YuYu Hakusho
File:YYH Manga Cover.jpg
Genre	Action; Fantasy supernatural fiction
Manga
Written by	Yoshihiro Togashi
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	Viz Media
Demographic	Shōnen
Anime
Directed by	Noriyuki Abe
Studio	Studio Pierrot
Released	10 October 1992 – present

YuYu Hakusho (幽☆遊☆白書, Yū Yū Hakusho, or "YYH") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi with an anime adaptation. The name of the series is spelled YuYu Hakusho in FUNimation's distribution of the anime and in the Viz manga.

The manga was originally published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. The series consists of 175 chapters collected in 19 tankōbon volumes, and won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1994.^[1] In North America, the manga currently runs in Viz' Shonen Jump.

The anime, directed by Noriyuki Abe and co-produced by Fuji Television, Yomiko Advertising, and Studio Pierrot, consists of 112 television episodes and two movies: "The Golden Seal" and "Bonds of Fire". The anime series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1993 and 1994. The TV series originally aired on Japan's Fuji Television network from October 10 1992 to January 7 1995, and was later licensed in North America by FUNimation in 2001. The show first aired on US TV on February 2002 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Around March 2003, the show moved to Cartoon Network's Toonami block due to higher ratings. YuYu Hakusho was taken off Toonami around March 2005 and moved to an early Saturday morning time slot at 5:30 a.m. where the series finished its run. It currently airs as part of the FUNimation programming block on CoLours TV.

A series of YuYu Hakusho OVAs were released only in Japan. It has also been broadcast across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent by the anime satellite television network Animax.

Plot

Yusuke Urameshi is a street-brawling delinquent with a tough guy approach to everything. Yusuke's mother Atsuko, an alcoholic, had him at the age of 15 and took a backseat in raising her son. He has a reserved seat in the guidance counselor's office, and numerous other delinquents in the city are trying to take him on. Yusuke is pretty fed up with life.

However, no one expects a sudden act of heroism on his part: he dies trying to save a little boy from a speeding car. In fact, when he arrives in the afterlife, he is informed that the child would've miraculously survived, had it not been for him the child would have one less scratch on his right sholder. Yusuke's pre-matured death was unexpected and unnecessary, and the afterlife was not prepared for his arrival.

After numerous tests to gauge his worth, Yusuke is eventually revived, and is assigned to work for the Spirit World as a detective investigating demon cases in the human world. He comes into spiritual abilities of his own, and enlists the help of numerous friends from Reikai (spirit world), Makai (demon world, translated in the English manga as the Demon Plane) and Ningenkai (human world) to aid him in his cases as they fight off demons and humans seeking to rule over all three worlds.^{[citation needed]}

Characters

• Yusuke Urameshi (浦飯 幽助, Urameshi Yūsuke) - Yusuke is the toughest kid in Sarayashiki Junior High School and has a typical tough guy approach to everything. He becomes a spirit detective after he dies and is revived by Keiko's kiss. His main attack is the Rei Gun (Spirit Gun in the English anime) where he can manipulate his Reiki and fire it into a projectile. He learns many techniques and abilities from Genkai. He mainly grows in strength from all of his different battles, because he responds to danger by unleashing his full strength.

• Keiko Yukimura (雪村 螢子, Yukimura Keiko, Kayko Yukimura in the English adaptations) - Although both vehemently deny it (even to themselves at times), Keiko is Yusuke's girlfriend. Her personality is almost the exact opposite of his; she is a model student, and often berates Yusuke for playing hookey or for getting into trouble. Her relationship with Yusuke has sometimes made her a target of demons who had sought to gain the upper hand against the detective. Keiko eventually learns of Yusuke's life as a Reikai detective, and while apprehensive of some of his more dangerous fights, often supports and cheers him on.

• Kazuma Kuwabara (桑原 和真, Kuwabara Kazuma) - Kuwabara is the second toughest kid in the school, and resents Yusuke for it. Originally rivals, Yusuke and Kuwabara would start a grudging friendship that only strengthens throughout the series. Although human, Kuwabara has high Reiki sensitivity; shortly after accompanying Yusuke on missions, he is able to manifest a Rei Ken (Spirit Sword in the English dubbing); a type of Reiki that normally takes on the shape of a glowing sword. After the Dark Saga, Kuwabara is believed to be the strongest human alive (Genkai implies this). Though he may not be the strongest in the "gang", he is certainly the kindest, as he has a certain affinity for kittens.

• Botan (ぼたん, Botan) - One of the hundreds of ferry girls of the spirit realm (a type of shinigami) responsible for guiding the souls of the recently departed to eternal judgment (in the American versions, she is referred to as the "grim reaper" or "spirit reaper"). Originally assigned by Koenma to be Yusuke's spirit guide after his fatal car accident, she becomes his case manager, supplying him with equipment and much of the information he needs. Botan is a kind and warm-hearted woman who has put herself in peril on several occasions to protect the people she cares about. She takes her job very seriously, although she tends to act in a very bubbleheaded manner.

