THE BACK COVER
From cutting classes to brawling in the streets, Yusuke Urameshi is not your typical role model. In face, this kid’s nothing more than a fourteen-year-old delinquent with a talent for trouble. But in a single selfless act Yusuke dies while saving another. For such noble sacrifice he is given a second chance at life, but it’s to be a life far different than the one left behind. Now a Spirit Detective, the young man must track down demons and humans alike who desire to rule over the three realms of reality.
Granted with amazing new powers to be used in the cause of good versus evil, Yusuke sets out on his first assignment. He will gather together those who will fight alongside him: Kuwabara, Yusuke’s intellectually challenged formal rival from high school; Kurama, an infamous thief from the Demon World who inhabits a human body; and Hiei, a hot-headed demon skilled with both the sword and the third eye. Together, these four set forth to do battle with monsters, beasts and men.
Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Language: English, Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of Discs: 4
Rating: TV PG
Studio: FUNimation Prod.
Run Time: 620 minutes
THE REVIEW!
Every member of the YYH Brigade should know that I am a big fan of Yu Yu Hakusho, especially since I founded the Brigade. I was really looking forward to this box set since it is affordable and part one of four box sets. This series is packed with action, adventure, and kick-butt super-powered martial arts, and with individual designs and personalities, it is easy to find a favorite character.
NOTE: This review is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “poor” and 5 being “excellent”.
AUDIO – 5 out of 5
There is no cheap voice acting here! Celebrate right now. I have seen many great anime go down the drain when dubbed due to poor voice acting. As for sound quality, it is very crisp and clear. However, volume tends to go down, and get on your nerves, when characters are talking from a distance and you need to pay close attention to him or her to understand them. Honestly, I like the English voice actors more than the Japanese ones (their Japanese voices make the characters sound stereotypical and it does not fit their character).
The music is also great. Though you may not realize it, all characters have a theme song which, along with other music, is used as background music. The ironic catch? Just because it is the certain character’s theme does not meant it is used specifically for that character. For example, Hiei’s theme is used for action while Yusuke’s them is used for thought or during conversation. Another interesting note, all background music are entirely instrumentals, which is something that differs from today’s anime.
The opening and ending theme are translated, and best of all is that it does not butcher the original theme. The theme are almost sung in a way which practically mirrors its Japanese counterpart with very talented artists (do not ask me who sings them; it is still a mystery to me).
VIDEO – 4 out of 5
This series first aired in 1992, so keep in mind that there were no fancy computers (that includes CGI) to aid the animators. Yu Yu Hakusho is drawn through the way of cel art, which is the reason the animation is so much different than today’s (from somewhat cheesy action backgrounds to overall style). However, the animation is still vivid and fluid.
You can tell the animator is still doing touch-ups to the main characters, as you will see their design change throughout the first season. The art, however, does mature as the series progresses.
PACKAGING – 3 out of 5
Unfortunately, my box set (which I pre-ordered through Amazon.com) was treated a bit rough by the packaging machines. The DVD cases were punctured in several areas, torn, and the prongs that hold the DVD to the case broke as soon as I opened it (not exaggerating). But I do not know if this was bad luck or if everyone’s is like this so I am moving on.
The box art is eye appealing and has a nice layout to it. And the two slim-case DVDs have nice artwork on the front that were taken from two of the original DVD covers, and the back of the case is simple yet creative. The case is clear, and the inside of the cover shows nice line art of Team Urameshi.
Unfortunately, the case is only three-fourths of an inch wide and has trouble standing up on its own, and I have to place it in between two of my larger boxes. The back of the two DVD cases are mislabeled: Disc 1 contains episodes 1-8 (not 1-7), Disc 2 contains episodes 9-14 (not 8-14), Disc 3 contains episodes 15-22 (not 15-21), and Disc 4 contains episodes 23-28 (not 22-28). This looks like laziness because instead of printing what was actually on each disc, they divided 28 by 4. A note on episodes 1-28 as the “First Season”, Season One officially ends with episode 25, not 28.
In my opinion, FUNimation should have released the series in a Box Set similar to the Kiddy Grade one I own. It should have four (or Five) DVD cases, each containing a different season, and each having four DVDs inside nicely layered on both sides of the case, and put into one box. The DVD cover should be the same as the box art cover. It would approximately be the same size of all four box sets right now and be a bit more convenient and appealing.
MENUS – 4 out of 5
The menus are simple, yet elegant. Don’t expect the kind from the original box sets though. Each menu features a main character with an elaborate background (a mix of blues). The art is very clean and clear and is one of their, as I refer to it as, “promotional” artwork. It is nice to look at without all the text over it that you find in magazines. The menus itself is also very simple since so much memory is being compressed on to one disc. The episodes menu is just a list of episodes with no chapter selection, and jumping chapters manually takes a good deal of time. Only even-numbered DVDs have extras.
EXTRAS – 2 out of 5
Standard extras: clean opening and ending themes, trailers, and character profiles. Discs One and Three only have trailers. Discs Two and Four have the actual extras. The clean opening and ending themes are nice to look at; the profiles cover any character that makes a difference in the First Season.
What I miss is the translation notes, which were on all of the original DVDs. They provided useful information on text and some names, since text itself is left in the original Japanese format (not including credits) during the show. Another prediction is also the loss of interviews or commentaries the original DVDs have. This is also probably due to the massive amount of memory needed to be written on the DVD.
CONTENT– 5 out of 5
28 uncut episodes are in this box set. The plot moves right along and features officially five different arcs (three episodes of the Dark Tournament arc are also included).
Things that now would be called a cheap ratings boosting trick in which your main character is dead as soon as the series starts. Especially since the main character is your “anti-hero” street punk. However Yu Yu Hakusho is able to pull this off beautifully as it turns out not everyone is as they seem and works emotions into the series without being cheesy or overly-dramatic. It eventually works its way from the afterlife into the martial arts world and battling demons and heartless humans who abuse demons. It is not necessarily your black-and-white good versus evil anime.
I first watched this on Cartoon Network and I was immediately hooked with the first episode I watched (in the mid-late first season). I liked the show for its raw power of attacks and its creativity, and though it is inevitable that the heroes will overall win in the end, each individual hero might not win. Plus, it works some well placed witty lines in battles that would normally be tense, and the series knows how to create excitement.
OVERALL – 3.8 out of 5
All together, I would have to say that the Season One Box Set is great if you want only the episodes. However, the series itself is great and the dub stands side-by-side with the original Japanese version. Plus, any anime that could rival the Dragonball Series at its peak is an extraordinary anime. The plot moves along and tends not to dwell in one place for two long. The battles are always something new and often-times will surprise you with its writer’s creative thinking. Recommended.
