Yu Yu Hakusho Review – Short and Spunky
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
17-year-old Yusuke Urameshi is a rebellious kid who often cuts classes, gets into fights, and dies while saving a kid from a rampaging vehicle. His last act of kindness confuses even the spirit world, so Koenma, the entity in charge of assigning who goes to hell and heaven, offers Yusuke his life back, in return for becoming a spirit detective for him and investigating supernatural anomalies in the human world.
Based on a manga series of the same name by Yoshihiro Togashi, the live adaptation of “Yu Yu Hakusho” spans over five episodes, directed by Shô Tsukikawa and stars Kitamura Takumi as the protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi. The first episode is fast-paced and fantastic in terms of setting up the primary premise and introducing key characters. It opens with the faithful recreation of the original manga, where a confused and pissed-off Yusuke realizes he is dead and watches his body being whisked away in an ambulance. For those who haven’t read the manga or seen the anime, it’s a super fun beginning to the fantasy-action series. The plot follows Yusuke’s efforts to supernatural malevolent beings from unleashing chaos on earth.
Kitamura Takumi captures the arrogant body language of Yusuke Urameshi perfectly; he looks and acts like a teenager in his rebellious phase. However, Uesugi Shuhei, who plays Kazuma Kuwabara, a small-time goon who loves getting into fights with Yusuke, overshadows Kitamura with his comic-book style portrayal of the character. While Hongo Kanata and Shison Jun, who play demons Hiei and Kurama respectively, let their costumes overpower their personalities, Uesugi Shuhei stands out as the goofy-silly Kazuma, who is determined to become stronger than Yusuke. One can easily imagine him play pivotal characters in other live-action adaptations of manga series, ranging from popular titles like “One Piece” to more offbeat stuff like “Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan“. Furukawa Kotone is adorable as Botan, the guide to the Spirit World, who leads Yusuke through his new journey as a spirit detective. Furukawa’s portrayal of Botan has a Tinker Bell-like charm to it; she feels more like a fairy than a spiritual guide, but regardless, she brings a fun element to the character. Keita Machida plays the pacifier-sporting Koenma, who manages to make the otherwise cartoon-ish character look like a dignified deity, making it believable that Yusuke Urameshi managed to hold in his laughter when they first met. Meiko Kaji has a badass cameo as Genkai, a strict aging fighter who trains both Yusuke and Kazuma in martial arts.
The cinematography was slightly chaotic, but it aptly complemented the crazy plot of “Yu Yu Hakusho” and the action choreography was entertaining to watch for most parts. Depending on the scene, the special effects ranged from excellent to outdated. Like a sequence where a bulky demon who feeds on children’s soul fights Yusuke, looked like a rehashed version of the hulk (the older one with Eric Bana), with slow movements that made the fight sequence look like it was out of the early 2000s. The background score was edgy and groovy, with the makers incorporating the anime version’s theme song “Hohoemi no Bakudan” (which is upbeat/cheery) in a scene, instead of using it as an opening track.
The antagonists in the series weren’t as exciting, and some of the minor villains were a lot more entertaining to watch than Toguro, who serves as the ultimate evil demon that Yusuke and squad must defeat if they want to save Japan from destruction. The fifth episode, which is the season finale, felt like the longest edition in the series, even though it’s actually shorter by a few seconds versus the first episode. It felt like an extended mess, was too long-drawn and had some emotional moments that didn’t really hit a chord. Toguro’s back-story is condensed to a forgettable length and perhaps some more space to the secondary characters would’ve helped built up more anticipation for the end fight. Although, the special effects on Toguro’s transformed personality looked weird as hell.
Overall, director Shô Tsukikawa and team have delivered a fun live-action adaptation of the beloved manga series, but considering the condensed length and inconsistencies in the special-effects, loyal fans of the anime/manga might not be as impressed. I really enjoyed the show and am looking forward to a season two!
Rating: 7 on 10. Stream “Yu Yu Hakusho” on Netflix.
Read Next: Onimusha Review – Swift Supernatural Samurai Series
Also Read: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Review (Audio Version Below)
