So I have seen this anime, at least once all the way through but I have gone back to rewatch certain fights and scenes because they stood out to me. I was familiar with the name but it was because I saw a picture of Youko Kurama somewhere that had me like “Oh, who’s that?” and I found out he was from YYH and I ended up watching it and of course discovered the whole Kurama/Shuichi/Youko thing and wow so cool and he quickly became my favorite character. Love this show. I do think it’s funny how it started out as something different, I liked the idea of the whole “Spirit Detective” thing but that kind of goes out the window and the show basically became a fighting anime. There’s nothing wrong with that as we still manage to get a lot of character development but some of the more quieter or emotional moments are my favorites.
So when I heard they were making a live action, as I tend to be, I was optimistic because I do think this is one of the anime where it can be adapted quite well if the team behind it actually cares about the source material. I at first thought it was for a stage production because those exist and they usually do a great job with being an almost 1 for 1 copy when it comes to costumes etc. but then I found out it was going to be an actual show and I was like oh okay. Then I saw the cast photos which are pictured above and I think they did a good job adapting these characters from the 90s, with very much 90s style but I had some gripes which I’ll get into later. Then the show came out and I can’t stop thinking about it so let me pump out this review lol.
Check out my trailer reaction!
Summary: A teenager dies while saving a young kid and is given a chance to be resurrected, provided he works for the Spirit World as an investigator of supernatural crimes with his newly-given powers.
I’m so late on this review lol but I knew I had to watch the show again in full.
There will be spoilers by the way because I mean… the anime.
Pros:
Cast and Characters. There are a lot of characters but not a lot of characters so I’m not going to go over ALL of them but might make a sentence here or there about them.
- Takumi Kitamura as Yusuke Urameshi. In this show, Yusuke is older than in the anime, I read that he’s supposed to be 17 but I don’t remember where they might have said that, but I didn’t think he was 14 like he is in the anime. He’s classified as a “delinquent” as he’s in constant fights, has bad habits and bad attendance. Most people don’t like him or they fear him. But he has a lot of soft moments, like when he stands up for this kid in the first episode against some bullies, or when he dies trying to save the kid from being hit by the car. He ends up surprising the Spirit World because they weren’t expecting him to die like that and he is allowed to go back to his body but not before he’s officially recruited as a Spirit Detective. As the show goes on, he still maintains that rough exterior but he has a lot of heart, this is shown in how he interacts with Keiko, his childhood friend and one of the few people who tolerates him and Kurama at the hospital. He ends up being thrust into a “Dark Tournament” at the behest of some rich idiots and he puts his all into fighting because he wants to save Keiko. I think Yusuke in this is pretty straight forward and Takumi Kitamura does a great job, he was the only one I was fully on board with when I saw the cast photos because I think Yusuke is the easiest to adapt but also super hard in balancing his brash personality with kindness and heart when it counts. I think Takumi does that. I really liked him. I’m not sure how much of his own stunts he did as well but Yusuke is such a brawler, so quick on his feet and it was very fun to watch him.
- Shuhei Uesugi as Kazuma Kuwabara. In this show, Kuwabara constantly picks fights with Yusuke in the hopes to prove that he’s stronger but he always loses and he hates him but like respectfully lol. Even though he likes to fight, he’s a good guy, he has a group of friends and they’re never bullies, and Kuwabara cares for them. When they end up hurt after fighting that possessed student, he tried so hard to help them and felt so bad when he couldn’t. He has heightened senses and is able to see things he probably shouldn’t and that others can’t. When he goes with Yusuke to be trained by Genkai, he unleashes his ability “spirit sword” which is made from his own aura. He ends up just tagging along with the others to rescue Keiko and Yukina even though he has no idea what’s going on, he just doesn’t wanna be left behind by Yusuke, especially since he’s now temporarily allied with demons lol. He pretty much spends all of episodes 4 and 5 after splitting off with Keiko and Yukina (who he’s immediately smitten with) and gets to have a cool fight wit Elder Toguro until he joins the others against Younger Toguro. Overall, I feel like there are instances where they aren’t sure what to do with him but I do feel like he’s the most unchanged out of everyone because one of his biggest things is he wants to be better than Yusuke and he has strong drive and wants to protect the people close to him. He maintains that, just learns the means on how to do that better. I never once doubted that he would keep working to obtain his goals. Shuhei Uesugi does a good job with Kuwabara, he’s a little clumsy, endearing and he’s probably the “funniest” out of the four as he’s a bit more bumbling compared to the others and I think that works for him and Shuhei is so likeable. Like he’s just a good guy with his heart in the right place. I know he isn’t a 1 for 1 for Kuwabara appearance wise but he does a great job updating him for the more modern time.
