Reviewing the first story arc, Chris Sims of ComicsAlliance called "Hunter × Hunter" one of the most "fun, ridiculous, and ludicrously violent comics I've ever read." He stated that while it has every stereotypical idea about "shōnen" manga in force, what sticks out the most is the violence. Sims summed it up as "full of clever setups and characters that, while simple to the point of almost seeming one-dimensional at times, still manage to be solid and entertaining based on their reaction to the increasingly strange, increasingly deadly events around them". Charles Solomon, a writer for "The New York Times" and "Los Angeles Times", praised the moral seriousness of Gon, a quality that gives the protagonist "an appeal his relentlessly upbeat counterparts lack". "Publishers Weekly" gave a positive review to the first volume of the manga, stating that Togashi "shows a deft touch" with its standard story, calling his artwork "clear and graceful", and mentioning that his characters are "endearing and complex". While Rika Takahashi of EX.org and Claude J. Pelletier of "Protoculture Addicts" found the art style in "Hunter × Hunter" to be much simpler than Togashi's two previous serializations, "Level E" and "Yu Yu Hakusho", both reviewers appreciated the intricate narrative and characters.