Episode 1 (2011)



Departure × And × Friends ( タビダチ×ト×ナカマタチ Tabidachi × To × Nakama-tachi ) is the 1st episode of the Hunter × Hunter 2011 anime. It first aired on October 2nd, 2011.

Overview
''Twelve-year-old Gon Freecss catches Whale Island's monster fish, the "Master of the Swamp" to gain permission from his reluctant Aunt Mito to take the Hunter Exam. Aboard the ship going to the location of the examination, Gon impresses the captain when he predicts a violent storm approaching and meets Leorio and Kurapika.''

Synopsis
Mito is sorting fish when other people starts talking about Gon, her twelve-year-old nephew. Gon is trying to catch the monstrous "Master of the Swamp", a feat done twenty years ago by Mito's cousin and Gon's father, Ging. It is a seemingly impossible condition set by Mito, for she is reluctant to allow Gon to take the Hunter Exam. Gon catches the fish and brings it to the harbor, to the amazement of the townspeople and to the dismay of Mito.

The night before Gon sets out, Mito tries to convince Gon not to pursue the exam and be like his father. Gon replies by saying he wants to know why his father prefers to be a Hunter so much that he left his own son in other people's care. Mito says that it is dangerous but Gon insists on his answer. The next morning, Mito and her grandmother bid Gon goodbye.

Upon boarding the ship, Gon bids goodbye to the inhabitants of Whale Island who flock the harbor to see him off. After he shouts that he will be the best Hunter, Gon is mocked by the ship passengers, who are also going to the Hunter Exam site. He just observed the applicants on board, then he notices and helps Katsuo, a crew member being bullied by its mates. The captain of the ship goes out of the cabin and orders Katsuo to hurry up with his chore. Gon then tells the captain that a storm is coming. When the captain asks how he knows, he says that the sea birds flying above them are warning each other of a huge storm. Gon confirms it by using his sense of smell. The captain is suddenly reminded of someone.

While the storms rages, nearly every exam applicants on the ship are seasick except for Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio. The Captain summons them and asks for their reasons for taking the Hunter Exam. Gon quickly answers that he wants to know why his father chose to be a Hunter. Leorio and Kurapika refuse to reveal theirs; the Captain promptly tells them that he is hired to trim down the sheer number of Hunter Exam participants before they even reach the exam site, and thus he can pass or fail them depending on their response.

Kurapika reveals that he wants to be a Blacklist Hunter to catch the Phantom Troupe who annihilated his clan, the Kurta. Leorio wonders why Kurapika has to take the exam merely for revenge, to which Kurapika replies that a licensed Hunter has unprecedented access to information and places, as well as freedom to actions that are otherwise forbidden. Leorio says he wants money and the comforts and luxuries it brings like huge fortune and free use of public amenities to which Kurapika comments upon. Leorio is ticked by Kurapika not properly addressing him as Leorio-san several times already and he insults Kurapika's clan as disrespectful. This sparks animosity between the two and they goes out to the deck to duel.

Meanwhile, the crew members try to stabilize the ship when Katzo is tossed and is about to fall from the ship, to which Leorio and Kurapika witness in horror. Then Gon jumps out of the ship to catch Katzo, and the other two promptly catch Gon's legs. The next day, Katzo thanks them, and Leorio and Kurapika also reconcile. The Captain is impressed with them and he promises to bring them to the port nearest to the Exam Site.