Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho

I decided to make some sort of review of this since there didn't seem to be many negative ones previously. The first thing I want to say here is that Hunter x Hunter, the other popular work from the same author, is one of my favorite anime series for half a decade. I therefore had very high expectations for Yu Yu Hakusho. Hell, I'd even have been able to say I liked it even if it was a Dragonball clone. But it was something much worse...

The story is quite trivial most of the time; it gets somewhat good during the last 25 or so eps, ... but it's not worth watching all those battles before it which don't relate to it any way. The few individual story arcs before that are extremely simplistic, if not nonexistent. Mainly you get the feelling that the author came up with them in 5 seconds in order to give some cause for the action.

It's a series from the early 90's, so the art isn't very cool. You'd think that when the series is just pointless action, they'd at least make the action look good? Well, you're wrong. They've not used even those flash and sketcy-line techniques they used on Dragonball at roughly the same time period.

There's no musical scores you'd remember afterwards. Unlike some people, I find several anime series to have music you want to listen discretely from watching the series. But YYH is definitely not one of those, so it's music is well below average.

The main characters are, besides Kurama, unsympathetic slow-witted tough guys. The bad guys mostly lack any personality, their motive to attack the main cast is mainly just because they're bad, and you forget them immediately after they get slaughtered - the shaggy story arcs mostly don't intersect in any way, so you never hear anything about them from any character (and if you ask me, that's one of the defining marks of a bad series). Some of the characters develop at the end - but again, it's nothing exceptional, and just goddamn not worth watching those never-ending mindless bloodbath battles!

So, the battles are long and dull, with exceptionally random power-ups or mutations. There's no adventuring, just tournaments or premised quests to go to some place to beat up some guys. There's little drama, and most characters remain one-dimensional. Unlike in Hunter x Hunter, the superpowers are pure raw power without any strategical element to them. There are only few fighting female characters, most are just cheergals. To me, there wasn't simply anything enjoyable or inspiring in anything.

Overall, it's not the worst series out there (to me the worst are those that try to be something but fail epicly), it just doesn't have anything to say. It's the most generic, mediocre shounen action series probably ever made, and you could watch it if you have absolutely nothing else to do, but don't expect anything.

If you want to watch a fighting series, watch Dragonball - there's some meaning to the fights, there's some plot in between them, and the action is mostly cool.

If you want to watch a quality shounen series which revolves around sympathetic and unforgettable characters, which is mainly adventure and not tournament, which has a good plot and only short battles right on the hot spots of the plot, or want to have a glimpse of that genius of Yoshihiro Togashi they talk out there, watch Hunter x Hunter.

Naruto is fine too.

I think most of the high reviews here are just based on nostalgia. I recently watched this anime and found it absolutely boring and unenjoyable.

The characters are actually pretty decent. They dont receive that much development but they are fine. Yusuke in particular seems better then Luffy, Naruto and Ichigo. But thats the only good thing I can say.

Most of this series consists of fights. Which would be great if it werent for every fight following the same formula. Good guys fight against overhyped superevil demon and get their ass handed to them. But they never kill them. Then you have 2 options. The good ... guy does an all in attack where he uses his own life force (whatever the fuck this means, since nobody dies anyway) and instakills the bad guy. OR the character gets a random powerup via new technique or power of friendship and once again instakills the bad guy.

The villains are non-threatening and the series is full of anime cliches. After a few fights you know whats gonna happen till the end, and since there is little plot its not worth watching 112 episodes for mediocre fight scenes. I truly think the first 10 episodes were the best. With the focus on the characters and the town.

This anime was recommended by almost everyone and is acclaimed to be one of the "best" shounens. However I all I can say to that is I think people may be blinded by nostalgia and people's tendencies to worship the writer (although is amazingly talented, I don't think Yu Yu Hakusho stands anywhere near the quality that Hunter x Hunter was.)

Story: At first the story was interesting, narrative-wise but as its progressing it's becoming very sluggish with the constant battles that mean little to nothing with lacklustre villains.

Art: The art style is cute but inconsistent. I love Yusuke's and Heiei's designs however others just aren't ... that interesting and a little generic. Animation wise, I assumed it was because of the show's age but others have said its quite poor in comparison to shows made in its time, with lots of shortcuts. It just makes it look cheap and distracts from the already slow story.

Characters: The characters are nice. I like Yusuke and Keiko a lot, however, their development in how they interact with each other is all over the place. An example is how Heiei was a terrible person who kidnaps Keiko, but suddenly changes heart for no reason other than being around Yusuke??? Makes zero sense and just feels lazy. None of the villains so far have made any real impact. Forgettable in design, motive, anything... They feel like they are only there solely to be an obstacle for the protagonists; which is honestly for me the biggest turn-off.

