Yu Yu Hakusho

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, Justin Cook says we're getting Eizou Hakusho and the 30-minute OVA released by FUNimation in one DVD package.

As lame as the movie is and even though Eizou Hakusho is really mostly just a glorified clip show, the fact that FUNimation is even releasing any new material at all for YYH (new to the States, that is), is more than enough to get the fan in me ready to support the release just to show that there are still people out there who give a crap about the series. I wouldn't really recommend it to any casual fans of the show, but since its YYH I'll definitely be picking it up.

It'll be interesting to hear what the dub voices sound like after the VAs reprise their roles that they haven't played for so many years. Seriously, just hearing Justin Cook's snarky and foul-mouthed Yusuke again would be enough to make the shitty Golden Seal episode (I refuse to call it a movie) worth watching.

[talonmalon333]

I'm getting it. Period.

shitty Golden Seal episode (I refuse to call it a movie)

"Episode" is also too much a compliment.

[gunswordfist]

I'm getting it. Period.

shitty Golden Seal episode (I refuse to call it a movie)

"Episode" is also too much a compliment.

Good one. Good to see the original voice actors coming back for one more. That alone is worth it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I don't really have the money to pick-up the OVA right now, but I was wondering if anyone has gotten to hear the new dub for it? Really I'd totally ignore this release myself if it was just the Japanese version since the OVA isn't really anything special, but the damn nostalgia factor of getting to hear the same English dub VAs from FUNimation reprise their roles after so many years is enough for me to want to fork over the cash just to hear their newly recorded voices in something as small as a 30-minute special episode (which like I said before is shit, but its really the voices that I'm more interested in hearing). From what I've heard from other fans, most of the cast sounds almost exactly the same as they did 10 years ago, for better or worse, with the one exception of Chris Sabat who voices Kuwabara, since apparently he can't deliver that same voice that he did back in the day when FUNi was dubbing the YYH TV series, and honestly that doesn't bother me one bit seeing as how out of all of the voices from FUNi's dub of YYH, that was the weakest one, IMO.

At any rate, I've started re-reading the manga for this series because for some reason I can't go more than a year without having to take a look at something YYH-related, so I may just re-read the whole manga from start to finish and then end up re-watching the anime once again after I finish up with the manga, once again. To the show's credit I still think its one of the best shows that I've ever seen, personally, and whether it really deserved to be as high as it originally ranked on our top 65 list or not, its still one of my personal favorite cartoons ever, right along with Gargoyles, BTAS, and other great shows from my past.

[gunswordfist]

OK, I found a video player that'll let me watch Yu yu Hakusho, which my bother downloaded every single episode of in the laptop he gave me. I'm going to start from episode 1. I missed some episodes including Bui's first appearance, when Hiei blew away that fire guy in the Dark Tournament, whatever episode Genkai got her mask cut off in said tournament, when Yusuke and Kuwabara fought that bald guy's team of demons, some of Yusuke vs Sensei (basically the part when they started flying around...oh and some of Yusuke vs Yomi) thanks to scratched up library DVDs, I missed bits of those two fights. Since a missed a decent amount of episodes, I'm sure watching them in order will give me a fresh perspective of the show. I can't wait. 

[gunswordfist]

I watched the first 3 episodes and just finished the 3rd. Notes:
1. I forgot that the first person ghost Yusuke went to visit was that little boy he thought he saved.
2. I forgot that Yusuke died for no reason since the car was going to apparently swerve out of the way if Yusuke didn't try and save him.
3. They let Atsuko keep Yusuke's body in her house? Either this has something to do with a different culture or since my family rarely has deaths I'm just plain oblivious to this.
4. Didn't know Yusuke was that much of a pervert at the beginning of the series.

And like always, I like Yu yu Hakusho's slow beginning. I'll never understand the fuss.

[talonmalon333]

Man, I haven't seen this series in a while. Last time I rewatched it through was summer 2010, but to be honest that whole thing was a blur and I poorly paced it. The last time I seriously rewatched it and was really into it was... a year before that, summer 2009. I need to come back to it someday. I'll probably wait till next year to give me more time to miss it. Probably will rewatch it in the summer again, as that's the point where I have the most free time and will be able to keep watching it at a regular pace. Cause when I'm doing anything (movies, games, anything), the less frequently I get to do it, the less into it I become, and the less likely I'll be to come back to it. When I break my schedule, my investment kinda breaks.

