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Jun 23, 2017 6:42 AM
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Nov 2015
1055
The best episode.
Both characters are very good. Best animation so far.
Bui is so very nice. Self-aware, humble, valient. He just seeks to know the limits of his strength and never boasts. And the way he resigns and accepts his defeat, wishing for death, that's good (if he actually committed suicide, that would give more feels, but well)
Hiei's dragon is beautiful. His last words before falling asleep also very badass. Nice that he talks little, but most of the things he says are very meaningful.
Uhm, exxpect Yuusuke's team to win. If so, would his wish be resurrecting Genkai?
Sean_NessmanJun 23, 2017 6:53 AM
Jun 23, 2017 6:45 AM
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Nov 2015
1055
QABJAB said:
Am I missing something here? Why are people complaining about the quality of this episode? So far this seems to have the best shading, fluidity, and fight choreography that I've seen in a long time.

My jaw was dropped the entire episode not only because of the stunning cuts, but because of the smaller details within the episode. Did anyone else catch the number of times Juri tripped in the episode? Or Korenma biting his pacifier instead of it sitting in his mouth like usual? It's small uneeded touches that really make me appreciate this show more and more. Also the dynamic between Koto and Juri was so adorable.

They really went all out with this episode and I feel bad that I can't for the life of me, find out who the fuck animated this because I've found my new favorite episode in the series topping episode 48.

5/5 Keep up the good work. Please if anyone can tell me the animators for this episode, I'd love to see more of their work.


Yeah, shading. I tried to find the right word.
Maybe Akiyuki Shinbo did this ep, or had some participation in it. The shading and shadows are trademarks of his 90s style. Watch some OVAs of his during this episode and you will see it's strikingly similar
Jul 24, 2017 5:36 PM

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Jun 2016
3391
Bui was a simple but great opponent and his design was very reminiscent of Hokuto no Ken. His purpose for fighting was touching enough to understand him and we can even assume his wish for winning may very well of been a way to kill Toguro. He was a strong opponent who only lost because of the work Hiei put it. We all know Hiei is OP as hell, so the fact he was even able to deflect the Ensatsu Kokuryu-ha was impressive, especially when it was his reminiscing over why he was fighting in the first place that did it. I really did like how we found out about that scar Bui had as well, really added to why he was fighting. He would have to look at the most crushing moment of his life every single day.

After the fight we get two chances to see Hiei's development over the series. He refuses to kill Bui respecting him as an opponent and relies and trusts the rest of the Urameshi team to finish the fight. He's grown to be much more kind and selfless through his journey with the team, even if he doesn't want to show it directly through his tough exterior.

That fight, art style, animation and Hiei's development made that the best episode yet by far. Intense battle of power, the strongest won because they were stronger alone. I was screaming the entire time. And can we talk about the adorable moment where Koto saved Juri when she was in danger of the fight. Fantastic episode, thoroughly impressed. Bui was the strongest villain writing wise so far, he wasn't anything too special but he was written well enough that he was understandable and fighting for a good reason which he cared about(no: "I fight because I'm a 1 dimensional villain and want to blow up the world" shenanigans).

Seriously that art though:


Jul 24, 2017 5:46 PM

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Jun 2016
3391
StevenHu said:
Now that this contrived match is over, I can look forward to seeing the next long-winded fight that will most likely be even more lousy.

Also, I know this is from two years ago but Steven has the most useless comments I've ever seen. He never expands on his points or tries to explain anything, how was this in anyway contrived? Or long-winded? It's like he goes into this show expecting to hate it and rather than saying anything insightful ever, he just gives baseless insults he probably doesn't even understand.

If you're going to insult or praise a show please give reasons, especially if you're going to do so meaninglessly in every single thread. Once or twice just saying I'm not a fan of this is okay, but don't do it in every thread, it's just a waste of space.

Learn from Steven people, this guy is a prime example of how you shouldn't express yourself critically.
Jul 31, 2017 5:57 AM

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Apr 2017
299
gfsdfgsdgsdfgs said:
Bui was a simple but great opponent and his design was very reminiscent of Hokuto no Ken. His purpose for fighting was touching enough to understand him and we can even assume his wish for winning may very well of been a way to kill Toguro. He was a strong opponent who only lost because of the work Hiei put it. We all know Hiei is OP as hell, so the fact he was even able to deflect the Ensatsu Kokuryu-ha was impressive, especially when it was his reminiscing over why he was fighting in the first place that did it. I really did like how we found out about that scar Bui had as well, really added to why he was fighting. He would have to look at the most crushing moment of his life every single day.

