Within the biggest and greatest Shonen series out there, there are few more influential than Hunter X Hunter. This action-packed series has been around since 1998 and has impacted some of the most popular anime in recent years.
Naruto has referenced and borrowed pretty heavily from this series as a whole. It was created by Yoshiro Togashi, who was also behind Yu Yu Hakusho, and it shows. Needless to say, the series is beloved with diehard fans of the characters, story, and having one of the most well-designed "power systems" in a Shonen to date. However, there are inconsistencies between the manga and two anime adaptations with some elements added and others being left out.
Updated on October 4th, 2021 by Claris Lam: Though nothing new was added since most of the key points where covered in the original list, the actual content of the article was updated to more accurately reflect the differences between the manga and anime adaptations of Hunter X Hunter.
10 There Were No Napkin Drawings In The Anime
First and foremost, the Hunter X Hunter anime adaptation did not have to deal with its sole contributor turning in napkin drawings. Sometime around the end of the Greed Island Arc, Mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi dropped the ball artistically.
Many readers noticed that a series of chapters from the end of the Greed Island Arc to the beginning of the Chimera Ant Arc included poor quality artwork. There are other times throughout the manga that this happened but the artwork during this period of new chapters was by far the worst in terms of quality. Luckily, the anime never had to deal with this sort of issue.
9 Killua Had A More Diverse Wardrobe In The Anime Adaptation
Another difference from the manga is the variety of outfits Killua wears. Considering that it was just so rare to see a character not stuck in the same outfit for eternity in anime, it was odd to see Killua in more than one outfit.
Killua's outfits changed from arc to arc in both the 1999 and the 2011 adaptations, and each time it was different. It's apparent that Togashi loved Killua as a character and has fun drawing him in different outfits. When adapting Hunter X Hunter for the anime adaptation staff tried to do something similar with his outfits. This added to the show as a whole, and also to Killua's character development.
8 Kite's Absence In The First Episode & What It Means
One of the first characters ever seen in both the manga and the 1999 adaptation is Kite, one of Ging's apprentices and a recurring character. He was introduced after he saves Gon from a Foxbear and is the one that tells him the Ging is still alive, inspiring his whole adventure in the first place.
However, the 2011 anime did not include Kite in the first episode or his background at all. Normally this would only be a small change, but because of what that first encounter means, this changes a lot for someone experiencing the series' main story, and Gon's development into becoming a Hunter, for the first time.
7 The Anime Ended, But The Manga Still Continues
The biggest, most glaring change from the Hunter X Hunter manga is that the anime adaptations already ended. It had a solid conclusion. Even though it did not tie all of the story loops involved in the series, the anime adaptations at least had a final ending.
With the manga, Togashi has stated multiple times that he still wants to end the HxH manga, but the manga series has been off and on hiatus for years now. This made Hunter X Hunter a rare circumstance where anime-only fans arguably received a more "complete" story by not reading the manga and solely focusing on the anime.
6 There Was Anime-Exclusive Friendship Bonding
One of the only episodes of the 2011 anime that isn't straight from the manga is in episode 12. However, this "filler" content was very helpful in developing the main cast. The additional scenes showed Leorio's guilt at his mistake in the final part of the Hunter exam, adding to his character as a whole. It also showed many scenes of Killua and Gon bonding as new friends.
This was a bit hard to believe in the manga and the older anime adaptation, given their depiction of being more like rivals (albeit friendly ones). These two become best friends very quickly in the anime, and these extra scenes in the 2011 anime help us to understand how.
5 The Anime Was Less Dark & Gory
The 2011 anime is usually what people recommend new HxH fans to watch, as it's much crisper, was made more recently, and follows the manga better than the 1999 adaptation. But, the biggest "problem" with this anime adaption for some viewers is that it was much less grim and gory than the older anime or the manga.
Later arcs showed the grimy gore particularly well, but Hunter X Hunter is a dark and bloody story a lot of the time, and the 2011 anime kind of took some of the wind out of that. There are multiple scenes where it should've been more dark or violent, but the anime dialed it back a bit.
4 More Tidy & Concise In General
Both animes did a better job of cleaning up the overall holes in the manga including improving the artwork in the backgrounds, as that is something Togashi struggled with the most within his artwork. They also cleaned up many of the conversations and timing moments in the story, making them flow better so they felt less stilted with their pacing.
It was very easy to disregard these awkward instances in the manga since the reader went from page to page quickly, but anime is different considering their short timeframe for every episode. Both adaptations put in the extra work to make all the jokes and solemn moments land with the impact they need.
3 The Art Is Overall Stylistically Consistent In The Anime Compared To The Manga
Other than the moments where the art quality dives off a cliff, Togashi is a pretty skilled artist. He's the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho after all, so he had a unique art style. However, the art does fluctuate quite a bit in terms of style throughout the manga.
Oftentimes new characters look like they belong in a completely different story, or they just straight-up look worse than everyone else in the room. The 2011 anime especially, fixes that gap in quality by making minor changes to the colors, style, and overall details of characters and locations to make it all look integrated into the same setting without anything looking too out of place.
2 The Manga Is Dark, The 1999 Anime Is Different, And The 2011 Anime Is Streamlined
All three versions of this story are different in their ways. The manga can be read a lot quicker, but the art changes constantly and the backgrounds are never consistent. That said, the more detailed panels are absolutely beautiful and the violent moments are horrifyingly brutal.
The 1999 anime told its own story by following the manga a bit more loosely. It has that 90's aesthetic people love and is almost as dark as the manga at times. The 2011 anime is a lot more modern, cleaned up, and streamlined. It follows the manga more strictly, has an overall brighter atmosphere, and is consistent in its style.
1 No Gyro Hints Or Allusions Occur In The Anime
Gyro was another important character in Hunter X Hunter. Gyro is the leader of the NGL, the area where the entire Chimera Ant event takes place. Unfortunately, Gyro's past led him to hate humanity as a whole and caused him to become as brutal as we see in later events.
After the events of The Chimera Ant arc, Gyro is reborn as a whole new species. In the manga, it was hinted that Gyro will play a part in the last or later events with Gon. However, the anime never mentions him again and left this shadowy figure as a rather annoying loose end to viewers.