Yu Yu Hakusho

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ideally, if Togashi was actually still putting effort into the series after the Chapter Black arc, I think we can all agree that we would have wanted to see the War arc take place. The whole idea of a 3-sided war going down in Demon World made for a set-up that could potentially surpass the Chapter Black arc, if Togashi were able to deliver on it. Unfortunately what we got was an underwhelming tournament arc that took the series nowhere and gave it a really weak ending. I certainly would have rather had the series end after the Chapter Black arc than have that dragged out ending, but like I said, the Demon World war arc is what I most wanted to see.

I always wished that Togashi would one day do an alternate version of the Three Kings arc in which he actually does go through with the war, but unfortunately the fact that he isn't even staying on track with his current series, Hunter X Hunter, is a good indicator that he's still a lazy ass-hole.

[Rynnec]

Well, Togashi could always hand over adaptation rights to a studio (probably the same one that's doing the new HxH anime) that would be interested in doing a Demon War arc or something.

[gunswordfist]

Oh man, I was yet again thinking about Three Kings getting a redo. Anime wise, though.Wish they could find a talented team.

I also thought the very end of Yu yu Hakusho was good. The demons got to do something and Genkai and the gang were anticipating what could happen in the future. I honestly pretty much want the show to end like that.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Making anew YYH anime for only the last arc? I'd be more than done with that. But since it would probably need input from the laziest writer in Japan, it would probably end randomly mid-arc.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, Togashi could always hand over adaptation rights to a studio (probably the same one that's doing the new HxH anime) that would be interested in doing a Demon War arc or something.

I doubt that would happen, since it'd be complicated to get Studio Pierrot (who still currently holds the anime adaptation property for YYH) to hand it over to Madhouse (who are doing the new Hunter X Hunter anime). Ideally, though, I would love to see some new YYH material from a good veteran mangaka or writer for shonen series to adapt YYH. Also, I saw on some ANN posting of some Japanese magazine poll that YYH was one of of the top 50 anime that audiences wanted to see new material for (but, then again, only 80-something people voted for it).

The bottom line, though, is that its not that popular in Japan (not anymore, anyways), and doesn't have the lasting appeal to most Japanese audiences as other contemporary shonen series of its time have (like DBZ, Saint Seiya, etc.). So I doubt we'll ever see anything relevant for this series come up ever again.

To be honest, though, I'm glad that it was as good as it was and am happy that it didn't get dragged through the mud for more than just one short arc. At least the way it is now its a quality series that holds up against the test of time, IMO.

[Foggle]

Ideally, though, I would love to see some new YYH material from a good veteran mangaka or writer for shonen series to adapt YYH.

Get Rikudou to do it.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I wouldn't mind Togashi writing a feature length animated movie on YYH. It would surely be better than the 1 film we got.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, 2 films if you count the OVA? Also, as bland as the movie was, I'd still want to see FUNimation dub it just so I can hear Justine Cook as Yusuke again.

As for Togashi, wouldn't it be nice if in all this time on hiatus he was working on something as ambitious as a new YYH film or something on that scale? Sadly the fact of the matter is that he's just flat-out lazy and he's spending his free-time doing anything but being productive with his manga.

[Rynnec]

I doubt that would happen, since it'd be complicated to get Studio Pierrot (who still currently holds the anime adaptation property for YYH) to hand it over to Madhouse (who are doing the new Hunter X Hunter anime).

I dunno if I'd want modern-day Studio Pierrot making new material for YYH if that's the case. Not do their adaptations have sub-par animation, their original material for the past few years leave a lot to be desired if Naruto and Bleaches filler arc's are any indication (Those two shows are mediocre regardless, but still). Granted they have produced good stuff amongst all the mediocrity, but it's still nothing special.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, Pierrot was totally on fire when they made YYH. But they haven't been nearly as good as then for a while now, usually their adaptions being very lazy and by the numbers.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Likewise, but I was just pointing out that they hold the YYH propery license and I doubt that they'd just hand it over for free or anything like that; and I doubt that Madhouse or any other studio would be willing to fork over any cash to make new material for a series that quite frankly isn't popular enough in Japan any longer to make them a viable profit.

[talonmalon333]

There is so much here that I want to respond to. I'm just gonna do the first response or so right now, and then cover the rest of what you guys said later.

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

Very out of the loop, apparently.

But I do remember a few of you guys saying the last arc isn't too great. However, I wasn't sure if anyone was as negative about it as I just was, describing it as "adequate", at best.

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).

Yeah, you're right. There's only so much one can do to make a piece of garbage look like gold.

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.

Agreed. I think the fight itself is solid on it's own... but then you compare it to Yusuke's fights against Toguro or Sensui, and it gets blown to pieces.

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).

Ugh. At the very least, should I see the second/remake anime? I really enjoyed the first one.

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 the 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.

I don't find Kurama's story to be completely necessary, but okay, you're right. It was definitely cool. I'm not sure if they could've made an entire arc out of it. But an OVA series, made after the series, could've been a cool idea.

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.

I was probably in a state of denial, since I found Togashi to be awesome for years. It's the kind of thing that you don't want to believe is true, even if you really know it is.

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.

I think it was Cableguy that sent me a source stating that Togashi planned on ending it with Chapter Black (this source also quoted Togashi stating his favorite character he created for YYH was Itsuki, and his least favorite was Keiko). I'll have to ask him again for the source. Unfortunately, I'm never able to get into contact with him more than once a month, so this could take a while. But I'll be sure to post it here when I do.

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.

Like, even if you're forced to continue a series, basically blowing it off and just slapping together garbage is pure lazyness. Or childish. Or both.

---

Alright, I'll get to the next few posts later.

[talonmalon333]

Before I respond to other posts, I have a question that I'd like to get your thoughts on.

If the series had ended with the third season, what would you think if Yusuke's death was permanent?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It would depend on how they handled it. If everything played out the same as it did and the series just ended with Yusuke dying and the others taking out Sensui, it'd be a poorly executed ending since there was little to no build-up to Yusuke having to sacrifice his life, and the weight and consequences it would bring to everyone else. If it was something that was planned for the finale and there was appropriate build-up to having a character death as significant as that, and there was more set-up around a scenario like that so that it could be appropriately followed-up in an effective and emotional way, then it could have made for a good ending, in theory.

That said, its a shonen series, and its mainly still supposed to be light-hearted at its core, so I'm personally fine with Yusuke living through the Sensui arc.

[gunswordfist]

Before I respond to other posts, I have a question that I'd like to get your thoughts on.

If the series had ended with the third season, what would you think if Yusuke's death was permanent?

I don't see how that could have lead to any good. Unlike whiney bitches, like those who thought Spike's death was a bad idea, characters dying at the end isn't the end of the world for me. If it makes sense. Yusuke dies and then what? That would wrap up nothing. Are you asking if it would be ok if Sensui gave the show a bad (as in good guys lose) ending?