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Has this been done yet?

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Episodes 10 and 11: Kuwabara and Yusuke Take a Beating

Again a two-fer review, partially because Yusuke’s fight is left on a cliffhanger in episode 10, and partially because talking fight scenes sounds great, until you actually have to do it for two episodes straight and realize you can’t analyze every single punch, even if you wanted to.

Having completed the first round of tests, Kuwabara and Yusuke are instantly thrown into their first tournament. But Genkai has a twist: everyone will be fighting in the dark, and must utilize their spiritual awareness to see. For the spiritually aware Kuwabara, this will be a piece of cake. But for Yusuke, who has the perception of a newborn cat, this will be a bit more tricky.

After a brief fight where Kazamaru, the buddhist ninja, wins against creepy Assassin for Hire Dude, Kuwabara is up next. He’s paired up against samurai expert, Musashi, who can mask his spirit energy so Kuwabara can’t see him. For neither the first time nor the last time in this series, Kuwabara takes an intense beating; but he’s a determined Angel of a Teenage Punk and refuses to stay down. Kuwabara manages to break a small piece of Musashi’s sword off, and out of desperation, materializes the Spirit Sword! He knocks Musashi out, and takes his win.

Meanwhile, Botan appears outside to remind Yusuke about his mission (I guess she really doesn’t trust his attention span, which, fair). Kuwabara immediately thinks Yusuke is cheating on Keiko with Botan, as if blue haired girls don’t just randomly appear in Dark Forests all the time! But Yusuke quickly corrects him and catches him up with the Spirit Detective gig… which Kuwabara pretty much just shrugs off and is just glad Yusuke and Keiko are still together.

Genkai comes outside to yell at them for ignoring the tournament, and the three return for Yusuke’s. After Yusuke’s done being an idiot, she throws a cigarette at him and tells the two to start.

Aaand then Yusuke proceeds to get beat up. A lot. A looootttttttt. You see, he’s useless in the dark, but Kibano has nightgear that allows him to see in the dark. So he spends about 10 minutes just punching on Yusuke, right to the end of episode 10. He then resumes raging on Yusuke in episode 11 for the first half; however, Yusuke’s a boy with dumb luck, and uses the cigarette that Genkai threw at him to track Kibano, allowing him to take him out with a Spirit Gun blast. 

The first round complete, Genkai leads the remaining fighters to an ancient site, said to have been witness to a battle where everyone was overcome by madness, and murdered their own teammates. This site will be where Yusuke fights Kazemaru in the first round of the semi-finals. Yusuke takes another beating during this fight, and thinks he’s going to die. However, he manages to pull out a lucky win, when he slips into the swamp, and Kazemaru accidentally blows himself up! It’s… not the most graceful, but it does the job, and Yusuke gets to move on to the finals!

First though, Kuwabara has to face Shorin, who our team definitely suspects is Rando, in the next episode.

I’ve always said that the Genkai tournament arc is a test run for the Dark Tournament arc. And I kind’ve still stand by it, but I don’t.

I think in terms of characters, all of the side characters here are pointless. While fighting in the dark is an interesting concept, I don’t feel like there’s any stakes because we know Yusuke has to advance to fight Rando somehow. Musashi is a throwaway used to spark Kuwabara’s energy; and Kibano and Kazamaru are there just to add extra filler before he fights Yusuke. This is why the Dark Tournament arc is leagues better: the antagonists are more interesting, developed, and we’re never quite positive how our protagonists are going to get over the next obstacle.

That said, I do think we learn a lot more about Yusuke as a fighter here. His first case with Gouki, Kurama, and Hiei was more of a trial run for Yusuke to introduce him to the demon world and to test what he fights for. The Genkai Tournament demonstrates to us his fighting skills that will be pretty consistent later on; in the first battle against Kibano, he win off a lucky strategy that would only work for him. Against Kazamaru, he only wins because of an accident. Thus, we see he both has enormous amounts of luck, but can be a brilliant strategist when he’s in the thick of battle. This preps us to know what to expect from later fights that do have more at stake.

Kazamaru’s battle also re-confirms that Yusuke has not stopped trying to throw his life away. As soon as he thinks that he’s going to lose, he decides that he’s just going to take both himself and Kazamaru out and pass Rando onto Kuwabara. Which, nice, I’m glad you’re trusting your friend! On the other hand, stop thinking you can just die, Yusuke!! You’re supposed to have gotten past this!!!

Episode 10 is also extremely important for Kuwabara, since it places him firmly in the realm of the fantastical with the Spirit Sword! By gaining this power, he’s technically on equal footing with Yusuke. I also love how perfectly each of their powers fit. Kuwabara, chivalrous and honor bound, gets the sword, which is historically associated with knights and duty. Yusuke, on the other hand, gets a flashy bang, because he fights dirty and uses any trick in his repertoire to win. It’s simply perfect for their characters, and its little details (intentional or not) like this that make me love the show.

Final thoughts:

Favorite line these episodes: “It’s true, I punched him quite a few times.” Yusuke says, so proudly, when Kuwabara tells Musashi that this fight was nothing compared to taking all of Yusuke’s hits. Friendship.

I love that Kuwabara is like "huh demons exist? Cool." But I guess when he's seen ghosts his whole life it makes sense.

Man, Koenma is horrible to his ogre staff.

I really love the detail of the ancient site that the last half of the episode takes place on; it makes you feel like there’s history to this world and makes the story feel larger. Yay worldbuilding!

TL;DR: These episodes still aren’t my favorite upon rewatch, seeming a bit lukewarm in comparison to later fights. But the show makes up for it with some quick lines, and Yusuke and Kuwabara being as dumb as ever when they’re put together!

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Episode 9: The Search Begins

“You wouldn’t happen to be a monster, would you?” — This episode is brought to you by Yusuke’s stellar detective work.

Yusuke may have closed his first case, but Koenma’s not giving him any time to rest. Genkai, one of the most powerful psychics, is looking for a new student and welcoming anyone to try out. However, Spirit World knows that Rando, a human hunter that acquires new powers through killing, is most likely going to try and win Genkai’s power. So, it’s Yusuke’s job to win Genkai’s contest, become her student, and capture Rando.

First though, Yusuke has to go through a few of Genkai’s test: the drawing of lots, testing of physical prowess and spiritual awareness via video games, and making his way through the Dark Forest. Along with Kuwabara, Yusuke passes these tests with ease, and earns Genkai’s attention.

I was both really excited to get to some more complex fight scenes, and for some reason, dreading the Rando arc. I haven’t watched the Rando arc in its entirety since my first rewatch probably when I was 12.

And yet, I really loved this episode! I think I have Kuwabara to thank for it, because I really missed him in the last couple episodes. Kuwabara and Yusuke’s dynamic is just fantastic, and gives us both comedy and something to care about each episode.

