Fans have been elated to see one of their favorite series in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, Hunter x Hunter, return from hiatus. But along with the return of fan-favorite characters like The Phantom Troupe and Kurapika, fans have noticed something a bit peculiar about the creator’s return from hiatus.
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Manga creators often slip in little notes into their chapters every week in Shonen Jump, but series creator Yoshihiro Togashi slipped a weird note into his chapter instead and fans are definitely confused.
“Man I wonder what Togashi will put in Hunter x Hunter Vol. 35…”
“I hope he does another 2 page comment like he did in Vol. 34”
Togashi: pic.twitter.com/53TNqWV7J7
โ Hunter โ Hunter (@OfficialHxH) January 31, 2018
All Togashi included with his return chapter is a drawing of a big round eye, and now fans are wondering if there’s any hidden meaning behind the signature. There likely isn’t, but the signature is just weird enough to throw everyone off.
It’s most likely Togashi playing with his publisher in the same way as he does in the chapter itself, as he named the three main mafia families involved in the current arc after Shueisha. This has also thrown fans for a loop as they wonder if there’s a deeper meaning behind these shenanigans.
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.
The series first ran in Shuiesha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in March 1998. Unforunately, the series has gone on a number of hiatuses ever since 2006 which were most likely incurred by bouts of illness Togashi experienced when publishing his last work, Yu Yu Hakusho. The series has run for 360 chapters, and been collected into 47 volumes as of 2017. It’s one of Shueisha’s most successful selling series with over 66 million copies sold in Japan.
Hunter x Hunter was then adapted into two different anime series. One series ran from 1999 to 2001 from Nippon Animation and lasted for 62 episodes. The second adaptation, produced by Madhouse, ran from 2011 to 2014.
Premium Bandai is 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 through February 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.