Hunter x Hunter creator Yoshihiro Togashi has a lesser-known piece of work called Yu Yu Hakusho, and if you haven’t watched or read it yet, you’re in for a treat.
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime adaptation of the manga recently completed its 30th anniversary on October 10, 2022. This was also around the time that Togashi announced that revealed that he was creating new HxH manga chapters. What a time to be alive for Togashi fans!
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime is a classic 90s anime that acted as a gateway series for a lot of people. Togashi’s newer fans are only just discovering YYH, and if you’re one of them, this article is for you.
1. Is the Yu Yu Hakusho anime finished? How many episodes does it have?
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime is complete and finished. It originally aired from October 10, 1992 to December 17, 1994 on Japan’s Fuji TV network and later throughout North America, Asia, and Australia. It consists of 112 episodes, spread over 4 seasons.
Season 1: Spirit Detective Saga (episodes 1-21) aired from 1992-1993, season2: Dark Tournament Saga (episodes 22-53) from 1993-1994, season 3: Chapter Black Saga (episode 54-89) in 1994, and season 4: Three Kings Saga (episode 90-112) also in 1994.
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime was lauded as one of the greatest anime series of its time, with amazing characterization, brilliant Shonen action and plot, and several heart-warming moments that fans will now recognize typical of Togashi’s work.
What’s more, only 3% of Yu Yu Hakusho is filler, which is what makes it such a great quality anime.
2. Where to watch Yu Yu Hakusho?
Yu Yu Hakusho is available to stream on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu, and Tubi TV.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the anime, Crunchyroll also recently released a special edition Blu-ray box set including all 112 episodes, plus the popular original video animations, Eizou Hakusho and Two Shot & Nothing.
The franchise is also making a major comeback in the form of a new live-action Netflix series with Shueisha, TOHO, and ROBOT. It is scheduled to premiere in December 2023.
3. Does the Yu Yu Hakusho anime follow the manga? Are the OVAs based on the manga?
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime follows Togashi’s original manga series pretty closely, but it does differ when it comes to the action-based sequences, which are more detailed and dripping with violence as compared to in the manga.
While the anime hypes up battle and tournaments – especially the ones in the Demon World Tournament, it skips on backstory, character details, and even whole characters themselves. For example, the protagonist, Yusuke’s dad, never makes it to the anime.
The anime adapts all 19 tankobon/volumes and 175 chapters of the manga, except for the bonus chapter from volume 7, and the small arc (second-last chapter of the manga) occurring after the Three Kings saga.
These were released in the form of 2 special OVAs: Two Shots & All or Nothing, as part of the 25th anniversary special.
While these two cover the manga specifically, the 1994 OVA, Eizou Hakusho, does not.
4. Has the full Yu Yu Hakusho manga been serialized?
The Yu Yu Hakusho manga was originally serialized as tankobon volumes by Shueisha in Weekly Shonen Jump from December 3, 1990 to July 25, 1994. Shueisha released the complete edition of the manga in the form of 15 kanzenban volumes from August 4, 2004 and March 4, 2005.
A bunkobon volume series was further released between November 18, 2010 and October 18, 2011. This contains a bonus story published in the last volume, that put an official end to the Yu Yu Hakusho series.
The English translation of Yu Yu Hakusho first came out in January 2003 in Viz Media’s Shonen Jump, and ended in January 2010. This version contains 176 chapters instead of 175, since Viz translated the non-numbered chapter, Two Shot, as a separate chapter.
If you’re thinking about starting the series, all 19 volumes of YYH are also available digitally via Viz.
5. Why does the YYH anime end abruptly?
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime ended abruptly because of Togashi’s “own selfishness” – his desire to balance his work with his health and personal life.
The Yu Yu Hakusho anime ending was a controversial and touchy topic when it first came out. Togashi’s health unfortunately began to deteriorate sometime during the third arc of the manga. He wanted to end the series with Chapter Black, but kept going due to the series’ popularity.
This of course caused the quality of the story and artwork to decline, which directly affected the fourth saga, Three Kings, widely considered by fans to have ruined the series.
The Demon World Tournament skipped multiple important fights, and even though these were kind-of addressed in the anime, they were underwhelming.
The introduction of Shinobu Sensui’s character led to some major questions regarding humans and demons, good and evil – but ultimately the ending of YYH doesn’t answer of address either of these.
Sensui is defeated due to a dues ex machina, and in the anime, the character that won the final tournament was a let-down collectively for the fandom.
The moral of the story is that Togashi was totally burned out, which led to the somewhat dissatisfactory ending to the YYH series.
6. Will Yu Yu Hakusho return?
Yu Yu Hakusho will not return, in anime or manga format. It’s been decades since the series ended, and it did end – even though the finale raised some concerns. Besides, Togashi is concentrating on new chapters for Hunter x Hunter at the moment.
That being said, series like Yu Yu Hakusho are timeless; with the manga and anime available to read and watch worldwide, and the new Netflix live-action coming soon, now’s the best time to delve into Yusuke’s iconic world.
7. About Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The anime adaptation was directed by Noriyuki Abe with co-producers by Fuji Television, Studio Pierrot, and Yomiko Advertising.
The story follows a young boy, Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent with no scope of improvement. One day he jumps in front of a car in an attempt to save a child from getting hit. This sacrifice is so uncharacteristic that the prince of the spirit realm grants him a chance at redemption.
Yusuke becomes an underworld detective whose mission is to destroy all the evil forces on earth. After gathering strong team members, Yusuke sets off a journey that might give him a second chance at life.
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