Let's Talk About... Yu Yu Hakusho

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh man, I can't wait to talk about these. My parents came to visit me today, so I took some time off and am a bit backed-up on my workload for the evening, but I'll definitely get to this discussion later on in the week.

What I will say for now is that these are just really entertaing episodes based solely on how good the fighting, quipping,  and personal stakes are. Yusuke comes off as a legitimate bad-ass, and it's a quality that feels earned rather than coming off as a hack writer just trying too hard to make his characters seem cool (I'm looking at you, Kubo).

[Avaitor]

Both of these are great episodes, and they show different shades of why Yusuke is such a great protagonist.

His battle with Bakken is reflective of Yusuke's emotive side, how he can empathize with the helpless so easily, especially as it's one of his friends that is in need of support. As tough as Bakken is, Yusuke gives it everything he has in the fight to do Kurama justice, and it proves to work. Seeing someone who was mercilessly beating the shit out of an unconscious person one moment cower in fear from getting his just desserts the next is so very rewarding.

And as enjoyable as Yusuke's fight with Jin has been thus far, I particularly like seeing the two calm down and have a nice laugh together in between. Of all the members of Team Masho, Jin seems like the coolest guy, but that doesn't mean that he's a push over. This isn't an easy fight for Yusuke either, and there's plenty to keep the episode exciting throughout.

Good stuff for an increasingly great arc. This is why I'm enjoying our group watch, since it's been too long since I've seen the series in full.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I'm getting my points on the episodes up at the last minute before tomorrow. Also, they'll be pretty brief due to a lack of time. I've just been really busy this week.

39. Crushing Revenge

This was just a really satisfying episode. As I already elaborated on last week, the show really did a good job of getting you to despise the enemy and after all of the shit that Yusuke and his team have been through so far, it's satisfying for Togashi to throw us a bone and, as the episode title suggests, let Yusuke pay back Bakken in spades.

However, just as that fight concludes, we get thrown a curve-ball and are introduced to Jin, who for all intents and purposes is like the opposite of anyone else on his team. What's more is that he seems almost like a kindred spirit to Yusuke, and it shows when he's pretty much instantly able to get Yusuke to snap out of his rage and the two can laugh about it. And as the fight starts around the end of this episode, we immediately know that we're in for a really special brawl.

40. Jin, the Wind Master

This episode continues the fight that was just started between Yusuke and Jin, and it really is one of the highlights of not just this arc, but the entire series in general. It's one of those iconic moments that pops into my memory whenever I think about this show. What makes this fight so good is how evenly matched it is. It's not just the hero at a huge disadvantage to their opponent, who can only manage to win by some last effort despite taking way too much damage and only dealing out a single blow of his own. Instead, this is an intense yet really fun battle between two guys who clearly have a lot of respect for each others' abilities as fighters, and who are clever enough to keep adjusting their strategies in regard to their respective opponent's clear strengths and weaknesses. Whereas Jin can Fly, Yusuke can use projectile attacks. While Jin is hard to hit in the air, Yusuke has the speed advantage on the ground. It keeps the whole conflict going back and forth in a way that seems even, but leaves in just enough tension so that you really can't tell who's going to win based on how the fight is going at any given moment.

Additionally, we also learn that Hiei is slowly recovering, perhaps just enough to make an escape, and Team Urameshi still holds a huge advantage over Team Masho in terms of their win-to-loss ratio, so just like that one of the most dire situations the team has faced so far has slowly been turning around for them as they work their way towards coming out on top. And what's best of all is that none of it feels like forced or contrived writing. Rather, it feels earned by the characters themselves.

[talonmalon333]

Man, the Jin fight takes me back. I remember back when the show was on Tonami, I must have been 11 or 12 years old at the time, and I adored this fight. I'd say it was probably my favorite part of the whole show at that point (note that Tonami took a really long time before they finally started showing the Dark Tournament finals episodes). I still consider it one of the best fights in the whole series. Like E-K said, the way they are evenly matched is perfectly handled. And like Avaitor said, it's a lot of fun how they interact with each other.

Also, I always got the feeling that Jin was the strongest member of the team. It's never stated, but it just seemed that way. The team leader is leader because he's probably more suited to that job, whereas Jin doesn't strike me as the type who's interested in being the authority of the group.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Actually, Kurama states specifically that Jin and Risho are by far the strongest on the team. What that does is put a certain main character's strength at a higher level then we've previously thought, especially in regards to where Yusuke currently is.

[talonmalon333]

E-K, did you give grades and final thoughts to the first two rounds of the Dark Tournament, similar to how you did with all the earlier storylines? If not, what would you give them?

Actually, Kurama states specifically that Jin and Risho are by far the strongest on the team. What that does is put a certain main character's strength at a higher level then we've previously thought, especially in regards to where Yusuke currently is.

