Alright, let me get this out of the way: I don’t like this arc. There are a few high points that make it worth watching, I’ll admit that. But it’s one of the few Hunter X Hunter arcs that I wouldn’t want to rewatch at any point.
The story picks up immediately after Yorknew, with Gon and Killua deciding against buying a copy of Greed Island for themselves and instead choosing to work with the person who did. After quickly developing their Nen powers further, the two earn their ticket in. Now, the boys, along with their new teacher Bisky, must clear Greed Island before anyone else. But with Genthru the Bomber slaughtering anyone who comes close, will they be able to complete Ging’s challenge and live to tell the tale?
I’m not gonna bother talking about Genthru. I already wrote a whole article detailing how boring and terrible he is as a villain (I’ll leave a link for that at the bottom). He single handedly turns this arc from an alright adventure romp to a boring slog at points.
In fact, aside from Bisky, I don’t think any of the characters in this arc are very good. The only one I can remember is Razor and that’s more because of the excellent dodgeball match rather than the character himself. All those random dudes that Gon and Killua ally with for, like, one episode? That get murdered by Genthru off-screen? Yeah, I couldn’t care less about those fuckers. Why were they even there?!
Although, to be fair: this arc did give us Bisky. And she’s one of the best characters in the series. She’s the perfect blend of cute, wise, and badass, with just a touch of stupid here and there. Her chemistry with Gon and Killua, especially the ladder (watching her slap the shit out of our silver-haired protagonist will never get old to me) makes this arc so much more bearable to watch.
I also really enjoy Hisoka’s brief role in this arc. Sure, it lasts all of three episodes and his presence in the game doesn’t entirely make sense. But he brings so much energy to each of his scenes that it puts a smile on my face! Plus, watching him actually team up with Gon and Killua, working as a protagonist rather than an antagonist, is a refreshing change of pace that plays well to the character’s strengths.
And… uh… the action scenes are cool! Watching Gon and Killua work around their limits to defeat more powerful foes is pretty thrilling! Killua has some of my favorites, with his lightning powers and yo-yos. Gon’s fights are… just okay. Not bad, but not especially amazing.
Even if he gets really fucked up in these scenes. Kid straight up loses his hand!
Greed Island itself isn’t all that great. The story spends a long time developing the rules and culture of the game, but it just… isn’t all that interesting. It’s a mediocre game that plays into the story in mediocre ways. The characters only use three of the spells. Over and over.
I don’t want to talk about this arc anymore. It’s got some highlights, but the overall package is still fairly bland. The best thing I can say about it is that it leads into the Chimera Ant arc super well.
Oh goody, I finally get to talk about that one! Hooray!
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