T w e n t y S i d e d
It’s time to admit what a fraud I am. I’ve been leading you all on, leaving you with the impression that I am a discriminating otaku with a taste for thoughtful, intelligent anime. It’s time to pull away the mask and admit that I’ve watched Yu Yu Hakusho. Specifically, I watched the 7-disc “Chapter Black” saga in just two sittings.
If Haibane Renmei is Masterpiece Theater, then Yu Yu Hakusho is Clown Midget Jello Wrestling. This is not top-shelf anime. It isn’t even bottom shelf. This is the sort of anime you take off the shelf and hide when friends come over so they don’t know you like it.
This is about the fourth time I’ve sat down to write about this series. Every time I try, it all comes out as a scathing review that tears the show apart and catalogues its many flaws. That isn’t really fair, since I couldn’t stop watching it.
The plot:
Yusuke Urameshi is a high school student who is also a “spirit detective”. He works for some people in “spirit world”, which is a heaven-ish sort of afterlife place. He’s called a detective, but he’s loud, profane, rude, and taken to punching things that annoy him, so he isn’t really much of a detective. The plot seems to be: Some powerful supernatural being threatens earth: Yusuke punches his way through his minions with much bravado and angst, and then faces the bad guy in a cataclysmic battle using energy blasts and intense shouting.
Why do I like this? I think I’ll cite Steven’s review of Dragonball Z:
I couldn’t stop watching. At the end of one show it would really look like the team was screwed. How will they get out of this one? It strung me along to the end as the fighters stumbled from one frantic battle to the next.
It has all the classic cliche’s. The more desperate the situation, the stronger the heroes become. Foes love to tell the protagonists their super powers before a battle, making sure to mention their limitations, goals, how they got their powers, and what their weaknesses are. It’s disguised as trash talk, but it’s really just exposition delivered by yelling and / or maniacal laughter. Once the audience knows the rules, the combatants get to it and punch, kick, and energy-blast the ever-loving crap out of each other.
Admit it. You have a show you like as a guilty pleasure. A show you like even though you know better. C’mon. You know you do. What is it? Confess in the comments below. You’ll feel better, and so will I.
