wasn’t really talked about how he befriended the ants. Idk with an arc this in depth/long it definitely calls for the reviews to be more in depth as well... just my opinion though.
@@vivianjames357 Stop crying.
@@vivianjames357 Dude the hell is wrong with you? He wasnt a fan of a lot of this arc, get the hell over it. You seriously think everyone just HAS to have you're opinion huh?
Stop making excuses for why he "JuST dOeSNt sEe tHe NaRaTIve BRilLiAncE".
The last portion of this arc is truly beautiful. Nothing quite like it in shonen.
And it's not just the quality but also the uniqueness of it
Theme delivery character development and subversion
@@tpsam Look at the one piece flashback with oden
@Techipit Enjoy.
Lol
@Techipit well at least your at a good section
Meruem's and Komugi's passing on together absolutely destroyed me emotionally. It was so moving and powerful, thank you togashi
It was sobering and cathartic. Up until that point I’ve never felt that way about an “antagonist” for any story. I had to stop watching HxH for a minute just to get over it
Best ending arc ever
Ive read through hunter x hunter 3 times now. I'm currently on my 6th watch of the anime (currently at yorknew). I have balled like a baby every single time i see meruem and komugi's deaths. And i know i will in a couple weeks whej i reach that point again. It is one of only 3 scenes in fiction i can think of that just destroy me. (Seymour waiting for fry and john cofee watching the angels dance in the flicker show up to his own death being the others.)
I'M SURE TOGASHI WILL END UP LIKE MIURA OF BERSERK AT THIS POINT AND HXH WILL NOT HAVE ANY FUTURE CONTINUATION 🙏
Mark: "Most of my audience is at the age where hair loss is a looming threat."
Me, a 15 year old: *Panics*
same lol
Same
Hehe. Im not looking foward to experiencing that one day.
Well, I was 15 when I noticed my temples had thin patches. Took ~3 years to look like a math teacher. (I got some hair back with meds; 21 y/o and look like a normal guy of my age).
@@Peter-tx5dj thank you anxiety
One of my favorite parts of this arc is the dramatic irony of the fates of the royal guard and Mereum. Think about it.
Youpi, a guard dedicated to strength, protection, and preservation, learns the joy of having honor within a fight and respecting your enemy even if you view them as detestable. But even through all of this, he dies suddenly, weakly, pathetically.
Pitou, a guard who dedicated herself to enjoying life through harming others. She massacred, toyed with, and violated hundreds of human lives. And then she gets the order from the king to heal one, and she becomes a begging mess against her number one enemy to protect that life. She was the worst predator of the group, but against Gon, she died as prey.
Pouf, arguably my favorite guard, was a guard who had a disillusioned idea of what a king should be. He regarded Mereum as less like a being and more like a position, and was so prideful and arrogant that he even forgot his own position under the king and thought he could tell Mereum how to be. My favorite death of the guards, Pouf struggled relentlessly to make Meruem fit his image of what a true king should be. He was the epitome of pride and high status behavior, and he died with his face in the dirt.
And then there's what made Mereum so special. Meruem was a being that came into the world arrogant, selfish, and I don't think prideful can fit the description. That can only be described as ego. He would murder you if you even so much as interrupted him with staggering power. He was unstoppable. He viewed everything as infinitely lesser than him, and not even worthy of speaking to unless they could even survive an attack from him like his guards could. When he was shown his limitations by Komugi, he began to realize he was not a perfect being and his fondness for her and humanity as a whole grew. In the end, he was not even the same person. His death was not ironic either. When he died, he could have been considered a God. Meruem in that short time after the bomb could wipe out any Hunter we had seen so far without even thinking too hard on it, even Netero. He was at his peak, his zenith. What was ironic was that he didn't care. He had changed so much that the humans he viewed as so infinitely below him were now so beautiful for giving him a purpose, that he bowed to them. He was so powerful and so dangerous, even for such a short period of time that he had left, and he decided that he would die next to a weak human that he admired.
To whoever I discuss this anime with I say this about Merurm: he is the only character I’ve ever known that was born a god and died a human.
@@CapCon85 Exactly. It's why he went from my least favorite character to my second favorite in all of HxH
@@scottiecurrie7927 my feeling exactly. Well, he’s my n1. Who’s your first?
