HxH Eps 120-123 FULL REACTIONS!
Added 2024-05-10 18:06:08 +0000 UTCMeruem just wants to chat!
Episode 120-121 Reaction
Episodes 122-123 Reaction
Comments
@DrakDoodles Interesting. I'm active in the comments section in the HxH community and I've never seen anyone say that this arc in particular is perfect. I've seen a lot of people say it's the great, even describe it as the greatest anime arc ever, but that's different from saying it's perfect. It's also true that people should be able to criticize it. And they are. I haven't really seen anyone here being disallowed from criticizing it. In fact, I feel like the biggest part of the comments section since Kite's death had been criticism about the pacing, and that's fine. Though it is kinda sad that every week, all the talk about the pacing overshadows the good things that happens in the episodes. And from what I noticed, people who are praising or have no problem with the pacing in this arc are the ones who have a higher chance of getting flamed - an example of that is you prefacing it by saying that people who think that this arc was paced perfectly are delusional. You should also question. If people should be allowed to criticize it, then people should also be allowed the opposite, even if they wanna say it's perfect - again, I haven't seen anyone say it's perfect, but if people think that it is, why shouldn't they be allowed to say it without fear of being called delusional? I mean of course, you're allowed to insult others, insults are part of free speech. But this is just an anime. I personally wouldn't resort to insulting people just because they have a different perspective about an anime.
Astor Lefflinker
2024-05-13 16:13:51 +0000 UTC@The Great Santini I mean they're boring for you, they're not boring for me, and evidently other people. That's totally fine, not all people are the same. It's totally fine to have different perspectives. Just because other people don't view things the same as you doesn't mean they're wrong. It's the same with big open world games. Other people don't bother with the side and small stuff, completing the game with 100% achievement. They find the small stuff unimportant and boring. They go through the main quest, finish the game, and enjoy it that way, that's totally fine. there are people like who who find it rewarding to go through all the details of the game, finding whatever we can find when we explore the open world, things that we can connect to other events and characters in the game. They're small and arguably unimportant stuff, but for us, it feels rewarding. It's the same way with all the talking and setup before the palace invasion, others found all the talk incredibly boring, there are other people like me who enjoy knowing every detail and find that rewarding, knowing how the characters think, etc. I also don't think there's anything negative about being a little precious with this anime adaptation. If I am, what's wrong with that? There are things, shows, movies, etc that hit us differently, mean a lot to us. HxH is my favorite anime of all time, both versions. Even the manga. It's given me a lot of things, enjoyment, lessons etc. HxH to me, is like DB with Ange. So it is definitely precious to me, I'm biased for it 100%. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. That also doesn't mean I don't see its flaws. I've said some pretty harsh things about the both versions of the anime adaptations in the past. But most of the time, I prefer discussing the good parts instead of just yammering on about its flaws. Discussing theories, character motivations, etc. Those things are what elevates the discussion for me. Criticisms are fine, but personally, most don't really elevate the discussion. Like, okay, you find it boring, you find the pacing to be bad. Alright, but what are we gonna do about it? You and I have a different perspective. I recognize why you would find it boring, why you would find the pacing to be bad, but to me, they're not much of a problem as they are to you.
Astor Lefflinker
2024-05-13 16:00:26 +0000 UTCCharacter building is great, but I think Ange and the others has it right - it’s the placement that’s unfortunate. Imagine setting up an entire episode for a minor character in between Fern vs Lugner and Frieren vs Aura. It’s not ideal. Togashi Sensei is a genius but not perfect.
Whammadoodoo
2024-05-13 01:56:40 +0000 UTCNo way you consider the whole Knuckle's and Shoot thing filler. Knuckle's trying to punch Youpi because he humiliated Shoot. Knuckles taking APR off of Youpi so that Morel could live. Knov facing his fears to save Shoot. Youpi gaining respect for the crew who fought him. There's so much. I honestly prefer all of that to the Meruem Netero fight. But I'm biased towards character defining/building moments vs. just pure fights.
Ray
2024-05-12 22:18:12 +0000 UTCSame same
The Great Santini
2024-05-12 09:27:56 +0000 UTC@Astor I think you're being a little precious with this anime adaptation. The pacing issues never truly reared their head until the Chimera Ant Arc. Just look at the beginning of the arc when Kite was still alive. That shit was incredibly boring. Of course, a lot of it was needed to set up the King's birth but part of adapting something to a different medium is knowing how to re-structure the content. I disagree with many of Ange's "taste" criticisms but I completely agree with him here. This arc is unfortunately hard to watch at times even though the peaks are so high. I've seen it through twice and I would most definitely change things having the power of hindsight.
The Great Santini
2024-05-12 09:27:11 +0000 UTCFully agree. I don't get the whole "this is my favorite show, there's nothing bad about it, its perfect" nothing's THAT perfect, you should be able to say "yeah this part here wasn't optimal and it would have been better if they did X or Y instead." You have to be kinda delusional to say this arc was paced perfectly, but it's not that big of a deal to me when the positives outweigh the negatives by a huge amount!
