Let's Talk About... Yu Yu Hakusho

[talonmalon333]

I always thought Gouki seemed (physically) stronger, while Hiei was undeniably faster.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Personally I like everything we've seen so far. But the only real knockout episode so far was the first one. That said, we're coming around soon on some great ones as the next mini-arc is quite a step up from Yusuke's first case.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I really like the premiere and the third episode the most out of what we've seen up to this point. The last episode was the only sub-par one for me, so far.

The Genkai arc introduces one of my other favorite characters from the series, and is a good arc overall, but Rescue Yukina is probably my favorite part of the Spirit Detective story-line, and to me it's where the show really manages to find its footing (not to mention that the animation quality improves somewhat).

[talonmalon333]

Genkai's Tournament is pretty good but it actually might be my least favorite part of the Spirit Detective arc. But it remains special because, as E-K said, it introduces a great character, and it also takes another character who's been in the show since the beginning and fully integrates them into the storyline.

I really like the premiere and the third episode the most out of what we've seen up to this point.

This, alongside the second half of Gouki and Kurama.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

My least favorite Spirit Detective story is the Saint Beasts arc. That has the one benefit of bringing the main four protagonists together for the first time, but the actual story is pretty boring and feels much longer than it needs to be, IMO.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I think all the episodes are quite enjoyable so far, but the first and third episodes are the only ones I'd call truly excellent. The series picks up for me with the Genkai Tournament arc, and really hits it's stride starting with Rescue Yukina.

[talonmalon333]

My least favorite Spirit Detective story is the Saint Beasts arc. That has the one benefit of bringing the main four protagonists together for the first time, but the actual story is pretty boring and feels much longer than it needs to be, IMO.

I have a weird relationship with Maze Castle. I like it because it's the first storyline that's fairly epic in size and stakes, plus as you said it establishes the main team. I typically hold the unpopular opinion of calling it my 2nd favorite part of the Spirit Detective arc (after Rescue Yukina). However, on some days it drops down to being my least favorite part of the season because of how longwinded it is. Strange fact, but I can't really explain it any better.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I like Maze Castle. I was really into it when I was younger. I think it's actually the part of the Spirit Detective saga I've rewatched the most. And it has the plus of being where I got introduced into the series as well. I did get a bit tired of it's length and battles the last time I watched it, though, so it dropped down right in the middle of arcs for me. I still have positive memories of a lot of aspects of it, though, so I'll be curious to see how it holds up for me this time around.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I used to enjoy the arc more, but it kind of lost its luster for me after seeing Togashi do a very similar arc much better. For me, that was Trick Tower from HXH, which is both a lot more creative and interesting at building up the relationship between its main characters, IMO.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The Saint Beast arc has some great moments (which I'll mention when we get there) but it is probably my least favorite part of the arc.

Rescue Yukina, though, is the highlight of the Spirit Detective saga by far. So many screencappable moments. 

[talonmalon333]

Rescue Yukina, though, is the highlight of the Spirit Detective saga by far. So many screencappable moments. 

So true.

I think Maze Castle is the part I might have seen most of the Spirit Detective arc as well, but partially because those were the episodes that Adult Swim seemed to re-run most back when it was first on.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The lack of certain aspects of logic in these episodes are amusing, but also a fairly minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.

[Avaitor]

Now we're getting there! "The Search Begins" gets a little silly at times, but it introduces enough key components to the series at large, that it's easy to forgive and just enjoy as is.

This is also helped as Genkai is simply a great character, even early on. Right now she's only the ringleader, to her circus with her own rules, where everything is perfectly set in place the way she wants it. And she lives on with this regulation.

And so far, Linda Young has found a good range for her. It's funny, because one of the first times that I was able to tell a distinction between voice actors as a kid was when I could tell that Genkai and Frieza had the same voice actors, but even then, Frieza sounded wrong to me. But I always liked Young as Genkai, as she found the right mixture between rough and interested, if not necessarily compassionate, that fits the character quite well.

This is true in the episode, as Genkai is shown to be, for the most part, emotionally distant, but not entirely. The way her eyes pop out when Yusuke reveals that he defeated the bat creature with alarming speed. She can tell, just like we can, that there is more to this guy than meets the eye, and that's going to make the next few episodes fun to watch.



The tournament is a shonen trademark, but one that can be quite effective if used well. This is a good beginner, if nothing else. But Kuwabara's reveal of the spirit sword is a big moment, one that helps to keep the momentum going for the matches, just as I'm still on the edge of my seat from the cliffhanger at the end.

Sorry that this is another brief one, but I was roped into some last-minute plans, and literally just watched these episodes 20 minutes ago, so I wanted to post this before it got too late. I'll try to add some more thoughts later.

Also



Kuwabara, just because you are Bad Guy, doesn't mean you are bad guy.

[Spark Of Spirit]

And now we enter into the Genkai Tournament arc!



The first episode is fairly goofy, but fun for what it is. I always enjoy how Kuwabara is there purely by chance, doesn't want anything to do with this, but then manages to get extremely involved to the point that he becomes (for all intents and purposes) Yusuke's sidekick. The two are beginning to form a real friendship and this arc is the first to show it.

Also, Baldoc might be the best one shot character in this whole series.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ah, the Street Fighter references.

09. The Search Begins

And thus we enter into the Genkai arc. While this is a tournament arc, in essence, it does show Togashi's creativity in that it doesn't initially consist of straight-up fighting until mid-way through. Of course, this is another concept that is taken much further in HXH, but the simplicity of it all definitely works to the benefit of this arc.