@@CapCon85 It's a toss-up between Killua or Kurapika. They're both excellently written
i find it so thematically compelling that pitou goes from a psychopathic monster to developing empathy as her primary humanizing trait. SOOOOO good
"Until the next arc is complete"
Good one, mate
"until the current arc is complete"
so... you mean the final review ever?
At this point, I'd be fine with stick figures getting to the Dark Continent
@@ZenMasterFilms true
@@ZenMasterFilms Me too man 🥲
Might as well turn hunter Hunter into a light novel
Wish Togashi would let someone else complete hxh, don't want to see this series' fate same as Berserk...
"I really hate Ging and I identify with Leorio"
_next arc_
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...
I can't wait for Mark to replay Leorio's best scene for 20 minutes straight.
The dirty bomb twist was so surprising and fitting. Near the climax, I kept asking myself, "With Netero gone, who is strong enough to kill the king??" *BAM* Biological warfare
This is why I love hxh it's not always about I'm strong so i win ... characters is logical/strategic ... Netero nuking meruem because his power is not enough then morel is for sure stronger than Leon/leol and yet morel use the co2 to defeat Leon/leol also being faster is relevant cheetuh is way weaker than morel and yet his able to give morel and knuckle a hard time because of his speed ... But the best example is chorollo vs the zoldyck ... Chorollo did anticipate that the mafia might call for the assassins so he hired illumi to kill the 10 dons so the assassins will stop from hunting him just like silva and zeno did!
So Netero's zero hand blast was like nowhere near the bomb blast even though uvogin was trying to make his punch as string as an atomic bomb? I feel like the zero hand blast should of been way more powerful than it was
"Super Saiyan 3 has the biggest transformation hair"
Gon: *Hold my Nen*
Take my like, and get the fuck out.
*longest
okay but you're not getting it back
hold my gAmU aNd GoMu
Well, they definitely held it
Dragonball: I beat the boss with the power of transforming!
HxH: Let just nuke it!
You try nuking a DB character, it won't do anything.
DBZ did the same thing with Cell and Majin Buu
@@maxdrags3115 buu?
In fairness, in Dragonball Z they sent out fighter jets to fight one of the threats (I think it was Nappa and Vegeta) it’s just that those jets got torn apart like wet tissue paper.
That may also be filler, I’m not exactly sure.
but not only a nuke, it was poison as well
"but what if real monster is human all along" should be such a cliche narrative but Hunter x Hunter managed to deliver it in one of the best and most impactful ways I've EVER seen, this is the arc that cemented it as one of my top 5 favorite media things ever
I think because it didn't ask the question what if. It told us. Humans make up monsters because there are none more dangerous than us.
I think it’s only as powerful as it is because while there are obviously scenes of the terrible things humans can do, ultimately it’s about the highs and lows, not just the lows. The only reason Meruem acts like he does is because of the humanity gifted to him by Chimera Ant genetics, and in the end, the point is that the ants were really no different than humans from the start.
@@ryuhitsuya21 The point is not that we are *only* monsters, but that more often then not the monster is our persona. Meruem was only capable of compassion *because* of his human genes. Meruem tapped into the best parts of humanity, and he did so without even knowing they existed. He is the side of us we should be embracing more often then not, if he can do it, so can we.
The way this arc handled this topic is phenomenal. It shows that the idea of evil is embedded in nature. A great example is with the Netero calling Meruem’s naive for his ideal form of peace since at no matter what species takes over after humans they will eventually repeat human nature.
So true
Meruem: "I will never repeat myself."
Also Meruem: "Komugi, are you still there?" x10 😭
Meruem vs. Netero doesn't feel like heroes fighting villains but two species fighting for the top of the food chain.
And , funnily enough, humanity cheated.
@@filipvadas7602 more like humanity showed the brain is stronger(i am not glorifying it tho)
@@legendarymortarplayer9453 I took away from the story a more honest take of the 'do anything to win' determination that you see alot in this genre. True determination and cleverness in combat is a hell of a scary thing determined more by the lack of limits than anything. And in a clash for the top spot for the food chain, 'do anything to win' is the name of the game.
@@filipvadas7602 There is no cheating, no rules were made.
