The Chimera Ant Arc in Hunter x Hunter isn't Boring or Overly-long and Here's Why

I first watched Hunter x Hunter: 2011 adaption in 2015, and 6 years later it still remains to be my number one favorite anime. The whole watching experience for me was perfect, from the animation (shoutout to Madhouse), the opening Departure! (which will never get old for me), and the characters themselves, I couldn't find any faults with the anime.

That was until I came onto Twitter and saw numerous amounts of people calling it 'mid' (meaning average). I'm not even going to get into that point because we will be here all day, but the number one critique that I've read about Hunter x Hunter is that the

chimera ant arc is overly-long, boring and possibly the worst arc in Hunter x Hunter.

However, I understand that everyone has and is entitled to their own opinion, just because I think the chimera ant arc is the best arc in the series, does not mean that everyone thinks the same thing. Regardless, I just had to write this post breaking down the arc, explaining why 60 episodes were needed for this storyline. You could say that I am biased since Hunter x Hunter is my favorite anime, but this arc has been slandered for too long despite it being the best arc in the series.

The Original Soundtrack (OST)

Let’s start with the basics, the original sound track. The reason why I’m starting off with this is because the OST for the chimera ant arc really complimented the story even further.

The OST for Hunter x Hunter overall is *chefs kiss* but for the chimera ant arc? Exceptional. I can't even find the words to describe my experience watching this arc for the first time, but the soundtrack behind this arc definitely heightened my watching experience.

For instance, the track titled 'Kingdom of Predators' was a popular track used throughout the arc and listening to it alone takes me back to some of the key moments in Hunter x Hunter. It adds to the suspense of the storyline and highlights key themes during the arc including the exploration between humans and monsters. My other favourite tracks on this arc include 'Hegemony of the Food Chain' (when this song comes on you just know the narrator is about to speak for hours, but we'll get into that later on this post), 'In The Palace - Agito' (which was often used for Pouf whom I extremely dislike but this track was a banger)', 'Legend of the Martial Artist' and 'Elegy of the Dynast'.

Arcs Within Arcs

Now, the chimera ant arc is roughly split into four sub-arcs. Firstly, we have the expedition arc with Gon, Killua and Kite to the NGL, then after a certain unfortunate incident, Gon and Killua start their training arc. After this, a war between the Hunters and Chimera ants starts then ultimately ending with Meruem's beautiful character development. This is the basic structure of the arc in entirety, which will make it easier to explain exactly why the arc is the longest in the series, and justifiably why it should be.

Is the arc overly-long?

Yes and no. I admit this arc is longer than usual arcs (roughly 24 episodes) and is the longest arc in the series BUT I don't think it's overly-long. The storyline is a lot to unpack if we're being honest, and for those who have watched Hunter x Hunter, honestly ask yourself, do you think this storyline can be packed into 24-30 episodes? Especially because it's leading up to a 'war', both perspectives need to be clearly explained so we know their reasons for fighting and in this case it's survival. The Chimera Ants simply want to survive (although this doesn't justify some of their murderous instincts and killing countless humans for food). However, we end up seeing a drastic change in character development with most of them feeling huge remorse for their actions. The storyline is quite complex, with Togashi (the mangaka of Hunter x Hunter), introducing many characters for this arc, in addition to the emotions and themes conveyed throughout.

As mentioned previously, this arc begins with Gon and Killua meeting Kite and being attacked by a small chimera anthill, leading up to the queen ants' evolution through the consumption of various species including humans, it really sets the storyline in stone.

The over-arching theme in this anime is Gon searching for his father. After the Greed Island arc Gon uses an 'accompany' card hoping to meet Ging (his father) but ended up meeting Kite instead, a former acquittance of Ging. This part and development of the story is very crucial, as Gon meets someone associated with his father, and is able to learn more about Ging. The relationship formed between Kite and Gon needed to be seen, along with their journey to NGL, to explain the build-up and hence a high number of episodes to the main part of the arc - Gon versus Pitou.

We also have Colt, the first human-born ant chimera and this part of the arc we can see the perspective constantly switching from the humans to the chimera ants, leading up to the birth of the king - Meruem. We then have the training arc of Killua and Gon, who were deemed as weak by Netero and had no chance fighting against the chimera ants unless trained and approved by the apprentices of Morel. Then finally, the 'war' known as the palace invasion between the Hunters and Chimera ants.

There is a lot happening throughout this arc, which justifies the length of episodes it took in the series, especially in the invasion to the palace arc (Hunters versus Chimera's), I feel like this arc was purposefully long due to the complexity, and the need to explain the storyline itself and the character's development.

Obviously, I am only briefly describing some events, as there is a lot more detail imbedded in the storyline and I've barely scratched the surface (which again, justifies why this arc needed to be 60 episodes long), but for the sake of this post I'll get straight to the point.

Is the chimera ant arc boring?

This is clearly a subjective viewpoint and I can't classify my opinion as the objective truth, but in short, no!

In this arc we see a completely new side of Hunter x Hunter, it first started out with light and happy-go-lucky themes from the Hunter Exam, then leading up to one of the darkest arcs in the series. We see Gon, an optimistic protagonist completely flip the script and go berserk once he finds out that Kite has been killed by Pitou.

The main reason why some people may label this arc as boring, may be down to the narrator. I won't even front, watching the introduction into the palace invasion (roughly about 10 episodes or so) and the fights slowly unfold between the Ants and Hunters only to find out that 2 minutes of the battle had passed really shocked and annoyed me. However, with that being said, the narrator was 100% necessary for this arc and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

For anyone who has watched this arc, you know there are hundreds of things happening at once, some people can even describe it as a 'beautiful chaos'. This is where the narrator comes in. Togashi really went in on this arc where he consistently ponders the human mind, forcing the watchers to really pay attention to the characters and scenes unfold. The narrator explains events occurring in this arc but most particularly the palace invasion.

Many events were slowed down often with the narrator explaining what we can already see. But what makes this arc stand out from other anime series is that the narrator explains what is happening instead of using the character's inner monologue. Sure, it would make sense and perhaps be easier to watch if the character's explained the events itself, but considering what is occurring during the chimera arc where a lot of characters such as Gon, Killua, Shoot, Knuckle and Meruem for instance experience epiphany's, self-actualization and extreme progression and development of their powers, it makes sense for the narrator to come in and explain it instead.

It is not easy for people in general to fully articulate their feelings, and in the Chimera Ant arc we can clearly see the emotions conveyed through multiple characters, and there are even some characters who can't even understand their feelings enough to conceptualise it, but the narrator does an excellent job of explaining the storyline in detail while simultaneously integrating the theme of this arc.

While I agree that some episodes were not exciting as others, does this make the arc as a whole boring? Definitely not.

The chimera ant arc isn't boring or overly-long, it is perfectly paced and exceptionally developed. Just say you have a short attention spam and go.

Sorry not sorry, but it's the truth (from my personal opinion).

This arc in short is a masterpiece and regardless of agenda or not, the slander just needs to stop. Honestly, I really wish I could watch this arc for the first time again, the goosebumps I had throughout this arc? Wow. In summary, the chimera arc is basically 4-in-1, all leading up to the main events of the palace invasion, Hunters versus Chimera's. Typical Shonen fans should recognise why the build-up was necessary, especially for a 'war' arc per say.

Thank you for reading this post! I would also just like to reiterate this this is just my personal opinion. Let us know your thoughts on this post, do you agree or disagree? Contact us on our Instagram and Twitter and be sure to like this post and subscribe to our blog.

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