Search - Yu Yu Hakusho, Vol. 1-14: First Battles on DVD

A Yu Yu Heaping

Antonio D. Paolucci | Beaver Falls, PA | 06/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yu Yu Hakusho: First Battles will do two things: the first, it will give all those people who enjoyed the series but never collected it an opportunity to buy it from the start, and second, it will anger a lot of the fans who bought every separate DVD release or box set over the past couple years. I happen to be in the first category, and I think this was a brilliant release of a series that I got into because of the excellent action and strangely interweaving story.

Yu Yu Hakusho has probably the strangest beginning for an action anime ever created. It starts out somewhat dramatic, with a punk kid, Yusuke, getting hit by a car. From there, he must attempt to earn back his life from the gods of death. He must perform a series of tasks and the like in order to achieve this. The subtitle for Yu Yu Hakusho, Ghost Files, made a lot of sense when you consider the beginning. But after Yusuke goes about getting his life back, he becomes a spirit detective and fights in a series of battles in order to either a) stop a demon criminal or, b) gain more power. It doesn't fit, and that is the only reason why I gave this series a four rather than a five, for the incongruous start.

Still, the heaping of Yu Yu episodes in this DVD set makes up for that, as it quickly gets past the early part to the spirit detective part. This DVD contains the first fourteen episodes, and go as listed:

1. Surprised To Be Dead
2. Koenma Appears
3. Kuwabara: A Promise Between Men
4. Requirements for Lovers
5. Yusuke's Back
6. Three Monsters
7. Gouki and Kurama
8. The Three Eyes of Hiei
9. The Search Begins
10. Kuwabara's Spirit Sword
11. Hard Fights for Yusuke
12. Rando Rises, Kuwabara Falls
13. Yusuke vs. Rando: 99 Attacks
14. The Beasts of Maze Castle

FUNimation knows how to please it fans--for the most part; the insane amount of episodes for the cheap price is definitely proof of that. With maybe a few odd moments of voice-acting (such as Botan's continually shifting accent), this series was surprisingly well-done. If you haven't already started collecting the set and you're a fan of Yu Yu's days on Cartoon Network, then now is the perfect time to get this set."

The Start to an Excellent Story

Dylan | Pennsylvania, United States | 04/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In Yu Yu Hakusho: First Battles, you'll get the first fourteen episodes of the show in both English and Japanese with subtitles. This show is a terrific anime full of interesting characters and entertaining stories. Specifically, this first volume focuses on setting up the story. You'll see how the main character, Yusuke Urameshi, becomes a Spirit Detective and how he does in his first two cases.

The show is about the main character, Yusuke Urameshi, a 14 year old young man with a lack of ambition and hatred for authority figures. He is seen by most as a trouble maker known for loving to fight and skipping school. A classmate and future friend of his, Kuwabara, constantly challenges him to fights and has yet to win. Only a girl named Kaeko sees some good in Yusuke whom she has known since they were children. Yusuke's mother is a bit of a slush, but truly cares about him. With a personality and background such as this, Yusuke doesn't fit the bill of your typical hero...until strangely enough, he dies.

Saving a child from a car crash, Yusuke unexpectedly gives up his life. He meets Botan, the Grim Reaper and Koenma, prince of the Spirit Realm. In honor of his noble deed, Yusuke is allowed to attempt a test to come back to life. At first he thinks he and everyone else would be better off with him dead, but when he sees the pain his family and friends experience with him gone, he takes the test. Eventually, Yusuke succeeds, but the adventure is just beginning. Having experienced death, Yusuke comes back to life with an unusualy high awareness of the supernatural. He can see things others can't and Koenma recruites him to be Spirit Detective of Earth, but can Yusuke do his job without dieing...again?

Like a said, a pretty interesting story! The characters are fascinating with some sweet, others hilarious, and others disturbing. 14 episodes for this price is a great deal too. If you like DBZ or Inuyasha, you'll love Yu Yu Hakusho. The extras are lacking, but I bought this show for the episodes themselves so I don't really mind this, but others might. To be honest, a review can't do the show justice, so just get it and watch it yourself. It shouldn't take long for you to see why it deserves 5 stars."

Lets you complete the series quickly

Bryce Campbell | 01/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll agree that this will make those that already have the older individual DVDs hate it, but this serves as another purpose other than for those who began to collect the Yu Yu Hakusho episodes. If you missed out on buying all 32 DVDs and still want to have the complete series, these sets are worth it."