Yu Yu Hakasho
I've spent the last couple weeks rewatching YYH from start to finish. I dug it as a kid on Adult Swim and then Cartoon Network, but lost interest (and I don't think it finished its run on Toonami either.) So aside from the early episodes and knowledge of the Dark Tournament, I went in blind.
It's a lovely series that expertly balances humor and levity with actual stakes and well-written characters. Every one of the characters behaves accurately to how they're introduced and set up, which makes their moments of character growth really hit home. You look at Yusuke in ep1 and Yusuke in ep112 and they're entirely different - but still the same. You look back and try to wonder where the "turn" was, but there's never just one point. It's a gradual, fulfilling arc. And that goes for almost every character (except Keiko, the weakest link.)
The Dark Tournament is pretty lauded, but I enjoyed Chapter Black - more so the early episodes where Genkai is taking the piss out of Yusuke (and team) for being so brash, but I dug the progression and although it seemed like Sensui would be a pretty boring villain they kept on piling layers, to the point where his death soliloquy felt like a natural end to his character.
Of course Toguro sets the bar as a villain, and I did kinda miss him after a stretch. Part of me hoped he'd somehow show up in the final arc as Yusuke's ally to atone for his sins. The other side of Toguro is Genkai, who I deem as the most perfect anime character ever created. She's just so great, and her dub voice (Frieza's original Funimation VA) nails it. The dub in general is a sterling counterpoint to the "subs are better" crowd.
The weakest parts are concentrated in the final arc. It just feels so rushed. I did some research and Togashi was apparently writing the final chapters from a hospital bed, so it makes sense. They set up Hiei and Kurama fighting Yusuke and each other and they never do, and the manga cuts out their fights in the tournament too! Even Yusuke's final big battle in the manga with ostensibly the main bad dude of Demon World is cut after the first punches are thrown!
The anime thankfully added that fight back in, along with Hiei and Kurama's tourney fights, but cut some of the post-tourney hijinks (one investigating a girls' dorm that is supposedly haunted, another with Spirit World terrorists who are basically Bible thumpers.) The anime also cut out a pretty goddamn huge twist, one I must imagine Togashi wanted to turn into a full-fledged arc before he got fed up with Jump telling him to make YYH more like DBZ with tourneys (plus, as mentioned, his health battles.)
Having read the first couple and final five chapters of the manga, and having seen all of the anime, my opinion is that the anime is the superior work. Especially the dub - all the voices are so perfect.
Yu Yu Hakasho was great trip down memory lane that while not perfect still captured my interest with diverse worlds, interesting characters, and creative plots. Now, someone get me more Togashi material, stat!
4 / 5
