Name: Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 1
ISBN: 9781591167532

Yoshihiro Togashi

Gon might be a country boy, but he has high aspirations. Despite his Aunt Mito's protests, Gon decides to follow in his father's footsteps and become a legendary Hunter. The Hunter hopefuls begin their journey by storm-tossed ship, where Gon meets Leorio and Kurapika, the only other applicants who aren't devastated by bouts of seasickness.

Having survived the terrors of the high seas, Gon and his companions now have to prove their worth in a variety of tests in order to find the elusive Exam Hall. And once they get there, will they ever leave alive...?

Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 1

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. It's the fight everyone's been waiting for—Hisoka versus Chrollo! Robbed of his chance to fight Chrollo before, Hisoka's been itching to take on the former leader of the Phantom Troupe for a long time, and that day has finally come. With both combatants armed with incredible powers, it's a thrilling battle that defies the imagination! Find out which of these two titans wins!

Hunter x Hunter

Hunters are dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and other men, but to become a hunter, less than one in a hundred thousand are capable of passing the grueling qualification exams.

Hunter X Hunter

Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other men. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves...Hunters.

4 of 5 stars

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The Yorknew Arc starts now! Phantom Troupe is here and we now get to see the chain-wielding Kurapika and his coolness!!

Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 16

4 of 5 stars

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My most favorite battle fight in Greed Island arc, maybe even in all of HxH, the Deadly Dodgeball Game!!! Omg, there's nothing more exciting than seeing Gon and Killua teaming up with Hisoka to win the game. Watching the opening theme of this arc in anime, I was so hyped up after seeing Gon, Killua and Hisoka with their backs together and I knew even from the start of this arc that their will be an epic battle. 

Excited for the rest of the game in the next volume. 

PS: Naked Hisoka is life. I'm basically Bisky the whole time!

Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. As the Hunter elections reach the moment of decision, Killua closes in on the hospital where Gon lies in a coma. Can he and his terrifyingly powerful sister Alluka reach Gon in time? If they do, Gon will have a chance to fulfill the dream that drove him to become a Hunter in the first place: reuniting with his father, Ging!

4 of 5 stars

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Killua and Gon parting ways always felt so bittersweet for me. Well, I guess they now have to do their own things. Just like what they planned when they visited Gon's home, Killua will be tagging along until he learned what he really wanted and needed to do in his life. And now that he has Alluka and he swore to protect his younger sister at all cost, he now has his own thing to do. I really do hope they would meet again soon and do their things together again. 

And the Election arc has now ended. This is where the anime ended as well. So from this point on, this would be my first time knowing anything after this volume. Looks like we will not hear from either Gon and Killua for a long while. I think it's now time for Kurapika and Leorio to shine.

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. The day of the great auction arrives, but all the goods have gone missing! It turns out that the mafia learned of the Spiders' plans and sent their top ten fighters to take care of things. These "Shadow Beasts" whisked away the auction items to safety, and the dread Spiders are hunting them down. With all this distraction and some questionable help from Hisoka, Kurapika gets closer to vengeance against the Spiders. But when the fight comes down to a battle to the death with one of the strongest members of the troupe, will Kurapika's hidden powers be enough to ensure victory?

Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 9

4 of 5 stars

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I would have loved to see that arm wrestling with Leorio in an animated version. The anime really downsized his physical strength, even his whole existence.

Now, we get to see one of the best fights in HxH. Kurapika versus Uvogin. We've got a glimpse of badass Kurapika, with his rage surrounding him, his scarlet eyes and lethal conjured chains, which makes him so much more dangerous. He was soooo cool!! 

He first seemed to be a manipulator as he always displayed his chains out and gave everyone a wrong impression of his true ability. With his one-on-one battle with Uvo, we get to learn the truth about his Nen ability. His chains were actually conjured, not an actual chains, which gives him a chance to hide it with the help of In. That technique completed the camouflage of his ability and provided him an upper hand of a suprise attack. Though he can't conjure an unbreakable chain, he can however conjure a chain close to that. With the condition of using his Chain Jail, the chain in his middle finger, only against the Spiders (Phantom Troupe), it would make his chain more powerful. But breaking that condition would have ended his life. The more strict the condition, the more powerful his chains would be. His Chain Jail not only captures his target Spider even in their full physical strength, it can also removed the Spider's aura through Zetsu, which will disabled the opponent's Nen ability. 