- Jun Shison as Kurama. My favorite character and who I was looking forward to seeing adapted the most. So when we first meet Kurama, he’s fighting with his gang for the dark artifacts in which he’s after the mirror because it grants the wish of the person who has it. He’s aware of the deep cost and he’s prepared to pay it. His mother is sick and dying and he wants to use the mirror to make a wish to save her even at the cost of his life. He tells Yusuke everything because he wanted someone to know that he’s not just doing it because he’s a bad guy, he has good intentions. He knows the risk involved. When we see him again he stops the fight between Hiei and Yusuke because they’re fighting for the wrong reasons and he tells them everything he knows about what they’re fighting for. Even though he doesn’t fully have a stake in this fight, he’s doing it because Hiei is his friend and he feels like he owe s Yusuke. He tends to look past his own feelings to see the bigger picture, that’s one of his strengths due to his perceptiveness and ability to calculate a situation and find the best solution. In the anime, we get to see him be ruthless and see just how that calculating nature of his works, but we only see it a little in the live action. He watches Yusuke fight Goki and deduces that he doesn’t really want to fight him, instead he allows Yusuke to follow him to the hospital. Even with his fight with Karasu, he’s learning in his fight in order to defeat him in the end. He gets beat up a lot due to him watching his opponents and testing them, which I was honestly expecting more of lol. As Youko Kurama he’s quicker and a bit more ruthless and less afraid I guess. I think Jun Shison does a great job with Kurama, I was gonna be the most critical with him anyway but I think he does a great job at the elegance of Kurama not to mention some of the subtleties. Also the fact that he has to work with a fake prop in his rose whip and it seems like he really has one lol, not to mention, all of his aerial combat. He had a lot to deal with and I think he did a great job. I really liked him and I would have liked to have seen more of him in the show. Plus, he’s beautiful so there’s that too lol.
- Kanata Hongō as Hiei. When we first meet Hiei, he’s working with his gang to steal the dark artifacts, he’s particularly after the conjuring sword in which he gives himself the Jagan Eye which allows him to find things, in his case, his long lost sister. I wasn’t sure why he didn’t have it already but sure sure. We don’t see him much again until he encounters Yusuke twice just to team up with them later to rescue his sister and Keiko, but mostly his sister. He’s very cynical, moody and tends to keep to himself but he does seem to have a good friendship with Kurama (which I’ll complain about more later). He treats everyone the same when fighting though, using his speed and his sword to his advantage. There doesn’t seem to be much he cares about besides finding Yukina which we see him watching her, or looking at her during the fight with Toguro to show that what he’s doing he’s doing for her. Some subtle nods. He also clearly wants the best for her because when he sees her injuries, he decides to let her think he’s not the brother she’s be looking for, clearly blaming himself for her being hurt. Which he’s indirectly at fault for, because of them moving her due to him finding her in the first place. Hiei is cool, his fighting style is cool because he’s just quick and efficient. I do wish we got to see more of him, more interactions with the others, and just more of him but I think what we got in the show was fine. I was surprised to find that I’d seen Kanata Hongō in the Fullmetal Alchemist live action, where he played Envy and he’s also played Armin in the live action Attack on Titan (though I’m not sure why they didn’t give him blonde hair). But I thought he did a good job, I liked the adaptation of his anime look, I knew who he was but he also felt updated. He did a great job with his fights scenes, and honestly when he was stressing me out with his facial expressions during the fight with Toguro lol. He did well.
Supporting Characters.
- Sei Shiraishi as Keiko Yukimura. So she is one of the few people who puts up with Yusuke’s nonsense and sees past it because she’s known him since they were kids. They are childhood friends. She is sweet and calm, but also very fierce and will call Yusuke out when he’s doing the most. We mostly see her at her family’s ramen shop where she’s a source of safety for Yusuke since his mom is so distant. We really see her kind and badass nature when she gets kidnapped and has to spend time with Yukina, she not only protects her but she also uses the skills she’s learned from Yusuke to help find her way out. She has good chemistry with Yusuke when they’re in scenes together, which is important for their romantic and friendship elements. She also has good chemistry with Yukina because besties, too bad she didn’t get the chance to meet Botan. Sei Shiraishi is good as Keiko, I think she does a good job of portraying the caring yet intense nature that Keiko has.
