Hunter x Hunter

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Before beginning this review, I will like to point out that the intention of this review is not to trigger Hunter X Hunter (HxH for short)fans or let them feel like I'm attacking them or their intelligence since that is basically the trend in most reviews these days. Most reviews are made with the intention to 'trigger' a reaction out of fans by criticizing a series to the point that you are telling fans that they are basically dumb for liking a particular series.

This review is simply showing you guys another perspective since HxH fans aren't used to seeing much criticism when it comes to ... this series. Now, shall we begin?

Hxh is a series that I once loved, the anime that is, now after finishing the anime I went into the manga and quickly realise a problem this series has had in the anime, but now, it was more apparent in the manga. The problem is the absurd amount of dialogue and monologue within it that makes it ridiculous, the author of HxH decided that every single character is going to have long monologue and dialogue, but it's even worse when the characters are just redshirts.

The latest arc is especially guilty of this, basically, we as the reader are forced to see the point of view of literally every single character in this arc; the guards of the Prince's, the Prince's, guards of a Prince stalking another Prince, people associated to a Prince, people keeping an eye on another Prince, the Mafia Bosses, Hunters, the guards of the Mafia Bosses, the people from branch families, all of the underlings of the people from branch families as well, and we can go on and on — I wouldn't be surprised if we start getting the point of view from the trees, cats, dogs and basically everything else. You get the point. This is not interesting at all and it's just a chore to read. Sure you can say that he is amazing for giving redshirts their moments and making them feel important, but, truth be told, redshirts will always be redshirts! You can give them a few dialogues or give them a purpose later on without watering down the series quality by having them talk about stuff, we as the readers, are already aware of. I also saw the Viz translation, and it's a bit better, but still, its too dialogue heavy and unnecessary — just pointing that out before someone says it is Mangastream's fault, btw this is wall x text the manga.

Togashi is like a student that is writing an essay that should be 800 words in length and thinks that writing a 2000 word essay instead will impress the teacher. That is basically how a lot of the fans are behaving as well, I've seen HxH fans praising the series because it has so many dialogues and saying how long it took them to read a single chapter, like it was some type of accomplishment, while other HxH fans are saying they feel dumb because they are not understanding the plot. The truth is, the reason why some people are having difficulty in understanding the plot is because Togashi, as a writer, is failing to express his work to his readers properly, because all he is doing is throwing dialogue and monologue at his fans and telling them that they should figure out his mess, I'm not sure how the editor even approve these chapters. If this was a monthly manga then that could be an excuse to why some fans are forgetting vital points, but it's a weekly series which means it should be easier to follow and remember. Togashi is also lacking in the "show but not tell" type of storytelling, he would rather lazily tell the audience every tiny detail, even the irrelevant ones.

I'm sure Togashi has planned out everything in this arc and that he knows what he is doing, but he is not executing it properly if half of his fans feel like it is a chore to read his manga, it just means he is not writing this arc in a creative way. At the end of the day, its the author's story, but he is writing his story to his fans, and if his fans are not liking it, something is clearly wrong. Togashi may have a brilliant idea, but if he is not executing it properly then it is all a waste.

This manga overall is a chore to read and it is boring for me personally, the characters for HxH has always been decent for me, I never had a problem with the characters, I don't think they are anything special but at the same time, I don't think they are bad. I don't like the art style because it is drawn in a generic style that I, personally don't like, but its even worst when it is not drawn properly by Togashi. In saying that, the art really doesn't affect my enjoyment that much, since there isn't much art, to begin with.

Overall, this manga is a 4/10, and I don't feel like Togashi is taking advantage of his imagination. I know he can do way better than this, and perhaps this series will be a bit more bearable to watch when it's animated, whenever that is.

To people that are still enjoying this series, more power to you, but at least try to understand why some peoples are not enjoying it, without talking down on them or challenging their intelligence, because I've seen that a lot.

As a university student, reading HxH feels like reading a school textbook, the only purpose is for you to temporarily memorize information just to pass a test. HxH is at the borderline of a school textbook than a fictional book, which basically sums up how I currently feel for this series, and I'm having a lot of doubt that my opinion will ever change.

Thanks for reading if you were able to reach this far.

Welcome to the world of Hunter X Hunter where people pursue to become Hunters. But to become one, one must undergo the Hunter Exam. Thousands of people participate in this exam. Among them is a kid name Gon Freecs who longs to meet his father, a great hunter, but in order to do so, he must become a great Hunter and follow his footsteps. Along the way, he meets Killua, a kid whose family is famous for being assassins, Kurapika, a kind and loyal friend but at times reckless due to his revenge motive and Leorio, a brash man who aims to be a successful ... Hunter specializing in medical treatments.

