A lot of animes usually center around teenagers or young adults as their main character probably with the objective to monopolize the attention of its viewers who primarily are of the same age bracket as the characters and relate with them emotional. This trend has progressed for years and will continue to soar even with time as the adults who were once teenagers still want to relish in both characters they grew up loving and relive their past. However there are some cases where the main character is still just a child trying to defeat adults three times their age, an anime that falls perfectly into this category will have to be hunter x hunter.
PS pictures are screenshots from IMDB
Hunter x Hunter tells the story of a 12 year old boy Gon Freeces who lives with his aunt in Whale Island but harbors a burning desire to find his father that left him under his sister's care since he was a baby. Gon leaves home with the intention of becoming a licensed hunter since that was the only way he could get information about his father's whereabouts because his dad is a hunter and a very prominent one at that . Our hero has to undergo a series of tests to prove his worth, showcase his abilities and/or develop new skills in the course it.
During the first test he befriends three young boys- Killua a 12year old assassin, Kurapika a quiet young lad with a vengeful ambition and Leorio a 16 year old lad with an ambition to become a doctor and appears far old than he is. Gon continues to excel in the test along with his friends, he encounters Hisoka, a jester who picks an uncanny interest in him but luckily for Gon he is able to sly his way out of the final test to earn his license as a professional hunter alongside his friends all except for Killua who is disqualified for killing an applicant.
After obtaining his licence, Gon and Killua both head to Heavens arena to earn money for their journey while also training for what lays ahead. They meet Wing who takes them under his wing( no pun intended), teaching them to unlock their Nen abilities ( the power system that controls the hunter world) and training them about how to control. With help from their teacher they are able to overcome the tower even after encountering Hisoka again.
Kurapika becomes the guard to the daughter of a Mafia boss when he discovers that the phantom Troup, the very group responsible for the decimation of his entire clan where involved in Mafia activities.
With his new found abilities he is able to kill one member of its member before everything goes south involving his three friends. This very event rattles the ideals of Gon as he finds it difficult to comprehend how killers are able to create bounds with people, a lesson different from what he was already accustomed to.
News about a virtual game created by his father pops up and Gon decides to participate with hopes of discovering clues about him. Gon and Killua acquire a new mentor within the game by the person of Biscuit Krueger, a matured lady with the appearance of a child. She teaches them about advanced Nen techniques and how to use them in battles to soothe their personal fighting styles. The two friends are able to complete the game which offers them new clues about the location of the protagonist's father.
The most controversial arc in the anime with mixed reviews will have to be the Chimera Ant arc as a lot of people believe all the suspense and climax resulted to a very shallow ending. It focuses on a man sized colony of ants out to eradicate humans from existence eating them up and even gaining Nen abilities as well. Gon sets out to look for Kite his mentor and discovers that he was killed by one of the royal guards of the Ant king (Meruem), he goes into a frenzy bursting with Nen all over with the intention to kill.
He gets overwhelmed by rage and emotion that also costs him his powers. The arc ends with the Meruem dying from the poison he got after surviving the heated battle with the chairman of the hunter association and decides to spend his last moments playing shogi with his blind friend. The crisis was laced with a lot of casualties on the humans, hospitalizing Gon as well. After his recovery, he finally meets his dad but realizes he is not exactly what he thought he would be. His father Ging Freeces was no loving parent, he was a selfish man he abandoned his child just to live out free as a Hunter.
Overall the anime is a truly interesting piece with wonderful characters the audience can truly really rally behind. It is no secret that lovers of these series prefer Killua and Kurapika over the main character because they seem cooler and have stories one could get behind wholeheartedly. In the end Hunter x Hunter is not just an anime created for entertainment. It teaches strength, morality, betrayal and lessons that applies to even the real world.