But that's not the end of Kurapika's suprising ability. Aside from being a conjurer, he's also a specialist but only when his eyes turned into a scarlet color. And his specialization ability can maximized all the other nen groups into full power if he wants. That was a pretty powerful ability! Such a badass!! I can never get tired of seeing Kurapika fight!! I want more of it!!

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. On their voyage to the Dark Continent, the Hunters get tangled up in a war of royal succession. The 14 princes of Kakin, protected by Nen-powered Guardian Beasts, must assassinate one another until only a single heir survives. Infiltrating as bodyguards, the Hunters join this deadly game of intrigue. But the most dangerous prince may be the one they least suspect...

4 of 5 stars

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The end of Yorkshin City arc and the start of Greed Island arc!! 

The flow of the situation between our gang and the Phantom Troupe was somehow fitting for the moment. I knew that killing Chrollo so early in the story would not be satisfying since he's one of the main antagonist in this series. He was also one of the best Nen users in HxH world and not being able to see more of his flexible abilities would be a waste. Though he was incapacitated at the moment because of the Judgement Chain Kurapika bestowed upon him, the fight between him and Kurapika was far from being over. 

It was so sad to see our gang parting ways once more. I was always so glad to see all four of them together but all of them has their own things to do for now. Kurapika will now focus on finding his brethren's stolen eyes, Leorio on his way to continue his studies and our two kids to achieve their main goal of entering Greed Island. 

Now we see Gon and Killua advanced their Nen abilities in order for them to participate in the Greed Island. Their basic Ren wouldn't do, so they have to learn their Hatsu technique to be able to pass the assessment, and they need to do that in the span of four days. Though Gon still wasn't sure what to do for his own ability, Killua already sorted out his own. 

I admit Killua's torture days since childhood came in handy. I'm not saying it was particularly good, it was actually kind of sad that he was able to do that ability, it was advantageous. His ability to amplify electricity into his aura wasn't for anyone. Those who experience being electrified and able to bore the pain from it are the only ones who can basically achieve that kind of ability. Killua definitely owned his electric Nen ability.

This volume also consists of a lot of informations for the next arc. We already knew how simple-minded Gon was. His brain can't process complicated things that well. It was so hilarious to see how many times his brain short-circuited in this volume because of so much information given to him. He needed a wide brain capacity for the time to come. Well, atleast Killua's brain capacity was already wide enough for the both of them. 

PS: Is it weird to say how I found Milluki so cute? For the past few volumes, we get to see a glimpse of him roming around Yorkshin City alone. It was his first time being outside Zoldyck's residence since he was ten years old. He offered to kill 15 people to get an amount of 15 billion just so he can participate in the auction of GI that he so wanted badly. But after losing the chance to get even one out of the seven game consoles, he was seen eating an enormous amount of food in a small restaurant. I found him so adorable for the first time. 

PPS: Hisoka's reaction was so funny after learning that Chrollo, his dream opponent, was unable to fight him because he can no longer use of Nen (courtesy of Kurapika).

PPPS: First Bisky appearance!!!

4 of 5 stars

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"It was good to see your old self. It's my role to be the reckless one and it's your role to be the calm one and stop me"

It was painful on how that statement would make perfect sense later in the series....

Gon and Killua captured by the Phantom Troupe was always so unnerving. It was impressive on how they managed to follow Machi and Nobunaga without giving away their location. If it were not for Phinks and Pakunoda, it would be a good trailing mission.The two Spiders even admitted themselves on how good Gon and Killua's zetsu were in concealing their presence. The awkward reunion of the two kids with Hisoka was also funny. 

Another arm wrestling happened in the Phantom Troupe's base but this time, Gon was clearly overwhelmed by Nobunaga's strength. But that burst of frustration from him that allowed him to defeat Nobunaga even once was so satisfying. He was kind of impressed that he even offered the kids to join the troupe. 