Yoshihiro Togashi is the same guy who wrote the 1994 hit YuYu Hakusho, a successful long running shounen. And this manga is no exception.

Nearly all long-running shounens throughout anime history has already been labeled tedious, dull and unimaginative. Without fail, HxH will relieve you of that perspective.

Hxh simply has it all. Action, check. Pragmatic characters, check. Psychological contest, check. It can be a psychological thriller or an action-packed manga. Either way, HxH is superbly crafted.

The anime played out with touches of pathos and humor creating a superb atmosphere. The manga provided numerous slap-stick comedies to lighten the mood a little. But when its serious, its serious. The intensity of HxH cannot be denied.

While it isn't groundbreaking in the concept aspect, the real treat is in the execution. Supernatural abilities aside, this manga undertakes a realistic approach. The little things actually matter from getting adapting your eyes to the dark to increasing efficiency on running, every small thing counts. This results to intense an conflict for both the mind and the muscle during battle's. HxH concentrate's on the adventure aspect more so than the fighting aspect. So dont expect any out-of-this-world "sudden power outbursts" to save the day because HxH wont allow it. And thats one of the many things you'll like bout this manga.
Regardless of this, HxH still proves to be enough to considered an action. The action does play it safe but it is still highly invigorating. It succeeds in keeping many readers on their toes, and often leaves readers with cliffhangers that are big and small.

The rather slow paced scripts are fleshed out with a set of tremendous central and supporting characters. The various other characters and factions involved in playing the manga do not end up seeming flat. They take the time to develop and flesh out even some of incidentally encountered characters appearing only for a chapter even if it would have been easier to simply have them appear for their necessary encounters without giving us any real insight into their personality.
Also character developments are a plus. While Gon remains static, Killua and Kurapika in particular, goes through massive changes throughout the manga .

To some the art is horrible. But I dont think its bad at all. I mean, it isnt amazing but is simply good. Another issue is the amount of text. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to the reader, since HxH will rain you with texts everywhere on the panel. HxH doesnt want to seem miss any explanations and leave some plot holes. It wants to be rational, as much as possible. Incredible sense of detail shows in key points of the story.

Once you reach the Hunter Exams, everything will shift to overdrive. If that arc doesnt interest you in the slightest, I suggest you stop reading it from there as by that time, it should have caught your attention.

This anime is light years ahead of all shounen out there. No shounen anime holds a candle to Hunter X Hunter when it comes to being ardent and scrupulous. Amidst all monotonous shounen that have come out on the heels, HxH was able to crank it up a notch.

This my favorite manga of all time, so I may be a little biased when it comes to this review. I love every work that Yoshihiro Togashi puts out! I'm not exactly sure what a typical shounen is, so i'll just start by saying that it starts out with a boy named Gon Freecs going on the most challengeing hunt of his life, to find his elusive hunter father. And the story shows his development as a hunter throughout.

Story: 9/10
I give the story a 9 because the first 12 or so volumes had a great story and a lot character devolopment with the four main ... characters but lately it has had the tendency to exclude Leorio and Kurapika. Just focusing on Gon and Killua. The hiatuses kept it pretty hard to maintain the excitement that I had in the beginning. The chimera ant arc and the current arc seemed dragged out and the chimera ant arc ended unclimactic and extremely depressing. How they get their powers or nen is very original and fits their personalities but at times can be confusing as to what nen type some characters are, i.e. Silva and Zeno. But it seems like Togashi couldn't let go of some powers from Yu Yu Hakusho. such as Karasu's powers-genthru, Rinku's yo yos-killua, so for me it went from a 10 to a 9.

Art: 10/10
I give the art a 10 because even though there isn't a lot of scenery and backgroung stuff like Naruto has at times the characters are very oringinal and the fight scenes are clear and at times shown complex fighting positions that can be difficult to draw even for experienced aritists. Unlike Bleach that at times has like a blur then someones bleeding to death.

Characters: 10/10
If I could give this higher than a 10, I would. This to me is the best part of the manga and why I fell in love with it. The characters are extremely well developed and well drawn. All the protagonists' stories are at least mentioned and have a lot of detail so you understand why they are what they are. The bad guys you fall in love with too. Well, I'm not really sure if Hisoka's really a bad guy. But the delopment of their powers is awesome. It's not like DBZ where people always turn super saiiyan or use the spirit bomb everytime the bad guy seemed unbeatable.

Enjoyment: 9/10
It would have gotten a 10 if not for the several hiatuses that it had.

