I'm up to episode 115 of Hunter x Hunter, where Gon is about to kill Pitou, and so far the critically acclaimed Chimera Ant arc has been lackluster. Outside of a handful of moments (as opposed to entire episodes or at least, scenes), the show has failed to live up to the raw excitement and intriguing characterizations of the Hunter exam arc. Up until a few episodes ago, the villains were entirely flat, with only the King and Pouf being remotely interesting, and nowhere near as much as Hisoka and Chrollo. The narration was somewhat interesting at first, but quickly became an overused gimmick and feels like it belongs to pad the episodes. It doesn't help that the show keeps reusing Hegemony of the Food Chain every ten minutes for every single fight in the arc thus far, it's overuse having led to an otherwise amazing song losing its luster. Yes, the Chairman vs the King and Gon's infamous rage will probably be amazing scenes to behold, but at this point, it doesn't matter whether or not the rest of the arc is "where the show becomes amazing". Forty episodes of just "okay" to "fine" doesn't make for a compelling arc, and the arc as a whole can't be redeemed by a handful of good ones.
Standout moments so far:
Pazu and friends investigating the crisis in the NGL.
Knov infiltrating the palace.
The King ripping his arm off and Pouf going crazy.
The Chairman's and Zeno's initial assault on the palace.
Pouf finding the destroyed throne room and going crazy.
That's it.
Well, time to watch the supposed "good part" of the "best arc" in shounen anime. Tomorrow.