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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
YuYu Hakusho
The image shows a cartoon portrait of a young man in a green uniform with slicked-back hair and a hitaikakushi on his forehead. In the foreground below him is a curious-looking girl with brown pigtails, wearing a blue and yellow school uniform. The background depicts blue clouds and the red Japanese title さよなら現世!!の巻. Above the characters is the title "Jump Comics", the number "1", and stylized kanji reading 幽☆遊☆白書 (Yū Yū Hakusho). At the bottom of the image is the author's name, 冨樫 義博 (Yoshihiro Togashi).
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Yusuke Urameshi (back) and Keiko Yukimura (front)
幽☆遊☆白書
(Yū Yū Hakusho)
Genre

Adventure[1]
Martial arts[2]
Supernatural[1]

Manga
Written by Yoshihiro Togashi
Published by Shueisha
English publisher

NA: Viz Media

Imprint Jump Comics
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump
English magazine

NA: Shonen Jump

Demographic Shōnen
Original run December 3, 1990 – July 25, 1994
Volumes 19 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Produced by

Ken Hagino
Kenji Shimizu
Kōji Kaneda
Kyōtarō Kimura

Written by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi [ja]
Music by Yusuke Honma
Studio Pierrot
Licensed by Crunchyroll[a]

SA/SEA: Medialink

Original network Fuji TV
English network

AU: Cartoon Network
SEA: Animax Asia
US: Adult Swim, Cartoon Network (Toonami), Funimation Channel

Original run October 10, 1992 – December 17, 1994
Episodes 112 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Eizou Hakusho
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Written by Shigeru Chiba
Music by Yusuke Honma
Studio Pierrot
Licensed by

NA: Crunchyroll
SA/SEA: Medialink[3]

Released September 21, 1994 – February 7, 1996
Runtime 25 minutes each
Episodes 6
Original video animation
Two Shot & All or Nothing
Directed by Noriyuki Abe
Produced by Ken Hagino
Studio Pierrot
Licensed by

NA: Crunchyroll
SA/SEA: Medialink

Released October 26, 2018
Runtime 15 minutes each
Episodes 2
Related

List of Yu Yu Hakusho films

Live-action series

YuYu Hakusho (2023)

YuYu Hakusho (Japanese: 幽☆遊☆白書, Hepburn: Yū Yū Hakusho) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The series tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck and killed by a car while attempting to save a child's life. After a number of tests presented to him by Koenma, the son of the ruler of the afterlife Underworld, Yusuke is revived and appointed the title of "Underworld Detective". With this title he must investigate various cases involving demons and apparitions in the Human World, with the manga gradually becoming more focused on martial arts battles and tournaments as it progresses. Togashi began creating YuYu Hakusho around November 1990, basing the series on his interests in the occult and horror films and an influence of Buddhist mythology.

The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 1990 to July 1994. The series consists of 175 chapters collected in 19 tankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga ran completely in Viz's Shonen Jump from January 2003 to January 2010. An anime adaptation consisting of 112 television episodes was directed by Noriyuki Abe and co-produced by Fuji Television, Yomiko Advertising, and Studio Pierrot. The television series originally aired on Japan's Fuji TV network from October 1992 to December 1994, and it was later licensed in North America by Funimation in 2001, where it aired on popular Cartoon Network blocks including Adult Swim and later Toonami. The television series has also been broadcast in various other countries around the world. The YuYu Hakusho franchise has spawned two animated films, a series of original video animations (OVAs), audio albums, video games, and other merchandise.

YuYu Hakusho has been well received; the manga had over 78 million copies in circulation worldwide by 2022, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It also won the 39th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category in 1993. The animated series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize for best anime in 1994 and 1995. The series has been well received by a large audience in Japan and a wide range of age groups in the United States. The anime has been given mostly positive reviews by critics in North America, complimenting its writing, characters, comedy, and amount of action.
Plot
See also: List of YuYu Hakusho characters