@@filipvadas7602 "cheated"
Clown words
Mark was totally not ready for this one
Clever pun
Nice one 👍
....who the fuck is mark? Totally not this guy
I kinda wish that you talked about Gyro a bit, he hasn't paid off yet but I think his inclusion in this arc is important as heck.
To be fair, its questionable on whether Gyro will ever pay off at the rate the manga is progressing.
Can we just appreciate how beautifully MADHOUSE animated Gons transformation, no other one like that in anime rn
Ye ufo table , demon slayer , one punch ect.
@@markusbonnet439 tbf opm was also made by MADHOUSE. Man I miss the old MADHOUSE.
@@aurorahodges4986 yeah I know , I was saying ufo table in general, then specifically opm and d s , all crazy good though
@@aurorahodges4986 if you miss the old madhouse you might like Sonny boy, their new anime
@@aakashshukla2848 yeah Sonny boy looking fire art style wise
It's amazing how Togashi somehow got us all to care about an "antagonist" who literally ate the skin of a child
I didn’t, I wanted to see Netero kill him and he nearly did.
@@juliandavidhoffer2022 Funnily enough, I cared about Meruem AND wanted his whole species wiped out at the same time.
I got exactly what I wanted, I'd say.
@@Akranejames yeah. You got to enjoy the sappy shit and the action. I personally prefer Younger Toguto to Meruem his fear of old age and the lengths he went to to avoid inevitably losing his power was much more grounded than being the most powerful dude ever who has to decide whether or not to let all of humanity live.
@@juliandavidhoffer2022 Never read Yu Yu Yakusho so I can't really compare, but to me the entire point of Meruem was all about setting up humanity's power and the dilemna of whether or not an overpowered man who was capable of incredible atrocities but wanted to reform should be trusted and left alive.
It was never in Meruem's power to decide the fate of humanity; it was in Netero's power to decide the fate of the Ants and, most importantly, Meruem. And in a more meta way, in our power as readers to decide whether said fate was deserved or not.
redemption
And since that's the kind of thing I'm into more than the big fights, I got my fill.
@@Akranejames we are opposites then. I love my big fights. I get chicken wings and just sit down rewatching fights. Can’t tell you how many times I spent all day rewatching the Frieza fight. Anime fights are really something else, an art form all in their own. Sad to see modern anime rush the fights, we will never see anything like the classic Shounen battles.
“Next week will be my last review until the current arc is complete”
Right, so, it’s the last review ever.
Remember when Netero said to Him and Killua in the hunter exam :
"I'm going to use only my left leg and right arm to play!"
That was a hell of a foreshadowing
It wasn’t foreshadowing it just came full circle which is dope
It's more of a coincidence since it happened long before Meruem was born so he has no idea it happened, and Netero losing those specific limbs isn't crucial to anything plot-wise or even within the fight, just kind of a neat little detail.
I think the point is that when he was fighting Gon and Killua he wasn't using his dominant hand and arm in order to give himself a handicap. Meruem, when he fought Netero, probablt saw that and was only taking off his weaker limbs in order to make him surrender while keeping gim in his best condition because he respected him as an individual and fighter
@@LargeCockIsBack basically so basically Meruem sees Netero at the start of their fight how Netero say Gon and Killua at the start of the story which is scary to think about
One scene you didn't talk about that is very meaningful in my opinion, is the moment Meruem is kneeling before Palm. He is the strongest creature in the universe at that moment and is supposed to be a ruling king, but he basically begs Palm in a humble manner to show him where Komugi is, because seeing her is all that he wants for his last moments. He doesn't care about unnecessary values like pride.
Surprised that Mark didn't talk about Killua crying in this review
Maybe he might talk about Killua more on the next part, where Killua reflect on what happened and how he's gonna save Gon.
DBZ: Transformations means a hopeful representation of a character rising physically and emotionally.
HxH: Transformations means a tragic representation of a character falling mentally and psychologically.
Same crap with different paint.
Yes.
Basically
except not all transformation are meant to be hopeful and "emotionally raising"
Gohan transformation in cell games only made him become more violent and thirsts for his opponent misery which he only acknowledges after his father dies and only by his father support he made it through
Not really tbh. Or at least, DBZ's transformations never used to be that way. Goku transformed out of anger after Krillin was killed and became a revenge filled monster for a bit that scared Gohan. Likewise, Gohan did a similar thing when he transformed after Cell killed #16 and also became blood thirsty.
