Yu Yu Hakusho (2023)

Give it a try

This review is based SOLELY on my own opinion/enjoyment of this short drama. I haven't read/watched either the manga or the anime.

What I liked:
-The special effects were good.
-I really liked the stylized outfits that the main characters wore. School uniforms with a twist?
-I liked the cinematic coloring. I don't know quite how to explain it, but the blue/gray hues used throughout, especially in the dark fight scenes, were effective.
-It was a short five episodes.

What let me down:
-Lack of character development. The focus in this drama was fighting "the big bad", and there was A LOT of fighting. Unfortunately, I felt that the characters took a back seat to the violence. As a result, I didn't feel too invested in what happened to any of the characters.
-Overacting. I think this may have been due to the fact that this was purposely comic book-like. Everything was exaggerated. The fighting, the facial expressions, the yelling, etc.

I think that if someone enjoys anime/manga, they would probably like this drama.

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Another Live Action Fail

I finally have the time to write a review for the live action iteration of the universally loved anime/manga series, Yu Yu Hakusho. It's no secret that I wasn't as overly pleased with this as I hoped I would be. But I kinda suspected I would hate it the moment I saw the trailer and found out it's only going to be 5 episodes. Yu Yu Hakusho was one of my favorite anime series back in the day so I expected so much from this.

Sadly, this live action series as a whole is mediocre at best. Not great. Not awful. Just mid. There are things I loved and things I hated with a passion. First, the positive. The action choreography is simply flawless, the long shots are fluidly executed, the creativity in how the fighters use their environment to gain advantage is pure unadulterated fun. Unfortunately, that's all it has going for it. The story is a mishmash of several story arcs that should've and could've been adapted properly if they had chosen to go with the first two arcs in the first season. The manga series is relatively short to begin with, they could've written a far better adaptation if they actually used the source material. But maybe it's a one-and-done type of series so they figured they should use elements from the other story arcs that made the series so beloved.

The characters are lackluster save for Kuwabara, who is actually my least favorite in the anime. He's the only one who goes through real character development and was the most interesting character in the whole series hands down! Yusuke is meh. Just a meathead punk I couldn't care less about. Hiei is an emo kid walking around with a humongous chip on his shoulder but you don't know why because he doesn't have a character arc unlike in the original. Genkai they just did dirty. Was I supposed to care about her? Really? I couldn't tell. Botan was not cute but annoying and the actress they chose overacted so much. Although I don't mind Keita Machida as Koenma, I wish they had opted to use his baby form instead because having a grown man walk around with a pacifier in his mouth is just gross. Toguro was not even the slightest bit intimidating and the CGI on his final form was laughable. He resembled a bread dough that has been kneaded for far too long and shaped to look like an anatomically incorrect human torso. But the biggest disappointment was Kurama. My god, why oh why did they have to cast Jun Shison for the role?! He looks like a cosplayer with a bad wig! He just doesn't look good with hair color that's not black. He is undeniably Asian-looking that whenever he dyes his hair, he looks like he's going to an anime convention wearing a cheap synthetic wig he ordered online. And the guy can't act his way out of a paper bag. There are plenty others who would've been more suitable for the part. Apart from his action stunts, which were solid by the way, he was not the Kurama I know. Faaaaaaar from it!

Maybe I'm just biased because I have fond memories of the original and I couldn't help but keep comparing the two. I wanted so badly to like this. In fact, I was looking forward to watching it. But the first episode already felt off to me. Everything seemed so cheesy from the way Yusuke acted to the dialogue and the overall vibe of the series. The CGI was hit or miss. Sometimes it appeared superbly executed, sometimes it was terribly cartoonish. If I were to rate this series, I would give it a 5.5 out of 10 for the action choreography, stunt work, and Kuwabara. It has very low rewatchability for me. I would probably just watch clips of some of the fight scenes, most especially the Yusuke versus Goki one. But that's about it.

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I viewed it as though it were something else entirely.