Overall: 10/10
As I said, it is my favorite manga. The plot seems to be getting back on track. So then I may put another review when it gets going again.

Most of my points in my HxH 2011 review stand here, so I'll keep this short.

HxH 2011 definitely brought life to the HxH manga, but the manga is still wholesome in its story and its characters. The current arc is in the running to be the best arc of HxH in my opinion.

The only low points for the manga are its artwork and the constant hiatuses. The art can range from scribbles on a page to fantastically drawn creatures and areas that even Miura of Berserk would approve of. And as every HxH fan knows, the hiatuses are the biggest flaw on this great ... series, as it keeps us from having a complete story for years to come.

Other than that, it's a riveting experience start to finish.

Story: 10/10
Art: 6/10 (really ranges from utter scribbles to quality work)
Character: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10.

With Hiatus x Hiatus, you have to take the good with the bad. Or, on second thought, you don’t really have to take the bad at all. Read the following arcs: Hunter exam, York Shin City, Chimera Ant. I’ll make it easy for you: read manga chapters 1 through 38, 64 through 119, then 186 through 318. That is Hunter x Hunter. The rest is not worth the time. When reading HxH this way, it becomes a really solid, decent length shonen manga with a bittersweet ending. Considering the manga will never have an actual ending, this is really the only way to read it.

So ... don't let the constant hiatuses deter you: the last 50 chapters are garbage anyway. Most of the series is an experience of slogging through bullshit until the next stretch where the it gets decent. But the great thing about the manga is that arcs are relatively episodic, and thus you can do this without missing anything important to the plot or relevant to character development. I wish someone had told me about this before I wasted my time reading shit like Greed Island and wondering why anyone liked this series.

The highs are high, but the lows are miserable. Sometimes it felt like every fight was just two guys explaining each of their 10 abilities to the other in detail until one of them got bored to death. A lot of shonen fall into this trap but I’ve never seen one leap into it quite so fully. It’s genuinely painful to read these scenes. They’re creatively bankrupt, and the only tension is wondering what overpowered new ability Togashi pull out of his ass this time.

There is no interesting overarching narrative, the world is a bit dull, the combat is more annoying than engaging, and most of the main characters are kind of boring. But you know what? The Hunter Exam was halfway decent. Yorknew City felt like a classic battle shonen revenge arc. And the Chimera Ant Arc was an example of the genre at its peak, pretty much DBZ spliced with psychological horror. It got self-indulgent, and the narrator is a bit annoying, but overall it’s one of the best arcs I’ve read in any shonen manga. Justified its length. Meruem is an incredible villain.

I don’t really have much to say about this manga. It's not very remarkable. I just wanted to post this in order to tell people what I wish I was told: just read the good parts. You won’t miss anything. You’ll actually like the series more. Also, make sure you’re reading the scans of official volumes, since for a while Togashi would turn in sketches to shonen jump and then only bother to draw the scenes when the volume was released.

Yeah, that’s it. 5/10 I guess.

Okay, to start off, I'm going to go on a little tirade about the early chapters of this manga's art. If you don't care or whatever, then keep scrolling until you see "TIRADE END", I guess, haha.

*TIRADE START*

When I read this manga, I was shocked that the art style of the manga that managed to tie with OP was so bad. It actually looked a lot like my current art style.

I was actually sort of happy.

You see, I'm an aspiring mangaka (bleh, I know that's not what you call it outside of Japan, but bleh), and I was always thinking that my art style ... was so bad and that no one would publish my work.

But when I look at Togashi's art style in the early chapters of HxH, and saw how bad it was and how popular it is, it fills me with hope.

If Togashi could become as popular as Eichiro, despite his art being god awful, then I think I just might have a chance in the manga world.

*TIRADE END*

Mmkay, anyway...

Story:

The story is flawless. I love the Phantom Troupe. They're so shady, but in a sophisticated way. It's charming, so to speak.

The Greed Island was a curveball, but turned out to be pretty good despite some flaws.

Characters:

Gon and Killua are the funniest pair ever. Killua's always yelling at Gon, and Gon's always shoving it off. They're a hilarity train wreck. Hisoka is amusing, not that likeable, but amusing.

Overall Enjoyment:

Pretty good. I do love this anime/manga. Would I rewatch it? Debatable. It's not that up there in my top favorite anime, but I do enjoy it.

I just hope Togashi lives long enough to finish this manga =/ The tragedy with Kaze no Stigma musn't happen again!

HunterxHunter is what got me back into reading manga as an adult. I remember loving the anime the first time I watched it and in a bout of nostalgia I decided to read the manga. Past the emotional bond I have for the story and the characters, it's time to face it: it's overall mid.

