Yu Yu Hakusho
Series, 1992, The TOM years, Set in Spirit World
Yu Yu Hakusho is #6 of 16 in release order and #6 of 16 in chronological order in the Toonami Classics.
The story
After dying to save a boy, delinquent tough guy Yusuke Urameshi is granted another chance at life by redeeming himself as a "Spirit Detective."
Yu Yu Hakusho recap
Yusuke Urameshi is a 14-year-old delinquent who dies pushing a child out of the way of a car. The afterlife was not ready for him, so Koenma, the son of King Enma, brings him back as a Spirit Detective investigating demons in the human world, guided by the ferry girl Botan. His rival Kuwabara, his childhood friend Keiko and two demons, Kurama and Hiei, become his team. After early cases, Yusuke trains with the old master Genkai and takes on the Four Saint Beasts. In the Dark Tournament, the team fights its way through a demon tournament to face the Toguro brothers, and Genkai is killed before Yusuke defeats the younger Toguro. In Chapter Black, the former Spirit Detective Sensui tries to open a tunnel to the demon world, and Yusuke dies and returns as a part-demon, descended from the demon king Raizen. In the Three Kings saga, he goes to the Demon World and joins the struggle to rule it, which ends in a tournament he proposes.
Yu Yu Hakusho ending explained
The Demon World tournament is won by Enki, who sets out peaceful rules for the realm, and Yusuke returns to the human world after three years away. The final episode, "Coming Home," shows the friends catching up and ends with Yusuke reuniting with Keiko on the beach, where she has been waiting for him, as Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei and Botan look on. A live-action Netflix series adapted the story in 2023.
Where to watch Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho is streaming on Crunchyroll in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon and Apple TV.
Ratings
IMDb 8.5/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Tenchi Muyo!, before ReBoot.
- Chronological order: after Tenchi Muyo!, before ReBoot.
Cast
- Nozomu Sasaki as Yūsuke Urameshi (voice)
- Shigeru Chiba as Kazuma Kuwabara (voice)
- Megumi Ogata as Kurama/Shūichi Minamino (voice)
- Nobuyuki Hiyama as Hiei (voice)
- Yuri Amano as Keiko Yukimura (voice)
- Hisako Kyoda as Genkai (voice)
- Mayumi Tanaka as Koenma (voice)
- Ai Orikasa as Shizuru Kuwabara (voice)
- Tomomichi Nishimura as Narration (voice)
- Sanae Miyuki as Botan (voice)