Should I Read or Watch Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho: Does it Agree Up?
by Michael Basile,With Hunter x Hunter having claimed authority in word of shōnen battle anime every bit of late, it's piece of cake to forget that its author, Yoshihiro Togashi, had already left his mark on the world of shōnen manga with another popular and critically-acclaimed serial, so today we'll be taking a await at the Shonen Jump classic: Yū Yū Hakusho.
Leading the charge on Yū Yū Hakusho'due south many, many strengths is its starting time episode, which I might become and so far every bit to call the greatest first episode of anime of all fourth dimension. The episode opens on our chief character, Yusuke, dying after getting hitting past a car, and and then recaps Yusuke's day up to that indicate. His different interactions with friends, students, and authority figures paint a complex and nuanced view of Yusuke as a teenage boy, conveying two fundamental aspects of his character. The first is the dichotomy between his fierce and angry personality, equally portrayed by how he interacts with those who dislike him and fifty-fifty how he tries to attack the EMTs moving his lifeless trunk, and his willingness to help those who deserve information technology at a moment's observe regardless of his own well being, as shown by how he saves a kid from being hit by a motorcar without a second idea. The second is the wheel of violence that Yusuke has become trapped in, wherein his reputation as a punk causes others to mistreat him, thereby fueling Yusuke'southward acrimony and spurring him towards more violent beliefs that justifies the loathing others have for him, leading him to believe that the world might be ameliorate off without him.
All of this culminates in Yusuke viewing his own wake, where he realizes just how many people actually intendance for him, while also managing to non overreach or completely invalidate his frustrations with the people around him, and so Yusuke is set on a path towards getting his life back. It is, quite only, the perfect character introduction. If I absolutely had to find fault in this episode, it'd be that there's no indication that this series will eventually go an epic action/adventure story about fighting demons, but in this case, establishing Yusuke equally a character is vastly more important, as the bulk of the story hinges on Yusuke'south growth and his interactions with others.
Adding onto the list of superlatives, Yusuke himself is certainly a contender for best protagonist of a Bound anime, both in terms of character development and as an engaging and compelling fighter. Yusuke's eagerness to plough any opponent into his personal punching bag gives him a slightly angrier border than is typical for Jump protagonists, and he rarely seems motivated past a search for justice or anything nobler than simply wanting to beat someone'southward face in. However, he never goes so far as to be completely unlikable or morally unjust, with his few outbursts of nobility coming only when he'south faced with something truly despicable.
Each of the anime'southward four main arcs as well seems to convey a different step in how Yusuke relates to his fighting abilities and his office in the story. The start arc, the Spirit Detective Saga, is a series of shorter adventures in which Yusuke is thrust into the function of Spirit Detective in return for getting his life back and is forced to defend the Human World from a series of malicious demons who threaten the lives of everyday people. At this point, Yusuke generally detests his assignments and would much rather goof off, though he does gradually become more accepted to running errands for a higher power as the story progresses. The arc itself is a bit scattershot and functions by and large as a serial of thrilling adventures for Yusuke to take part in, merely is however immensely enjoyable equally a series of retro demon beat 'em up stories while also planting many thematic seeds that volition take dozens more than episodes to fully blossom.
After that comes the Dark Tournament, consistently lauded as one of the all-time arcs in Shonen Jump history, and there is definitely a potent case for it. Information technology's an absolutely massive tournament arc where Yusuke and friends are forced to fight for their lives confronting some of the strongest competitors that Demon World has to offer and puts the fighting front and center to evidence off Togashi'south creativity in amalgam fight scenes that are simultaneously creative and emotionally compelling. It's here that Yusuke kickoff begins to come into his own as someone who truly enjoys tussling with the globe of the supernatural, with the straightforward brawls of the tournament both pushing him to greater heights as a fighter and serving as an outlet to relieve his stress.