The art clearly is not why people love the manga. Togashi *can* draw, but he just can't seem to be thaaaat bothered to put in that extra effort to polish up spreads most of the time. However, from the storytelling point, there are some beautiful dramatic build-ups and climaxes that ... kept me up at night reading until my eyes fell off the bone. I loved how the York New Arc built tension and unfurled itself. The Chimera Ants Arc was grandiose and its climax brought me to tears. But following such an ambitious arc, the manga goes downhill and all I can think is "How did you think that would EVER be a good idea?!". Attempts at gearing the plot towards being some sort of political thriller are complete failures due to bad storytelling and pacing. What could have been fun 'race for the prize' type plots reminiscent of the Hunter Exam and York New arcs end up being so weirdly drawn out, convoluted, and over-explained that they're just painful to read.

All up until the Chimera Ant, you have moments of brilliance interspersed with fine entertaining moments. Following that, I wouldn't bother to read unless you like to make it a point to complete the mangas you start.

It's clear that Togashi would have benefitted from a creative partnership with a good editor who's not afraid to say 'no' when he clearly decided to go on a tangent and advise on how to redirect the plot. However, I have a feeling that Togashi just did not and still does not have it in him to go through rounds of story developments given his ill health and he's trying to deliver what he can and personally enjoys. As a fan of the manga, I'll follow the man into his convoluted antics, but I won't preach at you to do the same.

It's an 8/10 in my heart but really, it's a 6/10 only thanks to some compelling characters and the few brilliant moments that in real terms maybe represent only 40% of the manga.

this manga was the first manga i ever read ...by the baka sensei yushiro togashi ..you can find every thing you like in this serie no one can say the opposite unless they were payed.......with the process of this manga you get more enjoyment ..more characters appear ..the events just getts more darker and cooler ...for me i finished the whole manga in one week because i couldn't stop ...belive me if it was no hxh manga ther will be no naroto or bleach or a lot of other mangas that borow meany things from this manga ..if just that baka togashi didn't stop the ... hxh in hiatsu so ofeten ...this manga would surpass even the biggest mangas in the world as one piece

I gave everything a 10/10 except for the art which got 7/10.

Anyway, where should I start?

This is a masterpiece, and I will tell you why:

Story: 10/10
Genius. He thought it all up. The world of HXH, when we think of it, makes you realize many things about our own world, and makes you question many of our morals and mentalities. This masterpiece was elegantly written, no fillers, and every action counts. Realistic reactions to many events. this manga leaves you in a wreck of emotions: there are funny moments, there are heartwarming moment, an then there are those very dark moments when you least expect them. ... The plot devices were very well put and they weren't 'just there'.
The problem with the manga are the long hiatus, but even though we can never deny this awesome manga.


Art: 7/10 (the first 4 arcs), 6.5/10 (the greed island arc) , 3/10 (the chimera ant arc), then back to 7/10 at the last arc:
The art at first was decent, but then it turned appalling. The story made up for the art, because nobody would want to miss such a genius story no matter what.

Character: 12/10
Gon: He isn't the typical protagonist who had a tragic backstory but then wants to pursue his goal to prove something. He is a curious kid that was abandoned by his father, which leads to him questioning what is so great about being a hunter, and this is his goal: wanting to know the charm of being a hunter. His character seems to be simple at first, but read it carefully, and you will know he isn't the typical "simple naive kid who helps everybody because he is a good kid who believes we need to help others". True, he has great personality, but he's also very veeery flawed.

Killua: Tragic backstory, but as you get to know him, he's not what he seems. I can't say anything or I will spoil the fun of finding out.

Kurapika: He has the typical tragic-hero backstory, but he doesn't act like a typical hero. He is pursuing his goal, but- I am not gonna spoil it. I have many things to say about each character but THEY WILL BE SPOILERS!!!....

Leorio: He is the most normal of them all. His tragic backstory is something that happens everyday and can happen to any person. Also don't wanna spoil anything..

AS for the other characters, they are all a mix of people that seem unrealistic, but this is not true...You can find many of the traits of those characters in people you know, or even yourself...For example what they do, we don't really do it in real life, but if given the freedom, we will do it.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Not a moment felt too dull. The story is so well written that even with the bad art in the chimera ant arc, you still want to read it. The way every character and every event is portrayed, makes you look back and think about many things. I loved and enjoyed this manga so much.

Overall: 10/10
The art was decent at first, but he needs to hire an assistance, because of the reason that he does all the art himself, he can't finish on the deadline and the quality of his art drops so fast in the 6th arc...Anyway this is not the point.

