Yu Yu Hakusho

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Sage Reviews Poiltergeist Report: http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/the-sage/anime-abandon/42679-yu-yu-hakusho-poltergeist-report

I still can't stand Sage as a reviewer, but this one video was kind of amusing, mainly because he used the dub to review this, and as you can see, the jokes practically write themselves with this one.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It's been nearly 2 years since I last watched any of this series. On a whim I started re-watching some of the Chapter Black arc, which I've already re-watched at least a dozen or so times, and goddamn does it still impress the hell out of me to this day. I just love the whole central theme of how a black and white sense of morality is just not possible for a Spirit Detective to have. That sort of ideology leads to twisted as fuck results when one realizes that essentially there is never always a true right and wrong, and good and evil. Hence why the morally gray  Yusuke (at least more-so than his direct predecessor) makes a more fitting Spirit Detective than Sensui, despite Sensui's clear talent as both a fighter and a tactician.

The writing here is so strong. I've seen plenty of great manga and anime and shows in general since I was a fan of YYH, and my opinion on what's great and not so great have changed immensely over the years, but the Chapter Black arc still constantly remains to be my favorite story arc in all of animation, by far.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's been nearly 2 years since I last watched any of this series. On a whim I started re-watching some of the Chapter Black arc, which I've already re-watched at least a dozen or so times, and goddamn does it still impress the hell out of me to this day. I just love the whole central theme of how a black and white sense of morality is just not possible for a Spirit Detective to have. That sort of ideology leads to twisted as fuck results when one realizes that essentially there is never always a true right and wrong, and good and evil. Hence why the morally gray  Yusuke (at least more-so than his direct predecessor) makes a more fitting Spirit Detective than Sensui, despite Sensui's clear talent as both a fighter and a tactician.

I would say it isn't the idea of black and white itself that is wrong for a Spirit Detective to have, it's that Sensui is completely unable to understand that black and white is more than just sides. No different than thinking that particularly bad representatives of a country/religion/race/political party/organization means they are all bad people who deserve punishment or extermination. The fact is that it's about judging individuals by their actions and judging accordingly. Sensui couldn't do that, because it was easier to deal in absolutes and simply wipe out everyone he didn't like.

Yusuke clearly has a sense of justice, and knows how warped Sensui's thinking is.

All in all, I think it's still the best thing Togashi's written.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I believe Sensui's source of talent for the job really had a lot to do with his viewpoints. It was easy to believe that demons were all evil and humans were all good, and since he had been recruited as a child, you really get a sense that he grew up with a very naive and limited perspective of the world. He was so utterly focused on killing evil that he never really stopped to consider what being evil truly meant. That's why his mind just flat-out couldn't take it when he ran into the Black Black Club and learned that there were indeed humans as sick and evil as many of the demons he had killed.

Yusuke may not have been a genius at the job like Sensui was, but he was a more balanced person. While not a saint by any means, he had a sense of morality but also understood that there were always exceptions to everything, and that the world wasn't full of just simple black and white. In that regard, he was much better fit for the job than Sensui ever was.

And yes, this is the best story arc that Togashi has ever written. It utterly baffles me that there are so many YYH fans who completely miss the point of this arc and claim that it is the worst. Those are the action junkies, mostly, though. It really irks me that a huge chunk of this series's fan-base are just the typical battle shounen fans who don't give two shits about the interesting themes that lie beyond the action.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yusuke knew good and evil and had met them both. Sensui gave off the impression that he knew neither, just that he was fighting the bad guys which made him the good guy. While Sensui was smart and manipulative, it was fairly obvious that he wasn't right for the job, but then he was so charismatic he was probably really good at hiding it.

The only thing Sensui "learned" from watching the tape was that he was on the wrong "side" and that the humans were the bad guys. He didn't learn that his genocidal views were completely off-kilter.

Yusuke had just gone through the Dark Tournament and met folks like Jin and Chuu, and was already friends with Kurama and Hiei, not to mention his friendship with Kuwabara, his mast Genkai, and the psychics he met at the arc's beginning. There were bad demons like team Toguro and several of their opponents, but there were also bad humans like Sakyo, not to mention Tarukane from the previous story, who were just as ruthless as the worst demons.

Actually, I bet if Sensui went through any of the things Yusuke did, his solution would have been to wipe them ALL out. If there was nobody left but him, then surely he would be the good guy, right? 