Unfortunately, this newfound excitement doesn't come without its drawbacks, as this arc, along with Yū Yū Hakusho every bit a whole, rides a fine line betwixt celebrating and critiquing masculinity. On the surface, this is, without a incertitude, a manly fighter anime. Chivalry and honor factor heavily into the motivations of several characters, and the vast bulk of situations are resolved by a savage beatdown between two insanely strong combatants. At the same time, Yusuke is constantly punished for suppressing his feelings. The story reinforces over again and again that Yusuke's ability is direct tied to his emotions and his ability to fight for the people he cares nigh, but because he feels the need to emotionally guard himself with his tough guy deed, he sequesters those emotions in a deeper part of his centre and has problem accessing greater power when he needs it the most, leading to some of the near dramatic moments of the entire series in his showdown with Toguro, this arc's final boss, that show but how powerless Yusuke tin exist despite all of his preparation.
Following that nosotros have Chapter Blackness, in which a former Spirit Detective is corrupted and attempts to open a permanent tunnel between Human Earth and Demon World in club to bring well-nigh an apocalypse. This brings into focus withal another of Yū Yū Hakusho'south many themes: the moral pitfalls of humanity as a whole. The arc'south namesake comes from a video tape compiling the worst sins of humanity, and the moral abuse of this arc'southward main villain, Sensui, was caused by his previously simple view of humans and demons becoming uncontrollably muddled, thus leading him to yearn for humanity's devastation. As such, Yusuke'southward slightly-in a higher place morally neutral demeanor makes for a perfect challenge to Sensui'southward want for a purified world. Yusuke'south moral limits are continuously tested as the arc progresses until all that's left is for him and Sensui to fight it out themselves in a "might makes right" duel for humanity's futurity. This arc is also notable for its villain cast beingness composed primarily of humans, as opposed to previous arcs in which demons were the big bads, further feeding into the thought of humanity's moral shortcomings and forcing Yusuke to come to terms with the reality of his own existence.
All of this somewhen culminates in the anime'due south final arc, Three Kings, where Yusuke truly becomes a more mature individual and all of the missing pieces to his graphic symbol finally fall into identify. Having soundly defended the Human World from and so many threats to its existence, Yusuke's just remaining quest is to figure out what direction his life should go in. Will he go along pursuing the upper limits of his fighting abilities or finally give it all upwards in favor of a more normal life? The restlessness of Yusuke's middle and some shocking secrets most his heritage lead this story to i of the well-nigh satisfying conclusions I've seen from a shōnen boxing anime, cementing Yusuke every bit one of the most interesting, inspiring, and iconic protagonists to ever grace a Shonen Jump series.
Of course, Yusuke isn't the merely character in this story, and Yū Yū Hakusho provides plenty of supplementary character work. From Kuwabara's classic chivalry to Kurama's suave cunning to Hiei'south sinister scheming, the primary cast of this series is filled with vibrant and lovable characters that, much like Yusuke, keep to develop and deepen every bit the story moves forrard. Even the coincident ane-annotation characters get to a higher place and beyond the elementary roles assigned to them, my personal favorite being the e'er-excitable and charismatic Koto, ringside journalist for the Dark Tournament.
However, in that location is one supporting character that stands head and shoulders above the others in how she relates to Yusuke, that being Keiko, Yusuke'south girlfriend. That'due south correct: a Shonen Jump battle anime with a consistent romance element to it. Granted I'm not proverb that every story similar this needs a romance element, simply if they could do information technology besides as Yū Yū Hakusho does, then they would definitely exist more than than welcome. With Yusuke being a generally aimless and reactionary character, lofty goals and great achievements aren't something that he finds motivation in. Instead, the source of his ability well-nigh always lies in his relationships with others and his want to protect the few people in his life that actually understand him beyond his surface-level facade, with Keiko existence the i who tries the hardest to bring that more than empathetic side of Yusuke to light. Information technology'south for her that Yusuke is able to persevere through the most painful and desperate challenges of his life, with his love for her fueling his spirit well across what fifty-fifty he thinks he'due south capable of.
Keiko on her own certainly isn't a slouch either, in item with her no-nonsense arroyo to the antics of Yusuke or anyone else who tries to mess with her, as well every bit a deeply empathetic side that draws the best out of those around her. While information technology certainly would take been interesting if she had become part of the main fighting group, her graphic symbol works much better thematically as 1 that is entirely separate from that earth. Though she recognizes that it'south important to Yusuke and one of the few things that evokes any emotion in him besides disdain and anger, she also recognizes that she has her limits and tin never exist fully brought into that world with him, leading to many of the most powerful emotional moments in the unabridged series.
