Take A Pick Tuesday: Yu Yu Hakusho
This is probably one of the easiest of anime to write about
for me because I’ve seen every episode a million times. Being one of my
favorite anime I’ve converted people into anime fans with this show, along with
best that’s out there. One of the top shows in the 90’s in Japan, going into
stiff competition with other juggernauts at the time and would be followed by those that would in the
years that follow reach the US to help spread anime even further in the US and
around the world. Of course the show itself would be picked up by one of the largest
distribution companies now,here in the US and help in that era of anime explosion. That would be where I was exposed to it,
on Toonami, at times heavily edited, whats Sakyo's finger doing, later I'd learn holding a cigarette, still I never saw anything quite like it
before. I have always been drawn to Yu
Yu Hakusho by its sheer honest storytelling, never mind that it’s a shonen show
and had some of the most impressive action sequences I’ve ever seen. Action is
fine but to me only when there is a strong story driving it. In that sense Yu
Yu Hakusho had managed to do what all anime strive to do, surpass there genre
to become an all-around great show, I could count as many moments that are
memorable simply from the conversation some of the characters are having and find
them equal to any scenes that include some sort of fighting in them. I could
also find there to be as many scenes that make me laugh, still laugh actually
and those that move me in the deepest of ways, it pulls on all the right heart
strings and brings out all the right emotions. That is why to my personal
victory it has remained an anime I recommend to anyone I know that wants to get
into anime or anyone that hasn’t seen it yet. So whether you’ve seen it or not
it’s this week’s Take A Pick Tuesday.
The premise has you introduced to the main
character Yusuke Urameshi, who is already dead, the first episode retraces what
led to his death, which was getting hit by a car in order to save a boy’s life.
Right away you see Yusuke’s problem with most people as they haul him away into
the ambulance declaring him dead already or in his eyes simply writing him off. Doing so introduces us to his life,
how people see him and shows how misunderstood our character is. Yusuke is
considered a juvenile delinquent, who only lives with his mother,who tends to
binge drink and disappear from time to time. School hates him for all the
fights he gets in when he actually goes. To him the world gives him a plate of
crap so he gives it right back to them. Yet inside Yusuke is a good kid, unfortunately
no one gives him the time of day to really see that, well almost no one. One of
the few that understands this is Keiko Yukimora, childhood friend and love
interest, she sees the good in Yusuke even if they fight and she has to more or
less tame him when most fail at it. Mostly Keiko spends time worrying about
him, always trying to get him to go to school and behave, she sees Yusuke as
someone who spends more time being alone than with other people, a thing that
deeply bothers her. There is a good chance that Yusuke understands Keiko more than anyone else does and no matter what she says knows it and vice versa. Despite the wishes of their teachers, Keiko tries her best
to look out for Yusuke and would come to be the person he depends on the most
once he realizes his predicament. Now the teachers Yusuke has are pretty evil,
which they show and it proves that sometimes when a kid is telling you that a
grown up is being messed up toward them, it can be true. Paying kids to beat up someone who pledged not to fight so his friend doesn't lose his job, which is supporting his whole household is evil, especial when he follows to make sure the job gets done. A teacher that plants a student's fountain pen in another student's pocket just to frame him and get him expelled, pushing him further by calling his mom a whore is evil! Come on people. Of course the million
dollar question is whose going to believe him right.
