When Will the Hunter x Hunter Anime Return?

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As of 2026, there is no confirmed return date for the Hunter x Hunter anime and no new season has been officially announced. The 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime by Madhouse ended in 2014, and a continuation has stalled for one core reason: the Yoshihiro Togashi manga it adapts has spent years on repeated hiatus, leaving too little new material to animate.

That answer comes with real nuance, though — Togashi is actively drawing again, and the franchise just made an animation comeback that fans badly misread. Below, you’ll get the exact reason the anime stopped, the current manga status, and the honest outlook on whether Hunter x Hunter will ever come back.

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When Will the Hunter x Hunter Anime Return?

There is no release window for when the Hunter x Hunter anime will return — no studio, season, or date has been confirmed as of 2026. The last episode of the Madhouse series aired in September 2014, and nothing official points to a sequel currently in production.

The blocker is the source material. A new anime season needs a substantial backlog of unadapted manga, and Hunter x Hunter has not produced consistent chapters in years. Yoshihiro Togashi resumed releasing chapters in 2022 after a long break, but the manga went quiet again, with chapter 410 in December 2024 standing as the latest published chapter for well over a year. Until the manga builds a stable lead, an anime continuation stays on hold.

Why Hasn’t a New Hunter x Hunter Season Been Made?

The single biggest reason is the manga hiatus. Hunter x Hunter is famous for its stop-start serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump, driven by Togashi’s ongoing health issues, particularly chronic back pain that limits how long he can draw each day.

Adapting an anime ahead of the manga risks anime-original filler or a second cliffhanger ending — exactly the trap the 2011 series avoided by stopping where it did. Studios and Shueisha would rather wait than animate into a wall again.

A few factors keep a new season parked:

  • Thin source material — the post-Election content (the Dark Continent and Succession War arcs) exists, but the manga keeps pausing before completing it.
  • Unpredictable schedule — Shueisha has signaled the manga will release on an ad hoc basis rather than returning to a weekly slot, making it hard to plan a cour of episodes.
  • A complete-feeling stopping point — the 2011 anime already ends on a satisfying note, reducing commercial pressure for a rushed continuation.

So the question “will hunter x hunter anime continue” really hinges on Togashi finishing the next major arc, not on studio interest.

Where Did the 2011 Hunter x Hunter Anime End?

The 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime ran for 148 episodes and concluded with the Chimera Ant arc followed by the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc. That puts the anime’s ending around manga chapter 339 — the close of one of the series’ most acclaimed storylines, the fight against the Chimera Ant King Meruem.

Madhouse’s adaptation is widely regarded as one of the most faithful long-form shounen anime ever made, covering the story from the Hunter Exam through Heavens Arena, Yorknew City, Greed Island, and the Chimera Ant saga without filler padding. Gon Freecss‘s arc reaches a clear emotional climax, which is part of why the ending lands so well despite leaving the larger story open.

What the anime never adapted is everything after the Election: the Dark Continent Expedition and the Kakin Succession War, where the Phantom Troupe, the Zodiacs, and the Kurta clan plot threads all converge. That unadapted material is exactly what any future season would need to draw from — and it’s the part Togashi has been slowly, intermittently drawing in Weekly Shonen Jump.

is the Hunter x Hunter manga finished

Will the Hunter x Hunter Anime Continue After the Manga Catches Up?

Honestly, a continuation is possible but not promised. The strongest signal in 2026 is on the manga side: Yoshihiro Togashi has confirmed via social media that chapters 411–420 are publication-ready and that he is drawing further chapters, while Shueisha scheduled tankōbon Volume 39 for July 2026. More finished chapters is the prerequisite an anime needs.

Fans should be careful about one piece of news, though. Hunter x Hunter did get new animated footage in 2026 — but it’s the opening movie for the Nen x Survivor mobile game, not a sequel to the TV series. It proves the franchise is commercially active, yet it is not the anime continuation many headlines implied.

If you’d rather not wait and want to read ahead into the unadapted Dark Continent arc, SnowMTL offers AI-powered manga translation at snowmtl.org, so you can follow the latest Hunter x Hunter chapters in English as Togashi releases them.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the Hunter x Hunter Anime

When will the Hunter x Hunter anime return? There is no confirmed return date as of 2026. No new season has been officially announced, and a continuation depends on Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga producing enough unadapted chapters past the Election arc for a studio to adapt.

Will the Hunter x Hunter anime continue? It’s possible but not confirmed. The 2011 Madhouse anime ended in 2014, and a sequel has stalled because the manga keeps going on hiatus. Togashi resuming chapters in 2026 improves the odds, but no production has been greenlit.

Where did the Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime end? The anime ended at episode 148, covering the Chimera Ant arc and the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc — roughly manga chapter 339. The Dark Continent and Succession War arcs were never animated.

Is the Hunter x Hunter manga still on hiatus? The manga has been on repeated hiatus, with chapter 410 (December 2024) as the latest published chapter for over a year. Togashi has said chapters 411–420 are ready, and Volume 39 was scheduled for July 2026, signaling a likely return.

Is there any new Hunter x Hunter anime in 2026? Yes, but not a series continuation. New animated footage appeared in 2026 as the opening movie for the Nen x Survivor mobile game. A full sequel to the Madhouse TV anime has not been announced.

Conclusion

The short version: the Hunter x Hunter anime has no confirmed return date in 2026, and a new season hinges entirely on Yoshihiro Togashi‘s manga building enough material past the Chimera Ant arc and Election arc. Togashi is drawing again and Volume 39 is on the way, so the door isn’t closed — but no continuation is greenlit yet. For the bigger picture, see our guide on whether the Hunter x Hunter manga is finished. Bookmark this page — we update it as new anime and manga news drops.

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