HUNTER EXAM ARC PART 4 (FINAL PHASE & KUKUROO MOUNTAIN)
1999 anime episodes 26-36
2011 anime episodes 18-26
Manga chapters 32-44
HAHAHA, it's anime original, but I absolutely love how in the 1999 anime Bodoro makes everyone think that the final phase is going to be a written exam, it's just hilarious seeing them try to study and do other silly things without really affecting the story. It honestly also made me kinda like Bodoro, so when he died, other than being shocked at Killua, I was also pretty sad about it lol. Anyway, something I found interesting with the interview part was that in the 1999 anime, they decided to make Killua say that he least wanted to fight with Pokkle, but at the same time state that the "truth" was that he didn't want to fight Gon because they're friends now. Honestly, even though it's not a part of the manga, I found it quite heartwarming because it was nice to have that confirmation that Killua likes Gon that much haha. Anyway, I also liked how in the 1999 anime, Killua did ask Gon about how it went trying to get Hisoka's number plate, but Gon couldn't really talk about it initially because of his feelings of frustration, but then later on after talking about it with Kurapika, he feels like he can tell Killua about what happened. I just found that it made sense for Killua to ask about it since he knew who Gon's target was, and I think anyone would be curious, so I'm actually surprised he didn't ask about it in the manga haha. So yup, I'm glad they added that part in the 1999 anime.
On a lesser important note, I preferred how the 1999 anime had the photos of rest of the applicants on the table during the interview for the interviewee to pick from, and I liked how the question they were answering was subtitled because it made everything much clearer. It wasn't necessary, but I really liked that they did that. In this aspect, I'd say the 2011 anime followed the manga to a fault because even though it wasn't too confusing who they were talking about, and what question they were answering, it did feel better to show it properly imo.
It's interesting that the 1999 anime decided to change the order of the matches and have the first match be Hisoka vs Kurapika rather than have it as a flashback with Satotz telling Gon, but think I can see why, because it is definitely much more fun to open with Hisoka's match and then kinda go down with Gon's stubbornness in the next haha. One thing I enjoy much more with the 1999 anime is that they bothered to animate the fight for Hisoka vs Kurapika. It's true that the 2011 anime was "faithful" in that all the manga did was say Hisoka and Kurapika fought for a while and then he said something to Kurapika, and then forfeited, which is why it was such a missed opportunity for them to actually do something like the 1999 anime did! I'm sure a lot of people would have been hyped for a Hisoka fight, so it's kinda saddening that they didn't bother to creatively add this in their own way, which is why I think the 1999 anime is superior for this part because not only does it show effort, but it's also not something hard to animate in terms of "content" because Hisoka is obviously stronger than Kurapika, so they don't need to think of fancy ways for Hisoka to fight whilst being able to keep in line with the story. However, that's just me being nitpicky lol. I also found it funny in the 1999 anime how Leorio kept telling Kurapika to lose to Hisoka so that they wouldn't need to fight him lmao. I also love how overall for the whole tournament, the 1999 anime puts in effort to have commentary from the people watching, so it's not as "boring" as it is in the 2011 anime haha.
Illumi vs Killua was definitely much better portrayed in the 1999 anime for me. The tense atmosphere, Killua and Gon's crazy heart beating, Killua descending into darkness and everything was just shown so much better to feel the same fear and sadness Killua felt when confronted by Illumi. On an unrelated note, Illumi is so much hotter in the 1999 anime LOL. Anyway, something crucial the 2011 anime cut out was the existence of Ging's Double Hunter Certificate that Gon picked up from Kite in the beginning of the story. Gon asks Satotz about this and he tells him about how the numbers on the bottom of the card/certificate show that Ging was a part of the 267th Hunter Exam and was the sole Hunter to come out of it that year. I also liked how the manga and 1999 anime delved into the whole thing about contacting each other through home codes and kinda talking more about this system that Hunters can use to search for information etc since the 2011 anime doesn't really elaborate on what Hunters can use to go about their searches for stuff. I didn't really like how the 1999 anime made Kurapika and Leorio prioritise their respective goals for becoming a Hunter first, and then realising that maybe they should go along with Gon to find Killua though, since I feel like even though Gon and Killua are best friends, Kurapika and Leorio obviously really care about Killua as well (since they kept trying to talk to him after his fight with Illumi) and I don't think they would have just thought about leaving like that.
Killua's Home (Kukuroo Mountain)
I always love how Killua's home is a tourist attraction lmao. Although for some, the 1999 anime having original stuff might not be want they want, but I actually enjoyed that version the most! I really liked how they took the time to show the scenery from them getting on the train to Kukuroo Mountain, it really helped to show that they're in a different place rather than how straightforward it is in the manga and the 2011 anime. I especially love how the tour guide lady insists on them calling her Coco-chan lmao, it's just stuff like that which makes the story flow better and feel more personal imo. I also really liked how in the 1999 anime, Coco-chan and the driver were pretty chill when the bounty hunters were eaten, which I think makes a lot of sense, since I feel like if there's a lot of people who come to the Zoldyck estate for their heads, the drivers and tour guides should be used to this already lol. I loved how chill she was and she just continued talking about their deaths like an attraction whereas the real tourists wanted to get the hell out of there loll. I also kinda liked how in the 1999 anime it took a while for Gon and them to convince Zebro to actually do something, since I feel like he's so chill about trusting them in the original that you can understand why the butler guy would be annoyed hahaha.