I have never full on ugly cried in an anime until Meruem and Komugi's final moments together. That shit broke me. 💔
I love it when a story can portray a battle of words or ideas as clearly as a physical battle. Welfin burned a lifetime of nen to guess the perfect response and smashed Pouf's plans, exactly like Gon and Pitou.
Addressing the comments about the bombs.
To avoid any confusion surrounding what I was saying:
I do not think that the USA were an altruistic force for good in the war. Those bombings of Nagasaki and Horishima are still to this day some of the worst attrocities that mankind has every committed. I perhaps focused too much on Japan in this portion due to its connection to the material in my head. The point I was trying to make was that the bombs, the explosions and the forces that made that horrific event happen are what paint mankind as something capable of monsterous acts. An image that was evoked through the panels of this arc.
To be clear: I have zero allegence to the United States as I'm from Ireland and I fully acknowledge the attrocities they have on their hands across the world. Despite Germany and Japan's evil acts across their respective regions during that time being monsterous in their own rights, that does not paint the horrid acts put into play by the USA as anything other than horrible also.
And that's why that image in the manga was so powerful for me. It's a snapshot of how horrible we can be to each other.
No, it’s Mogi
Hello
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Lol, are you gonna compare DBZ with HxH like you did with One Piece, I want to watch the fanboys kill each other.
Do Naruto now
Woohoo finally!!! Mark should do Berserk next to honor Miura's legacy. *UPDATE* he did it!!!!
Yes!! This needs to happen!
Agreed
Agreed!
Agreed
He already said he is probably not reviewing it
You comment on how Gon sits but don't notice that's how Meruem sits???
And hisoka when gon and killua first felt his aura
I actually like that he just sees it as "The Hunter staring down his prey" pose rather than try to go back to every character who had this pose like a lot of fans, I think Mark is right to see it that way, it's not about who uses this pose, it's about what it means
I love togashi's writing so much cause I noticed something that was really cool in a seemingly unimportent scene. When komugi asked meruem what his name was and meruem confronted pouf, youpi, and pitou to see if any of them know what his name is, they each give an answer that gives insight into each of the characters and how they view meruem. Pouf's answer reflects how he only see's meruem as "The King" and doesn't actually care about meruem himself, youpi gives a simple answer that shows his loyalty to the meruem as his faithful knight, and pitou's answer shows how she genuinely cares for meruem as a living being rather then just simply as "The King"
Stop lying lmao, you copied this directly from Aleczandxr's Pouf video
@@soccerstuff8071 wait what, did he say that? I never watched his pouf video cause I hate that little shit and I wasn't about to spend 30 minutes hearing about a character I hate
@@artonprenga3791 Your comment said it basically verbatim. It's the introduction of the entire video, so I have trouble believing that you haven't seen it. However in the off-chance that you haven't, I would recommend it. It's a great video and if you go into it with an open-mind then you'll come away with new appreciation for the character.
@@soccerstuff8071 yea I guess I should watch it, all of his other Hunter x Hunter videos are really good and point out a lot of stuff I didn't notice
Also pitou is male
How did a Blind Girl dying with an ant make me cry more than I've ever cried over the last three years?
God tier writing
Radiation poisoning?
Probably the same way One Piece made me cry over a boat
@@StarMarine1084 To me One Piece can drag all kinds of tears from me. Tears of joy sadness excitment. Like I want to live. Walk to arlong park. Merrys gomen ne. The Meruem Komugi scene was incredibly sad but i was also happy he got what he wanted for his final moments.
U Gay?
Lmaoooo MARK! Your editor ain’t slick!
I saw what he did at the ending! You’re gonna love the next arc 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Lmaooooo
Thank you for pointing that out, I would have 100% missed that XDDD!
Nice catch
I honestly did not expect the final scene with Meruem and Komugi to hit me at all. While his character development and humanization throughout the arc was incredibly well done, I didn't find myself feeling much as I was watching. But something about the way those final scenes were depicted just made all the emotions burst through and had me literally CRYING. A testament to story telling.
meruem's and komugi's last moments NEVER fail to make me cry
Just your daily reminder that Bungee Gum has the properties of both rubber and gum.
