Hunter -Hunter (Japanese: ?? Hepburn: Hantá) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since March 16, 1998, although manga has been on widespread pause since 2006. In October 2018, Shueisha collected 380 chapters in 36 volumes. The story centers on a boy named Gon Freecss, who discovers that his father, who was told he had left at a young age, is actually a world-renowned hunter, a licensed profession for those who specialize but are not limited to, Fantastic activities such as rare or unidentified animal species, treasure hunting, recognition of unexplored enclaves or hunting of non-prohibited individuals. Despite being abandoned by his father, Gon departs on a journey to follow in his footsteps, pass the rigorous Hunter Examination and finally find his father. Along the way, Gon meets several other hunters, including the main cast members Kurapika, Leorio and Killua, and also finds the paranormal. The original inspiration for the manga came from Togashi’s own hobby collection.
In 1999, Hunter was adapted for a 62-episode anime series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. The show premiered on Fuji TV Japan and premiered until 2001. Three separate original video animations (OVAs), which add up to 30 episodes, were later produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. A second Madhouse anime series aired on Nippon Television from October 2011 to September 2014, with a total of 148 episodes, with two animated films released in 2013. There are also numerous Hunter-based audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media. The manga has been translated into English and released in North America by Viz Media since April 2005. Both television series was also licensed by Viz, with the first series that aired on the Funimation Channel in 2009 and the second series debuting in the Toonami block of swimming for adults since April 16, 2016.
Hunter has been a huge financial and critical success and has become one of Shueisha’s best-selling manga series, having sold 72 million copies in Japan alone since 2018.
