User blog:AssassinsTears/Episode 23: The Welcoming Committee (Review)

I just... watched... the episode... *dies*

Anyways, my lateness aside... -_-

I was pleasantly surprised by the episode. They've been sticking so close to the manga, I didn't expect this much of a divergence. Seaquant even got a name. ^^ They spent much more time on the Testing Gate in general; it started out with that touching scene where Gon's all like "Killua's my friend!" which are common enough in this new version (those mini tidbits of cuteness). More comedy was added with the "training," too, especially with Leorio. xD Lol at how he sleeps all sprawled out, clothes all over the place, and Kurapika sleeps all tucked in with his clothes neatly folded. xD

However, in the manga, all three of them made it through the Testing Gate alone; Leorio even made it through the second set of doors. I found it mildly irritating that they took that out, simply because it downplays the trio's strength. It's also one of the tragically few places Leorio gets to display some amount of superiority. Although the added scenes of Gon training alone were adorable. ^^

The first torture scene was totally new. Killua never knew that Gon was at the Testing Gate; Mil only leaked his presence when he reached the Butlers' Chambers. It was enjoyable to see Kikyo (Mama) yell at Milluki (I haaaaaaate that kid...!), and on that note I am so glad that Kik's got a new voice actress. Her old voice was like nails on a chalkboard, but worse. -_- Milluki's voice is even more irritating than his old one.

Apparently Seaquant (he has a name!) isn't a Hunter of the Blacklist variety... :/ or they didn't find it important enough to mention. :/

I like the new fashions! Kalluto's kimono is so pretty, and I did not like Kikyo's yellow and pink frills. She's still got frills, but at least they're purple. Canary's color scheme changed slightly, too, but again, I like it.

The flashback with Kil and Canary was brandy new, and I almost started crying at the adorableness! I thought that was the perfect touch as the scene lapses into sounds of the poor girl beating up Gon. The rest of the scene was perfect, what with the lighting and the effects. The music was epic as Kikyo made her entrance. :D OMG why was her fan glowing?? Have I not gotten to that point in the manga (I'm at the very very start of Chimera Ants)? Or is that unique to this version of the anime? Somebody should tell me... -_- But no spoilers, pretty please! :D

Anyways, final opinion: great episode. Unexpectedly original. I had few gripes about it, considering how much they shifted about. Looking forward to the next one. Majorly looking forward to it.

I did not catch a Togashi-dog in this episode.

Peace, Hunters. =^^=