'Hunter x Hunter' Celebrates 21st Anniversary

Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter is one of the most popular manga series in Shueisha's Weekly [...]

Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter x Hunter is one of the most popular manga series in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, and fans have stuck it out with the series through its multiple hiatuses due to that unending passion for the work.

In a real sobering moment for older fans of the series, Hunter x Hunter is now celebrating its 21st Anniversary after it was first published in 1998.

As noted by @HxHSource on Twitter, Hunter x Hunter was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump on March 3, 1998 in Japan. The series has since been compiled into 36 volumes in Japan (35 have been released in English thanks to Viz Media), and currently runs for 380 chapters. The series has admittedly gone on a number of hiatuses since it began due to Togashi's health. But it's become both an in-joke, and a loving jab among fans who still look forward to each new chapter.

But in the same breath, the hiatuses make it a much easier read for new fans to join in on. With the latest hiatus kicking in on October 2018 (though Togashi did note how he already had outlines for the series' next ten chapters in place), there is plenty of time for fans to jump into the manga from the beginning. Then new fans can catch up to where current fans of the series are, and find out why fans have been holding on so strong for 21 years.

Hunter x Hunter was originally created by Yoshihiro Togashi for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1998. 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.

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