Hunter x Hunter Graphic Novel Volume 35 cover image

Hunters are devoted to tracking down priceless items, treasures, mystical places, magical beasts, and even other people.  Prospective Hunters must take a highly selective licensing exam, but only 1 in 100,000 can pass this grueling qualification exam.  This will give them access to restricted areas and amazing stores of information and the right to call themselves that special breed, “Hunters.”  Gon Freecss is a Hunter.

As Hunter × Hunter, Vol. 35 (entitled Ship of Fools – Chapters 361 to 370) opens, Kurapika, a Hunter, is in the Dark Continent.  Like many other Hunters, Kurapika is caught in the middle of battle for the throne of the Kakin Kingdom.  There are fourteen princes (and the term “prince” is used for male and female heirs) vying for the throne, including the infant Prince Woble.

Kurapika has been hired to protect Woble and her mother, Oito, and to do his job, he must engage in a battle of intrigue and violence against the other princes and their security details.  Raising the stakes is the fact that many of the players in this game of thrones wield the power of “Nen.”

THE LOWDOWN:  In many of my reviews of the Hunter × Hunter manga, I’ve called the series a “Bizarro” version of Naruto.  Creator Yoshihiro Togashi has certainly created a weird one, but Hunter × Hunter is both an imaginative and engaging read.

Hunter × Hunter Graphic Novel Volume 35 is the first volume of the series that I have read in nearly five years (thanks to a review copy provided by my VIZ Media rep).  Although Gon does not figure in the chapters that comprise this volume, Kurapika is an especially interesting character.

Togashi throws in so many characters that readers may need a scorecard to keep up with them, but every character matters.  The intrigue and the addition of “Nen” as an element that directs the plot make Vol. 35 a stirring read.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for off-beat shonen will want to try the Shonen Jump Advanced title, Hunter × Hunter.

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8 out of 10