YuYu Hakusho follows Yusuke Urameshi, a 14-year-old street-brawling delinquent who, in an uncharacteristic act of altruism, is hit by a car and killed in an attempt to save a young boy by pushing him out of the way.[2][4][5] His ghost is greeted by Botan, a woman who introduces herself as the pilot of the River Styx, who ferries souls to the Underworld (霊界, Reikai, "Spirit World" in the English dub) where they may be judged for the afterlife. Botan informs Yusuke that his act had caught even the Underworld by surprise and that there was not yet a place made for him in either heaven or hell. Thus Koenma, son of the Underworld's ruler King Enma, offers Yusuke a chance to return to his body through a series of tests.[2][4][5] Yusuke succeeds with the help of his friends Keiko Yukimura and Kazuma Kuwabara. After returning to life, Koenma grants Yusuke the title of "Underworld Detective" (霊界探偵, Reikai Tantei, lit. "Spirit World Detective", "Spirit Detective" in the English dub), charging him with investigating supernatural activity within the Human World (人間界, Ningen Kai, lit. "Human World" wink . Soon Yusuke is off on his first case, retrieving three treasures stolen from the Underworld by a gang of demons: Hiei, Kurama, and Goki.[5] Yusuke collects the three treasures with the aid of his new technique, the Rei Gun, a shot of aura or Reiki (霊気, Reiki, lit. "Spirit Energy" wink fired mentally from his index finger.[2][4] He then travels to the mountains in search of the aged, female martial arts master Genkai. Together with his rival Kuwabara, Yusuke fights through a tournament organized by Genkai to find her successor. Yusuke uses the competition as a cover to search for Rando, a demon who steals the techniques of martial arts masters and kills them.[5] Yusuke defeats Rando in the final round of the tournament and trains with Genkai for several months, gaining more mastery over his aura.[4] Yusuke is then sent to Labyrinth Castle in the Demon Plane (魔界, Makai, lit. "Demon World" wink , a third world occupied solely by demons, where Kuwabara and the newly reformed Kurama and Hiei assist him in defeating the Four Beasts, a quartet of demons attempting to blackmail Koenma into removing the barrier keeping them out of the Human World.

Yusuke's next case sends him on a rescue mission, where he meets Toguro, a human turned into a demon. To test his strength, Toguro invites Yusuke to the Dark Tournament (暗黒武術会, Ankoku Bujutsukai, lit. "Dark Martial Arts Association" wink , an event put on by corrupt, rich humans in which teams of demons, and occasionally humans, fight fierce battles for the chance to receive any wish they desire. Team Urameshi, consisting of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and a disguised Genkai, traverse through the strenuous early rounds to face Team Toguro in the finals and win the tournament. They learn that Team Toguro's owner, Sakyo, was attempting to win to create a large hole from the Human World to the Demon Plane and allow countless demons through.[4] With his loss, Sakyo destroys the tournament arena, killing himself in the process.

After the tournament, Yusuke returns home but has little time to rest as he is challenged to a fight by three teenagers possessing superhuman powers and who end up taking the detective hostage. Kuwabara and the others rescue him and learn that the whole scenario was a test put on by Genkai. It is disclosed that Shinobu Sensui, Yusuke's predecessor as Underworld Detective, has recruited six other powerful beings to help him take over where Sakyo left off, opening a hole to the Demon Plane to cause genocide of the human race. Yusuke and his friends challenge and defeat Sensui's associates one-by-one, culminating in a final battle between the two detectives. Sensui kills Yusuke then retreats into the newly opened portal to the Demon Plane. Yusuke is reborn as a partial demon, discovering that his ancestor passed down a recessive gene that would hide until an heir with sufficient power surfaced when his demonic lineage would be revealed.[4] Yusuke travels to the Demon Plane and defeats Sensui with the aid of his ancestor who takes control of Yusuke's body to finish the fight.

As they return to the Human World, Yusuke is stripped of his detective title in fear that Yusuke's demon blood could cause him to go on a rampage in the Human World. Yusuke, unsettled at having been controlled by his ancestor Raizen, accepts an offer by Raizen's followers to return to the Demon Plane. Raizen, desiring a successor to his territory, is on the brink of dying of starvation, a death that would topple the delicate political balance of the three ruling powers of the Demon Plane. Hiei and Kurama are summoned by the other two rulers, Mukuro and Yomi, respectively, to prepare for an inevitable war.[4] The three protagonists train in the realm for one year, during which time Raizen dies and Yusuke inherits his territory. Yusuke takes the initiative and proposes a fighting tournament to name the true ruler of the Demon Plane, which is agreed upon by Mukuro and Yomi. During the tournament, Yusuke and Yomi meet in the second elimination round where Yusuke is defeated. Yusuke hopes a similar competition will be held every few years to determine the Demon Plane's ruler.