- Kotone Furukawa as Botan. She is a grim reaper, one of many for the Spirit World and she appears to ferry Yusuke to meet Koenma since Yusuke’s death was a surprise to the underworld. She spends most of her time either talking to Yusuke or talking to Koenma about what Yusuke is doing. It’s fine though because I’ve always really liked Botan, she’s fun and funny and she always has some good comebacks since Yusuke likes to talk shit. In this, they don’t have a back and forth as much as they could have but when they do, they have nice bantering chemistry. She believes in Yusuke, probably more than anyone believes in him in the beginning. She even seems to be moved by emotional things shown by how she tears up at Kurama’s story. I also really like her style, she wears a traditional kimono but wears some open toed boots as well. Couldn’t be me lol. I do wish she got to interact with the rest of the boys but alas. Kotone Kurukawa was great, I saw people complaining she was too old but she’s 28 lol and she looks young to me, all of these actors are in their 20s who play the younger characters, so y’all being dramatic. I thought she did a great job at portraying what they gave her for Botan.
- Ai Mikami as Yukina. We first meet Yukina as a prisoner of Tarukane who wants to sell her tears of ice so he has her tortured for tears. She’s strong though and manages to survive throughout this. She does have someone who tries to help her escape but he’s killed by Elder Toguro and so she’s scared for anyone else to help her, which is shown when Keiko tries to break her out later. She’s very kind-hearted and sweet and maintains this throughout the show but she’s largely a damsel. The biggest thing she does is heal Kuwabara which is great as she can heal. When she gets the opportunity later to find out if Hiei is her long lost brother, he shuts her down and she accepts it but it’s implied that she gets it. Ai Mikami is so cute and sweet and I’m not sure if the CGI’d her eyes to look a little bigger because if they didn’t wow! She looks so ethereal. She does a good job of being kind, sweet and very optimistic.
- Keita Machida as Koenma. I was wondering if they were just gonna have him be in his teen/adult form the entire time and yes, yes they do. But he’s basically Yusuke’s boss once he’s revived and becomes a Spirit Detective, he’s also the ruler of the Spirit World. We don’t see him interacting with anyone besides mostly Botan, Yusuke and then later Sakyo. I think he’s trying his hardest to do his job and then keep Sakyo from opening the barrier between worlds so he’s lowkey stressed. I liked him though. I found out while writing this that Keita Machida was also in Alice in Borderland, which I love. He was really good in that and I wouldn’t have known they were the same person right off the bat but I know I was fully attracted to him in this lol, I was like “oh okay… hello”. But he’s very charismatic and I think he has a strong presence when on screen so that works for Koenma. I do wish they said something about his pacifier. It makes sense in the anime since he’s a toddler most of the time but here it’s just funny and a nod for the anime fans.
- Meiko Kaji as Genkai. Genkai is Yusuke’s Master and Kuwabara’s mentor as they both go to learn how to use their spirit energy from her. She’s featured prominently in episode 3 and she takes no prisoners. She immediately puts them to work to test them and while she’s impressed with Kuwabara’s tenacity and determination, she’s disappointed in how quickly Yusuke seems to give up. She challenges him about it, they have that usual Master/Student fight. There’s not a ton to say about her but she gets the boys to where they needed to be, in order to fight the Toguro brothers. I think Meiko Kaji is great, she’s just the right balance of crotchety but caring, especially in her scenes with Toguro.
Team Toguro.
I’m not really gonna hit on all of them in detail but Bui (I’m really trying to find this actor’s name but I can’t find it anywhere right now) did his job. Elder Toguro (Kenichi Takitō) I thought he was well casted, well designed and rightfully creepy. He gets his chance to shine in episode 4 when he fights Kuwabara but that’s about it for him. His brother knocks him into the stratosphere in episode 5. But he’s a good presence when he’s there. His CGI is a little weird sometimes but otherwise he’s good. Karasu (Hiroya Shimizu), was a character I was looking forward to once I realized he was in the trailer because he’s such an intimidating villain and his interactions with Kurama in the anime were so tense, though I absolutely hate when people ship them and/or talk about “sexual tension” but people gonna ship I guess. But I liked his fight with Kurama but I feel like he should have met Kurama prior to that scene. I think Hiroya Shimizu was so good though, the swag he had for Karasu and the intimidation was for sure there but he should have had more scenes personally.
