Is Hunter X Hunter the next DBZ blow out?

[Hellspawn28]

Hunter x Hunter is not a new series. If it was going to be the "next dbz", it would have already happened, imo.

People assume HxH is a new series because the series got a remake a few years ago. The original TV series came out in the early 2000's and didn't air on major TV channels. Funimation had it airing on their TV channel, but it's hardly a mainstream channel. Not to mention younger anime fans won't watch something that is before 2003 or 2004 because it's too old for them to watch . It's like with JoJo since I was a fan of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure before the newer anime even existed. Most anime fans in the US before 2012 would have no idea what the hell JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is despite having a 90's OVA series and a arcade game from Capcom.

[Cure Dragon 255]

DBZ was a decade old when it came to the USA. And yes, that's counting...Wait, no, there was Harmony Gold in the 80's... FINE! It formally came on 95 but that's still a decade!

DBZ came out in 1989 in Japan and 1996 in the US. DBZ was only seven years old when air in the US and DBZ just ended 8 months ago when it first air in the US.

Maybe if it was on Netflix... But as others have pointed out, the conditions that allowed for DB to soar don't exist anymore. In the age of the internet, we have access to these shows before there's even an inkling of a Western release. A fan following is built in long before that, and then when something is announced to be brought over, that's the group following that news and where it's going to air and all that jazz. This process is not conductive to fresh eyes.

Anime like Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online and Akame Ga Kill still able to become popular over here in the US thanks to Toonami airing them. I think Attack on Titan became the closet anime that reach a very popular mainstream level for anime. Two years ago, Attack on Titan started to become very big here in the US with a lot of merchandise for it able to be bought at stores. More casual people learn to learn about the show compare to it in 2013. Attack on Titan even got a crossover with Marvel.

Also Bleach, Naruto and Death Note still became popular in the US when you could find subs for them on the web at the time. The idea of people having access to these shows before they got a Western release is nothing. People act started to become a thing like 6 years ago when it has been around for over a decade. I remember people on Youtube and Dailymotion would post episodes of Naruto in 2006-2008.

True, but in my attempt to make myself not look like an idiot I said it INDEED was a decade before Dragon Ball's first anime came to the states. I still managed to botch it lol.

[Bullza]

Nah no chance. I don't think any anime will become a big as Dragon Ball Z or Poke on again.

There will be other anime that will breakout outside of Japan though like One Punch Man and Attack on Titan.

[Xeztin]

It's strange because honestly, I'm not sure if DB would forever keep its popularity if it wasn't for Super that will undoubtly have dubs everywhere. I know It's stayed big and even grown to some extent over the past 20 years. But what happens when us 80s-90s-early '2000 kids all kick the bucket? Lets say Super never existed. Would DB or the anime DBZ still continue to keep its popularity up and grow? Kids telling me that its too much talking, boring, and outdated makes me second guess it. So ill thank the manga gods that Super exists just in case. I really hope they one day reanimate DBZ/Kai. I think a franchise like it deserves it and the respect after what its accomplished. Reanimating it would without a doubt help gain intrest of younger people.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Kids you talk to may say its not of their liking, but the numbers dont lie, over 1.1 million still watch Kai and just so you know its not a Fluke, audiences have followed it wherever it goes, like Nicktoons and even TheCW.

[Hellspawn28]

If this were 1999 and HXH was airing on weekday Toonami, sure it could probably rival Dragon Ball.

I did wish the old HxH show on the original Toonami. Too bad the English dub came out in 2008.

[Kuwabara]

It's cool that your nephew and his friends are so into a great show, but also a little odd that they think Kai is boring in comparison; none of Hunter x Hunter's good fights have even happened yet! In fact, I've encountered a lot of people that think the very beginning of the series is kind of boring itself.

[Xeztin]

It's cool that your nephew and his friends are so into a great show, but also a little odd that they think Kai is boring in comparison; none of Hunter x Hunter's good fights have even happened yet! In fact, I've encountered a lot of people that think the very beginning of the series is kind of boring itself.

I found that strange myself, from what I understand its the monsters and the cast that attracts them. I think Gon and Killua are their favorites, if only they knew what Killua was. Oh! My nephew likes Gon's fishing pole, (He loves fishing). When Cell was explaining how he came from the future to Piccolo, he abruptly said it was boring because the explanation took the entire episode only for him to escape at the very end. I honestly think that, and animation has a lot to do with it, time will tell when Super get's dubbed since it's new and shiny along with being fast paced! I think some of them watch the subs to get ahead of one another on the show but I'm not certain.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

If this were 1999 and HXH was airing on weekday Toonami, sure it could probably rival Dragon Ball.

I did wish the old HxH show on the original Toonami. Too bad the English dub came out in 2008.

I'll chalk this up to Viz advertisements not being NEARLY as omnipresent as Toonami's mainstream appeal. Indeed, I would say the same for CrunchyRoll ads. Popularity on CR/fansubs is what moves what little business there is for anime/manga outside Japan, as a foreign novelty. As someone else stated, I read HxH for years prior to it's 2011 adaptation, & was somewhat familiar with JJBA (tho confused by discontinuous localization).

It should also be noted that 1999 HxH dub was a Blue Water dub, & the budget for the 2011 version's is sadly also quite low-end. Like we won't see the likes of Wally Wingert, Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren, Yuri Lowenthal, Quinton Flynn, Fred Tatasciore, Tara Jayne, or any another of the at-least-somewhat successful VA's that sympathize with anime dubs - there just isn't enough interest (apparently)

[Kuwabara]

It should also be noted that 1999 HxH dub was a Blue Water dub, & the budget for the 2011 version's is sadly also quite low-end. Like we won't see the likes of Wally Wingert, Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren, Yuri Lowenthal, Quinton Flynn, Fred Tatasciore, Tara Jayne, or any another of the at-least-somewhat successful VA's that sympathize with anime dubs - there just isn't enough interest (apparently)

At least the actors they do have are all quite good. Matthew Mercer is a pretty big name for Leorio, and Keith Silverstein as Hisoka is another nice score even though I personally think his portrayal sounds a little too old for the character.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Tara Jayne is good? Isnt she a 4kids voice actress?

