This show is one of my guilty pleasures. It doesn't really have anything amazing going for it. In fact it's horribly cheesy, really looks its age, and comes from one of the genres of anime that I tend to hate. But it's so cheesy, and so ridiculous, and it's fantastic. It's a good show to watch when I just want to giggle a little at the jokes, or the absurdity of the situations in the story. The series succeeds at this, for me, exceptionally well. Also, when I first started watching it, I was crushing on Kurama (but don't tell anyone).
The season one box set released by FUNimation contains the first 28 episodes (out of 112) of the series on four discs, in a thin pack. The cases are clear with reversible covers (both sides are nice). There are some weird, amateur packaging mistakes. The episodes listed on the cases (as per each disc) don't match what's actually on the discs. All 28 episodes are still there, but each disc is off by one episode. Or, I should say, each disc has an extra episode more than what is listed, so they don't match up. It's not a problem for me, but it is kind of a strange mistake. I was also disappointed to notice that, while the first disc contains both dub-titles and subtitles (the second might have as well, I can't recall), the others only contained the subtitle track. Again, it's not a problem; it's the proper track anyway. Just, again, it seems a little strange and inconsistent. Regardless..... DVD extras include some helpful character profiles, textless songs and trailers. I do wish they had gone ahead and only put the first 25 or 26 episodes on there, because that concludes a story line. Episodes 27 and 28 start a new storyline that continues into the second season of the show. Of course, that means, if you want to see the rest you'll buy the next one, but it's a bit annoying all the same. Still, it's hard to complain about 28 episodes on 4 discs.
So here's the scoop:
Yusuke Urameshi is a fairly stereotypical high school delinquent. He skips school, gets into countless fights (and typically wipes the floor with everyone), mouths off to teachers, etc. One day while walking home from school, he performs the unexpected selfless act of saving a small child from being hit by a car, and it causes his death. Because of this rather uncharacteristic act of self-sacrifice, the Spirit World decides to give Yusuke a second chance at life - but with the condition that he must be a Spirit Detective on Earth.
The series then follows Yusuke with new found spiritual powers as he works together with his rival and classmate Kuwabara, an intellectually dense but spiritually powerful fighter, to track down rogue demons and humans posing a threat to the Spirit World (and to Earth of course). Along the way he meets up with the thief Kurama, a demon hiding out in a human body; and the mysterious Hiei, who uses a mystical third eye to augment his powers and skills with the sword. They all work under the guidance of Koenma, the son of the ruler of the spirit world, a strange looking toddler with a pacifier constantly in his mouth; and alongside the cheerful Botan, a cute looking death god.
The show is a fighting series at its core. Complete with training tournaments, battle tournaments, plenty of one on one fights and group battles, etc. But the story that's in there is good, and the characters are very likable...and there's only a handful of them, really, which is refreshing. Keiko, Urameshi's childhood friend (and eventual love interest), tags along with Yusuke when she's not somehow drawing the trouble to herself as well. Yukina, Hiei's sister and Kuwabara's love interest, an ice apparition. Shizuru, Kuwabara's older sister, who also has some spiritual sensibilities. And Genkai, an elderly martial arts master, and Yusuke's mentor.
FUNimation does a good job with the dubbing. I do think they dumb down the dialog a little bit, but it's not an issue because...well, we are dealing with delinquents here. It works fine, and it's hilarious. The voices are so cheesy, but they fit so well. The adorable Sean Teague is fantastic as Koenma, Justin Cook is a hilarious Yusuke, and Christopher Sabat is delightful as Kuwabara.
Image: Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Koenma (in adult form).
6 comments:
Anyone who likes Yu yu Hakusho, has to be a good person *hugs*
The show might be 17 years old, super cheesy, even dumb sometimes, but i cannot seem to stop liking it, it has a "thing" that makes it special, and highly enjoyable. Have to say it's one of my favorite shows ever, even though most people hate it.
All the characters have that something that will make you like them. From Yusuke's badittude (lol) or Kuwabara's macho attitude, to Hiei's dangerous emo behavior XD.
I do love it! I fell in love with it when I was in college, watching it on Toonami (Cartoon Network afternoon cartoon block) after classes. I snagged it at the 50% Best Buy sale they had in the US recently at a bunch of their stores. I'm keeping my eye out for the second season which I know came out at the end of last year (I believe). Maybe I'll put it on my Christmas list this year (eeee, that's so far away!).
There's just something about it. Because I usually hate those sorts of shows but.... It's really hard to put it into words. The characters are so great, and I really liked the story. But I didn't ever get to finish it, I don't think. They took it off air, and while I think they finished it eventually, I didn't have time to watch it anymore.
So hooray for a fellow Hakusho fan! I'm almost a little embarrassed to admit that I adore this show so much, so I'm happy to find someone else does as well!
@Kris-chan: LOL, noooo! Not another series to add to my infinite list!
LOL, but seriously, I would probably like this if I added it... Especially with my exploration into older titles. And precisely because it's a cheesy high-school series from a genre that even *you* tend to hate! ^o^
Haha, maybe I should comment on the "genre that I hate." I dislike fighting anime. Most of them. Hakusho is totally a fighting anime. But I loooove it. That's what I meant.
@Kris-chan: LOL, no worries! An otaku isn't an otaku unless he or she is mind-numbingly complex. And contradictory, lol... I'm sure I've got a few love-hate paradoxes in my pocket somewhere.
Yu Yu Hakusho was my gateway drug into further anime watching starting in high school. I don't even remember how I got into the series but I have the whole shebang on DVD. And it's a rare series that I actually like both the Japanese and English voices.
It's good to find fellow fans of the series!
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