Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Hunter X Hunter is good series with engaging, mysterious characters and an intriguing storyline. However, the long "Hunter Exam" arc may not appeal to everyone and the occasionally inconsistent artwork will likely upset some fans of Togashi's previous works. (There may be some SPOILERS ahead).

The story is easy to follow and contains many clever and creative twists. Hunters are people with access to confidential information, restricted locations, and loads of wealth. To become a Hunter, you must acquire a liscense by passing the Hunter Exam. We are introduced to Gon, a young and ambitious inhabitant of Whale Island with a skill for communicating with animals. Gon aspires to obtain a Hunter's License and find his father Ging, a famous and successful Hunter. Througout Gon's journey to reach the Exam Hall, he encounters two interesting characters: Kurapika and Leorio. The three eventually become friends and together they tackle the rigorous and grueling Hunter Exam, meet remarkable adversaries, and struggle to acheive their goals.

The first volume has a solid translation with what may seem like promising artwork to some. The art isn't bad but the quality varies too often. The first volume doesn't show this as well as later volumes which contain a few more inconsitencies (examples are the ending chapters of volume six with very sketchy designs).

The characters are what really kept me reading. Gon seems a bit shallow and slightly immature but he is fiercely loyal and a skilled combatant. The designs of Leorio and Kurapika aren't fully developed when they are first introduced but they gradually fall into place. Leorio, despite seeming conceited and obsessed with money at first, is an admirable (and at times determined) character. His dialougue, however, doesn't seem to fit his character all the time (an example would be in volume five when he suggests a character tellls their opponent to go "suck an egg").

Kurapika is upstanding and just but is never given a specific gender. I lean in favor of Kurapika being a guy so I will refer to him as a "he". Kurapika is very fair and very honorable. He does have a dark side which we see when we learn he and spiders don't mix. With a strong grudge against the Phantom Troupe who slaughtered his brethren, Kurapika is not one to joke with.

Then we meet the more enigmatic characters who give the series a bit of a darker tone.

Killua caught my attention right from the beginning. A kid with silver hair and a skateboard, he seems innocent and naive. But why are the drugs he ends up drinking ineffective? I do not wish to spoil anything about this character but be forewarned: Appearances are very deceiving.

The last character I will mention is Hisoka; a psychotic clown with a set of combat skills. Hisoka is not one to trifle with as we later find out. He is clever and can kill without hesitiation. In volume six we learn how Hisoka makes his playing cards so sharp... Also, be aware that Hunter X Hunter is not for everyone. Though the artwork and character designs are sometimes "cute", there is a lot of violence and gore.

The series grows as the volumes progress. The constantly maturing protagonists will keep you glued to the pages as abilities and pasts are revealed. If you're patient and willing to give the series a chance, you might find yourself flipping through the ensuing volumes to find out what happens next.

That doesn't mean I don't like Yu Yu Hakusho, because I have all 19 volumes but, Togashi's writing in that series really prompted me to get into Hunter x Hunter.

The back stories of the characters, the character development and also the subplots are so well delivered and they often overlap in very unique ways. This kind of writing is very hard for me to like, and the author presents it without it being confusing for me. (The overlapping plots in CLAMP's Tsubasa Chronicles for example hurt my brain, so I stopped reading the series).

The artwork is not as advanced as Yu Yu Hakusho, but there are points where the work becomes very detailed and shows just how talented a drawer that the author is. There is much more dialogue, as well. This book is quite a bit bloodier, and the characters run into a lot of life or death situations.

If you've read Yu Yu Hakusho you may notice similarities between the four lead characters and the Hunter x Hunter characters. Gon takes after Yusuke but very minimally, he is much more light hearted and gentle. Killua takes after Hiei as far as the gore is concerned... Leorio is a definitive Kuwabara, and Kurapika is the blonde version of Kurama. Still, these characters do have their own straights that separate them from other stories and make them very likable.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a story, a very, very big story! You'll really love it.

Edit: I feel it necessary to elaborate on the character's personalities a little bit more.

