The Hiatus of Hunter X Hunter

Marcus Grant | Managing Editor

Many fans of anime and manga are familiar with the title Hunter x Hunter. Written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, Hunter x Hunter began getting serialized in Shonen Jump Magazine in March of 2006 and currently has 390 chapters that have been put into 36 volumes. Two animes have been created for the show; the first was released in 1999 and the second in 2011. Many people, including myself, consider it to be one of the greatest works of fiction you can find.

The plot seems simple at first glance - it follows a young boy, Gon Freecss, who is hoping to find his dad, a famous hunter - but as new characters come along it becomes extremely compelling. On top of that, the characters are complex and each have their own stories. From the friends Gon makes along the way, like Kurapika who is searching for vengeance after his klan was slaughtered, to his enemies, like Chrollo who runs a band of thieves and is often reflecting on his observations of human nature. The story brings us to many different locations, from remote islands with their own rules to busy cities.

Currently, Hunter x Hunter is on hiatus so fans haven’t been able to get more of the story. Due to medical issues, Togashi started the hiatus after the last chapter was released back in November of 2018. This wasn’t an unusual thing for fans; there were often long periods where the manga would not appear in Shonen Jump starting in 2006. As of right now, the hiatus is just over three years long or about 1,100 days.

Like many fans, I would love to see more Hunter x Hunter, whether that means more chapters or another season of the show. The intense amount of work Togashi put into works like Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter made his health worse so it is unlikely we will see new chapters releasing consistently as far as I’m aware. As for the anime, many have been speculating on whether a seventh season will be announced but that also seems unlikely. Madhouse, the studio that released the 2011 version of the anime, does not seem to have any plans to continue on with the series. The animators are busy with a long list of other projects to work on as well as the fact that they’ve used almost all of the material they can on the previous seasons. If more chapters were put out - at least enough to finish the Dark Continent arc - it’s possible that we may see another season.

Togashi is determined to complete the series despite his health condition. In a 2018 interview with Shonen Jump, he said (translated by Reddit user, VeraciousCake), “I need to finish writing Hunter x Hunter. It has come to a point where either the story concludes first, or I die before that happens.” Later in the interview, he states, “Hunter x Hunter, as it is now, has a lot in it that makes me want to keep on reading, even from my own perspective as a reader. And from my perspective as a writer, there are still many things in it left that I want to write, that I would enjoy writing. And so if anyone would be willing to enjoy this ride with me, that is all I can hope for.” His words give his fans hope that we will see the end of this amazing work.