Let's Talk About... Yu Yu Hakusho

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

And now, after over a year of keeping up with these weekly viewings, we shall finally tackle the final two episodes of this show:

111. Closure

This episode always entertained me a lot when I was younger. I liked the dramatic music and climactic fight scene (of which, once again, was non-existent in the manga). However, as an adult, and especially through this re-watch where I picked up a lot more flaws in this series that I was blind to before (which in no way puts any detriment on how much I still love it on the whole), it just doesn't work that well aside from having some decent action for its time. Yusuke realizes his reason to fight and his battle with Yomi comes to a head....except his reason to fight is something that he already came to terms with WAY back during his fight with Suzaku in the Saint Beasts arc, and it's abundantly clear that whatever his character arc initially was at the start of this arc was pretty much dropped half-way in once the tournament started. My point being that this final battle should have been a strong emotional moment for us viewers, but instead it just feels more like an over-dramatized version of any other ordinary fight in a typical shonen series, not even really living up to the usual standards of this particular series.

The second half of the episode, which deals with the rest of the characters wrapping up their own character-arcs and saying their goodbyes fairs considerably better, though, IMO. I like how Kurama and Yomi end on good terms, and how Yomi shows respect for Kurama's choice to completely leave his dark past behind him, even if that was a really rushed character sub-arc for him. It still feels like the right place for the character to end the series on. I also like that final exchange between Kurama and Hiei, where Kurama says that no matter what, he won't close up the path between Hiei and Yukina eventually reuniting as siblings, and that it's up to Hiei to take his time and one day come to tell Yukina that he is her brother. Yusuke's exchange with Koenma is equally satisfying. Really, I'm just bummed out at the lack of Kuwabara getting to interact with anyone, here, but we have the final episode for that. Speaking of which....


112. To the Future

Despite all of my problems with this final arc, I really do like this as the last episode. In and of itself, it does what a final episode should, and it's really just the arc preceding it which had all of the problems. My only gripe is once again the lack of a certain character's presence in this episode outside of just one small scene and then a brief cameo at the end, though this time it's Hiei instead of Kuwabara, but it does at least make sense in terms of the plot why he wouldn't be residing in the Human World anymore. Overall, though, I just loved seeing Kuwabara, Kurama, Keiko, Genkai, and all of the other characters that we have come to love over the course of this series interact with each other. I loved Kuwabara reminiscing about his early adventures with Yusuke and the gang, and really do a good job of summing up all that they have been through together since the start of the show. And then we have Yusuke finally showing up at the end. While, much like Togashi, I was never a big fan of Keiko as a character, I do genuinely enjoy the moment between her and Yusuke, here at the end, and with the group standing together looking out at the ocean, with the full version of one of my favorite opening theme songs playing in the background, this series really does manage to leave off on a bittersweet note that has me remembering it fondly. I love how none of the characters are the exact same people that they were at the beginning of the series. They have all developed, grown, and evolved over time, and this is especially true for Yusuke, which is why he is one of my all-time favorite shonen protagonists.

Now, for my rating of the arc itself:

Three Kings
Overall Grade: C+
Summary of Thoughts: This was an arc which started out with potential, and the first half of it was actually starting to deliver on that promise, but it quickly falls to pieces when the tournament comes into play, and it's clear to see that Togashi just stopped caring and trying by that point in time (as supported by the interview which I linked to). That said, it does leave things off on a good note with the final episode, and while part of me wishes that Togashi got to have his chance to deconstruct the characters and tell unique and interesting new stories as he had originally intended to do before the WSJ editors turned him down on that pitch, the other part of me is actually really glad that we got three great arcs before it, and that the only weak link in the entire series was relatively short for what it was. Thanks to that, Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the few long-running shonen series that is consistently great throughout almost all of its run, and ends quickly after it drops in quality, rather than still being dragged out for years and generally making its fans lose any sense of respect for it that they had to begin with (Naruto and Bleach being some of the most notorious examples of this trend).

And to close out this "Let's Watch" series, here are my final thoughts:

It was a blast to do this, and I really mean that. It does bum me out a little bit that pretty much everyone else besides myself and Avaitor dropped out of these weekly discussions just over half-way into the run, but at the same time, I can understand why. Even a huge fan like myself had trouble keeping up with this weekly schedule at times, especially for a long-running series like this, as evidenced by how frequently off-schedule I was. Even so, I was always determined to catch up again and keep going, because I just love this show that much.

