Search - Yu Yu Hakusho: Season One Box Set on DVD

Thank GOODNESS another RE-RELEASE

Always Samsung | New York, NY | 05/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Yu Yu Hakusho DVDs are pretty expensive and many of the BIG box sets have been discontinued. I was so happy to see that the 1st season box set is being re-released in this affordable and more compact design. I was actually ready to buy the big old box sets from sellers on the site or from eBay but that idea has gone out the window. I haven't seen the whole series only a few of the 1st episodes of season 1 and i generally liked the series and would like to finish it and see what happens. I'm a huge fan of anime that has been animated in the 1990's. They all have a quality all their own with colors that just aren't visible in current new titles. Everything seems so computerized lately that certain artistic qualities just doesn't exist anymore. I can't wait for this release and hope they release all the other seasons as well in due time. Of course in a timely fashion and not a new season once every year."

The definitive edition.

Erik K. Olund | 07/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yu Yu Hakusho is one of my favorite anime of all time. While it's weak in plot structure, it makes up for it with interesting characters and intense battles. The 112-episode series is being re-released a la DBZ in economically friendly, multi-episode seasons. This set contains the first 28 episodes of this classic anime for one low price.

The story goes that Yusuke Urameshi, a 14-year old street fighting punk, when having a bad day, saves a young boy's life at the cost of his own. This selfless act was something no one on Earth could predict. No one in the afterlife could predict it either. Thus, the Spirit World sends a guide to tell Yusuke that he can undergo an ordeal to come back to life. And so begins the resurrection of Yusuke and his career as Detective of the Spirit World.

As I said, it's the characters and fight scenes that MAKE this series. The plot is basically one "tournament"-style battle after another. But the four main enduring fighters uplift the story with their comical arguments and moments of pure cool. There's Yusuke, the snarky lead who cares about others more than he lets on. Kuwabara, the silly comic rival of Yusuke who has a soft spot for the safety of his friends and kittens. Kurama, the cool, collected demon who tries to do all the right things. And then Hiei, the short, angry demon who loves a good fight, and holds deep respect for those he deems worthy.

For this first set, the episodes chronicle the death and resurrection of Yusuke, his first case against three demon thieves, his search for a technique-stealer amongst fighters vying for a Master's teachings, an allied assault against four demons who want to enter the Human World, a rescue mission to save an ice maiden from a greedy mobster, and the first battles of the infamous Dark Tournament.

The English dub is fantastic. As Funimation's second major feature, they demonstrated great ability in casting the key primary and secondary characters. I actually find more joy listening to the dub than the Japanese with subtitles. Most of the original voices just don't feel like they portray the characters to their full potential. Yusuke's lacks the smarmy attitude, Kurama is voiced by a woman, who can't quite pull off the deep cool that is Kurama, Kuwabara is debatable on both sides, as his original voice portrays his comical side well, but not the serious side, and his English voice sounds much deeper, but feels more adapt to all his emotions, and Hiei is the only one who has both voices pull off his angry awesomeness to full effect. Several of the minor characters have decent Japanese voices, but some have very, VERY poor voices(like Rando). Not to say that the dub is perfect, no way, because several of the street punks have unnecessary Brooklyn accents, and some characters like Sayaka and Yukina have mediocre actors.

As for the packaging, its 28 episodes on four discs. These discs are in two thin boxes, making the set very compact and easy to store. The set includes all Japanese audio, and it features subtitles for both languages. The subtitles for the Japanese audio are some of the best put together Funimation has produced. They refer to all artifacts, creatures, and places by their Romanized name(Koma no Ken, Yokai), and only when they introduce the said term that they translate it at the top, making the sub appear like a Fan-sub. Extras are sparse, which include textless opening and closing songs, meager character profiles, and trailers for upcoming Funimation titles. One thing that disappoints me is the lack of a marathon feature that Funimation has included on DBZ and One Piece sets, which allows you to view all the episodes in order without bothering with the extra openings, closings, and teasers.

However, one thing I like is that the DVD menu music is very cool. It sounds somewhat like the music from Jefferson Airship's "White Rabbit". It's the sort of music that you close your eyes and lightly bang your head to.

I highly recommend this set to any anime fan, as the fights and animation just keep getting better and better as the series goes. This is a great deal for a great anime."

The new Spirit Detective

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 05/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Life is hard, and then you die. If you're unlucky, like Yusuke Urameshi, then life gets harder AFTER you die.

In fact, death is only the beginning of his troubles in the first season of "Yu Yu Hakusho." While this action-comedy series lags during the first few episodes (seriously, a whole episode about Kuwabara's schoolwork?), it picks up considerably once the eclectic main characters are introduced, and Yusuke starts spending his time working as a spirit detective.

