Yu Yu Hakusho

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm not sure if Bui would have helped much later in the story since his power was capped, wasn't it? I guess he could have been part of the tournament, but he probably wouldn't have gotten far.

But if it was Bui vs. Karasu, I'm pretty sure Bui would have won. All the members of Team Toguro could see Karasu's bombs, and Bui was just fast as he was plus his power was pretty close to the Toguro Bros. Other than his speed and trick, I don't think Karasu was quite to Bui's strength. Though obviously he was pretty strong.

[talonmalon333]

Oh, in terms of strength, I think Bui would win hands down. He reflected the Dragon of Darkness Flame, after all. I can't imagine Karasu doing that.

[gunswordfist]

Too bad Bui never appeared again after Hiei defeated him, you'd think he'd become an ally, or have a rematch with Hiei or something.

I do really like Bui's little story, and he deserves credit for being the first to overpower the Dragon of Darkness Flame. However, I'd go with Karasu. In all of his scenes, he was so... creepy. To me, he left a far bigger impression. I also don't think Bui's dialogue was particularly memorable, and his design was just okay.

Karasu was also the only one to on Team Toguro "win" against his Team Urameshi opponent (even though he still died), so he probably deserves props for that.

As much as I'm a fan of Bui, I didn't mind that he never reappeared.

[gunswordfist]

I'm not sure if Bui would have helped much later in the story since his power was capped, wasn't it? I guess he could have been part of the tournament, but he probably wouldn't have gotten far.

But if it was Bui vs. Karasu, I'm pretty sure Bui would have won. All the members of Team Toguro could see Karasu's bombs, and Bui was just fast as he was plus his power was pretty close to the Toguro Bros. Other than his speed and trick, I don't think Karasu was quite to Bui's strength. Though obviously he was pretty strong.

I didn't know they could see his bombs. And yes, Bui blitz Karasu.

[gunswordfist]

For the last 5 days or so, while my brother, who is the one who got me into the show, was visiting, on his laptop, I watched from episode 5 or 6 (likely 6) up to the very end of the Dark Tournament saga, which is like episode 65 or 66. Examples of how much episodes I watched in a day: episode 23-39, 39-58 or 59. The fact that there's no intro, credits or after episode/before credits previews in the videos my brother had on his computer helped with time since I surely would have watched all of that every single

Genkai Tournament was as entertaining as ever. That was the definition of luck.  Good to finally see it (completely) uncut. I THINK the edited version made it look like the throwing stars guy got completely blown up and died. IDK. And of course I got to see mini-Kuwabara get his arm crushed again. This is the arc that got me into the series. Thank you adult swim marathon from 10 years!

Speaking of Kuwabara, I liked him a bit more after watching/rewatching these episodes. (Hint: I don't like him. My brother is a substantial fan of his though) Especially during the Four Saint Beasts and Rescue Yukina episodes. Those overall were a lot of fun. Also, I think Botan is at her best during Rescue Yukina, even if it was mostly just for her goofing off in front of the security cameras with Kuwabara and Yusuke.

That was the first time I've seen The Triad fights. Of course those 3 demons sucked ass but how fun I mentioned that episode was made me like the mini Rescue Yukina arc more.

I think the lump head boss (you know, the guy with 66 Trillion dollars that formed the Black Black Club or whatever) was the only guy Toguro ever beheaded on the show, unlike what Angus said. Once I think about it, everyone he killed after that, he did with body shots. I think he beheaded his brother (never saw that uncut) but IDK since I stopped right before Chapter Black because my brother was leaving soon.

OK, Dark Tournament. So before this marathon, I missed the episodes where: 1. Kuwabara fights the rock shinobi leader guy. Don't know how any of those guys passed off as masters of stealth but whatever. 2. Hiei vs that fire guy. It makes me wonder how strong that guy actually was since afterwards they said Hiei's only chance of beating him was to use the Dragon Of The Darkness Flame which of course really fucks that guy up. Him splatting on the wall never gets old. 3. The episode in the Toguro/Yusuke fight where Yusuke takes those spirit cuffs off. That was a  what the hell moment for me since I've never seen that or when his spirit energy formed into I believe a Phoenix after that. Pleasant surprised. Oh and Toguro of course turned skinny and then transformed in that episode. I always missed that. I remember seeing what it appeared to be Toguro teleported around in his "final" form on some preview on some DVD a friend had. That was also the first time hearing about Kuwabara "dying".

