Despite its faltering pace due to Yoshihiro Togashi’s health issues, Hunter × Hunter remains one of the most beloved anime series of all time. First serialized in Shonen Jump in 1998, it has continued to captivate audiences across the United States and beyond, thanks to its strategic combat, intricate power system, and mature storytelling. Unlike many other shonen titles that lean heavily on raw strength, Hunter × Hunter thrives on tactical battles and the weight of real consequences.
But awesome fighting isn’t the only thing that makes Hunter × Hunter great; the series features a vast array of complex, multi-layered characters, it does an excellent job of worldbuilding, and every decision has consequences that feel real and rather impactful. Of course, those aren’t the only reasons why Hunter × Hunter is one of the best shonen anime. Join us as we explore five things that make Hunter × Hunter one of the greatest shonen anime of all time.
At the heart of Hunter × Hunter are its richly drawn main characters, starting with Gon Freecss, a brave kid who follows in his father’s footsteps to become a licensed Hunter. His journey begins with the grueling Hunter Exam, where he meets Leorio, Kurapika, and Killua — each with their own complex motivations and arcs.
Well-Written Characters
One of the things that make Hunter × Hunter so great is its well-written characters, including the villains. Gon, its protagonist, is a brave young boy who’s confident, kind, powerful, and goofy, all at the same time, which perfectly checks the tick boxes on the Shonen anime protagonist checklist. But he’s not the only one; other characters, such as Leorio, Kurapika, and Killua, are also well-developed to the point at which they also carry the narrative forward.
Even relatively minor characters earn their spotlight in Hunter × Hunter, like Netero during the Chimera Ant arc or Kurapika in the Yorknew City arc. The villains are also one of the strong points when it comes to characters, as they’re not just believable but also quite relatable. Chrollo is super-powerful, only speaks when necessary, and never relies on fear to ensure loyalty and establish dominance. Instead, he’s calm and confident, unlike most anime antagonists, who are often driven by emotion and tend to burst into anger.
Strategy vs. Sheer Power
Unlike Dragon Ball, in which protagonists scream incessantly as a means of powering up in the midst of the battle or distracting the villain so that Goku can gather enough energy for a spirit bomb, Hunter × Hunter avoids this genre trope altogether and prioritizes strategy in place of sheer power thanks to its complex power system known as Nen.
Nen allows characters to develop an almost inexhaustible range of different combat strategies and techniques and has dozens of applications that allow characters to manipulate Nen to their benefit. This also makes each conflict feel fresh, as characters often have to adapt their fighting style to match their adversary instead of simply yelling for power or falling into a combat frenzy.
Complex Emotions
Shonen manga and anime are often marketed towards boys and male teens, which also explains why most of the Shonen anime protagonists are actually teens, reflecting the age group of the target audience. However, it also limits the emotional pallet to core emotions, such as love, anger, happiness, curiosity, and courage, which makes the characters’ struggles, growth, and adventures more relatable.
However, Hunter × Hunter extracts every bit of emotion from its characters, regardless of how complex or even negative said emotion might be. For example, Gon becomes devastated by Kite’s death, feeling a deep sense of loss and guilt that ends up plunging him into an uncharacteristically dark journey, which causes him to sacrifice his Nen abilities to exact vengeance. He is eventually healed from the massive injuries he sustained, but at what cost?
Balance in All Things
Hunter × Hunter is characterized by its depictions of suffering; people are killed, tortured, and enslaved. The anime doesn’t shy away from showing the innumerable forms of suffering to the audience. However, at the same time, it also balances all the doom and gloom with humorous moments.
For example, steam blows out of Gon’s ears when he’s angry or frustrated, and Killua develops feline facial features when he’s mischievous., Kurapika’s eyes turn scarlet red when he’s emotionally distressed, and Leorio tends to overact in a dramatic manner. Even some villains have quirks, like Hisoka licking his lips when he is excited about a strong opponent or anticipating a thrilling fight.
It’s Original
On top of featuring well-written characters and balancing dark and gloom with humor, Hunter × Hunter is actually littered with original ideas and concepts, such as Nen, which have their own set of rather flexible rules and require quite a bit of brainpower to process. However, that’s one of the things that makes this anime so great — by prompting the audiences to mentally invest in the series, Hunter × Hunter hooks and reels the viewers into its fantastic universe.
Additionally, the complex and well-written characters are all interconnected in one way or the other, which provides plenty of interesting subplots in the overarching story. Side characters become full-fledged protagonists, villains become neutral characters acting out of their own selfish interests, and the story often takes unexpected turns and directions, which defies typical shonen tropes — the Chimera Ant arc being a perfect example of this.
Final Thoughts
Though the Hunter × Hunter manga is still under production, albeit slowly, the anime isn’t likely to return, as there’s simply not enough source material to cover any future seasons. Sadly, given Yoshihiro Togashi’s health issues and the slow production, we don’t know how many more issues of his manga we can expect, and perhaps one day Madhouse Animation studio will gather enough material for an additional season. Nonetheless, Hunter × Hunter remains an anime of extraordinary quality, and though we might not receive any continuation, the existing series is definitely worth watching — two Hunter × Hunter movies just landed on Netflix.
