Let's Talk About... Yu Yu Hakusho

[talonmalon333]

Yeah, the fight against Byakko is a bit unnecessarily long. Isn't it nearly two full episodes?

By the way, do we ever get an idea of how long the crew was in the Maze Castle?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just watched the episodes for tomorrow's discussion. Aside from Hiei having another decent moment....man, this arc really is as weak as I remember. It just doesn't do anything interesting with the characters or world. If anyone here were watching this for the first time with us, I'd feel the need to reassure them that the show gets significantly better after this arc. For a comparison, I know that I'm not a fan of Greed Island from HXH, but that arc actually comes off as genuinely much more interesting and creative than this one.

It doesn't help either that the animation for these early episodes is mostly garbage. Thankfully it picks up dramatically with Rescue Yukina, as does the English voice-acting.

By the way, do we ever get an idea of how long the crew was in the Maze Castle?

Do you want to rephrase that? I don't quite understand what you're trying to ask here.

[talonmalon333]

Well like, we know that the mission to rescue Yukina took Yusuke and Kuwabara about two days, as they are shown camping at night in the woods and then waking up to continue the mission. We also know the Dark Tournament took up about a week from the time they reached the island to the point where the tournament ended. I'm wondering if there is any indication of how many hours/days the team is in Maze Castle.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I would assume about a few hours (or around half a day) since we frequently switch back to the human world and Botan is still fighting zombies while the color of the sky does not indicate that night has fallen.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Not to mention that Keiko is still in school and ready to leave when the horde turns on her.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Which is kind of funny since they were going to a movie before this whole fiasco started. I suppose she realized that they ditched her and just headed back to school on what was presumably an off day (since no other students are there) to get some errands done. Remember, Japanese schools aren't like American ones. It's not unheard of for some students to come in on holidays to get some work done of their own accord, from what what little I remember of my World Culture studies from way back in high school.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what she was doing. Not like there was much else to do since Yusuke ruined her day.

[Avaitor]

"Byakko's Lair" expands upon his previous episode, with an extended fight between Kuwabara and Byakko, and while I do find the fireball sequence to be exciting, it's true that this isn't all that great.

Byakko simply isn't that good of an antagonist, since he's pretty one-note, and kind of annoying. His dialogue with Kuwabara is just simply boasting and taunting, with little punch to make it more exciting. And despite Kuwabara's need for personal redemption, he's not all that strong of a lead here either. I did root for him to win, primarily so we could get rid of Byakko, but there wasn't a whole lot to offer.



I liked "Seiyru, The Blue Dragon" a little better, since Seiyru has a little more personality to him, and it's cool to see Hiei's skills again. But it isn't much of a fight, maybe since Hiei is a little too good. That, and I wasn't happy with seeing Byakko again, but at least it took no time for him to go.

The most important parts of the episode are 1) the chase scene Keiko has from the possessed Iwamoto and other people, which is easily the most thrilling part of these episodes, and 2) the reveal of Suzaku, the main villain of the arc. He doesn't have a whole lot to him, but this does promise for more exciting episodes, since these are pretty average on the whole.

[talonmalon333]

Byakko might actually be my favorite of the Saint Beasts (not like that's saying much). I like how at first he literally laughs at Kuwabara for trying to face him on his own, and gets furious when he thinks its for real. Then, after losing the first fight, he develops a respect for Kuwabara. After calling him merely "human" in the first fight, he now calls him "swordsman".

[Spark Of Spirit]

I liked seeing Hiei take down Seiryu since it was a pretty fast-paced fight and we see more of the side of Hiei that first showed up when Kurama wanted to break their partnership in the Three Artifacts arc. Hiei doesn't like being abandoned, and it is probably his biggest pet peeve as we see it come up again and again. I guess we eventually find out where that comes from, too, but that's not for a looooong while. It also explains why ice attacks don't faze him, but we'll have to wait to comment on that.

Otherwise it's nice seeing what he is capable of when he goes all out.

As for the whole Byakko thing, it's probably the series low-point for me. A multi-episode fight that goes on too long and establishes things we already knew about in regards to Kuwabara. At least we're past it now.