On the other hand, the cheeky and confident Killua looked scared after realizing his and Gon's strength were nothing compared to the Spiders, he was on his old constrained self. He was already thinking of a way to escape, and even offered to be a bait just to let Gon run away. Because he was trained to be cautious and not to face anyone who he thought would be above him in strength, it was a nature for him to react that way. But that was his major weakness. If you think about it, being cautious was actually a good call, but the way Killua acted was not normal and that was thanks to his family. I always hated seeing him in that state. 

The curating talk at the beginning with Zepile was actually not my cup of tea but it amused me on how the side breaching, one of the curating terminology, was able to help Gon and Killua find their escape from Nobunaga. 

The Phantom Troupe was now on the move to track down the chain-user aka Kurapika. It was getting more exciting.

4 of 5 stars

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Having Gon and Killua be exposed to a real deadly battle, they were introduced to the new knowledge about Nen. Personally, I was really confused when I first encounter this part in the anime. My head was spinning with all the informations about the techniques, but truly, this was a very intricately made battle system. I mean, I thought the confusion would lasts but it didn't. I was learning about Nen along with Killua and Gon.

The trial battle of Gon with the Nen user Gido was unsurprising. I knew he would definitely lose against him and I didn't expect him to even land a hit either because come on! He was a novice and practically knew almost nothing about Nen. He only learned the technique of Ten, which only served as a defense, not an offense. Though he has a natural unaware knowledge of Zetsu, it was not an offense technique either and can only left him unprotected. But damn, his resolve! He was ready to actually fight without a proper training and willing to literally risk his life just to try the very basic technique he just learned. And he was enjoying it. Oh, that attitude of him! It was still amusing to see his recklessness at this point, but it could be his absolute downfall, I swear! Gon, my baby!

Hisoka and Kastro's fight, that was an incredible one! We get to see how Hisoka fight in the arena. Though it was still not revealed here the true nature of Hisoka's ability, it was really an entertaining and impressive fight! I loved the look on Hisoka's face while fighting. He was so composed and even looked insulting even when he was basically beaten by Kastro and got his hands mutilated. He looked like he can't be bothered by it! At the end, he managed to turn the table in a very unexpected way. He was a true monster in a battle. I liked him a lot, though he is such a creep sometimes.

Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 03

4 of 5 stars

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The majority game inside the tower was what really made me take HxH seriously. I mean, it was fun from the beginning but seeing the majority game made me realized that there was really a potential to this story. The different ways our main characters fight their battles against the prisoners were so entertaining and unexpected. 

Tonpa's fight was really not a fight at all since he surrendered even before his opponent landed an attack. The fight only took literally a second. It was annoyingly hilarious until Killua explained that it was for the better to save time. He actually has a point because Tonpa obviously didn't stood a chance against his opponent with the fight to the death.

Gon's candle fight was simple yet amusing. It was already established how simple-minded he was, a little too naive. Gon could only win if he can make the candle's fire lasts. When he was instructed to choose between a short candle and a long one, certainly a lot of people would doubt about the candles' real status. Was it a trap? Were the candles normal or rigged? The group then let Gon make the decision of choosing the candle and it was ridiculous on how he made his choice. He chose the long candle because it was longer and so can last longer than the short one. He didn't even stop for a minute to think carefully. You see how simple-minded he was? It was funny and frustrating at the same time. But it was one of his charms, I can tell you. But the thing was, he can also be witty when he was pushed in a critical situation. As expected, his choice of candle was rigged and therefore the heat of the fire increased rapidly. But he didn't let his opponent's deception discouraged him. He still managed to backfire the situation to his opponent. As his fire got stronger, though the candle would have melted in just minutes, it would also be difficult to kill it with a little breeze. And so his cleverness appeared. Oh I loved how adorable he was after winning! 

