Hunter x Hunter has become a force of nature within the shonen universe. The story of Gon and his fellow hunters has become a hit both with its manga and anime adaptations, and said success has helped push creator Yoshihiro Togashi to become the “most followed” manga artist of all time. With the mangaka working on new chapters of the shonen series following a recent hiatus, a staggering figure has emerged to prove that another anime franchise has overcome Hunter x Hunter in sales. You might be surprised at which series outwrestled Gon and company in the sales department.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Kinnikuman, often referred to as Ultimate Muscle in North America, defeated Hunter x Hunter, garnering eighty-five million copies in circulation. Yoshihiro Togashi’s popular shonen series has, as of the writing of this article, netted over eighty-four million copies in the wild, but now trails behind the hard-hitting competition. Gon shouldn’t feel too bad, however, since Ultimate Muscle had quite the head start. First premiering in 1979, Kinnikuman has become an institution in the anime world, both still producing new anime adaptations and earning its title as a household name. For Hunter x Hunter, the series debuted decades later in 1998, so the higher sales for Kinnikuman are a bit easier to understand.
Ultimate Muscle’s Success
Recently, to celebrate the major milestone of the wrestling manga, writer Takashi Shimada shared the secret to success: “This is the result of steadily continuing to draw for 46 years with Nakai, encouraging each other, and hardly taking breaks. I’m honestly happy that the total number of copies of the Kinnikuman comics has surpassed 85 million. My partner Nakai and I have been running full speed ahead from age 18 to 64, for 46 years straight. Unlike in the past, today’s hit manga can sell millions of copies just in the first edition, and there are plenty of works that have exceeded 100 million in total circulation. But even if our progress was slow, thanks to the fans who have supported us for 46 years, we’ve gone beyond 85 million, and that makes me the happiest.“
As for Hunter x Hunter, Togashi is hard at work to release new chapters to potentially defeat Kinnikuman in the sales department. On his social media account, Yoshihiro has shared updates to prove that not only is he working on a new chapter of the shonen series, he is already working up to chapter 418. The previously released installment was chapter 410, meaning we have at least eight new chapters that are currently in the works to continue the latest arc, the Succession Contest Arc. With Gon and Killua remaining absent from the manga for years at this point, fans are counting down the days for Hunter x Hunter’s grand return to the manga scene.
Want to see if Gon and company can overtake the professional wrestlers of Ultimate Muscle? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Hunter x Hunter and hit us up in the comments.
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Crunchyroll -
Image Courtesy of Capcom