So yeah, I'm looking at summer 2013. Maybe by then I'll have the Blu-rays. And maybe FUNimation's dub of the first movie will be out.

EDIT: LOL. I'm slow. Looks like both the movie and Eizo Hakusho are already out and english dubbed. Well, I'll need to get 'em someday.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I finally got down to watching the Golden Seal dub from FUNimation. Its the same stupid filler-esque story-line that's completely uninspired as I remember it to be, and it really has no business being YYH-related in any way aside from just featuring the characters, but I have to admit that I watched this more out of the nostalgia factor for getting to hear the classic FUNimation VAs reprise their roles for a YYH product that they didn't dub before. What surprised me was how Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, Koenma, and Botan sounded EXACTLY the same as they did about 10 years ago when FUNimation first started dubbing YYH. Its not like it was a tremendous amount of time between then and now, but I would've expected their voices to have changed a bit since then, yet the dub sounds like it could have been done back in 2001 and it wouldn't have felt off in the slightest. The only voice that sounds noticeably different from the dub of the TV series is Chris Sabat's voice as Kuwabara, which has the same general tone but sounds less "raspy" and more clear than in the old dub (and as far as I'm concerned, that's actually an improvement). So, overall the dub kicks ass, but of course its not enough to save a crappy little side-story that has no real purpose to it. That said, I'd love to see FUNimation dub the movie as well, even if that is also more like an over-sized filler-episode. I just like hearing the old English voices for the series that I grew up with.

[talonmalon333]

By the way, I'd like to say something about part of this show. After thinking about it more over the years, does anyone else feel that the last season is really... meh? I mean sure, it's enjoyable, but it's by far my least favorite part of the show. And really, I can't call it anything better than "adequate". I just feel that it's stories are generally rushed, unnecessary, simply uninteresting, and in some cases, just kinda cheesy.

I do know that the manga's version is supposedly garbage (which I still haven't gotten to), but to me, that still doesn't excuse the anime version. The Demon World Tournament just isn't interesting until the final battle, which is admittedly pretty cool. But until that point, once you get over the nostalgia of the Dark Tournament similarities, it's just boring for me, and really makes me wish we got the full scale war that Togashi was building up to. What a copout. As for Kurama and Hiei's past, those stories had their perks. But I found the characters to be no less interesting before, when only bits and pieces of their past were known, and the rest was shrouded in mystery.

There are also little things about the final season that simply bother me. For example, Genkai training Jin's crew to be unbelievably powerful... I mean, what the heck? This makes no sense with the info we were already given previously in the show. Was Genkai simply holding back on Yusuke earlier? Another thing that bothered me was how commonplace "invincible" demons became. In the third season, Sensui's level of power was such a big deal. Hiei even said "His power is rare, even in Demon World". I truly believed that Sensui was the very best, and that no one would be able to surpass him... But then, what-do-ya-know? Everyone and their dog is tougher than the poor guy in Demon World. And the A class demons, which were built up to be so awesome and scary, turned out to be a bunch of lamos. It just destroys the entire buildup we got in the Chapter Black story, and it honestly dampens Sensui's impact.

And then there's Yusuke. Let me just put aside the out of the left field "Wait, what am I fighting for?" character development that's forced into the final battle. Remember when I said Kurama and Hiei were fine when their backstories weren't spoon fed to us? Well apply it here as well. I had no problem with Yusuke just being a gifted teenager who's wavelengths are simply different. And yeah, yeah, I know the plot twist about Yusuke's blood was revealed at the end of the third season... "Coincidentally", the end of the third season is when things began getting cheesy. I'd say the drop in quality started after the episode where Kuwabara (who's absence was another downer in the last arc), Kurama, and Hiei chased Sensui into Demon World, Attempting Revenge.

Am I correct in saying Togashi wanted to end the series with the Sensui arc? If so, I really think he should've done that, though the ending would obviously different (the final episode was indeed sweet, though). It really could've made the perfect ending. But how they would've went about doing that is, obviously, a mystery to me.