Let's see, I also got to see: all of Kuwabara/Elder Toguro. All of the Chu fight, namely him drinking which I've never seen. Noticed that Bui never had a formal introduction, he just came out of nowhere in an episode I've already seen. How much blood that makeup guy put on Kurama (I think the Toonami version just had him fall down and then that magic bend or whatever appeared on Kurama right afterwards and I just assumed that's how it went down, especially since it was edited so coolly.) Paid attention to the fact that Yusuke uses a punch to do Spirit Wave, not a kick. Don't know why I thought that. Noticed that that wound on Bui's forehead had nothing to do with his powers like I assumed it did, it's just a scar from Toguro punching him. Seeing Chu killing his two teammates. I was wondering if they actually fought. I never saw that part.

I also really paid attention to Toguro's motives this time. I think he made Yusuke (and Kuwabara) go through that so they'd be strong enough to not let what happened to his students happen to anyone or something like that. And apparently he really wanted to see if his way (you know, brute force and all of that) was better than Yusuke's (relying on his friends for strength). I'm still not sure how much of all the things Toguro said was just to get a reaction or whatnot. Basically pretty much everything he said to Yusuke or Genkai. He's hard to figure out, just like he was meant to be.

Lastly, Sakyo was a character I previously ignored before rewatching Resuce Yukina/Dark Tournament. A very interesting character. For the 1st time, I got to see his backstory which he told Koenma, which made me understand him. I also didn't know about the wager on their lives they places for the final round between their teams. Funny how Kuwabara's sister got more screentime than Yukina thanks to her 'relationship' with Sakyo and even though Yukina is tied to two of the 4 main characters, she was basically just there for a tiny bit of comic relief and to comfort Kuwabara. Anyway, I really loved all the scenes with Toguro and Sakyo, especially the funny ones. You know, Sakyo asking Toguro for a drink and then he goes, "No, but I'll take orange juice over ice.", them talking about how long winded Karasu was and how he loved the sound of his voice and the part where Toguro calls his brother a fool when he went on about Genkai, which me and my brother thought was hilarious (Also, all the times where people made fun of how old Genkai is, which is a lot)

Sorry for the long read but I did watch a shit load of episodes. This has cemented my love for my favorite arc ever, Dark Tournament and made Yu yu Hakusho go up a spot in my favorite anime list. It's #3 now.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I've been re-watching this show. As you all know, while I know that there are more sophisticated and deeper anime out there, this has always been my favorite anime, regardless, and that still hasn't changed (and I don't just mean my favorite shonen). Recently I've been re-watching a mix of the show, both subbed and dubbed. I've been watching random episodes, at that, rather than watching anything in sequence (and I didn't specifically pick my favorites, though I did only check out episodes from the DT and CB arcs). Now I did say that I think we made a mistake by ranking it so high (in our top 10) on the greatest animated series of all time list. I tried to look at this series objectively without bias, and yeah, its not a perfect series and it probably shouldn't have been ranked that high since even if some of us here love it, the series is a tough sell for those who don't like shonen or even anime, and unlike Cowboy Bebop or even NGE, it doesn't have nearly the wide appeal that those shows have (NGE has less appeal than CB, but it still has a lot of non-anime fans that like it, believe it or not).

That said, while I would lower the ranking of the show in an updated list, re-watching parts of it honestly makes me glad that we had the balls to put it that high on the list. Whether anyone agrees with me or not, I really think its so much more than just a typical shonen. I mean, yeah, its nothing like a deconstruction of the genre. Its not like what Watchmen is to the superhero genre with the shonen genre. But its rather the pinnacle of the genre, IMO, and at its pinnacle the genre can actually be quite effective, even for people who don't like it. Its not just the FUNimation dialogue that makes it great (and it is really a witty dub, especially for the time). This is when Togashi, IMO, was in his prime with his writing talent AND wrote his stories with a lot of heart to them (rather than with the later pieces of HXH, which do have great writing, but also have a lot of characters and themes that feel cold and soulless, even though that was intentional). The anime staff did an excellent job of adapting his material and even improving on it in most cases, IMO. I love this anime, and not just as an anime. I love it just as much as I love my favorite cartoons in general. Its one of my favorites along with the likes of BTAS, TSSM, and even Gargoyles. Yes, I know that's blasphemous to almost anyone else, but as someone who genuinely loves those cartoons, I hold this shonen anime to equal calibur. Maybe I'm biased and always will be and will be blind to how others view this show, but all I'm trying to say is that I don't regret ranking it so high on our list, and while I would move it down on an update, that'd only be to increase the credibility of our list to those who this show cannot and will never appeal to.