Then came Kurapika! It was so cool how calm he was despite having a 'beast' as an opponent. His opponent tried to intimidate Kurapika with his appearance but really, he was just a big fraud! Little did he knew, it was a mistake for him to pose as a member of the Phantom Troupe, a group of bandits who killed Kurapika's whole clan, thinking it would scare him. It was actually the end of him! Though Kurapika knew his opponent's lies, it was still enraging for him. He made his opponent unconscious with just a few punches. But because his fight is to death, unless one of them surrenders, it was still not his win. And with that, he refused to fight and kill an unconscious man, though it became a waste of time since he decided to wait for his opponent to regain consciousness and they can't proceed to the next fight. 

I loved how they bet if Kurapika's opponent was still alive, or if he's really unconscious or not. It can determine Kurapika's win, but can also be a threat to their remaining time. Though I loved that betting part where Leorio threatened to let the man fall to his death if he still insist on being unconscious, I liked Leorio's actual betting game the least. It was a bit inconsiderate of him not to think about the game as a whole and let his opponent defeat him just like that. I mean, it pissed me a bit but I can see how necessary it was to the flow of the story. 

But among the fights, Killua's fight was my favorite. Along with Tonpa, it was a quick fight, but damn! I actually don't know if I can consider it a fight at all since it was so quick and one-sided. To think that an infamous murderer, an extremely large man, killed hundreds of people with his strong bare hands as a tool for murder, fighting against a twelve-year old kid! But just a quick swipe and bam! His heart was literally stolen from him. It was so damn cool and unsettling at the same time. I prefer the anime version where Killua returned the heart after the man died than the manga version where he squeezed it. It was so shocking and dope it was one of my favorite Killua moments! That was where I decided that I loved Killua. 

And then Gon's occasional wit appeared once more. The last part where the group needed to choose between two doors where (1) all five of them can enter but it was a long and difficult way, where it can last atleast 45 hours (which was impossible since they only have less than an hour remaining) or (2) a short and easy way where it would only take 3 minutes, but only three people can enter. Gon actually saved the group because of his observational skill, which I think his strongest point. 

The first part of the hunting phase in the island also started. It was the most thrilling part of the Hunter Exam in the anime for me. Gon started to hunt for Hisoka's number badge and it wouldn't be easy for him, since Hisoka is not a very easy opponent. Another round for Tonpa and Leorio's fight also took place in the island. It was a very frustrating moment for Leorio and thanks to Kurapika, he managed to get his badge back from Tonpa's ally. Like seriously, Leorio's the oldest among the main characters but he acted like he was not. We also got a glimpse of the real face of Hisoka's ally. 

It would only get exciting from here!

Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other men. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters.

4 of 5 stars

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We're now inside the game Greed Island! 

There were a lot of informations thrown at our faces regarding the essentials of this game. The main goal in order to finish this game is to complete the 100 imposed cards but they needed to learn how exactly the spell cards work. They were invited to join a group from the get-go to increase their chance of completing the game in a short period of time, but Gon refused the offer after knowing how brutal other game players have become just to get rare cards. It was like an insult to his father, Ging, as one of the creator of GI. Killua and Gon tried to acquire the cards in more normal ways but they've encountered those players who attacked them through spell cards to get what they acquired. They still have a lot to learn to complete this game. AND we will also learn the true reason why Ging created GI!! 

I loved that even after a Phantom Troupe break after Yorkshin City arc and we knew that this wasn't a Spider focus arc, we still get a glimpse of its members in this arc. Phinks and Feitan already got inside the Greed Island in the last volume and now Shalnark, Shizuku and Kortopi also tried their chances inside the game. But Shalnark's intention wasn't exactly to reach the game's goal of collecting all 100 imposed cards but to steal! Of course, they will steal! They are bandits after all. He learned a lot of things after collecting informations and he came with surprising conclusions. One was that Greed Island was not exactly a virtual world. All that was happening in the game was happening somewhere in the real world. That was pretty perceptive of Shalnark, the best information collector and one of the smartest Spider members. 

