Hunter x Hunters Anime Ending Explained: How Does The Anime End & What Happens After It?

Summary

  • Gon finds Ging at the top of the World Tree, learns about his Hunter motivations.
  • Gon and Killua part ways after promising a future reunion.
  • Kurapika joins the Zodiac Twelve, Leorio embarks on the Dark Continent Expedition.



Warning: The following contains spoilers for Hunter x Hunter beyond the ending of the 2011 anime.At 148 episodes, Hunter x Hunter‘s story followed Gon Freecs, whose purpose was to become a hunter and find his father, Ging, who left him to pursue his own goals. But Gon’s journey took many side trips and detours, finding significant friends and getting involved in life-threatening and emotionally charged battles along the way. Finally, Gon meets Ging, achieving his only goal, but due to his own evolution and the different paths taken by the main characters, it may be difficult to understand the closure of each story arc.

Even more so, because the final episode of the series is presented as if the story up to that point is nothing more than a prologue. This aligns with the fact that Hunter x Hunter‘s anime only covers up to the end of the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc in chapter #339 of the manga, which has 400 chapters published at the time of writing and has already introduced two new story arcs.


That’s why Hunter x Hunter’s final episode feels like both the end and the beginning of an adventure, which can confuse some viewers about what happened and what’s next for each character.

The cast of hunter x hunter in the chimera ant arc

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How Hunter x Hunter’s Anime Ended Gon’s Adventure

Gon Finds the Thing That Ging Wanted the Most in Their Long-Awaited Reunion


After Gon finds Ging’s message to meet at the top of the World Tree in episode #146, in Hunter x Hunter episode #148, Gon climbs to the top of the gigantic tree, meets his father, and has a heart-to-heart conversation with him. Gon asked him about the thing he wanted the most, and Ging answered, “whatever he doesn’t have”. Ging proceeds to explain the reason why he became a Hunter, which was to access a burial ground belonging to a royal family and that he could only enter through a privately funded and secret expedition.

For that purpose, Ging had to find companions and spend a fortune on carrying out the project. Ging made it clear that the reward for this mission was the challenges and adventures, along with the friends he met. Confirming to Gon that the pleasure of being a hunter is exploring the unknown and enjoying the journey and the friends made along the way, which is the main message of the anime, Ging reveals to Gon that his next goal is to explore the Dark Continent, setting the stage for the manga’s next arc.


Hunter x Hunter's full cast against a blue background, with Gon and Killus running towards center frame and Hisoka menacingly watching in the background.

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Ging says he needs four things to achieve this goal: authorization, means, qualification, and contract, and although he still does not meet these requirements, he will enjoy the process until he gets them. In the end, Gon returns Ging’s Hunter’s license and the two begin to talk about their most interesting experiences. Hunter x Hunter ending teaches fans, through a special moment between father and son, reunited by the same desire and ideal of adventure, a lesson about autonomy and freedom, showing that the real fun of life, beyond the reward, is in the experience.


How Gon and Killua Part Ways In Hunter X Hunter’s Ending

Gon and Killua Promise To Meet Again in the Future

hunter x hunter gon and killua going separate ways episode 147

Gon meets with Killua and Alluka in episode #147 of the anime. Gon apologizes for the way he treated Killua in the Chimera Ant Arc and finds out that Alluka was the one who cured him. Killua says that Gon should meet his father alone and that he wants to travel the world with his sister. After that, Gon and Killua decide to follow their own paths and part ways in a bittersweet moment, with the promise of a reunion in the future because they will always be friends.

Killua embarks on a journey to find his own identity, as he is finally free from the control of the Zoldyck family, which has been his goal since the start of the story. Killua’s new purpose is to protect Alluka and Nanika so their powers won’t be used by others, partly because of the guilt he carries for leaving them all that time and returning just to use their powers for Gon’s sake. Alluka probably knows this, and that’s why she said she would be alone with her brother for a while and then let him go.


What Happens to Gon and Killua After the Anime?

Gon Finds Out What He Sacrificed to Defeat Neferpitou & Killua Makes a Suggestion For Kurapika’s Mission

After the emotional conversation with Ging, Gon talks with his father again, but this time on the phone. Gon realizes that he has lost the ability to use Nen, as he cannot sense his own aura. Ging says that Alluka probably reverted Gon to “normal” while healing him, which is to be expected, as he was ready to sacrifice everything in his fight with Neferpitou and was probably for the best because he can now look for what he wants to do from now on.


Ultimately, as he has already reached his goal, Gon decides to return home to Whale Island with his aunt Mito, where she welcomes him with a lot of school work to catch up on. Killua doesn’t appear again in the manga until the Succession Contest arc, where he has a phone conversation with Kurapika. Kurapika tells him about his mission to bring Hunters to serve as bodyguards for the Kakin princes, and Killua recommends Biscuit Krueger for the job and advises him about how to treat her.

