Parading on its success with One Piece 2023. Netflix has announced yet another live-action adaptation. Coming hot this time, the classic detective series Yu Yu Hakusho is finally coming to the live-action scene. Not much has been revealed, yet the information in hand already appears to make the series promising. Let’s dive into it!
Yu Yu Hakusho
Urameshi Yuusuke is delinquent with no promising future ahead. All he does is create a mess. The Spirit Realm was eager to take his spirit in, yet when he died while saving a kid, they had a change of heart. Giving him another chance at life, Koena, heir to the throne of the Spirit Realm tasks him with a series of cases. He has to solve these cases and thwart the evil presence on Earth as a Spirit Detective.
He enlists his ex-rival, Kuwabara Kazuma, and two demons, Kurama and Hiel. He is also guided by the death God, Botan. Together, they fight evil spirits and protect the earth. The show has amazing fight scenes, being one of the classic Shonen series like Dragon Ball. It also has heartbreaking character developments, such that one tissue box won’t suffice.
The Live-Action
Netflix announced a live-action series scheduled for December. The first episode will air on December 14th, 2023. Netflix will be the only streaming platform for the show. The show will be directed by Sho Tsukikawa, the same person who directed the live-action adaptations of My Little Monster and I Want To Eat Your Pancreas. Yoshihiro Togashi will be working closely with Tatsuro Mishima. This ensures fans that the essence of the story won’t be forsaken, unlike other live-actions.
More than three decades after Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi first captured the imagination of readers, the beloved manga gets a live-action adaptation.
Yu Yu Hakusho premieres December 14! pic.twitter.com/KUpeSuLXPB
— Netflix (@netflix) October 11, 2023
Only four of the cast members have been revealed:
- Takumi Kitamura as Urameshi Yuusuke: The Actor has previously worked as Haruki in I Want To Eat Your Pancreas live-action and as Takemichi in Tokyo Revengers live-action.
- Kanata Hongo as Hiel: The Actor has previously worked as Envy in Fullmetal Alchemist live-action and as Kamakiri Chameleon Augment-01 in Shin Kamen Rider live-action.
- Jun Shison as Kurama: The Actor has previously worked as Masa in The Way of the Househusband live-action and as Yukiatsu in Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day live-action.
- Shuhei Uesugi as Kuwabara Kazuma: The Actor has previously worked as the Man in Business Suit in Shin Kamen Rider live-action.
The cast looks promising, with Yuusuke’s actor having experience acting as both a delinquent and a mature character. The show is in good hands. More information will slowly reveal itself in time, the most important casting that we await is one of Botan.
Another thing that is promising is Spiel Anime’s Newsletter. It brings fun, detailed, and crispy anime content to your fingers, TWICE A WEEK!
Fan’s reception to the news
A mix-response has been seen from Fans. As excited as they are to have their classic favorite back on the big screens, they are skeptical of the production value of the show. Anime live-action has a tradition of ruining the source material, fans can rest easy with this one. After breaking the live-action curse of years, the show is only a Netflix exclusive, however, the entire production is being kept in the hands of a Japanese Production House.
Japanese productions might not have a good track record either with live actions, yet one thing that they can be lauded on is their consistency with the source material. With the author of the series working closely behind the production of the show, good things are expected to come out of it.
Conclusion
Netflix recently has been hitting the spot with anime. As such, the recent announcement has mostly been taken as a win by the community, with hopes that the curse of live-action will break once again.