DrakDoodles
2024-05-12 09:06:00 +0000 UTCHow is it filler when it's setting up the entirety of what happens between Meruem and Welfin in the end? This is all very necessary.
Shaw
2024-05-11 17:30:49 +0000 UTCMan I love Ikalgo. But Youpi, Welfin, and Brovoda don't mix well with the epics of Gon-Pitou and Meruem-Netero. Think of it like this - they are like 3 ham sandwiches served between 2 michelin star feasts. It's nice to eat on occasion, but the placement overall brings down the experience of the whole course.
Whammadoodoo
2024-05-11 10:51:27 +0000 UTCHonestly it developes more the growth of many characters and that’s what I appreciate. Ikalgo,Youpi, Wolfin, among many others.
Jesus Rocha
2024-05-11 09:56:37 +0000 UTCI was thinking the same thing. HxH manga is very information heavy and Togashi likes to put a lot of nuance into things. That's also why there was a lot of talk about HxH being more of a seinen rather than a shonen. This is also why I said that even though the pacing is definitely not perfect, if I was given control of it even armed with hindsight, I wouldn't change a thing, because adapting it from its manga format.. I think Madhouse already did it the best way possible, or at least close to it. With the exception of a few things of course like them cutting out the Kite meeting at the very beginning. I mean there's a reason why, despite how difficult it is to adapt it into anime format, the anime still got a ranking of #7 of all time in MaL. I would always keep this anime as it is, imperfections and all. Carlie said that maybe in the future, with hindsight, maybe Ange would get why things were the way they are. And Ange said not for ep 121, where I get it, the explanation for Pouf's ability was long and winded. But I've seen another reaction channel (React Pack) who didn't pay attention to what Pouf can do and called Pouf's actions later on in the arc as "cheap" and "plot convenience", even though it makes total sense for his ability. It may sound hard to believe, but these stuff that some people say are a problem with this arc are actually a big part of what makes HxH great, and not just the peak moments. Which is why it's so sad for me to see some comments saying that apart from the peak moments, almost everything is filler. In a dense arc with a lot of emphasis on character development and each character's doubts and motivations, it's heartbreaking to dismiss the non-peak parts as fillers. I miss the days when the F word was only used for episodes and scene that aren't canon lol
Astor Lefflinker
2024-05-11 08:20:54 +0000 UTCI really appreciate this explanation!
Carlie & Ange
2024-05-11 08:07:13 +0000 UTCThis right here is my issue and where my criticism comes from. Its not the build up. Its the momentum shifting. I lose my sense of investment in prior moments
Carlie & Ange
2024-05-11 08:05:38 +0000 UTCI like this explanation. I think they still could've sped up some scenes. Maybe the intention was not to catch-up with the manga later on, and therefore they intentionally kept it slow... but I'm not sure. They could've also removed some of the narrator's lines. Although he's good in general and he does some nice explanations, but sometimes it's just too much. For example, it's better to let the viewer see a character's facial expression and conclude that the character is afraid, which will take 2 seconds, rather than making everything in slow motion just to give the narrator a chance to say 87 words to explain that the character is afraid, which is already obvious without him saying anything. The Narrator's job should be to clarify some scenes or make them more intense if he comes up from time to time, but if it's overwhelming, it will lose it's value. One of the best examples of narration was in JJK S2 when the narrator was explaining Sukuna's domain. The reason why it was so good, is because it's rare to hear the narrator. If she was speaking every episode and explaining every ability... we as viewers would've felt that she's annoying when she was explaining Sukuna's domain. But because it's rare, it becomes more valuable, and it will make you listen more carefully and feel that this domain must be something special because the narrator is explaining it!
Aizensalami
2024-05-11 06:51:34 +0000 UTCAnge, I feel the same way about this arc. It has the best PEAKS for sure. But mixed with some boring episodes. The Ikalgo-Brovoda-Welfin interactions are ok, but they're placed very badly 🤣. Anyway, you can think of it this way, some of us had to wait 2 years for Netero Vs. Meruem and then was interrupted by EP123... so you guys are still in a better place 🤣. However, some scenes in this arc are among the best scenes I ever watched in all anime... so I can't complain a lot. I'm sure that you'll enjoy the remaining part of this arc to the fullest!!
