The Hunter x Hunter watch order almost every fan and critic recommends is simple: skip straight to the 2011 series (148 episodes), which retells the story with better animation and pushes much further into Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga. The 1999 original and the two movies are optional extras, not required viewing.
Quick Answer: The Hunter x Hunter Watch Order
This is the order to watch if you just want the best version of the story, followed by the extras once you’re caught up:
| # | Title | Year | Episodes / Runtime | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunter x Hunter (2011) | 2011–2014 | 148 episodes | Start here — the recommended version |
| 2 | Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge | 2013 | 97 min movie | Optional, non-canon side story |
| 3 | Hunter x Hunter: The Last Mission | 2013 | 98 min movie | Optional, non-canon side story |
| — | Hunter x Hunter (1999) | 1999–2001 | 62 episodes + 26 OVA episodes | Optional legacy watch only |
Why the 2011 Series Is the Standard Pick Over 1999
There have technically been two full Hunter x Hunter anime adaptations, and they are not interchangeable. The original 1999 series was produced by Nippon Animation and ran for 62 episodes on Fuji Television from October 1999 to March 2001, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. The 2011 series is a full reboot from Madhouse, running 148 episodes across 2011–2014. Three things make the 2011 version the one nearly every anime outlet, including Wikipedia’s own overview of the series, treats as the definitive watch:
Animation quality. The 1999 series shows its age — low frame rates, simple backgrounds, and character art that flattens out during action scenes. The 2011 Madhouse version has denser, more fluid animation throughout, and its Chimera Ant arc in particular is regularly cited as some of the best-directed shonen television of the 2010s.
Faithfulness to Togashi’s manga. The 1999 TV series only had the first 11 volumes of manga to work from and had to slow its pacing and pad scenes to stretch that material across 62 episodes, then leaned on anime-original material once its OVA continuations ran out of published chapters. The 2011 version was made with roughly a decade more manga in print to draw from, so it can pace itself against a much larger, already-finished chunk of the story instead of guessing where Togashi was headed.
How much further it gets. This is the biggest practical reason. The 1999 franchise (TV series plus its OVA continuations) stops at the end of the Greed Island arc. The 2011 series continues past that point through the entire Chimera Ant arc and the Election arc — the two story arcs most fans consider the emotional and narrative peak of Hunter x Hunter. If you only watch the 1999 version, you never see Meruem, the Chimera Ant arc, or anything that follows it in anime form.
How Far Each Anime Gets Into the Manga — And Where the Story Stands Today
Anime watch-order guides usually wave at “the old one stops earlier” without saying where. Here is the actual breakdown, arc by arc:
The 1999 version covers, in order: the Hunter Exam arc (episodes 1–31), the Zoldyck Family arc, the Heavens Arena arc, the Yorknew City arc, and finally the Greed Island arc — the last stretch of which was pushed out of the 62-episode TV run entirely and finished across two DVD OVA series in 2002 and 2004 (“Greed Island” and “Greed Island Final,” 22 episodes combined). The Greed Island Final OVA was Nippon Animation’s last Hunter x Hunter release, and it ends on a deliberately open note, since the Chimera Ant arc it would have adapted next hadn’t been written yet. The 1999 franchise never reaches the Chimera Ant arc, the Election arc, or anything published afterward.
The 2011 version covers all of the above plus two arcs the 1999 version never touched: the Chimera Ant arc (episodes 76–136, the longest single arc in the anime at 61 episodes) and the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc (episodes 137–148), which is where the series finale leaves off.
Where that leaves you relative to the manga right now: episode 148 lines up almost exactly with where Togashi’s manga stood for years afterward. The manga has since moved into what’s generally called the Succession Contest / Dark Continent arc — material the 2011 anime has never adapted and, as of this writing, has no announced continuation to cover. Togashi’s chapters have been famously irregular: the manga was on hiatus from December 2024 until resuming with Chapter 411 in June 2026, and as of early August 2026 had reached Chapter 418, with Togashi reportedly having several more chapters banked. Popverse’s release-schedule tracker is the most reliable place to check the current chapter count, since Togashi’s pace can change without much warning.
Where the Movies and OVAs Fit
Neither Hunter x Hunter movie is canon, and both were made as standalone theatrical releases rather than as continuations of the 2011 TV series’ plot, so skipping them changes nothing about the main story. Here’s where they’re conventionally slotted in if you want to watch them anyway:
Phantom Rouge (2013) is set right around the end of the Yorknew City arc, before Greed Island. It focuses on Kurapika and a mystery tied to the Phantom Troupe, and is best watched after finishing the Yorknew City arc in the 2011 series (roughly episode 58 onward).
The Last Mission (2013) is positioned in the middle of the Chimera Ant arc, before Netero’s death, so the conventional slot is after you’ve reached that point in the 2011 series — though most viewers just watch it after finishing the show entirely, since watching it mid-arc means pausing right before some of the series’ biggest moments.
The 1999 franchise’s own OVAs (the 2002 “Original Video Animation” shorts and the two Greed Island OVA series) aren’t a separate detour — they ARE how the 1999 TV series’ story continues and concludes, so they only matter if you’re watching the 1999 version specifically. For the studio and broadcast record on that original run, see Wikipedia’s 1999 series entry.
Once you’ve got the two Nen-user leads down, it’s worth backing up to understand the power system itself: our complete beginner guide to Nen and the follow-up on figuring out your own Nen type both cover the system the 2011 series spends its back half building on. And once the Chimera Ant arc has you picking favorites, see how the cast stacks up in our ranking of the 15 strongest Hunter x Hunter characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to watch the 1999 Hunter x Hunter before the 2011 version?
No. The 2011 series is a full reboot, not a sequel, so it retells the story from episode 1 with no prior viewing required. Most fans and critics recommend skipping the 1999 version entirely and watching 2011 only.
Is Hunter x Hunter (2011) finished, or does it end on a cliffhanger?
The 2011 anime’s 148 episodes cover through the Chimera Ant and 13th Hunter Chairman Election arcs and end on a natural stopping point, not a mid-scene cliffhanger. There has been no officially announced continuation past episode 148 as of this writing.
Are the Hunter x Hunter movies canon?
No. Both Phantom Rouge and The Last Mission are non-canon side stories made for theatrical release and contain details that contradict the main series. They’re optional even if you watch every episode of the 2011 anime.
Is the Hunter x Hunter manga still on hiatus in 2026?
It’s active again as of mid-2026. After a roughly 18-month hiatus that began in December 2024, Yoshihiro Togashi resumed serialization with Chapter 411 in June 2026 and had reached Chapter 418 by early August 2026, with several more chapters reportedly finished in advance.
