You’ve finished Attack on Titan. You’ve burned through Naruto. You’ve watched Death Note in a single weekend. And now every “greatest anime of all time” list you look at has Hunter x Hunter sitting right at the top, judging you for not having started it yet.
I get the hesitation. The show ended in 2014. The manga has been on hiatus more times than Togashi can count. And 148 episodes is a serious time investment. But here’s the thing: Hunter x Hunter has zero filler. Not “almost no filler” - literally none. Every episode matters. Every scene builds toward something. And by the time you hit the Chimera Ant arc, you’ll understand why this show occupies a permanent spot in the “greatest ever” conversation.
This guide tells you exactly how to watch HxH in order, where the two movies fit, whether you need to watch the 1999 version, and which arc is going to absolutely destroy you emotionally (hint: it’s not the one you’d expect).
Quick Answer: The HxH Watch Order
For most viewers, this is all you need:
| # | Title | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunter x Hunter (2011) | Eps 1-148 | Start here. Always. |
| 2 | Phantom Rouge (movie) | 1 film | Optional. Watch after ep 56 or at the end |
| 3 | The Last Mission (movie) | 1 film | Optional. Watch after ep 148 |
Skip the 1999 version unless you’re a completionist. The 2011 reboot by Madhouse covers everything more faithfully and with better animation.
Three Routes Through HxH
Route 1: The Completionist
You want everything. The full experience. The movies in their “correct” positions.
- HxH 2011, eps 1-56
- Phantom Rouge (movie - set during the Yorknew City arc timeline)
- HxH 2011, eps 57-75
- The Last Mission (movie - set between Greed Island and Chimera Ant)
- HxH 2011, eps 76-148
Fair warning: both movies are non-canon and contradict the main story in minor ways. They’re fun, but they’re not essential. Watch them because you love the characters, not because you need them for the plot.
Route 2: Fast Track (Recommended)
Watch the main series straight through, then decide if you want the movies at the end.
- HxH 2011, eps 1-148
- (Optional) Phantom Rouge
- (Optional) The Last Mission
This is the route most fans recommend. The pacing of the main series is already carefully constructed - interrupting it for non-canon detours can actually undercut the emotional build.
Route 3: Absolute Minimum
You want to understand what everyone’s talking about. You want to see the Chimera Ant arc. You want to know why Gon and Killua are such beloved characters. But you’re tight on time.
- HxH 2011, eps 1-148
That’s it. No detours. No 1999 version. No movies. Just 148 episodes of peak anime. There’s no shortcut within the show itself - because there’s no filler to skip.
The 1999 vs. 2011 Question
Every new HxH viewer hits this fork. Here’s the honest answer:
Watch the 2011 version. Full stop.
The 1999 anime (produced by Nippon Animation) covers through the Greed Island arc but stops there, and it deviates from the manga in places. The Chimera Ant arc - widely considered one of the greatest arcs in all of anime - only exists in the 2011 adaptation. If you watch the 1999 version and stop there, you’ll have missed the part that made HxH legendary.
The 1999 version isn’t bad. It has a slightly darker, moodier tone that some fans prefer for the early arcs. But it’s incomplete, it’s harder to find legally, and it goes off-script enough that you’ll be confused if you ever read the manga.
The 2011 version by Madhouse is the definitive adaptation. MAL score of 9.03 with 3.1 million members. #8 most popular anime on the entire platform. Those numbers don’t lie.
Arc-by-Arc Breakdown
Hunter Exam Arc (Episodes 1-26)
This is where you meet Gon Freecss - a kid from Whale Island who’s spent his life fishing and surviving in the woods, and who decides to take the Hunter Exam to find the father who abandoned him. Along the way he meets Killua (a boy from an assassin family who’s never had a real friend), Leorio (a pre-med student with a chip on his shoulder and a heart of gold), and Kurapika (last survivor of the Kurta clan, hunting down the Phantom Troupe who massacred his people).
The Hunter Exam itself is a gauntlet - psychological, physical, and strategic. The show is already playing games with your expectations from episode one. Gon is supposed to be the main character, but the exam is structured in a way that forces you to watch him through the eyes of people who don’t fully understand him yet.
Runtime: 26 episodes Tone: Adventure, competition, hints of darkness to come
Heavens Arena Arc (Episodes 27-36)
After the exam, Gon and Killua head to Heavens Arena - a 251-floor tournament tower where fighters climb the ranks for prize money. This arc introduces Nen, the power system that makes Hunter x Hunter’s combat the most intellectually interesting in shonen anime.
Nen isn’t just “power levels.” It’s aura, personality, and creativity. Every character’s Nen ability reflects who they are as a person. Killua’s electricity. Hisoka’s bungee gum. The system rewards intelligence and psychological warfare over raw strength, which is why fights in this show feel genuinely unpredictable.
