Let's Talk About... Yu Yu Hakusho

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just as a side note, where is CX in all of these discussions, now that it's the Summer? I guess he thinks that he's too cool to be talking about old-school shonen with the likes of us, the snob.

41. Reverse Decisions

Oh, Hell yeah! This is the show that I truly know and love. Literally everything worked in this episode. The conclusion to Yusuke and Jin's fight is suitably bad-ass and climactic, and also a notable improvement from the manga with the animation adding in Yusuke blocking Jin's second punch with his foot. The animation in this episode in general was really good by this show's usual standards, with lots of fluid motions in terms of both fighting and regular character actions. In general, it was just super satisfying to see Yusuke finally come face to face with an opponent that he could actually respect, and vice versa, which in and of itself is a good part of his character arc in realizing how much he has come to love and accept who he really is as a person.

As the episode title suggests, though, the corruption of Butajiri and the "Tournament Committee" causes a ruling in Team Masho's favor by disqualifying Yusuke on a very questionable technicality (which really reminds me of a classic WWE heel-type scenario....perhaps Togashi is a fan of professional wrestling). At this point, you are just as outraged as the characters, and most of us would probably feel glad to see Yusuke and Hiei indulge themselves by taking down as many ass-holes in the stadium as they could with them. Also, as Talon already pointed out, it's great to see how even Toguro, our main villain of this arc, is disgusted by such underhanded tactics. It's also worth mentioning that I love how even Koto is annoyed by this ruling and how the dub adds in the running gag of her subtly mocking the committee's comment on her "taking too long to count." In the next episode, she has a great line along the lines of "OK everyone, I'm going to count to 10 now! Make sure to let me know how I'm doing it wrong!" I just love well-written sarcasm like that.

Finally, we end the episode with Kuwabara being a man among men and heaving his brutally injured body into the ring in order to finish off the fight with Team Masho the right way, despite all of the odds being stacked against him. I just love how part of the reason that he does it is also because he doesn't want to see Yusuke be as bad as the guys who are putting them down. Rather than have him go on a massacre, Kuwabara is willing to stake his very fragile life on competing with Risho himself, man to man (or demon, in this case).

42. A Matter of Love and Death

Now, admittedly this fight in an of itself isn't that spectacular, but what makes it so memorable is the amount of heart that Kuwabara puts into the struggle. He goes balls-out and does everything in his power just to be able to stand up before being counted out. This is the type of stuff that really gives you the feels when you are watching a well-done battle shonen, and it's one of the reasons why I hate when other people put down the genre as a whole, because the best of these series are more about heart than straight-up logic, and YYH is a series with a ton of great passion behind its characters and best moments.

Having Yukina be the one to spur him onto success might seem a little corny, but I genuinely like moments like that, and it really fits with his character. This is also yet another moment that the anime does much better than the manga. In the manga, the part where he first swats Risho away as an afterthought to seeing Yukina is literally the end of the fight, which I found to be humorous, but ultimately disappointing to end it all on a joke given how hard Team Urameshi had struggled up to this point. The anime adds in a scene where Risho comes at Kuwabara with full power, and Kuwabara gives it his all to take him out once and for all. That, to me, is about as satisfying of a conclusion as you could have to this match. Also, I just love how it's Kuwabara who ends up saving the day, in general, despite clearly being the weakest and least experienced fighter on the team.

And then there's the scene with Toguro managing to off Butajiri with literally just the flick of his wrist. The exaggerated way in which his head just explodes at that is one of those FOTNS or JoJo-esque moments that's a real blast to see, especially to such an underhanded bastard like that guy. I also just love it when the bigger, badder villain offs one of the lesser, really annoying villains, despite the fact that it works in the interests of the protagonists (or in this case, especially because of that). I also like how they establish that Risho and Bakken are the odd ones out in Team Masho, with Jin clearly hating their tactics, and Touya coming in to explain how Gama's sacrifice was genuine, and how Risho is "going too far" by using the committee to give the team such an unfair advantage over Team Urameshi. It's just another example of how Togashi excels at writing characters who may oppose the heroes, but are far from bad people, themselves.

And just on a smaller note, I really like how we got a bit more of the filler sub-plot between Sakyo and Shizuru. I can't really explain why, but it's just a really nice touch to the arc, and I enjoy seeing it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Kuwabara is a lot stronger than we thought he was. Even half dead he proves his mettle in the ring. Though they all did, being that Team Masho was no joke. Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, made it through the ringer and all came out in one piece.

All in all, this was my favorite round in the tournament even if Hiei and the Masked Fighter didn't get to do all that much. But, hey, there's still time for them to make up for it in the next round! 

[LumRanmaYasha]

Just as a side note, where is CX in all of these discussions, now that it's the Summer? I guess he thinks that he's too cool to be talking about old-school shonen with the likes of us, the snob.

I honestly just keep forgetting about it. I'll try to start with the next set of episodes.

[talonmalon333]

I also like how they establish that Risho and Bakken are the odd ones out in Team Masho, with Jin clearly hating their tactics, and Touya coming in to explain how Gama's sacrifice was genuine, and how Risho is "going too far" by using the committee to give the team such an unfair advantage over Team Urameshi. It's just another example of how Togashi excels at writing characters who may oppose the heroes, but are far from bad people, themselves.

