Yu Yu Hakusho

[Foggle]

That was amazing, GSF.

[Spark Of Spirit]

All in the span of 5 minutes too.

[gunswordfist]

That was amazing, GSF.

What can I say?

[talonmalon333]

In that case, you got some false information. If you look a few pages back, there is a link to that youtube video where Justin Cook V-Logs about Yu Yu Hakusho and the (back then) upcoming Blu-Ray releases. All he said was that they had tried to dub the OVAs earlier (he didn't mention anything about the movies) but ended up cancelling the project because a lot of the VAs sounded way too different than they used to since their voices had changed over time, and also because the OVAs were only composed of a few bonus material scenes so it wasn't really worth it to churn that out as a full release, itself. As far as re-dubbing goes, Cook said that they would be re-dubbing certain lines in the show for the Blu-Ray releases, and some minor characters would be completely redone entirely (such as Sniper, for example), in order to make the more flat sounding parts of the dub sound more natural, so that the Blu-Ray releases would be the most refined version of the English audio track rather than just a half-assed port from the DVDs (its reasons like this that I still love FUNimation, and can forgive them for the occasional disappointments they bring up such as cancelling the Higurashi license).

Anyways, while I would love to see them dub the full movie, not because its a good movie (because its as average as an animated movie can possibly get), but because I would like to hear the awesome English voice cast voicing new lines for classic character roles of theirs, its basically not going to happen for the same reasons that they couldn't dub the much smaller OVAs. The voices just aren't even there anymore, for the most part (or at least according to Cook).

... Darn it.

Should have known better. As for the part about redubbing things, I'm all for that. Much as I like the dub, some parts do feel lazy.

In that case, you got some false information. If you look a few pages back, there is a link to that youtube video where Justin Cook V-Logs about Yu Yu Hakusho and the (back then) upcoming Blu-Ray releases. All he said was that they had tried to dub the OVAs earlier (he didn't mention anything about the movies) but ended up cancelling the project because a lot of the VAs sounded way too different than they used to since their voices had changed over time, and also because the OVAs were only composed of a few bonus material scenes so it wasn't really worth it to churn that out as a full release, itself. As far as re-dubbing goes, Cook said that they would be re-dubbing certain lines in the show for the Blu-Ray releases, and some minor characters would be completely redone entirely (such as Sniper, for example), in order to make the more flat sounding parts of the dub sound more natural, so that the Blu-Ray releases would be the most refined version of the English audio track rather than just a half-assed port from the DVDs (its reasons like this that I still love FUNimation, and can forgive them for the occasional disappointments they bring up such as cancelling the Higurashi license).

Anyways, while I would love to see them dub the full movie, not because its a good movie (because its as average as an animated movie can possibly get), but because I would like to hear the awesome English voice cast voicing new lines for classic character roles of theirs, its basically not going to happen for the same reasons that they couldn't dub the much smaller OVAs. The voices just aren't even there anymore, for the most part (or at least according to Cook).

Can't believe I thought talon was a reliable source

You know what? This could have been a pretty good insult. But the fact that you already made a retard of yourself BEFORE posting it completely ruins any chances. Seriously, I don't know why I know you.

[gunswordfist]

You don't know why you know me? You were doing good up until the creepy stalker comment

[Spark Of Spirit]

So I finished reading the manga (I never read the ending of the manga before other than the last chapter for comparison purposes) and... Yeah, disappointment city.

By the time we met the first Spirit Detective, Togashi was done. He lost all interest at that exact moment. The ideas leading up to the arc were great, and even a lot of the concepts were great. The problem? Pretty much nothing was actually explored, everything was rushed through, and the art gets downright embarrassing. Also right after the chapter Yusuke begins to fight Yomi everything feels... wrong. Not only does it seem like it's a totally different manga (holy jarring transitions, Batman), but if I didn't watch the anime (which fleshed this stuff out a heck of a lot more) I would probably be totally lost. Also, the ending was really cheesy (And Yusuke's Keiko line was too OOC even for the mood he was trying to set up) and again, didn't seem to flow properly into the rest of the series.

Yomi isn't explored at all. We don't know what really made him change (The "losing my light" line would work with most other writers, but not for someone who just killed off Shinobu Sensui), just that he does. Then he changes again because I guess demon logic, and we leave him mid-fight with Yusuke. That's it, no further development.

Kurama's relationship isn't explained in the slightest beyond "Yo, I fmessed that dude up when I was a jerk!" and Kurama isn't fleshed out at all in this arc. People complain about Kuwabara not being here, well Kurama might as well not even be here.

And the biggest annoyance to me is Togashi's attempt at a twist where he tried to put out the Spirit World "brainwashing" demons to attack humans against their will and the implication that Yusuke might have actually fought and killed them. This is demeaning to every single thing that happened pre-Chapter Black, especially considering everyone Yusuke fought was already an immensely powerful force that had reputations in the demon world long before he came making this highly dubious at best. It's a very, very, very weak attempt at a twist and I'm glad it was removed in the anime because it's beyond stupid. Yusuke's fight with Gouki, Hiei and (sorta) Kurama in the Artifacts arc already revealed that demon's totally hated and wanted to kill humans. Brainwashing demons when you have beasts like Rando, Hiei, and Toguro running around is a waste of time and makes no sense whatsoever.

He obviously just didn't care any more.