[gunswordfist]

Actually, I bet if Sensui went through any of the things Yusuke did, his solution would have been to wipe them ALL out. If there was nobody left but him, then surely he would be the good guy, right? 

Heh, now I want to see a Sensui Destroy The World movie.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I was just re-reading my top 10 episodes list from several pages back. Yep, I think it still holds up, and my favorite episode back then is still my favorite one now.

Seeing this week's episode of HXH with the great send-off that Meruem had mad me realize that despite that series' faults, Togashi is just as good story writing villains as ever. Sensui was his pinnacle, IMO, but he has a diverse array of villains that are so unique from each other. Meruem in particular was by far his most interesting villain from a character development standpoint, since he was no longer a villain by the end of his arc, and it became possible to sympathize with a guy who was nothing more than a Monster when he was born.

At any rate, I just wish that more shounen would write 3-dimensional villains like this. Even a lot of shounen that I like such as JoJo, Magi, and One Piece, while having memorable villains, still have ones that are 1-dimensionally evil in their goals. I mean, YYH is over 2 decades old now, and it still somehow seems more cutting edge with it's fleshed out character arcs for its villains as opposed to just about any modern shounen.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, I loathed Meruem as a character for most of his original appearances until he met Komugi. Then he started to get more interesting until he finally lost the will do even be evil and wanted to just be normal. It was a pretty good character turn that saved him from being one of Togashi's worst into being one of his best.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've been thinking about it recently, and do you guys know what else (besides the obvious) is so damn good about the Chapter Black arc? When you think about it, you come to realize that Sensui was really more disadvantaged than the heroes. Think of how many story-lines in other manga, comics, anime, and cartoons use the typical villains more powerful or significantly smarter than the good guys trope. I can't stand those scenarios where the villain goes "all according to plan" no matter what the hero does, or in other cases they fight off the heroes like it's nothing, because for them it really is.

Now think of Sensui and his group. First off, yes, Sensui had a grand plan, but it was hardly fool proof. He had to make a lot of assumptions and adjust his plans on the fly. Most telling is that aside from his (heavily implied) lover, the rest of the psychics weren't completely loyal to him, and he was mostly just manipulating them to his cause. So he had to be prepared for some potentially turning against him, like Seaman and such. Also, neither him nor his psychics were capable of physically beating any of Yusuke's main group, with the possible exception of Elder Toguro, in a traditional power battle. This includes Sensui himself, who was physically and spiritually weaker than Yusuke EXCEPT for his Shinobu persona, which he couldn't use until the Kekai barrier was open since Shinobu had to be devoid of sin, and he was doing some pretty sinful shit in order to execute his plan. But, literally, Yusuke's group could probably kill most of these guys with a single punch, and yet they were constantly kept at bay through clever on the fly strategies and tactics of deception.

In this arc, the villains are really the underdogs in this confrontation, and you can't help but admire how effective they are at gaining the advantage by doing stuff like playing on the characteristics and emotions of the heroes, and cleverly positioning them where they want them to be, while still having to adjust from time to time if things don't go their way, and even then they eventually lose, but still manage to contribute to helping Sensui's goal in some way.

When Sensui finally manages to reach his goal, I'm honestly kind of satisfied for the guy, which is such an odd feeling, but by all rights he has earned it fair and square. You never get the sense that the heroes never had a chance of stopping him, but rather that Sensui was a much better tactician, yet hardly perfect in his own right.

I wish that more story-lines in general could go in a similar route. I just find it so much more interesting to read and watch. When the heroes are at the initial advantage, and they end up losing out to the villains on multiple occasions, it's not because the writing makes the villains overpowered or unrealistically smart, but rather that the villains as characters manage to cleverly exploit weaknesses in the hero team to slowly gain the advantage for themselves. It's easily Togashi's best writing, IMO.

[gunswordfist]

that reminds me of how kaito would have been an absolute terror to them if sensui didn't plan accordingly. he's pretty much the most powerful yyh character.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I want me this Puu plushie.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I would totally waste tons of money on a crane game if those were in American arcades....

[Avaitor]

I definitely want Puu, as well. Imagine a Puu pillow pet!

And are those can badges things like Pogs? If so, YYH is back, in Pog form.

[talonmalon333]

Is there any word on whether or not the second movie has been acquired by FUNimation?

[LumRanmaYasha]

Not to my recollection, no.