- Go Ayano as Younger Toguro. Younger Toguro was once a human who made a deal, along with his older brother, to become demons. He used to work alongside Genkai (I feel like they hinted at a romance between the two) but now he’s obsessed with power and obsessed with meeting someone he can fight who will make him use 100% of his power. He works with Sakyo to help the man get money from businessmen but he he’s hoping to reach his own goals too. When Genkai gives her spirit wave orb to Yusuke, he senses it and is expecting a huge fight from Yusuke. I feel like the basics of his character is there but he’s not as interesting as he could be, which I think is a factor of a lot of the characters. I like that his trauma is very evident later on while fighting Yusuke as he keeps being like “your friends are an obstacle, they’re holding you back” because he still feels responsible for what happened to his students/friends. It’s there, it’s interesting but it doesn’t quite stick the landing. Go Ayano does a good job with what he’s given, it’s also unfortunate how his 100% CGI looks later on but he’s clearly having a good time and I think he was a good choice, just no one can look like Toguro at 100% in real life lol.
- Goro Inagaki as Sakyo. In this show, Sakyo’s motivation is that he wants to eradicate the barrier that’s between the demon world and the human world, he just wants to create one world I guess. So his whole thing is that he allows Younger Togo to fight other demons and let rich businessman bet on the fights so take their money to fund his experiment of science to breach the barrier. He’s also honorable and fair, even if what he’s doing is morally insane. I think he also sold Yukina to that dude and it was used as a manipulation tactic. I think he’s fine as a character and we do learn a little about him but I think he spends a lot of time just sitting and watching fights. I think he cares a little about Younger Toguro but otherwise, he’s just there. I feel like he isn’t a bad character but he isn’t as interesting as he could have been. I think Goro Inagaki is fine in the role.
Fights/Choreography. The fights are sooooo good and well choreographed. Since the anime is majorly a fighting anime, that was going to be a big part and I think they do a good job from a technical aspect. Yusuke is a very quick and clever fighter and I think they do a good job of showcasing that for him. I do wish some of the more character driven and emotional aspects of some of the fights were handled better but as fights, that’s some good stuff.
Here is my order of the fights from best to least best as I don’t think any of them are bad.
- Yusuke vs Goki – This fight was so good. Goki is like The Hulk in that he can transform to be bigger so he’s fully CGI, which because the fight is so good, I don’t think his CGI is very distracting, most of the time. It’s just like the one against Kirino but bigger! I love how Yusuke uses his environment while fighting. I was so stressed, I don’t remember this fight in the anime but the live action did it so well that whenever I think of Yusuke vs Goki, it’s probably gonna be this version. Plus, the way the kid showed up trying to help and Yusuke is working even harder to protect that kid again, it was just so good. Not to mention, Kurama in the background just watching all sinister like (like Yusuke kept saying).
- Yusuke vs Kirino – The first big fight of the show and it’s so well choreographed. Earlier, Yusuke saved Kirino from some bullies just for him to die and the bullies target Kirino at Yusuke’s wake and he gets possessed by a demon and now Yusuke has to kick his butt to save him. This really showcased how Yusuke fights because Kirino is fighting erratically and is moving so fast that a lot of the time Yusuke is just on defense or trying to slow him down or subdue him. It’s so good. The hand to hand combat was well choreographed and there’s not much CGI involved and since the anime is known for its fights, this show really set it off with this being the first big one.