I just don't know what else to say except that I think that between the DT and CB arcs, that this series has some of the best writing and most interesting characters in broadcast television animation.

[gunswordfist]

The characters is why I love Dark Tournament so much. But of course idiots write it off as a mindless action saga.

[gunswordfist]

On the 3rd, I watched the first three episodes of Chapter Black and early this morning, I watched the 4th. These episodes are of course the mansion episodes. When Yusuke was captured I was thinking 'Hey, this is a chance for all the otger characters to shine.' Wrong. Only Kurama did. I already remembered how useless Hiei was for this saga and for these episodes, Kuwabara was as dumb as usual and Botan was comic relief that offers help sometimes.

As for Kurama though, these episodes were among his very best. He basically became the main character for a bit and he probably did his most intelligent feat in the entire show against Kaito. I also love how he suspected Genkai was behind all of it.

Oh and pre-mansion I like how Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed different. Other shounen would have just acted like a previous arc didn't happen and would have been more of the same

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, other shonen series seem so hell-bent on returning all of the characters to status-quo after every major arc. Its like the writers are afraid of change and don't want their characters to grow, develop, and evolve. Togashi is one of the few manga writers who stays consistent with his characters and actually makes them go through changes over the course of the series. Yusuke and Kuwbara have clearly changed quite a bit when you compare them from before and after the Dark Tournament arc. In some ways they've both matured a little bit through their experiences. In Togashi's other series, Hunter X Hunter, he makes the main characters go through a lot of changes as the series progresses (all of those changes are natural developments in accordance with the plot and how events happen to them, and not just forced for the sake of it), and he has never once tried to bring things back to status-quo. Its like most other shonen writers are actively trying to just do more of the same because they don't know how to write for their characters if they change a little bit and potentially become fairly different characters from when they started. Togash actually has the talent to pull that off, and it makes his series' more interesting for it, IMO.

Going back on-topic to YYH, while there isn't a ton of development, I can proudly say as a fan that comparing the main characters from the beginning of the series to the end of the series, you can clearly see that they have all changed and matured in some significant way, without losing the core of what always made them the characters that they were in the first place.

[talonmalon333]

I just want to get some opinions. What do you guys think of Genkai coming back at the end of the Dark Tournament?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I believe I've shared my opinion on this before, so rather than write it here again, I'll probably just dig it up somewhere from this thread and quote that as a response to your question.

::EDIT::

Ah, here it is:

When I think about it, I have one big complaint of my own that I wonder what other people might think about.

It has to do with the death of Genkai. Right before the final act of the DT arc, there is a brilliantly done episode in which Genkai gets killed by Toguro. It re-watched it recently and it was handled rather excellently in the anime and all that good stuff, but what kind of ruins the emotional impact that it had on me the first time that I watched it was knowing that Genkai would be brought back to life. Now, to be fair, this lead to her playing a fairly significant part in the Chapter Black arc, and she was still a great character to have around, but overall I still feel that this is the most disappointing thing the series has ever done for me (and there aren't a lot of instances like this, so I can generally forgive this one to some extent). Still, I really think it would have been for the better if Genkai had been killed off for good in the DT arc. It would have been interesting to see how Yusuke functioned on his own without his teacher later in in the Chapter Black arc, IMO. I think Togashi may have realized this to some extent, because he certainly doesn't cop-out when it comes to Hunter X Hunter in terms of characters getting killed off (though, most of the time he only kills off the minor ones). Also, to be fair, in the manga Genkai does at least pass away at the very end of the series (only off-panel, though). Still, I think it actually would have worked in the series's favor, and even positively effect Genkai's character in some ways, if she had died for real.