It's not all bad, Hiei was the only one really given proper focus in the Three Kings arc where he wasn't just odd (Yusuke was weird in a lot of these chapters), pointless (Kurama's plotless training journey!) or simply not used (Kuwabara's absence was given a lot more weight in the anime, I'm not sure why he was treated so lamely here) and his backstory fills in all the gaps, and how it even affected Mukuro (By FAR the most developed of the Three Kings who even has a good backstory herself) leading to how much he has changed since back then.

I like the arc in the anime despite its issues... but I'm sorry this was sub par work in the manga. If I was his editor I would have either kicked his butt to do better, or made him end it (which I'm thinking ended up happening) as this is just not up to par at all.

Man, reading that really killed my buzz. I was hoping it would at least be close to what the anime offered, but the staff really dragged this arc out of the mud here. I'm willing to give the anime arc more respect here. Not only did they finish Togashi's own work for him properly, but made it feel like YYH whereas in the manga I don't get that feeling at all.

Sorry for the manga-related rant, but that was a real disappointment.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I read the arc in the manga myself a few years ago through scans, and yeah, its pretty fucking stupid. Togashi quite obviously gave up on YYH after the Chapter Black arc and I'm almost positive that he was actually TRYING to get cancelled. In fact, I read somewhere that he originally wanted to end the manga after the Chapter Black arc but YYH was at the height of its popularity at that point in time so the editing staff at SJ wouldn't let him end it, so then he gave us half-assed work from that point on. Seeing how the Three Kings arc turned out in the manga....yeah, I have NO problem believing that at all, even without a proper source.

And you're absolutely right about the anime. I actually find the Three Kings arc in the anime to be quite underrated. Its definitely rushed in its own right but compared to the manga, the Three Kings arc in the anime is like a blessing. I praise the anime writers to the highest magnitude for managing to fix the drek that Togashi churned out with the final arc of YYH. Sure, its not perfect (which is unavoidable given what its based off of), but they made A LOT of smart changes and added in a lot of content to flesh out the arc. The rest of Togashi's manga is brilliant but the Three Kings are is literally the only thing that I would advise anyone to avoid reading if they can. On the whole, though, I think the YYH anime was superior to the manga because it took Togashi's brilliant ideas and characters and fleshed them out even more to make an already great series even better.

The same goes for the Hunter X Hunter and Level TV series (as well as the first HXH OVA; but not the Greed Island OVAs).

[Spark Of Spirit]

It was my least favorite arc in the anime, but now that I see the source material... Togashi is really lucky he got people who cared behind this show.

They even made the ending moments far better. Yusuke showing up when he does (Sorry, but everything he did in the manga when he came back from Demon World was OOC and stupid) making it more emotional (especially the clever way the Yomi fight transitioned into the central theme of the arc and when the team separates) while successfully exploring Togashi's half thought out ideas. I give it even more respect than I gave it before.

I mean, it's not perfect. At its core there are fundamental annoyances that no amount of polish could really fix, but giving Raizen, Yomi, and Mukuro more character helped a lot with the arc as well as, well... finishing the stupid tournament!

I still don't like the tournament (remember when Togashi came up with the whole band idea and then never used it once? What the heck was that?) in principle, but considering the theme of the arc and how much the team managed to salvage what was there (Shura isn't wasted space and makes sense now!) and make it fit in with the rest of the series definitely makes me appreciate it more.

[gunswordfist]

lol @ Kurama training

[Spark Of Spirit]

lol @ Kurama training

He trains others but never actually trains himself once, yet his power is somehow in S rank. Hiei makes sense, Kurama doesn't. Again, that's the type of thing those annoying bishies in other series get stronger (see: Bleach or any other generic anime) but not something like YYH.

[Eddy]

I stopped watching the anime shortly after the Togoro arc as I felt that was the perfect way to end the series. I do have the DVD of the episodes that follow the end of Togoro arc as well, but it didn't really grab me to go any further.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I stopped watching the anime shortly after the Togoro arc as I felt that was the perfect way to end the series. I do have the DVD of the episodes that follow the end of Togoro arc as well, but it didn't really grab me to go any further.

Chapter Black is awesome, man! It has by far the best villain in the series, it has a completely unique idea, and has some absolutely fantastic moments and twists. It's pretty much like the Spirit Detective arc, but turned on its head and made it more about just battles but also about using your head and thinking your way through situations. If you haven't watched the full arc, I recommend it fully. I think your opinion might change a bit, especially by the time you meet Kazuya.

[Eddy]

Maybe I'll check it out sometime then!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Heh, That's sort of the problem, a lot of people stopped watching or lost interest in YYH after the Toguro arc because after a big epic tournament arc things seemed to slow down. However despite a somewhat slow start the Chapter Black arc proves to be the best arc in the series by far, IMO. It has by far the best writing and it easily has the best and most complex villain in the show, Sensui. I actually love how it throws the heroes for a loop by having enemies that are far weaker than them for the most part but are constantly outwitting them every step of the way. To me its by far the most interesting arc in the series, and personally I feel that had Togashi wanted to end the series, doing so after the CB arc (though with a slightly different ending that would actually wrap things up) would make for the perfect ending if anything.

Its a shame that most people gave up on this arc with just the first few episodes before Sensui actually appears.

I will say however that the show goes noticeably downhill with the Three Kings arc, but at least in the anime it makes sense and is watchable (I'd even go so far as to say that its still good if you can look past its flaws). On the other hand, that arc was just pulled straight out of Togashi's ass in the manga.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, it's not really a "fighting" arc, but it does have plenty of battles and plot. Chapter Black was really what solidified this show as awesome to me.