They would debut on the series from its first episode, however, the core team was quite different than its later entries. No Sato or Eguchi in this era!
Their intial team would include Akiko Nakano, Yasushi Tanizawa, Masayuki Aoki and Sonomi Aramaki.
Browsing some of Kanno's ep's on GT for the current video and man I love these drawings! His work is a mix for me on Z although I quite like work in this era.
Despite this battle being entirely filler, it doesn't detract from a quality fight. It's nicely animated with interesting choreography and direction. The choice to drench the screen in red when Kurapikas eyes glow scarlet as well was a nice touch.
And it's executed perfectly, from the voice acting to the writing, it all feels intentional. This filler additionally adds an extra layer of weight to their future rematch.
The manga gave a page to the aftermath of Gon vs Hisoka however the anime builds off it quite well.
Right from the recap, the tone of this first half is already set. There's a clear emphasis to express the pain Gon is going through both mentally and physically.