Or should we say “infamous”?
The word that manga fans often dread the most is “hiatus.” Nothing can be worse than your favorite series suddenly stopping publication for an unknown period of time. Oftentimes, the manga returns a few months later.
However, that’s not always the case — here are 10 most famous cases when these hiatuses went on for years.
Hunter x Hunter (1998–on hiatus)
Hunter x Hunter went on hiatus so many times fans started calling it Hiatus x Hiatus. Fans even made websites dedicated to tracking the hiatus length for the series. It’s practically in a permanent suspended state, with Yoshihiro Togashi only releasing a few chapters every now and then.
Granted, he has a very good reason: the man has a severe health condition that makes him unable to sit down without excruciating pain. Let’s send him our best wishes for good health.
Vagabond (1998–on hiatus)
As acclaimed as Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond is, it probably won’t be finished anytime soon. It’s been on hiatus since 2015, and there’s nothing indicating that it will return in the near future.
The reason? Inoue doesn’t have a satisfying conclusion in mind and doesn’t want to disappoint the fans. While we appreciate him trying to find the best possible finale, it’s been almost 10 years.
Berserk (1989–publishing)
Similar to the situation with Hunter x Hunter, Berserk was infamous for releasing only a few chapters every now and then. Sometimes, these chapters were very short, too, which annoyed the fans a lot.
The manga was on hiatus during Kentarou Miura’s death in 2021, and after that, it was decided that a group of artists will complete the series based on Miura’s drafts. Still, it’s a monthly manga, and it hasn’t had a new chapter since November 2023.
Nana (2000–on hiatus)
One of the most popular shoujo manga of all time, Nana attracted a lot of fans during the 00s. When the manga went on hiatus in 2009, they were somewhat upset, but hoped it’d return soon. Except there was nothing. And there still is.
In May, it will be 15 years since the last chapter was published. Ai Yazawa, the mangaka, still occasionally does illustrations for various works, so no one knows if the series is even discontinued for good.
Bastard!! (1987–on hiatus)
Perhaps the craziest shounen manga ever, Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin). Combining crazy amounts of violence with an over-the-top storyline and references to Western musicians, it has over 30 million copies in sales.
That said, the manga has been on hiatus since 2009. The mangaka already took breaks before that, and his health issues certainly don’t help — as doesn’t his involvement with other projects.
Magic Kaito (1987–publishing)
Before Gosho Aoyama started his iconic Case Closed (Detective Conan) manga, he was occasionally publishing chapters for Magic Kaito in Weekly Shounen Jump. These already didn’t follow any schedule, and it was put on hiatus in 1988 — with some new chapters releasing in 1994.
After that, though, there was nothing for 13 more years — the manga briefly returned in 2007, then in 2017, and now once again in April 2024.
CLAMP manga: X (1992–on hiatus), xxxHolic: Rei (2013–on hiatus)
CLAMP is a group of artists responsible for series like Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE. Most of their series are connected in one way or another, but can be read as standalone as well.
They have not one, but two manga on hiatus at the moment. The first is X, which had its last chapter published in 2003, and had an irregular schedule even before that. The other is the sequel to xxxHolic, xxxHolic: Rei.
Glass Mask (1976–on hiatus)
A classic shoujo drama series, Glass Mask (Glass no Kamen) has a turbulent history of hiatuses. It originally started in 1976 — and ran continuously for almost 20 years, before going on a short hiatus in the mid-90s. Then, it took another hiatus in 2006, and came back in 2008, but transferred to a sister magazine to the one where it was originally published.
As if that wasn’t enough — you guessed it — it went on hiatus again, now in 2012, and has been like that ever since. With the magazine ceasing publishing, fans wonder if it will be finished at all. Quite an unfortunate story for the second-best selling shoujo manga of all time with multiple adaptations.
Highschool of the Dead (2006–discontinued)
Highschool of the Dead is not as much on hiatus as it will simply never be finished. It went on hiatus in 2013, and just 4 years later, Daisuke Satou, who was responsible for the story, died from a heart disease.
His illustrator, Shouji Satou (no, they weren’t brothers), has decided to leave the manga unfinished out of respect for his former colleague.
Beet the Vandel Buster (2002–publishing)
You have probably never heard of Beet the Vandel Buster (Bouken no Ou Beet). And, of course, you haven’t, as the manga hasn’t become the hit it was supposed to be.
Written by Riku Sanjou and illustrated by Koji Inada — yes, the same two people who made Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken) — it was something fans initially expected to become a major hit.
Unfortunately for the manga, a rather mediocre anime adaptation in 2004 was followed by a 10-year-long hiatus from 2006 to 2016. These two things practically killed any chances for it to become popular.