This manga can't deserve any lower than this. Even with the quality of art at the end, and his looooong hiatus, it can't be less than a 10.

"Monstrous Animals, Rare Species...Buried Riches, Hidden Treasures...Worlds of Demons, Unexplored Lands...The Word 'UNKNOWN' Seems Magic...And Some Men Are Attracted By This Force...They Are Called 'HUNTERS'!"

This is the introductory that meets the reader in the very 1st chapter of the 1st volume of the Hunter X Hunter manga. Having had already watched the anime, I am aware of what Hunter X Hunter is about so the introduction wasn't anything new. Someone who hasn't ever encountered Hunter X Hunter, however, will probably feel disappointed to eventually find out that the manga isn't really about a treasure-hunt or a great adventure into some ... unique, hidden world.

The manga is, in the beginning, about a boy named Gon who joins a Hunter test (a test composed of various practical examinations on anything that the judge wants for the examinees to prove that they deserve the title "HUNTER") in order to find his father, who seems like a popular Hunter who has done a lot of great things. It is during this examination that Gon meets and befriends three other examinees.

At this point in the manga, it seems that the four of them - each with distinct abilities, personality, and reason for taking the Hunter Exam - are the main protagonists in the story. The story itself is interesting because the goals of the protagonists and the challenges they have to go to achieve these goals are quite interesting.

My problem with the manga is that as the story progressed, the plot was solely focused on two of the four protagonists so that the story evolved around them for more than 10 volumes (TEN! TEN! ARGH!!). And I mean FOCUS in a way that as if there has never been the four of them when the story started. Although Gon and Killua's goal (to find Gon's father) isn't boring, the biggest problem I have with it is that the same thing happens every time they find a new clue about where Gon's father could be: clue->new place->new enemies->realize they're not strong enough->meet a master who says the same thing: "they have a lot of potential!" or "who are these kids??"->train->become stronger->defeat enemy who will eventually say the same thing: "these kids are strong, blah, blah"->find a new clue->and it goes on and on and on...

After some time, this becomes really annoying because the story just keeeeeeeeeeeeps dragging on. This is also the same reason I stopped watching Bleach so yeah X)

Ah, Hunter x Hunter. Simply the best battle shounen ever created!

I will divide this review into five sections: Story, Art, Characters, enjoyment and personal taste.

Story: 10/10. Whether it's world building, battles or foreshadows, all of this is perfect in hunter x hunter, managing to move me in some parts.

Art: 8/10. The illustrations are good, but sometimes inconsistent (chapter 337 says so). However, we have to take into account that Yoshihiro Togashi has a chronic back problem.

Characters: 9.9/10. Togashi managed to strike a beautiful balance with his characters, especially between the protagonists. There are few that I don't like, but they were enough to take a ... tenth off the grade.

Enjoyment: 10/10. This manga is so good that I marathoned it in thirteen days, my experience was incredible and I have nothing to complain about.

Personal taste: 10/10.

Overall: 10/10.

I'm sorry if this review contains several spelling errors, English is not my first language and I used the translator to do it, but I hope you enjoyed it, as it took some work!

This manga is an absolute masterpiece, and I'll never stop recommending it.

Character development is incredible and the story is engaging. Pacing is pretty much perfect. While I was reading the manga, it really felt like I was on a journey with the protagonists, which I think is a sign of great writing.

There are hardly any instances of plot armor or plot holes in this manga. In all 380 chapters, there are only 2 events that can be referred to as asspull. The power system feels balanced and contained, without skyrocketing in later chapters, instead opting for more creative powers.

Writing a review about something you like THIS much is... Very hard for me.

A lot harder than taking the time to absolutely shit on something you hate for a few paragraphs of text, explaining the many reasons why you hate it. Which is why i've basically never seriously attempted it until now.

Conveying to anyone why i love something feels like it can't be done with just the words in my own vocabulary, but nonetheless i hope this review can express to everyone reading why i think Hunter x Hunter is Yoshihiro Togashi's most successful work, not just in terms of the number of copies sold ... but also in terms of the authors own artistic expression.

To me, the most intriguing aspect of Hunter x Hunter as a story is the sheer variety of settings, themes and tones it has from moment to moment while still feeling as if it all belongs together. This is something i feel was missing from Togashi's second most well-known manga, Yu Yu Hakusho (which i also love) due to his turbulent history with it as it was still being published. On principle, Hunter x Hunter is an action adventure manga targeted towards young japanese boys just as Yu Yu Hakusho was, but in practice, i'd say what Togashi actually did with Hunter x Hunter was use what his audience and editors expected and wanted from him as tools to create whatever he wanted instead of viewing them as limitations or guidelines. Everything in this story, from the beat-by-beat action to where and why anything happens at all, are all completely subservient to Togashi and whatever he feels like doing at that moment in time.

