Hunter x Hunter: A Complete Timeline of the Series

Summary

• Hunter x Hunter is more than just another battle shonen series, with each new arc bringing fresh and unexpected content.
• The series follows Gon and his friends as they face various challenges and adventures, including battling powerful foes and saving their friends.
• Hunter x Hunter‘s story arcs range from the Hunter Exam arc to the Succession Contest arc.

Following the success of Yoshihiro Togashi’s first battle shonen series, Yu Yu Hakusho, a series that defined and, in some ways, perfected the genre, Togashi went in a radically different direction with his follow-up series, Hunter x Hunter. Hunter x Hunter began serialization in 1998, with its first anime adaptation starting the following year and a remake of the anime released in 2011. The series primarily follows Gon Freecs, a young boy from a small island who sets out to become a Hunter in the hopes that following in his absent father’s footsteps will allow him to meet him. Gon makes friends and goes on adventures along the way.

Despite its initially simple premise, Hunter x Hunter has gone on to be so much more than just another battle shonen series, in some ways even serving as a deconstruction of the genre. Despite the numerous hiatuses for which the series has become infamous, fans always come back, eager for more. A major reason for this is the series’ ability to always stay fresh. With almost every new arc, the genre shifts to something completely new and unexpected, as Gon and his friends, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio, find themselves faced with everything from bright, fun tournament arcs to the harsh, cruel realities of the world they inhabit.

The Hunter Exam Arc

Gon leaves his home on Whale Island to take the Hunter Exam. On the way there, he befriends Kurapika and Leorio, and upon reaching the exam site, he meets his best friend and most consistent ally, Killua. All aiming to become Hunters, the four take the exam together, overcoming both grueling tests and the threat of the far more powerful Hisoka. Hisoka defeats Gon in their first fight, making Gon desire a rematch.

The Hunter Exam arc concludes with a combat tournament among the final nine exam takers. Gon, Kurapika, Leorio and Hisoka all succeed in obtaining their licenses to become Hunters. Still, the surprise appearance of Killua’s older brother, Illumi, results in Killua murdering another participant and being disqualified. Terrified of his brother, Killua runs back home to his family of assassins, with Gon, Kurapika and Leorio electing to stick together to save him.

Zoldyck Family Arc

Gon, Kurapika and Leorio travel to the estate of the Zoldyck family to save Killua. The boys receive training from the estate’s caretaker, enabling them to enter. Gon encounters the man-eating dog Mike, the loyal butlers Canary and Gotoh, and Killua’s mother, Kikyo, but refuses to let any of them stop him from seeing Killua.

While his friends seek to rescue him, Killua is tortured by another one of his brothers, Milluki. Killua saves himself and convinces his father, Silva, to let him leave again to travel with Gon. Killua reunites with his friends. Kurapika leaves to hunt down The Phantom Troupe, the thieves who massacred his people, and Leorio leaves to become a doctor. Gon and Killua agree to travel to Heaven’s Arena to grow stronger so that Gon can challenge Hisoka again.

Heaven’s Arena Arc

Gon and Killua fight their way through Heaven’s Arena, defeating increasingly strong opponents. They meet Wing and his apprentice, Zushi, who teach them about the existence of Nen and its fundamentals. Upon reaching the 200th floor of Heaven’s Arena, they discover that not only does Hisoka possess Nen, but every other fighter at this level does as well. Gon and Killua turn to Wing to teach them Nen.

After mastering the basics of Nen, Gon and Killua successfully defeat other Nen users. Witnessing his victory, Hisoka accepts Gon’s challenge to a rematch. Hisoka defeats Gon once more, but Gon accomplishes his primary goal of being able to land a successful hit on him. Unsure of what to do next, Gon decides to go back home to see his aunt, with Killua following along.

Yorknew City Arc

On Whale Island, Gon’s Aunt Mito gives him a message from his father, Ging. Putting the clues given to them together, Gon and Killua deduce that to find Ging, they need to obtain a copy of the video game he designed, Greed Island, and beat it. Already set to meet in Yorknew City for a reunion with Leorio and Kurapika, Gon and Killua travel there to participate in an auction, where copies of Greed Island will be available.

While away from the others, Kurapika learned and mastered Nen and now works as a bodyguard for the mafia. Kurapika’s sworn enemies, the Phantom Troupe, come to Yorknew as well, aiming to steal everything from the auction. Hisoka is revealed to be a traitor among the Phantom Troupe, only interested in fighting its leader, Chrollo, and not in the well-being of the group. The Troupe successfully massacres the auction-goers and steals everything. When Kurapika successfully kills one of the Troupe members, Chrollo and the rest of the Troupe turn their attention to hunting him down and avenging their friend. Gon, Killua and Leorio attempt to help Kurapika, while the mafia, with the hired help of the Zoldyck family, attempt to eliminate the Phantom Troupe themselves. Kurapika captures Chrollo, while the other Troupe members kidnap Gon and Killua, forcing him to agree to a hostage exchange. Gon and Killua are saved, and Kurapika seals away Chrollo’s Nen, but he and the Troupe get away. Hisoka is denied his chance to fight Chrollo, and Chrollo’s closest friend, Pakunoda, sacrifices herself to inform the other Troupe members of what happened.

Greed Island Arc

Kurapika and Leorio part ways with Gon and Killua once again. Kurapika is now interested in obtaining all the stolen eyes of his people, and Leorio is still focused on his medical studies. Gon and Killua develop their unique Hatsus, allowing them to get hired by a wealthy businessman who’s purchased every copy of Greed Island and is paying Hunters to beat it for him. The boys travel inside the game and enter the world of Greed Island, where if you die, you die for real.

