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Hunters Hunter × Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since March 1998, although the manga has frequently gone on extended hiatuses since 2006. Its chapters have been collected in 38 tankōbon volumes as of September 2024. The story focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss who discovers that his father, who left him at a young age, is actually a world-renowned Hunter, a licensed professional who specializes in fantastical pursuits such as locating rare or unidentified animal species, treasure hunting, surveying unexplored enclaves, or hunting down lawless individuals. Gon departs on a journey to become a Hunter and eventually find his father. Along the way, Gon meets various other Hunters and encounters the paranormal. Hunter × Hunter was adapted into a 62-episode anime television series by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, which ran on Fuji Television from October 1999 to March 2001. Three separate original video animations (OVAs) totaling 30 episodes were subsequently produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. A second anime television series by Madhouse aired on Nippon Television from October 2011 to September 2014, totaling 148 episodes, with two animated theatrical films released in 2013. There are also numerous audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media based on Hunter × Hunter. The manga has been licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media since April 2005. Both television series have been also licensed by Viz Media, with the first series having aired on the Funimation Channel in 2009 and the second series broadcast on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from April 2016 to June 2019. Hunter × Hunter has been a huge critical and financial success and has become one of the best-selling manga series of all time, having over 84 million copies in circulation by July 2022.