Learning that there would only be five episodes crushed my heart. I thought we would see more of our heroes on the screen. Having watched the anime in elementary, I wanted to learn more about them. It would be interesting to view them from a different angle and age.

To my dismay, it wasn’t the case. You will see the lost opportunity of the live action if you have watched the anime, which I highly recommend. And even though I love the “Yu Yu Hakusho” anime, that doesn’t mean I should be dismissive of the live action version. I viewed it as though it were something else entirely. To be honest, I enjoyed it. I like how they introduced our characters and made the story flow naturally even though they altered some major plot elements and arcs.

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Fast and fun

December 2023
Wow! I love fantasy and action, which this has by the bucket full.

Very fast paced once the action starts (that doesn't take too long), violent, at times gory, but it gets away with it, as it's such comic hero stuff.

I loved the bizarre characters, the weird fashion of Yusuke and Kazuma (kind of 80s) and the quirky feel that J-dramas like this almost always have; I mean, a pacifier sucking Jnr God? Fabulous.

I read a lot of on-line Chinese fantasy novels and many include Beasts that can transform into human form, which are also in this, so really my thing.

Aspects (a gambling part especially), reminded me of Squid Game (or perhaps that should be the other way around, seeing as the Manga debuted in 1991 and the anime a year later), but only for that relatively small content.

The VFX are sometimes a little bumpy, but overall it's pretty good.

I just loved that it's fast, furious and fun. The 'hero', Urameshi Yusuki, is labelled a delinquent, but is a perfect example of attitude, and the book's cover, not representing the true story. People are quick to judge and lump people together (especially when in the negative, or different/more powerful, which leads to fear and hate) and that's certainly addressed here. Keiko, Yusuke's childhood friend, can certainly hold her own too and isn't the usual simpering female we often see in certain J-dramas.

I ended up besotted with the character Kurama / Minamino Shuichi (Shison Jun). Totally delicious!

At only 5 episodes, it's certainly worth a go. I wonder if there will be more.

(I've not read or seen them, but understand the manga and anime, sadly, got wrapped up quite suddenly in 1994, with less than satisfactory endings, due to affects the pressures put on the writer by his publishers, had on his health.)

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Wants to tell a grand story and butchers it in 5 episodes.

Amazing Action scenes.

But that's it.

I only knew the manga by name but not its story... But this show tries to tell too much in 5 episodes... and among these 5 episodes, 2 episodes are for the grand final... meaning we have basically 3 episodes to introduce all the main characters, get the brunk of the main story, get attached to the characters... somehow... and be hyped for the fights... While it's visually a great live action and I feel the actors were acting manga-like... - I've read in some comments that some viewers felt the acting was bad... but I beg to differ. They're faithful to what you would get in most shounen anime. It's just that it can't work because you have to get "in the moment" and it's impossible because again they PACKED TOO MUCH in 5 episodes!

Anyway It just made me feel... nothing. Also don't get me started on the blue haired girl who literally spends her time crying when she could have helped them fight. Seriously girl? You can heal people WHAT ARE YOU DOING? But this is a shounen... and girls in shounens are only here to cry and be saved. Completely useless.

Final rating 7. It's short and bingeable... But this series is from a 19 volumes manga whose author was so tired of his editor stressing him out to add more volumes given the series success that he decided to butcher its end.
It deserved at the very least 12 episodes to develop what it tried to tell properly. It deserved better. We deserved better. But so be it.

Won't recommend this live action to anyone but if you are like me and sometimes you don't want to watch something too engaging because you just finished something very heavy, this one might do the trick in-between more engaging dramas.

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Perfect for a quick Christmas Binge

A fun action series that captures the essence of an anime/manga, featuring impressive fight scenes and endearing characters. Despite having only five episodes, it manages to generate considerable excitement for forthcoming installments. However, due to the limited number of episodes, certain aspects like character development for antagonists, side characters, and world-building are somewhat rushed. A potential second season could provide more room for these elements to unfold. In summary, it's an excellent series that sparks anticipation for the show's future and elicits my interest in exploring the anime—a perfect quick watch over the Christmas holiday.

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