THE ACTION
I'd say almost every action scene here after a certain point early on in the story serves an extremely introspective character based purpose, since Togashi tends to put a lot of focus on the many thoughts every character involved in any given conflict has as the action progresses rather than purely focusing on their physical, tangible actions. Even when the character's inner monologues don't seem completely relevant to what is currently happening or in some cases where we know for a fact that a character's thoughts and assumptions of a situation are completely wrong due to information that was given to us prior but not to the character, Togashi makes sure we know the thought process behind everything, because that way Hunter x Hunter always manages to feel like a coherent, living, breathing world. It's also very common for fights to be a lot shorter than one would expect or want, and even more common for fights to be completely one-sided beatdowns, as if the other side never really had a chance of winning as opposed to the usual desperate struggle until one of the characters finally proves that their power level was superior afterall.

THE ADVENTURE
The "adventure" aspect of this series basically serves as a way of removing all the main players from any given setting and inserting them into another whenever Togashi decides hes done everything he wanted to there. Even when a setting has almost infinite amounts of potential for further elaborations and adventures, it's not all that common to get a second glimpse at any place that the characters have moved past with one of the only exceptions to this being the island in which the main character was raised in. Since the main players are in a constant search for a specific person/item, there is always a perfectly understandable reason for the characters to simply move along without being stuck on one place for longer than what Togashi wants/needs.

THE FANTASY
Another thing that makes Hunter x Hunter a lot different to Yu Yu Hakusho is that Hunter x Hunter goes a lot harder in the fantasy elements. Instead of taking place in "current year, Japan", Hunter x Hunter takes place in a pretty chaotic and completely made up world while still being heavily based on our own planet earth. By creating this incredible world with just the amount of fantasy elements needed, Togashi basically guaranteed himself that he could never run out of usable ideas for both settings and characters. Bounty hunters, genocidal gangs, killer clowns, kings with super powers, multifaceted political conflicts involving those same previously mentioned lunatics, alien man-eating ants and reincarnation is all fair game.

CONCLUSION
Basically this story is so unpredictable that it feels like a child getting distracted every few minutes by the new cool thing it just found, someone who is just happy to be there at all, and i can't help but feel the same whenever i read it. It's so intricate and seemingly planned out far ahead of time that you can't help but try and see where it goes next even though you fail at doing that every time, the gift that keeps on giving...
Except for when its on hiatus.
It's very well known at this point that since 2006 the publication for this series has been very inconsistent due to Togashis poor health to the point where, even though it's only one year younger than One Piece, Hunter x Hunter currently sits at 400 chapters as i'm writing this.
But i have to say, this doesn't really discourage me as much as i know it does for a lot of other people.
At the end of the day, Togashis health matters more than anything else, and i feel like i would be plenty satisfied with the 400 banger chapters we've already gotten, and Togashi seems very determined to actually finish this story despite his condition.
So all we can do is pray that he is okay and wait for another batch of chapters to eventually drop on our laps.

I'll be there no matter what.

This is one of the most underrated manga i ever read. The characters are really well develop,you are gonna love some of the characters good or evil. Most people see this story has an shonen battle manga but yet it is not like that at some points at the story, some part of the story will use challenges for the main or secondary characters in were the need to use the intellectual to beat the enemy. Every arc has is own unique style with different objectives that will not make you bored of the story. This is a great manga one may said that is ... a legendary one, but it has is down falls, some of parts of the story made drag for many chapters leaving a long speeches and some cases with no drawing, this may turn off the casual reader if they are looking for a fast pace manga, yet the author rewards the reader with some awesome moments at the end of every arc. This story has some moments with gore parts so be ware of those parts if you are not in that kind of stuff. I highly recommend for the casual reader that go watch the anime 2011 version first, by far it the best adaptation of the manga, but if your are a hardcore manga reader like myself and had not read this manga i highly recommenced to read this manga because it one of the greatest you ever read. I warn you this story has not ended and may never be finish so beware if you don't like that kind of manga.

( Sorry english isn't my first language (; 3 ;) )

Hunter X Hunter is one of the longest ongoing manga in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1998. Sadly, this masterpiece is really have annoying hiatus often, so unlike One Piece that published from 1997 have almost 700 chapters in 2012. Hiatus X Hiatus (Hunter X Hunter I mean) only made half of it, 340 chapters and hiatus again in 2012.

