Is Hunter × Hunter Over and Will There Be a Season 7?

Hunter × Hunter is currently on a hiatus and while that won’t come as a surprise for the fans, this hiatus is currently the longest one in the history of the franchise. Does that mean that the Hunter x Hunter is over?

The Hunter × Hunter manga is still not over and Yoshihiro Togashi is still publishing new chapters even today. The anime, although it has not adapted the whole manga, has been on hiatus since 2014 and it seems unlikely that it will be continued anytime soon.

This article is going to tell you everything you need to know about the future of Hunter × Hunter, both the manga and the anime. You’re going to find out whether they are over and if (and when) they will be continued. We’ve prepared an informative text for you, so keep reading until the very end.

Is Hunter × Hunter over?

Hunter × Hunter is a manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The manga began to be published in March 1998 by Shūeisha publishing house, in its weekly magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump.

The story was adapted into an anime series, produced by Nippon Animation and whose 62 episodes were broadcast on Fuji TV between October 1999 and March 2001. Additionally, Nippon Animation produced three separate original animations (totaling 30 episodes), which were distributed in Japan from 2002 to 2004.

A second adaptation, produced by Madhouse, was broadcast on Nippon Television from October 2, 2011 to September 23, 2014, with a total of 148 episodes.

The story of Hunter × Hunter follows Gon Freecss, twelve years old who dreams of becoming a hunter. The hunters are elite citizens authorized to do almost anything they wish on simple presentation of their membership card. His father, Ging Freecss, whom he does not know directly, is considered one of the greatest hunters of his time.

It is also to find him that Gon wants to become a hunter. However, the hunter exam, which takes place every year, is extremely difficult and perilous. It is said that one candidate in 10,000 arrives at the place of the tests and that only one candidate every three years becomes a hunter on his first attempt.

During the tests, it is not uncommon to be injured or even killed by monsters, traps or even other competitors. During this exam, Gon will meet different characters, both friends and foes. Gon’s strength is not just physical: his charisma, his purity, his kindness, his great generosity and above all his incredible ability to attract sympathy often help him get out of the most perilous situations.

Now, Gon’s story has originally appeared in Togashi’s manga, which has been adapted into an anime series on two occasions. Let us now see whether the story of Gon is over or not.

Manga

Hunter × Hunter began publication on March 16, 1998 in the Weekly Shōnen Jump. After Chapter 260 was released in February 2006, the rate of publication of the chapters has become very fluctuating.

Chapter 261 did not appear in the Weekly Shōnen Jump until October 6, 2007, followed by a weekly chapter until December 8, 2007. The publication was again stopped to resume at a weekly rate on March 3, 2008, back to accompany by the release of volume 25 on March 4, 2008 in Japan.

On May 9, 2008, the publication of new chapters in the Weekly Shōnen Jump was again stopped at chapter 280. On October 5, 2008, chapter 281 appeared in Jump. The series was then relaunched for ten chapters before another break starting on December 4, 2008.

The publication of chapters in the Weekly Shōnen Jump resumed on January 4, 2010 with chapter 291, before a new break started on June 1, 2010. After more than a year of hiatus, chapter 311 was finally published on August 8, 2011. The manga had a new hiatus after chapter 340 in March 2012.

The series resumed publication in June 2014, but is again hit a hiatus in August 2014 due to the author’s back pain issues. The series is again published sporadically between 2016 and 2018. The manga has been on hiatus again since November 2018.

The publisher Shūeisha has been publishing the chapters in tankōbon format since the first volume released on June 4, 1998, with 36 volumes released as of October 4, 2018.

Now, the manga is still listed as being ongoing by the publisher and the story is far from finished, but since it’s been on a hiatus for three years now, it is questionable when and if the series is going to be continued. Last year, we found out that Togashi had been struggling with his health for some time and that that is the reason for the manga’s overly long hiatus.

Of course, fans want Togashi to get better before focusing on new material but seeing how the future is quite unclear at this point, we can only confirm that the manga is not over and that there are more stories to be told. Whether that is going to happen is another question completely.

