REVIEW – HUNTER X HUNTER: PHANTOM ROUGE
When I learned that Hunter X Hunter will finally have its first film debut, I was ecstatic. With Madhouse delivering a splendid remake of a work that the story-makers are starting to catch-up, HxH stands tall among the pillars of the Shounen genre.
But success comes with a price - long-running shows like Naruto are subjected to these weird decisions that ruins the franchise to the hardcore fans of its original material. But then again, the likes of it and One Piece provided the breeding ground of various shounen flavors that we enjoy today. In the subject of long-running shows, while the two titles I mentioned are pretty much had been well-received by many and has achieve international recognition, thanks to the countless fillers and endless streams of merchandise and yearly movie productions, with all of them following the same troupes of a Shounen Summer blockbuster film.
In contrast, Hunter X Hunter has been around for a decade and a half. But even so, the amount of material it had simply scaled to about 6 years, with the remainder of its chunk on hiatus. At its height, it had made a television debut in 1999 and people still see it as a well-done adaptation of the work. It has also spawned 3 OVAs covering the two remaining arcs that didn’t make the TV airing. After that, the franchise basically went silent.
Fast forward to 2011, Madhouse decided to do a remake for the franchise. Perhaps it was due to the success of Full Metal Alchemist remake – 80 episodes in and spanning well-beyond the new material that was never animated, Hunter X Hunter has been getting a well-rounded reception from the Japanese audience playing along the top 10 TV weekly rankings. Surely, it has been warranted that it needs to put the franchise to another level.
SACRED STAR OF MILOS OF 2012
I imagine a meeting with the committee of people dealing with the finances of the anime asking Madhouse to make a HxH film, but they don’t want to spend a little more than the cost of having it shown in theaters. The movie is basically an extension of the TV series. Same sound track, same cast — of course — and little to no improvement on the art but fluid fight scenes. To think that watching the latest One Piece would put an expectation of an “adventure of your life” vibe, HxH is part-adventure technically and it is shown on the first arc of the franchise. While other Shounen titles are little on the nitty-gritty tone and has nothing more and mindless brawl, those familiar with the franchise would also make you expect it’s story more than skin-deep. Sadly it isn’t the case.
I’ve read somewhere that the story’s framework came from a manuscript that the author didn’t use. Familiar with the series, I’ve heard of the demise of the Kurata Clan that Kurapika is a part off. This is the part where the author supposed to be focusing on. It’s about him finding out that he isn’t the only survivor of his ill-fated clan. But then, it was basically an elaborate plot by the former troupe which Hisoka defeated to be part of thePhantom Troupe. The main story didn’t delve on that 4th member that Hisoka defeats. This was supposed to be that story.
Unfortunately, if the rumors were true, I can see that the source material were mainly broad. It’s like the author only detailed the general story of the arc but didn’t get to write the rest. The theme in the story focuses on Puppets, to which could have played along the essence that people are bounded by their destiny. Not really deep and thought-provoking to be honest, it also focuses on trust, betrayal and friendship the typical shounen morals. I think the part of the puppets is the only thing that is envisioned by the author. The rest was created by the committee to fill the gaps and make a safe generic shounen story – because none of what makes Hunter X Hunter that cult classic is here in the film.
As I’ve said, I am comparing this film to Sacred Star of Milos (that I also reviewed a while back for the FMA franchise). The problem with Milos is that it failed to understand the franchise they are dealing with. It is also the problem with films that aren’t supervised by their Original Creators. That is why I only watch One Piece if I see the name Eichro Oda as part of the film executives. It is also the reason why I am waiting for the Gintama film that is also written by the person who created the manga.
The film doesn’t feel like Hunter X Hunter. The story is basically crap and the villain is too one-dimensional. There’s a reason why people likeHisoka and Chorollo. There is reason why there is sadness when Fakunoda did her thing to reveal Kurapika to the rest of the troupe. The fallen member was simply there to provide conflict and an excuse to bring the entire cast without breaking the story.
The combat, while fluidly degraded into a typical shounen brawl, is not HxH. It’s more on dealing with carefully planned and executed attacks with its own set of complexities and rules to follow. It also didn’t help that the timeline for the story is such, since it’s supposed to be sandwiched after theYorkshin Arc and the start of GREED Island. In short, Gon and Killua only knew the fundamentals of Nen.
They also provided a damsel in the likes of Retz, voiced by the scandal seiyuu Aya Hirano. She’s basically a plot device and a means to make a “love interest” to Gon and make Killua jealous. To note: Despite my gripe, it did nail the strong point of Hunter X Hunter with a lot fan service with Gon and Killua, with Gon putting a lot of embarrassing dialogue that melts my heart and makes Killua embarrassed. They are basically the best shounen friends in the genre of shounen. Their chemistry is simply too much to be rivaled against.
TYPICAL AND ENJOYABLE SHOUNEN
To summarize this review. Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge fails to deliver a story that is rightfully identifies itself as a franchise. What it only did is make an enjoyable film about friendship and a bit-step above the theme that made it restricted from the general audience. This would’ve been an extended TV-special with its lack-luster production fit for the silver screen. Among the two of the three films I watched in theaters, this one deserve the losing end - One Piece Film Z wins my vote.
Ratings: 2/5
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