Hunter × Hunter
Written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, the "Hunter × Hunter" manga began its ongoing serialization in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" magazine on March 3, 1998. Shueisha has compiled most of the chapters into 36 "tankōbon" volumes as of October 2018. In December 2011, Shueisha began republishing the manga into a magazine-styled "sōshūhen" format. The company published one volume per month for a total of six volumes, covering up to the end of the Greed Island story arc. In December 2012, Togashi wrote a two-part manga titled to act as a prequel to the first animated film. "Tokyo Ghoul" author Sui Ishida created a 69-page storyboard of a manga chapter depicting the past of "Hunter × Hunter"s Hisoka. The storyboard was released digitally via "Shonen Jump+" on June 2, 2016.
Hunter × Hunter
The art and animation of the "Hunter × Hunter" anime have also been commended by the press. Kimlinger and Tucker were impressed by the art direction of "Hunter × Hunter", the former of whom critiquing the adaptation of Togashi's work by Furuhashi as having "understated energy and flair, making the most of the era's (1999) mix of traditional and CG animation to bring Gon and friends' physical feats to fluid, exhilarating life." Martin faulted both the artwork and the subtle differences in character design. "The artistry not only shows its age but, in fact, looks older than it actually is," the reviewer commented, "hearkening back to a day when digital coloring and CG enhancements were not ubiquitous and allowances for a rougher look were greater." Opinions of the series' sound and music have been somewhat mixed. Martin positively noted the soundtrack as the strongest production point of "Hunter × Hunter", and was satisfied with both the English translation of the script and Ocean's voice overs. Tucker found the music satisfactory and improved as the series progressed, but did not think it lived up to its potential. Kimlinger agreeably felt the musical score to be appropriate in most instances, but criticized the English dub as "a letdown since day one".