Gon - He is neither good or evil, very neutral most of the time but he has a heart of gold and a love for all living things, even the bad guys. He tends to be very curious, and loves to learn about new tools, techniques and take on crazy challenges. The one thing that makes him identical to a character like Yusuke is, Gon is heroic, can take a beating and usually gets incredibly angry at anyone who kills others.

Leorio - He's not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes... He tends to act on impulse and lose his cool. Still, Leorio is a sweet character, with very strong ambitions and is also very loyal. Surprisingly though, he starts to take on a very strategic and calculating personality as the series moves on.

Kurapika - I didn't particularly care for Kurama's character, he bored me when I first got into Yu Yu Hakusho. Kurapika has that calm, super-intelligent style, but he is much more interesting and his rage sets him far apart from Kurama. He has serious motives, and while he is respectful to the other lead characters, he doesn't seem to me like a loyal character to anyone but the people from his past.

Killua - Of the four, I adore this character the most. He's rebellious, aggressive, somewhat hot-headed but he has a very child-like demeanor. He's bright, he watches everything and out of everyone is really is the most skilled when it comes to tracking things down or playing life like it's a poker game. He's a little on the dangerous side, being from a family of assassins but, he forms a very close bond to Gon very early on and becomes extremely loyal.

I noticed a lot of reviews mentioning the artwork... Togashi started this not to long after Yu Yu Hakusho, and he had some health issues during the final stages of the series that made it hard for him to illustrate sometimes. I think the inconsistencies may be due to that, and they disappear rather quickly as the series progresses.

The first chapters of any manga are always the toughest. The characters have to be introduced, the world has to be set up, and the author has to snag the readers' interest.

Such is the trouble for the first several chapters of Yoshihiro Togashi's "Hunter X Hunter" in its first volume -- it moves rather slowly and seems a bit too childish in its worldbuilding. But the introduction of a brutal villain and some solid backstory -- as well as the promising idea of the Hunters -- gains steam in the last half, and leaves you anticipating more.

Gon has wanted to be a Hunter ever since Kite, a protege of his long-lost father Ging's, told him about him.

And a few years later Gon successfully gains permission from his reluctant aunt to go take the Hunter exam. But he soon finds that the Hunters rapidly weed out most candidates -- he ends up on a storm-tossed ship filled with seasick wannabes. The only other ones who make the first cut are the seemingly mercenary Leorio, and the mysterious, vengence-filled Kurapika.

And upon arriving at their port, the trio finds themselves dealing with increasingly bizarre tests involving unanswerable questions and vicious magical beasts. But these are only the preliminaries to the REALLY dangerous stuff, and the three aspiring Hunters -- as well as the deadly young boy Killua -- find themselves in a literal race to their dreams. Unfortunately, there are some nasty people along the way....

It's pretty clear from the start of "Hunter X Hunter" that Yoshihiro Togashi intended for this to be a more fantastical, childlike kind of manga, rather than an outright fightfest. Gigantic fishes carried by a tiny kid, talking bipedal foxes, and the general feeling that we've stepped into a children's fantasy book. Nice, but rather lightweight.

Fortunately things start settling into a more comfortable groove later on -- Togashi's work starts shining when the various aspiring Hunters start openly competing with each other, and we're introduced to some of Gon's rivals. We've even got a villain in the works -- a homicidal clown who slices people apart with playing cards. Once somebody gets dismembered alive, you know Togashi has hit his stride.

Those who have read Togashi's previous series "Yu Yu Hakusho" will recognize the basic cast. Aside from the inhumanly perky protagonist, we have the big lug with a heart of gold, a tiny spiky-haired killer, and a beautiful, smart young man with an unpleasant past. Fortunately Togashi provides enough background to solidify them -- Leorio's dead friend, Kurapika's vengeance. Killua is particularly intriguing -- you can tell this lethal preteen is going to be an amazing character.

The first volume of "Hunter X Hunter" is unsteady, fluffy and a bit slow at first, but Yoshihiro Togashi hits his stride in the second half of the manga. And the characters promise to get more interesting with time.

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