Being a ghost Yusuke is visited by the grim reaper who happens to be a pretty blue hair girl on an oar, wearing a pink kimono whose first introduction to him in the English dub is Bingo. When she tells Yusuke the rare occurrence of an unplanned death has happened, she tries to tell him that he can take an ordeal to get his life back, Yusuke though isn’t sure coming back to life is all that great of an idea. As proof was his retracing his day of what happened, actually going to school, arguing with Keiko, then dealing with two kids that were planning to use his name in a lie, a teacher that caught his reaction and tried to blame him for harassing them, causing him to leave school despite the pleas of an understanding principal. It seemed like it couldn’t get worse until he goes home to his mother who he argues with, storms out and deals with Kuwabara, a rival he’s beaten up more times than he can count, beats him up one more time he won't count and at last sees a kid chasing a ball into the streets. It shows Yusuke as a caring person when he scolds the child and then tries to cheer him up with funny faces. Unfortunately the kid didn’t listen and chased the ball into the streets anyways and when a speeding car is coming down the street nonetheless. Thus his life is ended and finds the boy survived with minor injuries and actually wouldn’t have died anyways, the reason Spirit World where Botan is from and where the dead go for placement of where they'll spend eternity, is offering him an ordeal,because not even they were expecting him to give his life for anyone let alone a child. This being said Botan tells him he should take the day to think about it, what follows is Yusuke watching his own wake, a devastated Keiko, Kuwabara having to be dragged out by his friends because of a sorrowful rage and principal Takanaka who stops two of Yusuke teachers from badmouthing him and cries in front of his picture, believing he could have made something special of himself and in front of his mother who continues to call out his name. One of the best scenes is when the boy he died for, comes with his mother and thanks him and asks his mother why all those people were crying for Yusuke, he goes on to tell her how nice he was and said he guessed that they wanted to play with him too. That’s when Yusuke realizes that there are people that care about him and maybe him deciding to leave the world would hurt people around him, people he may never get a chance to know really love him. It would come to this many times, the bonds he would have with the other characters, a pivotal moment with his mentor Genkai when she tells him “every decision you make, effects the countless people who care about you." Yusuke is quite the badass with the bad attitude but he really does care about people, no matter what he does, he would have to see that they’re his reason.
Being a ghost Yusuke is visited by the grim reaper who happens to be a pretty blue hair girl on an oar, wearing a pink kimono whose first introduction to him in the English dub is Bingo. When she tells Yusuke the rare occurrence of an unplanned death has happened, she tries to tell him that he can take an ordeal to get his life back, Yusuke though isn’t sure coming back to life is all that great of an idea. As proof was his retracing his day of what happened, actually going to school, arguing with Keiko, then dealing with two kids that were planning to use his name in a lie, a teacher that caught his reaction and tried to blame him for harassing them, causing him to leave school despite the pleas of an understanding principal. It seemed like it couldn’t get worse until he goes home to his mother who he argues with, storms out and deals with Kuwabara, a rival he’s beaten up more times than he can count, beats him up one more time he won't count and at last sees a kid chasing a ball into the streets. It shows Yusuke as a caring person when he scolds the child and then tries to cheer him up with funny faces. Unfortunately the kid didn’t listen and chased the ball into the streets anyways and when a speeding car is coming down the street nonetheless. Thus his life is ended and finds the boy survived with minor injuries and actually wouldn’t have died anyways, the reason Spirit World where Botan is from and where the dead go for placement of where they'll spend eternity, is offering him an ordeal,because not even they were expecting him to give his life for anyone let alone a child. This being said Botan tells him he should take the day to think about it, what follows is Yusuke watching his own wake, a devastated Keiko, Kuwabara having to be dragged out by his friends because of a sorrowful rage and principal Takanaka who stops two of Yusuke teachers from badmouthing him and cries in front of his picture, believing he could have made something special of himself and in front of his mother who continues to call out his name. One of the best scenes is when the boy he died for, comes with his mother and thanks him and asks his mother why all those people were crying for Yusuke, he goes on to tell her how nice he was and said he guessed that they wanted to play with him too. That’s when Yusuke realizes that there are people that care about him and maybe him deciding to leave the world would hurt people around him, people he may never get a chance to know really love him. It would come to this many times, the bonds he would have with the other characters, a pivotal moment with his mentor Genkai when she tells him “every decision you make, effects the countless people who care about you." Yusuke is quite the badass with the bad attitude but he really does care about people, no matter what he does, he would have to see that they’re his reason.
Yusuke goes
through with the ordeal meeting the prince of the Spirit World and son to King
Yama, Koenma who appears as just a baby with a pacifier but of course has lived
for centuries. During his ordeal he’ll have to help Kuwabara past his exam in
order to save a friend’s job and protect Keiko as well as his own body from
burning. All the while his bonds with those on Earth would grow, this unusual
combination in him would make it so Koenma makes him a spirit detective when he
becomes human again. Pegging on Yusuke’s natural fighting ability along with
spirit energy he awakens in him, he would have him investigate various
criminals who at first seem to be demons but will also be humans to help
protect people in both the human world and the spirit world. As you watch you
see that the crisises that come force Yusuke to often deal with foes and problems
he isn’t ready for and also shows that the more dangerous the situation the
greater his strength becomes, especially when those he cares about are in
danger. Even though we know Yusuke is a swell guy his journey as spirit
detective also helps develop him as a person and a character as well, not only
him but two of the demons he would encounter in his first case. Kurama, a demon
that took over a new born human and happened to be a very old fox demon bandit that had grown close to the human mother that would raise him and Hiei a no nonsense
criminal that holds a very mysterious power as well as a very mysterious third
eye, the Jagan. Naturally Botan tags along and is the messenger between Koenma
and Yusuke when a big case or crisis pops up. Of course his rival would also become his best
friend Kuwabara who would get caught up in his spirit detective cases and even
Keiko who he tries to hide it from becomes aware and it only adds to the
worrying she does for him as well as the cause of him being absent from her
life more often than she would wish.