Two years later, Yusuke returns to the Human World while Hiei stays with Mukuro and protects humans who have accidentally wandered into the Demon Plane. After learning that King Enma was falsifying reports on demon activity against humans in order to justify keeping the two separated, Koenma takes over his father's position and allows access between the Demon Plane and Human World. Genkai dies and leaves her estate to the cast. The story ends with Yusuke and his friends reuniting at a beach.
Production

Author Yoshihiro Togashi stated that he began working on YuYu Hakusho during a period of time around November 1990, though he forgot the exact time.[6] He had recently completed the serialization of his romantic comedy Ten de Shōwaru Cupid in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Having felt somewhat intimidated by some of his more popular fellow authors during this manga's run, Togashi realized he would need to create a fighting manga to both gain popularity and write something he enjoyed.[7] As a fan of the occult and horror films, he desired to write and illustrate a new manga based on his interests.[8] Togashi had previously published an occult detective fiction manga titled Occult Tanteidan, of which he referenced positive reception from readers as a reason for continuing to create manga.[9] When first producing YuYu Hakusho, he did not have a clear idea of what he wanted to call it. He used the tentative title "How to be a Ghost" while presenting rough drafts to his editors. Once given the go-ahead to begin publication, Togashi proposed "YuYu-Ki (Poltergeist Chronicles)" for the title, as there would be battles with demons and it would be a play on the title SaiYu-Ki. Because a series with a similar name (Chin-Yu-Ki) had already begun publication, Togashi quickly created an alternative: "YuYu Hakusho (Poltergeist Report)".[10] He commented that he could have used "Den (Legend)" or "Monogatari (Story)", but "Hakusho (Report)" was the first thing that came to his mind.[11] He contiguously developed the names of the main characters by skimming through a dictionary and taking out kanji characters he found appealing. "Yusuke Urameshi" is a pun, "Kazuma Kuwabara" is a combination of two professional baseball players, and "Hiei" and "Kurama" are "just names that popped into [Togashi's] head".[8] When he introduced the latter two characters in volume three, the author had early plans to make Kurama a main character but was not certain about Hiei.[7][8]

The manga's shift from occult detective fiction to the martial arts genre after Yusuke's death and revival in the early chapters was planned by Togashi from the beginning.[8] He took this idea from the series Kinnikuman, which began largely as a comedy before concentrating more on action.[7] Togashi's intention was to establish the main characters and familiarize the reader with them before placing them in tense, physical conflicts. His editor at the time was nervous of him beginning the manga this way and recommended he transition to a battle-focused plot after about 30 chapters.[7] YuYu Hakusho borrows many elements from Asian folklore, particularly Buddhist beliefs in the afterlife.[2][5] Togashi came up with the concept of the Ningenkai (Human World), Reikai (Underworld), and Makai (Demon Plane) as being parallel planes of existence in the manga's universe. He thought of them as places that one could not easily travel between using modern technology, but rather as a spirit lacking a material body.[8] However, the idea for the "territory" powers from the Sensui story arc was parodied from a separate, unnamed work by Yasutaka Tsutsui.[12][13] For his drawing materials, Togashi used drafting ink and Kabura pens throughout the creation of the series. While his style of artwork began with screentone, he gradually developed into minimalism. As the series progressed, he would draw figures and faces very detailed or "cartoony, sketchy and jumping with action" whenever he desired such effects.[8]

