Hunter × Hunter

Hunter × Hunter (ハンター×ハンター), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The story focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss, who discovers that the father he had always been told was dead is in fact alive and well. He learns that his father, Ging, is a legendary "Hunter", an individual who has proven him or herself an elite member of humanity and specializes in finding rare creatures, secret treasure, and other individuals. Despite Ging having left his son with his relatives in order to pursue his own dreams, Gon becomes determined to follow in his father's footsteps, pass the rigorous "Hunter Examination", and eventually find his father to become a Hunter in his own right. The original inspiration for the manga came from Togashi's own collecting hobby.

Hunter × Hunter began its manga serialization in March 1998 in the Shueisha magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. With 310 chapters to date, it has been published in 27 tankōbon chapter collections in Japan so far. However, the manga has gone on hiatus a number of times in recent years. Hunter × Hunter was translated into English and released in North America by Viz Media beginning in April 2005. In 1999, the manga series was adapted into a 62-episode anime series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, and premiered on the Japanese terrestrial television network Fuji TV and has also aired on the satellite television station Animax. Three separate original video animations (OVAs) totaling 30 episodes were subsequently produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. The television series has been licensed and released in North America by Viz, and it aired on the Funimation Channel starting in 2009. There are also numerous audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media based on Hunter × Hunter.

The Hunter × Hunter manga series has been very popular in Japan, having sold over 44 million copies in the region alone as of January 2008. Critics have positively noted its complex plot and characters and a stark contrast in art style from his previous two series YuYu Hakusho and Level E.

Plot
Twelve years prior to the start of the story, Ging Freecss left his infant son, Gon, with Gon's aunt Mito on Whale Island. Gon, raised believing both his parents were dead, finds out from Ging's apprentice, Kite, that his father is still alive and has since become an accomplished "Hunter". Hunters are licensed, elite members of humanity who are capable of tracking down secret treasure, rare beasts, or even other individuals. Gon leaves his home to follow in his father's footsteps as a Hunter by taking the "Hunter Examination", a series of brutal tests involving skill, survival, and teamwork. Prior to and during the exam, Gon meets and befriends three of the other applicants: Kurapika, the last remaining member of the Kurta clan who wishes to become a Hunter in order to avenge his slain people; Leorio, a prospective physician who claims to desire to become rich; and Killua Zoldyck, who fled his life as a member of a notorious assassin family. Among many other examinees, Gon continuously encounters Hisoka, a deadly and sadistic magician. After the exam and a brief excursion to Killua's home estate, the four protagonists split up, promising to meet up in a place called Yorknew City months later. Kurapika departs to find work and Leorio leaves to attend medical school. Gon and Killua decide to gain both combat experience and money at the "Heavens Arena", a 251-story building where thousands of martial artists compete daily in fighting tournaments. There they meet a kung fu master named Wing, who trains them in utilizing "Nen", a chi-like life energy that can be used to manifest superhuman powers.

The next story arc reunites the main characters for the world's largest auction in the sprawling metropolis Yorknew City. Gon, Killua, and Leorio try different methods to make enough money to buy "Greed Island", an extremely rare and expensive video game with Nen-like properties that may help Gon locate his father. Meanwhile, Kurapica, having mastered a form of Nen himself, has taken a job as bodyguard for a rich client who is attempting to obtain a pair of Kurta eyes. While in at the auction, Kurapica crosses paths with the Phantom Troupe, a criminal group attempting to steal valuable artifacts throughout the city's many auctions. The group is led by its founder Kuroro Lucilfer, a powerful Hunter capable of stealing others' Nen abilities and the one responsible for leading his organization in the Kurta's slaughtering. With the help of his comrades, Kurapica forces Kuroro out of the Phantom Troup and halts the group's activity in Yorknew City. Finally, Gon and Killua find Greed Island, the seemingly-magical video game that sucks players within. The goal of the game is to collect a number of set cards, although almost everything in the game, from food to money, can be turned into cards. Inside Greed Island Gon and Killua are joined by Biscuit Krueger, a master and experienced teacher of Nen who trains them. With the help of many other players, Gon and Killua clear the game. As part of their reward, they are allowed to take three cards to be used outside the game. Using the card "Accompany", Gon and Killua travel to a player under the username "Nigg", who they believe to be Ging. However, it ends up bringing them to Kite instead.