Thank you
I almost forgot. Could have gotten myself killed. You saved a life today
@AndrewWithEase11 11 what da dog doin?
@AndrewWithEase11 11 Hmm hmm, I love that salt.
Can you give me some more?
BTW, unlike salt, Bungee Gum has the properties of both rubber and gum.
Thanks for the reminder
"Until the current arc is completed"
So, uuuuuh, never?
Literally. At least do the return to Heavens Arena for THE FIGHT. The fight above almost all of them.
are u a company or what
Another thing:
“I don’t care if this is the end. So I’ll use everything.”
This is a line that so many shounen protagonists have said in some form or another. How many times have Luffy or Goku expressed this sentiment when fighting the big bad? How often do you cheer these characters on as they express this? Gon shows the true horror that really exists for a character with such a mindset. It shows that there are consequences for having such desires, a sentiment that those other properties would never acknowledge.
And it shows what happens when you really do use EVERYTHING
perfectly said
Luffy has never said something like this.
Also, it's perfectly consistent with what we know about Nen. Gon places on himself the ultimate condition, and is therefore given the ultimate strength. This moment is perfectly consistent with the whole story, and it's why it is an amazing payoff for the whole manga.
@@chinesemassproduction He may not one for one have said it but he certainly has expressed this sentiment with most of the final fights of every single arc. Just look at his gear system. He is cutting down on his life in order to obtain power. His whole blitz to Marineford also hammers in that sentiment that is clearly all over Luffy.
My favorite quote of this arc is during netero's dying moments, "you don't understand humans endless potential for malice/evolution." Whatever character togashi used for the last word meant both malice and evolution, which adds to the whole humans being very dark and destructive theme.
Naruto: you should try and talk to pitou and maybe they can redeem theirselves in the future
Gon: naw I'm going to end their whole career now
Gon & TFS Vegeta: IT'S TO BAD I AM BLINDED BY ALL THIS UNYIELDING RAGE!
Pitou would never change, it is realistic.
@@maxdrags3115 I know I was making fun of naruto trying to save every villain
@@thegawdvegito4260 naruto doesn’t try to save every villain. He didn’t try to save Kaguya or Madara. What are u talking about??
@@claymusicoff5663 Because both of them didnt even try to talk with Naruto If they started slight amount of conversation I am sure that Naruto would've pulled of "Talk No Jutsu" to those two Most dangerous jutsu of all time!!
mark: last review until next arc is completed,
me: see you in 20 years
That early? You are optimistic
I just started crying at even the mention of meruem and komugi's death, fuck
10:43 I didn’t realize this until now, but both Meruem and Gon are sitting the exact same way but with totally opposite intents. Mereum is sitting with a desire to talk rather than fight, while Gon is sitting with a desire to fight rather than talk, which only further adds to Mark’s idea that Meruem and Gon are almost complete opposites to each other in this arc.
Mark: It's gonna take more then that to impress me-
*Hunter x Hunter does a backflip*
:0
Misadventures of Flapjack?
Snap Mark's emotion and win his heart.
...and breaks the bad guy's neck
Also I nearly cried when Reina returned as an ant girl
The emotion put into to gons voice acting is amazing
Not only the black panels are used to connect to us the idea that Meruem is dying and has his eyes closed. Not only are they used to enfasize the emotions of both characters through the use of dialogs. The true climax and symbolism of the black panels is that Meruem finally stands in equal condition with Komugi. He lost his sight and could only feel and understand Komugi through voice and touch, just as it always was for Komugi. He was vulnerable and at deaths bed, truly humbled by life as he slowly loses his, just as Komugi was weak and prone to hurt herself.
At the beginning, The King stood tall and mighty before the weak and humble Komugi.
At the end, The King layed weak and dying next to the compassionate and lively Komugi.
This arc has many issues. Exposition is the most prominent one, which can be annoying and bothersome to some. It's perfectly understandable. Yet if you look beyond that and focus on the story, the exploration of that which means to be human, the good and the bad, this is story is a treasure.
The King was born to be a monster, but died a human.
"Next weeks gonna be my final review of HxH until the current arc ends."
