Matching the intensity and the style of anime fights in live-action is incredibly difficult, not to say impossible, but Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho show came close to it. While One Piece season 1 dominated the conversation in 2023 when it came to live-action anime adaptations, a different Netflix production delivered a solid take on another beloved shonen. Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the most influential anime series of the 1990s, finally received a live-action adaptation in the form of a five-episode Netflix series produced in Japan. While the show had problems, its fight scenes were spectacular.
Yu Yu Hakuho's live-action show only having five episodes was surprising and played against the adaptation. The show felt like two feature-length movies split into five chapters, which resulted in very fast pacing but led to some big changes to the source material. That said, it’s impossible to look at a Yu Yu Hakusho adaptation without discussing the fight scenes, and the Netflix series did not disappoint in that regard. Both the fight choreography and the visual effects were on point.
Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho Live-Action Fights Felt Like Anime Brought To Life
Yu Yu Hakusho Live-Action Got The Fight Scenes Right
Anime fights have a very unique style to them and are usually defined by a lot of energy and a sense of speed. Of course, every series has its own style, with each animator doing something different. However, some recurrent aspects in shonen anime fights can be found in virtually every series, from Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z to Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer. Replicating that style in live-action is very difficult and has arguably never been done. However, some projects came close, and that includes Yu Yu Hakusho.
Netflix's
Yu Yu Hakusho
technically covered the first 66 episodes of the anime, although it merged a few arcs and skipped over others.
The action in Yu Yu Hakusho's live-action show may not have felt as fantastical and larger than life as the ones in the anime, but the outstanding fight choreography made up for it. From the clash between Yusuke and his zombified friend to the final battle against Toguro, Yu Yu Hakusho delivered one great hand-to-hand fight after another. Even when the fights were full of visual effects – such as when Kurama fought Karasu – they still felt grounded and featured incredible choreography. The fights in Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho fit the tone of a live-action show while honoring the anime.
Yu Yu Hakusho’s Fight Scenes Are What Live-Action Anime Should Look Like
Solid Fight Choreography And Clever Editing Go A Long Way
Given that it is arguably impossible to fully replicate the style and the looks of an anime fight in live-action, adaptations like Netflix’s One Piece or the upcoming Naruto film must find clever ways of honoring their source material. The personality of the characters and the pacing of the story are obviously very important, but so is the quality of the action scenes and how well they resemble what was done in the manga or the anime. Yu Yu Hakusho left a lot to be desired in some aspects, but it at least delivered great fights throughout.
It seemed like Netflix’s
Yu Yu Hakusho
wanted to leave no room for a second season, opting instead to wrap up the stories of Yusuke and his friends within five episodes
Finding the balance between good fight scenes and nailing everything else is not easy. For example, although Netflix’s One Piece is arguably the best Hollywood live-action anime adaptation, it did not have any remarkable fights in the first season. Zoro versus Mihawk was well-choreographed but did not really feel like an anime fight. Likewise, Arlong didn’t feel as powerful in live-action as he did in the source material. Interestingly, One Piece star Mackenyu teased that season 2 will have better fights.
Yu Yu Hakusho Was Not A Perfect Adaptation (Despite Its Amazing Fight Scenes)
Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho Changed Too Many Things From The Anime
Unfortunately, although Yu Yu Hakusho had great fights, it was not the best possible live-action version of Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga. The show made way too many changes to the source material, some of which completely altered the structure of the story and made it impossible for the Netflix series to be an accurate live-action of the manga. While some small changes made sense – such as using Koenma’s adult form right from the start – others were difficult to understand. This includes skipping over the Dark Tournament and condensing the whole story into five episodes.
Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho makes major changes to the anime, especially in the final episode, with one of Yusuke’s best fights happening quite early.
It seemed like Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho wanted to leave no room for a second season, opting instead to wrap up the stories of Yusuke and his friends within five episodes. The final battle between Yusuke and Young Toguro, which only happens at the end of the Dark Tournament in the anime, happened at the end of season 1 as the heroes tried to rescue Hiei’s sister. Given how they all looked great and the fights were all fun, it’s disappointing that Yu Yu Hakusho live-action couldn’t live up to the anime.
Yu Yu Hakusho is a live-action adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi manga series of the same name. The series focuses on a teenager who dies while trying to save a young boy only to be resurrected and become a supernatural investigator. The series stars Takumi Kitamura, Shuhei Uesugi, Jun Shison, and Kanata Hongō.
Custom image by Milica Djordjevic
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