Runtime: 10 episodes Tone: Tournament, power system introduction, character deepening
Phantom Troupe / Yorknew City Arc (Episodes 37-58)
This is where Hunter x Hunter stops being a conventional shonen and becomes something else entirely.
Gon and Killua travel to Yorknew City to find a rare game cartridge at an underground auction. Kurapika is working as a bodyguard to find members of the Phantom Troupe - the group that killed his clan. The Phantom Troupe arrives at the auction for their own reasons.
What follows is a multi-threaded chess game between some of the most compelling villains in anime history. The Phantom Troupe are not cartoon bad guys - they’re a found family with their own code, their own history, and members who are genuinely likeable even as they do terrible things. Chrollo Lucilfer’s character alone would be enough to carry most shows.
This arc is also where Kurapika’s story reaches its first devastating crescendo. If you don’t care about him by episode 58, check your pulse.
Runtime: 22 episodes Tone: Thriller, moral complexity, multiple POVs
Note: Phantom Rouge (the first movie) is set loosely during this arc’s timeline. It can be watched after episode 56, but it’s non-canon - Kurapika’s backstory is handled differently than in the manga.
Greed Island Arc (Episodes 59-75)
Gon and Killua enter Greed Island - a literal video game that exists in the real world, trapping players inside it. The goal: find a way out and collect rare in-game items that Gon needs to track down his father.
This arc is lighter in tone than Yorknew City, which is partly intentional pacing and partly a breather before what’s coming. It’s also where Gon and Killua’s skills sharpen dramatically, and where the show quietly sets up several dominoes that won’t fall until the Chimera Ant arc.
Runtime: 17 episodes Tone: Adventure, strategy, buddy-comedy energy with dark edges
Chimera Ant Arc (Episodes 76-136)
There is no arc in shonen anime that attempts what the Chimera Ant arc attempts, and there are only a handful in all of anime that pull it off at this level.
Chimera Ants are a species capable of inheriting the traits of every creature their queen consumes. After the queen lands in the human world and begins devouring humans, a new species emerges - part insect, part human, fully capable of using Nen. The strongest of these ants, the Royal Guards and their King (Meruem), represent a genuine existential threat to humanity.
But the arc isn’t really about the threat. It’s about what it means to be human. Meruem - the most powerful being in the world, born to conquer - meets a blind girl named Komugi who plays a board game called Gungi. What happens between them is one of the most unexpected, devastating love stories in anime history.
The arc is long (61 episodes), and it’s deliberately paced. There are moments that feel slow. There’s a narrator who explains things you might prefer to discover yourself. Push through. The payoff is one of the most emotionally overwhelming sequences in the medium.
This is the arc that people mean when they say Hunter x Hunter is the greatest anime ever made.
Runtime: 61 episodes Tone: Dark, philosophical, emotionally devastating, transcendent
Chairman Election Arc (Episodes 137-148)
After the Chimera Ant arc, everything is quieter. Gon has been through something that broke him. The Hunter Association needs a new Chairman. Killua makes the most important decision of his young life.
This arc is essentially a denouement - it wraps threads, gives characters what they’ve earned, and ends the show on a note that’s bittersweet in exactly the right way. It’s shorter than anything that came before, and it needs to be.
Runtime: 12 episodes Tone: Resolution, character closure, earned emotion
The Two Movies: Worth Watching?
Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge (2013)
Set roughly during the Yorknew City arc, this film focuses on Kurapika’s backstory and a new villain who can steal people’s eyes. It’s a reasonably good watch if you love Kurapika’s story - but it contradicts some manga details about his clan’s history, and the animation quality, while decent, doesn’t match the series at its best.
Verdict: Watch it if you want more Kurapika. Skip it if you’re in the middle of a marathon and don’t want to break momentum.
Hunter x Hunter: The Last Mission (2013)
This film takes place between Greed Island and Chimera Ant, focusing on a group called The Shadow that was once part of the Hunter Association’s most elite fighters. It’s more action-focused and explores Chairman Netero’s past.
Like Phantom Rouge, it’s non-canon and has inconsistencies with the manga. It’s a fun watch for fans who want more Netero (and after the Chimera Ant arc, you’ll understand why more Netero is always welcome).
Verdict: Watch it after finishing the series. The emotional context makes it hit harder.
The 1999 OVAs: Skip or Watch?
The 1999 adaptation also spawned three OVA series that cover the Yorknew City and Greed Island arcs. Since the 2011 reboot covers all of this content with better animation and more faithful storytelling, there’s no reason to watch the 1999 OVAs if you’re starting fresh in 2026.