Alongside Kite, Gon and Killua briefly work as biological researchers in the country of Kakin. As they investigate a giant insect limb found on the country's shores, the group discover it came from a man-sized Chimera Ant queen, an insect that devours other creatures and then gives birth to progeny that inherit the characteristics of the different species it has eaten. The queen washes up onto island nation called the Neo-Green Life (N.G.L.) Autonomous Region, inhabited by a neo-luddite culture. She quickly develops a taste for humans and builds a colony in order to conceive both an army of offspring and a Chimera Ant king named Meryem. The Chimera Ants proceed to wipe most of the population out before Gon, Killua, and Kite arrive. The queen dies during labor, and the king and his Royal Guards flee the N.G.L., secretly overthrowing the government of the nearby Republic of East Gorteau soon thereafter. Under the guise of the former king of the Republic, Meryem initiates the process of forcibly awakening Nen in the civilians of East Gorteau in order to form his own personal army to conquer the world, resulting in the deaths of millions unable to awaken Nen. As Ants formerly under the queen's rule rejoin the king, the Hunter Association mobilizes quickly to stop the oncoming genocide by sending in an extermination team of Hunters to East Gorteau. Distraught over the murder of Kite at the hands of the Royal Guards, Gon and Killua join the extermination team in order to take revenge for their friend.

Production
Author Yoshihiro Togashi explained that one of his hobbies is collecting objects of all sorts, and that he was inspired to create a manga involving this interest simply titled "Hunter". He came up with the final name Hunter × Hunter while watching the television variety show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, in which the hosts often repeat what they say to make the audience laugh. The title of the manga is usually pronounced "Hunter Hunter" with the "×" being silent. As with his previous series YuYu Hakusho, Togashi used drafting ink and Kabura pens for his illustrations, but also began using an eMac for his coloring. For the first volume, fellow manga artist and future wife Naoko Takeuchi assisted Togashi in adding screentone to single-color pages. With the birth of the couple's first son in the early years of its publication, Togashi felt that this personal aspect of his life would be a great influence on his work, particularly the manga's theme of a young boy searching for his father. There have been several instances in which Togashi has apologized to readers in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump for low quality artwork and promised to redraw portions of the chapters for their tankōbon collection releases. In addition, the publication history of the Hunter × Hunter manga has been plagued with hiatuses in more recent years, in which serialized chapters would be separated by extended periods of time. The longest of these breaks lasted one year and eight months from March 2006 to October 2007. They were often attributed to various rumors such as Togashi suffering from an unspecified illness and the birth of his second child. The latest hiatus began after the publication of Chapter 310 in May 2010.

Manga
The Hunter × Hunter manga began its ongoing serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in Japan during March 1998. Shueisha has compiled most of the manga's chapters into 27 tankōbon volumes thus far. An English translation of the manga by Shaenon K. Garrity began publication in North America by Viz Media starting in April 2005. Viz marketed the manga as part of its "Shonen Jump Advanced" line for readers in their older teens and young adults. Twenty-six volumes have been released in North America as of January 2010. The manga has also been licensed and translated into multiple languages throughout Europe and other parts of Asia. For instance, it was serialized throughout the publication of Banzai!, a German version of Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Anime
The Hunter × Hunter anime adaptation was produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. A total of 62 episodes were broadcast on Fuji Television from October 16, 1999 to March 31, 2001. The series has additionally aired on the satellite television station Animax. Although it follows the manga source material faithfully, the anime version of the series is toned down for younger audiences by containing less violence, as well as having a varied art style. Marvelous Entertainment has released all episodes of the series in Japan on DVD in 13 separate volumes between September 20, 2000 and September 19, 2001.