I know that. What I was saying is, of those two, I always got the impression that Jin is the stronger one. He gave such a tough fight to Yusuke who, lets face it, is a total and utter powerhouse at this point compared to practically every fighter in the tournament aside from the Masked Fighter and Team Toguro. Risho also didn't seem to have as much recognition in the audience, whereas Jin was a huge fan favorite going into this match.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Jin could very well be the strongest, especially since it took Yusuke to really hammer him, but I don't think Risho is as much of a pushover either. He's probably the leader both because of his strength and because he is clearly the craftiest among Team Masho. But I don't want to quite spoil that yet.

[talonmalon333]

Spoiler

The team owner also seemed to doubt Risho after Jin proved unable to beat Yusuke.

I think this is how I'd rank all the opponents in the first and third rounds of the tournament based on strength. I'm leaving out Itchagaki's team because I have no idea how they compare.

Jin
Chu
Zeru
Risho
Touya
Gamma
Rinku
Bakken
Roto

Roto strikes me as completely useless without his cheap tricks. And Bakken was established to be fairly weak.

I might update this list as we get to later rounds and meet new fighters.

[close]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Spoiler

Alright, I'll try my opinion:

Zeru
Jin
Risho
Chu
Touya
Gama
Rinku
Bakken
Roto

I think the next round will put a bit of a monkey wrench into the whole scheme. Mostly because we don't get a good grasp on the strength of the actual combatants.

[close]

[talonmalon333]

Spoiler

Alright, I'll try my opinion:

Zeru
Jin
Risho
Chu
Touya
Gama
Rinku
Bakken
Roto

I think the next round will put a bit of a monkey wrench into the whole scheme. Mostly because we don't get a good grasp on the strength of the actual combatants.

[close]

Spoiler

Looks like our lists are about the same other than the placements of Zeru and Risho. I had a bit of a hard time fitting Zeru in because we don't see a whole lot of him, other than the fact that he would have destroyed Hiei if Hiei didn't resort to using the dragon. But I do remember Kurama speculating that Chu could be even stronger than Zeru. It was never confirmed, but it seems possible. Having Yusuke and Chu even slightly above Zeru does seem to imply that Yusuke is much better than Hiei now, but if you think about it, at this point in the series, that actually makes sense and seems probable.

As for the fighters in the next round, yeah, I really don't know how I'll fit them in. But other than Shishi, I can't imagine any of them being high on the list.

[close]

[Spark Of Spirit]

Spoiler

Alright, I'll try my opinion:

Zeru
Jin
Risho
Chu
Touya
Gama
Rinku
Bakken
Roto

I think the next round will put a bit of a monkey wrench into the whole scheme. Mostly because we don't get a good grasp on the strength of the actual combatants.

[close]

Spoiler

Looks like our lists are about the same other than the placements of Zeru and Risho. I had a bit of a hard time fitting Zeru in because we don't see a whole lot of him, other than the fact that he would have destroyed Hiei if Hiei didn't resort to using the dragon. But I do remember Kurama speculating that Chu could be even stronger than Zeru. It was never confirmed, but it seems possible. Having Yusuke and Chu even slightly above Zeru does seem to imply that Yusuke is much better than Hiei now, but if you think about it, at this point in the series, that actually makes sense and seems probable.

As for the fighters in the next round, yeah, I really don't know how I'll fit them in. But other than Shishi, I can't imagine any of them being high on the list.

[close]

Spoiler

Zeru's placement is merely my own impression of him. I'm convinced that he is the strongest combatant outside of the finals being that he is the only one where the Dragon of the Darkness Flame was absolutely needed to win and that Hiei couldn't beat even at his best. Every other fight outside of the finals was him working at near half power and he still came out on top.

Shishiwakamaru is the only member of the team with incredible strength outside of his weapon, but I do think Suzuka is probably the best tactician of all of them and the one who has more spirit energy than he does muscle which drags him down. The other three rely entirely on their gimmicks and are otherwise at the bottom of the list. Though there is no way to really know that.

[close]

[talonmalon333]

Spoiler

Zeru's placement is merely my own impression of him. I'm convinced that he is the strongest combatant outside of the finals being that he is the only one where the Dragon of the Darkness Flame was absolutely needed to win and that Hiei couldn't beat even at his best. Every other fight outside of the finals was him working at near half power and he still came out on top.

At the same time, what strong fighters did Hiei face between Zeru and the finals? I mean, in the Itchagaki round, all he faced was those two demons lackeys, one of which went down so easily that Hiei and Kurama actually joked about it. He didn't participate in the Masho round. Then, in the semi-finals, he first fought a joke, and then Kuro who crutched on his weapons to get him through the fight. Hiei's main story arc throughout the tournament was his wounds from his Zeru fight, but he actually didn't face many tough opponents. I'm not denying that Zeru might be the strongest, but I don't think it's too impressive that Hiei got by at half strength.