Aizensalami
2024-05-11 06:39:28 +0000 UTCConsidering everything. I actually have a nice way of explaining to Ange. The problem you're facing right now is that Hunter X Hunter is very badly adapted into anime. Or should I say. It is unadaptable. Manga in general has very little exposition, barely any to no narration, and tends to be very focused on action, instead of dialogue. Togashi as an author, was always very into overexplaining things and basically setting up things that couldn't be explained by just a line of dialogue like manga usually does "His power set me on fire!" Worse yet. As time went on, Togashi began making more and more text dense chapters, to a point where it became a meme he should just write a novel instead. Some of the later volumes of hunter hunter have whole ass pages of just text with barely any drawings in it, which is super unintuitive as manga. Then we return to my initial point. Hunter X Hunter is extremely rewarding as a story once you get it for what it is, and of course, through hindsight after you're done with it, the denseness of information and the style pays off, but it is very hard at times to keep up with, and not very well adaptable to anime. As studios will almost never veer off from the source material while animating, basically just transposing the panels and text into animation + voice acting, it makes adapting the story very complicated. (Very noticeable when the animation slows down a lot because the characters have to talk a bunch. -Though that makes one of the best episodes, in that recent one where the whole episode spans 1 real second.) They could definitely have cut a bunch of stuff off to prioritize the flow and enjoyment of the viewer, but as a medium, anime is just not made like that (The process itself, as I mentioned). TLDR: Adapting HxH chapters into single episodes is basically an impossible task. The original material nowadays is pretty much an illustrated book, so watching one or two episodes at a time would prove a struggle. HxH is better enjoyed binging 10's of episodes at a time in my experience.
Seth Leloup
2024-05-11 06:33:19 +0000 UTCI wouldn't say everything, but definitely a large percentage of it, for sure.
The Great Santini
2024-05-11 02:57:12 +0000 UTCCarlie looks like she going to do business
Jeff
2024-05-11 02:33:18 +0000 UTCEverything between 116 and Meruem’s battle feels like filler. Respectful watchers should acknowledge both the peak and the lows.
Whammadoodoo
2024-05-11 02:16:38 +0000 UTCThere were comments about the pacing being perfect? HxH is great but perfect? come on...
Decaf
2024-05-11 00:56:34 +0000 UTCIf you're only ANTicipating the Gon v Pitou fight and the Meruem v Netero fight then this will feel like a slog.
Jason Serrano
2024-05-11 00:32:22 +0000 UTCThank you for the reaction, the transformation of palm is what the royal guard are trying to do with the 50,000 soldier from the 5 million people in the selection plot, what is about is converting humans into ants by pitou and pouf powers. On the side of the plot and the discussion at the end of episode 121 some parts that feel not needed or over extended are needed for understanding later action of characters, i know we as viewer dont care about bezef and the 2 ants but it needs to be tied up before the climax so we can have all resolve in the few episodes left of this arc, knowing all that comes and the resolution of the arc i think you will be satisfied. IM SO HYPE FOR YOUR REACTION OF 125-126 NEXT WEEK, NEXT HUNTER HUNTER BATCH CANT COME CLOSE ENOUGH, AND THE WEEK AFTER THAT WITH 130-131 WILL BE AS GOOD!!
Edward Chireno
2024-05-11 00:25:29 +0000 UTCis anyone getting an error when playing the video?
JiN
2024-05-10 23:10:15 +0000 UTC"You will only influence me by using words" - Honestly one of the hardest lines I've heard in anime I'm also one of the biggest defenders of the pacing of this arc, but I've said in one of my replies in a discussion about it that there's only 1 episode in this arc that I don't like, and that's episode 123. The episode by itself is actually good, but the way it was placed right after the Netero vs Meruem buildup was brutal. As for the discussion of the overall pacing. It's hard to describe. I think it's definitely not perfect, and I think Ange and others' criticisms are fair. But personally, if I was given control of it even armed with hindsight, I wouldn't have changed a thing except for that Ikalgo vs Welfin episode.
Astor Lefflinker
2024-05-10 21:12:30 +0000 UTCThe reason I love the pacing and the storytelling in this arc is that you get to see everything from the perspective of all the characters, you get all the doubts and get to see how all the characters get to their decisions and I love that the most in this arc.
Gnidis
2024-05-10 21:04:03 +0000 UTC123 not picking up the Netero fight after that cliffhanger is one of the worst blueball moments lmao I still remember the pain watching it weekly. Next 12 episodes are straight 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Kaiser the Elitist
2024-05-10 20:08:18 +0000 UTCI’m one of the biggest defenders of the pacing and storytelling used in this arc, but my god despite the quality it’s so brutal going from the start of the climactic Meruem vs Netero to a full episode of Ikalgo and Welfin character development 😭
rileya
2024-05-10 20:02:55 +0000 UTCI'm glad you guys picked up on the Meruem/Netero dynamic pretty much instantly. Meruem is acting on emotion while Netero is acting on orders, which is the exact opposite of how it would normally be (Ants acting on orders of the Queen while humans act on emotion). Also rewatching the series with you guys has made me change my feelings on the Welfin and Ikalgo parts. I used to quite dislike them because I felt like it was laying it on a bit too thick (yeah yeah Ants have human emotions too we get it) but by doing that I kind of discarded them as characters in their own rights and they both have quite a good character arc.
Jonah van Kerkhof
2024-05-10 20:00:04 +0000 UTCEmpathetic was a good word to describe Knuckle. He comes off as someone who really has a macho/hard personality, but also has a very big heart. What happened with Youpi I think was a mix of that macho and big heart thing, where each of them earned the respect of one another through battle so neither want to destroy each other anymore.
Astor Lefflinker
2024-05-10 19:30:23 +0000 UTC
