Episode 29 - Killua showing his anger at Gon being injured is a nice addition, though it is a bit overdone with how reserved his character is compared to Leorio and how he has yet to truly acknowledge Gon as a friend unlike Kurapika. It's surprising this version put much time into Bodoro VS Hisoka of all things. The animation was pretty good, though the movements and choreography in the 2011 version were more interesting despite lasting no more than half as long and thereby not wasting much time on a character who was just going to die soon anyway. For both versions, you do have to wnder what Hisoka said to make Bodoro forfeit. Probably something to do with severely harming one of the candidates in the next match and thereby making Bodoro responsible.
I think the 2011 version of Satotz telling Gon his backstory works better pacing-wise with the reveal about Ging being fitten for the conclusion of the prologue rather than immediately after Gon woke up. The addition of Gon's doubt in having deserved the license was decent as it showed some doubt not often presented to his Shonen protagonist archetype and can seem somewhat necessary when Gon never beat his main opponents as in most Shonen tournament arcs, though it does seem a little redundant after having already gone through his doubt and resolution as part of his character arc for this part over and done with after the events in the cave.
Episode 30 - Comparing the two versions of Illumi confronting Killua, his 2011 self is a lot more easy to take seriously as an intimidating threat without the effeminate voice. Both versions have pretty good expressions for Killua's fear and dread, though the Madhouse version obviously has the advantage when it comes to detail and I'd give it a slight edge in music due to Zoldyck family theme.
The only major change is Killua apparently not killing Bodoro immediately, which is mixed to say the least. It does show he was far from balanced enough to kill at his peak skills, but such skill should be second nature to him due to his indoctrination as an assassin combined with his whole motive being to give up on the Hunter Exam.
As far as both functioning in the story, they do a good job in Killua's character arc by showing the influence Killua's family and his upbringing have over him (at least until the Chimera Ant Arc cheapened it by making a lot of it down to Illumi's mind control needle) as well as his desire to break free of it and the important role Gon had in that.
Episode 31 - The filler of Illumi trying to fight with Gon only to stop when Hisoka shows up seems pretty stupid when Hisoka had already warned him and Illumi's rationale for going against it was "oh well, whatever." I mean, what outcome was he expecting of trying to kill Gon?
Some parts of the after party like Menchi being drunk are decent with the animators bothering to present her in a new attire and hairtsyle, though the rest of it is basically just to pad out the episode so it wouldn't lead directly into the Zoldyck Family mini-arc. Also, Kurapika being surprised a ninja like Hanzo is so talkative seems a bit out of place so late when the two had already spent a fair bit of time interacting at this point in the '99 anime.
So, summarising the Hunter Exam as a whole, whilst the it established an interesting structure to its plot and interesting characters worth following, it can be seen as small in its focus for such a wide range of candidates. We're only given much reason to be invested in the main 4 and Hisoka and despite the threats they face, it's made apparent they are at far less risk than most of the competition. Also, the world-building is made questionable due to what we'd later learn on Nen. It would be far more efficient for a Nen master to force the competitors to awaken their Nen and have those who succeeded go through the exam, rather than the opposite being so. Yes, this is technically a flaw of Heaven's Arena, but the end of the Hunter Exam already hinted at it with the mention of the "True Hunter Exam" and the exam already had numerous hints on the existence of Nen, making it worth speaking of hear. Whilst the story later establishes Netero as a flawed character who cares primarily for those with strong willpower and general strength, we are also later shown that he has a board with which to discuss decisions and that Pariston actively opposes many of his choices, so it is still somewhat perplexing that amendments to the Exam's structure wouldn't have occurred soon after their establishment. Overall, I'd say the pros of character writing, focus on strategy, putting in little hints of grey morality and narrative subversion, it is still far from the perfect tournament arc but does a decent job establishing itself as something more than the standard Shonen in both versions and a decent opening arc. If speaking of the manga and 2011 version, it's a 6/10.
For this version, however, what's very much meant to be the prologue of the story is dragged out far longer than need be. Whilst most of the reasons are in not wanting to catch up to the manga, this doesn't assist it in holding up when comparing it to the 2011 version. Each of the filler segments are very hit and miss. Some of them add onto elements the manga never explored in depth such as Leorio's past or the candidates all working together, but each one usually features notable flaws as a trade off such as the problems with Tonpa in the First Phase not carrying over to Trick Tower, the plot hole involving the storm in Gunkan-jima. That said, the 2011 version was the more consistent and better version. '99 version gets a 5.5/10.
Onto the Zoldyck Family mini-arc.
Episode 32 - It seems as though the shading suddenly got a lot better, particularly around Kurapika's face and hair with one shot showing the shadows flowing along with his locks which is a detail most anime seldom put in for a few seconds. This makes the scene of Zeburo tensing up his muscles and opening the gate a lot better looking than the 2011 anime, which is a bit too clean when it takes place at night. For parts that look better in the 2011 anime though, that one fat bounty hunter who Mike eats has a bit more of a distinctive hair colouring and Mike's colour scheme works a lot better in making him seem like an intimidating beast, whereas the '99 version makes it difficult to tell the turquoise colour is meant to be his fur rather than flesh.
As expected, the 2011 version still has the pacing advantage and is also a bit more expressive in its characters faces (though the most detail was obviously put into Coco Lu's jiggle physics
). This includes some reactions such as Leorio regretting not taking a picture of Killua. The filler of the animals attacking at night is a decent addition with Gon proving his worth to Zeburo more so than his 2011 self just being too stubborn.
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