Yu Yu Hakusho is an excellent adaptation.

 

To be completely honest, I was not at all hyped for the Yu Yu Hakusho live-action adaptation when it was first announced. I didn't think a good enough live-action could be produced, especially one that was faithful to the source material. On top of that, hearing that it was only 5 episodes was also very concerning. 5 episodes to cover a classic like Yu Yu Hakusho? Seems like a recipe for disaster. Then, I heard Netflix would be releasing it worldwide. That compounded my trepidation as Netflix can be very hit and miss when it comes to such shows or just in general. Finally, after putting it off for a few months, I finally took the plunge after hearing good things about it. I ended up loving it! 

Yusuke Urameshi was a delinquent. He rarely went to school and often found himself in trouble. Following an eventful day in which he saved a schoolmate from bullies who were extorting him, Yusuke died saving a boy from getting run over by a truck being driven by a man infected by a Yokai creating bug. Rather than being sent to Heaven or Hell, Yusuke is offered the chance to be resurrected if he becomes a Spirit Detective, working for Botan and Koenma. At first he refuses, believing that people would be relieved and happy that he's dead. That is until he attends his own wake and sees the reaction of the people he knew. 

Of course, with the drama only having 5 episodes, the whole story could not be told completely faithfully to the manga and anime that came before it. The plot therefore is very much condensed and streamlined. I think that it was perhaps to do with the budget with the CGI being quite expensive and limiting what they could do. The way the story is told, I found worked quite well and in a manner that was easy to keep up with, especially for those that are perhaps unfamiliar with the manga and anime. The lack of explanation regarding how and why the Human, Demon and Spirit worlds exist and work actually added to the intrigue. The air of mystery that it created with the subtle hints of exposition actually helped me enjoy it more than if everything was explained away. It also had an emotional impact for me at least, particularly in the funeral scene and even in the climatic fight. 

Also helping my enjoyment of the series was the fact that the main characters had been aged up. In the anime and manga, Yusuke and the others are all 14 and I much prefer the fact that they're 17 in the live-action as it is more believable when it comes to the fighting and emotional depth. I would not have enjoyed it had the live-action kept the cast being 14 year olds, it just wouldn't appeal to me at all. The costumes were also pretty solid for the most part, Yusuke and Kuwabara both really looked the part as delinquents. Plus, black and green is my favourite colour scheme, so of course I'd like Yusuke's uniform and Keiko's too! However, Kurama's hair was a very noticeable red wig and it could at times be distracting. The same could be said about Koenma's pacifier. It looked like a cosplay rather than a full on production, but that was always going to happen unless the actors all dyed their hairs and had them styled which could also look pretty terrible if done wrong. 

Sho Tsukikawa did a fantastic job with his direction. He managed to pull some rather emotional performances out of his talented cast and also managed to tell the narrative in a smooth, streamlined manner thanks to help from the tight script written by Tatsuro Mishima. One of the major strengths of the adaptation is the exquisite cinematography. Tuskikawa framed the narrative with a dynamic array of fluid moving shots, various angles, depth perceptions, techniques and the camera was only ever completely still when it was necessary. There's so many beautiful shots in the drama that it's hard to name them all. My personal favourites shots occur in episode 3. As Genkai awaits her fate, the once bright and vibrant dojo becomes dim and lit only by the heavy strikes of thunder and lightning. The picturesque wide angle shot of Genkai sitting in the dimly lit dojo as the thunder and lightning light the scenes through the windows is like a painting come to life. The following shot is just as pretty, with the camera moving over the shoulder of Genkai, the following thunder strike lighting the doorway to reveal the figure standing within. 

Perhaps the live action's strongest strength was the many fight scenes within each episode. There was a plethora of fight scenes and they surprised me. The choreography was very creative and inventive, fluid and moved at a swift pace for a majority of the fights. It made use of the fact that most of the combatants were not human with some wirework and usage of unusual weapons being used to great effort. My favourite fight scene came within the very first episode as it was the most brutal and most realistic of them all, also quite bloody. The choreography also was accompanied by the usage of some darkened lighting which upped the intensity whilst also helping the visual effects look pretty dang good. It didn't hide the effects, but highlighted their best qualities. 

Takumi Kitamura as Yusuke Urameshi serves as the lynchpin of the drama. He portrays the delinquent with a heart of gold tremendously well and differs it from his roke in Tokyo Revengers by not being reluctant to fight, but instead being competent at it and always ready. There's a deep sadness withing him at the very start, almost depression one could say and it's the fighting supernatural Yokai, helping Keiko, Kuwabara, Kurama and Heiei that brings out his true, kind-hearted self. His protection of others is admirable and makes him the perfect protagonist. He also had some nice chemistry with the dependable Sei Shiraishi, who portrayed the loving friend and strong woman, Keiko Yukimura with fervour. 

Also a standout was Shuhei Uesugi as the very lovable delinquent, Kazuma Kuwabara. He started out as merely Yusuke Urameshi's rival, one that fought him at every opportunity that he could, but over the course of the series, he began to see Yusuke as more of a friend, sort of, but one that he still wanted to surpass in strength. He respected Yusuke and would aid him whenever possible, which was cool to see. Him instantly falling head over heels for Yukina was hilarious with the slow-motion cliqued scene and everything, a nice contrast to his much more badass moments. 

Go Ayano was a menacing presence as the hulking, brooding, cold antagonist, Toguro. He didn't have a whole lot to work with, but he made the most of what he was given and I think he made his material work. He always seemed like a threat and stood head and shoulders above the rest of the antagonists with a tragic backstory to boot. It would have been nice to have had some more time with which to fully explore his backstory as it would have made the climax of his involvement in the plot hit harder, but alas, that wasn't to be. 

Overall, the adaptation is not perfect and it attempted to cram over 66 episodes of the anime into 5 episodes of a drama. Having said that, I think that it is still a really worthwhile attempt and a thrill watch that is full of well-choreographed action sequences, great performances from a talented cast, the well done narrative that was easy to follow and the fact that it'll introduce more people to the source material.