Cross stitch pattern of Gon Freecss and Killua Zoldyck from Hunter X Hunter. Donate to my Patreon to unlock this pattern.

Grid Size: 96W x 81H
Design Area: 6.71″ x 5.64″ (94 x 79 stitches)
Colors: 17

If I could only praise one thing about Hunter X Hunter’s anime it would be the impeccable pacing. If you read the first volume of the manga, you’ll see that it starts almost the exact same way with Gon catching a gigantic fish as proof that he is ready to take on the hunter exam, but then the flow of the narrative comes to a screeching halt as we’re treated to a flashback about Gon raising a baby monster. And then he gets on the boat to the exam. Now in the anime, this scene is omitted and moved to a later point where it would be more relevant. You do learn some things about Gon’s character in this flashback, but those things are better displayed at other points during the first episode anyway. What I’m saying is that the director of the 2011 anime makes so many of these choices that make the anime flow better than its source material.

The manga is worth reading though, especially during the Chimera Ant arc when the story slows to a crawl and no amount of trimming the fat will fix that. The strangest thing is that this arc feels so different from any of the other arcs. I’m a staunch supporter of Greed Island, and even though it’s week, I still feel like I’m watching the same show, but the Chimera Ant arc has a distinct structure that takes away the emphasis on Gon and Killua. There were always B plots, but sometimes I find myself just waiting through dialogue and fights until the main characters come back onscreen.