Truthfully, with my nostalgia-goggles completely off, I am no longer blind to all of the flaws which this show has always harbored. In fact, probably the most interesting thing about this particular run through it was finding some of its faults which I would have stubbornly denied before. But, in the same regard, re-watching it also reaffirmed my love for it, as I got to revisit all of the strong aspects of this series that drew me into loving it in the first place. So in that way, it's still one of my all time favorite series of all time. It's one of my favorite shonen manga, one of my favorite WSJ manga in particular, one of my favorite shonen anime, and one of my favorite anime in general. It's one of my favorite animated series of all time, one of my favorite shows of all time, and one of my favorite works of fiction of all time. I'll fully admit that this is a combination of a lot of qualities, including nostalgia, but those sorts of personal biases are what separate something from being subjectively a favorite and objectively the best. Is Yu Yu Hakusho objectively a great series? Of course not. But that doesn't matter, because what truly matters is what it means to me, individually, as a person, and as evidenced by how much I've had to say about it over the course of the entire past year, it means quite a lot.

Yu Yu Hakusho may not be as iconic or influential as Dragon Ball, or as uniquely compelling as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or Hunter X Hunter, or as popular and grandiose as One Piece. It may not be the most well-loved Golden Age WSJ series, and there are probably dozens of other series, both classic and contemporary, which come to the minds of other people first when they think of great shonen series, before YYH even registers. However, I always loved how it took the tropes of battle shonen manga and executed them to such perfection that it made them seem fresh again. I always loved how the anime took smart liberties in adapting the source material in a way that enhanced the experience rather than hindering it. And above all, I've always loved the characters. This is my favorite cast of characters in any shonen series, even when considering manga that rank higher for me like Rurouni Kenshin and Ashita no Joe. And as far as anime goes, this has always been, and still is to this day my favorite shonen anime, and this re-watch has strongly reaffirmed that for me.

It was a pleasure re-watching this show with everyone, for as long as everyone else managed to stick around, and even when it was just me and Avaitor and there wasn't much left to be said, I still enjoyed my time with even the most minor of discussions that we had. So thanks a bunch, Avaitor, for running this thread for over a year! I had a really fun time!

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's a great action show, truly.

Even if I couldn't keep up, I sure enjoyed covering what I did. Next time we should definitely choose something shorter.

[Avaitor]

I've been pretty busy over the past day or so, to the point that I didn't even get to watch the episodes last night. I just got around to them, and I'm on the same page as you are, EK. "Closure"'s first half is sadly underwhelming, but when the battle is over, the resolution does start to build into something special, which the finale delivers on.

I think that it was a good call to save Yusuke for the end, and to focus on Kurama, Keiko, and Genkai more than other characters, since the last handful of episodes gave us much more time for Kurama, Hiei, and Koenma. They deserve a little bit of closure and screentime themselves. And Yusuke's turn at the end allows for a great final moment, a bit of peace and fun that he and his friends deserve through everything.

I haven't seen the last arc in years. It's definitely not the series' strongest, you can say that for sure. Even bringing back most of the best Dark Tournament characters didn't make this tournament any more exciting- if anything, the return of Jin, Chu, and others shows just how formulaic and tired this arc was. Which is a damn shame, considering how fresh Dark Tournament was. At least the Three Kings arc is brief, and has a nice conclusion, otherwise the show's legacy could have been more tarnished. At the end of the day, it's just a quick, disappointing final chapter in an otherwise tight shonen series.

And not just any shonen series. As far as I'm concerned, Yu Yu Hakusho is THE shonen anime. While it's not without its faults, there is such a great attention to character and plot at its best, that it can possibly stand up among the finest seinen series. While I would prefer an overhaul of Three Kings, or possibly a different take on the finale to fit just after Chapter Black, I actually feel compelled to watch it all over again.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, it was definitely really fun to revisit the series again. It's something that I'd personally recommend to anyone who wanted to get into battle shonen. If they were new to the genre, this anime would highlight many of the tropes found in these sorts of works, but executed to their absolute best, and it'd then pretty much be the measuring stick of quality for all similar types of series from then on out.

I do wish more people would give this series a chance, though. While it was popular in its day, and was always a favorite for many people who grew up with Toonami in the early 2000's, it has slowly become less and less relevant among modern anime fans as time goes on, which I find to be rather sad.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Shame I didn't notice this earlier.

Funi is now finally streaming YYH. Not the whole series yet, but they're getting there.

Had I known I would have watched it there.