I do want to talk about these two guys pictured above really quickly. After the drawing of the lots, they do not have enough spirit energy to pass and are quickly eliminated. However, they become angry and demand that Genkai give them entrance. When Genkai once again says no, they attack and are firmly put down.

As I was watching this scene — a scene that I generally don’t pay attention to — it struck me how similar in design the two are to Gouki. They’re loud, big, and dumb, and try to get their way through their fists. Intentionally or not, Togashi and the animators clearly showing that “villains” are the ones who fight in anger and for themselves, while the “good” guys like Yusuke and Kuwabara, are doing it to help others (to varying degrees).

Speaking of character design, Yusuke also encounters a new type of demon in the Dark Forest (a most creative name): Baldok, the Man Bat. As a side character, we’re not meant to empathize or relate to him, and so, he has a much more animalistic/demonic form, instead of a more human form. He also has quite possibly the most annoying voice in YYH, and I was all too glad to get rid of him.

Last but not least, we’re also introduced to Genkai, our older female mentor. I really appreciate that Togashi made our mentor figure a woman, instead of a male. She’s unequivocally the strongest psychic, and draws people from all over the continent to her. In shonen, female mentors aren’t necessarily uncommon (Tsunade in Naruto, Bisque in Hunter x Hunter, Yoruichi in Bleach), but Genkai is just effortlessly cool, and so unsexualized that it’s refreshing. She’s honestly a perfect match for a lazy jerk like Yusuke, who didn’t even want to save the world at the cost of his three-day mission. All in all, she’s a fantastic character, and it’s a lot of fun to watch her instantly begin roasting Yusuke (he just has that type of face).

Final Thoughts:

Yusuke has some amazing lines this episode: “All this seems like a pretty big crisis for mankind… but on the other hand it means I won’t be able to do anything relaxing on this three day weekend” and “Haven’t seen this many freaks since that comic book convention.”

Genkai is so astounded by how dumb Yusuke is. Don’t tell her guys…

Kuwabara is an angel and didn’t even mean to end up in a contest, but as soon as he sees Yusuke he’s like, fuck you I’m going to beat you. True Friendship.

Yusuke’s yelling meter this episode is, like, a 9/10. If I had to guess, 80% of what he says is just yelling.

TL;DR: This episode is a light romp, with lots of humor, and lots of set-up. Surprisingly, I might enjoy this arc more than I thought I would before watching this!

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Night out. 

Hiei at this point can’t be bothered with his sister’s boyfriend.

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the yyh ova is right around the corner and im waiting for this fandom to wake from hibernation

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This post is brought to you by characters with questionable motivations that will never be mentioned again.

Episode 7: Gouki and Kurama and 8: The Three Eyes of Hiei

In these two episodes, Yusuke gets his ass kicked. Hard.

This, along with the Power of Friendship and Love, will be a treasured theme of Togashi’s throughout the series. It’s honestly more of a surprise when Yusuke doesn’t get his ass kicked. Of course, this is a classic shonen anime trope: character gets beat down, picks himself up to get beat down again, and stumbles his way to victory. Watch Naruto: same thing. Bleach. One Piece. My Hero Academia (the... only contemporary shonen anime out of this list). Yet, Yusuke always does it with this odd combination of anger, determination, joy, and most importantly, a snappy one-liner, that I can’t help but love him best.

We pick up where we left off, with Gouki pounding Yusuke. Unfortunately for Yusuke, he used up his one shot of spirit energy earlier that day, and is stuck with only his fists. However, Gouki is much too strong, and knocks Yusuke out completely. It looks like this is the end of Yusuke’s brief second life. But with some quick thinking and deception, Botan saves Yusuke and brings him back home. She presents him with a second item: the concentration ring. Armed properly, and with Botan at his side, Yusuke faces off with Gouki again and promptly defeats him, with a few additional bruises added.

But Yusuke and Botan have no time to celebrate: waiting for them is the next demon, Kurama. Previously, a spirit fox, Kurama merged with the spirit of an unborn infant when he was injured, and has since been in hiding. Though he had planned on returning to the Demon World after recovering, his love for his mother grew, and he decided to stay instead. But when his mother fell ill, Kurama turned to other means to save her: the Forlorn Hope, which will take his life when it grants his request.

Yusuke, however, is a huge softie, and decides that Kurama doesn’t get to die that day. In the middle of Kurama’s request, Yusuke interrupts, and asks the Forlorn Hope to take Yusuke’s life instead (because the boy has zero consideration for his own life still). Luckily, the Forlorn Hope considered that noble, and decides both boys get to live! So Kurama’s mother is saved, Yusuke doesn’t die again, and he’s achieved the Forlorn Hope.

All’s well, end’s well?

and here’s Yusuke contemplating how "sad" Kurama's eyes are, like the protagonist of a YA novel

Wrong. Episode 8 comes crashing in, and Hiei promptly kidnaps Keiko to use as leverage against Yusuke. Yusuke tracks him down to a warehouse, where we find out that Hiei has cut her with the Demon Sword. If Yusuke doesn’t get the antidote from Hiei, Keiko will be turned into a mindless, demonic slave forever. Using her own healing energies, Botan focuses on keeping Keiko stabilized, while Yusuke goes after the antidote. Yusuke and Hiei proceed to fight, and Hiei gains the upper hand. Just as Hiei is about to deliver the finishing blow, Kurama intervenes, and takes the blow meant for Yusuke. Yusuke takes this moment to gather his wits, and faces Hiei again, angry and more determined. With a last ditch effort, Yusuke fires his Spirit Gun at the Forlorn Hope, which reflects the shot and strikes Hiei directly in the back.

Hiei finally defeated, the team heals Keiko, and laugh over Yusuke’s dumb luck, and Kurama’s masochistic tendencies. Just another day in the life of a Spirit Detective!

I decided to attack these two episodes at once, since it neatly wraps up the story arc begun in episode 6. I really appreciate how stream lined it is, and that the fight scenes don't take longer than a single episode. There's actually quite a bit more talking than fighting throughout all three episodes, which I almost find refreshing, since it really lets us spend time with the characters. Action wise, the fight scenes are still pretty slow, and I found myself a little bored during the Hiei/Yusuke fight scene.

Yusuke is on point in these two episodes: he’s determined to get back the artifacts, and he’s once again willing to put his life on the line to save these children’s souls. It’s surprising how consistent character wise Yusuke is in this aspect; as much as he was willing to throw himself in front of a car for a child in episode 1, he’s now willing to get beaten to death for them. And he does it all with a ready punchline. It almost makes me wonder how Spirit World screwed up so much in their reading of Yusuke. It’s not like he started caring for children after he died; this has always been a consistent character trait. Then again, I guess we can’t expect institutions to be correct all the time, amirite? (just go look at the news for reference)

Botan is also a DELIGHT, providing heavy support during the Gouki fight. She's unfortunately relegated to healer status in episode eight, but I'm glad she's still involved. Keiko, sadly, defaults to damsel in distress and the jealous girlfriend, and she will remain in this role for the rest of the series.  

