The story of YuYu Hakusho blasts off instantly from episode one, with the death of our main character, Yusuke Urameshi, who, in a random act of heroism, jumps in front of a car, pushing a small child from certain death, and replacing the fate with his own. Soon, after his ghost is greeted by Botan, a pilot of the Sanzu River guides the delinquent teenager to be judged, and, soon comes back to Earth to be given a job as a "Spirit Detective"; investigating supernatural activity in our world. Throughout his journey, he makes new friends, rivals, and enemies, as well as uncovers secrets, twists, and, arguably the best tournament arc in any piece of anime history. Martial arts are a big point of this anime, as mirrors how Dragon Ball does its training and tests.
To be honest, the characters in YuYu Hakusho is the main reason I loved the show so much. Togashi has an art for making an expansive cast of characters, and they never get dry or dull. As stated above, there's Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is the Spirit Detective, and who's the main character. He also bears a striking similarity to Gon Freeces, Togashi's main character in Hunter x Hunter, which Gon is clearly based on. Yusuke is an absolute savage, which is why I enjoyed having him as the main character, as he never got bland - his constant roasts and complaining were amazing. Along with Yusuke, we have Kazuma Kuwabara, Yusuke's rival, and eventual good friend, who joins Yusuke in his journey. Kuwabara bears another striking similarity to Hunter x Hunter's Knuckle, and his character's constant voice cracks when he screams and argues makes him a hilarious character to witness. We also have Kuwabara, a shapeshifting Kitsune demon who joins the journey, and takes on the role of the calm and collected member of the team - like Togashi's future Kurapika. His quips that he shoots back at the others in a calm expression, as well as his main fighting abilities - a whip made out of a rose stem - is a very unique and fresh take on many martial arts users in animes, and is never tiring to watch. Lastly, out of the main group, we also have Hiei - who would eventually become Hunter x Hunter's Phantom Troupe's Feitan. He's the main swordsman of the show, as well as the belittler of the group, mocking them, rolling his eyes. He is one of the most popular characters among fans for his personality, action scenes, and "cool" or even "monotone" appearance.
When you watch YuYu Hakusho, you can clearly tell it has that classic early 90's anime palette and color sequence. But that doesn't take away from its charm, but rather, adds to it. That 90's look adds to the humor and pleasant scenes when they're there, and when there are dark themes, or even some classic fighting and martial arts scenes, the visuals follow through perfectly where they belong. For those who don't like that classic look, it could take an adjustment to get used to it, but once you do - or even look past it - you'll realize it fits the theme very well. Same thing with the character outfits. If anything, YuYu Hakusho knows how to create awesome character outfits - well, later on, in the first bit, they're all wearing their school uniforms, and look more like color-coded power rangers, as most animes used to. But soon, they take on more different outfit changes like the characters in One Piece do.
The voice acting in this show is absolutely incredible. Each character delivers his or her lines with such personality, and you can tell that, this hard work, it reflected in the show and adds that extra something from the manga of the same name. Kuwabara's voice cracks add to his hilarious personality, Kazuma's calm voice shows just how collected his mind is. You can practically feel Hiei's eyes rolling twenty-four-seven through his words alone... Just, everything about the voice acting is amazing. I would recommend watching the subtitled, as the voice acting is a lot more serious, funny - when needed - and gets the job done way better. When watching the English version, I couldn't get over how goofy a lot of the voices sounded - specifically Kuwabara's - don't even get me started on that voice and the fact it doesn't crack - and Hiei's.
The soundtrack is very well done. It's not the best soundtrack in the world, but it's certainly above a soundtrack that "gets the job done". There's beauty in the soft moments when those calm, serious ones play, and the action sequences have a lot of fun synthesizer moments that add to the suspense and action perfectly. As well as the opening sequence that a lot of anime lovers know, "Hohoemi no Bakudan", or, "Smile Bomb" is an opening song that you will never get out of your head for a while, and it's an opening you'll never forget.
When everything is finished, YuYu Hakusho is an anime that everyone needs to see if they're a fan of action, amazing characters, martial arts, training, or anything done by Togashi - especially Hunter x Hunter. After watching, you can really tell how he wasn't quite fulfilled with YuYu Hakusho, and he took all of the great and made Hunter x Hunter - one of the best animes of all time. YuYu Hakusho is an important milestone in any anime viewer's life, and it's a great watch that everyone should experience.