Shishiwakamaru is the only member of the team with incredible strength outside of his weapon, but I do think Suzuka is probably the best tactician of all of them and the one who has more spirit energy than he does muscle which drags him down. The other three rely entirely on their gimmicks and are otherwise at the bottom of the list. Though there is no way to really know that.

Well, Makintaro wasn't shown to use a weapon. It's possible that his axe blade fist was given to him by Suzuka, or that he did have a weapon but died so quickly that he didn't get to use it. If neither of those are true, then he, who was considered by Kuro the weakest member of the team, was at least enough to survive till the semi-finals. Then again, I can't imagine Suzuka not giving him a weapon, so maybe his team just got lucky and fought against weak teams (I wouldn't be surprised if the tournament committee rigged it so that Team Urameshi faced the toughest teams), but still, I wouldn't be surprised if he, Kuro, and Ura Urishima are stronger than Roto, if nothing else.

[close]

[Avaitor]

In this week's set, Yusuke and Jin's exciting match comes to a close with an applicable end. Yusuke comes out on top, but things aren't completely in Team Urameshi's favor, as Yusuke is disqualified for the rest of their fight against Team Masho for a technicality. With Kurama still unconscious and Hiei and the masked fighter still trapped, it all seems over, until Kuwabara does the unthinkable and gives his all to face the team's leader, Risho.



Thankfully, Kuwabara, even at his most vulnerable, is only becoming stronger, as he takes Risho with all of his might, even after how tough things are seeming. It becomes even tougher on his part when Risho finds a way to eliminate Kuwabara's trade mark Spirit Sword. The resulting match doesn't become easier for Kuwabara, but he gives his all to win. A little bit of tenderness doesn't hurt, either.

And there we go. These past few episodes have been some of the series most exciting to date, giving us a well balanced set of opponents and promisingly challenging obstacles for each of them to face. Last week gave Yusuke some great material, while this set is some of Kuwbara's best in a little bit. Definitely great stuff.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm running a little behind again, but I'll try to have something up by tomorrow.

But, yeah, these were all awesome matches. Years later, this is still just as exhilirating as it ever was.

[talonmalon333]

Reverse Decisions is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series. And the reason for that is because this feels like the episode where all of that tension and desperation that has been flowing ever since the round began just explodes. The odds were stacked against them so much, and in the end, defeating Team Masho with two fighters alone was just too much to hope for, particularly in a tournament where the committee is against you. Kurama was eliminated, and now, Yusuke has been disqualified. And the anger that comes about can make it so easy to find yourself on the edge of your seat when Yusuke and Hiei blow up and prepare themselves to literally go on a killing spree. There is no other moment in the entire series like this, where the main characters actually lose, realize that they are going to die, and thus are overcome with so much anger that they prepare to take other people down with them (well, at least Yusuke and Hiei do that last part). And I love seeing Toguro's reaction to Botajiri's (not sure about spelling there) plan. He's utterly disgusted. I can't help but think he wouldn't get in the way of Yusuke and Hiei's rampage if that were to happen.

But we we see, that doesn't happen. Kuwabara so bravely steps up to face Risho with what little strength he has left in him. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of Kuwabara's crowning moments in the series. We've seen his bravery before, but never to this extent. He's going into a fight he has little chance of winning and almost no chance of coming out of alive, but he's going in anyway because that's just the kind of guy he is. The rest of the team believes so firmly that this is hopeless, that their time in the Dark Tournament is finally coming to an end, as Koto begins the match and Risho prepares for the kill while Kuwabara can't even keep himself up straight.

And we see in the next episode that, in the end, the only way to get his team their win is to sacrifice his life, as Yusuke did against Suzaku so long ago. As he says, Yusuke and Kurama gave it their all to make it this far and now he's ready to bring it home for them, even if he won't be there to celebrate with them in the end. Speaking of which, I love Kuwabara's dialogue whenever he is acting heroic (I'll be praising that dialogue of his non-stop once we get to Kuwabara: Awakening in Chapter Black). Just makes it all the more powerful when he charges into Risho's finishing blow, fearlessly and head on.

Of course, as we see, something unexpected happens. Yukina arrives and Kuwabara, in a comedic way, feels a new surge of energy and then destroys Risho. Surprisingly, this doesn't feel out of place. In fact, I think it feels rather earned. Because, like I said, there is so much desperation and stress in this match ever since it began. So there's something nice and satisfying about the fact that it can end in such a light way. Then we get to see the team outside the ring and in other places on the island. After spending two matches straight in the ring, I do think it's a relief to see them back on the beach and in the forest getting to take a breather and just talk.