In episode 5, I said we would later discuss the evolution of how Togashi depicts demons. With our introduction of our two favorite demon boys, this is the perfect time to do so.

Gouki is a pretty standard stock villain. He’s big, dumb, and wants to eat human souls. Compared to Hiei, he’s actually a better developed than villain, with an understandable motivation, and a character design that outright says “evil.” And when he transforms, he’s undeniably the most demonic out of the three. By combining both his motivation and character design, we know for certain that we’re not to trust him (oddly, we will not see demons actively try to eat humans for another nearly 100 episodes, and it’ll be the subject of some intense discussion).

Kurama, on the other hand, never looks anything other than human during his appearance. With wide green eyes and a human mother to boot, we are subconsciously prepped to sympathize with him.

As for Hiei, he falls somewhere in a gray area between Kurama and Gouki. He’s certainly no ogre creature like Gouki, but he’s most definitely an antagonist. His pupils are smaller than Kurama’s, and his third eye marks him as other. Not to mention, at the height of the battle between him and Yusuke, he transforms into a green goblin like creature, covered in eyes. This form comfortably places him in the “evil” category for viewers and enhances his predatory appearance. In some ways, all three of these demons’ character designs are reinforcing our ideas of what “good” and “evil” looks like. I won’t say that Togashi completely smashes these expectations later on, but we’ll continue to discuss the difference between what “relatable” and “evil” demons look like as the series goes on.

Before going further into their characterization, I do want to note that even during Hiei’s introduction, Togashi was not 100 percent certain how major a character Hiei would be. However, his character and design ended up being so popular, that Hiei ended up as one of our core four characters. As such, there are some funky inconsistencies with Hiei’s motivations and why he would even want to steal the demon sword. However! It’s there, so I’m going to treat his characterization here as canonical (for the time being), rather than a completely separate characterization.

As much as Kuwabara and Yusuke contrast each other (Kuwabara is the emotional and motivated one, Yusuke’s the repressed one), Hiei and Kurama are each others’ contrasts. Even their character design (at least in the anime) is directly in contrast with each other, with Kurama being bright red, feminine, tall, and seemingly trustworthy. Hiei, on the other hand, is clad head to toe in black, with spiky hair, beady demonic red eyes, and 4 feet and 11 inches of pure anger and edgelord punk style.

Their motivations are in direct opposition as well; Kurama’s a reformed demon, and acts a thief one last time to save a human life. Hiei, however, is incredibly cutthroat, and out to… build a demonic army from humans and take over Human World (maybe)? His motives are very unclear, but he’s a starter villain, so we don’t really need to know much. We do know he sees humans as inferior, and this is consistent, even later in the series.  

As the series goes on, we will see that the two slide into complementary roles, with Hiei as our Brute Force and Kurama as our Smart Guy. What will be more interesting is when Togashi begins to subvert their tropes, creating more complex and interesting characters as we go. Both characters will undergo immense change later on in the series, and I'm excited to come back to discuss that. However, we'll be saying goodbye to them for now, and instead venturing off into a completely other direction! (Genkai, we're coming for you).

Final Thoughts:

Kurama is the biggest drama queen in the history of the world, matched only by Yusuke Urameshi himself: “Did you know in some species the child eats its mother?” he says, as he proceeds to wax poetic about feeling like one of those “mother devourers.” Just. Chill, Kurama. CHILL.

Favorite line of the two episodes goes to Kurama again, with a 10/10 roast to Yusuke: “All the while we’ve been thinking you’re a brilliant strategist. You’re just a lucky fool… A strategist is a person who uses his brain.”

Yusuke making fun of Hiei monologuing is fantastic.

I never thought I would say this, but I miss Kuwabara? So much?

TL;DR?: These two episodes throws us straight into demon world, and provide some fun action scenes! Kurama and Hiei are startlingly different from their later characterization, but deliver some great moments and insults. However, upon rewatch, I find myself impatient to get to later episodes where the team is working together!

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The demons are here, and they’re here to stay.

Episode 6: Three Monsters

Episode six begins with the three villains of this arc stealing three powerful artifacts from Spirit World’s vault. Koenma, charged with protecting the items while his father and ruler of Spirit World, King Yama, is away, enlists Yusuke’s help to get them back by the end of the week. And by enlists, I mean demands.

Back on Earth, Yusuke is still unaware of this and must face a greater evil: school. Everyone is rightly shocked to see Yusuke back at school, and almost no one is welcoming. This causes Yusuke to even remark that he should have stayed dead. Only four people are thrilled to see him still alive: Atsuko, Kuwabara, Keiko, and our favorite educator, Takanaka. With a little reassurance, but still a lot of reluctance, Yusuke goes through with his first day back at school.

However, things go from weird to worse almost immediately for Yusuke when he’s accused of stealing multiple items from his classmates. Iwamoto, the Worst Teacher in the World, drags Yusuke out of class and flat out punches him in an attempt to get him to confess.

But all of these shenanigans come to a sharp halt when Koenma appears. He provides Yusuke with his first case and insists that he gets started right away. Yet, Yusuke isn’t ready to get started until he fixes things at school. Using the psychic spyglass Botan gave him earlier in the episode, Yusuke discovers that Iwamoto stole the items to frame him. Though Yusuke pulls the items out of Iwamoto’s pockets to clear his name, he still feels that justice hasn’t been served. Impatient, Koenma tells Yusuke to use his new spirit powers. This gives us our very first use of the Spirit Gun, and I have to say, it doesn’t disappoint.

Having sufficiently dealt with Iwamoto, Yusuke gets started on the case. He tracks the first demon uptown, where Yusuke finds him stealing a a child’s soul with  one of the artifacts. By following that, Yusuke is able to follow the demons back to their meeting spot in the forest.  

Our criminals’ teamwork is not holding up well, though, and by the time Yusuke gets there, Kurama has already split from the group and Hiei has chased after him. This leaves him only with Gouki… and he’s not like anything Yusuke has faced before.

Last review, I said episode five gave us a glimpse of Yu Yu Hakusho as we would come to know it. These next couple episodes fast track that. We’re still in the beginning phases, but we’ve completely catapulted into demon territory. We also get to meet our two other main characters, who are simply hilarious in how different they are in their villainous intro to their friendly anti-hero selves later on. I mean, god. Look how bored Kurama is this entire time.