• Koenma (コエンマ, Koenma) - Though he resembles an infant in appearance, he is actually a deity who is over 700 years old. Koenma is the son of King Enma (King Yama, the Sanskrit name, in the English anime), the ruler of the spirit realm (Reikai). Koenma also has the ability to transform into a teenage version of himself (ostensibly for formal occasions) but still retains his trademark pacifier. He does this only to blend in with the human world.

• Kurama (蔵馬, Kurama), also known as Shuichi Minamino (南野 秀一, Minamino Shūichi) in his human form - Kurama is a demon with the ability to summon and control plants. He was originally the powerful and infamous yōkai, kitsune thief, Fox Demon Kurama (as stated in the English manga) or Yoko Kurama (妖狐蔵馬, Yōko Kurama, Yoko Kurama in the English anime) until he was wounded by a hunter. Managing to escape by inhabiting the body of an unborn human baby, he grew up as the human child Shuichi, and planned on abandoning his "family" once his demonic power returned at the age of ten, but grew to love his human mother, Shiori Minamino. Kurama has a wide variety of techniques, because of his ability to control a wide variety of plants, including the often seen Rose Whip. In the Dark Tournament Saga, Kurama was given a potion to aid him in his transforming to his Yoko Kurama state, but in later episodes seemed to be able to transform at will (this is explained as a side effect of releasing a lot of demon energy in the English anime).

• Hiei (飛影, Hiei, a.k.a. Hiei Jaganshi or Jaganshi Hiei, lit. "Hiei of the Evil Eye") - A hi yōkai (hi yōkai, lit. fire demon) born of a Korime (氷女, Kōrime, lit. Ice Maiden) who specializes in the Jagan (邪眼術, lit. (Evil Eye) skills), as well as swordsmanship, and can move at superhuman speeds. His artificially created Jagan amplifies his power and enables him to summon the black fires of Makai (Demon Realm) and channel it as an energy attack, often in the shape of a dragon. He's a bit of a hot head and often bickers with Kuwabara. Hiei is also a bit short. His twin sister, Yukina, is unaware of their relationship, and Hiei has gone as far as to threaten harm to others to prevent Yukina from realizing that he is actually her brother.

• Genkai (幻海, Genkai) - The aged Reiki fighter who rigorously trains Yusuke in the Spirit Light Wave Fist (霊光波動拳, Reikō Hadō Ken, Spirit Wave in the English anime). Though her manner is often gruff, she cares for Yusuke and the others, and constantly tries to help them grow stronger. In the past, she was feared as one of the most powerful human fighters in both Ningenkai and Makai.

• Yukina (雪菜, Yukina) - Yukina is a Korime (氷女, Kōrime, lit. Ice Maiden), an ice yōkai, whose tears can harden into rare, priceless jewels (a characteristic of the Korime race). Yusuke, Botan, and Kuwabara rescued her from Gonzo Tarukane, a black market businessman who was torturing her to produce the gems. She reappears later in the series, searching for her brother. She is unaware of the fact that Hiei is her sibling, and that Kuwabara is in love with her. As a Korime, she has the ability to cause cold temperatures, as well as use powers of healing.

Reception

As of June 2007, YuYu Hakusho had sold more than 44,000,000 copies in Japan alone.^[2] It won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1994.^[1]

In a 2006 web poll conducted in Japan by the network TV Asahi, YuYu Hakusho was voted as the 15th best anime of all time.^[3]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, YuYu Hakusho was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1990 until 1994. The 175 chapters were published in nineteen collected volumes volumes by Shueisha. It is licensed for an English language release by Viz Media.

Anime

The anime, directed by Noriyuki Abe and co-produced by Fuji Television, Yomiko Advertising, and Studio Pierrot, consists of 112 television episodes and two movies: "The Golden Seal" and "Bonds of Fire". The anime series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1993 and 1994. The TV series originally aired on Japan's Fuji Television network from October 10 1992 to January 7 1995, and was later licensed in North America by FUNimation in 2001. The show first aired on US TV on February 2002 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Around March 2003, the show moved to Cartoon Network's Toonami block due to higher ratings. YuYu Hakusho was taken off Toonami around March 2005 and moved to an early Saturday morning timeslot at 5:30 a.m. where the series finished its run. It currently airs as part of the FUNimation programming block on CoLours TV.

OVAs

A series of YuYu Hakusho OVAs were released only in Japan. It has also been broadcast across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent by the anime satellite television network Animax.

• Eizō Hakusho: Ankoku Bujutsukai (2 Volumes)
• Eizō Hakusho II: Yusuke Volume
• Eizō Hakusho II: Kurama Volume
• Eizō Hakusho II: Hiei Volume
• Eizō Hakusho II: Kuwabara Volume
• Opening Ending Encyclopedia
• Recap Guide Complete Advance Set (3 Volumes)

Other media

Three video games have been released that tie to the YuYu Hakusho series: Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective, Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics for the Game Boy Advance, Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament for the PlayStation 2, and Yu Yu Hakusho Final for the SNES. A few action figures have been released, as well as other collectibles.

YuYu Hakusho also has a series of drama soundtracks sung by the Japanese voice actors.

References

External links

• Studio Pierrot's YuYu Hakusho website Template:Ja icon
• FUNimation's YuYu Hakusho website
• YuYu Hakusho ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia