Hunter X Hunter

Hunter × Hunter (pronounced "hunter hunter") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump since March 1998, although the manga has frequently gone on extended hiatuses since 2006. Its chapters have been collected in 36 tankōbon volumes as of October 2018. The story focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss who discovers that his father, who left him at a young age, is actually a world-renowned Hunter, a licensed professional who specializes in fantastical pursuits such as locating rare or unidentified animal species, treasure hunting, surveying unexplored enclaves, or hunting down lawless individuals. Gon departs on a journey to become a Hunter and eventually find his father. Along the way, Gon meets various other Hunters and encounters the paranormal.

Hunter × Hunter was adapted into a 62-episode anime television series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, which ran on Fuji Television from October 1999 to March 2001. Three separate original video animations (OVAs) totaling 30 episodes were subsequently produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. A second anime television series by Madhouse aired on Nippon Television from October 2011 to September 2014 totaling 148 episodes, with two animated theatrical films released in 2013. There are also numerous audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media based on Hunter × Hunter.

The manga has been translated into English and released in North America by Viz Media since April 2005. Both television series have been also licensed by Viz Media, with the first series having aired on the Funimation Channel in 2009 and the second series broadcast on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from April 2016 to June 2019.

Hunter × Hunter has been a huge critical and financial success and has become one of Shueisha's best-selling manga series, having over 79 million copies in circulation as of November 2021.

Hunters (ハンター, Hantā) are licensed, elite members of humanity who are capable of tracking down secret treasures, rare beasts, or even other individuals. They can also access locations that regulars cannot access.[3] To obtain a license one must pass the rigorous annual Hunter Examination run by the Hunter Association, which has a success rate of less than one in a hundred-thousand.[4] A Hunter may be awarded up to three stars: a single star for making "remarkable achievements in a particular field"; they may then be upgraded to two stars for "holding an official position" and mentoring another Hunter up to single star level; and finally upgraded to three stars for "remarkable achievements in multiple fields".[5]

Nen (念) is the ability to control one's own life energy or aura, which is constantly emitted from them, knowingly or not. There are four basic Nen techniques: Ten (纏) maintains the aura in the body, strengthening it for defense; Zetsu (絕) shuts the aura flow off, useful for concealing one's presence and relieving fatigue; Ren (練) enables a user to produce more Nen; and Hatsu (發) is a person's specific use of Nen.[6] Nen users are classified into six types based on their Hatsu abilities; Enhancers (強化系, Kyōkakei) strengthen and reinforce their natural physical abilities; Emitters (放出系, Hōshutsukei) project aura out of their bodies; Manipulators (操作系, Sōsakei) control objects or living things; Transmuters (変化系, Henkakei) change the type or properties of their aura; Conjurers (具現化系, Gugenkakei) create objects out of their aura; and Specialists (特質系, Tokushitsukei) have unique abilities that do not fall into the previous categories.[7] A Nen user can enter into a Contract (誓約, Seiyaku) where, by pledging to follow certain Limitations (制約, Seiyaku), their abilities are strengthened in relation to how strict they are. An example of this is Kurapika who, in order to have an unbreakable chain that will fully restrain members of the Phantom Troupe, offered his life, should he use it on anyone other than its members.

The story follows a young boy named Gon Freecss, who was told all his life that both his parents were dead. But when he learns from Kite, an apprentice of his father Ging Freecss, that he is still alive and has since become an accomplished Hunter, Gon leaves his home on Whale Island (くじら島, Kujira Tō) to take the Hunter Examination (ハンター試験, Hantā Shiken) in order to become a Hunter like him.[9][10][11] During the exam, Gon meets and befriends three of the other applicants: Kurapika, the last remaining member of the Kurta clan who wishes to become a Hunter in order to avenge his clan and recover their scarlet-glowing eyes that were plucked from their corpses by a band of thieves known as the Phantom Troupe; Leorio, a prospective physician who, in order to pay for medical school, desires the financial benefits that Hunters receive; and Killua Zoldyck, another twelve-year-old boy who has left his former life as a member of the world's most notorious assassin family.[10][11][3] Among many other examinees, Gon continuously encounters Hisoka, a mysterious and deadly transmuter who takes an interest in him. After many trials together, Gon and his friends end up passing the exam except for Killua, who fails after killing another applicant due to the influence of his brother, Illumi, and runs away to his family's estate in shame.