Despite the fact that we finally meet our two favorite demons, I actually find the first half of this episode more interesting thematically wise. This is one of the last episodes where Yusuke actively interacts with school. And once again, it is not a pretty picture of the education system. Skating over how Yusuke’s classmates treat him, let’s skip straight to Iwamoto’s grand punch.

Now, this likely isn’t how Iwamoto always acts. But if Yusuke is facing a similar amount of hostility at school consistently, it really is no wonder that he hates going. While this is also due to his reputation as a thug, that reputation likely developed in response to a growing hostile environment at school. And while the average student might expect a fair trial in Yusuke’s situation, he will never get that. Thus, it falls onto Yusuke to protect himself and find his own justice.

The only way for him to gain this is from his new life as a Spirit Detective. As such, it makes sense that he thrives in the world outside of school: in battle, he’s able to make his own rules, while still maintaining a sense of code that we see develop throughout his fights. Specifically this power comes from his Spirit Gun. The Spirit Gun allows him to exert power over circumstances he normally wouldn’t have control

Speaking of his Spirit Gun, how cool is our first look at it? It’s just so stylized.

Having officially shaken the shackles of his education and proven his innocence, Yusuke sets off in pursuit of the demons. Thus begins the second half of our episode. This half returns our focus to the demons, once again chatting in the forest. I really appreciate the stark distinction between the school setting and the forest setting. While the demons now appear more human, the forest is eerie and quiet. We’ve removed Yusuke from civilization now.

And yet, it’s interesting that Yusuke seems more cocky and comfortable in this setting than he does in the school setting. Perhaps, I’m over analyzing, but within the world of demons, Yusuke has completely freed himself of society, the school, and both sets of expectations. While he’s still Yusuke, there’s a distinct difference in how he carries himself. He’s standing completely straight in the forest scenes, unlike the usual slumped position he takes at school.

Most of all though, he’s motivated to get the artifacts and the children’s soul back. It’s the most determination that we’ve seen from Yusuke, and only could have happened once he was removed from his normal setting. While the school setting restricted him, the world of the unknown and bestial, allows Yusuke to explore his inner nature and uglier desires (fighting) that he wouldn’t have been able to in a normal setting. Thus, it makes perfect sense for this to be one of the last times that Iwamoto is a main antagonist: Yusuke has moved on and begun a journey unrestricted by society, and nearly of his own making.

But first, he has to face off against the toughest demons yet in the next episode.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Favorite line of the episode goes to my OG Fav, Kurama: “Sorry I don’t have time to be arrested.”

Gouki is so boring in comparison to Kurama and Hiei.

HIEI IS CRAZY!!!

Atsuko actually is a little aware of herself: “I had a dream that you asked to go away again, because of me.” Sucks that you’re sad, but good for you for being aware.

Can you tell I’ve really thought about this show too much?

TL;DR: This episode provides some great setup to our next arc and a great look at Yusuke first gaining his powers. But I’m ready to get to the action!

[urameshiy-blog]

This episode is alternatively titled: How to Score an Unpaid Internship that Might Cost You Your Life.

Episode 5: Yusuke’s Back

Wow that episode title leaves a lot to imagination. So, basically, if I was watching this for the first time ever, I would know what was happening. YYH does this a lot, and I’m always just sitting here, like, thanks. I have no idea what’s going to happen.

Episode 5 wraps up our Ghost!Yusuke arc. Today’s the day that Yusuke comes back to life for REAL. First, though, someone has to donate their spirit energy, so that Yusuke’s spirit/physical energy realigns… or something along those lines (honestly, I always tune out fake logistics like this).But it has to be tonight at midnight, or else Yusuke will have to wait 52 more years to come back. Oh, and it has to be done through a kiss which Yusuke freaks out over. Jeez, this boy is just not a huge fan of physical/romantic/platonic contact…

In order to get someone to kiss him, he has to visit three people’s dreams. Like the first time he visited their dreams, this does not go well. Atsuko per usual is drinking:

And then there’s Kuwabara. And… well…

And so launched 1000 ships. 

In any case, Keiko is his only hope. After a bit of drama, where it looks like Keiko’s not going to make it back to Yusuke’s house because her mother collapsed, she finds her way back. And, as they say, the rest is history.

So, Yusuke makes a cheery recovery from the dead. And, apparently with this recovery comes even worse fashion choices.

#iconic

Things get weird though, as Yusuke stumbles upon a fortune teller. And, oh boy, WHO COULD IT BE?

Nope, not a clue. It’s a mystery.

The fortune teller says that he has “interesting energy” and a “mission” to complete. In true Yusuke fashion, though, he ignores it, and heads to a cafe for some coffee. A boy after my own heart.

But Yusuke has a knack for finding trouble. The cafe, apparently, has been taken over by another gang, even though it used to be part of Kuwabara’s turf. Yusuke decides to go in anyway, where the new gang leader and his crew are sitting. He ignores them, and grabs his coffee anyway. But something is off: the gang leader has horns. Which, oddly, Yusuke decides not to care about. I guess coming back from the dead makes everything else ordinary.

Through the gang’s conversation, we learn that the leader, Sakamoto, has kidnapped Kuwabara’s cat, and is forcing him to steal comics. When Kuwabara appears though, it’s quickly revealed he didn’t steal the comics at all–as Yusuke mentioned, that’s against his honor code.

Sakamoto is not happy with this. He demands that Kuwabara apologizes to him, and then decides they’re going to take this outside (even evil thugs are willing to protect the sanctity of the coffee shop).  Outside, the gang threatens Kuwabara’s friends and cat. Just when we think all is lost– Yusuke steps in and surprises them.

With his hair gelled again, no less. Was he in the coffee shop styling his hair before he came to the rescue?

One quick fight sequence later, the boys beat up the gang, get Kuwabara’s cat back, and it’s revealed that there’s actually a parasitic demon possessing Sakamoto! When Yusuke knocks him unconscious, the demon appears and Yusuke captures him easily.

The fortuneteller comes back as well, and it’s revealed that she is oh so surprisingly actually Botan! Botan thanks Yusuke for all his help, and tells him that his first case is a success. Oh, and by the way, he’s now officially the Spirit Detective. And no, he cannot turn down the position. And no, it’s not paid. Yay!?

The second part of this episode is much more fun that the first. The actual revival scene is rather a bore, since we all know that he’s coming back. Especially after rewatch number twenty, I’m no longer that interested in the scene. Atsuko, again, does not fail to make me sad with her drinking streak, even though it’s played completely for laughs. Luckily, they keep the revival tension very short, and quickly move on to the more interesting part.

The second half of the episode contains much more of what we come to love in YYH. In a lot of ways, I think this episode marks the true beginning of YYH as we will know it in the future: aka demons, one-liners, fighting, and Yusuke and Kuwabara pretending they’re not friends. It’s action packed, urgent, and most importantly, punchy with its humor.

Our Glasses honcho is a great starter villain and really raises the stakes by threatening not only Kuwabara’s kitten, but his friends. Again, this reinforces our main FriendshipTM theme, and foreshadows a lot of the future battles. It’s also interesting to contrast our first demon with the later demons we get. This one is tiny and parasitic in nature, possessing humans for its own personal chaos. As the series goes on, demons go from these odd alien creatures to more exact human copies, which we’ll discuss more in the next few episodes.

We get some weird inconsistencies with later mythology from the set-up of Yusuke’s powers as Koenma says, “You’ll get cool powers, I’ve come up with them myself.” It brings into question where exactly Spirit Energy comes from. Are humans born with a certain amount of Spirit Energy, or are they gifted with it? For now, I’m just filing that aside as weird beginning series talk, similar to Hiei’s demonic form and telepathy that we don’t ever get to see again.

Animation wise, I’m pretty happy with the one fight scene we get. It’s not extravagant, but I always enjoy Yusuke’s dramatic entrance.

My Dark!Koenma theory lives on though! “Let’s see how our little Yusuke fares when he’s not floating in the sky,” he says. OKAY, KOENMA. CAN YOU TALK MORE LIKE AN EVIL VILLAIN? Not to mention, he made Yusuke’s Spirit Detective position mandatory, despite the fact that he never mentioned it as part of the deal when he brought Yusuke back to life. No wonder Yusuke spends the rest of the series trying to ignore Koenma’s orders. He’s just an unpaid intern being forced to do entry-level work. I feel your pain Yusuke, I do.

Final thoughts:

Favorite line of the episode goes to Yusuke: “I can talk trash to people and even touch them. To be alive is a wonderful thing!”

And we can’t forget: “Hey! That guy has horns. Well, not going to ruin my day.” Oh Yusuke. You idiot.

Kuwabara’s love of kittens raises my respect from him 1000%

Yusuke’s outfit here will always remain forever in my heart

I’m weirdly fascinated by the high school gang wars. Kinda wish there had been a larger side arc with that.

Pay Yusuke Urameshi For Saving the World 2018! Even Naruto got paid for his missions!

TL;DR: Though the beginning of this episode lacks rewatch value, the second half makes up for it with its on point humor and characterization. It’s the perfect closure to our first arc.  

[urameshiy-blog]

These 14 year olds are in LOVE and have more romance in their life than I have had in many moons. 

Episode 4: Requirements for Lovers

So, we all know that people want Yusuke to come back to life. We definitely want Yusuke to come back to life, otherwise we’ll be stuck watching a ghost the entire show. But the Spirit World isn’t quite convinced yet, despite having already given Yusuke the Spirit Egg. As such, they send Sayaka, a Spirit World investigator (you gotta wonder what else she investigates), to check on Yusuke and to confirm that people really do want him alive. Upon her arrival, she immediately starts dragging Yusuke–a favorite pastime of all Togashi’s characters. Check out these lines:

“It’s hard to believe that a girl with her [Keiko’s] positive markings would go for a guy like that.”

and

“Are we absolutely certain that Keiko wants Yusuke to come back again?”

AND

“This attraction between Yusuke and Keiko must obviously be one-sided.”

Sadly, we don’t see Sayaka after this episode; but it’s okay, Genkai fills in to drag Yusuke for the rest of the series.

The first part of the episode, our three spirits (Yusuke, Sayaka, and Botan) follow Keiko around, as Togashi once again proves that she’s basically perfect. Keiko’s smart, but doesn’t let people copy her homework. She’s athletic and well-liked. She even gets proposals from other guys, but turns them down, because she’s waiting for Yusuke. Granted, the guy that asks her out is seriously lame.

Boy, bye. 

After school, Keiko goes to check on Yusuke, who she finds completely covered in garbage and abandoned by his mother.  

Keiko starts to clean him up, and we’re treated to an almost kiss between Yusuke and her. Yusuke, oddly, is not a fan; I can’t figure out if this is because there’s an audience, or he just doesn’t like the idea of kissing. I’m thinking it’s more an audience thing.

However, our good old Neighborhood Watch Committee (you know… the one every neighborhood has) interrupts in a van (not sketchy at all), letting everyone know to watch out for arsons! Cool. Guess that’s a big concern in this town (then again, I assume Yusuke and Atsuko live in a poorer part of town)? The mood ruined, Keiko runs out, sparing Yusuke’s embarrassment about being kissed. She also totally just leaves Yusuke surrounded by garbage. Then again, I wonder if that masks his scent anyway? Like, he hasn’t been bathed or anything. Even if he’s not rotting, there must be a smell.

Anyway, no sooner than Keiko has left, someone–you guessed it–decides to burn Yusuke’s house down, with Yusuke’s body still in it.

Panicked, Botan rushes off to get Kuwabara (who’s beating up a straw imitation of Yusuke. He put green pants on him and everything? I don’t know if that’s weird or just dedication. Also, where’d he find the pants?) and manages to convince him through his spirit senses to go check out the fire.

Meanwhile, Keiko is in the middle of town, but as soon as she sees the fire, she goes rushing back. At the house, there are several people just standing outside, watching it burn. Which, is actually, a pretty sad and accurate depiction of the human race. Guys, don’t stand that close to a burning fire. Something might drop on you.

Keiko proves to be an absolute badass; she throws water on herself and rushes in to save Yusuke’s body. But, she gets stuck in the fire, with no way out. Yusuke begins panicking, and asks Sayaka if he can do anything. She tells him that he can release the energy in his Spirit Egg to save her. The only catch? He won’t be able to come back to life.

With zero to little hesitation, Yusuke throws it in, saying, “What’s the point of being alive if Keiko has to get killed for it?”

It’s moments like these that make me support the Keiko/Yusuke pairing. Imagine what could have been if she actually had a legit plot motivation.

With the energy released, the fire splits like Moses split the ocean (yeah, I went there), providing Keiko a path to emerge. Kuwabara finally shows up, and helps Keiko carry out the body. Naturally, Kuwabara is extremely astonished to find out that she’s carrying Yusuke’s dead body. He panics and immediately starts dragging her away from the scene. So, if we’ve learned nothing else from this episode, we at least know that we can count on Kuwabara to help his friends cover up a murder. Kuwabara and Keiko on How to Get Away with Murder anyone?

Of course, not all is happy for Yusuke, as he now realizes that his chances to come back are gone. As he watches Keiko, Atsuko, and Kuwabara talk to his dead body, all seems lost.

But don’t despair too quickly! A giant Koenma shows up in the sky, and informs Yusuke that he completed his trial and made the right choice! By throwing the Spirit Egg into the fire, Yusuke confirmed for Koenma that he had the “potential” to be a decent human being, and Keiko and Kuwabara demonstrated that they indeed wanted him to come back to life. In fact, Yusuke might even be “useful” to Koenma in the future. And thus, all seems right in the world.