Still, like I said, the last season isn't bad. It's... good. Yomi was pretty cool, the final battle was interesting, parts of the character's stories were nice, Yusuke's goodbye to Koenma was perfect, and the ending was good. So I'm sure I'll rewatch it along with everything else when the day comes that I return to this series. These are just a few issues that I've come to see.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

By the way, I'd like to say something about part of this show. After thinking about it more over the years, does anyone else feel that the last season is really... meh? I mean sure, it's enjoyable, but it's by far my least favorite part of the show. And really, I can't call it anything better than "adequate". I just feel that it's stories are generally rushed, unnecessary, simply uninteresting, and in some cases, just kinda cheesy.

Dude, YYH fans (including myself) have been saying this about the last season for years. Where were you during all of that time?

I do know that the manga's version is supposedly garbage (which I still haven't gotten to), but to me, that still doesn't excuse the anime version.

It does if you realize just how much they cleaned up the manga version of this arc. Its not the fault of the anime staff that the arc they were basing this off of was complete trash due to Togashi's flat-out laziness (he clearly stopped caring about the quality of this series after he was done with the Chapter Black arc).

The Demon World Tournament just isn't interesting until the final battle, which is admittedly pretty cool.

Actually, while I used to find the Yusuke vs. Yomi fight cool, even that feels disappointingly underwhelming to me now. It just never really feels like anything major is at stake during that fight....probably because there is NOTHING at stake during that fight. Yusuke loses it and....that's it. Demon World is still fine. The human world is still fine. Nobody loses any sleep over the matter.

But until that point, once you get over the nostalgia of the Dark Tournament similarities, it's just boring for me, and really makes me wish we got the full scale war that Togashi was building up to. What a copout.

Heh, If you think that's bad, then don't ever bother reading HXH. Togashi has a bad habit of building up to a lot of potentially awesome ideas, and then just completely drops them because he's too lazy to actually write them (or at least that's what I'd like to think).

As for Kurama and Hiei's past, those stories had their perks. But I found the characters to be no less interesting before, when only bits and pieces of their past were known, and the rest was shrouded in mystery.

I agree about Hiei's past. There's really nothing too special about that and it didn't really expand on his character in any significant way. As for Kuramra, though, I REALLY liked his past being explored when he was the demon theif Yoko, and I liked that whole relationship between him and Yomi, and how Yomi had learned how to be an effective leader through Kurama (despite Kurama betraying him, which oddly enough Yomi held no grudge against him for because he understood why Kurama needed to do that as a leader). I felt that this was one of the few strong points of the last arc, and I actually would have much preferred if we had a character focused arc on Kurama and his past and present relationship with his former follower (and now ironically his boss) Yomi. That would have been much more interesting than the standard and boring arc that we got.

There are also little things about the final season that simply bother me. For example, Genkai training Jin's crew to be unbelievably powerful... I mean, what the heck? This makes no sense with the info we were already given previously in the show. Was Genkai simply holding back on Yusuke earlier? Another thing that bothered me was how commonplace "invincible" demons became. In the third season, Sensui's level of power was such a big deal. Hiei even said "His power is rare, even in Demon World". I truly believed that Sensui was the very best, and that no one would be able to surpass him... But then, what-do-ya-know? Everyone and their dog is tougher than the poor guy in Demon World. And the A class demons, which were built up to be so awesome and scary, turned out to be a bunch of lamos. It just destroys the entire buildup we got in the Chapter Black story, and it honestly dampens Sensui's impact.

All of these questions of yours can be answered with one simple fact: This is what happens when Togashi stops giving a shit. You really need to understand by now that Togashi is the most lazy "talented" writer in all of manga. When he is actually invested in something, he can write incredibly good stories. But when he just flat-out stops caring....you get shit like the Demon World arc of YYH.

Am I correct in saying Togashi wanted to end the series with the Sensui arc?

I've heard this somewhere before, myself. However I've never actually found an official source (like an interview with or statement by Togashi himself) that confirmed this. The only thing that convinces me it may be true is that he clearly just didn't put any effort into the finale of this series.

If so, I really think he should've done that, though the ending would obviously different (the final episode was indeed sweet, though). It really could've made the perfect ending. But how they would've went about doing that is, obviously, a mystery to me.

