Current Events > I'm a good ways into Yu Yu Hakusho S4 (Spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

And I can see why so many people have called the series a disappointment after the dark Tournament

Despite Toguro being only a B level demon, that whole final with Yusuke felt like it was the peak of power display so far. They did a great job showing the levels of power of both him and Yusuke and the stakes felt so high.

Meanwhile here I am in the middle of another tournament (which tbh feels like a desperate attempt at recapturing the charm of the dark Tournament) and in 2 seasons I feel like I havent seen the level of power or progression that the dark Tournament showed. Yusuke had that temporary super Saiyan power up at the end of s3 and even then it felt so...eh.

Also, I can't believe they Gohan'd Kuwabara of all people lol

The last arc was doomed to be half baked. Id say what we got in the anime is actually a vast improvement over the manga, because theres actually on screen content we get to watch.

It is disappointing that the idea of a three-way civil war between Yusuke, Kurama, and Hieis armies wasnt fleshed out tho

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I think the chapter black arc is really good too even if its a step down from the dark tournament

Lol what a fairly anticlimactic ending to the tournament. I get Yusuke not winning tho. He never seemed like the kind to be ruling demon world. At least him vs Yomi was fairly hype.

Also I fucking love the blue ogre guy right hand of Koenma.

I was interested in the characters enough to enjoy whatever dumb shit they came up with. Definitely worth it for the finale for me

I liked Sensui's arc

josifrees posted...

I was interested in the characters enough to enjoy whatever dumb shit they came up with. Definitely worth it for the finale for me

Ending was cute. Honestly felt like Simple and Clean was about to start playing when he showed up finally lol.

Three Kings arc is definitely a disappointment, but I've come to terms with it over the years. Togashi was hard burning out by that point, and the manga off-screen's even more of the arc. The anime team did a pretty solid job considering what little they had to work with.

The biggest reason I think YYH holds up to this day is the characters, and while the plot of the three kings arc was shafted, I think it does a great job resolving the characters inner conflicts (which is ACTUALLY what that arc is about). This is also why I'm ok with Kuwabara being side lined. At the beginning of the arc, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama were struggling with what to do with themselves, but Kuwabara didn't need to go on this journey of self discovery because he already knows EXACTLY what he wants. While the other three are fighting, Kuwabara matures and realizes faster than any of them that there's more to life than combat. It's definitely a bit unorthodox for a shonen fighting series, but I respect it. I think it highlights how sometimes when you're growing up that your closet friends can take a different path from you, but that doesn't mean it has to be the end of the friendship.

If you want more, consider reading the final volume of the manga. The three kings arc ends 2 chapters in, and the last 6 chapters + ending are notably different than the anime.

Though it was sad Yu Yu Hakusho kind of burned out like it did, I do love Hunter x Hunter so it isn't like he didn't go on to still do incredible stuff.

Huh. Didn't know HxH was from the same creator as YYH. That's cool.

And yeah I get that the last season was more of a maturing for Yusuke Hiei and Kurama. It just...felt weird lol. They set up these demon kings to be so scary and dangerous. Makuro to be this ruthless tyrant. And in the end every one of them were actually pretty reasonable.

Sensui and even Chapter Black as a whole was rather fine up until Sensui has somehow mastered a unique power because he has split personalities. That doesn't make any sense.

The show def peaks with The Dark Tournament, but I still enjoyed Chapter Black a lot.

Three Kings is arguably the weakest of the 4, but still had some good moments and overall wrapped things up decently. Mostly just felt rushed.

the last 2 episodes of the final season are legit amazing

but every thing else is yea....

the chapter black saga was ALMOST great if it had not dropped the ball on the ending

kuwabara hiei and kurama should have beat sensui which was what was built up to

but the editor had to ruin shit

The crap that came after the tournament is probably the biggest wtf fall from grace/quality for a series I've ever seen.

Gamefreak1000 posted...

Three Kings arc is definitely a disappointment, but I've come to terms with it over the years. Togashi was hard burning out by that point, and the manga off-screen's even more of the arc. The anime team did a pretty solid job considering what little they had to work with.

The biggest reason I think YYH holds up to this day is the characters, and while the plot of the three kings arc was shafted, I think it does a great job resolving the characters inner conflicts (which is ACTUALLY what that arc is about). This is also why I'm ok with Kuwabara being side lined. At the beginning of the arc, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama were struggling with what to do with themselves, but Kuwabara didn't need to go on this journey of self discovery because he already knows EXACTLY what he wants. While the other three are fighting, Kuwabara matures and realizes faster than any of them that there's more to life than combat. It's definitely a bit unorthodox for a shonen fighting series, but I respect it. I think it highlights how sometimes when you're growing up that your closet friends can take a different path from you, but that doesn't mean it has to be the end of the friendship.

If you want more, consider reading the final volume of the manga. The three kings arc ends 2 chapters in, and the last 6 chapters + ending are notably different than the anime.

I agree about Kuwabara. He was sidelined from the fighting, but it made sense. He had no business jumping into demon world politics and wars, and had learned life was more than constant fighting.

I was disappointed during my first watch, but Im glad they actually let him grow as a person and get stronger in a way that didnt involve fighting

Touch posted...

Huh. Didn't know HxH was from the same creator as YYH. That's cool.

And yeah I get that the last season was more of a maturing for Yusuke Hiei and Kurama. It just...felt weird lol. They set up these demon kings to be so scary and dangerous. Makuro to be this ruthless tyrant. And in the end every one of them were actually pretty reasonable.

I feel you. I was really digging the demon politics in the first half, and the possibility of Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei becoming enemies. The tournament was a swerve, but coulda been cool. I do like Yusuke vs Yomi, but I agree it feels off. The pacing is wack and a lot of the setup is just dropped.

On rewatches though, it's easier for me to appreciate what the arc provides, and I focus less on all the missed opportunities. I still think it's the weakest arc, but I don't dislike it anymore.

HxH is pretty cool, and I think the anime ends on a much stronger note than YYH.

Sheiky-Baby posted...

The crap that came after the tournament is probably the biggest wtf fall from grace/quality for a series I've ever seen.

Nahhh three kings was very rushed obviously, but chapter black has a lot of great moments, even if its not as consistent as dark tournament.

The series never stops being watchable/entertaining, so its nowhere near the worst offender in terms of quality decline

Touch posted...

They set up these demon kings to be so scary and dangerous. Makuro to be this ruthless tyrant. And in the end every one of them were actually pretty reasonable.

I never got this feeling at all. In fact, I had the opposite thought.

So you have these two new upcoming Demon Rulers who just reach that level of power somewhat recently. The 3rd Ruler was from the old days and they were so afraid of him that the BEST strategy they had for him was basically wait for him to die.

They were AFRAID of this guy who's at death's door from starvation. To me, that just feels like they were punks who would have no chance against this guy if he was healthy.

The series was supposed to end at the Sensui arc because Togashi was tired of working on it, but Jump convinced him to do one more arc, which led to the Three Kings.

That explains why bullshit like Yusuke being part demon came out of nowhere.

Wonder if the author would rewrite the three kings arc now days, would it been much better? The Sensui arc never bothered me and outside the ending being slightly rushed, it was good.