Throw-Back Thursday Review: YuYu Hakusho V.02 - Lonesome Ghosts

Title: Yu Yu Hakusho
Volume: 2 (of 19)
Creator: Yoshihiro Togashi
Format: Unflipped
Original Publisher: SHUEISHA Inc.
US Publisher: VIZ
Release Date: 6/30/03
Pages: 199
ISBN: 1569319049
MSRP: $7.95
Genre: Shonen Jump
Rated: T (Teens)

Description: It was a typical day for Yusuke — go to school at noon, get kicked out by the teacher, fight with his rival Kuwabara, and head for home in time to wake his mom from her drunken stupor. But when he throws himself in front of a car to save a little kid’s life, he becomes Tokyo’s toughest teenage ghost! While his childhood friend Keiko grieves over his comatose body, Yusuke has one chance to return to life: raise a “spirit egg” at the behest of the comely Botan (aka Death) and her boss Koenma, lord of the infernal bureaucracy. But the creature that hatches from the spirit egg will be determined by the good or evil in Yusuke’s soul — if he’s not careful, he could create a monster!

Contains Chapters 1-8:

• Chapter 1: Goodbye, Material World!
• Chapter 2: Test for Resurrection!!
• Chapter 3: Time for Departure!!
• Chapter 4: The Old Dog and the Boy
• Chapter 5: Her First Christmas!
• Chapter 6: The Lonely Journey
• Chapter 7: The Promise!
• Chapter 8: The Temporary Resurrection (Part 1)

Review:

Cover Art: The first Volume of Yu Yu Hakusho is identical to the Original Version. The main pic has a sky like border. It has a profile shot of Yusuke, and in front of him appears to be Keiko with a worried expression on her face (probably because she found out what happened to Yusuke in this chapter). The title Yu Yu Hakusho is on the top with blue and yellow coloring. The cover as a whole is black with a blue tint. The bottom has the Mangaka’s name, followed by the Volume Number.

The Spine is white. It has the “Shonen Jump” initial logo (SJ) in blue and white. Underneath hat is the title, Yu Yu Hakusho, the Volume Number (again!), and the Mangaka. The pic on this volume is Yusuke. He has a blue tint to him.

The back is the same color as the front, black with a blue tint. The top has the title, Yu Yu Hakusho, followed by the Volume Title, Goodbye, Material World!, followed by the Volume Summary. We also get the Volume Number (yet again!) and a pic of Yusuke trying to look scary.

I am really getting tired of how VIZ structures their manga covers. All their new covers have the Volume Number and Series Title at every corner. This gets a little annoying. Tokyopop has the Series Title and Volume Number on just the front and the spine, while VIZ goes to the limit and spams every corner of their mangas.

Artwork: Volume 1’s Artwork I did not care for that much. Togashi did not stay consistent with. While some of the chapters have art that seems to be new and fresh, others look grainy and chalk like.

Translation: The Translation of Yu Yu Hakusho stays true to the original, except for the Sound Effects, which are dubbed English. They can be dealt with, but it does ruin the artwork, in my opinion.

Content (Warning: May Contain Spoilers): I fell in love with Yu Yu Hakusho back in the Mid-90s. It was not just the plot that pulled me in, but the characters. The characters are so well driven and have great personalities, who can’t fall in love with at least one.

This Volume begins the series. Yusuke, the main character gets hit by a car as he saves a little boys life, who ran in the street for a ball. After Yusuke dies he meets Botan, the grim reaper, who she takes Yusuke to see the son of Lord Enma, Koenma. Koenma tells Yusuke that he wasn’t supposed to die, so he gives Yusuke an egg that Yusuke must do good deeds in order for it to hatch. If Yusuke does enough good deeds, Yusuke can be resurrected. If he does bad deeds, a monster will hatch and devour Yusuke’s spirit.

So, Yusuke has to return to the real world and tell his loved ones about the situation at hand. Yusuke enters his rival’s body, Kuwabara, and finds the women he loves, Keiko, and tells her that he will be back on Earth soon. Yusuke then leaves Kuwabara and begins his quest for resurrection.

This whole volume is all filler episodes on how Yusuke does good deeds in order for his resurrection. The last chapter though is part 1 of a 2 part mini-series. Yusuke gets a chance to be alive for one day, in order to revitalize his physical body. In this little time, Keiko gets kidnapped by a local gang. Yusuke can not save her either, cause if he lets Keiko see him, he will not be revived.

This volume was a little slow. The last chapter was a little interesting. It leaves you wanting to finish the mini-series, as well as finish the whole ARC on Yusuke being dead. I admit, I don’t really care for the beginning part of Yu Yu Hakusho, however stick with it. Yu Yu Hakusho has a great story and it does get better in future Volumes (it gets good starting with Volume 3).

Objectionable Content:

• Language: Yes
• Violence: Yes
• Nudity: No
• Sexual Situation: No

Where Purchased: Orbits (Local Anime Store)
Overall Rating: 1 (Out of 5)

Original Review Date: 11/9/03