The story as
well as some of his adversaries are compelling, as are the characters that you can find very relatable, what of the great things about the show. As Yu Yu Hakusho progress further
you find it hard to call his foes villains, they’re reasons certainly resonate
and help to mold the maturity that would grow in Yusuke. Whether witness to a
human forcing a demon to cry for the jewels her tears create, showing the
cruelty of humans can be just as bad as demons, to a demon who can change the
growth of his muscles causing him to have massive and I do mean massive power,
said demon even forces Yusuke and his friends to take part in The Dark Tournament,
a ruthless torment where demons take part for bragging rights when it comes to
power and very wealthy humans can bet on it.
If he refuses he will be killed along with everyone else he cares about,
forcing the potential this demon, Toguro sees in him. Why go that far actually
has a lot more depth than you think and direct links to those in Yusuke’s life.
It also forces him to deal with someone like him, such as the rouge spirit
detective Shinobu Sensui, as they see what sort of person would try to open a
tunnel from human world to demon world, with seven personalities, Yusuke
witnesses the truth of what makes this human’s soul tortured in what I think is
an unbelievable arc properly titled Chapter Black. Which leads into the very questions
this character asks, are all demons evil or is it all humans, something major
happens to cause him to look into this deeper, as well as the many politics
that are happening in demon world, maybe in all of this he will find out what’s
most important and what exactly he’s living and fighting for.
Directed by Noboyuki Abe, Yu Yu Hakusho runs
about 112 episodes which sounds long until it wraps you in and you’re addicted,
plus compared to some anime out there who have four times it’s number, the show
really is a drop in the bucket but it never feels like their stretching things
out. The story as it continues goes deeper in its characters and best of all
answers all your questions whether you wondered or not, why Koenma is always
sucking on his pacifier, why do demons manage to get into human world at all
and who exactly is the narrator. Face it they all get answered and it shows in
a way that can make other anime green with envy, noted has to be the animation
that goes through many changes, whether it’s the coloring or the shadows which
add on or minimize, they seem to fit the tone of the episodes well and of course
the many unique characters, the way they look, the way they talk and their
backstory makes Yu Yu Hakusho truly unforgettable. If you’ve ever watched the
Bount Saga of Bleach although it was what we call a filler arc it was also a
tribute to the Chapter Black arc of Yu Yu Haksuho just to show you how far the influences
of the show reach and yes the show it still a household name when it comes to
anime. Its been voted many times on the 100 greatest anime of all tine and rightly so. So there it is, my early Christmas present to myself, giving Yu Yu Hakusho it’s
Take A Pick Tuesday spotlight which I could go on with for another hundred
pages or so. Lastly Yu Yu Hakusho is also very easy to get. Being one of Funimation’s
first shows it helped expand their titles that would come after it and has been re-released on DVD a couple of
times and recently Blu ray in the form of four very affordable box sets. While
purist will run to the Japanese audio, one of the things I give kudos to, is
the line writers and voice actors and just about everyone else that was a part
of the translation, is that they gave Yu Yu Hakusho its own unique spin that
adds a little more flair to the characters in what’s fantastic voice acting.
Look closely and you’ll see that some of the lead actors in the show Justin
Cook and John Burgmeier who contributed to the line production and script
adaption. So enjoy the show for all the things that make it wonderful and for
those ready to watch heads up its addictive.
A Podcast Companion
*Need more otaku time, well for more
ideas why not hop on to the newly minted podcast Rats On A Plague Ship. A
podcast that speaks on all matters of geekdom with yours truly and my fellow
co-host Sal Almaraz. The true cure to when the hours feel like they drag!
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