[TheDBZmaster100]

HxH only has two good arcs (Chimera and Yorkshin), while the rest were subpar.

Dragonball at its best was the stretch between Pilaf - Piccolo Daimao arc, Saiyajins -Namek was decent.

[TheGreatness25]

This might sound arrogant, but I don't think that anything will take off the way DBZ did back in the day. I'm not saying that Dragon Ball Z is the greatest anime that ever lived (that's 2000 Toonami's job to make such statements), but it's a different world out there. Dragon Ball was different and could not be compared to anything else on television. During the time of Dragon Ball Z's massive popularity, there were certain series out there: The Batman-Superman Adventures, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Reboot, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi, Gundam Wing, and a slew of cartoons such as Ed, Edd, and Eddy, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, etc. Dragon Ball Z always stood out from all of those shows. That's not to say that those other shows weren't great, but Dragon Ball Z was much different. Dragon Ball Z could most closely be compared to Sailor Moon, Gundam, and Pokemon. However, Pokemon was a totally different ball game, as it wasn't an epic battle type of show; it focused on the relationship between man and beast and wanting to become the best. Gundam was good, but it was more robotics and military-esque, probably more closely relating to G-Force: Guardians of Space (which wasn't exactly treated amazingly either). Sailor Moon was the closest to Dragon Ball, but I suppose it was not really targeted for boys (although I know plenty who watched it, myself included), and really is probably less "epic" than Dragon Ball was. I would like to point out, though, that all of those shows -- especially Pokemon -- were massively successful and popular. However, Dragon Ball Z found the right notes and played the hell out of them.

Fast forward to today and I feel like every other anime is the same. The anime that really stands out is Attack on Titan, which I thought was fantastic. Other than that, I feel like I've seen them all. There is way too much of similar styles out there. For example, I enjoyed Black Lagoon, but it really felt Cowboy Bebopish to me; clearly not story-wise, but just the way the characters act and their demeanor and the overall guns-a-blasin' feel to it. Thus, while I enjoyed Black Lagoon, I would never go crazy for it the way I did for Cowboy Bebop back in the mid 2000s because again, at that time, Cowboy Bebop was unique.

I've never seen Hunter X Hunter and don't know if I ever would. But I would tell you that I am just not sure if anything can rise up the way Dragon Ball did. Dragon Ball was new, edgy, and DIFFERENT. Most of all, I think that Dragon Ball had a lot of mystique around it in the U.S. in the late 90s/early 2000s. We all knew it was a show done in Japan and it had a comic associated with it and it was so far ahead in Japan than what we were seeing on TV. There was a lot to explore with that series. In today's world, that just simply doesn't exist.

[Xell]

The glory days of anime on television being HUGE in the west are over. That initial boom of anime in the late 90s and early 2000s was something which could only happen at that point in time, before the likes of websites like Youtube or Crunchyroll as well as fast internet speeds. This target audience is also a different generation and what we may have loved back then may seem tacky by modern standards. I have no doubt in my mind that Hunter x Hunter could potentially become one of Toonami's finest and most popular show, but it won't be able to reach the same hype as Dragonball Z. I'm going to say what a few other people have been saying: it's a shame the '99 version of Hunter x Hunter didn't air alongside shows like Yu Yu Hakusho, Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop.. It would have made its mark.

To anyone who isn't aware of Hunter x Hunter and is still into occasionally watching anime or reading manga, definitely check it out. It deconstructs the shonen formula and chucks it on its head. One of the greatest achievements in manga storytelling without a doubt.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

Tara Jayne is good? Isnt she a 4kids voice actress?

She was a VA from New York (currently residing in LA), so 4Kids hired her often. That doesn't mean she ONLY worked for 4Kids.

[Cure Dragon 255]

Ok, Ok. I see. I want to hear her in a non 4kids role. Their voice direction, outisde of Pokemon is awful.

[DBZAOTA482]

Never was & will never be

DB was a beast in the 80's. Z was beast in 90's. GT, Kai & Super (despite their varying degree of success) are STILL raging phenomenon all around the globe

HXH even at its peak can only dream of tasting the same level of succcess as DBZ

Forget DBZ. Let it first touch Bleach, Naruto or OP's level. Then talk abt DBZ

Actually GT did poorly in Japan.

As for the topic... if HxH is published on any major newspaper article, defines an entire era, or is a top-searched property on various search engines then we'll talk.

[B]

GT's DVD sales were very good.

[huzaifa_ahmed]

Ok, Ok. I see. I want to hear her in a non 4kids role. Their voice direction, outisde of Pokemon is awful.

I like her work as Mokuba, likely because I haven't seen too much of YGO outside of the 4Kids adaptation.

Anyhow...Ms Violet & Dragon Kid's Manager in Tiger & Bunny, Filia & Reika in Slayers Try, Kari in Digimon Adventure Tri (they didn't want to unionize to get Lara Jill Miller back), & a few JRPG dubs, like Danganronpa & Valkyrie Profile PS1.

& this is an American cartoon (anime-"inspired"), but Circe in Generator Rex as well.

Although, I will admit I have not seen any of these shows, in either language.

[darkerspare]

I'd bet money that its the OST that is boring OP's nephew whether or not he consciously realizes it.