After the fight we get two chances to see Hiei's development over the series. He refuses to kill Bui respecting him as an opponent and relies and trusts the rest of the Urameshi team to finish the fight. He's grown to be much more kind and selfless through his journey with the team, even if he doesn't want to show it directly through his tough exterior.

That fight, art style, animation and Hiei's development made that the best episode yet by far. Intense battle of power, the strongest won because they were stronger alone. I was screaming the entire time. And can we talk about the adorable moment where Koto saved Juri when she was in danger of the fight. Fantastic episode, thoroughly impressed. Bui was the strongest villain writing wise so far, he wasn't anything too special but he was written well enough that he was understandable and fighting for a good reason which he cared about(no: "I fight because I'm a 1 dimensional villain and want to blow up the world" shenanigans).

Seriously that art though:




yeah Idk what's up with people complaining about the animation when it was the most visually interesting episode so far. I gotta admit, I wasn't initially pleased when Bui took his helmet off, but seeing the story behind it was good. The fact that showing his scar in the open, which is his reason for fighting, makes him stronger is a nice touch.

Probably the best episode and definitely the best fight. The off model art only adds to it imo.

gfsdfgsdgsdfgs said:
StevenHu said:
Now that this contrived match is over, I can look forward to seeing the next long-winded fight that will most likely be even more lousy.

Also, I know this is from two years ago but Steven has the most useless comments I've ever seen. He never expands on his points or tries to explain anything, how was this in anyway contrived? Or long-winded? It's like he goes into this show expecting to hate it and rather than saying anything insightful ever, he just gives baseless insults he probably doesn't even understand.

If you're going to insult or praise a show please give reasons, especially if you're going to do so meaninglessly in every single thread. Once or twice just saying I'm not a fan of this is okay, but don't do it in every thread, it's just a waste of space.

Learn from Steven people, this guy is a prime example of how you shouldn't express yourself critically.


Yeah, it would be ok if he actually gave a shit about making a real point that isn't a glib comment like "this show's popularity baffles me" (not a direct quote, but you get the gist), but his lack of any real analysis of anything happening just kinda makes it funny.
HannibalQAug 25, 2017 6:26 AM
Big breast are full of dreams, but small breast are full of hope.
Nov 5, 2017 1:31 AM
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Apr 2017
157
My favorite character of the series pulling off a great victory.

One thing I like about the show is that every fighter has a unique set of skills and is animated in a unique way. Hiei's dragon attacks are trippy and epic.
Dec 30, 2017 5:36 PM

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Dec 2012
2995
TOO OP THAT FKIN DRAGON

Jan 8, 2018 1:07 AM

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Jul 2017
2242
This episode was lackluster to me. Hiei's edgy badass thing is always annoying, and seeing this giant dragon stuff and everything blowing up (more than before but not really new) with very weird art and choppy animation made it worse. Bui was actually cool. However, I didn't really feel for him until close to the end when he went on about Toguro, and Hiei spared his life. The end of this arc is too overblown for me. I hope the last fights will be better. I am wondering if we will see Sakyo or Koenma step into the ring. Originally, I didn't think so. Now I'm not sure. I feel like Sakyo will get his ass kicked before this is all over, or he will become the big bad for a while.

I guess it's more like the fight was lackluster while the speculation for what happens next is interesting.
Feb 5, 2018 7:53 AM

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Oct 2012
7194
Hiei didn't kill his enemy? Hiei is completely OP, completely unscathed xD
"Signature removed"
Mar 16, 2018 9:59 PM
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Feb 2014
2
The finishing touch was really Koto referencing Frank Sinatra, i can see the dragon being an irresistible force and Bui an immovable object. shame no one talked about it but hey this show is full of references and easter eggs, so we would be going for days.
Oct 3, 2018 3:05 PM

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Nov 2016
32916
This fight was some next level shit. Really epic.

Now it's time for Kuwabara to lose :)

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Mar 21, 2019 8:33 PM
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Oct 2018
515
Hiei turned it up a couple of notches this episode. dope
Apr 1, 2019 4:59 PM

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May 2017
1043
wow my favorite episode this far. Incredible showing of visual presentation. You can tell top notch animators were involved in this episode. They have shown us 2 ways to portray fine art.

The first one is the incredible art in general. A lot of these shots had amazingly detailed character art with deep black shadings and a very nice storyboard. Some amazingly frames shown. The scenes of the dragon were all very nicely drawn and the way the colors changed at the start was just epic.