Anime

The first animated television series adaptation was produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. The 62 episodes of the series were broadcast on Saturday nights on Fuji Television between October 16, 1999 and March 31, 2001, during the same time slot as Togashi’s previous series, Yu Yu Hakusho.

While the animated series followed the manga quite faithfully, the violence of some scenes were toned down to suit a younger audience.

In 2001, when the animated series caught up with the manga, Nippon Animation made the decision to stop the adaptation rather than continue it with filler episodes. The negative reaction from fans to the series’ cancellation resulted in the production of three original video animation (OVA) episodes, picking up from the Yorknew City arc and covering the Greed Island arc, volumes 12 to 18 of the manga.

A new animated television series adaptation was announced in July 2011, re-adapting the story from the start in the interests of fidelity to the original manga. The series was directed by Hiroshi Kōjina, produced by Madhouse, written by Atsushi Maekawa, with chara-design by Takahiro Yoshimatsu.

The series aired on Saturday mornings on Nippon Television starting on October 2, 2011. The series ended on September 23, 2014 after 148 episodes. Seeing how the series ended with the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, we can confirm that the anime is also not over in terms of narrative, but it has been on a longer hiatus than the manga, which speaks for itself.

Will there be more chapters of the Hunter × Hunter manga?

There probably will be more chapters of the Hunter × Hunter manga but we have no clue as to when. Namely, due to Togashi’s health issues, the manga has been on several hiatuses during its run and has been on one since 2018; it is the series’ longest hiatus yet.

Now, the story is far from over and we got absolutely no conclusion back in 2018 so there probably will be more chapters of the manga, but when and if that will happen – we don’t know. We just hope that Togashi remains healthy enough to produce more material and if that happens, we’re certain it’ll be published instantly.

Will there be a season 7 of Hunter × Hunter?

As far as we know, there are no direct plans for a new season of the show but from what we could gather from Megumi Han’s 2014 ‘diary’ post, the cast and crew haven’t officially given up on the series. This is what she said back then:

Now that I’ve talked about the turning point for this column, there’s something I want to talk about. The other day, at Sanbunzaka Studio, the place of all the beginnings, we conducted the recording for episode 148 of Hunter x Hunter, which will serve as the turning point for the anime for now. I will not say “final episode” myself. I will be stubborn and only call it “episode 148.” I say this, because in terms of episode numbers, in a certain meaning, this will be the final episode, but I feel that it also feels like the start of a new beginning. If you ask me, episode 147 is the final episode, and 148 is sort of an epilogue. The original manga is still continuing, and the adventures haven’t ended yet. An unknown world still awaits. Actually, it’s like what has happened up until now in the story was nothing more than a prologue, and it gets me even more expecting for what’s to come.

Though I say that, when I think that “I’ve been going to the same place every week at the same time for three years, but next week, this won’t happen…,” I get very sad.

…I know I shouldn’t talk too much, but I will condense my feelings right here. To everything up until now, and to everyone, I say, “Thank you.”

– Megumi Han, 2014

Megumi Han voiced Gon in the second adaptation of the show and she was the one who revealed that the studio decided to end the anime with episode 148. Of course, she reiterated the fact that there are more adventures for the show’s heroes ahead and since the manga has already published additional chapters, with hopefully more to come (see above), there is material to continue the show.

Is it going to happen, then? At this point, seeing how the manga is also on hiatus, it is very unlikely so, sadly, you shouldn’t have high hopes. And while we’re hopeful that at least the manga will continue the story of Gon’s adventures, we’re not really certain that we’ll ever see a proper continuation of the anime.

When can we expect season 7 of Hunter × Hunter?

Seeing how the anime’s future is wholly in doubt, there is absolutely no way of determining when a potential seventh season of the show might be released. Still, we do assume that it is something that will not come quickly and that, even if the studio decides to produce more episodes, it will be at least several years before we see new episodes.