Viz Media licensed the Hunter × Hunter anime for distribution in the Region 1 market, with English voice-work handled by The Ocean Group at Blue Water Studios in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The series was released across four DVD boxed sets from December 9, 2008 and December 1, 2009. Starting with the second set, Viz partnered with Warner Home Video in distributing the DVDs. Hunter × Hunter began airing in the United States on the Funimation Channel in the spring of 2009.

Original video animations
Prior to Nippon Animation's television adaptation of Hunter × Hunter, a stand-alone pilot OVA was shown as part of the "Jump Super Anime Tour" of 1998 alongside pilots for Seikimatsu Leader den Takeshi! and One Piece. Produced by Studio Pierrot and the directed by Noriyuki Abe, it depicts the early events of the manga up to Gon's ocean voyage from Whale Island. Due to Hunter × Hunter fans' unsatisfied reactions to the conclusion of the television series in 2001, three subsequent OVAs produced by Nippon Animation. These have carried the plot from where the broadcast left off during the Yorknew City arc and covers the Greed Island arc. The first OVA was directed by Satoshi Saga and ran for eight episodes in four released volumes from January 17 to April 17, 2002. The second OVA season, Hunter × Hunter: Greed Island, was directed Yukihiro Matsushita and ran for eight episodes in four released volumes from February 19 to May 21, 2003. The third OVA season, Hunter × Hunter: G.I. Final, was directed by Makoto Sato and ran for 14 episodes in seven released volumes from March 3 to August 18, 2004. After the original anime's initial run on Animax, the OVAs were aired in succession. None of the OVAs have been released officially in English.

CDs
The background music for the Hunter × Hunter anime and the three OVA series was composed by Toshihiko Sahashi. The original anime series features two opening themes, "Ohayou." (おはよう.) by Keno and "Taiyou wa Yoru mo Kagayaku" (太陽は夜も輝く) by Wino, and three closing themes: "Kaze no Uta" (風のうた) by Minako Honda, "EJan-Do You Feel Like I Feel?" (Eじゃん-Do You Feel Like I Feel?) by Nagai Masato, and "Hotaru" (蛍), also by Nagai Masato. The first OVA series features the opening theme "PALE ALE" and the closing theme "Carry On", both by Kurosawa Keniti. Hunter × Hunter: Greed Island features the opening theme "Pray" by Wish* and the closing theme "POPCORN" by Mikuni Shimokawa. Hunter × Hunter: G.I. Final features the opening theme "Believe In Tomorrow" and the closing theme "Moshimo Kono Sekai de Kimi to Boku ga Deaenakattara" (もしもこの世界で君と僕が出会えなかったら), both by Sunflower's Garden.

A large number of audio CDs for the Hunter × Hunter have been released by Marvelous Entertainment. The three-volume soundtrack for the anime television series contains a total of 129 instrumental and vocal songs. The Original Video Animation Hunter × Hunter Sound Trax for the first OVA series contains 18 songs and the Original Video Animation Hunter × Hunter: Greed Island Original Sound Tracks for the second OVA series contains 30 songs. In addition, character-specific and story arc drama CDs, as well as a 17-volume radio drama titled Hunter × Hunter R, have been published throughout the anime adaptations' release period.