And then the first interaction between our two boys and Bisky. Oh, Bisky, my best girl! Though Killua and Gon's banter will still be my top favorite, Killua and Bisky's was pretty close! Killua calling her an old hag and him getting a bitch slap from her was always the best part! We will now get to see how Bisky would train our boys to increase their own strength and personal abilities and focus on their own Nen category. Though there's no Leorio and Kurapika in this arc, Bisky was a very great substitution! 

PS: And I am also waiting for a certain appearance of a certain someone. It would be so much fuuuuun!!!

4 of 5 stars

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"Being fooled is as good as being dead" 

Oh, how I missed these guysss! 

I finished watching the anime adaptation of Hunter x Hunter less than a month ago and I am still unable to moved on. I can't shake the emptiness I felt after watching it and all I wanted was more of this HxH world so I decided to start reading the manga. Though I don't know if it was a good idea since it was still on going and on hiatus. 

The hunter applicants, including our main character Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio, is now in the middle of the first phase of the exam. Everyone is in the state of both panic and confusion, except Hisoka who's now showing his bloodlust. Well, it was given that he was triggered to kill by the other applicants who tried to get in his way, atleast in the anime. It was a good excuse for him to kill anyway. But here in manga, it was shown that he acted as a judge even though no one triggered him to fight. I don't know how close the characters' development in the anime compared to the manga, but I'm excited to see for myself.

An endlessly imaginative and best-selling cult hit from the pages of Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. The time has come for the Hunter Association to choose a new chairman, but it’s shaping up to be anything but a clean election. While the world’s Hunters descend into dirty politics, Gon remains hospitalized in critical condition. Killua knows of a way to save him, but it will mean facing his deadly family of assassins…and the deadliest and strangest of them all, Killua’s little sibling Alluka… Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen plus audiences.

4 of 5 stars

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Aside from Killua's friendship with Gon, his relationship with Alluka is also one of my favorite part in HxH. I admire how Killua was so determined on saving both Alluka and Gon. He was not just the very ideal best friend, he was also the best brother anyone could have. He was such a sweet, loving and protective brother to Alluka and their status was like 'you and me against the whole world'. It was so messed up to know that no one other than Killua treated Alluka as a family member and treasured her so dearly. Killua was also the only one who sees her as a girl. It was just because of Illumi's needle that he completely forgot about her sister. This part of the arc was so precious to me.

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. The journey to the Dark Continent begins! Chairman Netero’s son Beyond has a dream to explore the dangerous land of the Dark Continent. Many have made trips there and almost everyone has disappeared or died! But he’s not alone in his desire to explore this strange land—the Hunter Association has their own plan. And where do Gon and his friends fit into all this mess?

4 of 5 stars

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killua giving kurapika tips on how to handle bisky was hilarious. i also loved to see more of ging. i think he was clever and sly. also a short glimpse of how he fights was so interesting. it was like he can sort of 'copy' an ability of someone who he came close contact with or something. i'd loved to see his true ability

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. The Spiders unravel the clues that will bring them ever closer to Kurapika's identity. Meanwhile, Kurapika's desire for revenge is rekindled when he learns that the Spiders are still alive. And though the bounty on the Spiders has been withdrawn, Gon persuades Killua to help Kurapika awhile longer, if only to bring the cycle of killing to an end. Then, during a mad chase through the crowded streets of Yorknew, the Spiders capture Gon and Killua again! Will Kurapika and Leorio be able to set them free? And will Kurapika finally get his revenge?

Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 12

4 of 5 stars

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Hisoka is tenacious. That's definitely a very accurate description. Because Chrollo got a hold of Neon's prediction ability, they learned that almost half of the group would get killed by the Scarlet Eyes the following week and Chrollo decided to stay out of the enemy's way for awhile and go back to Meteor City to avoid that. And because Hisoka wanted to fight Chrollo so much, it would not be good for him. His reason of letting Kurapika knows that the corpses were fake and deceiving the Phantom Troupe with his slightly fake prediction result was entirely for his own benefit. By letting the Spiders know about the half truth of his own predicted fate, which was about having a communication with the chain user, it obviously put him in the spot. But Hisoka smoothly manipulated the situation. He let them think that the chain user used a law of sword against him, but the truth was the law of sword that was mentioned in the prediction was fabricated, along with the statement that if they would go back to their hometown, they would still lose half of the group. By telling Kurapika the truth that the Spiders were still alive, Hisoka knew that Kurapika would strike again. It was all Hisoka's plan to prevent the Spiders from leaving and for him to finally have a chance to fight the leader. And because the Spiders believed that they would still lose half of them either by staying or leaving, they decided to stay and continue tracking the chain user down. Smooth move from Hisoka, I may say. 

