Hunter × Hunter
The "Hunter × Hunter" manga has received much praise for its plot and characters. In his 2007 book "", Jason Thompson described its storyline as "an almost random collection of psych-outs, battles, puzzles, and trickery" that works on both a chapter-by-chapter basis and a larger scale. Thompson elaborated that with all the goals and subplots of each of the main characters, the story could seemingly go on forever and is unpredictable enough to hold reader interest. In a different review for Anime News Network in 2012, Thompson wrote that it was hard to summarize the story because it is every "shōnen" manga in one, with training sequences, tournament battles, a crime-mystery story arc, and a virtual-reality, RPG-style story arc. But unlike most "shōnen" manga, he called "Hunter × Hunter" "incredibly dense." Examples being its fictional nen ability, which is explained "so thoroughly that you almost think it could exist," and the little challenges and games the characters face; "Over and over Togashi invents some little closed system or rules just so the heroes can break them; if he ever wants to change careers, I'd suggest game designer." Thompson praised the character art as great, pointing out how instead of alternating between realistic and chibi like other artists, Togashi has cartoony and realistic characters interacting in the same panels. Thompson did note how the artwork during its magazine run is often "sketchy" and missing backgrounds, but that Togashi goes back and fixes it for its collected "tankōbon" release. Mentioning Togashi's love of gore he stated "the whole manga is about the mixture of childish adventure and creepy, adult themes" and noted how some panels later in the manga are apparently censored for gore by being covered with screentone.
List of Hunter × Hunter characters
is a young adult who befriends Gon, Kurapika and Killua during the Hunter Exam. After losing a friend to a curable illness he could not afford the treatment for, Leorio dedicates himself to becoming a Hunter in order to pay for the costs of medical school, so he can become a doctor and treat the impoverished for free. Though he is often outshone by the genius combat abilities of Gon and Killua, compared to the average man, Leorio is indeed talented. After becoming a licensed Hunter, Leorio assists his friends in their encounters with the Phantom Troupe from the sidelines. He reappears while Gon is hospitalized and enters the running to become the next Chairman of the Hunter Association, although he loses. Leorio is later invited to become a member of the Zodiacs and joins their expedition to the Dark Continent. When the Black Whale finally sets sail, Leorio starts working at the medical care facility on the third deck under Cheadle Yorkshire, carrying medicines. Killua suspects that Leorio's Nen type is Emission after seeing him teleport a punch across a room and out of a wormhole. Leorio is a popular character with fans, coming in fifth and sixth place in the series' first two popularity polls.