The Indomitable Spirit of Hunter X Hunter

On December 8th, the final chapter of the newest batch of Hunter x Hunter (1998) chapters dropped, and with it, an announcement that the series would once again be going on hiatus. Fans all around the world were hit with another wave of anticipation, hoping and praying that this hiatus in particular wouldn’t be as long as the ones in the past. Regardless of what happens in the future, these ten chapters seriously changed the game for the entire Succession Contest arc, the current story arc in the series, and there’s a lot to talk about. Not only did these chapters hint that the story is arriving at a turning point, but the art quality is severely underappreciated by many who are turned off by the amount of text per page. Instead of offering a regular review of these chapters, I’ll be talking about the author’s struggles, fan reception, and the future of the series. I do all of this with the hope that it will attract some of you to read Hunter x Hunter (you should get on that) and experience this cathartic journey for yourselves.

To begin, a bit of background is needed to explain why some fans are so worried about this upcoming hiatus. Yoshihiro Togashi, the author and illustrator of the series, is also known for his previous manga Yu Yu Hakusho (published December 3, 1990 to July 25, 1994). While very popular, Togashi found himself hindered by the intense work culture in Japan and the mental toll that dealing with publishers and editors took on him. He had to rush YYH’s ending, something he hated to do, and felt so bad about it that he left an extremely emotional note in the last chapter apologizing to his fans for letting them down. Not only did he feel like he’d let his fans down, but he also felt like he let himself and his story down. Hunter x Hunter was his second big manga, starting serialization in 1998, nearly four years after YYH’s final chapter. This time around, there was a noticeable shift in his writing demeanor. A lot of the story seemed similar to YYH, but a lot of it was also filled with concepts and characters that he’d wanted to toy around with in his previous work. He had more freedom now, and was using that to his advantage. While starting out rather light, Hunter x Hunter divulged into an extremely emotional, cathartic piece about humanity’s malice, persistence, and indomitable hope, a shift that might be hard to see from its beginning.

In 2022, the manga began putting out new chapters after around a four year hiatus, and to put it into perspective another way, the manga’s current arc has been ongoing since 2014 — with only seventy chapters published in that time. All of this is because the stress of being a mangaka in Japan has caused Togashi multiple severe health issues. At times, he’s been unable to move his hands or even get out of bed. With that in mind, it’s easy to see where a lot of the messages and themes about humanity come from. Togashi puts a lot of his own despair and hope in his characters, reflecting both sides of the spectrum. 

And yet, despite all of his struggles, Togashi still does his absolute best to release chapters whenever he can. He loves this story and its characters, something that is easy to see in how excited he is whenever he posts updates about his work on his Twitter. Of course, most fans flock to praise him and wish him well, while also maintaining their excitement for new chapters. But there are also those that spite him and are frustrated that they can’t read more chapters, voicing their anger at Togashi himself and insisting that he hand off his work to other illustrators. This is a common phenomenon in the creative field, where talented artists are hated for not being able to provide to their “fans.” The same can be said for A Song of Ice and Fire’s so-called fans, who constantly badger George R. R. Martin for the newest book to drop, so angry and entitled that they worry more about him dying before they can read the book than the actual creator himself.

Togashi’s art has fluctuated a fair amount in the middle of his work. There’s one chapter (Chapter 337) where it looks fairly unfinished, and you can tell just how much pain he was in by looking at the panels. And again, despite all of that, he’s come back to deliver some of his best artwork in these new chapters. Two-page spreads with immaculate linework, amazing shading for character’s faces, and awesome profiles for characters unseen for years. Togashi has consistently been able to deliver incredible art for his chapters in the past decade, despite the inconsistent chapter releases and increasing text density. Many look past the art quality to complain about the amount of words on the pages, but I think there’s nothing wrong with that at all. The current arc of the story, the Succession Contest, is about a succession battle between fourteen royal children. There’s so much involved that extra text is beneficial to understanding each character’s thoughts and the inner workings of this deeply involved world. Each prince has their own bodyguards, but some bodyguards are hired by various Queens who seek to have their own child win. There’s also the Guardian Spirit Beasts, creatures that the princes can’t see that indirectly aid them in the contest. There’s also three big mafia families, a criminal troop bent on revenge, a clown-themed serial killer who just wants to have some fun, and so, so much more. 

This is all to say that Hunter x Hunter is a chaotic, inconsistently published, beautiful story that just keeps on giving. It’s an extremely personal work from a man that’s suffered so much for his art, and is still dedicated to the act of creating itself. Whether or not the story actually ends is irrelevant, even if some haters online will say otherwise. The story we’ve gotten so far is filled with some of the best worldbuilding the medium has to offer, and some of the most creative concepts like Nen (the magic system in HxH). It inspired countless other works, like Jujutsu Kaisen (2018) and Naruto (1999), some of the most popular manga and anime out today. It’s no hyperbole to say it’s one of the most influential shonen manga of all time, and it’s one that I think everyone should read. If you’re new to manga and want someplace to start, this is it. At 410 chapters, it might seem daunting, but it’s a far cry from One Piece’s (1997) intimidating 1000 chapter barrier and it has a lot of variety to offer. HxH’s arcs are all so different and yet weave so well together, so give it a and see how far you get. You won’t regret it.

You can read Hunter x Hunter on Viz’s website, where the entire series is listed, or you can watch the 2011 anime adaptation that adapts until chapter 339 of the manga.