Enjoyment: At some points, I enjoy the show, but when its focused a lot on fighting, I'm honestly completely turned off. The animation is poor, the design is poor, characters are one dimensional with no goals. I feel a lot of the time things are spelt out for us. It almost has me questioning whether this is a show for children. Perhaps I would've loved it when growing up but I definitely don't recommend this show

I really liked this show.
'Liked' being the key word, honestly I wanted to watch more of this show and everyone has recommended it and praised it for being so good and I admit that it is a very well written show. The characters are each likeable in their own way and the story and pacing is very engaging because it never slows down or wastes time.
BUT
the one thing that just ruined it for me was when Yusuke is fighting an enemy woman and then he realises that she has a penis and she says that in her heart she is a woman he ... says "don't do things half-assed, make both your heart and your body a woman." in most anime they would either misunderstand what trans people are or make a character that is supposed to make fun of trans people but in Yu Yu Hakusho he just straight up makes a blatantly transphobic statement that's supposed to sound 'heroic'. I tried to watch more of it but I just couldn't stand the horrible transphobia.

I do not hate anyone who still enjoys this show if you are not bothered by it then that's fine but this is a warning to anyone who will be bothered by it and does not want to support it.

Yu Yu Hakusho is the worst shonen anime I have ever seen. In addition to it being a gigantic dragon ball/dragon ball z rip off, it is a complete failure. I'll say this, I had high expectations for this anime before starting it because Hunter x Hunter is one of my favorite animes of all time and yu yu hakusho and hxh have the same author. However, yu yu hakusho is straight up garbage, good thing Togashi learned from his mistakes. Yu Yu hakusho has a terrible story, it moves all over the place and the lore is corny dumb and childish. The fight scenes ... are abseloutley boring and have terrible animation. The music is so bad I can't remmeber a single soundtrack from the anime. The characters might be the worst thing about this anime, they are so boring and generic. Each side character is lame and has no development throughout the series. The mc is probably the worst mc I have ever seen. The show is just terribly written, theres so many asspulls for every character. All the power ups make no sense and just happen for the plot without any explanation. Man, nostalgia is a hell of a drug if people think this terrible show can even come close to being called a masterpiece. If yu yu hakusho came out today, it would be laughed at for how pathetic it is and would be the next boruto.

Disclaimer: This review contains minor spoilers and is written for Portugues br/English readers.

I see several revisions here, but all of them are based on nostalgia and individualistic sentimental moments and they are all correct in what you mean. I am not the owner of reason and I would like to write my feelings towards my point of view of the show.

Yuu Yuu Hakusho is a common shounen from the 90s that was quite prestigious with his original style of Yoshiro Togashi, who later idealized one of the most loved shounens in the anime/manga community: Hunter x Hunter. However, nowadays Yuu Yuu Hakusho is not said ... as an ordinary shounen, but a classic, due to its dramatic-nostalgic charge, which overwhelms the feelings of those who witnessed its exhibition and snatches new feelings from those influenced by this wind. His narrative is about the character Yuusuke Urameshi, which becomes a spiritual detective why should not die before their time. The introduction of the story and the main characters brings a current of empathy and a very cool pre-established relationship.
The initial arc (Spirit Detective Arc) comes as a noisy train saying what was coming: bad world construction, simple character background, bad scene directions and script, emotionless fights, lack of danger and a lot of deus ex machina. However for an arc of reception of history, everything is very simple and well behaved.

Therefore, basically the whole show wants you not to discuss anything about its premise or situations that are imposed, because if you heat up your brains for a plausible answer to what happens you will come to the conclusion that it is not worth caring about. and this is where the show holds us in the grip of the “cool style”. Because of that, Yuu Yuu Hakusho works for many people, but I admit that some fateful moments have scenes that are very cool. Highlight for the speech of Kuwabara: "A mulberry is a tree, Kuwabara is a man".
However an example of these two narrative bottlenecks at once, both in betraying premises and looking cool; is when Yuusuke is about to prevent Kurama from using the mirror of darkness that fulfills wishes that has the consequence of taking half his life as payment, Yuusuke at the moment when Kurama is consummating the fact, says to give up half of his life too, after that the Kurama's wish is fulfilled and the mirror says that despite the effort no life would be taken. Now I ask for a judgment: Yuusuke's attitude was cool, right? But in the meantime the mirror of darkness that is a legendary weapon, does not fulfill its purpose was cool too?

Therefore, it happens throughout the show at certain times and removes the sense of momentary temporality of the situation, because it makes it seem that nothing said will really happen.
In addition, there are times when the direction of scenes and script, seems so lazy and reuse scenes after scenes, dialogues after dialogues, without the honor of at least trying to deceive the viewer with a well-done expository dialogue. These situations are repeated both in the secondary arc (Dark Tournament Arc), and the others. And it becomes irritating if you pay as little attention as possible.