But, what makes this manga really addictive to the reader? What makes it adapted into amazing anime twice (1999 & 2011)? The answer can only you get after you read this manga. So, I'm going to review ... this from my point of view, I hope this can be useful.

Story 10 :
The story of HXH is around a 12 years old boy named Gon Freeccs who travels throught the World of Hunter in order to search for his father, on the ways he meets many places and people.
Like any other Shonen Manga HXH have many arcs, every arc has their own story.
But unlike average Shonen manga that can only battle, battle, and battle thanks to the creative author of HXH
who write Yu Yu Hakusho before, the story is creative too. Can you imagine how a 12 years old boy compete with hundreds chalengger to life or dead examination? How about came to see a friend from Famous Assassin family that can kill you anytime,
came to the headquartes of many psycho bandit, or fight with deadly ants that really like to eat human being?? The story of HXH can be very enjoying, exiting, thiller, great action, and also dark. So, from my point of view, the story of HXH is masterpiece.

Art 7 :
Actually, the art is good too, but some chapter can be very simple. The background is totally white and the character is bad looking, maybe the author is too rush for the deadline so he doesn't really care about his art. Well, whatever it's annoying so I give only 7.

Character 10 :
HXH's Main characters are four althought the story goes, the Greed Island and Chimera Arc only have Gon & Killua as main character :
- Gon Freeccs is the main character of this story. A naive and stubborn 12 years old boy, the type who action without thinking and really fit to be HXH main character. But his personality can make him strong willed, brave, cool, and awesome main character. When he's serious he can sacrifice everything even it cost his live.
- Killua Zaoldyeck is the second main character, althought he's the last introduced in the story after leorio & kurapika but he is the closest character to Gon. He has quiet and calm personality, he can kill people without doubt because he's an asassin but in the other hand can be very fun and aloof expecially when he faced Gon. Because his looks and personality, Killua is the most popular character in HXH so far.
- Leorio Paladiknight is one of the main character in HXH, althought his age only few years older than Kurapika but he has the oldest looking so he looks like an Uncle. He has cheerful and idiotic personality so the story can be very fun whenever he there.
- Kurapika Kuruta is a guy, don't make a mistake because he really like a girl. At first arc of the story, Kurapika has easygoing personality and really close to Leorio almost like a couple. But later in the story, Kurapika personality changed to more serious expecially when he faced Genei Ryodan.
- There are many interesting character besides the four main, like Hisoka who is the major supporting character that almost appear every arc in the story.

The development of character can be very influenced in this Story, the gap between strong and weak character is real, not any suprising power that came from nowhere. HXH not hesitate to kill his own major character because new appeareance of many Strong characters.
So I give the character 10 beacuse the development.

Enjoyment 9 :
I really enjoy reading this manga, HXH has become everything you wanna' read like nice story, cool action, fun comedy, interesting dialogue, etc. I think maybe this manga is really addictive like a drugs it's readers.
When HXH back from hiatus, I can't wait the next week to read the continuation of the story. Actually, I can give 10 to the enjoyment but like I said before, I give only 9 because the art can become really bad looking.

Overall 9 :
Well, (10+7+10+9)/4=9 So overall I give 9. Must read to someone who really like long published Shonen Manga, expecially after the Greed Island arc because it's not airing yet in both animes. I hope this review can be useful for you.

Hunter x Hunter is the best Shounen there is.
What i like about it is that it feels like togashi has taken all the god ideas and tropes from shounen and has kicked all the bad out.

Gon is like the early Goku.
Most Shounenprotagonists are simple stupid Hotheads, before DBZ Goku wasnt stupid, it was just that he was raised in the jungle and therefore was uncivilzed and didnt know and understood conformity.
Gon also is not stupid, its more like he ignores social conventions.

The powersystem is outlined in the beginning.
Take OP for example, afer hundreds of episodes they just say you know there is another powersystem ... its called haki and changes everything..
In Hunter x Hunter you know after the first arc what there is.

Gon is not the person who does all the work.
In DBZ, Fairy Tail, OP, Naruto etc. its always the MC who kills the Badguy Boss and saves the World in HxH Gon plays an important Role bad he is not the most important choosen one on which the planet depends.
Meuereum for example is killed by Netero.

They dont judge.
They just let Kurapika carry out is revenge.
If you look at FMA Brotherhood there are lots of scenes were characters tell scar that revenge is bad and evil and and so on. The worst scene of this kind is when mustang wants to kill envy, for some reason if he would do see he would be as bad as homuncli who want to massmurder the entire country.
Naruto is also full of this "revenge is a vicoius cycle of hatred" crap.
Im not a little kid who wants to be lectured with disneymorale.