In this case, its entirely possible that Togashi DID want to end YYH with the Chapter Black arc. The thing is, a lot of creators of Weekly Shonen Jump series want to end their series at their pinnacles so that they get remembered as masterpieces rather than being dragged through the mud with stale ideas afterward. The problem is that if a series is at its pinnacle and most likely the height of its popularity, the editorial staff of WSJ sees that there are still profits to be made from it, and will force the authors to continue creating new material for the manga until the series finally becomes a piece of crap and is forced to end by cancellation. So, in that regard, some people theorize that Togashi was forced to continue writing the manga but got back at the editorial department by purposely churning out shit to get the series ended faster. Now, that's completely based on theory and has no evidence to back it up, but once again I'm sticking with my theory that he just became a lazy ass-hole.

[gunswordfist]

By the way, I'd like to say something about part of this show. After thinking about it more over the years, does anyone else feel that the last season is really... meh? I mean sure, it's enjoyable, but it's by far my least favorite part of the show. And really, I can't call it anything better than "adequate". I just feel that it's stories are generally rushed, unnecessary, simply uninteresting, and in some cases, just kinda cheesy.

I do know that the manga's version is supposedly garbage (which I still haven't gotten to), but to me, that still doesn't excuse the anime version. The Demon World Tournament just isn't interesting until the final battle, which is admittedly pretty cool. But until that point, once you get over the nostalgia of the Dark Tournament similarities, it's just boring for me, and really makes me wish we got the full scale war that Togashi was building up to. What a copout. As for Kurama and Hiei's past, those stories had their perks. But I found the characters to be no less interesting before, when only bits and pieces of their past were known, and the rest was shrouded in mystery.

There are also little things about the final season that simply bother me. For example, Genkai training Jin's crew to be unbelievably powerful... I mean, what the heck? This makes no sense with the info we were already given previously in the show. Was Genkai simply holding back on Yusuke earlier? Another thing that bothered me was how commonplace "invincible" demons became. In the third season, Sensui's level of power was such a big deal. Hiei even said "His power is rare, even in Demon World". I truly believed that Sensui was the very best, and that no one would be able to surpass him... But then, what-do-ya-know? Everyone and their dog is tougher than the poor guy in Demon World. And the A class demons, which were built up to be so awesome and scary, turned out to be a bunch of lamos. It just destroys the entire buildup we got in the Chapter Black story, and it honestly dampens Sensui's impact.

And then there's Yusuke. Let me just put aside the out of the left field "Wait, what am I fighting for?" character development that's forced into the final battle. Remember when I said Kurama and Hiei were fine when their backstories weren't spoon fed to us? Well apply it here as well. I had no problem with Yusuke just being a gifted teenager who's wavelengths are simply different. And yeah, yeah, I know the plot twist about Yusuke's blood was revealed at the end of the third season... "Coincidentally", the end of the third season is when things began getting cheesy. I'd say the drop in quality started after the episode where Kuwabara (who's absence was another downer in the last arc), Kurama, and Hiei chased Sensui into Demon World, Attempting Revenge.

Am I correct in saying Togashi wanted to end the series with the Sensui arc? If so, I really think he should've done that, though the ending would obviously different (the final episode was indeed sweet, though). It really could've made the perfect ending. But how they would've went about doing that is, obviously, a mystery to me.

Still, like I said, the last season isn't bad. It's... good. Yomi was pretty cool, the final battle was interesting, parts of the character's stories were nice, Yusuke's goodbye to Koenma was perfect, and the ending was good. So I'm sure I'll rewatch it along with everything else when the day comes that I return to this series. These are just a few issues that I've come to see.

You must have missed me and EK's multiple, lengthy discussions on this subject. Before I read EK's answers, I'll go blind and give mine just so I don't just end up nodding yes a bunch of times while leaving out my personal opinions:

Me, EK and apparently a bunch of other people felt like they should have went to war. Yes, them canceling the war for another tournament was in fact a major copout. We never get to see them live up to the potential of Hiei, Kurama and/or Yusuke having to fight to the death. They don't even fight in the tournament! I guess they avoided them having tournament bouts against each other out of not wanting to seem like fan service determines the winner, whatever that means. Still disappointed that the show had no Yusuke vs Kurama. I'd love to see what strategy Kurama would have used not to mention that I think Sensui is damn near a straightforward fighter compared to Kurama, plus Kurama knows Yusuke's fighting style. I could go on forever. Also, would have love to see Raizen's old friend be soldiers in Yusuke's army instead of a bunch of guys who never got their last tournament fights shown.