- Kurama vs Karasu – In the anime I would consider this top 5 fights, and I was fully anticipating it since I saw Karasu in the trailer. Kurama is such an elegant and graceful fighter that I think they did a great job showcasing that in this fight, we do see him fight briefly at the end of episode 1 when he, Hiei and Goki are stealing the Dark Artifacts but he truly shines here. He uses his Rose Whip to get out of dangerous situations and as an offensive tool of course. I think they do a good job of using visuals, camera effects which enhances the speed of both of them, choreography and of course acting in this fight. I wish they had an interaction before this, at least one, but I did love what we got. They also used their environment here, not as much as Yusuke but since Kurama does a lot of evasion with his whip at a point, he’s flying all over the place lol and it’s just so beautiful and graceful. Now, I know that Rose Whip is obviously his signature and most iconic weapon but I do wish we got to see him use different abilities during this fight to show off just how creative and intelligent he is. I would argue that Kurama is the smartest of the four, the most ruthless and always gets the most hurt so I was kind of expecting to see all of that lol. I also loved the inclusion of Youko, I said I would forgive the 5 episodes thing if Youko showed up during that fight and he did! I don’t forgive the 5 episodes but what can you do? lol but I do have questions about that. Also, I thought it was funny how Karasu was like “I’ll leave that beautiful head undamaged” and I’m like “bro, his face is scraped up!” lol, in the anime, Kurama’s body was bloodied but his face was indeed undamaged. I was like POSER lol
- Hiei vs Bui – By the time this fight happens, we’ve seen Hiei fight a few times but nothing that really gets to show off his abilities other than his speed. Another fight where the environment is really part of the fight, I do think it should have been a little better lit but but since Hiei is like… the lord of darkness, I guess it being in a darkish room is fitting lol. Bui’s armor looks great and seeing just how heavy his weapons and armors are, shows how strong Bui is, and even though he’s wearing heavy armor, he still moves very well and when he takes them off, like any anime character who takes off super heavy things, it’s scary and Hiei is a little shaken. I think even on a technical level they do a great job with the choreography, wire work and the edits because it’s not like we watch this fight uninterrupted.
- Yusuke, Kurama, & Hiei vs. Toguro – I appreciate this fight because Kurama and Hiei arrive right on time, even though they’re like “sorry we’re late” lol like they weren’t just in fights that could have killed them. So they triple team Toguro and while they’re giving it their all, he’s just chilling and kicking their ass. When he pauses with all of them on him and he smirks and says “How Nice” chile, I was shaken.
It’s very similar to how Yusuke fights and “defeats” Toguro the first time in the anime except Kuwabara isn’t here this time, but other form of teamwork. It also really showcases four different types of fighting styles and it’s really cool to see Yusuke being his punchy punchy brawler type, Kurama with his more elegant, dancy, plant based moves, Hiei and his quick, sword fights and then Toguro just standing there, unmoving and enjoying himself lol. It was a very fun fight and again very well choreographed. It also just shows that they are all out of their depth and it makes it when Toguro gets to 100% later, while Kurama is like terrified and Hiei is like “what the hell?” being demons themselves. Plus, Toguro was way more intimidating and seemed stronger than in his last fight.
6. Kuwabara vs. Elder Toguro – Along with the other “dark tournament” fights, this one happens not during a tournament. I don’t even think this was one of the fights that Sakyo was having the businessmen bet on, it was just Elder Toguro coming to torment them because he likes too. There’s no real winner here as Kuwabara just ends up cutting ET in half a lot and they keep running away. But it’s a fun fight because we not only get to see ET using his shapeshifting abilities, the CGI was actually pretty good here and this dude is actually kind of scary, but we see Kuwabara use his spirit sword in battle for the first time. They had him so stressed in this fight, trying to stave off this demon but also protect Keiko and Yukina, he had a lot on his plate. Plus, this is the first time he fights a demon and he holds his own whereas Yusuke has already fought three.
7. Yusuke vs. Toguro – So I was going back and forth on where I wanted to put this one because while it’s cool in the moment when you’re first watching, which I mean it’s cool period because of how Yusuke turns it out, and even with 100% Toguro’s introduction… like he had everyone scared. But 100% Toguro is supposed to be so intimidating and he’s so strong that he shakes the foundation of the building he’s in. Like when he first transforms into his full power in the anime, he kills so many demons in the stadium, everyone is shaken, it’s scary. I just rewatched and my stomach is in knots at how gross and intimidating he is. You don’t really feel that here and a big part of that is probably how he looks. I think they did okay but the CGI isn’t great. Outside of him inhaling and exhaling the crater that Yusuke punched him into, I never felt like he was gonna win anyway, even with him snapping his finger air pockets at people. At some point Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama try to hold him back from attacking Yukina and Keiko and he just tosses them like ragdolls. Sure sure, he punched a hole in Kuwabara but I was like okay… do more major threats. Like obviously he’s not gonna kill them because they don’t die in the anime and that would have been wild but like stakes. The potential of it was there but it was just okay. Yusuke winning was great and the moment slowing down around him was cool but I didn’t feel the sense of urgency that I felt in other fights and this was the big one.
8. Yusuke vs. Genkai – This is a training fight, it’s something that always happens in anime where the teacher and student square off, it usually happens many times. This is after Yusuke is acting like a little jerk about his training so Genkai is like, alright, show me what you got. She’s trying to teach him how to properly use his spirit energy since he felt like he lost to Hiei’s speed. But this is a fight that isn’t just about fighting, the story is important here as well. Those are always great fights.
