I, among many other anime fans, have Hunter x Hunter (2011) on my weekly queue. Hunter x Hunter is a high quality series, which is to be expected because the 2011 version is a reboot. But there's a "dark side" to this series. And that is the manga it's based on. I switched to the manga after this week's episode and read it all in one day. Now "all" isn't really accurate since the story is incomplete and has been on a two year hiatus. But I have read all that's available. Should you? Does reading it take too much away from the viewing experience?
One of the major issues people have with the manga is the art. It's bad. Add poor quality online scans to that (because it's an old manga) and it's even worse. Poorly drawn facial expressions, backgrounds or fighting sequences aren't rare at all. But I must say how it doesn't hinder the reading experience as much as one might initially think. A good example of that was the Chimera Ant arc. I was too captivated by the story to be overly irritated by the art. Also, Hunter x Hunter focuses a lot more on dialogue than on beautiful landscapes or fights. So you won't really require sharp detail most of the time. It is quite commendable how Hunter x Hunter continues to do well in sales, despite not having dropped a new chapter for nearly two years. Boosted by the story alone, the art isn't as important as it is in other manga. In fact, some of the atrocities that take place are depicted in a better fashion because of the bad art.
Art
One of the major issues people have with the manga is the art. It's bad. Add poor quality online scans to that (because it's an old manga) and it's even worse. Poorly drawn facial expressions, backgrounds or fighting sequences aren't rare at all. But I must say how it doesn't hinder the reading experience as much as one might initially think. A good example of that was the Chimera Ant arc. I was too captivated by the story to be overly irritated by the art. Also, Hunter x Hunter focuses a lot more on dialogue than on beautiful landscapes or fights. So you won't really require sharp detail most of the time. It is quite commendable how Hunter x Hunter continues to do well in sales, despite not having dropped a new chapter for nearly two years. Boosted by the story alone, the art isn't as important as it is in other manga. In fact, some of the atrocities that take place are depicted in a better fashion because of the bad art.
Experience ruined?
This question is what hinders many from picking up any manga, not just Hunter x Hunter. But for this series I can say that reading ahead doesn't feel like it takes away from the viewing experience.
While it does take away surprises from the show, it adds a new "dimension". Instead of being surprised, you can watch to see how certain events get animated. That "looking forward to" plus being able to compare manga to anime becomes just as fun as being surprised.
This doesn't just apply to this series, but to many others as well.
Spoilers
Besides becoming impatient, Hunter x Hunter simply became too popular, making dodging spoilers near impossible. Like with Attack on Titan, I chose to protect myself, rather than blaming people who want to discuss the manga.
Naturally, I'm not going to spoil the series or any interesting conclusions, but I do encourage reading if you're in any kind of community that discusses anime/manga. Some of the upcoming developments are far too interesting to take the risk of running into that nasty spoiler.
Verdict
The way you experience Hunter x Hunter is entirely up to you. The "new" anime is an amazing medium for that. I can't compare the manga to the anime. But I will say that binge-reading the manga provided one of the most amazing rides in my personal manga history. I'm not blind to some of its issues, like it being too heavy on dialogue sometimes. Or the art which I already touched upon. However, those hardly dent the greatness that is Hunter x Hunter. Hopefully, Yoshihiro Togashi's comeback isn't far away. Me and many others are waiting. Click here and here for diary-shaped in-depth reviews on season 1 and 2 of the series.
Thanks for putting me on the spot with those season reviews. I guess I have to go back and finish now. But in all seriousness, I caught up to the anime way too fast. I want to start reading the manga but I don't want to catch up and still be waiting on Togashi.
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