Watchlist #46 - Yu Yu Hakusho

With BH 2 coming soon, I just realized that one of the most nostalgic Anime(s) I grew up watching on the Adult-Swim/Toonami line-up hasn't been talked about yet on the Watch-List posts segment. How could I have forgotten such an integral fighting Anime that, like DBZ, was so badass w/memorable characters, over-the-top fight scenes, and having the protagonist getting increasingly and scarily stronger each and every time he overcome adversity? Well, let's get to it. YYH was written by Yoshihiro Togashi between 1990-1994, published in Weekly Shonen Jump, and adapted into a 112-episode Anime series that aired between 1992-1995. There were also 2 movies based on the hit YYH series, the time Togashi wrote it, it'd take only 2 years to spawn an adaptation ~ that's pretty damn impressive. So what's the story? Well we follow a young rebellious teenager named Yusuke Urameshi who, as you expected, doesn't have the most glamorous life out there. He lives with a mother who loves to drink & bring home men, gets into fights with various thugs, and is hated by his own teachers. However, his life would change for what I'd like to call the better when he "died" saving a child from a car. From then, he awakes to find that he's dead and that a Grim Reaper named Botan is there to tell him that Yusuke may have a chance to return to the world of living depending on the tasks given to him by the Spirit World. The adventures of Yusuke Spirit Detective begins where he fights various demons and preserves peace between both worlds. And from there, the clash of demons & humans emerges where he meets friends (Hiei & Kurama and enemies (Toguro, Sensui, & Yomi). YYH has a lot going for it because of just how old-school and badass it is. This really reminded me a lot of DBZ except the fights were shorter. Both have a nostalgic value to them and if you were to ask me, do I prefer DBZ or YYH better, I will honestly openly whole-heartedly say that I wouldn't know. I love DBZ because it was the first Anime I was introduced to and there's a lot of badass (& cheesy) moments from it's long-running fight scenes to the unorthodox humor in it. I love YYH because it was the first Anime series I got into myself (my family got me into DBZ) and, like DBZ, there's a lot of badass (& chessy) moments from it's long-running fight scenes to the unorthodox humor in it. I'd like to say there's a balance for my interests in both, but I will admit the YYH fights were much much shorter &, unfortunately, the DBZ villains are far more memorable than the villains of YYH. Now you ask me who my favorite character is, it's Hiei. Hiei is a demon and, like Byakuya Kuchiki from Bleach or Vegeta from DBZ, he's the badass. Yusuke is like the Ichigo & Goku of the team, Kuwabara is the Renji & Krillin of the team, Kurama is the Uryu & Piccolo of the team, and Orihime & Keiko are the loves interests of the protagonist. See, I just threw in 3 similarities between DBZ, Bleach, & YYH. I guess fighting Anime(s) kind of have a similar format....THAT or I'm just finding conclusions based on my own observations. Overall, YYH is one of my Favorite Action/Fighting Anime that deserves mentioning. A whole lot of nostalgia here, but I will end this post with a.....Spirit Gun!

I hope you enjoyed this week's Watch-list post. Until then, you stay classy as always. Starting next week, Watch-List posts will be on WEDNESDAYS, not Thursdays. Don't forget to check out the other Watch-list posts (in order):

1) Tenchi Muyo

2) Cowboy Bebop

3) Trigun

4) Dragonball Z

5) School Rumble 

6) Is This A Zombie?

7) Fairy Tail

8) Omamori Himari

9) FLCL

10) Gurren Lagann 

11) Shin-Chan 

12) Tenchi Muyo GXP

13) Tenchi Muyo In Tokyo

14) Power Puff Girls Z

15) Kirby!

16) Samurai Champloo 

17) Hanaukyo Maid Team 

18) True Tears 

19) Zombie Powder (Manga)

20) Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai 

21) Teen Titans
22) Yu-Gi-Oh
23) Rosario+Vampire
24) Death Note
25) Pokemon
26) Digimon
27) Big-O
28) X-Men (Anime Version)
29) D-Frag
30) Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
31) Akame Ga Kill
32) Invaders of the Rokujyōma!?
33) OniAi
34) Ben-To
35) Testament of a Sister New Devil
36) Minamoto-kun Monogatari (Manga)
37) My Love Story (Ore Monogatari!)
38) Space Dandy
39) Wanna be the strongest in the world
40) When Marnie Was There (Film ~ Studio Ghibli)
41) The Garden of Words (Film ~ Makoto Shinkai)
42) Song of the Sea (Film ~ Tomm Moore)  
43) Nagasarete Airantou
44) DBZ: Resurrection 'F' (Film)
45) Bikini Warriors (First Impressions)
46) Yu Yu Hakusho

WBCR is posted below.