The development of character and villains is not notorious enough to start thinking and understand their real motivations for what they do, because the direction spend screen time showing repeated scenes and forgets to use a very strong background tool called " flashback". Not to mention the immense explanation texts of power and skills. Speaking of skill in the third arc (Chapter Black Arc) Yuusuke and his friends become incredibly strong one hour to another, some explanations are sentimental and other power hidden asleep. An example of Yuusuke in the fight against Sensui: he has all weak movements and a clearly broken arm (shows a scene of this), some conversations take place and then he gets up and jumps in attack against his enemy as if he is 100% fine, but a few minutes ago / episodes it was not, it is an error of continuation of events that is unforgivable. Anyway ... He ends up dying and resurrecting without any foreshadowing, but of course, protagonists never die in a pathetic way.

The final arc (Three Kings Arc) promised to be the redemption of the series for me in an exceptional way, because the only thing that mattered in the final stretch is fights of surprising levels, however, I was disappointed once again with a half-mouthed tournament. The conclusion was what was expected despite everything, because what to expect besides fights from an fights anime?

The art of the show starts off excellent and as the episodes increase drastically decays slowly, but maintaining consistency in important and long-awaited fights, a highlight of the Hiei vs. Bui fight where there are many Sakugas; choreographic fighting and beautiful explosions.
The music and sounds of the show are without a doubt excellent, in particular Opening and Endings. Some OST’s didn’t look good in certain scenes, but separately they have their charm.

Overall, Yuu Yuu Hakusho for me was not a good experience and I believe that some people have not been well, but on the contrary a lot of people like it and I'm glad for that, because the disappointment was only on my side: 04/10.

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Vejo diversas revisões aqui, mas todas muitas baseadas em nostalgia e momentos sentimentais individualistas e todas estão corretas no que quer dizer. Não sou o dono da razão e gostaria de escrever meus sentimentos perante o meu ponto de vista do show.

Yuu Yuu Hakusho é um shounen comum dos anos 90 que foi bastante prestigiado com seu estilo original de Yoshiro Togashi, que mais tarde idealizou o um dos shounens mais amados pela comunidade anime/manga: Hunter x Hunter. Entretanto, hoje em dia Yuu Yuu Hakusho não é dito como um shounen comum, mas um clássico, pela sua carga dramático-nostálgica, que arrebata sentimentos de quem presenciou sua exibição e arrebata novos sentimentos dos que são influenciados por esse vento. Sua narrativa ocorre sobre o personagem Yuusuke Urameshi, que se torna um detetive espiritual porque não deveria morrer antes da hora. A introdução da historia e os personagens principais trás uma corrente de empatia e um relacionamento pré-estabelecido muito legal.
O arco inicial (Spirit Detective Arc) vem como um trem barulhento dizendo o que vinha por ai: má construção de mundo, background de personagem simplório, péssimas direções de cenas e script, lutas sem emoção, falta de sensação de perigo e muito deus ex machina. No entanto para um arco de recepção da historia, tudo é bem singelo e comportado.

Por conseguinte, basicamente todo o show quer que você não discuta nada de sua premissa ou situações que são impostas, pois se você esquentar os miolos por uma resposta plausível para o que ocorre você chegara à conclusão de que não vale a pena se importa com aquilo e é nesse ponto que o show nos prende nas garras do “cool style”. Por causa disso, Yuu Yuu Hakusho funciona para muitas pessoas, porem admito que alguns momentos fatídicos haja cenas que são muito legais. Destaque para a fala do Kuwabara: “A arvore tem que ser de cerejeira e o homem tem que ser Kuwabara”.
No entanto um exemplo desses dois gargalos narrativos de uma só vez, tanto em trair premissas e parecer legal; é quando Yuusuke está para impedir Kurama de utilizar o espelho das trevas que realiza desejos que tem a consequência de tirar metade da vida como pagamento, Yuusuke no momento em que Kurama esta consumando o fato, diz entregar metade de sua vida também, após isso o desejo de Kurama é realizado e o espelho diz que apesar do esforço nenhuma vida seria retirada. Agora eu peço um julgamento: foi legal a atitude de Yuusuke, certo? Mas, entretanto o espelho das trevas que é uma arma lendária, não cumprir o seu proposito foi legal também?

Portanto, isso acontece em todo o show em determinados momentos e retira o senso de temporalidade momentânea da situação, porque faz parecer que nada do que dito vai realmente acontecer.
Além disso, há momentos em que a direção de cenas e roteiro, parece tão preguiçosa e reutilizam cenas após cenas, diálogos após diálogos, sem honra de pelo menos tentar enganar o telespectador com um diálogo expositivo bem feito. Essas situações se repetem tanto no arco secundário (Dark Tournament Arc), e os demais. E que se torna irritante caso você preste o mínimo de atenção possível.

