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Cast: Takumi Kitamura, Shuhei Uesugi, Jun Shison, Kanata Hongo, Kotone Furukawa, Keita Machida, and Go Ayano.
Creator: Akira Morii, and Kazutaka Sakamoto
Director: Sho Tsukikawa
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Japanese (with subtitles)
Runtime: 5 Episodes, Around 1 hour each.
Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review: What’s It About:
Yu Yu Hakusho is the newest attempt from Netflix to adapt anime and manga into a live-action series, but this time the adaption is being done in Japanese soil, bringing with it all the characteristics that make a show just like this one unique. The series tells the story of a young criminal who finds himself in death and traveling to the spiritual world, there he will meet countless obstacles as he fights in the name of friendship, justice and the possibility of coming back to life.
Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review: Script Analysis:
Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga published in the early 1990s by Shone Jump that was written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, who would later become one of the most respected mangakas not only in Japan but also in the rest of the world, thanks to his work in Yu Yu Hakusho and his following work, Hunter x Hunter. Togashi’s contributions to the medium of manga are many, and even when he is known for not being a perfect author, his writing is praised constantly by those who end up discovering his works.
The live action adaptation begins In Media Res by showing us the death of our protagonist, Yusuke, however in Yu Yu Hakusho, death is not the end, but only the beginning of the adventure. From there, the live action adaptation does the best it can to compress as much content from the manga and anime it can in only five episodes. This might seem quite short, and it is, but with episodes that clock a full one hour of runtime, you could say that each episode amount to three or even four episodes of the anime.
Yes, it is true that the adaptation has cut a lot of content from its source material, there are multiple short stories in the first half of the show that help setting up characters and future events, but here, the show goes directing into what is known as the Spirit Detective Saga. This quickened pacing definitely serves the live action adaptation to get more into the action head on. Meanwhile, those of us who saw the anime know that things were much slower, but also deeper both in the anime and manga versions of the story.
Thankfully, the writers and directors of the live-action TV series know that they need to get the characters right, because Togashi’s main staple in his writing are his amazing characters. Knowing this, the creators do a fantastic job focusing on the characters, their relationships and the way they interact with the world. The plot of the live action series might feel a bit rushed at times, because it is, and yet, the base story is just good enough to keep the audience engaged throughout the entirety of the season.
Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review: Star Performance:
Like we said, Togashi’s characters are the main focus when it comes to his stories. The plot of each arc both in Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter are rather simple, and they only get more complex when the characters bring their sense of self into the plot events. As such, a normal contest can become a battle of ideologies or a simple game can become a life or death event.
The show is lucky to have an actor like Takumi Kitamura who is, of course, the center of attention in this show. The young actor has quite a bit of experience in the world of acting, and in here he manages to balance out Yusuke’s up to no good attitude with the innate gentleness of the characters. The result is a powerful performance that feels very over the top, as it is usual with most of Japanese TV acting, but still comes across as natural within the context of the show.
Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review: Direction & Music:
The Japanese film industry follows its own rules, in the same way that many others industries around the world do, and this allows us to recognize certain patterns and idiosyncrasies that tell us that series like Yu Yu Hakusho and others have Japan as their country of origin. The same happens with the live-action TV series, as it follows a very well-known aesthetic, one that cares little about framing and that pushes their actors into some over the top acting that feels almost theatrical.
The directing feels sloppy at times, as there is very little regard for the quality of the framing during the scenes, and the visual palette feels washed out as it is normally seemed in Japanese media. However, visual effects are quite nice, and this follows a trend seen recently in Japanese media where we finally see productions achieving a level of visual effects quality that can rival and even surpass the quality of effects being made in America television. If only the same amount of care could go to other aspects of the production, then Japanese television would rise.
Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review: Last Words:
We might never get the chance to have a live-action Hunter x Hunter adaptation, but having a Yu Yu Hakusho one is the next best thing, and luckily the show does a good job at presenting the character and setting up the Dark Tournament Saga for a possible second season. At this pace, this live-action adaptation could adapt the entire story in four seasons, which seems very reasonable. The quality of the shows feels a bit lower when it comes to the visual direction of the show, but the actors, the VFX and the story in general are worthy enough of a watch.
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