9. Yusuke vs. Hiei (both) – So Yusuke and Hiei encounter each other twice for different reasons and they fight. The first time, it’s because Yusuke is going after Hiei for the Conjuring Blade and it’s very clear how outclassed he is against Hiei, even though Yusuke is much more creative… Hiei is stronger, faster and an overall better fighter. It’s the first time that Yusuke felt inadequate, and this is AFTER he fought Goki. But it’s a good fight and a good introduction of Hiei to Yusuke. This fight is better than their second encounter but I didn’t think I wanted to separate the two because it’s still just okay. The second fight, is after Yusuke sees Hiei (actually Elder Toguro) kidnap Keiko, so he goes after him and it’s a short battle because Kurama shows up and stops the battle to tell them of their common enemy. But this is after Yusuke trains with Genkai but he doesn’t really get to show anything he’s learned with her while Hiei is just fast. This is also one of the few times where the environment isn’t part of the fight like the other fights. It’s fine.
10. Yusuke vs. Kuwabara – Obviously this isn’t a fight that’s super serious but any fight between these two is fun. There is still really good fighting choreography between the two, especially the shot where Kuwabara’s friends are holding him back and Yusuke jumps into the shot and kicks Kuwabara in the chest. I cackled. But since this is to be expected and just part of their relationship, it’s not bad but it can’t be any higher.
Character Moments. There are some really nice emotional character moments that highlight that character, their motivation, growth or it’s just a moment between two characters that I thought was strong. I feel like there are few in every episode because while the anime is a fighting one, there are a ton of character moments that really showcase just how good these characters are. In the first episode, Yusuke having the moment with the kid and then giving his life to save him. The same episode where his mom and Keiko are both mourning him, it’s a nice moment to show that while Yusuke’s mom is an aloof drunk, she does love her son and Yusuke witnessing that. In the second episode, the kid showing up trying to save Yusuke from Goki was really sweet and of course one of my favorite moments of when Yusuke sees Kurama with his mom, honestly that whole storyline is one of my favorites. Especially when Yusuke says he’ll give half his life to save Kurama’s mother without Kurama having to die. Yusuke and Kuwabara have a lot of good moments to showcase their growing friendship even among their rivarly. The entire time in the cells with Keiko and Yukina were nice because Keiko is so nice to her even when she finds out Yukina is a demon. With Hiei, he has moments at the end when he looks at Yukina and is trying to save her from Toguro even though he’s battered and injured, afterall he’s doing all of this for her. Or even at the end when she asks him if he’s her long lost brother and he doesn’t tell her, it’s a sad moment but it’s understood why he doesn’t say anything. Then the stuff with Younger Toguro and Yusuke and how he’s traumatized from what happened to him that he wants Yusuke to feel the same. I think they do a pretty good at highlighting these moments and the actors are really good and seem to understand their characters to elevate the material they were given.
Costumes. I really like the costumes in the show, I think they do a great job at adapting the anime costumes. Obviously some looks got updated and changed a little but I think it works. Yusuke does wear his hair kind of slicked back but while he’s fighting it comes loose, which is fine, I always liked it when he wore his hair out in the anime anyway. Kuwabara doesn’t have a pompadour and I know people are probably upset about it but this isn’t the 90s lol and they never say when the show is set, and no one wears that hairstyle today and if they do… are they serious? I think it’s fine to homage it without actually doing it. Hiei still wears giant black clothes, but they opted to go for his outfit under the cloak as the main outfit and added a turtle neck to match the white of the cloak. I think that’s fine and his hair is different but I think it works. Kurama has the worst hair in this out of everyone which I’ll talk about later, but I really like his uniform, I love the little details on it but he must go to an expensive school to have such a uniform, I do wish it was more pink but it’s fine. Koenma’s outfit is well done. I think Botan looks great as well, she doesn’t wear the traditional sandles but open toe boots which I think are cute and fit her style. The villains also look great, I think Team Toguro translated well, Elder Toguro was really well done, his CGI and wig had me cracking up, what a scary dude. I was grossed out by Young Toguro’s muscles in the anime and I was grossed out by them here. They did a great job with Bui’s armor and Karasu was well done as well but I was disappointed that his mask seemed to be more aesthetic. I’ll get into that later.
