I’ve been a fan of both Friends at the Table and Hunter x Hunter for a long time. The biggest strength of FATT is the spontaneity and imagination of the people involved, both in terms of the stories they tell and the banter between them.
At its best, all of these qualities are still present in Media Club Plus. This podcast has frequently made me laugh and the strength of their approach to storytelling often comes through.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The discussion in each episode often feels unstructured, unfocused and prone to unnecessary tangents. Some bits are repeated too often and overstay their welcome. It is also frustrating that not all participants are given an equal voice, especially Keith and Sylvi have a tendency to dominate the discussion, which contributes to the overlong runtime of the episodes. I really wish Dre would be given more space to talk in particular.
As someone who is watching along with the podcast, I also frequently notice some misunderstandings and misreads of the events of the episodes. Of course, everyone has a different interpretation of characters and their motivations, but hearing things like Gon being a bad friend to Killua is pretty jarring in the broader context of the story. It’s also difficult to tell when a take like this is a bit or a genuine analysis of the story, which in my opinion is not a good place for a media analysis podcast to be in. I would prefer a more genuine analysis.
TLDR: Not very well paced or moderated, analysis is hit and miss. If you like FATT no matter what they do - especially Keith and Sylvi - this is a podcast for you. If you want good analysis of HxH beyond a play by play of the events of each episode, maybe look somewhere else.