Keiko is the biggest badass in this episode. With zero hesitation, she rushes to save Yusuke’s body, and I love that. It’s moments like those that make me wish she had more direct involvement in the plot, outside of cheering Yusuke on and giving him a reason to live. As it is, I think this is the only time Keiko has an active role in the story. It’s interesting to contrast this episode to the Kuwabara episode; while Kuwabara’s episode revolves solely around his own personal struggles, all of Keiko’s concerns and struggles revolve directly around Yusuke again. Whether it’s the other boy asking her out, her debating whether to kiss Yusuke, or saving Yusuke’s life, Keiko has no personal goals to define her this episode. She’s perfect in grades and sports; a relationship is the only thing she’s lacking.

This, of course, is par for the course for the female characters in this show (outside of Genkai). On one hand, Sayaka gives me life. Within two seconds, she’s roasting Yusuke. She’s another character, along with Kuwabara’s gang, that I wish had stuck around (in fact, they can go ahead and replace the trio that shows up in the Chapter Black arc… sorry, guys, we need to cut down on our character budgets). I could probably watch a spin-off of Sayaka and Botan investigating Spirit World problems, along with Keiko of course.

However, Sayaka fits into another Togashi Female Stereotype outside of the Romantic Interest: she’s sarcastic, brutal, but curious about the male protagonist.  Sayaka appears for one episode to be an obstacle for the protagonist, only to be impressed in the end by him. While she’s hilarious, she’s simply a throw-away character, and will never be spoken of again. Unlike later male side characters, Sayaka receives no back story, and no explanation of what she does outside of this case or in relation to Yusuke. Though this is theoretically fine in a long-running anime, with so many characters introduced right and left, it’s disappointing when there are so few female characters to root for. Togashi leans into this characterization in other characters as well, like Genkai and Shizuru to varying degrees.

This episode, once again, demonstrates how little importance Yusuke places on himself. Early on in the episode when Sayaka questions if Keiko wants him back, he says, “It’s clear if she had any sense, she would want me gone.” But, of course, this is perfect setup for later when he is confronted with final death. Yusuke is despondent when he believes that he’s lost his chance to live again, especially as he sees his mother and friends. This is an important moment for him, as it forces him to recognize once again that he enjoys being alive.

What’s even sadder, is that later, Koenma says Yusuke may be useful, since he’s experienced death and Yusuke’s only response is, “You think I’m useful?” Up until now, Yusuke has had no direction, no reason to do anything. Now, Koenma and his friends are finally providing him with one.  

On an unrelated note, Koenma is incredibly weird this episode. If I didn’t know better, I would say he was being set-up to be the Big Bad of the series. What with his references to Yusuke’s “usefulness” and Yusuke putting him down as “just another idiot abusing his power,” Togashi easily could have gone a different route with his character.

We haven’t talked about the animation or music in a couple of episodes. Animation is still not as beautiful as it will become; however, I do like some of the fire shots we get, for some reason.

I also adore all the background music. I’m 99% sure that the show uses only three dramatic songs, but they are all so nostalgic for me that I love them.  

Final Thoughts:

Favorite line this episode goes to Kuwabara talking to Keiko: “What are you some type of sick grave robber?”

Botan is so happy that Yusuke gets to live; it’s adorable.

Why are they reading Heart of Darkness in Keiko’s class?? Who decided that??

TL;DR: This is a solid episode, with drama, friendship, and action! While I wish both Keiko and the rest of our female characters getting more personal motivations, I have to resign myself to loving the series despite that. Also, for some reason I’m all for a Dark!Koenma. Don’t ask me why.

[urameshiy-blog]

KUWABARA AND YUSUKE ARE BEST FRIENDS AND I LOVE THEM.

Episode 3: A Promise Between Men

Golden egg in hand, Yusuke has one task: to feed his Spirit Beast positive energy by completing a good deed. Problem is? Yusuke’s probably never done a good deed in his life, before saving that little kid. In the manga, this part was actually drawn out a bit longer, and Yusuke spends a good amount of time solving some cases as a ghost. However, this gets condensed into episode 3 and 4.

Yusuke gets sidetracked quickly by his task though, as Keiko finds herself in danger, when a bunch of guys stop her and try to molest her (yay, casual harassment!). Which, you know, Yusuke rightfully gets angry about, but come on Yusuke. You flip her skirt up and grope her at the first chance. You can punch yourself after you’re done being angry.

Luckily for Keiko, Kuwabara and his gang appears out of the sunset to save her (literally). His posse and the thugs have a glorious haphazard fight, with Kuwabara and Co. coming out the winner!

However, things take a turn for the worst for Kuwabara and his crew. The thugs they beat up reported them to school. Akashi, their teacher, takes over the punishment and says that the entire gang has to stay out of fighting for an entire week or else Okubo (one of the Kuwabara posse) will lose his job.

But that isn’t enough to keep Kuwabara down; in order to combat his absolute Pureness, the Worst Teachers in the World, Akashi and  Iwamoto, decide that the entire group has to pass the upcoming test with higher than a 50, or else the deal is off. Because Kuwabara is a good person, he accepts, declaring that he can’t let Okubo lose his job.

Afterward, it’s studying time. I won’t go step-by-step through the rest of this episode, because frankly there’s a lot of little things: Kuwabara getting beaten up some more; Yusuke helping Kuwabara studying; Yusuke possessing a girl to smack down some thugs; Kuwabara almost beating up Akashi, but Yusuke stopping him with his feelings (literally, Kuwabara feels his spiritual emotions). Yeah. Again, for such short episodes, they really do get a lot done. But in the end, our heroes come out on top!

(don’t worry Kuwabara, I’ll fight him for you)

This is the establishing Kuwabara episode. We’ve seen him before, but this episode absolutely grounds him as a character. Before I truly understood the beauty of Kuwabara’s character, I used to skip this episode during my rewatch. But I’ve grown older and wiser since then (…sort of). Kuwabara as a character truly shines, in both his determination and stubbornness, and these traits only grow as the series progresses.

We also see the beginnings of a perfect foil to Yusuke: whereas Yusuke usually wants to quit when things become too difficult, Kuwabara consistently stands up for his beliefs, his honor, and his friends. He takes a beating for his friends because he believes that’s the right thing to do. He stays up all night because there’s no way he’s going to let his friend lose his job. Kuwabara won’t back down, and this remains true even as the stakes increase throughout the series.

Kuwabara’s character is one of the first vehicles for Yusuke’s change. We see throughout the episode  that Yusuke doubts Kuwabara’s ability to stop fighting. Yet, as Kuwabara continuously proves him wrong, Yusuke’s respect grows and grows, until he’s right by Kuwabara’s side, helping him study in his sleep.