After Gon and the others convince Killua to rejoin their side, Leorio and Kurapika depart temporarily for their own personal reasons, while Gon and Killua set for the Heavens Arena (天空闘技場, Tenkū Tōgijō), a skyscraper where thousands of martial artists compete daily in fighting tournaments, seeking to improve themselves and gain monetary rewards.[12] There they meet Zushi, a fellow Heavens Arena applicant, who has a kung fu master named Wing who trains them in utilizing Nen, a Qi-like life energy used by its practicers to manifest parapsychological abilities, and is also considered to be the final requirement to pass the Hunter Exam. Sometime later, Gon and his friends reunite again in Yorknew City (ヨークシンシティ, Yōkushin Shiti) where they have a clash with the Phantom Troupe. During the occasion, two from the band of thieves are killed by Kurapika and he is forced to give up the chance of hunting down the rest in order to rescue Gon and Killua from captured, but not without succeeding in sealing the powers of their leader, Chrollo Lucilfer.

A few days later, Gon and Killua achieve their objective and begin playing Greed Island, an extremely rare and expensive video game with Nen-like properties following some clues about Ging's whereabouts.[13] While exploring the game, it is revealed that its scenario is actually set somewhere in the real world, created with Nen by a team led by none other than Ging himself. Outclassed by the challenges in the game at first, they are soon joined and trained by Biscuit Krueger, an experienced teacher of Nen and kung fu master. With Biscuit's help, Gon and Killua train their Nen and learn to shape their abilities to their traits. Killua takes a short break from Greed Island to apply for the Hunter Examination again, this time passes with success. The trio then complete the game together against all odds and Gon obtains the right to choose the artifacts from the game necessary to reunite with his father.

Gon decides to have Killua accompany him to meet his father using the artifacts, but the duo are sent to meet Kite instead. They decide to help with Kite's research of a man-sized Chimera Ant queen, an insect that devours other creatures and then gives birth to progeny that inherit the characteristics of the different species it has eaten. The queen washes up onto an island nation called the Neo-Green Life (N.G.L.) Autonomous Region, where she quickly develops a taste for humans and builds a colony powerful enough to overcome the population, especially after her offspring learn the power of Nen from consuming Hunters. Upon facing the Royal Guard of the Chimera Ants, Kite sacrifices himself to allow Gon and Killua to flee and alert the Hunter Association. After weeks of preparation, the Association sends a team of some of their most powerful Hunters, including Netero, the president of the Association himself to defeat the Ants and their king Meruem, whose subjects secretly overthrew the government of the nearby Republic of East Gorteau (東ゴルトー共和国, Higashi Gorutō Kyouwakoku) as part of their plan of subduing all of mankind. Despite losing to Meruem in combat, Netero ends up killing him with a bomb implanted in his body that poisons him to death soon after. Meanwhile, Gon has a showdown with Neferpitou, the Ant who killed Kite. After overusing Nen to exact his revenge, he is hospitalized and in critical condition.

After the Chimera Ant incident is resolved, the Hunter Association's top echelons the Zodiacs, from which Ging is a member, begin the process of choosing Netero's replacement as Chairman, while Killua returns home to ask for his younger sister Alluka to save Gon's life. His family is unwilling to risk losing Alluka or having her dangerous powers used against them, but after evading his older brother Illumi's attempts to intercept him, Killua manages to bring Alluka to Gon's side and have him fully restored. He then attempts to seal away Alluka's alter ego which grants them their power (Nanika, likely a creature from the Dark Continent), but at the last moment decides to revert the process rather than seal away Nanika Alluka's only other friend. Killua then parts ways with Gon to travel the world with Alluka, while Gon himself finally meets his father and learns the true nature of his quest.