Collage style image featuring Meruem, Kurapika, and Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter

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What Happens to Kurapika and Leorio at the End and After the Anime?

Kurapika and Leorio Join the Zodiac Twelve and the Expedition To the Dark Continent


After the York New City arc, Kurapika leaves the city to continue his search for the Kurta Clan’s stolen eyes. In the last episode of the anime, it was shown that he had already found several scarlet eyes and arranged a symbolic funeral for his deceased comrades. Later, in the Dark Continent Expedition Arc, Kurapika becomes the main character after joining the trip to the new world as a bodyguard of Kakin Prince Woble when he discovers that one of his brothers, the prince Tserriednich, possesses the remaining of his clan’s eyes.

In Leorio’s case, he appears briefly in the last episode of the anime as he watches with a smile the photo Gon sent him from the World Tree and tries to unsuccessfully contact Kurapika through the phone. In Hunter’s 13th Presidential Election arc, Leorio punched Ging during his speech, which made him gain a highly respected image among the members of the Hunter Association.


gon and killua from hunter x hunter overlayed on an official key visual for the series

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Because of this, in the next arc, he is invited to join the Zodiac Twelve by Cheadle, the current president of the Hunter Association, following Pariston and Ging withdrawing from the group. According to Cheadle, Leorio’s image will help the Zodiacs gain the influence necessary for their mission to succeed. Leorio ultimately accepts to join after suggesting the other available spot be filled by Kurapika, and he also travels to the Dark Continent, working at the Medical center with Cheadle.

The Dark Continent Expedition Arc Presents a New, Dangerous World

The New Arc Introduces the Kakin Empire and Isaac Netero’s Son


The Dark Continent is presented as the place outside the world map where the Chimera Ants and Nanika originate, which is filled with dangers and is the home of five calamities that could bring devastation to humanity. The events of the arc start with the announcement that the King of Kakin intends to travel to the Dark Continent, a trip that will be led by Isaac Netero’s son, Beyond. After this, the Zodiacs receive a special assignment and are forced to go on the journey.

Later, Leorio and Kurapika join the Zodiacs, and they split into factions to prepare for the trip, discovering that they have a spy from Beyond inside the group. Also, Pariston joins Beyond Netero’s expedition team, followed by Ging, who asks to be second in command. Ging joins in part to control Pariston’s actions and because he also wants to go to the Dark Continent.


The Succession Contest Arc Takes Psychological Battles To a New Level

A Battle Royale Fight Aboard the Dark Whale on the Way To the Dark Continent

The Succession Contest is the current arc of Hunter x Hunter‘s manga and begins in chapter #349, involving the 14 princes who could inherit the throne of the Kakin Empire, who must kill each other for the only surviving prince to become the king. However, the rules of the Succession Contest prohibit the princes from killing each other directly, so each one is granted a Guardian Spirit Beast.

As the Guardian Spirit Beasts cannot kill each other nor directly attack others who have a Guardian Beast, each prince is protected by a group of personal bodyguards, beginning a psychological battle of wits characterized by anxiety, tension, and mistrust where treacherous nature predominates to discover how to stealthily kill one another. This, in addition to the terrifying designs of some of the Guardian Beasts, worthy of a Junji Ito manga, creates a stimulating and engaging arc. It also features the return of the Phantom Troupe and Hisoka, who are hunting each other aboard the Black Whale.


Although neither Gon nor Killua participate in the next arcs of the manga, the ending of the anime gives them the closure necessary to find themselves and grow until the moment when they return to Hunter x Hunter‘s story with a new hunting goal in a new adventure.

Hunter x Hunter Creator Yoshihiro Togashi Already Revealed One Possible Ending For The Series

After waking up from his coma, Gon finds Ging during the election and tearfully explains how Kite died because of him in Hunter x Hunter.

In March of 2024, Hunter x Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi revealed he has four possible endings for the series. According to Togashi, ending A would satisfy the most people, ending B would completely split the community, and ending C would leave most readers dissatisfied (but is Togashi’s personal favorite). The acclaimed mangaka also revealed a fourth ending, ending D, that he has ruled out, but that fans should consider canon in case he passes before completing the manga himself.


Ending D would have focused on Jin, Gon’s granddaughter, who is attempting to capture the Lord of the Lake so that she doesn’t have to become a hunter like her grandfather. It’s also revealed that Gon eventually marries and starts a family with Noko, who was established to pretty much be the only other child around when Gon was still living on Whale Island as a kid. After the short scene with Jin, a bird flies by and reveals scenes of various characters old and new.


Though ending D would likely satisfy many longtime fans, it’s easy to see why Togashi would ultimately reject it. Hunter x Hunter redefines shonen tropes like transformations, so doing an epilogue that showed the series’ cast years in the future with grandchildren might be considered too conventional by a creator as avant-garde and boundary-breaking as Togashi. The fact that Togashi could spoil the ending without giving away any other plot details is proof Togashi made the right call in discarding it as Hunter x Hunter’s canon ending.

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