Togashi confirms the next 20 Hunter x Hunter chapters' status

Saturday, October 19, 2024 saw Hunter x Hunter mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi post an update to his official X (formerly Twitter) account, which confirmed the manga’s long-term status. Per Togashi’s post, his character inking for chapter 422 has been completed, with the mangaka moving onto chapter 423 to begin character inking in that issue.

Likewise, this seemingly confirms that fans can expect the Hunter x Hunter manga to at least be releasing chapters through 423 sometime in the relatively near future. This is in line with Togashi’s previous statement when completing his work for chapter 420, which saw him wish to “complete inking 10 more chapters by the end of” 2024.

Hunter x Hunter mangaka well on his way to achieving goal of inking through chapter 430 by year’s end

Expand Tweet

To further explain the Hunter x Hunter mangaka’s update, this essentially means that his work through chapter 422 is done. His assistants will likewise take over for whatever work remains, which will primarily consist of background drawing and other work that doesn’t make sense for Togashi to do. While some mangaka take such an in-depth role in their series, it doesn’t make sense for Togashi, given his chronic back injuries.

This is further supported by an update Togashi gave at the end of September 2024 upon the completion of chapter 420’s character inking. Here, Togashi specified that the “inking work on the background is still ongoing, with minimal involvement.” He presumably means minimal involvement on his part here. This is further supported by Togashi, who added that publication pace is “left to the discretion of the editorial department.”

This also matches what fans currently understand of the manga’s release schedule. As of this article’s writing, the manga is releasing chapters weekly in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. However, as of this article’s writing, as far as fans currently know, this weekly pace will only last until chapter 410. From there, the series will go in an irregular release schedule to account for Togashi’s health issues.

Expand Tweet

However, fans can at least rest assured that chapters through 422 will be released at some point, given Togashi’s update from earlier today. This would ring true even if Togashi’s health issues necessitated another hiatus since his input and responsibilities on everything through chapter 422 are now fulfilled.

For several years, Togashi has suffered from debilitating chronic back pain, which has been the reason behind these hiatuses. The pain is so bad that, for a time, he was only able to draw while lying down and do so sporadically in short bursts. Togashi has even shared that the pain once was so bad he had difficulty doing something as simple as using the bathroom on his own.

However, the Hunter x Hunter mangaka is on the mend, as evidenced by his continued work on the series in recent months. Likewise, the above news suggests that fans have plenty to look forward to from Togashi in the near future.