The other one was the animation. It is rare for Yu Yu to show actual combat animation, most of the animation we get is range attacks with good background animation. This episode had some nice close combat scenes.

I saw people commenting "the animation was bad" And I instantly had a reminder of naruto's pain fight, where people said the animation was bad when it wasn't at all. The thing I agree on, and that is what they probably mean by "bad animation" is the loose art in some scenes. Character art was sacrificed to deliver smooth animation but that doesnt excuse completely normal shots of hiei where he is more or less only standing around with complete off model design. He sometimes didn't look like Hiei at all and more like a cartoon character from the 60s.

Besides that this episode was great not only visual and animation wise but also story wise. I liked the fact that Bui was able to withstand the darkness flame. Hiei absorbing the dragon and completely overpowering Bui at the end. This must have consequences for Hiei though. There hasn't been a single person that has mastered the darkness flame.
May 31, 2019 2:22 PM
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Apr 2016
13027
Well, this episode had one of the best animations probably in anime history, goddamn I was mindblown by how smooth and amazing it was. Hiei is badass, he mastered the dragon.
Aug 8, 2019 8:54 AM

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Jun 2015
1757
Monad said:

Cheap work is cheap wok though. You can't go dropping the artwork quality to shit so it's easier to draw a few frames more and pretend that you made awesome animation. That's cheap work.

Try making a long weekly anime that looks impeccable all the time. With limited budget.
Switch_ZOct 27, 2020 8:07 AM
Aug 8, 2019 8:54 AM

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Jun 2015
1757
Animation got really... expressive at the second half.
And Sleeping Hiei is cute.
Apr 21, 2020 2:46 PM

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Mar 2020
1148
Hiei be taking naps
Floyd Mayweather English Tutor
Jul 6, 2020 6:24 AM

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Sep 2018
1081
The fluid animation was nice, but I wasn't a huge fan of the looser art style this episode, especially with some of the close-ups on Hiei's face. Generally, I prefer it if non-episodic shows maintain a consistent style, as sudden changes such as this can be quite jarring. Still, finally seeing the perfected Ensatsu Kokuryu-ha was definitely worth it.
Aug 22, 2020 5:09 PM

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Apr 2020
1109
The Animation was bad and good at the same time
Hiei is just awesome! There is know way that the Toguro's are gonna let Bui live now.
--AbiSa--
Oct 27, 2020 7:46 AM

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Feb 2009
3443
Switch_Z said:
Veethorn said:

Cheap work is cheap wok though. You can't go dropping the artwork quality to shit so it's easier to draw a few frames more and pretend that you made awesome animation. That's cheap work.

Try making a long weekly anime that looks impeccable all the time. With limited budget.


You are not quoting me here, carefull how you edit your posts. For me this was the best episode of the entire series, action-wise. So please do not misquote others.
Oct 27, 2020 8:06 AM

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Jun 2015
1757
Veethorn said:
Switch_Z said:

Try making a long weekly anime that looks impeccable all the time. With limited budget.


You are not quoting me here, carefull how you edit your posts. For me this was the best episode of the entire series, action-wise. So please do not misquote others.

Oh shit, I'm sorry. I was a MAL noob and cropped it way too much
Jan 3, 2021 8:30 AM

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Dec 2007
8126
the art was little...strange, but worked out for this badass fight.
Mar 14, 2021 9:58 PM

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Jun 2008
857
Best episode of the series so far. I loved the unique art and direction. Fascinating and memorable episode.
Jul 29, 2021 12:05 AM

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Aug 2018
39523
Hiei was insanely badass this episode!!!

Aug 10, 2021 11:27 PM

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Mar 2021
815
One of my favourite episodes of the series. Hiei at his best, everybody totally confused and stunned at what they were seeing, Koenma terrified XD
Mar 21, 2022 11:02 PM

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Sep 2021
75
I know this is going to change, but one thing I love about this show is that so far, we've got little hints about Hiei's power along the way and that he could even be more powerful than the MC in Yusuke. It never takes much away from Yusuke though which shows how well the characters are handled.
Aug 13, 2022 8:20 PM
D. N.

