Last year, I started reading Hunter x Hunter by Togashi Yoshihiro. Its reputation was known to me: I had often seen people online (and even sometimes offline) mention it as their favorite series and an example of what shounen battle manga could be. My early impression was mixed because it felt like a Test into another Test into Training into a Tournament into More Training, and it made me feel like what lied ahead was an endless string of tournament arcs. The fact that Togashi’s other famous manga (YuYu Hakusho) was home to some of the most well-known tournament arcs added to this hunch.

Turns out that I was off the mark. Hunter x Hunter is indeed a shounen battle manga with world building and a convoluted power system (“nen”) that seems especially vulnerable to ass-pulls, but what I eventually came to realize is that it’s all about setting up a world where Togashi can do whatever he wants. 

Creating and identifying forgeries at an underground auction. A card game inside a game world. An all-out battle against mutant insects. The job of “hunter” and the role of nen are intentionally open-ended, and can be bent to fit any scenario or situation. Hunter x Hunter can basically change subgenres on a regular basis, and it all counts as part of the greater work. However, it takes a seriously good manga artist and storyteller with a specific kind of versatile imagination to pull this off well. While there are many great manga creators, it’s hard to think of another who could do what Togashi does.

One of the drawbacks as a result is that the wildly different story arcs usually start off with a ridiculous amount of exposition—the kind that made me always think, “What the hell are you trying this time?” But the reason this happens is because Togashi is basically pulling out a new instruction manual for a new board game every time, and it’s one of those modern games that you can’t fully appreciate until you know the ins and outs. He’s essentially meticulously setting up the pieces, and once you see how the entire board moves, it becomes a riveting experience. Nevertheless, it still requires you to go through it with some patience.

I ended up finishing the Chimera Ant arc, which I kept seeing people praise most often, with some even calling it the greatest arc in a shounen series (and possibly any series) ever. I don’t know if I agree, but I think there’s a solid argument for it, especially in the way it manages to embrace the orthodoxy of standard battle manga but also defy expectations. The arc is the most reminiscent of Dragon Ball of anything in Hunter x Hunter, even having a villain cut from the same aesthetic cloth as Freeza and Cell, but the entire saga taken as a whole makes for some powerful and poignant human drama. 

Because I read Hunter x Hunter over the course of a single year, I did not have to experience the delays that occurred while it was being serialized due to Togashi’s poor health that leaves him at times completely debilitated. This inevitably changes my impression of the series compared to someone who read the series in real time. Despite that, I can easily see why Togashi has his loyal following that sticks with him through all the challenges he faces.

A few months ago, in the wake of Toriyama Akira’s passing, I saw some comments on social media asking why Togashi can’t get others to take over Hunter x Hunter for him. The fan response was largely an adamant refusal—no matter how rare the chapters have become, it just wouldn’t be the same without him at the helm. I can appreciate this sentiment because we’ve seen plenty of cases of creative works falling apart in the wrong hands, even if those hands are well-intentioned. Togashi’s sheer versatility while still adhering to the spirit of shounen feels nigh-impossible to replicate, and it makes Hunter x Hunter a work unlike any other.