The Overall Story. I think with it’s shortened showing, they did cram a good amount of stuff in this and while I don’t think it works all the time, I do think if someone was exploring this world for the first time then it would be a good introduction. At the base this is covering two arcs, the Spirit Detective arc and the Dark Tournament arc where Yusuke dies, gets revived and then goes on some missions for Koenma just to get wrapped up in the nonsense that Sakyo is doing where he wants to combine the human and demon worlds because he likes chaos and thinks the worlds should be united and Toguro is helping him because he wants to fight someone at 100% power. I think this is very much accomplished and the little arcs that happen along the way are also done well too.
Cons:
Too Short. 5 episodes? Are they actually insane? When I saw that, I was immediately upset because you’re adapting The Dark Tournament as well as telling an origin story… are you insane? While I think they did okay overall with the story, it just doesn’t get to resonate that much because it’s so short. I don’t think the pacing is rushed but I really do feel like the character moments or moments that would have really bolstered relationships and intense moments, they brushed right past those. There were moments I was expecting and I got two of them respectively but I feel like they would have been better if the season was at least 10 episodes with a full hour of show. If it was a movie, it might have been different because you HAVE to tell a story in 2 hours AND make us understand/like/dislike these characters but with a show, you do it over time and I don’t think they really got that chance. Like I think Hiei really got the short of the end of the stick here and he’s so interesting.
The Overall Story. I hate how the Artifacts of Darkness look the same, they’re all black and pulsating whereas in the anime, they had different looks. The mirror actually LOOKED like a mirror, that thing Kurama had was a tablet, a Kindle Fire or something lol. Like why couldn’t they all look different and unique. I’m also not sure how I felt about the mirror sucking them into a void, it’s fine overall, but it didn’t have to happen. Also, it seemed kind of dumb to do it in the hospital room instead of outside, like I know the mirror was in the moonlight but anyone could have walked by and seen that giant ass green smoky cloud. Also, this is just a nitpick, but Mirror of Darkness? Lame, Forlorn Hope sounds much better and it alludes to what the mirror does, just my two cents.
But they combined the “Spirit Detective” and the “Dark Tournament” together basically and while I can see how it can work, it’s too short to make it work properly. Yusuke going after the demon gang, great stuff but then it switches right into them having to fight Team Toguro and they were trying to find a way to merge all of it together but it doesn’t flow as well as it could have. We got some backstory with Genkai and Toguro but I feel like an entire episode could have focused on them. Or when Kurama fights Karasu, they should have met before and if we’re keeping in with the story of the show, I have many ideas on how that could have been built up more.
The Wigs. Not everyone wears a wig that I know of but I feel like only two really stand out to me as inconsistently bad or really bad lol. Yukina’s hair is interesting, in the anime she just has a fluffy ponytail but in the live action, her side bangs are so long and she has like two blunt layers of them. Sometimes they frame her face very pretty but other times, it looks really bad, like a wig lol.
Kurama’s is probably the one everyone is going to talk about and I’m gonna add to it, it’s just WIGGY. Jun Shison is a beautiful man so it doesn’t take anything away from him and I actually think he looks great in these colors, but they could have found a better wig and as I’ve worked on this review, it’s grown on me.
Okay so, anime Kurama obviously has very interesting hair anyway, his fringe, the two side pieces and then his hair is long and then he has this weird flip thing at the back of his hair. It works for him, very cute, love him. So, on the left, is from the stage show, closer to the anime but I think that wig is also bad lol, but it works for stage because you can’t really see it up close. But for the live action, they found a very fluffy wig with flat bangs and I think the color works, they kind of made everything a darker red, including his uniform but the wig is like… it’s too fluffy and it doesn’t look good in a lot of scenes. Sometimes when he’s just there it’s not that bad but most of the time I think it’s a little distracting. When he’s fighting Karasu (whose wig is also wiggy but definitely nicer) there’s so many times where his hair is just in his face and I don’t mind that, you have long hair and it’s down, it’s gonna get in your face when fighting but it’s funny because it’s so fluffy. I just wish it was better. They did a much better job when he was transformed into Youko. Loved that.
