While I'll have to agree the animation isn't exactly anything special, I trust you considered the anime was made in the early-to-mid 90s? More modern anime is able to make use of many more techniques and resources than in those days, so it generally all looks miles better than older stuff.
The Three Kings arc was expanded on even less in the manga. All things considered, whoever was in charge of the anime did a good job.
Yeah, it's a good, solid, classic shonen.
Eat before shopping. If you go to the store hungry, you are likely to make unnecessary purchases.
About the ridiculous enemies: One of them was a Deconstruction of God Mode Stu. In that sense, it's still more realistic than DBZ, plus Demon World is kind of...not Earth, so the rules for what's possible on Earth don't really apply there.
Heaven doesn't want me, and Hell's afraid I'll take over.
Seemed like a good review but you spoiled the final fight....
Being different =/= Being good
I read YYH and didn't watch the anime, so maybe I'm missing something... But it really isn't that sophisticated in comparison to others. There's plenty of Shounen that also have complex villains, problems for the hero caused by their own impulsiveness, and even heroes losing in the final part isn't surprising; hell, Pokemon has it every season, from what I've heard.
I still like YYH, but I hardly think it's somehow more sophisticated than all other Shounen.
Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.
@Scardoll
Compared to, say, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho is sophisticated as hell
Bleach isn't exactly a role model of sophistication.
@eveil
I think that was the point :P
I never saw it as a deconstruction, even now I don't, though spirit energy does sound more realistic than "Power levels" or Ki or whatever. You've gotta wonder if people being able to harness power like that are something other than normal, like those who can see ghosts.
One thing I hate about Bleach is how stupid and violent most of the characters are, never hesitating to beat each other senseless for the most trivial reasons, fighting aside. It was refreshing to not see that so much in Yu Yu Hakusho. Shizuru was pretty much the worst of that sort of thing.
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Most Sophisticated Shonen?
Yu Yu Hakusho is a Deconstruction of the classic shonen. Lets start, hero: dickish, violent, obsessed with fighting, spends large amounts of time training. Now most heroes would pass through life with no consequences for their actions, but Yusuke's only friends he can only relate to with violence and spends so much time training he almost loses the only person who actually loves him. The enemies aren't evil for shits and giggles, they have to eat humans to live. Also the series subverts many tropes, the final fight? He loses, but the outcome of the battle didn't matter, only the fact that he fought it.
You can avoid the questions that this series asks, and it isn't bad in terms of straight up punching action, but by ignoring the queries Yu Yu Hakusho raised, you miss out on a lot of what makes this show awesome.
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Together, it's one of the best anime's I've ever seen, with a lot of intellect and a fun and engaging plot.