Some time later, Netero's son Beyond assembles an expedition to the Dark Continent (暗黒大陸, Ankoku Tairiku), the forbidden, vast area outside of the known world; he is sponsored by the Kingdom of Kakin. Fearing that the expedition may bring disaster, just like in all previous attempts, the world's five greatest powers accept that Kakin join their ranks in exchange for full authority over its findings. To accompany Beyond and ensure his compliance, the Zodiacs decide to watch over him and invite Kurapika and Leorio to join them, replacing Ging and former Vice-Chairman Pariston Hill, who assembled their own Dark Continent exploration teams by Beyond's request.[14]

Meanwhile, Chrollo regains his powers and fulfills Hisoka's wish to have a duel with him, which ends with Hisoka defeated and killed. After reviving through Nen, Hisoka starts killing off the Phantom Troupe members one by one, who have boarded Kakin's ship to the Dark Continent to rob it. Aboard the ship, Nasubi, the king of Kakin, starts a battle to the death between his heirs to decide his successor. Kurapika, who also infiltrated the ship with other Hunters, takes part in the succession war as the bodyguard of Fourteenth Prince Wobble, Kakin's youngest prince and a toddler. Kurapika's personal objective, however, is to retrieve the last batch of scarlet eyes from the Kurta Clan in custody of Tserriednich, Kakin's Fourth Prince.

Author Yoshihiro Togashi explained that one of his hobbies was collecting objects of all sorts, so he was inspired to create a manga involving collecting titled "(something) Hunter".[15] He came up with the final name Hunter × Hunter while watching the television variety show Downtown, in which the hosts often repeat what they say to make the audience laugh.[15] The "×" in the title is silent.[16] As with his previous series, Yu Yu Hakusho, Togashi used drafting ink and Kabura pens for his illustrations but began using an eMac to color them.[17] Togashi uses few or no assistants in the manga's production;[18] however, fellow manga artist and future wife Naoko Takeuchi assisted Togashi in adding screentone to single-color pages for the first volume.[19][20] With the birth of their first son early in its publication, Togashi felt that this personal aspect of his life would be a great influence on his work, particularly the manga's theme of a young boy searching for his father.[17]

There have been several instances in which Togashi has apologized to readers in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump for low-quality artwork and promised to redraw portions of the chapters for their tankōbon (collected volume) releases.[21][22][23] In addition, the publication history of the Hunter × Hunter manga has been plagued with hiatuses, in which serialized chapters would be separated by extended periods of time.[24][25][26][27] After returning from a two-year-long hiatus in June 2014,[28] and joining the English-language Weekly Shonen Jump lineup, the manga went on another just two months later.[29] The series returned from this hiatus on April 18, 2016,[30] however, just over two months later, Hunter × Hunter began another hiatus on June 4, 2016.[31] It came back on June 26, 2017,[32] and just over two months later, on August 31, the series went on hiatus again, planning to return by the end of that year.[33] The series came back on January 29, 2018,[34] before going on hiatus again on April 9 of the same year.[35] After a five-month hiatus, the manga resumed publication from September 22 to November 26, 2018, before entering another hiatus, currently its longest one to date.

Main article: Hunter × Hunter (2011 TV series)

A new Hunter × Hunter anime adaptation was announced in July 2011. Instead of continuing the story from the OVA series, it restarts the story from the beginning of the manga in an attempt to adapt it more accurately. The series is directed by Hiroshi Kōjina, produced by Madhouse, scripted by Atsushi Maekawa, and character designs were created by Takahiro Yoshimatsu. The series began airing Sunday mornings on Nippon Television starting October 2, 2011.[75] It switched to airing at 1:29 am on Tuesday nights from October 8, 2013 onwards.[76] The series ended on September 23, 2014 after 148 episodes.[77] An hour after each episode aired in Japan, American website Crunchyroll provided English subtitled simulcasts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.[78] The series started airing on Animax Asia on April 24, 2012.[79] On October 9, 2015, Viz Media announced their license to the reboot anime at their panel at New York Comic Con.[80] They will release the anime on DVD/Blu-ray with an English dub. On April 1, 2016, it was announced that the series would premiere on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block, which began airing on April 17, 2016.[81][82] Madman Entertainment acquired the series for distribution in Australia and New Zealand,[83] and made the series available on AnimeLab.[84] Funimation began streaming the series in the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 17, 2020.