On the one hand, it's amusing to see Yusuke's carefree attitude towards a supposedly very serious threat to humans around his area with a demon such as Rando being said to be as incredibly lethal as he is. This arc works as a good way to pump him into shape, and this is where he truly begins to take his role as Spirit Detective more seriously. On another hand, we have Kuwabara return, this time becoming a part of the main cast for good and in many ways will be sort of like Yusuke's closest friend, even if neither would want to admit it due to their previous rivalry. This is also the beginning of his proper growth as a character, which starts coming into fruition by the next episode. Additionally, their reaction to unwittingly pulling out red pieces of paper at the same time was just priceless.

Of course, the real star here is Genkai. She will serve as another permanent addition to the show, and this episode firmly cements her as a  somewhat humorous character, yet also an incredibly deadly force to reckon with at the same time. One thing that I love (and this is something that Togashi will continue to excel at as his writing improves), is that now you can really tell that there is more to this character than just what's on the surface based on her first appearance alone. The way that she's presented, the uniqueness of her personality as opposed to built-up expectations by the viewer, her general demeanor, and the strange actions and decisions that she makes do an excellent job of establishing her as a strong supporting character to the main cast.

The run through the forest was a fun bit, and it tells us important aspects about our two main leads at this point. Kuwabara uses his spirit awareness to sense the safest route through the forest, but this also applies to his character in general as, despite his appearances as just another thug, he actually puts a lot of thought into many scenarios which he finds himself in. All the while, it's Yusuke who's once again the knuckle-head who only thinks to rush straight through. Of course, this isn't always the best way to make it through a difficult situation, as we get a hint of that here when Yusuke nearly fails the test due to getting stuck fighting Baldoc in the forest. Genkai does pull the strings for him at the end due to realizing that he has great potential, but at the same time, it doesn't mean that Yusuke can always get away with doing what he has been doing to make it out in one piece up to this point.

Of course, some aspects of this episode are silly, like how she has an entire arcade of spirit-training devices set-up in her home, but this is more of a funny little quirk that is ever-present in Togashi's writing. It's meant to let us know that, this is still a fun and entertaining series, and we shouldn't be taking it TOO seriously, at least not at this point in time.

Overall, it's a solid episode. I really can't say much more than that.

10. Kuwabara's Spirit Sword

This is yet another solid episode, for the most part. Having a tournament in the dark adds a nice, unique little stipulation to the cliche. And I'm sure that the animators absolutely loved it, as it gave them the perfect excuse to NOT have to animate some scenes for a change.

One thing of note is that I love Koenma's perceptiveness in these fights. We see that he's not just some bratty-looking toddler, and that he does take his job seriously enough to analyze all of the suspects and try to figure out who Rando might be. There's a small moment in here that, if you pay attention, does give you a little clue as to his identity, and it shows that there is at least a little bit of sharp thinking going on in Koenma's head, even though he doesn't draw any hard conclusions from any of these fights.

The star of this particular episode, though, is obviously Kuwabara. We get further development of his character, and in this case he gets his own power equivalent to Yusuke's spirit gun. He manages to materialize his energy in the shape of a sword, and while this isn't necessarily a special fight in any regard, I will always remember the first time that he unleashes the sword as an iconic and memorable moment in the series as I do the first time that Yusuke used his Spirit Gun, as puny as it may have been at the time. I also like how Genkai makes note of his potential as well, showing that unlike certain other shonen series, this will be one that equally develops its characters rather than just focusing all of the best moments on the main protagonist. And finally, we have the start of Kuwabara's short-lived crush on Botan, but I always find his pursuit of true love to be amusing in a cute sort of way.

The last bit of the episode continues a tradition for this series that was started with Yusuke's fight with Gouki, which is to leave things off on a good cliffhanger by presenting an opponent and starting up a match, and getting you just invested enough before leaving you hanging and wanting for more. It's a great way to keep viewers hooked, and you can tell later on that this is really part of Noriyuki Abe's directing style for this series as it becomes clearly intentional to leave off at the most crucial moments of a fight or plot point in many episodes to keep you as the viewer as hooked and invested in the story as possible. This is actually something that many modern shonen anime adaptations could learn from as they often tend to leave off at whatever random point in the plot that they make it to, without any thought put into building up any sense of dramatic tension to leave off on.

I do want to point out the funny little quibble which I have with Yusuke's fight with Kibano: As they are fighting in the dark, Kibano reveals that he has a device which allows him to track Yusuke's movements based on his spirit energy, only....did anyone ever wonder how the hell he possibly could have anticipated that he would need such a device at all in this tournament when, by all accounts he, like everyone else, did not even know that there would be a tournament of any kind in Genkai's selection process, let alone one that takes place in the dark where this device would specifically be useful? Yet, that's not even the most baffling thing to me. Even stranger than that is....where the hell was he carrying that device all of this time? It's clearly too big to fit into one of his pockets, and he wasn't carrying any extra bags or gear with him where he could have stored it, so....did he have that thing crammed up his ass the whole time?

Needless to say, it's another minor gripe, but shows that Togashi has a tendency to just make things up on the spot. But, to end this analysis of the episode off on a positive note, it also shows that he is good at implementing elements of strategy into his fights, and indeed does cleverly plan some things out ahead of time. For instance, remember that little fit of irritation that Yusuke caused Genkai to have, causing her to carelessly throw her cigarette at him in sign of her annoyance, yet missing him by a hair and having it fly into the dark? Well, pay attention to that apparent little "throwaway" detail and keep it in mind when watching the next episode.