Up next, the third longest fight in the series.

[talonmalon333]

Up next, the third longest fight in the series.

What's funny is that the first and second longest fights don't feel dragged out as that or the Byakko fight, and are appropriate in length...

Spoiler

And one of them, the Sensui fight, is nearly ten episodes!

[close]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Up next, the third longest fight in the series.

What's funny is that the first and second longest fights don't feel dragged out as that or the Byakko fight, and are appropriate in length...

Spoiler

And one of them, the Sensui fight, is nearly ten episodes!

[close]

None of the fights in the series wear out their welcome, except for the ones in the Saint Beast arc. They're just so . . . dull.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

17. Byakko's Lair

So, I'll just come right out and say it: this episode sucks. It's one of the few downright bad episodes in the show, from the poor writing to the dry and uninspired animation. I know that this show had a really small budget to work with, but at least more episodes are a bit more creative with scenery to distract you from the lack of animation, while other episodes actually do a stellar job of bringing these characters to life through fluid motion. This episode does neither of those things, and Maze Castle itself is just a really boring environment.

This episode serves as the conclusion to Kuwabara's fight, but I can't help but feel that showing Byakko alive and having him square off against Kuwabara again serves no real purpose here. In the first place the fight never really progressed Kuwabara's character other than showing off how he had improved his Spirit Sword ability from before. With that out of the way, what's left to show? This encounter wasn't used to further develop his character, and Byakko gets dispatched fairly quickly again, so this entire sequence just felt pointless to me.

This episode was ultimately a waste, and literally did absolutely nothing to further the plot (it actually held it up, if anything) or help further develop the characters. And while Talon did point out that Byakko showed a bit more respect for Kuwabara this time, it ends up being irrelevant since Byakko loses and is promptly killed off in the next episode. Even though this was in the manga, it feels like filler.

18. Seiryu, The Blue Dragon

This episode is certainly a step up from the last one, but just barely. I'd call it below average but not necessarily terrible. Chuck Huber's sarcastic delivery of the line "It would appear we've found a maze in Maze Castle" was a funny little one-liner, which I thought was worth mentioning. And in general, as a Hiei episode, I do think that Huber is really growing into the role, now. Desensitized's analysis of Hiei not wanting to be abandoned was a good one, and how that was why he got pissed when he saw how Seiryu killed off Byakko like he was nothing. Of course, Togashi was a long way off from having any inkling of what Hiei's past was like in his head, and probably couldn't have planned that, but I like to believe that he subconsciously had an idea of Hiei's true nature as a character by this point in the series, so it still works for him anyways, and makes a surprising amount of sense once his past finally is revealed much later on in the story.

I also actually enjoy this fight being a rather quick one, especially since the fight with Byakko had overstayed its welcome. It makes Hiei feel like a bad-ass, and also serves to make Yusuke look tough for having taken him down back in the Three Artifacts arc, while simultaneously demonstrating how Kuwabara is behind the curve and really has a lot of catching up to do in order to truly be on par with the other three fighters of the team.

I also think that, while a pretty flat and forgettable character, Seiryu was a perfect early opponent for Hiei as he sort of serves as an analogue of his character. Seiryu is very full of himself and believes himself to be above others, and I sort of got the feeling that after getting the Jagan, Hiei sort of developed such a demeanor. Seiryu offering him the chance to join the Saint Beasts also clearly represents him tempting Hiei to give into his dark side, and Hiei's stern refusal shows us as the audience that he's definitively ready to start on his path of redemption. Elements like that worked enough in this episode's favor to make it a worthwhile watch for what it was.

Unfortunately, the rest of it is just as dull and uninspired as what came before it, and it really doesn't do much to make this arc any more interesting. If I had to describe it in a short phrase, I'd say that this episode is the epitome of barely adequate entertainment for this series.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Slightly better than last week, but still "meh" episodes, overall. I won't be able to give more detailed thoughts on them until tomorrow, however.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So is someone still going to post about these episodes today? If not, then I'll just have to do it tomorrow.