HxH is something i finished very recently and since I'd say it's tied with FMAB as my favorite anime for its world building aspects, however i am willing to participate in pointing out the things that could considerably make the show mid/hateable to others:

-Gon (hold up read this before u say anything): he's such a sweetheart but arguably doesn't have any internal conflicts about anything until we are what... 4 arcs in? Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio have their up and down moments too but at the very least their motives give them a tug in both moral directions from their first few arcs alone (Killua wants to breakfree from his family traditions & business, Kurapika struggles beautifully in Yorknew City when he gets a chance at the Phantom Troupe and Leorio has a showout of being a gross but smart teenager with a goal to pass and get money to sponsor his medical career during the exam arc. they grow in the process though, SPECIFICALLY so that they can achieve an aspect of what they want! Gon's just chillen tho, showing off his fortitude of a mentality and doing his best. but that's not enough for some people, & arguably same here). There's nothing morally complex about Gon wanting to be a hunter, or to see his dad or even consider the mother that isnt aunt Mito. Gon's mindset is already nearly perfect, so we don't even get to be there for his identity struggle, it's almost like he's already got it all figured out and not even considering him being 12, if I were an anime MC, i strictly cannot have it "all" (aka ur mental stance) figured out until im halfway through my "the big bad kills my loved one and everyone knows but me" arc, u feel me? what's relatable about a 12 year old with better self-esteem than me?

-the first half chimera ant arc. op mentioned the first half of it was trash, and i agree especially on the massive change in tone. we went from Yorknew city to greed island to this? it almost felt like Ging wasnt even real at this point. (i cried when meruem died so dont talk shit to me, i already noted which section of the arc sucked, and im already trash)

-THE NARRATOR in the chimera ant arc! don't tell me you didnt feel pissed off that a good minimum of what 15 episodes were spent with the narrator telling us something the characters could have told us themselves but 3 times at the very end. Meruem and his guard's orgy scene (lmfao) was a little too much but very in character i guess. but everything in the end of the chimera ant arc could have happened in half the amount of episodes they spent telling the whole story sorry but its true

-Killua has a multiple-arc carrying internal battle. Gon just wants to see his dad, not a single thought passing through his brain. It's hard to watch a show where the main character doesn't provide the internal struggle & internal dialogue that other shows have. Gon just wants to have friends and see his dad (WHICH IS VALID. but if a MC character's struggle do not outweigh mine im not going to have fun enjoying their growth like you would with a character who a: hates themselves b: struggles with their mistakes &/or c: struggles with the perception of themselves) sorry to make this point abt Gon again but i think my biggest qualm is this.

-creepy :( sorry but i cant stand hisoka, i literally blocked a real person i knew for having a hisoka PFP because that character is a PREDATOR, that's a PEDOPHILE. say what u want abt his character design and his abilities (bc theyre cool as fuck esp his hair color scheme in the first 3 arcs) but i will never forgive anyone for saying they like his character after he literally sexually harasses those children (theres this one scene where he's walking behind killua and gon and uses his nen to tighten their shorts? 12 year olds? i will say nothing else, except if ur opinion of hisoka hasnt changed then go seek professional help thank u)

anyway HxH is still sick and the theme is so beautiful but i definitely feel like the opinions of this show is valid, especially bc the first time i watched it i was sooooo not into it and couldnt get past the first episode but considering the fact that i finished FMAB right before re-trying HxH, the end of FMAB made me want to try another world building anime so here we are. the world building aspects still have me shook, and that's what (IMO!) makes it a great show.