Musicals and theatrical play
There have been two musicals based on Hunter × Hunter in which the Japanese voice actors portray their respective characters. The first, Musical Hunter × Hunter (ミュージカル ハンター×ハンター), was originally performed during December 2000. It is an original story that appears to take place in between the end of the Yorknew City story arc and the beginning of the Greed Island arc. The second, Musical Hunter × Hunter: The Nightmare of Zoldyck (ミュージカル ハンター×ハンター ナイトメア・オブ・ゾルディック), was originally performed during August 2002. It is a retelling of when Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon go to fetch Killua back from his family estate after the end of the Hunter Exam arc. Both musicals have received separate DVD and audio CD releases, as well as a dual DVD release from Marvelous Entertainment. There is also a live-action play titled Real Stage Hunter × Hunter: "A Longing for Phalcnothdk ~ A Spider's Memory ~" (リアルステージ ハンター×ハンター「A Longing for Phalcnothdk 〜蜘蛛の記憶〜」), which was performed a total of 16 times at the Theater Sun-mall in Shinjuku, Tokyo during August 2004. The play is a retelling of the Phantom Troupe finale in the Yorknew City arc. It received a DVD release in Japan on December 10, 2004.

Video games
There are ten Japan-exclusive video games based on Hunter × Hunter, many of which are either developed or published by Konami or Bandai. They range from role-playing and strategy games to action and adventure games. These include titles for the WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color,  Game Boy Color,  Game Boy Advance, PlayStation,  and PlayStation 2. Characters from the franchise have also appeared along with other Weekly Shōnen Jump properties in two fighting games for the Nintendo DS: Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars.

Other merchandise
A series of three film books based on the anime series and authored by Nobuaki Kishikan has been released by Shueisha from December 3, 1999 to August 24, 2001. A guidebook to the anime titled Hunter x Hunter Characters Book: World × Character × Blessing (Hunter × Hunter キャラクターズブック World × Character × Blessing) was published by Shueisha in January 2001, while a guidebook to the manga titled Hunter × Hunter: Hunters Association Official World and Character Guide (Hunter × Hunter ハンター協会公式発行ハンターズ・ガイド) was published by the company on June 4, 2004. There is also an extensive collectible card game by Bandai and various other collectables.

Manga
The Hunter × Hunter manga has been largely successful commercially, having sold sold over 44 million copies in Japan alone as of January 2008. Volume 24 of the manga was the sixth best-selling manga in Japan in 2007, while Volume 25 was the second best-selling manga in the region during its release week. Volume 26 was the best-selling manga in the first two weeks of its release, and has sold approximately 811,995 copies as of November 3, 2008. Volume 27 sold 488,446 copies in Japan in its first week alone and 941,550 copies by the middle of 2010. In North America, volumes 23 through 26 have ranked within the top 300 best-selling graphics novels list of sales estimates by Diamond Comic Distributors.

The Hunter × Hunter manga has received a large amount of critical praise for its plot and characters. Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide, described its storyline as "an almost random collection of psych-outs, battles, puzzles, and trickery" that works on both a chapter-by-chapter basis and on a larger scale. Thompson ellaborated that with all the goals and subplots of each of the main characters, the story could seemingly go on forever, despite being unpreditable enough to hold reader interest. Charles Solomon, a writer for The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, admired the moral seriousness of Gon, a quality that gives the protagonist "an appeal his relentlessly upbeat counterparts lack." Publishers Weekly gave a positive review to the first volume of the manga, finding that Togashi "shows a deft touch" with its standard story, as well as calling his artwork "clear and graceful" and his characters "endearing and complex". Rika Takahashi of EX.org and Claude J. Pelletier of Protoculture Addicts found the art style in Hunter × Hunter to be much simpler than Togashi's two previous serializations Level E and YuYu Hakusho respectively; both reviewers appreciated the intricate narrative and characters.

Anime
The Hunter Hunter anime series has enjoyed much more modest popularity than its manga source material. Newtype listed the it as having a Japanese television rating of 10.5 for the fourth quarter of 2000. The show's viewership was ranked number six among the top ten television anime series in Japan for February 2001. In a 2006 web poll conducted in Japan by the network TV Asahi, the Hunter × Hunter television series was voted as the 28th best anime of all time. The series was voted as the 16th best anime of 2000 in the Animage Anime Grand Prix, but rose to fourth place the following year.