Every time I visit the Hunter x Hunter subreddit, Facebook fan page, or any other forum where fans gather, I constantly see questions like”Will Hunter x Hunter ever end?”
Now I understand. We all want our favorite series, jokingly called Hiatus x Hiatus, to end. But since information about the hiatus and theories are everywhere, it's hard to keep up. Therefore, I decided to delve into whether there is a possibility that the Hunter x Hunter series will be completed in the next few years to appease your (and my) curiosity.
Manga Hunter x Hunter will be on hiatus in 2024?
Short answer: Yes, the Hunter x Hunter manga is on hiatus again. The latest chapter to come to light is Chapter 400 from December 2022. The hiatus has lasted for about 1 year and 5 months.
Now for the long explanation of what's actually going on.
The first half of 2022 was a good year for Hunter x Hunter. We were filled with hope and joy after Togashi joined Twitter in May 2022 and started regularly “teasing” by posting various sketches with numbers. His biography states “recipe ( ). I will keep you posted on the progress of the manuscript.”
とりあえずあと4話。 pic.twitter.com/OwoB4ljp1x
— 冨樫義博 (@Un4v5s8bgsVk9Xp) May 24, 2022
This was a pleasant surprise since the manga was on hiatus for almost 4 years, starting from January 2019 to October 2022. We are used to Hunter x Hunter going on hiatus but hey, we still feel the pain painful…
Hunter x Hunter is always published in Shounen Jump weekly
a>, a famous manga magazine that has published many famous and successful manga series over the years (Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach). Hunter x Hunter was first serialized on March 3, 1998 and continues to be published in the magazine to the present.
On October 11, 2022, Shounen Jump announced the return of the Hunter x Hunter manga on their official Twitter account.
Main announcement!!! Hunter x Hunter returns on October 23! Brand new simulpub chapters will appear on Shonen Jump! https://t.co/71vuObOtms pic.twitter.com/yFLU0POddg
— Shonen Jump (@shonenjump) October 11, 2022
From October 23, 2022 (JST) onwards, starting from Chapter 391, a total of 10 chapters were serialized.
The Hunter x Hunter manga is currently in the Succession Contest arc, which is the 9th story arc. It takes place after Chrollo and Hisoka's fight at the Heavens Arena and focuses on the journey of the Black Whale ship to the New Continent along with the Association of Zodiacs and Hunters. Kurapika is trying to retrieve his clan's last eyes from a prince while the Phantom Troupe is searching for Hisoka. At the same time, there was a dangerous competition between the 14 princes of the Kakin Empire for the throne.
However, the excitement was short-lived because as manga readers discovered in Weekly Shounen Jump issues 4-5, released on December 26, 2022, Hunter x Hunter is on hiatus again.
Hunter x Hunter will temporarily stop appearing in Weekly Shonen Jump issues 4-5 pic.twitter.com/9aHzfA9XpA
— Hunter x Hunter (@TheHxHSource) December 21, 2022
The final official chapter of Hunter x Hunter is Chapter 400, titled “Secrets”, which was released on December 25, 2022, Japan Standard Time (JST). There has been no official release since then.
Furthermore, Hunter x Hunter is currently listed under “Archived Serials” on the official Weekly Shounen Jump website.
HUNTERxHUNTER is no longer listed as a 'serialized work' from Weekly Shonen Jump on the magazine's official website.
The series is now listed in the 'Archived Serials' section along with ended, canceled and transferred works.https://t.co/0UjBu7K8HA pic.twitter.com/PyictFu45A
— Shonen Jump News (@WSJ_manga) February 19, 2023
Togashi's latest Hunter x Hunter 2024 update
Togashi started updating us again on May 1, 2024, with a preview of the manuscript, which roughly translates to “No. 405 available. Lunar healing escalation!
Before that, the last tweet was the “Start again” tweet from October 1, 2023.
On May 5, there was another update on the manuscript's progress.
So, will Hunter x Hunter ever end?
Since the Hunter x Hunter manga has 400 chapters so far and shows no signs of ending anytime soon, we'll need at least 300 (or more) chapters to get a satisfying ending that resolves the unresolved mysteries and tie up loose ends. But at the rate things are going, is that even possible?
Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of Hunter x Hunter, is now 58 years old. If he continues publishing at his current rate (~10 chapters/year if not on a long hiatus), he will probably need at least another 30 years to complete the series. When we add up the years he didn't release any chapters, the average becomes much bleaker: about 6 chapters per year for the past 10 years.
I know it doesn't sound good but don't lose hope. There have been mangakas who are still active even at the age of 80 or more. One of them is Masako Watanabe, a seasoned mangaka who has been creating stories longer than many current manga artists have lived. She started in 1952 with “Suama-chan,” published by Wakagi-shobou. Now 93 years old and with over 100 works, she is still going strong and not long ago she launched her new series “Himegoto” on Shueisha's “Manga Mee” comic app.
Furthermore, the average life expectancy in Japan is 84.62 years according to WHO, the highest in the world!
Of course, it's unreasonable to blame Togashi for the frequent interruptions. For those unfamiliar with how it worked during the Hunter x Hunter hiatus, basically, since 2006, Togashi took a huge break from writing Hunter × Hunter. Some are due to health problems, but others are unexplained. Some people think it's because Togashi is a perfectionist who likes to do everything himself. In 2022, Togashi revealed he had back and hip problems. This made it difficult for him to sit down, but he found a way to continue drawing while lying down.
He also explained that he was exhausted while working on his previous manga Yu Yu Hakusho. It ultimately leads to the strange, rushed ending of the series. We certainly don't want any low-quality ending to the best series out there, right?
Bottom line
It's unclear when Hunter x Hunter will end with possibilities ranging from completion within 20-30 years to never completion to having a hasty ending. Fingers crossed for the former!