Further contrasting Kuwabara and Yusuke is Kuwabara’s gang. His gang are recurring characters that come back every now and then in the series, and I love them a lot. Especially poor Okubo! He just wants to help support his family. Now, they’re all similarly thugs like Yusuke and Kuwabara, but here’s the thing—Yusuke doesn’t have any friends like Kuwabara does. In fact, his only friend is Keiko, and he just beats up Kuwabara for fun. But I think Kuwabara’s loyalty to his friends really strikes Yusuke in this episode, and loyalty to his friends becomes incredibly important to Yusuke.

To take it a bit further, we will actually see Kuwabara’s best traits manifest in Yusuke’s development throughout the series. They were already there in Yusuke himself, but his friendship with Kuwabara and Keiko definitely helps bring it out. In a lot of ways, Kuwabara, along with Keiko, constantly demonstrate to Yusuke that humanity and living are worth it. They’ve already planted the first realization in Yusuke that coming back to life is important; later, this will grow into an appreciation for his friends and team.

We also one of the worst representations of education in this episode, which I’m more inclined to believe exists than not. It might be over exaggerated, but I have no doubt that teachers do dole out certain punishments like this. Akashi and Iwamoto might be caricatures, yet they are fittingly horrible, and once again demonstrate that schools too often only cater to students that are naturally gifted at school.

Takanaka, on the other hand, is a saint once again in this episode, and actively fights against Akashi’s and Iwamoto’s punishment. He’s the shining product of everything a teacher should be, and I’m so glad we have both sides of the coin. Even this early on in the series, Togashi is always willing to show that there are two sides to everything. Beginning that comparison in a school is especially fitting, since school is often the best microcosm to represent the best and worst of life.

Other than that though, as an episode, I don’t have much to critique. It’s incredibly cute, but is again, more character development for Yusuke and Kuwabara than anything else. Without this episode, I’m not sure we would actually care about Kuwabara or Yusuke’s relationship with him. It sets them up to be partners in crime later, and shows that Yusuke is capable of caring for someone other than Keiko, and growing past his initial judgement of that person.

Some final thoughts:

Opening song and chibi commercial break going strong

Botan weirdly thinks Kuwabara is cool this episode? How her tone changes later

Kuwabara and Yusuke’s friendship is so pure, I cried a little. I JUST LOVE FRIENDSHIP OK???

Favorite line this episode goes to Botan: “But you can communicate feelings to living people when you’re on the same emotional wave length. You reached Kuwabara with your feelings.” Literally the worst thing to say to a teenage boy.

Do you think that the girl Yusuke possessed in this episode has a mad rep now? I think that would be hilarious.

TL;DR: This was a cute, establishing character episode for Kuwabara and Yusuke and had some great laughs. Go rewatch it yourself!

[urameshiy-blog]

I’m posting throughout the day until I catch up to where my wordpress currently is! After today, it’ll only be one episode per day, but until then, I apologize for the spam!

Episode 2: Koenma Appears!

Episode 2 begins with a bang, when Botan spirits Yusuke away to Spirit World (hahah see what I did there… okay I’ll stop now). And, man, I just love Spirit World’s design so much. The bright yellows and oranges that characterize the River Styx are so imaganitive and so different from the human world; I love it.  I really do regret that we don’t see more of Spirit World later on in the series. I feel like that’s something left unexplored, especially considering how trippy the design is here. I guess the Ogre Stock Market will just have to fill the hole in my heart for now.

This guy is so beleaguered; I feel him on a deep spiritual level (that’s the last one I promise).

Botan brings Yusuke to the Spirit World HQ. Yusuke’s first instinct? How the hell is he going to fight his way out of this–which, pretty much stays constant for the rest of the series. I don’t think there’s a single time where Yusuke doesn’t want to fight something.

Before his plans to beat up Yama (or Enma in the original Japanese version) go any further, Botan springs the meeting on him, and we find out that the mighty King Yama Is actually Koenma, Yama’s son. He also happens to appear to be a toddler, which Yusuke mercilessly laughs at (as any teenage boy would. Remember dead baby jokes anyone?). After getting past the initial shock, Koenma issues him his ordeal: the golden chicken egg– I mean, Spirit Beast. Should Yusuke perform his ordeal well and act good naturedly, his egg will hatch and allow him to come back to life. Should he fail, it will turn into a deadly beast an eat his soul.

No pressure.

Yusuke accepts the ordeal, and then it’s back to the Living World. After that, it’s just a roller coaster. First, Yusuke has to keep his body from being cremated, but to do that, he has to convince someone from the living that he’s coming back. And in order to do that, he has to communicate with them in their dreams. First he tries Atsuko, which… does not go well:

Then, like the sane person Yusuke pretends to be, he goes to Keiko. However, she doesn’t believe him completely. So, Yusuke has to take it up a notch, and possess someone. The catch? He can only possess someone for an hour, and they have to be spiritually sensitive.

As it turns out, that person is Kuwabara. To which Yusuke responds, “What a surprise. That goof has a purpose.”

You don’t even know the half of it yet, Yusuke.

By possessing Kuwabara, Yusuke is finally able to communicate with Keiko (only after convincing it’s him by GROPING her. God. How often does he molest her?) Their time together up, she runs to Atsuko, who reveals that Yusuke’s body is warm. It looks like Yusuke’s on track to return to the living.

This episode is very heavy on the romantic side for Keiko and Yusuke. In retrospect, I did not remember Yusuke and Keiko having this deep of an emotional bond. At 14-years-old, Keiko is completely willing to wait for Yusuke to come back, no matter how long it takes.

And this, honestly, is where the series breaks down slightly for me. Togashi does not have a great track record with women in either of his series. In YYH, I think he provides a variety of badass women. But as much as I love them, they don’t have the same development that the boys do. Keiko, in particular, remains the girl that Yusuke is in love with. She represents the idealized male fantasy: pretty, smart, and willing to wait. Just in the second episode, she says, “I’d wait forever, Yusuke.” Throughout the series she wavers very little from this idea, and indeed, ends up waiting for him. So, while I appreciate the emotional bond Keiko and Yusuke share, it’s definitely mostly for Yusuke’s benefit and character development. Keiko’s story does not revolve around her own growth–it’s completely tied to his.

While on the subject of female characters, let’s talk about Atsuko in this episode. Like I said last post, I love Atsuko. Compared to the manga, where Atsuko goes to the Dark Tournament, she doesn’t have much screen time in the anime. Thus, this beginning arc is where we see her the most. What we do see is often played for laugh, but if you look closer, it’s incredibly dark. At the end, Atsuko says, “I opened up his coffin because I was going to smack him one more time for leaving me.” This is very much played for comedy. But it does bring to question: is physical abuse a thing in Yusuke’s house? Granted, while there is little evidence to support this, I wouldn’t be surprised, especially while Atsuko is drunk. Whatever the case is, Atsuko still isn’t receiving any mother of the year awards.

