Hunter x Hunteris one of the most popular manga fromWeekly Shonen Jump, written by Yoshihiro TogashiofYu Yu Hakushofame. The manga centers around the character of Gon Freecss, a young boy who sets out to become a hunter in order to find his father. He encounters friends and enemies alike on the many adventures he goes on, often rife with danger and excitement. The anime has received several anime adaptations, with the most recent one running from 2011 to 2014.
Hunter x Hunterhas had a troubled publication history due to Togashi’s declining health, which has forced the series to go on multiple lengthy hiatuses, with the longest one running from 2018 to 2022. Nevertheless, Togashi has persisted in working on the series, and his hard work has been paid off in the form of a dedicated fandom. Said fandom has been hanging on to every chapter that has been released, and many have been hoping for a second anime to cover all the new material that has come out since the anime ended. While a second anime is almost a foregone conclusion for a series as popular asHunter x Hunter, the question is whether or not there is enough material to justify one.
RELATED:Hunter X Hunter: Strongest Weapons, Ranked
What’s Already Been Adapted
Hunter x Hunterhas had two separate anime adaptations: one that began in 1999 and one that started up later in 2011. The 1999 adaptation started only one year after the manga started serialization in 1998, and therefore quickly had to end when it caught up with the manga at only 62 episodes. This series was followed up by several OVAs which continued to adapt the manga up until the Greed Island arc. The OVA ended at 30 episodes, making the total episode count for the 1999 series 92 episodes.
The 2011 animere-adapted the entire series from the beginning, giving the entire series a fresh start while also providing a more faithful adaptation of the original manga. With more material to freely cover, the 2011 anime adapted the Chimera Ant arc and the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc along with all of the arcs the 1999 anime covered in 148 episodes. In total, 339 chapters of the manga have been adapted into anime, meaning that a majority of the manga has already been adapted.
What Hasn’t Been Adapted Yet
RELATED:Hunter X Hunter: Newly Introduced Nen Abilities
The unadapted content is so far composed of two arcs: the very short Dark Continent arc which introduces the titular location and the expedition for it, and the ongoing Succession Contest arc that concerns the battle between the princes of the Kakin Empire. Altogether the unadapted content adds up to around 61 chapters, which is not even close to the amount covered in the 2011 anime. However, it isn’t impossible to put together 12 or so episodes with that amount of content.
Will There Be A Second Anime Series?
It’s likely thatHunter x Hunterwill continue to be a landmark of shonen anime that fans will continue to recommend for years and years. The series stands out among the sea of action and adventure anime that come out every year, and is a shining example ofwhat can be done in the framework of a shonen battle manga. Fans have been waiting for a second series patiently for more than eight years now, and hold out hope that such an announcement will come sooner or later. Having said that, it’s likely that these same fans will have to wait a while longer to see a continuation of the Hunter x Hunter anime.
The biggest issue facing a new adaptation is not the amount of unadapted material, but that the current arc is far from being finished in the manga. While there is technically enough content in the manga to put together a short one-cour or even two-cour run, the lack of a conclusion would only leave fans unsatisfied and wondering why an attempt at continuation was even made in the first place. It’s likely that a new anime adaptation wouldn’t even be considered until the current storyline comes to an end. Unfortunately, with Togashi’s poor health, it could be years before the manga reaches that conclusion.