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Aug 2022
61
I am having a hard time comprehending some of these comments. Are people judging this episode/anime animations and story by today's standards? Thanks to the advancements in production and storytelling, there's no comparison. But I am almost sure this was peak anime in the early 90s. This style of animation seems to sacrifice details over fluidity, similar to modern anime like Fate Apocrypha episode 22 or Fate Camelot part 2. I would understand if you prefer DBZ over this episode's animation but to call it awful is just wrong. I am honestly mind blown by what I just watched. To think an early 90s anime *series* could achieve something like this. WOW! Series' best episode production-wise, and maybe overall thus far. Hiei's power boost was ridiculous! Now all I want is Kuwabara to humble Elder Toguro (:
LavenderHazeAug 13, 2022 10:20 PM
𝓘 𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓸𝓯 𝓯𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓯𝓵𝓪𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮𝓼.
Sep 30, 2022 10:28 AM

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May 2020
1532
Still as orgasmic as I remember
*
Oct 4, 2022 3:08 PM

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Aug 2014
31
Really nice animation. The art itself suffered a bit cause of that (a lot of funny faces), but I think it was worth it in the end.
Oct 9, 2022 12:53 PM

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Jan 2021
1812
Hiei is literally that guy bro is just built different
May 4, 2023 6:08 PM

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Oct 2014
204
Hiei vs. Bui just immediately reminded me of Naruto vs. Pain. Both Anime are done by Pierrot, but many years apart. So I'm guessing that that animation is a specific style of one of the animators.

Regardless, amazing fight. Seeing Hiei power up was long-awaited.
CrimsonRuinMay 4, 2023 6:11 PM
May 22, 2023 6:37 PM

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Mar 2022
1187
God that was such an awesome episode. Hiei basically once again proving he's an awesome character, a lot of people are saying that the animation in this episode is "bad", to that I'll say not really, while yes it's very off-model in some places it's kind of got some of the best fluid animation your gonna get an shounen anime especially when Hiei is using his Dragon of the Darkness Flame attack and the way the dragon slithers about the place is amazing. Otherwise the fight is just incredible, Bui's also a cool character as well as we got to learn why he's in the tournament and the reason he has that scar on him was pretty neat. Probably one of the best episodes we've had in Yu Yu Hakusho.
Jun 3, 2023 9:49 PM

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Jul 2021
530
THIS. WAS. AWESOME!... Except for the animation, it wasn't very good.
Jun 9, 2023 9:02 PM

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Jun 2022
535
As other have said the fight was nice, but man the animation downgraded quickly, especially Hei but almost every character seemed to have been drawn off model. Did they have a different crew animate this episode?
Oct 27, 2023 7:39 AM

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Apr 2016
2643
That animation of Koto taking out the annoying fish girl out of the ring was the best part of the episode, then all the faces Bui was doing saving him from being just another boring villain xD Hiei also got some funny moments too.
Feb 15, 2024 3:07 PM
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May 2020
18230
hiei became the dragon of the darkness flame, bro is him
Mar 3, 2024 2:22 PM
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Sep 2023
2
This episode reminded me of why I love the cubi vs pain fight from naruto, this is godly animation
Mar 4, 2024 5:23 PM

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Apr 2017
3120
Hiei finally got control of that dragon and got a win! Now, Kuwabara and Yusuke have to win their match.
Apr 15, 2024 12:50 PM
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Jan 2021
189
Hiei is definitely my favourite character in the series.
He might become one of my 'top 10 favorite character' just like Killua.
Apr 15, 2024 12:52 PM
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Jan 2021
189
Reply to AbiSa
The Animation was bad and good at the same time
Hiei is just awesome! There is know way that the Toguro's are gonna let Bui live now.
@AbiSa If they are alive after the battle that is.
Jun 8, 2024 1:42 AM
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Dec 2019
949
Gainax-style fight here with all the colours and flashes. The Dark Tournament leans a little more into flashbacks, stalling, and OG content than some of the other arcs but this episode in particular is excellent.
Aug 8, 2024 9:25 PM

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Jun 2017
2709
By now, Hiei is probably everyone's favorite! That was an outstanding performance right there! And I like how he didn't even finish off Bui because he didn't want anyone "Dictating" him! That was so marvelous when he said it.
KoniginElleAug 13, 2024 8:58 PM

She got him back. If you understand the characters well enough, you'd know she did!
May 2, 9:36 PM
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Feb 2021
649
God damn, what an insane episode. It's genuinely insane how this show continues to improve with every single episode.
Jun 2, 11:07 AM
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Jan 2019
109
This episode animation was GOOD

When i first saw it, i was mind blown. I want to see more animation like this in Anime.

I want this episode to be studied by animators.
Aug 30, 2:20 PM
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May 2025
11
Rewatched this episode with friends recently. The animation in this episode is SOOO so good.
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