In spite of its many hiatuses, which are mainly due to creator Yoshihiro Togashi's health, Hunter x Hunter is considered by many anime fans to be an all-time favorite. The story follows young Gon as he tries to pass the Hunter exam so that he can follow in his father's footsteps and become a Hunter. Hunters are members of a special group that are allowed into normally inaccessible areas and hunt down rare treasures, monsters or creatures, and even people.
On his journey, Gon meets and befriends the assassin Killua, the friendly physician Leorio, and the revenge-seeking Kurapika. These four young men face the rigorous Hunter Exam in hopes of finding fame, fortune, power and adventure. Here are some of the places you can check out this amazing series.
Where to Read the Hunter x Hunter Manga
There are currently 36 volumes of the manga available. Each one sells digitally for around $6.99 from Comixology, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle and Nook. Physical copies can be found at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon, Walmart, Bookshop.org and RightStuf for $9.99 per volume. Your local comic shop may also carry them, or you can most likely request they order them for you if they offer such a service. Shueisha, the Japanese publisher for many popular manga like Naruto and Dr. Stone, has a free service called MANGA Plus that allows you to read the first three chapters, as well as the latest three chapters, for free. The platform also has a simulrelease schedule, so you'll be able to read the latest chapters as soon as they come out.
Where to Watch the Hunter x Hunter Anime
The original 1999 anime had 62 episodes produced. However, it concluded after this as the production team didn't want to use filler while waiting for the manga to catch up. Fans weren't pleased with this outcome, and three OVAs were released, each one covering the subsequent arcs the original series left out. The first two OVAs span eight episodes each and the third spans 14 episodes. Another anime series was released in 2011, starting from the beginning and following the manga more closely and covering all of the arcs thus far. This is the series most fans recommend as it covers the same thing as the first series and the OVAs, plus what happens after.
The original 1999 anime series does not currently stream on any site legally. The OVAs aren't available for streaming either. The 2011 anime, 148 episodes, is available on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix, Vudu, Pluto TV, Tubi and HBO Max. The Funimation website only has the first episode uploaded but you can purchase digital copies of the 2011 episodes from Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, the Microsoft Stor, and the Playstation Store at varying prices.
On Amazon, you can purchase each episode for around $1.99 or each season (or set) for $29.99. The DVDs of each set run about $19.99 to $29.99, while the Blu-rays sell for around $35. If you're not a fan of Amazon, you can also purchase the DVDs from Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Rightstuf for $39.99 per box set. The Blu-rays are around $54.97 at these locations, though prices may vary.
There are three movies that were produced, too. Hunter x Hunter: The Last Mission is available for $9.99 for the DVD and $25 for the Blu-ray; Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge is $19.99 for the DVD, $29.99 for the Blu-ray, and $9.99 on Prime Video. The very first movie isn't available on its own as it was a part of the 1998 "Jump Super Anime Tour." But, as it only covers the very beginning of Gon's story, you're not missing much. You can, however, purchase a digital copy of The Last Mission or Phantom Rouge from YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and Prime Video for $3.99.
