I’m not sure why I put off watching YuYu Hakusho for so long. It’s one of the best-selling manga of all time, and the ratings of the anime was just below that of Dragonball Z. It’s not some obscure hidden gem. However, my first encounter with it’s creator, Yoshihiro Togashi was Hunter x Hunter, his next series, and I must admit I loved it so much I was perhaps unwilling to move on from it, just in case of disappointment. Never meet your heroes and never read their early work, or something like that.  This finally gave me the excuse I needed to dig in and see if YuYu Hakusho lived up to impossibly high standards I set?  

History

Before we get to that, a little history: published from 1990-1994, YuYu Hakusho was, like many of the manga adaptations we watch, first serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. The anime adaptation aired in Japan from 1992 to 1994. There were OVA’s, video games, and more recently, a live action series that was my introduction to the world of Spirit Detectives. 

It’s impossible not to compare the live action to the anime since it’s such an abridged adaptation of the anime, which is in turn edited down from the manga.  I enjoyed the live action series, but even at the time, I knew it had cut some content. I just had no idea how much the story suffered because of it.

Recap and Spoilers Ahead

Yusuke Urameshi dies trying to save a boy’s life and discovers that, because his death was an unforeseen event, there is a chance for him to return to life as an “underworld detective”.

The first five episodes revolve around Yusuke’s quest to return to his body. After dying saving a child who was never really in danger, he becomes a spirit and meets Botan. This adorable version of Charon tells him he’s got a chance to return to life.  Yusuke, believing the world to be better off without him, declines. Botan drags him to his wake where we see his mother, his childhood sweetheart Keiko, and his rival Kuwabara, all deeply grieving him.

When the child he saved comes to give thanks, it’s too much for Yusuke and he finally relents agreeing to go through the trial.

Meeting God Jr.

After meeting Koenma, the son of the spirit king and a cute kid running the spirt realm like a business, Yusuke gets an egg to nurture with his spirit energy. This is his test. If his energy is positive, something good will hatch; if not, a giant monster will come out and consume his soul forever. Oh, and he must stop the cremation of his body too. The latter part is much easier, as he just possesses Kuwabara to deliver the message.   The animation in these episodes is so beautiful. Overall, the show holds up so well, but this episode was just lovely.

Time for the Best Boy

Kuwabara starts to get more focus; with Yusuke out of the way, he becomes the focus of some morally corrupt teachers. Blackmailed into not fighting for one week so his friend can keep an after-school job he needs. Kuwabara’s rivals target him since he won’t fight back, all while the teacher watches and waits for his downfall. Yusuke also gets to watch this and sees how far Kuwabara will go for his friends.

One of the best parts of the show for me is how much Kuwabara makes Yusuke better. Kuwabara fought Yusuke countless times, losing every time, but it was Yusuke who makes the first move towards a real friendship, helping him study and clearing obstacles for him.  Something that Kuwabara was at least partly aware of, thanks to his spiritual sensitivity.

Back to the Egg

Yusuke’s morality is back in the spotlight as he’s wondering what’s going to hatch from his egg. Has he done enough good? Do his good deeds count if they are for self-serving reasons?  Before he can get into more complex moral questions, Sayaka, an investigator, shows up to check on his progress.

She does this mostly by spying on Keiko, who has been helping Yusuke’s alcoholic mother take care of his body until he can return. One of the understated tragic moments is Sayaka pointing out how poor Yusuke’s upbringing was, and how he shrugs it off. He’s fourteen.

An Easy Choice

After an arsonist sets the house on fire, Keiko rushed back in to try and save Yusuke’s body. He has another impossible choice: sacrifice his egg to save her and never return to life or…yeah, he immediately throws the egg. After all, “there’s no point in him returning to life if Keiko’s not there”.

Koenma shows up and tells Yusuke that his energy was trending evil, but once again he’s done something selfless at the last minute and so he’ll return him to life, but there’s a catch.

This is another situation that resolves leaving Yusuke morally complex He has the capacity for evil but will always chose good at the last minute. Even if its good for selfish reasons, it’s still good, right?