Yeah, this will be his final HxH review.
I wish there was more mentions of the extermination group fighting against Youpi and Pouf
Yea, same.
Agreed some great characters were completely ignored basically.
I Wish there was more space given to Pouf in general. Such a memorable character.
I would've loved if he went back to the scene where Shoot is finally fully realized as a character against Youpi in the stairs, his struggle and his breakdown after going all-out against Youpi is one of the definite highlight that ONLY possible thanks to the heavy narration through his mind imo.
IKR?
He barely touched on the royal guard and they were such good characters too
I really liked that in the fight with Meruem, Netero loses his left arm and right leg, the two limbs he tried using when he was playing around with Gon and Killua in the Hunter Exams
It really emphasizes how hard Netero had to fight, as he's left with only his "serious" limbs
Who's exited for Mark's reaction to the scene-
*spoiler alert*
-where Leorio punches Ging in his freakin face?
Editor-san absolutely is with that end scene.
@@ddchrw Oh fuck so that's what it was! I completely forgot about one of the most climactic moments in the show, especially when it involves the great Leorio. Shame on me.
Overall HXH doesn't seem to have left a HUGE impression on him. (Compared to One Piece or Attack on Titan) so it'll most likely get a mention but I doubt it'll blow him away or anything
@@phlpcockrell I mean, I say iconic but I see it as a meme, the guy Gon's been chasing for the whole series can just get decked in the mouth by Leorio. Also you're probably right, he most likely will just mention it in passing.
Great video. One thing I myself only realized after my 3rd rewatch or so: Gon calling Pitou a "liar" is very appropriate and in response to something specific from earlier. In Ep. 130 Pitou subtly says: “I remember now. Back then you were…” which tells us she didn't even remember Gon and their encounter with Kite. She only remembered right then in Ep. 130, shortly after she asked for Gon's name, that Gon was there with Kite. Pitou neither remembered Gon nor who he meant when he was talking about Kite.
That's why Gon called Pitou a "liar". Previously, she promised Gon to heal Kite without knowing who he even meant. “I swear to keep that promise” she said. I believe she truly intended to save whatever person. But when arriving, she realized who this person was... and then she remembered who Gon was. With this misunderstanding, Pitou unknowingly dug her own grave. It's kind of tragic. This was a result of Gon and Pitou talking past each other. I would say that both where overwhelmed by their - very different - emotions. A little more clarity or understanding would have gone a long way.
I'm disappointed he didn't mention the fact that in this section you hear Killiua's footsteps for the first time when he saw Gon. For me that was an extremely powerful yet subtle attention to detail.
Is that an anime only thing or is it in the manga?
@@sirapple589 I have not read the manga. So I'm not sure, if it's there. But in the anime when he sees the new form Gon is in, you can hear his footsteps for the first time.
@Alex Kalinin I did notice that my first time watching it actually. I create my own content and attention to detail is always been an important thing for me. That type of small thing that is put in for the people like me who pay hyper attention is something I love putting into my own videos/IPs.
And when he brought attention to Melody commenting on Killiua's footsteps not making any or very little sound. And how he thought it was a very interesting and subtle character interaction. It got me excited to see how he would react to the only time we hear his footsteps is that moment of shock and horror at seeing the state of his best friend.
“Next week will be the final HxH review until the current arc is complete” - Mark
…
“Until the current arc is complete”
Ahahhahahahahahaahaha
Pain
One thing I like about the commentary on the evils of humanity is that, unlike every other story that touches on this topic, HxH actually makes a case that humanity's "bottomless capacity for malice" is both our greatest sin, but also our greatest strength, as it is what ultimately keeps us at the top of the food chain, especially in this instance where that position is at genuine risk. In a situation where humans have to fight for supremacy at the top of the food chain, it is that ruthlessness and cruelty that puts us on top. And the minor detail that the nuke Netero used was cheap to produce adds another chilling layer to this, as from the beginning the ants stood no chance, we were already mass producing weapons that could wipe even their most powerful ant off the face of the planet which is a stark contrast to other stories where a threat to humanity would require every ounce of our collective ingenuity and technology to barely overcome.
