Whenever I want to convince people to watch Yu Yu Hakusho, this has always been my selling point.
How many other animes are there where the main character dies in the first ten seconds?
I'm not going to talk about the plot a lot, because you should go and watch it yourself. Instead I'm going to focus on character development and establishment. Expect this to be a theme throughout my rewatch.
And, of course, there's a lot of character establishment in the first episode.
So here we have Keiko, probably Yusuke's future emotional support and probably his only friend at this point. Not to mention, one of the few people at school who isn't afraid of him. Really, that alone says a lot about him. Other characters believe just about any rumor about him, but she knows better. She's known him since he was a child. But, Keiko is boring right now. Let's talk Atsuko!
So, skipping exposition with the teacher and principle, Yusuke ditches school and goes home to find his mother still in bed.
There's a lot to be said about the fact that he sits there insulting her, but he still makes coffee for her when she asks. Yusuke's a punk, a delinquent, and a street fighter, but do we see that? No. Eight minutes into the episode, and he's making his mom coffee. He could have told her to ******** off, but he clearly cares about her.
Anyway, Yusuke goes for a walk, and we meet Kuwabara!
Ah, Kuwabara. I love you so much. You are probably the single most underrated anime character of all time. Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to ramble on about how you're underrated, there's not much of an opportunity to do so here.
So, Kuwabara is purposely introduced as your average street punk, much like Yusuke. He challenges Yusuke to a fight, which Yusuke wins. But not before giving us this face.
Don't you just love anime?
Kuwabara's friends come in to convince him to stop getting his butt kicked. Naturally, he declines, due to having vowed to himself to beat Yusuke in a fight someday. This scene actually establishes quite a lot. For starters, fighting seems to be a part of the culture Kuwabara and Yusuke are a part of. In the manga, it's implied that Atsuko has connections with the Yakuza (a Japanese crime syndicate). That might have something to do with it, but in any case, there's a lot to be said about the two of them fighting in the streets and treating it like a daily occurrence.
It also says a lot about Kuwabara's character. He's tenacious, perhaps to a fault, and we'll see that tenacity come into play later on. He also hold himself to some high standards of honor, which is very important to know about him.
Anyway, Yusuke sets out again, and comes across our little plot device.
I've heard people complain about the repeated imagery of the ball. A lot of times, repeated animations are just there to help the animators save money. In this case, that may have been true, but it's also there for a reason. You're supposed to pay attention to that ball. It's important.
Yusuke entertains the little plot device for a while, again, saying a lot about his character. You can probably deduce what that says. He's a punk with a heart.
He realizes that he was hit by a car while saving the the little plot device. He dies, his body is taken away, and we get to meet Botan, AKA Death.
I gotta say, I love how casual Botan is throughout this exchange. How much you wanna bet it's not the first time a spirit she reaped took a swing at her? She's on top, though. She knows he can't hurt her.
Yusuke check on the kid/plot device and makes sure he's okay, once again proving that he has a real heart. What a sweetie, no wonder Keiko is friends with him.
He then attends his own funeral, which is a really interesting and powerful scene. We see every stage of grief and loss.
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
… acceptance?
Be damned if I don't hate the teachers in this school so much. Kuwabara was dealing with grief in an inappropriate way, but these assholes are just sitting here straight-up badmouthing Yusuke at his own funeral. Thank Apollo that the principal is a decent guy.
Next, we have pretty much the most powerful scene in the whole episode.
Atsuko finally breaks down, creating this moment where the pacing slows down. There's a reason that the filter softens and they give you a few seconds of Yusuke's reaction here. He's watching his mother, a party animal and a normally passive person, actually break down and sob over her son's death. He's watching her suffer and there's nothing he can do about it. That's some powerful s**t right there.
The plot device and his mom arrive to pay their respects. That’s really nice of them, and it gives Yusuke the chance to show some more emotion. Sure, watching Keiko and Kuwabara effected Yusuke, but seeing his mom break down and the little boy attend his funeral was what really pushed him over the edge.
Never get between a man and his mother, folks. Especially Yusuke. Yusuke will kick your butt.
Already developing a lot (seriously, compare Yusuke's facial expressions in those last few screenshots to the ones at the beginning of the episode. Development everywhere), Yusuke seeks counsel with the moon before meeting up with Botan again. He agrees to undergo a trial to bring him back to life, and our story begins!
Phew … that only took forever. To be fair, the first episode of a show is always about establishing character. Hopefully my future reviews will be shorter … but no promises. The characters are my favorite thing about this anime.
