Hunter x Hunter author Yoshihiro Togashi announced on Oct. 5, 2026, that he will turn down all future external work requests carrying deadlines due to physical and mental health issues.
Togashi shared the decision through his official X account, clarifying that he intends to focus entirely on producing his own manuscripts once his existing work commitments are finished.
“Due to a combination of physical and mental health issues, I’ve decided that after completing the work I’m currently committed to, I will turn down all future requests that come with deadlines and prioritize working on my own manuscripts.”
It is common for manga artists in Japan to receive numerous secondary assignments, including commemorative illustrations and requests for other such artworks. With the latest update, Togashi has essentially confirmed that he won’t be accepting any new assignments of this sort.
The author also revealed that future updates regarding this matter will come directly through his X account.
Following Togashi’s announcement, readers responded with widespread messages of support, urging the author to prioritize his well-being over production speed and expressing their willingness to wait for his recovery.
Togashi has experienced chronic lower back issues for years, having previously disclosed that severe pain left him unable to sit in a chair to draw for roughly two years and caused ordinary daily movements to take three to five times longer than average. He even underwent a surgery for the same in 2024.
In December 2022, Shueisha announced that Hunter x Hunter would no longer follow a standard weekly release schedule following the release of Chapter 400, moving instead to periodic batch releases to accommodate his health.
The series most recently published a run of 10 installments from Chapter 411 to Chapter 420 between June 29 and Sept. 7, 2026, with the release timing for Chapter 421 and subsequent chapters currently unannounced.
Due to his persistent health issues, Togashi previously revealed a contingency ending for Hunter x Hunter in 2023 in case he is unable to finish the series.
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since March 1998, Hunter x Hunter follows Gon Freecss, a boy who leaves his island home to become a licensed Hunter and track down his missing father, Ging.
The story is currently in the Succession Contest arc, which follows Kurapika and various factions aboard the Black Whale ship as 14 royal princes battle to the death while sailing toward the Dark Continent.
Despite frequent hiatuses, Hunter x Hunter reached 100 million copies in circulation worldwide across 39 collected volumes in late June 2026, becoming the 24th manga series to reach that milestone.
Prior to Hunter x Hunter, Togashi achieved major commercial success with his 1990 supernatural battle manga Yu Yu Hakusho, which completed its run in 1994 and has over 50 million copies in circulation.
Throughout his career, the author has maintained a practice of drawing his manuscripts largely without assistants, a process which took toll on his stamina and well-being. He first addressed this in his 1994 post-serialization essay Yoshirin de Pon!.
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