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Togashi Yoshihiro Reveals Hunter x Hunter Manga's Possible Ending in Case He Passes Away

Hunter X Hunter manga creator Yoshihiro Togashi revealed on the television talk show Iwakura to Yoshizumi no Bangumi (Iwakura and Yoshizumi's Show) on Tuesday that he concieved four possible scenarios for ending the long-running manga. He said in a letter read aloud during the program that he developed three of the possible endings. He presented the fourth abandoned ending during the Tuesday's program, and added that it could be considered the ending in case he passes away before formally finishing the manga. Togashi is 57.

The creator reported that the fourth abandoned ending ("ending D") takes place after a time skip, years into the future. Mirroring the beginning of the manga, a girl named Gin is fishing at a pond and catches a huge fish. She proudly brings the fish to her mother and proclaims her mother can never ask her to become a hunter again, before leaving her mother with the fish. The mother debates Gin's future with Gin's father, expressing disappointment their daughter doesn't wish to become a hunter like her famous grandfather Gon.

After a scene change, Gin reveals she doesn't want to become a hunter because of how often her grandfather Gon left her grandmother Nouko alone at home due to his adventures as a hunter. She vows never to leave the island, and to stay forever by someone's side as a boy enters the room.

The final scene of ending D is a bird flying away into a sky as someone watches.

Togashi had hopes he would be able to think of a satisfying enough ending he wouldn't have to resort to the possible ending A, B, or C, which he predicted would have a mixed reception from audiences. He believed readers' reactions would be 80% positive on ending A, evenly split on ending B, and 90% negative on ending C. (He qualified that he does not personally think ending A would be highly rated by readers, just that it would be the "safe," noncontroversial ending.) Despite the overwhelming criticism he would receive from fans, Togashi personally preferred ending C out of the possible endings.

The manga went on hiatus in January, citing heath issues for the author. Shueisha stated at the time that it consulted with Togashi, and decided that the manga should not follow a weekly serialized format going forward. The editorial department added that once it knows concrete details of the manga's return and how the manga will be serialized going forward, it will reveal the details in the magazine. He recently hinted the comic would return soon.

The manga returned after a nearly four-year hiatus in the magazine's 47th 2022 issue, which shipped in October 2022. The manga had been on hiatus since November 2018.

Shueisha published the manga's 37th compiled book volume, the manga's first volume after four years, in November 2022. Viz Media will ship the 37th volume in English on October 3.

Togashi launched the manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1998. The manga inspired two television anime series, two anime films, and several original video anime titles.

Source: Oricon News