Hunter x Hunter Creator Recounts His Early Plans for the Manga

It has been years since Hunter x Hunter made its debut. Decades ago, artist Yoshihiro Togashi ushered in the action series on the heels of Yu Yu Hakusho. These days, Hunter x Hunter is seen as a classic Shonen Jump title, and there are fans worldwide keeping tabs on its progress. So of course, Hunter x Hunter readers geeked out recently when Yoshihiro revealed his original vision for the manga.

The information comes straight from Yoshihiro as he took part in a rare interview in Japan. In a letter correspondence with the Iwakura and Yoshizumi Show, Yoshihiro answered a number of questions about Hunter x Hunter. It was there the show asked the artist how much of the manga he had planned at the start, and it turns out Yoshihiro took most of the story in stride.

"The first three chapters [were planned]. Once I had a rough idea of the setting (or story in another world that focuses on the profession of Hunters), I felt like I could continue the story as long as I wanted. So I decided that the goal of the serialization would be to 'continue for as long as possible' that it should start with the main character taking the Hunter Exam," Yoshihiro wrote.

"At the start of the serialization, I decided to write three storyboards and a scene where the main character fails the exam and the story jumps one to several years in the future. I didn't decide on the content of the exam until right before the start of the series because I wanted to enjoy the fact that I didn't know what would happen. In the end, after I discussed it with my editor, the idea of Gon failing the exam was rejected."

Continuing, the creator of Hunter x Hunter broke down which characters he had thought out for the manga. Outside of Gon, it seems Killua and Hisoka were already pieced together in Yoshihiro's mind, and the rest of the manga's cast came to him in the moment.

"If the question is asking about what actually appeared in the story, the answer would be the first three chapters. However, I had already decided that pillars of the story -- the friend and the villain -- would appear at the beginning of the exam. I decide what needs to be done in terms of narrative structure first, and then work on the details with a great sense of urgency until the last minute. In that regard, I had a rough idea of the outline for the story ahead, but since the time skip idea was rejected, I had to draw the section right before that part and revise my initial plans. I remember that I probably wasn't able to finish the manuscript that week."

As you can see, Yoshihiro spent a lot of time preparing the first three volumes of Hunter x Hunter. While his original time skip was rejected, the creator found a nice way to build tension as Gon vied for his Hunters License. Plus, the creator went on to create other heroes like Kurapika and Leorio. So even though Yoshihiro's original vision for Hunter x Hunter was tweaked in production, its bones are all there still.

What do you think about Yoshihiro's original plans for Hunter x Hunter? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!