Anime Hunter X Hunter 1999 anime discussion

[REN KOUEN]

im sure you guys already have a thread about this, if so feel free to merge my post into that thread

i just tried my first sample of the hxh animation from 1999

i actually liked it, it is better than i thought it would be

here is a clip of what i watched


obviously i am a kurapika fan, so i wanted to watch this fight in the older version, and i was impressed, i liked it alot

not as pretty as the 2011 version, but it still had great atmosphere and was flat out epic

 

[Lutv]

from the first time im watching hxh in 2002, i really loved this ost, trully , my 1st favorited

 

[Zasz]

The graphic of the first anime wasn't bad, but I prefer the MH version.
However I think that the OST of the first adaptation were better.

 

[futurefrog]

1999 had its own heart, it was not Hunter x Hunter as envisioned by Yoshihiro Togashi.
It was Hunter x Hunter as envisioned by Kazuhiro Furuhashi.

There are so many reasons why I do not like this adaptation of Hunter x Hunter.
But there are a few reasons I like it as an anime.

As an adaptation it is a failure, Furuhashi cannot resist the urge to create his own stories and messages, which are nothing like what is represented in the manga. The character personalities are poorly represented and in some cases completely altered. Furuhashi also changes Kurapika into the protagonist of the series as he was more interested in Kurapika then the other characters, which is why he rushed Heaven's Arena and utterly ruined the arc. He had no interest in Gon and Killua and treated them as secondary characters instead of protagonists. If you have ever seen the final script (an original ending he had planned) you would laugh, Furuhashi originally planned for Kurapika and Chrollo to both die, with Kurapika dying in Leorio's arms in a big dramatic full circle moment. Gon and Killua were then magically approached by Ging and that would have been the end. Thankfully that was not the case and the script was never used.

As an anime it is not that bad though. It has a decent OST with some stand-out tracks, but also has some very bad ones as well. The animation hasn't stood the test of time but it undoubtedly has an atmosphere about it. Furuhashi fleshed out some characters with non-canon filler but it did add more personality to some of them. I also must say the York New arc was quite compelling in this series but was not a good adaptation of that portion. If you like Kurapika, which I do, you will enjoy this series as he is effectively made into the main character. I don't mind it as he is an intriguing character. There is a number of inconsistencies in the series but all in all, its not a bad anime, its far from great though.

I think that the 2011 anime is better than 1999 as both an adaptation and as an anime series. It has more heart, it had great respect and affection for Togashi's vision and work overall, the animation is better, characterisation is better and music is better. All in all it trumps 1999 with ease.

 

[mousiehamster]

Just watch the whole thing - don't just watch the fights. Alot of what makes the 1999 version is the set-up, lead-up and premise. It's also drastically different from the 2011 version, having its own flavor and soul - basically it's a cinematic take on HxH, sort of like the approach Nolan took to Batman, where the narrative and events of HxH were envisioned to plausibly take place in the real world whilst keeping the fictional elements fully intact. It's actually better than the manga in many aspects. Just don't dive in expecting it to be an older version of the 2011 anime. It's a different beast.

Note that other than the episodes in the series, two sets of OVAs were released - the York Shin OVAs and the Greed Island OVAs, and the series ends at the conclusion of Greed Island. Take note though that the Greed Island OVAs are pretty crap and you might as well skip them.

 

[Rica_Patin]

1999 anime was terrible. I could go on and on about why, but I think that Noonealive's copypasta about it that for some reason always gets accredited to me on a certain website since I posted it there explains why the 1999 adaptation was a horrible adaptation perfectly.

 

[mousiehamster]

Just to be clear, you're not going to get an honest, impartial opinion on this forum. So just watch it - don't even listen to what i have to say, and just form your own opinion. After all, you have nothing to lose.

 

[REN KOUEN]

Does anyone have a good site to watch the 1999 anime on?

 

[The Invertroid]

Look for it on Youtube. Most of the episodes are posted there subbed, last time I checked. You can also find the English dub there, if you're in the mood for over-the-top cheesy voice acting.

I actually find many of the old dub voices for the characters pretty charming. Leorio and Hisoka are quite good in the English version. Kurapika's dub voice, on the other hand, sounds pretty awkward when you first hear it.

Normally I don't support people watching anime online without compensating its creators, but I think it's safe to say that that ship has already sailed with this series.

 

[mousiehamster]

Plenty of places to stream HxH i.e. kumby

Don't bother watching the show dubbed - watch it subbed! Oh and one thing that will really really surprise you is Hisoka's voice.