[talonmalon333]

I believe I've shared my opinion on this before, so rather than write it here again, I'll probably just dig it up somewhere from this thread and quote that as a response to your question.

::EDIT::

Ah, here it is:

When I think about it, I have one big complaint of my own that I wonder what other people might think about.

It has to do with the death of Genkai. Right before the final act of the DT arc, there is a brilliantly done episode in which Genkai gets killed by Toguro. It re-watched it recently and it was handled rather excellently in the anime and all that good stuff, but what kind of ruins the emotional impact that it had on me the first time that I watched it was knowing that Genkai would be brought back to life. Now, to be fair, this lead to her playing a fairly significant part in the Chapter Black arc, and she was still a great character to have around, but overall I still feel that this is the most disappointing thing the series has ever done for me (and there aren't a lot of instances like this, so I can generally forgive this one to some extent). Still, I really think it would have been for the better if Genkai had been killed off for good in the DT arc. It would have been interesting to see how Yusuke functioned on his own without his teacher later in in the Chapter Black arc, IMO. I think Togashi may have realized this to some extent, because he certainly doesn't cop-out when it comes to Hunter X Hunter in terms of characters getting killed off (though, most of the time he only kills off the minor ones). Also, to be fair, in the manga Genkai does at least pass away at the very end of the series (only off-panel, though). Still, I think it actually would have worked in the series's favor, and even positively effect Genkai's character in some ways, if she had died for real.

But on the other hand, I think bringing back Genkai brought out a big part of Toguro's character, and was the moment where I feel that his story arc came full circle, in that he had planned all this and really wasn't all bad in the end.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I believe I've shared my opinion on this before, so rather than write it here again, I'll probably just dig it up somewhere from this thread and quote that as a response to your question.

::EDIT::

Ah, here it is:

When I think about it, I have one big complaint of my own that I wonder what other people might think about.

It has to do with the death of Genkai. Right before the final act of the DT arc, there is a brilliantly done episode in which Genkai gets killed by Toguro. It re-watched it recently and it was handled rather excellently in the anime and all that good stuff, but what kind of ruins the emotional impact that it had on me the first time that I watched it was knowing that Genkai would be brought back to life. Now, to be fair, this lead to her playing a fairly significant part in the Chapter Black arc, and she was still a great character to have around, but overall I still feel that this is the most disappointing thing the series has ever done for me (and there aren't a lot of instances like this, so I can generally forgive this one to some extent). Still, I really think it would have been for the better if Genkai had been killed off for good in the DT arc. It would have been interesting to see how Yusuke functioned on his own without his teacher later in in the Chapter Black arc, IMO. I think Togashi may have realized this to some extent, because he certainly doesn't cop-out when it comes to Hunter X Hunter in terms of characters getting killed off (though, most of the time he only kills off the minor ones). Also, to be fair, in the manga Genkai does at least pass away at the very end of the series (only off-panel, though). Still, I think it actually would have worked in the series's favor, and even positively effect Genkai's character in some ways, if she had died for real.

But on the other hand, I think bringing back Genkai brought out a big part of Toguro's character, and was the moment where I feel that his story arc came full circle, in that he had planned all this and really wasn't all bad in the end.

In my opinion what happened to Genkai gave a good light to both Toguro and Yusuke's character differences. Toguro took her life away and Yusuke gave her life (through other means of course, but he was responsible for the wish) hammering home the point that Toguro was completely wrong in the life he chose.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

[gunswordfist]

I did feel like it was a bit of a copout that neither Genkai nor Kuwabara died due to the impact I felt about it. I actually felt the saddest about watching Genkai die when I finally watched all of DT last month and probably liked her a bit more afterwards. Seeing her comeback at the end was kind of cheap. For Kuwabara, I liked him much less back then but seeing a preview ahead of where

[talonmalon333]

I did feel like it was a bit of a copout that neither Genkai nor Kuwabara died due to the impact I felt about it. I actually felt the saddest about watching Genkai die when I finally watched all of DT last month and probably liked her a bit more afterwards. Seeing her comeback at the end was kind of cheap. For Kuwabara, I liked him much less back then but seeing a preview ahead of where

When YYH aired on TV, Kuwabara's survival was spoiled for me one of the previews.