3/10 not enough Komugi. She's the most important character of that arc. 😞
If she didn't exist literally everyone would have just been swatted like fly
@@emiliianoportillo1311 Debatable, meruem prob would have killed Netero on the spot and therefore caused everyone in the palace to die as well
The main character choosing violence and revenge instead of normal shohen shit is literally so good
How the hell are either of those things abnormal?
Really enjoyed this review and you did a superb job in analyzing the themes presented in it. I had my issues with the last review but I appreciate the honesty
Probably the only series to pull off "love wins the day"
Also, Gon's sacrifice power up is probably my favorite transformation in any shounen series because usually it's a triumphant moment, it's a moment of prophecy. or it's something like that. No here it's a horrible thing it's like summoning a demon, it's treated with the weight and gravity of something is horrific as it is and thanks to the setup of how Nen works unlike most powerful transformation power ups there is horrific cost.
I like how HxH adds realism to the Shonen genre. Gon is a gifted kid, but he still gets his ass kicked throughout the series. He still has to train hard to get adept with Nen and there are still characters that are leaps and bounds ahead of him. It is pretty realistic for a stubborn, short sighted kid to throw away his potential just to get revenge against someone who wronged them. Gon is just a small pov in this massive world and is not the center of it.
It better than naruto who talks no jutsu and calls the man that killed his parents the coolest guy ever
I think you're gonna have to re-examine a lot of aspects of this arc at a later date (like most of the characters), but I wont ask that of you now, as this arc was DENSE.
Its something that you really gotta use fridge logic on sometimes ya know
Probably the best comment covering everyone's gripe with mark's pace. Well done.
at this point I'm 100% convinced Mark is mispronouncing every character's name on purpose out of spite for this series and its fans
Same here. Like how he mispronounce Palm with Pam? That’s an English word. 😩
Lol, that’s how I feel but then again, I don’t know how they pronounce things in Dub
@@chikahoshi he's irish that's just his accent lol
@@chikahoshi he pronounces the word "calm" the same. I think it's just his Irish accent.
I know this is kind of a joke, but he really must do this to every series he reviews then uh? REally hates his audience then
Fantastic review!
So glad your videos are back up, I hope there’s more to come
Meruem: "Komugi are you there?"
Komugi: "Hai hai nandeska!"
Sorry Don't know how to write japanese.
There's still a lot of depth in this arc that you didn't comprehend, the way Gon sits is the same pose as that of Meruem, their stories parallel each other, and they are both children who grow up very rapidly at points.
The Gungi game also reflects the story, and Komugi is represented by the "spy" piece which in the right circumstance can take the "marshal" or king piece, which is Meruem. Her special strategy in the game also revolves around isolating the king piece.
There are also so many other narratives here that weave around each other; Bizef, Killua, Morel and Knuckle, Youpi and Poufs transformations, the dictator, and more.
I really think this arc should have gotten more time and another part of review, I still think you glossed over a lot of stuff.
Yeah I feel like his breakdown of this arc wasn’t that good he missed a lot of things or didn’t talk about it, probably needs a rewatch
Them sitting the same way just enforces their parallel journeys which he very much comprehended and talked about. Seems like you're just reaching
This is all stuff people repeatedly talk about in comment sections that I’m sure you didn’t come up with it on your own, certainly not on your first read
He did miss some stuff and those are nice symbols, but he already got the parallel between Gon and Meruem.
@@pelonp3691 True.
I really love how this arc introduced us to chimera ants. On how fast they evolve, how monstrous they are and how they can take the top of the food chain. And then the conclusion was, humans are still far worse than they(chimera ants) can ever comprehend.
What a way to come back after the previous video!
When you talked about Godzilla and its meaning, you really put your little twist in the analysis of Meruem VS Netero.
And that's what I LOVE to see in yet another video on one of one of my favorite anime: new perspectives.
Keep it up, have a good reading, and I hope you cover the manga-only arcs!
Do one for the "current arc" otherwise you probably will never get a chance to.
Mark: "It did deliver some tremendous consequences that I'm sure will be felt from this moment on, like Gon's mental break, loss of his youth or use of nen".
Deus Ex Infinity Wish Machina: "Allow me to introduce myself".
Oof.
Pretty sure he still isn't able to use his nen after that.