Despite a reputation as a hardened rebel, Yusuke was killed knocking a toddler from the path of a moving car. Turns out the afterlife, aka Spirit World, didn't expect such a selfless act -- so Spirit World's toddler ruler Koenma offers him a second chance at life, with the help of the sprightly Botan. After seeing how the people around him are responding to his death -- including his rival Kuwabara and semi-girlfriend Keiko -- Yusuke agrees.

But that's a lot easier said than done, and only another selfless act keeps Yusuke from being permanently dead. And his return is conditional -- now he's working for Koenma as Spirit Detective. And his first case is a doozy -- retrieve three stolen artifacts from a demon trio, including the ruthless Hiei and mysterious Kurama. But Yusuke soon finds that Kurama's motives are a lot more complicated than he thought -- and that Hiei has a very nasty fate in mind for Keiko.

On Koenma's orders Yusuke signs up for an aging martial-artist's Pick-A-Student competition, to hunt down a lethal demon -- and his psychic rival Kuwabara may be in danger. And when rage-inducing insects start swarming his town, Yusuke and Kuwabara are sent to stop the malevolent demon band responsible for it. What's more they have some reluctant new allies -- the paroled Hiei and Kurama.

But Yusuke receives an even more sensitive assignment after that -- rescue a beautiful ice maiden from a human crimelord. To complicate matters, Kuwabara has fallen in love with her, and she's also Hiei's twin sister. But as the boys fight their way into the fortified mansion, they can't even imagine the danger that is guarding the ice maiden... and just slavering for a fight with them.

The first season of "Yu Yu Hakusho" is all about introducing the characters, and easing Yusuke into his new role as Spirit Detective. It starts off rather slowly, with a string of episodes all about Yusuke floating around yelling at people, occasionally possessing Kuwabara and helping the big friendly lug with his homework. It's a rather bland start to an action-series.

But things start picking up when Yusuke is made Spirit Detective. Then we're treated to grotesque demonic opponents, superpowers, nasty spells, and lots of action-packed sequences involving fists, lightning, lava, swords and rose vines. And the villains get way worse with each successive battle, right up to the explosive fight at the end of the first season.

It's not all action, though. There's some romantic stuff between the bickering Yusuke and Keiko, as well as Kuwabara's adorable crush on Hiei's sister. And there's a pretty hefty dose of humor as well -- the pacifier-sucking Koenma and his overworked office ogres, Kuwabara's kitten, or Genkai's torturous training. Funny dialogue too ("We're just watching fuzz." "Fuzz, yes fuzz! We find it relaxing").

Yusuke makes a solid anti-hero, with his alcoholic mother and a mile-wide rebellious streak. While he's a bit obnoxious at first, his increasing strength and responsibility make him more likable. And his thuggish-looking classmate Kuwabara makes an unexpected ally, since he turns out to be a lot more powerful and sweet-natured than you'd expect.

The crabby, lethal Hiei is still something of an enigma here, but Kurama more than makes up for that -- he's graceful, elegant, and has a very peculiar past as a foxy thief with a rose whip. We've also got a number of interesting supporting characters, such as Botan the perky Grim Reaper, Genkai the crusty martial-artist, and the feisty Keiko who proves to be Yusuke's only weak spot.

The first season of "Yu Yu Hakusho" is there to warm up the storyline, and introduce the main characters. While the beginning is a bit slow, it's a solid beginning to a good anime."

Great series but aggravating re-release

R.B from KC | 07/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll leave others to give a synopsis of the series, and explain why you should watch this series (basically it's the quintessential shonen anime, having topped DBZ's ratings during both shows life times).

A little bit of backstory: Originally this show came out in what I believe (it's been years) were 3 episode per single DVD releases for about 20-30 bucks each (I'm not even going to get into VHS releases, if there were ever any, I can't remember them). After that run ended, they got put into season sets for about 70-100 bucks a piece. After those sets ended, YYH started to come out as sets of 14 episodes each for about 30 bucks a piece (that run just ended recently). It's for that reason that I ask...why do we need yet ANOTHER re-release of the same episodes (not even remastered like the DBZ episodes, even if that caused controversy) without any extras? Personally, I had been waiting for the 13 episode sets to finish releasing before I decided to buy them. What a waste of money it would have been, had I spent 30 dollars for 13 episodes, when this new set is 23 dollars for 28 episodes? Basically speaking, it's hard to trust that the second this FOURTH set ends, there won't be a remastered set...or a blu-ray set, or something better.

All of that said, I've put off buying YYH for many years now, and at less than a dollar per episode...there is no way I can possibly resist buying it now. I'll still wait to make sure the transfers aren't compressed to fit on fewer discs or something (someone always reviews the video quality with releases like this, and for sets, it's always smart to wait) but otherwise, I can't see anything stopping me from picking this set up. Here's hoping Season 2's set (or 3, 4, 5, etc) have some of the extras like the YYH music videos (with extra, new animation. Very rare and never dubbed into English)."