Yu Yu Hakusho is a classic shonen anime of the early 90s. I decided to give it a watch after finishing Yoshihiro Togashi’s 2010 anime hit Hunter x Hunter. The newer series was excellent and deserves a review of its own, but I want to start with the retro shonen anime. How does it hold up in today’s anime world? Let’s dig in and find out.
Right off the bat, the fights cannot compare in animation to modern shonen. It’s not a fair comparison. Traditional cell animation is expensive and time consuming. There’s a reason computers are used to animate almost everything today. It’s faster and cheaper to produce. While I do agree there’s a textual difference between the mediums, I know there’s benefits to modern animation techniques. Hunter x Hunter or My Hero Academia contain fights with far more fluid and dynamic animation. This lends fights a kinetic feeling that older titles like Yu Yu Hakusho lack. The question isn’t whether Yu Yu Hakusho’s battle animation competes, because it can’t, but whether the fights are entertaining in their own right.
Do the fights, a core component of any shonen, remain engaging? Was I entertained by the various encounters that cropped up during each episode? Is it exciting to watch? Yes and no. The fights are entertaining setups between characters with unique abilities. The characters need to use their wits and skills to overcome the obstacles before them. Watching the fights like a puzzle waiting to be solved is interesting. For each creative setup there’s a unique pay off. That never got old throughout the first season. Yoshihiro’s writing is well structured, so the larger context of each fight works well. The plot necessitates the battles, so they never feel tacked on. He also lends them emotional weight through clear stakes for the characters involved. Everything about the battles in Yu Yu Hakusho is well designed.
Sadly the execution does not match the setup and design. I already said it’s unfair to compare to Yu Yu Hakusho’s 30 year old animation to modern anime, but it doesn’t hold the same visceral impact of newer animation. The larger beats of the fights are interesting, but the smaller ones that make up each move are a failing blow. Often the animators relied on blurs of body parts or flashy stills to convey the intended motion. It makes absolute sense considering the constraints of animation and budget at the time, but it just doesn’t feel exciting moment to moment anymore. I grew up on shows with limited animation. I’m accustom to them, but it doesn’t mean I enjoy that aspect of them.
I’ve not yet answered the question are the fights of Yu Yu Hakusho engaging. The situations are interesting and are supported with story and character weight. The animation itself lacks the kinetic feeling I want in a show now. I’ll admit I found my attention wandering at times during the battles, but it always came back to see what the characters would do next. This is the strength of Yu Yu Hakusho, not the animation, but the writing and directing. These kept me engaged.
Yu Yu Hakusho follows Yuske Urameshi, a 14 year old boy with a penchant for street fighting. He dies in the first episode, and spends the next few struggling to reunite body and soul. Once restored he’s roped into battling the forces of evil to protect humanity. The setup is tropey shonen stuff, but the execution is well handled. Yuske feels like a typical tough guy stereotype at the start, but he dies saving a young child he’d been looking out for. He’s caring, but can’t express his feelings well. His characterisation isn’t complex, but its three dimensional enough to extend beyond most action story leads. I like Yuske and want to see how he develops across the next 3 seasons.
Much as I like Yuske, his frenemy Kuwabara blows him out of the water. I adore Kuwabara. He stands up for his friends, protections innocent kittens, and never gives up no matter what. He’s earnest to a fault, and sometimes it’s funny while other times its poignant. Often the butt of the joke, he proves his worth time and again throughout the season. If Kuwabara wasn’t in the show, I don’t think I would have stuck through the season. Yu Yu Hakusho would have been put aside for something else, but this amazing character kept me coming back for more.
Keiko is in love with Yuske, but she isn’t a typical female shonen love interest. She’s won’t jump into battle, but she’s a fighter. Early in the season she runs into a burning building to save Yuske’s soulless body from burning. Later, when she finally learns the truth about Yuske’s adventures with spirits and demons, she calls him out on his deception. She’s smart, capable and independent. While I never attached to her like Kuabara, she’s a solid character.
Botan, a smiling blue haired grim reaper, serves as Yuske’s side kick and guide to the world of spirits and demons. Sadly I can’t make the same compliments about her that I did Keiko. There’s nothing wrong with Botan, I liked her well enough, but she’s far from interesting. She provides information to our hero when needed to move the plot along. It’s through her tasks are assigned for Yuske to complete. I hope they flesh her out with back story and personality as the series progresses.
Watching these characters interact is the series other strength. There are moments where we see them in normal situations. Going to school, dealing with their family, or simply hanging out between crazy events, and these are wonderful story moments. A lot of action stories never stop to let the characters breath. Audiences need moments of quiet to attach to characters. Without these, the action holds less impact. The battles have clear stakes, but those only matter when they involve people we care about. Yu Yu Hakusho made me care about our characters, which invested me in the fights, and carried me through over twenty episodes of the first season.
If you’re looking for an anime to check out, take a look into the past. Yu Yu Hakusho isn’t perfect. The animation cannot compare to modern shonen, but the rest is designed so well it compensates for the weak points. There’s three more seasons, and I can’t wait to see what happens with our crew of plucky Japanese teenagers.