O desenvolvimento de personagem e vilões não é notório o suficiente para arrancar reflexões e entender suas reais motivações para o que eles fazem, porque a direção gasta tempo de tela exibindo cenas repetidas e esquece-se de utilizar uma ferramenta de background fortíssima que se chama “flashback”. Sem contar os imensos textos de explicação de poder e habilidades. Falando em habilidade no terceiro arco (Chapter Black Arc) Yuusuke e seus amigos se tornam incrivelmente fortes de uma hora pra outra, algumas explicações são sentimentais e outras poder oculto adormecido. Um exemplo de Yuusuke na luta contra Sensui: ele tem todos os movimentos debilitados e um braço nitidamente quebrado (mostra uma cena disso), se passam algumas conversas e então se levanta e pula em ataque contra seu inimigo como se estivesse 100% bem, mas há poucos minutos/episódios não estava, é um erro de continuação de acontecimentos que é imperdoável. Enfim... Ele acaba morrendo e ressuscitando sem prenuncio algum, mas claro, protagonistas nunca morrem de forma patética.

O arco final (Three Kings Arc) prometia ser a redenção da serie para mim de um modo excepcional, pois a única coisa que importava na reta final é lutas de níveis surpreendentes, no entanto, me decepcionei mais uma vez com um torneio meia boca. A conclusão foi o esperado apesar de tudo, pois o que esperar além de lutas de um anime de lutas?

A arte do show começa excelente e conforme os episódios aumentam decai drasticamente de forma lenta, mas mantendo a consistência em lutas importantes e muito esperadas, um destaque a luta de Hiei vs Bui onde há muitas Sakugas; coreográficas de luta e lindas explosões.
Musicas e Sons do show, são sem duvidas excelentes, em destaque a Opening e Endings. Algumas OST’s não ficaram boas em certas cenas, mas separadamente tem seu charme.

No geral, Yuu Yuu Hakusho para mim não foi uma boa experiência e acredito que para algumas pessoas não foram também, mas pelo contrario muita gente gostou e fico feliz por isso, porque a decepção ficou apenas do meu lado: 04/10.

Watched it, stopped, then tried watching it again. Was looking for an anime that wasn't overly sexual and heard this show was really really good. Turns out that it's just average. I like kuwabara, and that's about it for the characters. Waaayyy too many fake out deaths, bullshit power-ups, and just filler. The animation is ok (a lot of re-used footage of the crowds). Has a worse soundtrack than one piece. I like hunter x hunter though.

That's basically it. Will probably update if I finish the show. Oh, and I just found out that the series isn't even finished ffs! So, not only is it ... average overall, it doesn't even have a proper ending

I was told this anime was exceptional, mainly because it shares the same author as Hunter x Hunter. It’s true that the story is complex and promising on paper. However, the anime is a huge disappointment.

The animation quality is seriously lacking: the movements are stiff, the animation techniques are poor, and the direction fails to be engaging. Worse still, the pacing of the anime is poorly handled, making it hard to enjoy.

These combined flaws completely ruin the potential of the work, making it an adaptation that’s almost impossible to recommend. A real disappointment for something that could have been a hidden gem.

I honestly can’t recommend Yu Yu Hakusho, especially when I compare it to Hunter x Hunter (yes, cliché, but since they’re both from Togashi, I can’t help it).

I only made it up to the Dark Tournament Arc, but by then I had already lost interest. What I was looking for was in-depth writing and layered storytelling, but what I found felt abrupt and shallow. The arcs don’t really build depth as they just move from one big fight to another without much weight.

The characters also didn’t grab me. There’s barely any development that made me attached to them. Villains are very random too, popping up ... like “enemy of the week” with little personality or reason to care. Unlike HxH where every antagonist feels like a real part of the world, here they just exist to be defeated.

The humor is very much 90s slapstick, but to me it feels outdated and flat. The fights aren’t as smarat either since there is almost no strategy, no “IQ battles.” Just punches and yelling.

Maybe for its time it was groundbreaking, but watching it now, I can’t say it holds up. If you’ve seen Hunter x Hunter and loved its worldbuilding, character depth, and intricate writing, you probably won’t find the same satisfaction in Yu Yu Hakusho.

The show starts mostly underwhelming; goes into straight up awful and disappointing by the end of the Dark Tournament arc; then goes on to its best written and IMO its only good arc, the Chapter Black; then hastily finishes neatly but underwhelmingly, supposedly diverging from the manga which the author didn't even want to work on at that point.

I wanted to see hxh's older sibling show, and even if it was mostly underwhelming mixed in with awful, it wasn't all bad. Crazy how much better hxh is, but there were hints of that brilliance in the Chapter Black arc which I could guess might've been ... even better if the author was given more freedom to finish it as he intended.