Meanwhile, on the other terminate of the moral spectrum, the villains of Yū Yū Hakusho are only as captivating, each showing off varying levels of complexity and thematic intrigue. Those from the Spirit Detective Saga don't have as well much in the way of depth, but the creativity of designs and the scenarios built around them still brand them memorable as far as fodder villains go. On the other hand, more relevant and impacting villains like Toguro and Sensui are incredibly captivating both on their own in seeing their dorsum stories slowly meted out over dozens of episodes, and in how they work equally foils to Yusuke and strength him to reverberate upon his inner self. The fact that the last arc doesn't have any outright villains at all is notwithstanding another reflection of Yusuke'south growth, having neared the end of his journeying and arrived at a point where the only battle with existent stakes for him anymore is the i inside himself.
While we're on the subject, let'due south talk almost 3 Kings for a sec. This arc is often derided as the ugly pace-child of the series for its relative brevity and the notion that Togashi had wanted to end the series with Affiliate Blackness, only was coerced into standing it by Jump's editors, just both of these critiques fundamentally miss all the great things that this arc has. A smarter, more adult Yusuke, a clearer look at Kurama's and Hiei's dorsum stories in gild to give them a proper sendoff, a deeper swoop into Demon Globe politics, and the answer to where Yusuke'south life will get in the future. This is a bang-up arc that gets way more hate than information technology deserves, and its final episode even goes and so far as to enhance an otherwise lackluster manga conclusion. The only expanse where it truly lacks in comparison to previous arcs is that it's less creative with its battle sequences, though it's hardly mediocre in that regard either.
Speaking of which, the fights throughout this series are some of the best that long-course shōnen has to offer. Much like Hunter ten Hunter, Togashi sets upwards an extremely flexible ability system. Humans take spirit free energy, demons have demon energy, and you tin can do pretty much whatever y'all want with either of these, inviting a boundless level of inventiveness in designing dissimilar characters and fighting styles. Some lean towards the complex and intriguing like with Game Master's video game realm and Kaito's language-based command schemes, while others are pretty basic in concept but endlessly engaging like Jinn's loftier-flying wind manipulation and Kurama's control of plants, and some reach a state of elementary jaw-dropping amazement like whenever Hiei pulls out the Dragon of the Darkness Flame as a finisher. And, of course, these powers and fights are backed by impressive animation and ambitious cinematography, sporting the early work of big-name industry figures such as Akiyuki Shinbo, best known for his many projects with Studio Shaft.
The sheer brutality of these fight scenes is likewise function of their appeal. When information technology comes to visceral punch-ups and gruesome deaths, Yū Yū Hakusho goes surprisingly hard. At that place'southward just something so tangibly satisfying about seeing disembodied ghosts bite off someone's body, and the meaty grit of the sound design further amplifies the about impacting moments to truly gratifying effect. While nosotros're on the subject of sound, the soundtrack remains as invigorating and iconic as ever. Information technology does certainly lack a chip in multifariousness up until Affiliate Black, simply the tracks that information technology does take are stiff enough to carry entire scenes by themselves. When that descending pianoforte line kicks in, y'all know you're in for a truly epic beatdown.
In terms of the broad idea of a Shonen Spring battle anime, Yū Yū Hakusho is the showtime that comes to my listen as the definitive case of this kind of story. The focus on Yusuke's development into a more complete human being existence, the elementary nevertheless engaging mode in which information technology constructs its fantasy world, and the raw excitement that its fight sequences inspire all come up together to arts and crafts a straightforward, yet incessantly enjoyable story. I could certainly nitpick a few areas where it feels dragged out, and some of its sense of humor definitely does not age well, but its core strengths are so solid that they more than make upwardly for any potential faults. It is truly deserving of its championship as a classic.
Thanks to all of you for watching. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like and subscribe and follow Anime New Network on Twitter for more great anime content, and if you wanna see more than from me yous tin can cheque me out at Ember Reviews on YouTube and Twitter.
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Should I Read or Watch Yu Yu Hakusho
Source: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/watch/2021-10-15/yu-yu-hakusho-does-it-hold-up/.178487