To beat the game, Gon and Killua set out to collect all 100 available cards before anyone else. But while Gon wants to play the game fairly, Genthru the Bomber is willing to cheat and murder anyone to achieve victory. Luckily for Gon, he meets Biscuit Krueger, a master Hunter who agrees to take him and Killua on as her students. After completing Biscuit’s training, the three collect most of the remaining cards. They assemble a team of other players, including Hisoka, to defeat the gamemaster, Razor, an old friend of Ging’s, in a dodgeball game to win one of the final cards. Gon, Killua and Biscuit fight Genthru and his allies, defeat him, and win Greed Island. Gon gets to meet more of Ging’s old friends and earns his prize: the ability to bring any three cards from the game into the real world. Gon chooses carefully and selects the ones that he believes will finally lead him to Ging.

Chimera Ant Arc

Gon and Killua end up in the Kakin Empire. There, they don’t find Ging, but Kite, Ging’s apprentice whom Gon remembers saving him when he was younger. Kite has been studying the Chimera Ants, ants who evolve by eating other lifeforms. The Chimera Ant Queen develops a taste for human flesh, demanding her subjects bring her more humans to feast upon so that she may birth a powerful king. As Gon, Killua and Kite attempt to reach and kill the queen before she gives birth to the king, the queen births the king’s three royal guards, and the Ants discover how to use Nen. As the Hunters get closer to the king, they’re attacked by one of the royal guards, Neferpitou, who forces Gon and Killua to flee and kills Kite. The chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero, arrives to take over the situation alongside his allies, Morel and Knov, and their students, Knuckle, Shoot and Palm. Gon and Killua are forced to get stronger quickly to join the Extermination Team, with Biscuit returning to resume their training. Gon remains convinced that Neferpitou could be forced to bring Kite back.

The Chimera Ant King, Meruem, is born, kills his mother, and begins his conquest of the world. To pass the time while he waits to put his master plan into place, Meruem has the champions of various games brought before him so he can beat them before killing them. He meets Komugi, a sickly blind girl who’s the Gungi world champion and, for the first time, tastes defeat. Meruem becomes obsessed with beating her but cannot. The more they play, the more he comes to appreciate her strength and care for her.

The Extermination Team launches their attack, all prepared to die to give Netero the chance to fight and kill Meruem. Despite Meruem having a change of heart and plans, the rest of the team fights the royal guards while Netero battles him. Netero is outmatched but attempts to kill them both with a nuclear bomb inside his chest. Netero dies, but Meruem survives with the aid of his guards and returns more powerful than ever. Gon forces Neferpitou to save Kite by threatening to kill Komugi, only to be told that there’s nothing Neferpitou can do. Enraged, Gon sacrifices all of his future potential to momentarily gain the strength to kill Neferpitou. As Meruem plays one last Gungi game with Komugi, he, Komugi and the remaining royal guards die of radiation poisoning.

13th Hunter Chairman Election Arc

The Hunter Association holds an election to decide its new chairman. In the interim, the organization is run by Netero’s eleven closest allies, the Zodiacs. Among the Zodiacs are the vice-chairman, Pariston Hill, as well as Ging Freecs. Gon is unable to see him as he’s in the hospital in critical condition. With both doctors and Nen users unable to help him, Killua returns home to find the one person who can: his younger sister, Alluka, who can grant wishes. To rescue her from their family, who’ve kept her locked up for years, he’s forced to take on Hisoka, Illumi and the family’s strongest butler, Tsubone.

Ging and the other Zodiacs attempt to stop Pariston from becoming the new chairman. Leorio questions why Ging hasn’t gone to see Gon in the hospital. Enraged by his answer, Leorio punches Ging, who is revealed to be so hated that this act makes Leorio one of the most popular candidates for chairman. Killua saves Alluka and uses her power to heal Gon, prompting Leorio to drop out of the election since he only cared about helping his friend. Pariston is elected the new chairman but immediately steps down from the position and hands it to another Zodiac, Cheadle. Gon and Ging finally meet and have the chance to talk. Gon parts ways with Killua and Alluka to return to Whale Island, no longer possessing Nen.

Dark Continent Expedition Arc

In association with the Kakin Empire, Netero’s son, Beyond, launches an expedition to the Dark Continent, where the most dangerous of creatures are said to live. The Zodiacs try and fail to stop the expedition from taking place, enlisting Kurapika and Leorio into their ranks to replace Ging and Pariston following their departures. Leorio is offered medical training from Cheadle, while Kurapika is drawn in by the discovery that one of the Kakin princes is a collector of his people’s eyes. With the Hunter Association unable to stop the expedition, they instead choose to act as chaperons.

Succession Contest Arc

With his Nen restored by The Phantom Troupe, Chrollo agrees to fight Hisoka in Heaven’s Arena. Chrollo kills him, but Hisoka prepared for this, with his Nen restoring him to life, more powerful than ever. Hisoka kills Shalnark and Kortopi and vows to kill the rest of the Phantom Troupe. On the Black Whale, the ship sailing toward the Dark Continent, Kakin’s 14 princes begin a death game, each being given a Nen beast to use to attempt to kill their siblings, with the last one standing becoming the new king or queen of Kakin.

Wanting to obtain the scarlet eyes owned by Prince Tserrindich, Kurapika enters into this game by becoming the bodyguard to the 14th prince, a baby, and his mother. To help protect them and overcome the other princes, Kurapika recruits old allies, including Biscuit and a new partner named Bill. As the other princes begin to kill each other one by one, Tserrindich learns Nen, proving to be one of the greatest prodigies ever seen. While the Succession Contest takes place, the Phantom Troupe hunts for Hisoka aboard the Black Whale, seeking revenge for their fallen friends.