This mission of both sides, fighting their way towards each other, was so unnerving. Our gang and the Spiders are now making they move. Reading this part was no different tham watching the anime. It was making me anxious the whole time. Killua and Gon let themselves get captured so that Kurapika can make his move, but because risking his friends' lives to take revenge wasn't what Kurapika wanted, it makes the whole situation more complicated. But not only for him but also for the Spiders. Both sides need to make a very difficult decisions. 

This whole situation was very smart. Because their moves positioned themselves on the edge of the cliff, you can't possibly know what will happen next, who will fall or who will manage to stay on their feet. It was so unnerving! 

Pakunoda's Nen ability of reading minds was also so interesting. That's why she was one of the most important member of the Phantom Troupe. The members with physical and combat ability were easy to replaced but not Pakunoda. You think it will be difficult to handle a mind reader like Paku, but our gang, especially Kurapika, was able used Paku's ability against her. It was already a long time ago that I realized how I loved the Phantom Troupe despite being so messed up because of how interestingly complicated they all are, but now I'm liking them more right now. 

And the part where Hisoka called for a little help from a friend. We're going to get a glimpse of Illumi once more. His silhouette was enough to make me excited for the next volume.

PS: I am so in love with Kurapika disguised as a female! He was so pretty!!!

Plucky Gon’s quest to find his dad leads him into a whole world of crazy adventure. Hunters are a special breed, dedicated to tracking down treasures, magical beasts, and even other people. But such pursuits require a license, and less than one in a hundred thousand can pass the grueling qualification exam. Those who do pass gain access to restricted areas, amazing stores of information, and the right to call themselves Hunters. Gon and his friends Leorio and Kurapika have more to worry about than just the Hunter Exam--their fellow applicants are deadly serious. Hisoka, the mad magician, nearly kills them in a mock test and Killua reveals that appearances can be deceiving. Then there are the tests, which prove to be as varied as they are difficult. The picky proctors of the second exam demand the applicants perform culinary feats of wonder, and it takes the intervention of the President of the Hunter Association Review Board to convince them to let anyone pass at all!

Hunter x Hunter, Vol. 2

4 of 5 stars

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I've watched the 2011 version of this anime and not the original. I don't know how it was done the first time, but the recent version of the anime was slightly different from the manga, especially the second phase of the exam handled by the gourmet hunters. I loved the sushi part of the exam because it was funny, which was unfortunately not included in the 2011 version, but I loved the boiled egg exam in the anime more because of how it was done. In this volume, we get to see the beginning of how Tonpa the rookie crusher worked to sabotage the rookie applicants (thus our four main characters) and it was still entertaining to see how they tried to get past that tiny hurdle in the form of Tonpa. The sly old man Netero was also introduced in this volume and I always enjoyed his little ball game with Gon and Killua. In the anime version, this was the episode where I started to think how cool Killua is (though it was inappropriate to call the part where he killed two men with his bare hand and extended nails cool). He was still a brat here and obviously didn't really care about other people but we can see that there's something deeper about him than being just a kid. Seeing this old Killua, I'm excited to see how his character developed in this manga.

Gavin

First volume pretty formulaic. But better than it looks.

Kirsten Simkiss

I've read this one at least twice and, while it seems a little childish, this series picks up in the most amazing ways. The characters have depth, the stories are interesting, and the art is consistently good. If you're looking for a manga series to get attached to, I 100% recommend this one.

Annabelle Stevenson 

Andy Bayliss

3.5**
Great start to the series however was a bit slow and I’m hoping that in the next one they add more depth to the characters !! Also Gon is so adorable