During the years he worked on YuYu Hakusho, Togashi would calculate the personal time he had based on a formula of four hours per page without scripting and five hours of sleep per night.[14] He wrote in his own dōjinshi Yoshirin de Pon! that he stopped the production on YuYu Hakusho out of selfishness.[15] The author had originally wanted to end the manga in December 1993, at the climax of the Sensui arc.[12][15] Although there was not a large demand from the editorial staff, Togashi was under a great deal of personal stress at certain points of the series' run, particularly during its final six months of publication. He claimed that, beginning with the Dark Tournament arc, inconsistent sleep resulting from overwork was causing him health problems.[15] He noted himself as being very ill while working on the color pages for Yusuke's match with Chu.[12] There were also many instances where he would create nearly entire manuscripts by himself, such as Yusuke's meeting with Raizen and the battle between Kurama and Karasu.[15] The editors of the publication tried to make Togashi reconsider cancelling Yu Yu Hakusho, though he justified his decision by stating that it would simply be replaced by another popular series.[7] Togashi was relieved at the conclusion of the manga.[12] The author claimed to not have been involved in the production of the YuYu Hakusho anime adaptation due to his own work schedule. He stated that he was greatly impressed by Shigeru Chiba's voice depiction of Kuwabara, admitting that the voice actor understood the character better than Togashi himself.[16]
Media
Manga
Main article: List of YuYu Hakusho chapters

The YuYu Hakusho manga series was written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi and originally serialized by Shueisha in the shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 3, 1990, to July 25, 1994.[17][18][19][20] The manga consists of 175 chapters spanning 19 tankōbon with the first one being released on April 10, 1991, and the last one released on December 12, 1994.[21][22] Between August 4, 2004, and March 4, 2005, Shueisha released the kanzenban (complete) editions of the manga. Each of the 15 kanzenban volumes features a new cover and more chapters than the tankōbon edition.[23][24] YuYu Hakusho has also been published as part of the Shueisha Jump Remix series of magazine-style books. Nine volumes were released between December 22, 2008, and April 27, 2009.[25][26] A bunkoban version began publication on November 18, 2010, and was finished on October 18, 2011.[27][28]

An English translation of the YuYu Hakusho manga was serialized in North America by Viz Media in the American Shonen Jump magazine, where it debuted in its inaugural January 2003 issue and ended in January 2010.[29] Viz released all 19 collected volumes of the English manga between May 1, 2003,[30] and March 2, 2010.[31] A total of 176 chapters exist in this format due to Viz treating the extra non-numbered chapter "YuYu Hakusho Tales: Two Shot" found in volume seven (which tells the story of how Hiei and Kurama first met) as the 64th chapter.[32][33][34] Viz later re-released the series digitally as part of their digital manga releases between August 20, 2013,[35] and February 25, 2014,[36] and later added it to ComiXology's digital releases.[37] The YuYu Hakusho manga has additionally been licensed and published across Asia and Europe. A French translation from Kana, for example, began publication in 1997.[5]
Anime
Main article: List of Yu Yu Hakusho episodes

The Yu Yu Hakusho anime adaptation was directed by Noriyuki Abe and co-produced by Fuji Television, Yomiko Advertising, and Studio Pierrot.[38] The series, consisting of 112 episodes, aired from October 10, 1992, to December 17, 1994, on Fuji Television.[39] The episodes were released on 23 video cassettes by Pony Canyon from January 1, 1995, to December 6, 1995. They were also released on 28 DVD volumes by Beam Entertainment, with volumes 8–14 being released on March 25, 2002, volumes 15–21 being released on April 25, 2002, and volumes 22–28 being released on May 25, 2002.[40] The anime differed from its manga source material by containing different levels of violence and profanity, as well as minor variations in art style from one to the other.[41] In early 2001, the series was acquired by Funimation Entertainment for North American distribution as Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files.[42] Funimation's production saw a significant contribution from voice actor Justin Cook, who not only directed the dub but also voiced the protagonist Yusuke.[43][44]

The American-produced English dubbed episodes aired from February 23, 2002, to April 1, 2006, on Cartoon Network. Initially, the series was shown on the channel's Adult Swim programming block from February 2002 to April 2003, but was later moved to Toonami.[45][46] Some of the show's original depictions of mature content including violence, sexual humor, and coarse language, as well as some controversial cultural discrepancies were edited out for broadcast.[47][48] Yu Yu Hakusho was taken off Toonami around March 2005 and moved to an early Saturday morning time slot that October where the series finished its run.[49] It was also aired uncut as part of the Funimation programming block on Colours TV in 2006 and the Funimation Channel in high-definition in 2011.[50][51] Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll.[52]