I actually thought the Demon Tournament fights themself were interesting even though I didn't care for the whatever sapping feeling they were going for during Mukuro vs Hiei.

And yes Hiei and Kurama didn't get magically better because their pasts were revealed. What the hell do you expect?

They obviously brought back the Dark Tournament favorites for fans. DUH!

I may be wrong, but I believe Sensui is more than most of the fighters in the Demon Tournament. I'm not even sure if Hiei and Kurama got more powerful than him.

[gunswordfist]

Oh, I didn't know Yomi wasn't mad at Kurama. I thought he wanted to blow away Kurama and was biding his time.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The best ending would have been with Yusuke in demon world after beating Sensui thinking about going after whoever "controlled him" and the gang convincing him to return back instead. Then the episode ends. Then we get the final episode wondering if Yusuke stayed or returned, and we get the final episode pretty much the same way otherwise. Yusuke would have let it go and gone back to where he belonged as he was not like Sensui and become the best Spirit Detective possible. It's not perfect, but it's miles better than where Togashi took it.

Ek is right, though. The Demon World arc in the manga is not only terrible and disappointing, it actually makes twists and turns the anime wisely cut including brainwashing (which was literally impossible) and government corruption which, again, was too much of a stretch. Not to mention the arc randomly ends and we get random gag manga with Yusuke handling a noodle cart and the art literally being impossible to see.

The anime cut all that and basically made the arc legible, fleshed out every character in the arc (I liked how they made it so even Hiei was tired of fighting at one point) and even tried to finish it properly. The arc isn't all that great because Togashi dropped the ball, but in anime form it's actually quite a decent epilogue to the story. It's just too bad about all those new characters that didn't get to do anything.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I may be wrong, but I believe Sensui is more than most of the fighters in the Demon Tournament. I'm not even sure if Hiei and Kurama got more powerful than him.

Well, Raizen beat Sensui (but keep in mind, Sensui was beaten pretty ragged at that point), but he was the equivalent of S class. But a lower S class. I think they were at least equal to Sensui at his peak by series end.

[gunswordfist]

The best ending would have been with Yusuke in demon world after beating Sensui thinking about going after whoever "controlled him" and the gang convincing him to return back instead. Then the episode ends. Then we get the final episode wondering if Yusuke stayed or returned, and we get the final episode pretty much the same way otherwise. Yusuke would have let it go and gone back to where he belonged as he was not like Sensui and become the best Spirit Detective possible. It's not perfect, but it's miles better than where Togashi took it.

Ek is right, though. The Demon World arc in the manga is not only terrible and disappointing, it actually makes twists and turns the anime wisely cut including brainwashing (which was literally impossible) and government corruption which, again, was too much of a stretch. Not to mention the arc randomly ends and we get random gag manga with Yusuke handling a noodle cart and the art literally being impossible to see.

The anime cut all that and basically made the arc legible, fleshed out every character in the arc (I liked how they made it so even Hiei was tired of fighting at one point) and even tried to finish it properly. The arc isn't all that great because Togashi dropped the ball, but in anime form it's actually quite a decent epilogue to the story. It's just too bad about all those new characters that didn't get to do anything.

I would want it to end with Three Kings just so the last arc could be really action packed (with the war actually happening), while we get to learn more about Kurama and Hiei. It would be criminal to end the show without the latter. It would be cool if Yusuke got to reflect on things that happened in Chapter Black. That would make adding another saga too good to pass up. Dammit, I'm craving shounen now.

I may be wrong, but I believe Sensui is more than most of the fighters in the Demon Tournament. I'm not even sure if Hiei and Kurama got more powerful than him.

Well, Raizen beat Sensui (but keep in mind, Sensui was beaten pretty ragged at that point), but he was the equivalent of S class. But a lower S class. I think they were at least equal to Sensui at his peak by series end.

I missed a lot, if not most of their fight thanks to that damn library DVD being scratched up (and Yusuke's Yomi fight, ugh.) so I don't know how Raizen controlling Yusuke works. All I saw were the headbutts and the demon gun.