A New Trial

Koenma tells Yusuke that if he misses his chance to be resurrected the next day, he’ll have to wait 50 years and he needs life energy from a living human. As the clock ticks down, Botan communicates through Keiko’s sick mother and relays the message just in time to wake Yusuke up with a kiss.

After stopping a bully from killing Kuwabara’s cat, he sees a demon crawling out of the bully’s mouth and the plot kicks off for real: Yusuke is a spirit realm detective and Botan is back as his assistant.  His new task is to track down demons causing havoc in the Human World.

Yusuke returns to school after being dead and starts work as a spirit detective.  Things are being stolen and everyone blames Yusuke, including the principal Iwamoto. Koenma stops Yusuke from hitting the teacher and solves the case so he can get back to work on the real case: the missing Grand Treasures of Darkness.

New Characters

Which he recovers pretty quickly. This mini-arc introduces Hiei and Kuruma, and fully develops Yusuke as the kind of character that does not think things through.  It’s kinda nice. Super-geniuses are a bit of a trend these days, and Yusuke is not one of them. He’s got a lot things to admire: loyal, kind, strong, brave, but cunning and strategic? Not on the list.

Although the other two are currently villains, Kuruma just wants to save his mom using the wish-granting mirror he stole. Kuruma saw that Yusuke recognized that he didn’t want to fight,  and reaches out to him to make a deal. He plans to give his life to the mirror in exchange for his sick mom living a full life; at the last-minute, Yusuke offers his life as well, splitting the cost between them.  

It’s a story of faith in the goodness of people rewarded, but it’s not given a lot of space here. But I like how little Yusuke knows Kuruma before committing half his life to his wish. It’s such an in-character thing for him to do without considering the consequences. The mirror grants the wish without cost because of Yusuke’s selflessness.

Tournament Arc

Once the story moved to Genkai’s training arc, more obvious similarities to HxH became apparent; not just in the designs of the characters competing, but the pacing and overall feel and tone.  This is in no way a complaint.  I’ll always enjoy watching heroes get stronger, but watching Yusuke get smarter was so satisfying.

It’s also fun watching Kuwabara and Yusuke push each other and become closer friends. Kuwabara is becoming a hero in his own right, with impressive spiritual powers and a Reiki sword.  The fights were so good here, I almost forgot that the main plot was the search for the demon Rando.

I ended up watching twelve episodes for this review, although I will be continuing with this series. I’m 100% invested now.

End Major Spoilers

About Morality

YuYu Hakusho has a lot of the depth that I love in HxH. Yusuke is a fully developed character with flaws to balance out his strengths. He’s brash and foolish, but loyal and kindhearted with a deep sense of justice.

Justice and morality drive a lot of the plot and character arcs. Delinquent Yusuke is constantly misunderstood by those around him who interpret his actions in the worst possible way. Sometimes, in the case of the corrupt teachers at his school, attempting to frame him for crimes to make their lives easier. 

Kuwabara is another character that, on the surface, looks rough but has a hidden heart of gold and refuses to break his own moral code even if it means taking a beating to help a friend. There are those who appear morally correct, and those who behave correctly when it matters. Early episodes make a point of showing the difference between the two, from the thieves that Yusuke takes the blame for, to the humans that become hosts for demons. Looks don’t count for much in this universe. The goofiest looking combatant might just be the most sadistic.

Final Thoughts

It’s hard to judge classics by modern standards since every generation builds off what came before, and every artist is inspired by what they love. YuYu Hakusho has elements of Dragonball, and you can see the influence of Yoshihiro Togashi’s work in modern shonen like Jujutsu Kaisen, which will in turn inspire new artists and writers.

There are things I will never get tired of watching in any generation: heroes overcoming their own shortcomings, friends becoming closer through adversity, villains getting justice, all beautifully animated. YuYu Hakusho has all that, built around charming characters that are easy to root for, not in spite of but because of their flaws.

YuYu Hakusho is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Check out my other Retro Reviews and Anime Reviews:

• Rosario + Vampire
• Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden
• Overlord: The Scared Kingdom Anime Review