The series was distributed in the United Kingdom by MVM Films and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment.[53][54][55][56][57][58] In India the English-language version of the series was released as Ghost Fighter.[59] Yu Yu Hakusho was localized in the Philippines as Ghost Fighter and aired on IBC in the mid-1990s, as well as on GMA Network in 1999. This version of the dub localized the characters' names, such as changing "Yusuke" to "Eugene".[60][61]

Funimation separated the series into four "seasons", that each compose their own story arc, which they refer to as "sagas". In North America, 32 DVD compilations have been released by Funimation for the four sagas, with the first released on April 16, 2002, and the last on July 19, 2005.[62][63] The episodes have been released in both edited and uncut formats. In addition, DVD collection boxes have been released for all four sagas, each containing all the episodes of that particular saga, with the exception of the Dark Tournament Saga, which was split into two collection boxes.[64][65][66][67][68] Funimation released season box sets of the anime starting with season one on July 8, 2008, and ending with season four on January 13, 2009.[69][70] Each set contains four DVDs which have 28 episodes, or one quarter of the whole series. Funimation began releasing the seasons on Blu-ray Disc on May 31, 2011.[71] Cook has stated that the production staff made minor improvements to their recordings, such as redubbing certain lines, cleaning up the dialogue, and removing "arrant anomalies".[72] In Japan, three separate multi-disc DVD box sets were released, as well as 28 DVDs totaling all 112 episodes of the series.[73] Japanese home video distributor Bandai Visual began releasing the series on Blu-ray Disc on October 27, 2009, with the first set containing a picture drama set after the end of the series that saw cast members reunite to record new dialogue.[74]
Films and original video animations
Main article: Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie and Yu Yu Hakusho the Movie: Poltergeist Report

Two animated films based on Yu Yu Hakusho have been produced. Both films have original storyline content that is not canonical to the manga. The first, simply titled Yu Yu Hakusho was released in Japan on July 10, 1993, as part of a seasonal film festival.[75][76] In the movie, the protagonists Yusuke and Kuwabara are on a mission to rescue a kidnapped Koenma from a pair of demons who desire the Golden Seal, a stamp used for finalizing the sentencing of souls in the afterlife.[4] AnimeWorks released an English dubbed version of the half-hour film on VHS in both English-dubbed and subtitled formats on May 5, 1998, and on DVD on January 30, 2001.[77][78] Yu Yu Hakusho: Chapter of Underworld's Carnage – Bonds of Fire (幽☆遊☆白書 冥界死闘篇 炎の絆, Yū Yū Hakusho: Meikai s**tō Hen – Honō no Kizuna), was released in Japanese theaters on April 9, 1994.[76][79] The plot revolves around Yusuke and his friends defending the Human World against inhabitants of a fourth plane of existence called the "Netherworld".[4] This full-length feature received its first English dubbed version by Central Park Media, which released it on VHS on March 3, 1998, and on DVD on October 8, 2002, under the name Yu Yu Hakusho the Movie: Poltergeist Report.[80]

A series of Yu Yu Hakusho OVAs collectively titled Eizou Hakusho (映像白書, Eizō Hakusho, lit. "Image Report" wink was released in Japan in VHS format between 1994 and 1996.[81][82][83] The OVAs feature very short clips that take place after the end of the series. They also contain video montages from the anime, image songs, voice actor interviews, and satirical animated shorts focusing on the four protagonists.[81][84] The OVAs consist of three volumes as well as an opening and ending encyclopedia. A four-DVD box set containing this series was released in Japan by Pony Canyon on December 15, 2004.[73] Funimation dubbed the OVAs (though not the anime montages[85]) and (re)dubbed the first theatrical film with their original cast from the anime, and released them both in North America in a two-disc DVD bundle titled Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie & Eizou Hakusho on December 13, 2011.[86] This version splits up parts of the OVAs and does not include the Japanese voice actor interviews.

A brand new OVA of Yu Yu Hakusho was released with a Blu-ray box set of the series on October 26, 2018, in Japan. It adapts the "Two Shot" bonus chapter from the manga's seventh volume and the manga's penultimate chapter "All or Nothing".[87][88] In October 2019, Funimation announced the OVA release with an English dub.[89]