I think one might even be able to make the argument that Bakken isn't quite the jerk he seemed to be... well, he is a jerk. And he's dishonorable for sure, but at the same time, when he beat up Kurama so much, it almost seemed like he was lashing out over the lose of Touya and the death of Gamma. So he uses cheap tactics, but if nothing else, I do think he cared about his companions. Risho doesn't show any signs of compassion, so ultimately, he might just view the others as teammates and nothing more. But I like that there seems to be some sort of bond in Team Masho, with Jin and Touya clearly being friends, Gamma giving up his own life so they could fulfill their dreams, and even Bakken possibly being a bit more of a softy than he appears. Even Jin referring to Bakken as a jerk suggests a more human relationship between them than what we see out of most other teams.

All in all, this was my favorite round in the tournament even if Hiei and the Masked Fighter didn't get to do all that much. But, hey, there's still time for them to make up for it in the next round! 

Spoiler

It almost seems intentional that, after Hiei and the Masked Fighter were not involved in this match, they pretty much dominate the semi-finals which both getting multiple fights.

[close]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Bakken was a jerk, but it did seem like he cared somewhat for his allies as he wasn't pounding on Kurama only for kicks-- he said it was for what he did to Gama and Touya. So I don't dislike him as much as I probably could. I don't like him, but I get him.

Risho was far more concerned with winning over if any of his allies survived. His confrontation with Touya pretty much proved that. He would rather win by disqualification than earn his prize with his own strength. In my opinion, Kuwabara didn't hit him near hard enough.

All in all, this was my favorite round in the tournament even if Hiei and the Masked Fighter didn't get to do all that much. But, hey, there's still time for them to make up for it in the next round! 

Spoiler

It almost seems intentional that, after Hiei and the Masked Fighter were not involved in this match, they pretty much dominate the semi-finals which both getting multiple fights.

[close]

Spoiler

Hiei and Genkai are responsible for 4 wins out of the 5 total wins in the match. It's even arguable if Kurama gets the credit for Uraurashima since it was Shishiwakamaru that killed him. I'd say they made up for not helping during the Team Masho match.

[close]

[talonmalon333]

Risho was far more concerned with winning over if any of his allies survived. His confrontation with Touya pretty much proved that. He would rather win by disqualification than earn his prize with his own strength. In my opinion, Kuwabara didn't hit him near hard enough.

Which always made me wonder, did Risho survive this match? It seems like he did, since he, in a rather comedic way, fell unconscious after Kuwabara's final attack. And what about Bakken?

I think Risho is a good villain because you're supposed to hate him a lot, and you end up doing just that. A lot.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I think it's implied that Risho and Bakken are alive, since their defeats were very comedic and not serious at all, but Touya and Jin go their separate ways from them after the match since they clearly don't get along with them.

The only characters I consider dead are the ones shown dead or are stated to be dead. Neither of them were.

EDIT: Besides, Togashi would NEVER miss a chance to give an over the top bloody end to any character he could. He wouldn't have characters die in such a mild way.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yu Yu Hakusho Togashi and Hunter X Hunter Togashi don't share the same mentality, dummy.

Also, the way that Togashi handles the next set of fights given how Hiei and Genkai were restrained for this round is just a testament to how good he is at balancing his characters in the story. I love how whenever you bring up Togashi's name, it's literally always attached to something negative, rather than any of the good stuff that he does as a writer (which is almost everything else). You must really despise the guy, lol.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Nah, just enjoy picking on him. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

For what it's worth, I do actually agree with you on all of his problems as a writer....or lack thereof, given how little writing he actually seems to do these days.

Jokes aside, though, while not the most consistent in terms if quality, when his writing is at its best, its outstanding on a level that few other peers of his in the shonen genre can reach, and I'd argue that he's legitimately one of the five best contemporary shonen writers around. I feel like he's really managed to push the boundaries of battle shonen writing in remarkable ways with his best story arcs.

[talonmalon333]

It's also worth mentioning that I love how even Koto is annoyed by this ruling and how the dub adds in the running gag of her subtly mocking the committee's comment on her "taking too long to count." In the next episode, she has a great line along the lines of "OK everyone, I'm going to count to 10 now! Make sure to let me know how I'm doing it wrong!" I just love well-written sarcasm like that.

I love Koto. She is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated side characters in the series. Just a really fun addition to the Dark Tournament. Also, I've always liked to believe that the cold and brutal side of her, the side that craves blood and death, is basically an act. This is never proven anywhere, but it just makes sense to me that it would be a part of her job, to act like she's totally into it more than she really is. And some of the reasons I think this are the few moments where she drops this "act", as I'm calling it now, and shows a much more human side. She's disgusted by how far Bakken beats up Kurama when he can't defend himself. Also, she acts completely neutral toward the fighters and life in general, but whenever the committee wrongs Team Urameshi, she seems ready to defend them, such as when she refused to declare Team Masho the winner after Yusuke's disqualification. Also...

Spoiler

In the Demon World Tournament, this side of her was very toned down, and she even seemed a little saddened when Shigure died.

[close]

That's just how I tend to think about her.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Koto acts like more of an in-ring character to hype up the fans, but she very visibly shows signs of discomfort over some of the more brutal deaths. Obviously she wouldn't be doing it if she didn't enjoy it on some level, but I'm pretty sure a lot of what she says is playing to the crowd.

[talonmalon333]

Yeah, as many demons do, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets some enjoyment out of it. Unlike a certain other character in the series, though, where it it seems to be just a job to her.

[talonmalon333]

So far, what would you guys say is the best fight we've seen in the series?

[Spark Of Spirit]

So far? Yusuke Vs. Jin. It had pretty much everything. Crazy moves, good tactics, humor, and one awesome finale.

Second would be Yusuke Vs. Chu.