Emotional Payoffs. This kind of goes with the story and the rushed thing. So I feel like the moments with Younger Toguro and Genkai or Toguro and Yusuke don’t pay off as strongly as they could have, maybe I’d give the Toguro & Genkai one more credit since we did get to see them on the walkway to limbo. But I feel like Toguro wasn’t as… terrifying as he could have been, like almost but not quite. Same with Karasu, his fight with Kurama is one of the best fights, we see Kurama pushed to his emotional and physical breaking points in a lot of ways, he’s terrified of Karasu but trying not to be. Him winning against Karasu here was still good but I feel like it would have felt better if one, Kurama didn’t have the whole thing of “when I say this word, you’re gonna DIE!” I was like okay…. I feel like the bookend of the fight should have been different. I have ideas lol.
Where’s the funny? Lightheartedness? I remember laughing a lot during the anime, now I’m not saying this show should have been a straight up comedy but these characters are funny in their own ways. I feel like I chuckled here and there because of something someone said or maybe a minor moment but nothing that sticks out as funny. In the anime, Yusuke and Kuwabara are both a little dumb, which in some situations is funny. Kurama is calm and collected but he’s witty and Hiei has his moment as well. I feel like the live action is just so… dreary. I know there’s a lot going on but they could have found some of the funny somewhere. It might have helped characterized Yusuke a little more since he’s kind of just… sneering the entire time. I just wish, which this would have happened if the show was longer! That we got to see the friendship build up better between Yusuke and Kuwabara, there’s always been respect there but they seem to become allies and tentative friends immediately. Hiei and Kurama also already knew each other but we hardly ever see them interacting, Hiei got Kurama on his team because he didn’t want to have to fight him someday. Like, you would never know that here. They have two good scenes in the last two episodes, but that’s literally it. Botan is part of the group, I wish she got to be around the boys more. I wish Yusuke teased Koenma more, he’s not a physical baby here but his teen self so it’s not as easy but comment on the pacifier maybe?? No?
Some Nitpicks. During the fight with Kurama and Karasu, Kurama turns into Youko, which was super cool but he says “I told myself I would never go back to this form again” and I was like “wait hold on,” and then he does say that Karasu is right, that his battle is too much for a human body. But I was confused by this because in the anime, the only reason why Kurama ended up going back to Youko was because during a fight, that fisherman dude used some box to try and de-age Kurama out of existence but instead it de-aged him back to Youko. Then later, he was given a juice to help him return to the form temporarily while fighting Karasu and then of course during Chapter Black after Sensui killed Yusuke, he transformed due to emotional distress. So here they made it seem like he can just transform into Youko, it’s limited but it happens. I wish there was something else to showcase why he could do that. Like he could have said to himself “I can’t do this every time” or “my spirit energy will be depleted if I do this,” or “I had to save myself from those explosions” or just being surprised it happened which might have worked better since it was probably supposed to be a surprise to the audience. But I wonder if people who aren’t familiar with the anime got what was going on even with some the explanations about Kurama’s past nature. Don’t get me wrong, super excited to see Youko, but in addition to that, Karasu wears a mask because it keeps his demon energy at a minimum and when it comes off, if he inhales the energy around him his hair turns blonde and it shows that his power is reaching it’s peak. So when it falls off in the live action, I was like oh snap, here we go! But I didn’t think much changed about his power nor about his personality because in the anime, when that mask came off, the gloves really came out. It would have been nice if they changed his wig but if not, what’s the reason for the mask other than aesthetic? So just leave it on. I read that his skin turned yellowish but it looks the same to me and that’s a little racist. Also also, I know it was probably just a nod for the anime fans, but they could have said why teen/adult (whatever he is) Koenma has a pacifier.
Overall, I enjoyed the show, I think it’s good as it’s own show and pretty good as an adaptation. I do feel like a lot of that falls on the actors and how they seemed to understand their characters very well. I think the aesthetic of the show was created very well, this includes the costumes and how they do a good job with letting us know that we are in the YYH world. Outside of the actors, a big standout is the fight choreography, as they are very well done. The camera work, the acting, the movement, all of it works extremely well. While I do wish there were more, the character moments we got were some good ones, some I was anticipating seeing. I think the base of the story was handled well. But nothing is perfect (except for Into the Spider-Verse) and this show has flaws. I really can’t stress how I think the 5 episodes was a mistake, but I plan on doing another post on how I would have done it. But anyway, some of the wigs aren’t great, I think as it goes on, they may grow on you but some of them look really wiggy. I feel like the emotional payoffs don’t land as well because of the length of the show. But I do think it’s worth watching if you’re a fan of the anime and if you’re new to this world, I think it’s a good start.
Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars.
What did you think of the live action Yu Yu Hakusho? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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