Yusuke, on the other hand, is in fine form this episode: angry, defensive, and ready to fight the new authority figure of Koenma if he has to. As their relationship progresses in future episodes, we’ll see that defensiveness fluctuate, as both Yusuke and the viewer learn more about our toddler ruler.

Final thoughts:

Episode 2 and still liking the opening theme and commercial break.

Favorite line this episode goes to Keiko’s dad when he sees Kuwabara: “Yusuke was never ugly like you.”  

I love how surprised Yusuke is by how many people want to beat Kuwabara up because honestly, same. How are you not dead, Kuwabara??

TL;DR: Overall I enjoyed this episode, but it definitely was more set-up for what’s to come. Fight scenes are again more secondary than anything else. We got some great emotional moments and shots though, so I’m satisfied. All the elements are being introduced; now, we just have to wait for them to come together.

[urameshiy-blog]

The Beginning of an Obsession

HI HO. If you didn’t know already, I’m going to be rewatching Yu Yu Hakusho for the next 100 days or so! If you’d prefer, these reviews are also on wordpress! I love this show a lot, and I’m really excited to talk about it! 

Without further adieu, let’s get into it. 

Episode 1: Surprised to Be Dead

Originally airing for Western audiences on Cartoon Network from 1992-1994, Yu Yu Hakusho (hereafter referred to as YYH) was adapted from Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga series of the same name. Reruns aired on the network up through 2005 (allowing baby millennials like me to see it) and the show is often referenced as one of Dragon Ball Z’s few competitors. Compared to Togashi’s current series, Hunter X Hunter, YYH is a light, fast romp, rounding out at only 112 episodes—which, when you look at more contemporary shonens like Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach, seems ridiculously short.

Without further delay, let’s get into the first episode: “Surprised to be Dead.”

(UGH THIS OPENING THEME SONG, SO GOOD. SO CHEERY. I CAN’T.

Okay, I’m chill.)

Unsurprisingly, the episodes opens up with our main character, Yusuke, dead, having given his life to save a child. Voiced by Justin Cook (who also directed the entire dub), Yusuke Urameshi is an unrepentant delinquent, angry with the entire world. He skips school, looks up his best friend’s skirt, and fights anything that moves.

At school, he doesn’t have many friends, and most people are scared of him. In the manga, he gambles, smokes, and steals, but this is all cut out to make him a little more attractive as a person. So when he saves a little boy, and loses his life in the process, no one was expecting it—not even Spirit World. With no place for him in the after-life, Botan, the Grim Reaper, appears to offer him a deal: go through an ordeal, and Yusuke can come back to life.

Yusuke, however, believes his life life does not matter and declines. Botan leaves him, suggesting that he go to his wake to think about it. There, he sees several people are grieving for him. Most notably these include: Keiko, his childhood friend; Kuwabara, his rival; Atsuko, his mother; and Takanaka, the only school teacher that cares about him. After seeing their pain, Yusuke decides to take Botan up on her offer.

For a pilot, I consider this to be pretty solid. It introduces Yusuke incredibly well, giving the viewer insights into his home life, school life, and socialization all in the first ten minutes. We get his bad traits and his good ones within that introduction, firmly establishing his character. But he’s not fully developed yet; he has a whole lot of growing up to do, which is what we’re looking to see.

The other characters, of course, also get established. Kuwabara is as wonderful or as annoying as ever depending on your point of view. As I became older, I grew to appreciate Kuwabara more, simply because of the amount of heart the kid has. In all honesty, he’s the best role model out of the core team. Have to say, I died when it’s revealed that he has 0 wins in his 156 fights with Yusuke. That’s perseverance.

Unfortunately, there’s not much to speak of with Keiko just yet. It’s telling that she sticks with Yusuke as a friend (even defending him to her horrible classmates), but she gets better scenes in the future. Botan, on the other hand, is a delight—the cheeriest grim reaper you’ll ever meet. She adds a lightness and hope to the series that would be missing otherwise.

We also meet Yusuke’s mother, who I both love and hate. Love, because she so clearly gives no fucks. Hate, because she’s obviously incredibly neglectful of Yusuke.

I’m also sad that Takanaka didn’t get screen time after the first arc in the series. He’s one of my favorite representations of any educator. He believed that Yusuke could become great, and that’s one of the most important qualities in any teacher.

For a show that I described as light, the pilot does not skimp on the heavy emotional scenes. The wake scene in particular hits me hard every time. Kuwabara screaming at Yusuke’s picture? Man, that’s just incredibly real. And it shows just how invested Kuwabara is in their rivalry and friendship.

The exploration of Yusuke’s wake is pivotal to spurring the beginnings of his character development. It shows that even if you don’t think you matter, there are always people out there that are thinking of you. And that’s the core of Yusuke’s journey—realizing that he does matter, and that he is loved and loves people back. A journey that includes beating the shit out of a lot of people, but a beautiful journey all the same. Actually, I’m impressed that it was set up this early on.

One last thing to talk about: ANIMATION. And by animation, I mean fight scenes. Now, I am always here for an awesome battle scene. In future episodes, Yu Yu Hakusho provides stunningly choreographed ones that I can watch over and over. In this one, we just get Yusuke beating Kuwabara to the pulp, which while entertaining, isn’t exactly stunning. Still, the animation overall holds up in my opinion, although I know others will disagree. It’s certainly lower in quality than later episodes in the Dark Tournament, but I’m particularly fond of the 90s animation style that Yu Yu Hakusho epitomizes.

Final thoughts:

Yusuke has some of THE best lines ever. Favorite this episode: “Hey Kuwabara, you’re conscious. I’m not used to that.” Worst friend ever, tbh.

A+ opening theme song. Ending song is so subdued??? But the animation is pretty af.

THE CHIBI TEAM IN THE BREAK IS SO CUTE, DON’T TRY TO TELL ME OTHERWISE.

Yusuke is such a perv and it’s a gross anime trope that I’m disappointed Togashi and the animation team indulges in. Glad he grows out of that.

TL;DR: All in all, the pilot sets up Yusuke’s journey well, and is more emotionally heavy and ironic than funny.

[urameshiy-blog]

HI INTERNET. 

One: I accidentally deleted my tumblr awhile ago. I wasn’t going to reopen one, but here I am. 

Two: Mostly, I’m going to use this to cross-post the Yu Yu Hakusho reviews that I’m doing for the next 100-ish days, but you might also see some other anime/media content in here! My blog might not look pretty per se for awhile, but I’m trying to emphasize READABILITY over anything else right now. 

So follow me, yell at me, whatever you wanna do! cheers all.