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STORY: 8.5/10
Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho starts of with the death of it's main character, Yusuke. Yeah, you read that right. This sends him into purgatory, and, since his death was so unexpected, the grim reaper, or, in this case, a pretty blue haired girl riding an oar (Don't you just love anime?), gives him a chance to revive himself if he can complete a trial. It's unfortunate that this arc wasn't popular, because I find it to be one of the more interesting ones. But, Yusuke completes the trial and is revived by episode 5. This is where the shonen starts tying in, with Yusuke and his crew going on missions to prevent the human realm. This arc is fine, but it really only exists to get us comfortable with the main characters. Then, it launches into a MASSIVE 40 episode arc. This is probably the best arc in the series, as it contains lots of character development and features a villain who is the perfect mixture of intimidating and awesome that has you ridiculously hyped to see Yusuke finally punch his face in. The final fight at the end of that arc was definitely worth the wait, but I didn't forget the journey. The times when the spotlight shifted to Kurama or Hiei were some of the best fights in the series. After this, it goes into in arc with an even BETTER villain, but unfortunately this arc gets dragged out and at some points will have you just wishing it was over. Again however, the payoff fight of Yusuke vs Sensui was one of the best. The final arc exists as more of a wrap up but was actually what I think to be up there with the Dark Tournament arc. Not because of excessive character development or plot twists or new abilities, but because of how far the characters had come from their first appearances, from (almost) normal teenagers to basically demigods. The actually ending as well, was great, and I was overjoyed when I realized I desired nothing more from the series.
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ART: 7/10
It pains me to give the art this low of a score, especially since it only has one major flaw. The actual art is fine, and the backgrounds aren't stunning, but they are definitely way above average especially for the time period. What kills it is the animation. First, I want you to picture this scenario: remember, when you were a kid, and you watched your very first shonen, and occasionally, there would be one really good fight sequence that stood out from the rest? Well, Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho is like that, but for EVERY FIGHT. I know, it sounds amazing, but after the Dark Tournament arc, it kind of... loses this aspect. The fights start having reused footage, they get longer, and most of all, slower paced. It's still above average, but leaves a huge mark on it's former glory.
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SOUND: 6.25/10
Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho is similar to Hunter x Hunter as they both have one opening that has it's animation and some vocal parts changed. Somehow, through all 112 (and 148), the song never gets boring. It's a classic track that definitely sets the tone of the show as a shonen, and was a great addition to the show. Also as Hunter x Hunter will go to do many years in the future, Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho focuses on it's endings more than openings, and the standout more. This is an awesome trend that I wish more anime would follow. It forces the watcher to stay and here the ending, whereas in an average anime, the ending is usually skipped by viewers. The soundtrack of Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho though, isn't... good. Okay okay, I don't wanna do this to ya yuu☆yuu☆, but the soundtrack is bad. There isn't one standout track and all of the themes are clearly not made for use outside of the show. They aren't ear splitting, but they aren't good. The sound effects are average but they do their job well, and I can't imagine the show without a few select ones, so they win some points back. The voice acting does, as well. I don't think there is one annoying voice throughout the whole series, and the main characters specifically are voiced well. "JAO ENSATSU-KEN.... KAKURIIIIIIIIIIIIIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
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CHARACTER: 9.4/10
Speaking of the main characters - did I mention how amazing they are yet? No? Here goes. Yusuke is probably the best shonen protagonist I've come across so far. Sure, he has the 'don't give up' attribute to him, but not in the usual way. Yusuke is a delinquent, a punk, a bully, but he's a hero at heart. One of the fascinating things about Yusuke is that it seems to be hard for him to talk about his friends, contrary to your average main character. It's almost as if he's an incognito tsundere - he doesn't want anyone to know how much he cares about his friends. Hiei is pretty cliche though. Just gonna put that out there. Okay, we done? Good. HIEI IS AWESOME! I don't care if he's cliche... no, not just me. NOBODY CARES THAT HE'S CLICHE! BECAUSE HIEI IS FREAKING AWESOME, PERIOD. Kurama is the character more meant to keep his rowdy group in check. He doesn't have any real character development, because he doesn't need any. He's smart, experienced, calm, cool, and collected. He's the type of character who probably would mentor the main character. Kuwabara is the comedy relief and he does a damn good job at it. He may be funny but he also pulls of badass, which is rare to find in this type of character. He also doesn't have much development, but he doesn't need any; all he has to do is keep charging towards his goal of beating Yusuke. Botan is pretty pointless, but hey, cute witch girl, so why not. For supporting characters: Koenma is another comedy relief character that pulls of badass, and sometimes I wish he and Jorge had gotten more screentime. Yukina does exactly what she needs to in creating drama with Hiei and giving an opportunity for Kuwabara to act stupid. Shizuru acts as the older sister to the group of girls and is the one that saves them from dying a bajillion times while the heroes are off doing their own thing. Finally, Keiko is Yusuke's love interest who is in love with him becaaaaaaauuuuuuuuse... childhood friends? Well, that part's still a mystery. She wins her likeableness back though, because of how surprisingly realistic she is. She isn't a tsundere, but she doesn't scream her head off and has been know to help in some crisis situations.
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OVERALL: 7.8/10
Yuu☆Yuu☆Hakusho is probably the best basic shonen ever made. It doesn't bring anything new to the genre, and it only exists to pump out as many battles as possible. But, it does a great job of being what it wants to and doesn't hide itself under dark symbolism or anything that elitists constantly critique. Shonen fans, or even people just in a shonen mood, give this classic a shot, and I promise you, it won't disappoint.
