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How to watch ‘Hunter X Hunter’ in order, including the movies

How should you watch the classic anime?

Gon from 'Hunter x Hunter'
Image via Viz Media

Hunter x Hunter is a shounen anime adapted from the original long-running manga series which has been going since 1998. The series’ creator, Yoshihiro Togashi, has a habit of going on extremely long breaks, leaving fans waiting for updates for months or years on end, meaning that Hunter x Hunter still has a long way to go before reaching its conclusion.

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Nevertheless, the manga is hugely popular, with great storytelling, a cast of extremely powerful characters, and some of the best and most complex villains in manga history. This success led the story to get its first anime adaptation in 1998, and another one in 2011. Even though it would make sense to watch the older one first, the second version is practically a reboot with better animation, so there’s not much to miss out on by skipping the original.

The 1999 version of the Hunter x Hunter anime series ran until 2003 and has 92 episodes in total, including Original Video Animations (OVAs), while the 2011 version was aired until 2014 and counts 148 episodes and two non-canon movies. Both versions tell the same story starting from the same point, unlike the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series which has two completely different versions. Thus, your watch order won’t impact how you interact with the story; it only depends on what you prioritize.

Differences between the Hunter x Hunter anime versions

Hunter x Hunter
Screengrab via Crunchyroll

The 1999 version has a more serious tone and more filler episodes than the newer incarnation. The animation style is considered outdated nowadays, and the story has a slower pace, which might be a deal-breaker for younger viewers who are accustomed to more modern animation and faster storytelling. On the other hand, the animation of the Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime series is smooth, stunning, and only gets better as the series evolves. It also uses more comedic tropes than the older version. No doubt, viewers will notice a huge difference when comparing both.

Some story details are different between the two iterations, like the way the main characters meet, for example. The 1999 version explores Gon’s journey, giving more perspectives than the latter adaptation. In that regard, the 2011 version follows more closely to the manga, almost word for word. If you prefer to watch the anime most true to the manga, the newer version is the one.

Since the 1999 anime got up to date with the manga, it ended at the Greed Island story arc (when you include the OVAs). There are five filler episodes compared to only two recap episodes in the 2011 version. The latter had time to launch a reboot of the story without fillers and still release two more arcs until it ended in 2013 when it reached the manga.

Watch order for Hunter x Hunter (1999)

Hisoka Hunter x Hunter
Image via Viz Media
  • Hunter X Hunter (1999) – 62 epsiodes
  • Hunter X Hunter: Spider OVA (2002) – 8 episodes
  • Hunter X Hunter: Greed Island OVA (2003) – 8 episodes
  • Hunter X Hunter: Greed Island Final OVA (2004) – 14 episodes

Watch order for Hunter x Hunter (2011)

  • Hunter Exam arc (1-26)
  • Heavens Arena arc (27-38)
  • Phantom Troupe arc (39-58)
  • Greed Island arc (58-75)
  • Chimera Ant arc (76-136)
  • Election arc (136-148)

Hunter x Hunter movies

  • Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge (2013)
  • Hunter x Hunter: The Last Mission (2013)

There are only two Hunter x Hunter movies that were released in 2013. Both are non-canon, so the order in which you watch them isn’t of great importance. That said, in order to avoid potential spoilers, it’s best that you watch them after finishing the 2011 version.