Not much sentimental backstorys
In OP every "Nakama" has a traumatizing backstory
Its really annoying and it also doesnt take a smart writer to do all this clishee dull shockstorys about slavery rape and what ever
a good writer can create emotions in you without going full elvenlied
(of course there are dramatic backstories like the one of kurapika but its not presented like in OP and others)

Its crazy and unrealistic without beeing abitrary.
Despite having extravagent characters and plots HxH adheres to its own rules.
Powersystem for example in most shounenanime is very vague.
HxHs powers are as unrealtistic and crazy as narutos but its very concrete outlined. Jutsu in Naruto is so undefined it is abitrary.

No heroic saving in the last second.
Im not confident in saying that there is no such scene but im pretty sure its not used in the same frequency as in most other shounen series.
In naruto, one piece and fairy tail basically every arc you have this type of scene where a badguy attacks a goodguy and in the last second before his weapon kills the goodguy a hero appears and saves the day.

Gon and Killua acutally discover new places by foot.
In DBZ you just fly over possible interessting new ares.
In Naruto you just jump in the Woods.
Very boring.

I could come up with more but i do not feel like it.

Greatest of all time. Zenith of the medium. Hallmark of media. Gold standard of storytelling. Apogee of creativity. Vertex of invention. Crest of ingenuity. Acme of imagination. Pinnacle of innovation. Epic of epics. Legend among legends. Peak fiction. One above all, peak creation, lonely at the summit, goats above goats, grandiose masterpiece, impeccable perfection, too exquisite to exist, unbelievably marvelous creation, spectacularly bewildering and stupendous imagination, work of god. Groundbreaking and foundational, his sense of development is a deconstruction of employment segregation and the powerful performances are truly comprehensive of their poignant themes while the nuance in the direction complements a layered screenplay. Pure elegant, ... exquisite, endeavour. I can't put my finger on what's wrong because there isn't anything, masterful character-making from a masterful person. Top of the decade. Top of the century. Top of my life

Short and spoiler-free review:
The beginning of Hunter x Hunter was amazing. However, around the end of the Chimera Ant arc, I encountered changes which really turned me off.
I don't like how every single of one the characters became like 800 IQ and forcing the reader to read their thoughts as they describe a whole quantum-physics theory or something during the 10 seconds where it was supposed to play out.
This continued and took a stronger turn after it. It just became... not fun to read.
All of a sudden, the manga was filled with unnecessary characters, unnecessary world-building, unnecessary events, unnecessary monologues and dialogues. They ... are unnecessary, since I didn't find most of them relevant to the story at all. Stuff just came and went without any impact or having consequences.
Since Hunter x Hunter is a shonen, it stuns me how instead of exciting scenes, we get hundreds of boring chunks of texts.
In my opinion, Togashi tried to make Hunter x Hunter much more than what it should be for its own good.

I get that since it started more than 20 years ago, the creator wanted to give the now mature audience more 'mature' content. I get the feeling it could appeal to some people, but this isn't Hunter x Hunter anymore which I enjoyed once.

I gave it a chance, as after watching the anime, I've caught up with the manga. I really tried to like it, and while I can't say that I didn't get some enjoyment out of it, it was overshadowed by the downs.

If I'd had to rate first half of it, it would definetely be a 9 or 10. Due to my problems with it, it became a weak 6 for me.

Very average manga. The arcs feels very loosely connected, and you feel like a pinball, the magic system is the worst- extremley soft and "whatever i need for the plot", yet extremley convoluted and sciencey (a chapter full of 90% text is needed to explain it which comes out to be 'anything is possible, for some people, unless I want it for others too').
Except killuah none of the characters have real depth to them, most of the character have some, but not as detailed as in other mangas, (saying that, they are still very likeable!).
It starys fine, and with great promise but than it revealed ... to be very illplaned- stuff happen for story convinience, charecters don't act as they reasonably would etc.

The good: charecters interactions, charm, sympetetic characyers, adveturous world
The bad: magic system, plot conviniences, flow continuity

Please tell me how many other manga series delve in genocide, murder, war, racism, transgenderism, royalty, corruption, democracy and the flaws of political government with direct democracy, criminal minds, reincarnation, Loyalty, Love in all its obsessive and unconditional forms, the meaning of life, the concept of a soul, Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism humanity and inhumanity, revenge, abandonment as well as a slew of other topics and concepts as nuanced and well written as Hunter x Hunter while seamlessly weaving in and out of genres, going from mafia wars to MMORPGs to the epic rise and fall of an entire civilization to politics, to succession wars ... and a new era of exploration and colonialism. Anyone who is a fan of manga owes it to themselves to read this masterpiece.