17 - Hunter x Hunter (Zoldyck Family + Heavens Arena) by Fumi Yoshinaga

Hunter x Hunter is back! Let’s talk Hunter x Hunter! We kicked off with the Hunter Exam arc when we began this podcast and there’s no better time than to ride the wave than continue our task of covering the series arc-by-arc, this time continuing with the Zoldyck Family mini-arc as well as what Enzo describes as the most “shonen” arc of the entire series: Heavens Arena.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - breaking our coverage by arc

1:24 Zoldyck Family arc - our thoughts on the short anti-rescue arc

7:58 Heavens arena arc - “the ultimate training arc, the ultimate tournament arc”

9:22 Is Heavens Arena the most “shonen” arc in Hunter x Hunter?

11:29 The most fun portion of the series considering what’s to come

13:03 Dark Tournament vs Heavens Arena - which is better?

14:30 Let’s talk about nen, baby - the best power system in manga

18:18 Which nen type would we have?

21:38 Is this arc underrated by fans?

23:22 The focal characters of each arc reflects the personality of that arc

25:58 The shonen/seinen demographic balance for Hunter x Hunter’s tone

28:13 Gon and Killua’s unique role and relationship with Zushi

29:42 Gon vs Hisoka arena battle, the anime adaptation, how it stacks compared to other battle shonen

33:15 If Hisoka hadn’t been at Heavens Arena, would Gon and Killua have survived?

36:21 The anticlimax quota: the abrupt end to the traditional tournament arc

38:28 Why understanding the anticlimaxes are important

40:05 Enzo’s Recommendation: My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi

42:15 Samu’s Recommendation: My Hero Academia (U.A. Sports Festival arc) by Kohei Horikoshi

45:37 Overview and final scores