The only reason to seek them out is if you’re a franchise historian who wants to see how the story evolved in production. Otherwise, they’re a footnote.
Should You Read the Manga?
Yes. Eventually. Here’s why:
The 2011 anime ends at chapter 338 of the manga, approximately. The Chimera Ant arc ends, the Election arc concludes - and then the story continues with the Succession Contest arc, which is the longest and most complex storyline Togashi has ever attempted.
Yoshihiro Togashi - the manga’s creator - returned from a lengthy hiatus in October 2024. He’s been releasing new chapters, though at an irregular pace due to his ongoing health issues. As of early 2026, the manga is well into the Succession Contest (Gon’s father Ging is not the protagonist of this arc - it’s genuinely an ensemble story about the Kakin Empire’s political intrigue).
If you finish the anime and want more: start reading at chapter 340 (the anime covers up to roughly chapter 338, and the next chapter or two provides a natural entry point).
Where to Watch Hunter x Hunter (2026)
| Platform | Content | Region Note |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | HxH 2011 (all 148 eps) | Available in most regions |
| Hulu | HxH 2011 (all 148 eps) | US only |
| Crunchyroll | HxH 2011 | Check regional availability |
| Amazon Prime | HxH 2011 | Some regions |
| Movies (Phantom Rouge, Last Mission) | Physical/VOD only | Not widely on streaming |
For the movies, your best bet is Amazon Prime Video or Google Play for digital rental/purchase. Physical Blu-ray (Viz Media release) is also worth owning if you’re a HxH fan.
FAQ
Is Hunter x Hunter dubbed in English? Yes. The English dub (produced by Viz Media) covers the full 2011 series. It aired on Adult Swim’s Toonami block from 2016 to 2019. The dub quality is generally well-regarded - Erica Mendez as Retz (Phantom Rouge) being a standout. Sub vs. dub here is genuinely a matter of preference, not quality.
Does HxH have any filler? No. Hunter x Hunter (2011) is one of the rare long-running shonen anime with zero filler episodes. Every episode adapts manga content. This is partly because the show ran for exactly as long as the manga had material to adapt, then stopped rather than creating original filler content.
Is the Chimera Ant arc really that good? The fandom is split, actually. Some people consider it the greatest arc in anime history. Others find it too slow, too philosophical, or too willing to sideline Gon for long stretches. The honest answer: it’s the most ambitious thing Madhouse ever attempted. If it clicks for you, it will change how you think about what anime can do. If it doesn’t, you still have 75 episodes of exceptional anime that came before it.
Why did HxH end without finishing the story? The manga ran out of chapters to adapt. Togashi’s health issues forced repeated hiatuses in the manga - by the time the anime caught up to the available material, there wasn’t enough story left to continue without going into filler or original content. Rather than do either, the show ended at a natural stopping point and left the remaining story to the manga.
Will there be a Hunter x Hunter Season 7? As of 2026, no continuation has been officially announced. With Togashi having returned to the manga in October 2024, there’s renewed hope in the fandom - but any new anime would need significantly more manga chapters to draw from before production could begin. If HxH ever continues, it’ll be big news.
Should I watch the 1999 version before the 2011 version? No. Start with 2011. If you fall in love with HxH and want to explore the franchise’s history, the 1999 version is worth checking out afterward as a curiosity - the Heavens Arena arc in particular has a slightly different visual language that some fans prefer. But as a starting point, 2011 is definitively the better watch.
What’s Nen and do I need to understand it to enjoy the show? Nen is the power system - an aura-based ability framework where each character’s power reflects their personality. You don’t need to understand it before you start; the show explains it naturally through the Heavens Arena arc. By the time Nen becomes central to the plot, you’ll have absorbed it organically. Don’t wiki it ahead of time - let the show teach you.
Stream & Buy Hunter x Hunter: Crunchyroll | Amazon | eBay
| Option | Notes |
|---|---|
| Crunchyroll | Stream free (with ads) or Premium |
| Amazon | Blu-ray, manga, official merch |
| eBay | Collector editions, rare merch |
Start Here
Hunter x Hunter (2011). Episode 1. “Departure.”
Gon Freecss is twelve years old, fishing in the ocean, and about to make a decision that changes everything. The show doesn’t start with an action scene. It starts with a kid on a boat and a father who left him with questions instead of answers.
148 episodes later, you’ll understand why that kid - and those questions - never really left you.
For your next watch after HxH, check out the Attack on Titan Watch Order Guide - another series that starts as a monster-fighting show and becomes something much stranger and more devastating than you expected. Or if you want another Madhouse action epic, the Naruto Watch Order Guide covers 720+ episodes without making you feel overwhelmed.
Go watch Hunter x Hunter.