Hunter × Hunter
In 1999, "Hunter × Hunter" was adapted into a 62-episode anime television series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. The show premiered on Japan's Fuji TV and ran until 2001. Three separate original video animations (OVAs) totaling 30 episodes were subsequently produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. A second anime television series by Madhouse aired on Nippon Television from October 2011 to September 2014, with two animated theatrical films released in 2013. There are also numerous audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media based on "Hunter × Hunter". The manga has been translated into English and released in North America by Viz Media since April 2005. Both television series were also licensed by Viz, with the first series having aired on the Funimation Channel in 2009 and the second series premiering on Adult Swim's Toonami block since April 16, 2016.
Hunter × Hunter
Reviewing the first story arc, Chris Sims of ComicsAlliance called "Hunter × Hunter" one of the most "fun, ridiculous, and ludicrously violent comics I've ever read." He stated that while it has every stereotypical idea about "shōnen" manga in force, what sticks out the most is the violence. Sims summed it up as "full of clever setups and characters that, while simple to the point of almost seeming one-dimensional at times, still manage to be solid and entertaining based on their reaction to the increasingly strange, increasingly deadly events around them". Charles Solomon, a writer for "The New York Times" and "Los Angeles Times", praised the moral seriousness of Gon, a quality that gives the protagonist "an appeal his relentlessly upbeat counterparts lack". "Publishers Weekly" gave a positive review to the first volume of the manga, stating that Togashi "shows a deft touch" with its standard story, calling his artwork "clear and graceful", and mentioning that his characters are "endearing and complex". While Rika Takahashi of EX.org and Claude J. Pelletier of "Protoculture Addicts" found the art style in "Hunter × Hunter" to be much simpler than Togashi's two previous serializations, "Level E" and "Yu Yu Hakusho", both reviewers appreciated the intricate narrative and characters.