'Hunter x Hunter' Creator Reveals Inspiration Behind The Series

Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary, and Shueisha marked the occasion with a revealing interview with series creator Togashi where he talks about his inspirations and hopes for the series.

After answering important questions like whether or not he'd finish the series at all, he also dove into his original inspiration behind the series. They might be a bit colder than you would expect too:

"This might be an unpleasant way to put it, but back then I thought that my next work should aim to 'hit' since I was writing for Jump and all. I had been watching readers' polls closely since the latter half of Yu Yu Hakusho's serialization. I was looking at not only my own standings, but also at things like who's number one right now with what kind of story, etc."

But in aiming to make a "hit," Togashi eventually stumbled on the core of Hunter x Hunter, "Analyzing everything, I concluded that the popular works were about sports or battles -- stuff where there were clear winners and losers. Then I thought that if I was going to write something next, it had to be a battle manga after all."

But while Hunter x Hunter started in a more clinical place, the eventual delivery and presentation of the series made it stand out from his other works. Emphasizing more of the analytical nature of his battles, Hunter x Hunter in its current run feels much different than other Shonen series.

Hunter x Hunter has been celebrating its 20th Anniversary in a major way. Premium Bandai is now selling a special set of silver earrings modeled after Gon's big Nen transformation during the Chimera Ant arc. At about 3.5 inches long and 1.2mm wide, these earrings bearing Gon's silhouette are stylish yet how off how much you love the series. Premium Bandai will soon take pre-orders on their website (which you can find at the link here), and the earrings will set you back 9,999 yen (about $90 USD).

Premium Bandai has been offering plenty of other great items for fans as well as they are also currently selling a replica set of its Greed Island card game. It runs 8,800 yen (about $78 USD) and Premium Bandai will be taking orders with shipment beginning in April. If this seems like it would be too cumbersome but you still want to show off your love of Hunter x Hunter, you can do so with Premium Bandai's other replica offering, the Beatle 07.

For those unfamiliar with Hunter x Hunter, the series was originally created by Yoshihiro Togashi. The story follows a young boy named Gon Freecss, who discovers that his previously thought to be dead father is in fact alive. Not only is he alive, he is a famous Hunter, a professional traveler who specializes in finding rare treasures, exploring unidentified lands, and hunting down dangerous individuals. Gon then decides that in order to meet his father he has to become a licensed Hunter, but in that journey gets wrapped up in way more strangeness than he ever could have anticipated.