 

[REN KOUEN]

lol no id rather someone pour fireants in my ear than listen to crappy english dub

very few anime 's have good english dub

 

[The Invertroid]

very few anime 's have good english dub

Not really. Most anime fans just get used to hearing the Japanese voices because they watch anime subbed first. They naturally end up preferring them because they're the first thing they ever hear associated with the show's characters. They become ingrained in people's minds, and different voices end up sounding wrong for the sole reason that they're different. Japanese voice actors aren't magically better than English ones just because they're speaking Japanese.

The old HxH dub definitely leaves a lot to be desired in places, though. There's an almost surreal amateur quality to it, which isn't very surprising. Viz was probably paying Blue Water Studios the budget of ham sandwich to dub it. The only reason I watch the old series dubbed is because I sometimes put it on as background noise while I'm working on something else. Constantly glancing over to read subtitles doesn't really work out well when trying to type up a research paper.

 

[mousiehamster]

Or maybe we're just incapable of discerning whether japanese VA's overact or not. But the English ones definitely do. Human beings just do not talk like that.

 

[REN KOUEN]

Not really. Most anime fans just get used to hearing the Japanese voices because they watch anime subbed first. They naturally end up preferring them because they're the first thing they ever hear associated with the show's characters. They become ingrained in people's minds, and different voices end up sounding wrong for the sole reason that they're different. Japanese voice actors aren't magically better than English ones just because they're speaking Japanese.

The old HxH dub definitely leaves a lot to be desired in places, though. There's an almost surreal amateur quality to it, which isn't very surprising. Viz was probably paying Blue Water Studios the budget of ham sandwich to dub it. The only reason I watch the old series dubbed is because I sometimes put it on as background noise while I'm working on something else. Constantly glancing over to read subtitles doesn't really work out well when trying to type up a research paper.

the japanese voice acting always sounds better, it is a more graceful eloquent language

and it just fits better

 

[The Invertroid]

the japanese voice acting always sounds better, it is a more graceful eloquent language

and it just fits better

Do you actually understand Japanese? I find it hard to believe someone can determine whether a language is more "graceful" if they can't actually follow it's syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases in a sentence).

I just really don't understand how people who are native English speakers end up hating on their own language when it comes to anime.

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Just to keep this thread on topic, what does everyone think of the differences in color schemes between the two anime? I personally have never been a fan of many of Nippon's choices in this regard. Largely, their coloring was a little too subdued and muted for my tastes. especially when it came to characters and clothing. A number of color combinations in certain outfits were simply unappealing. I probably dislike Killua's light pink t-shirt and maroon long-sleeve shirt the most. The overall tone the colors create doesn't fit him well, at least to my eyes, and blends awkwardly with the other three main characters.

 

[Salce]

I just really don't understand how people who are native English speakers end up hating on their own language when it comes to anime.

I think japanese people say more through the tone of their voices than in other languages. For example, it's more common for them to scream in a non agressive way, like when they say "thank you!".

So, to fit the characters facial expression, voice actors in english (or spanish, for the case) try to imitate this effusive way of talking that japanese have. But it just doesn't sounds good in our languages.
And when they don't try to do that and take a more subdued approach, according to our language, it doesn't fit the characters.

 

[REN KOUEN]

Do you actually understand Japanese? I find it hard to believe someone can determine whether a language is more "graceful" if they can't actually follow it's syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases in a sentence).

I just really don't understand how people who are native English speakers end up hating on their own language when it comes to anime.

-------------------------------------------

Just to keep this thread on topic, what does everyone think of the differences in color schemes between the two anime? I personally have never been a fan of many of Nippon's choices in this regard. Largely, their coloring was a little too subdued and muted for my tastes. especially when it came to characters and clothing. A number of color combinations in certain outfits were simply unappealing. I probably dislike Killua's light pink t-shirt and maroon long-sleeve shirt the most. The overall tone the colors create doesn't fit him well, at least to my eyes, and blends awkwardly with the other three main characters.

i understand alot of it, and im learning to write kanji

i know enough to know what im talking about in this situation

---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

I like the artwork so far from the 1999 anime, the 2011 is superior in every way

but the 1999 does have a nice feel to it

---------- Post added at 08:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 PM ----------

i noticed some different hair color for a few of the characters

 

[Beans]

Does anyone have a good site to watch the 1999 anime on?

I advise you to download it from a torrent site in a good quality rather than just watching it on a streaming site, I actually think that most free streaming sites are just annoying.
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About the English dubs, the only anime that I can think of right now that had a really great English dub was Cowboy Bebop; the voices were great and they fit the characters almost perfectly, and sometimes I find myself preferring them over some of the original voices. Another anime I just remembered with a great dub is Samurai Champloo, which actually had some of the voices that was in the Cowboy Bebop dub. it kinda seems like director Shinichiro Watanabe works always get great dubs.
I think that the English dubs can be really good if done right. You know, almost all of the american animated movies have great voice acting and I don't think that anime dubs should be of any different.