@@xXSamir44Xx technically, we are not sure. Togashi could very well just write him in the story with him having everything back (maybe with some kind of journey/training arc to show the struggle) and it wouldn't be much of a problem
The main problem with the situation is more of what it left on Gon on a person, which isn't much after he talked with Kite
I really hope Togashi is able to complete the succession contest arc and finish where the whole dark continent macro arc is going. It's so good and we've been stuck at chapter 400...
"consequences like kite's death and loss of Gon's youth or nen"
heh
I mean the nen thing is still relevant
I mean he’s still vastly different. No one who came back as an ant was entirely the same as when they died.
@@SolitaryLark He has all his memories and a new lease at life. It's still a copout, stop defending it.
It's like Mark purposely chose all the wrong things to say to cause people to comment and better the algorithm for his channel
Mark thought the out rage from thriller bark and whole cake island was bad.
Also dressrosa part 2
Can someone TLDR me his take on the previous EP?
@@SparkZ009 he doesn’t like the narrator and thinks the lull between the beginning of the arc and the end goes on far too long and doesn’t do much for the story
@@mediumchicago_pizza Not liking the narrator is a god damn sin, especially in the 2011 version.
The anime also makes it clear hes explaining stuff that is happening in mere seconds, for which showing is incredibly hard.
Not a fan of that take.
I love the emotion in the community and its part of the fun if watching these reviews with you guys. But boy some of the community really should learn that criticizing something you like does not invalidate it but rather shows you like it so much you want to engage deeper. For me praising and being critical shows much more apreciation than just pretending something is perfect 😊
Fun fact: Knuckle believed that if Meleoron could rival Morel's lungs capacity then APR would even be able to bankrupt Post Rose Meruem.
But he was quickly shut up when he felt his en
Which is taller?
Gon’s hair or Doug Dimidome’s hat?
Ushio and Tora hair?
Where Gon's hair ends, Doug's hat begins, and vice versa.
Welfin was an incredible new adition to this story. Clear goals and obstacles, he very much makes bad decisions half the time, and we get deeper and deeper into his logic and psyche. He does something very few characters (and fewer antagonists) do, which is logically following a thread that leads to a bad decision due to a lack of information. And at the final moment, when he only has one word to say to save his life, when he has only the tiniest chance to get it right, he finds the only possible solution to the main conflict of the entire story. This is small, but my favourite thing about this arc.
Mark just read the current arc because it is in hiatus and it has been like that since 2018.
*Neferpitou (examining Kite):* "He's already dead."
*Gon:* _*You're_
Gon: You have violated the agreed upon limited warranty of your continued existence.
The main thing I thought you missed and the reason I liked this arc so much was Togashi contrasting humanities evil with its goodness, in the form of palm letting her kindness win and divining Komugis location.
Thank you for revisiting this part of the arc with us
You had me crying at the end
I think he misunderstood what the succesion contest is but he'll understand soon enough
Mark, what series is next for you to review? Honestly, I'd love to see you read Berserk and give a review on it, but another great one might be Baki.
Baki would be great, I’m curious how Mark would talk about the evolution of the art style.
Early Baki looks very different to current Baki.
@@sirapple589 true man, I just read through the Maximum tourney again and the art is so different to current baki, but it's still charming. I really enjoy end of New Grappler Baki art and all of Son of Ogre art.
@@sirapple589 Baki is also ALOOOOOOT of narration explaining pointless details. not sure if he would like that lol
There is a high chance that he may come back to the OG Dragon Ball and finish that completely. That way he could also leave it behind and be done with DB until new stuff happens. A pretty cool way to leave it behind if you ask me
@@nuredingeziqi679 good idea
You could just make an entire essay about the parallels beetween Gon and Meruem. Like it's so incredibly consistent and yet the story flows naturally. Just the simple fact that one faces his weakness or learns to destroy the brain while the other understands how powerful he is and to kill while sparing the head is so well done, and there are tons of things like these even in the next arc.
So well done, excellent explanation of this masterful arc ending. Especially the history of the bomb and Godzilla, that's was new info for me
Also, I love that instead of being a triumph moment or epic moment, Gon's power up is a sad moment. A deconstruction of the power up shonen cliche.
Finally, what we have all been waiting for!
You have the best thumbnails for these videos. I look forward to the new videos every week and the new thumbnails