Veteran fans know the drill when this happens but we can’t help but get our hopes up. One of the most well-respected Japanese manga artists just shared what might be a sneak preview to new work after an incredibly long hiatus.
No405、やっております。
ムーン・ヒーリング・エスカレーション！ pic.twitter.com/53YDvetlDo
— 冨樫義博 (@Un4v5s8bgsVk9Xp) May 1, 2024
Togashi’s Life and Legacy
The artist in question is none other than Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator behind beloved works such as YuYu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. The former is inspired by his love for the occult and horror films and follows a main character who is killed and brought back to life as an “underworld detective”. The latter is an action-adventure manga from 1998 about hunters capable of tracking down treasure and rare beasts, and “Nen” an ability to control one’s own life energy or aura. The manga hit 84 million copies in circulation as of 2022 making it one of the most popular manga of all time. However due to Togashi’s chronic health issues, it has gone under extended breaks since 2006.
It is for this reason that every time Togashi publishes a post on X (formerly Twitter) the anime community collectively loses its mind. His post on May 1st, which garnered more than 300,000 likes in under 12 hours, features part of a ruler and the corner of a page with the number five written on it. The post itself reads cryptically, “I’m doing No.405. Moon healing escalation!”
The Meaning Behind the Post
There are currently 37 volumes of Hunter x Hunter with Chapters 391 – 400 as latest releases that have yet to be collected into volumes. This first sentence refers to an upcoming chapter, namely chapter 405. The second sentence is the name of a healing ability belonging to Sailor Moon. Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon. This message could be a playful nod at her work or that she has supported him in some way and “healed” him enough to continue working on Hunter x Hunter.
We love when artists share updates with their community and hope that Togashi continues to recover well. At the time of writing, Togashi has posted on X yet again, sharing more page corners but this time with the words “Hunter x Hunter” clearly printed on the pages. Many are most likely feeling the hype with the Hunter x Hunter fighting game, Nen Impact, getting a public playable demo at Evo Japan this year.
