Ten Chapters, Then the Same Notice Again
The run started on June 29, when Weekly Shonen Jump issue 31 carried chapter 411, the first new Hunter x Hunter in roughly a year and a half. Ten weeks later, issue 41 arrived with chapter 420 and the streak was over. The last page ran the standard notice: the timing of the next chapter will be announced in the magazine once it has been decided. No date, no window.
The number was no surprise to anyone following the series in Japan. Togashi's previous two returns also came in batches of ten chapters, so Japanese outlets had the end of this stretch penciled in before it began. What is new is the sales milestone attached to the pause. Volume 39 reached shelves on July 3, and the collected volumes have now passed 100 million copies in print, the figure Japanese entertainment news site Oricon leads with in its September 7 roundup of most-read anime and game news.
Togashi Has Already Drawn Chapter 427
On September 1, six days before the run ended, Togashi posted on X that the manuscript for chapter 427 was complete. He has been posting these one-line completion notes for months. Chapter 421's note was reported in May, which puts his finished but unpublished pages seven chapters ahead of what has actually been printed.
That is not a schedule, and it should not be read as one. Shueisha has not tied the finished pages to any publication plan, and the notice in issue 41 remains the only official statement on when chapter 421 runs. For readers, Togashi's account has become the de facto status feed for the series, but only the magazine can set a date.
The Rest of Japan's September 7 Board
The story sitting directly under Hunter x Hunter on Oricon's list was an illustration. Attack on Titan author Hajime Isayama drew Yoichi Isagi, and Japanese social media was stunned by the quality of the art. The piece is part of a Weekly Shonen Magazine campaign marking the live-action Blue Lock film clearing 1 billion yen (about $6.7 million). The campaign is republishing art by 18 manga artists, Hiro Mashima among them. The illustrations originally appeared in the bonus booklet handed out for the theatrical anime Blue Lock -Episode Nagi-, and have been going up on the manga's official X account since September 2.
Elsewhere on the list, Sgt. Frog returns as an all-new TV anime on the morning of October 3, with the entire voice cast replaced. Five recast platoon members were announced, Makoto Koichi among them, and the incoming actors spoke about stepping into roles their predecessors held for two decades.
Two box office items also made the list. The Chiikawa movie has passed 13.89 billion yen (roughly $90 million), making it the biggest Japanese release of the year so far and putting it ahead of the newest Detective Conan film. Copywriter Shigesato Itoi, 77, made the list himself by revealing how many times he has seen it. The new Puella Magi Madoka Magica film has crossed 1.53 billion yen (about $10 million) with 1 million admissions in sight, a result that took its distributor by surprise.
The roundup also included an obituary. Anime director Yuji Yanase died of a heart attack on August 22 at 59. A tribute caption ran at the top of the September 6 TOKYO MX broadcast of World's Strongest Rearguard, the Summer 2026 series he was directing. It named him and offered condolences.
Looking Ahead
There is no announced date for Hunter x Hunter chapter 421, and Shueisha has committed only to announcing one in Weekly Shonen Jump once it has been decided. Based on the last two cycles, the wait between batches has run well over a year, though Togashi's stock of finished chapters is deeper this time than at either previous stop.
English readers are caught up with Japan. Chapter 420 went up on Viz Media's Shonen Jump service and on MANGA Plus alongside the Japanese issue, and both platforms will carry chapter 421 whenever it runs. Viz also publishes the collected volumes in English, so the Succession Contest arc is available in translation up to the point where the story stopped.