Surprisingly though, for the Testing Gate, the 2011 anime really made Leorio, Kurapika and Gon super weak lol! Like, I'm not one to complain but when I was watching it, I was like how could they be so weak that they needed all three of them to open the first door??? Within line of my expectations, the manga and 1999 anime show that Leorio was able to open two doors by himself and Kurapika and Gon could open one by themselves. I also found it weird that in the 2011 anime, Kurapika and Leorio stopped Gon from training with them because of his broken arm, he's not a baby, lol! Anyway, the 1999 anime is definitely much more faithful and I also liked how they did the transition of scenes for their training more. Rather than them doing specific weight training in their own time in the 2011 anime, the 1999 anime has them incorporate their training with the chores that Zebro tells them to do, so you can really see that they basically trained themselves by making anything they did force them to get used to the weight and make them stronger. Also nice that Gon wasn't babied and actually trained too lol. I also really liked the 1999 anime original scenes where Mike chased after Gon when Leorio accidentally opened the intruder gate, it was really cool and I think it showed better how much Seaquant liked them. Since this part was short in the manga, it really let them have more freedom to do their own stuff and I really appreciated that the 1999 anime did that, since in the 2011 anime not only were they portrayed to be weaker, it also felt very bland imo.
Honestly, I really loved how the 1999 anime did the bit with Canary. In the manga and 2011 anime, she's pretty forgettable, but with the 1999 anime, they bothered to put a whole episode for her and her dilemma on wanting to be a good servant to the Zoldyck family but also being friends with Killua. I think I really liked how they decided to put that little bit where Killua wanted to be friends with her as a child before Gon even meets her to establish the kind of person she was already, because then it made it so painful for her to have to hit Gon so badly later on. Like, here is this kid that is doing what she always wanted to do for Killua but could not and she's the one wrecking Killua's chance of having a friend, so it really humanised Canary and made her much more understandable and nice to see. It's kinda interesting that in the 2011 anime, Canary is the one who approached Killua and seemed to want to befriend him more than he did loll, and it was only because Killua's mother was there that she wasn't able to be his friend, but honestly it kinda makes you think, if she really wanted to, they could have hid the fact that they were friends, so now it kinda makes it silly in a sense that they actually bonded but she never bothered to do anything else for 10 years knowing the life he led. Whereas, I feel like I can understand her situation in the 1999 anime more since she always drew that line between them as servant and master, so when Gon came along and broke that, it made her understand how that line restrained her all these years from doing what she really wanted to do, and now there's someone who is willing to go over and beyond that line to save the one she always wanted to save, and I think that was more emotional for me. I also think the 1999 anime integrating Canary's emotions and thoughts into her "fight" against Gon made it much more emotional than kinda just talking about her past later in the 2011 anime. Anyway, I personally think the 1999 anime was better in terms of story and interpretation. Btw, I also didn't like how the 2011 anime showed Killua's mother and Milluki already when I feel like Canary getting shot by the mother was supposed to be more of a shock and surprise without for sure knowing who that person was, since you gotta admit, his mother looks really interesting haha.
On another note, I find it funny how in the 1999 anime, Killua was supposed to have dropped his skateboard when he was walking back to the estate, but when he meets Milluki, he uses the skateboard to hit him lol! Anyway, I'll say the rest of the arc is pretty much the same for all three versions with minor differences, so yay, I guess they could agree on something! Lol. But I did enjoy how the 1999 anime as usual adds minor banter between Gotoh and Canary to show that he really loves Killua and just wanted to see if what Canary said was true, that Gon and them were really his friends. I won't deny that Canary definitely looks much better in the 2011 anime though! But the 1999 anime is more faithful to her appearance haha, not that it matters, because even though she looked better, I liked her character in the 1999 anime more lol.
Overall, it's kinda funny! I was honestly starting to think that maybe I romanticised the 1999 anime with my nostalgia but I think I still agree with childhood me haha. Not only does the 1999 anime talk about Kite and the Double Star Hunter Certificate and elaborate on more little things such as how Hunters can gather information with the cyberspace that they're given access to with their licence etc, it also really integrates well the characters and their motivations, especially with Canary. Honestly, if I just read the manga and watched the 2011 anime, I would completely forget about Canary by the next arc, but I think the way the 1999 anime characterised her made me really like her and think that she and Gotoh are the most faithful to Killua. The 1999 anime also made the invasion into Killua's home much more exciting because of that and Mike tbh haha. So yep, I definitely enjoyed what the 1999 anime did with the last bit in regards to Tournament and the Zoldyck Estate the most because I think they put a lot of effort into it and I could really feel it. The anime original scenes were also much better than what they did before and really enhanced the original story imo, so yep 1999 anime is the winner for this part hahaha~ Not saying that the 2011 anime is bad though, I just prefer the old version haha.
