T5W#431-Top 5 Thoughts on the Yu Yu Hakusho Live Action Trailer

One of the biggest success stories in Anime in 2023 has to go to Netflix’s Live Action Adaptation of One Piece.  Somehow, the streaming service managed to learn from its disastrous mistakes with Cowboy Bebop and craft a series that wasn’t only faithful to the source but also accessible to newcomers and those not as well versed in the world of the Straw Hat Pirates like myself.  Well One Piece hasn’t been the only Live Action Anime on Netflix’s docket and last week we got our first look at their next project, another fan favorite by the name of Yu Yu Hakusho.  What some might refer to as “Bleach before Bleach”, Yu Yu Hakusho follows the adventures of Yusuke Urameshi, a high school delinquent who dies in a traffic accident while saving a child.  He is brought to the Spirit World and given a chance to return to life as a Spirit Detective, facing otherworldly threats against the living.  Given what Netflix was able to accomplish with One Piece, is there a chance they can go two for two with this one?  Well the trailer is out and I’ve taken a couple of looks, so todays Top 5 Wednesday will be delving into my Top 5 Thoughts on the Yu Yu Hakusho Live Action Trailer.  Ready your Spirit Guns and lets get to it.

 
#5-Iconic Attacks are Present

Upon being revived, Yusuke has hit latent Spirit Energy unlocked, which allows him to pull off special moves.  His Spirit Gun is his signature move, akin to Goku’s Kamehemeha in Dragon Ball.  But Yusuke isnt the only one who has special talents.  Kuwabara has the ability to generate his own lightning sword, er Spirit Sword, for some good old slicing and dicing.  The Live Action Trailer shows both of these are going to be present, as well as Kurama’s Rose Whip and Hiei cleaving a car in half with his sword.  A lot of the action we see is very hand to hand and we only glimpse Yusuke powering up his Spirit Gun at the tail end of the trailer.  It does have to be used sparingly in the beginning of the Anime.  Will we also see some other powerful attacks from Yusuke and Hiei in particular?

 
#4-The Cast

Fans of the Anime should be pleased to see that a lot of the major players of Yu Yu Hakusho are showing up for their Live Action Debut.  Obviously, Yusuke is at the forefront of things.  But we also get plenty of footage of his high school rival turned bestie Kuwabara, and their handsome demon partners Kurama and Hiei, kicking demon ass left, right and center.  Beyond them, we get glimpses of other supporting players like Botan, Yusuke’s Spirit World guide; Koenma, Son of the Ruler of Spirit World (more on him later); Keiko, Yusuke’s love interest; and Genkai, an aged psychic who mentors Yusuke.  A couple of important villains also make appearances in the trailer, hinting that they might be a looming presence throughout the shows first season.  Speaking of which…

 
#3-Toguro vs Everyone

The sight of the Toguro Brothers emerging from the shadows was one of the trailers biggest surprises.  While they aren’t the overarching bads of the Anime’s First Season, they do appear as final bosses in the last arc of Season One.  The trailer seems to hint that they, and their benefactor Turukane, could be major baddies pulling some strings behind Yusuke’s first few cases as Spirit Detective.  But the bigger shocker is this Yu Yu Hakusho pulling a Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends.  By this I mean we are gonna get to see Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei taking on the Younger Toguro all at once, just as Kenshin, Saito, Sanosuke and Aoishi all took on Shishio in a four on one duel in RK: The Legend Ends.  This is a definite change from the Anime which saw only Yusuke and Kuwabara facing the Toguros.  Btw, where is Kuwabara anyway?  I did spot Yukina in the trailer with Keiko (I think).  Could he be protecting her while the others fight the Toguros?  To theorize more would spoil a few things so I’ll just keep my theories to myself for now.

 
#2-No Baby Koenma?

One of the many strange things Yusuke sees when he first visits Spirit World is Lord Koenma, son of Ruler of Spirit World.  In his first appearance, Koenma appears as a toddler, pacifier and all.  It’s a pretty funny sight at first and you’re laughing along with Yusuke.  Now, Koenma can take on a much older appearance, somewhere in the age range of Yusuke and Kuwabara, and he still keeps the pacifier…for some reason.  The trailer shows no signs of Koenma’s tiny form, instead setting it up that Yusuke will meet his grown up version when he arrives in Spirit World with Botan.  Granted, they could be saving a Baby Koenma reveal before he ages up.  But Koenma’s baby form is the one most fans associate with the character and the form he’s most seen in.  So it’s a must it shows up, even if it is just for a few seconds (and probably all CG too, this could actually be a way for Netflix to show us a demo of how they’ll handle Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece Season Two if he appears)
 

#1-The Humor is Missing?

Yu Yu Hakusho is 100% a Shonen Action Anime.  Just like it’s fellow Shonen brethren like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto, however, it balanced action with a nice dose of humor.  After all, Yusuke and Kuwabara are seeing things out of the ordinary all the time and they act appropriately befuddled and kind of amused (see my note about Yusuke cracking up over Koenma above).  Yusuke’s smart ass remarks and his butting heads with his fellow Demon slaying warriors is one of the hallmarks of the Anime.  The trailer for the Live Action Series doesn’t show much of the Anime’s humorous side, opting instead for a super serious, all out action extravaganza.  Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be cool to see Yusuke and the gang kick ass in real life.  But it shouldn’t come at the cost of the more light hearted moments.  If One Piece could get this right, no reason a fellow Live Action Shonen cousin series cant do the same.