“I think if I took too long putting my shoes on before leaving the house Leorio would shout at me” is the truest thing anyone has ever said

I'm gonna start watching Hunter x Hunter
I know next to nothing about it, but I want to listen along with the new Friends at the Table show, Media Club Plus
I'm very hesitant to do so. I did not like Yu Yu Hakusho. At All. (Aside from the intro). But I do like JoJo's, which I've heard it compared to.
So I think I'll document my progress. Certainly open to being surprised, but nothing I've heard makes me hopeful. Guess I'll find out.

Well, three episodes in and I'm fairly optimistic
I'm still tired of many of the more used anime tropes, but I'm coping
And there hasn't been a Single Fight yet! (a good thing), and I'm somewhat interested in the premise, more so with the characters.
But I was also interested with the premise of YYH, and then a few episodes in it completely changed (I wanted a demon detective show and got endless monotonous fights), so I'm not entirely sold
At the very least, I'm really liking the score, the intro's all right (think I've heard it before) and the outro is absolute garbage, haven't hated an anime song this badly since that one My Hero Academia song that also overdid it on the crummy autotune (and this one adds unpleasant screamo)
All being said, I'm not dreading the next three

I enjoyed this batch of episodes quite a bit (eps 4-6)
It helps a lot that I feel like I know the premise of the show, and I don't want these posts to only be about YYH, but so far HxH seems to know what it wanted to be from a much earlier spot
And what it's trying to be is just smashing words together. The amount of weird guys in this show is staggering. The Crow that imitates speech? The big frog? The weird card guy who has a higher body count then most shows I watch? Lotta stuff going on
But the soundtrack, especially Gon's theme, is really great, and a lot of the hi-jinks are fun so far, if not a tad bit predictable
It was really nice that Gon got a friend his age, it's wild that old guy isn't that old, and the line where people with Strong Hunter Aura or whatever attract one another is just how JoJo Stand Users attract, but whatever.
And stop the presses, Snooty Gourmet Hunter Girl is my new fav, despite me groaning when the old guy focused on her breasts. Seriously it's mainly because I like cooking and cooking characters. No really I mean it. Wait No Don't Go

One thing I forgot to mention last time was just How Many People Died
So Many Dead

Anyway, just realized in the intro, when the narrator says "These are Hunters" the silhouettes are (at least) some of the examiners, so that's neat
I continue to enjoy these episodes (Eps 7-9) as I watch them, but remain... ambivalent? Unconvinced? I'm enjoying the show, but I'm certainly not In Love with it.
Speaking of death, we had a really brutal one this time, that guy was not expecting that weird dinosaur bird thing. Of all the side character deaths, his felt the most impactful. And it turns out skateboard kid isn't such a chump, in some ways those deaths were Not treated as brutally, but it really paints skateboard in a certain light.
Gon continues to be charming, I enjoy the interactions with the four friends, loved the reveal of their fifth companion
I liked the twist on expectations with the Blue Guy. He began powering up like that boring villain in YYH, but wound up just being a chump.
And the Music! There was one song that played as they learned of the tower, that had such a good bass riff, I was dancing around in my seat. Great tune, great score across the board.
In the end, these episodes weren't surprising, I knew exactly what red eyes was gonna do well before it happened, but everything is executed well, and the pacing fairly good, so, again, I'm enjoying my time.

To my joy when I start watching H cross H episodes 10-12 and find that we finally have our Second Speaking Female Character!
And then, to my disdain, when Leorio immediately pulls out some light transphobia.
Before that though, personally I found the first episode to be a bit mid. It felt like a lot of waiting (derogatory)
But seeing Anime Joker going against the guy he almost killed the previous year was pretty cool, I guess, I mean, these types of fights aren't really what I look for in the shows I like, but it was well done. Not my thing, but I can recognize the quality.
Second episode was fun, (despite transphobia, despite tropey lecherousness)
The new girl was fun, I really liked everyone else learning Killua's whole deal, but I'm beginning to get tired of Leorio being somewhat inept. They gave him a dub with noticing the eye movement, but then just beat on him the rest of the three I watched.
And the third episode at first I was a bit annoyed at, but started to really appreciate. They really made us feel those 50 hours. It felt like a lot of waiting (positive)
What I'm not looking forward to is the next few episodes. The narrator seemed to imply it'll be some sort of tournament arc, and. Honestly I'm dreading it. Hopefully it goes by quickly.
Lastly I noticed in the intro one of the hunter examiners is probably that lolita looking silhouette. I'm looking forward to them being introduced

happy media club plus day. this arc had me well & truly convinced that leorio was going to say a slur and then get immediately removed from the show.

its like hanging out with 40 friends for 5 hours