- Review of Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1: 3.5 Star Rating
- Cast: Go Ayano, Shuhei Uesugi, Jun Shison, Kotone Furukawa, Kanata Hongo, Keita Machida, and Takumi Kitamura.
- Creators: Kazutaka Sakamoto and Akira Morii
- Director: Sho Tsukikawa
- Netflix is the streaming service.
- Language: Japanese (with subtitles)
- Five episodes, each lasting around an hour.
Review of Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1: Plot Summary:
Yu Yu Hakusho is Netflix’s most recent attempt to translate manga and anime into a live-action series. However, this time, the adaptation is being carried out in Japan, which brings with it all the distinctive elements that make a program like this one special. In the series, a young criminal finds himself in the afterlife and journeys to a spiritual realm where he must overcome innumerable challenges in order to battle for justice, friendship, and the chance to live again.
Review of Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1: Script Analysis
Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga book published by Shone Jump in the early 1990s. Yoshihiro Togashi is the author and illustrator of the manga. Because of Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter, he went on to become one of the most well-known mangakas in the world as well as in Japan. Numerous people have come to appreciate Togashi’s writing, despite the fact that he is acknowledged for being far from flawless. His contributions to the manga genre are numerous.
Although Yusuke, our main character, dies in the live-action adaptation’s opening scene in Media Res, death in Yu Yu Hakusho signifies simply the start of an exciting journey. From there, the live-action adaptation makes every effort to condense as much of the manga and anime material into the limited five episodes as possible. This may seem like a small anime, and it is, but considering that each episode lasts a whole hour, you may consider that there are three or even four episodes total.
Although there are several short tales in the first half of the program that aid in character and plot development, it is true that the adaptation has removed a significant amount of substance from the original work. However, here is when the show diverges into the Spirit Detective Saga.
This accelerated speed undoubtedly helps the live-action adaptation to engage with the action more intensely. However, those of us who saw the anime are aware that the tale was told both in manga and anime, and that things were deeper and slower in the latter.
Fortunately, Togashi’s remarkable characters are his primary literary device, so the creators and filmmakers of the live-action TV show understand how important it is to get the characters properly. In light of this, the writers do an excellent job concentrating on the individuals, their connections, and their interactions with the outside world.
The fundamental premise of the live-action series is just excellent enough to keep viewers interested in the duration of the season, despite the fact that the plot feels a little hurried at moments.
Review of Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1: Star Performance:
As previously said, Togashi’s stories are mostly centered around his characters. Both Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter have relatively simple plots that only become more intricate when the characters insert their own identities into the story events. As a result, a routine competition may turn into an ideological conflict or a straightforward game into a game of life and death.
Takumi Kitamura, the main character and the show’s star, is a fortunate actor for the production. The young actor, who has a considerable amount of acting experience, is able to bring the natural tenderness of the characters to balance Yusuke’s uptight attitude.
As a consequence, the actor gives a strong performance that, like much Japanese TV acting, appears incredibly exaggerated yet nevertheless works within the framework of the program.
Review of Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1: Scoring & Composition:
Like many other businesses worldwide, the Japanese film industry operates under its own set of laws, which enables us to identify certain trends and peculiarities that indicate the origin of series such as Yu Yu Hakusho. The same is true of the live-action TV show, which adheres to a well-known style that disregards framing and forces its performers to perform in an exaggerated, almost theatrical manner.
The visual palette appears washed out, as it usually does in Japanese media, and the direction occasionally feels careless since there is very little attention paid to the framing of the scenes.
The visual effects, however, are really good, and this continues a recent trend in Japanese media where productions are now reaching a level of excellence that can compete with or perhaps exceed the effects produced for American television. Japanese television would flourish if other production elements were given the same level of attention.
Final Words: Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review
Even if a live-action Hunter x Hunter adaptation may never happen, a Yu Yu Hakusho adaptation is still the greatest option available, and fortunately, the series does a fantastic job of introducing the character and laying the groundwork for a potential second season of the Dark Tournament Saga. This live-action version might finish the plot in four seasons if it continues at this rate, which makes perfect sense. Though the visual direction of the program seems a little lower quality, the plot, the VFX, and the performances make the show worth watching overall.
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