A REVIEW OF YU YU HAKUSHO’S CHAPTER BLACK ARC

TONY T. - Managing Editor, 3rd Year, Economics and Data Science

"I don’t like writing reviews but here’s a review of something I like."

Yu Yu Hakusho is a fantastic battle shounen story. The first arc, while clearly the vestige of a completely different series in its far more episodic plots, works well as an introduction to the central cast members, their eccentricities, and the world itself. It shifts rather smoothly into the second and perhaps most iconic arc. The Dark Tournament is fantastic in its emulation of the formula that Dragon Ball’s Tenkaichi Budokai arcs functioned, while also developing a concurrent sideplot that fleshed out the setting as something far more complex than it initially seems. The series’ conclusion, the Three Kings storyline, is admittedly a bit stilted in how it abruptly ends, but the abnormal pacing is something that admittedly gives it some charm for me. It concludes the series’ plotlines, particularly that of protagonist Urameshi Yuusuke coming of age, rather well; the bizarre way in which the events play out may not necessarily be amazing storytelling, but it does somewhat fit the series.

While I enjoy the entirety of Yu Yu Hakusho, the portion that I find generally stands out is the Chapter Black arc of the story. Especially in the West, modern battle shounen seem to always be marketed on how they stand out from the rest of the genre, with almost every lauded title described as being somehow subversive or deconstructive. If it were released today, Yu Yu Hakusho’s Chapter Black arc would likely be evidence used to prove this point. Heck, I don’t really keep up with mainstream discourse on anime, this argument may already be in play. I feel that these types of discussions hold little merit and in actuality serve to hurt the medium of animation from achieving further acclaim as a form of art. Still, I find that the Chapter Black storyline embodies most of Yu Yu Hakusho’s strengths in a concise package, perhaps more so in its animated adaptation.

In contrast to the prior arc, Chapter Black’s antagonist is something slightly less physical. Don’t get me wrong, the arc still ultimately comes down to protagonist Urameshi Yusuke fighting against an antagonistic force. But in comparison to the Dark Tournament’s Toguro, whose presence as a villain was at least slightly down to his intimidating muscular frame, Chapter Black’s Sensui Shinobu serves as an antagonist in a more abstract sense. That is, while Sensui is ultimately a villain who fights against Yuusuke, the existence of the titular Chapter Black itself twists the narrative with a unique plot device that I find somewhat interesting conceptually. Beyond that, Sensui’s existence as a parallel to the protagonist is more overt than the similar dynamic with Toguro and ultimately is similar in showing a twisted mirror image of a Yuusuke who walks down the wrong path, but I think the point is far better delivered. In effect, Sensui could be seen as one polar extreme in a spectrum with Toguro being on the other side, with Yuusuke’s final state at the end of the series being something of a middle ground.

The finale of the arc is perhaps the most divisive, with Yuusuke’s rather abrupt transformation into a previously unseen demonic state often being derided as a cheap deus ex machina. From the perspective of worldbuilding, this might hold water, but from a storytelling perspective, I find that it actually enhances the themes of the story as it plays upon the wider narrative focus on Yuusuke’s growth and providing an even more internal obstacle for him to overcome. It ties to the dynamic between Yuusuke and Sensui and also transitions the story to the Three Kings arc in a somewhat unorthodox yet still satisfying manner.

Beyond that, the surface level production elements that I also appreciate in Yu Yu Hakusho are strongest in the Chapter Black arc, with a somewhat dark atmosphere being played up far more. In particular, the animated adaptation consistently looks great with fantastic shot composition and lighting choices. Shinbou Akiyuki of Studio Shaft fame has his fingerprints through several of this story arc’s episodes and his attention to detail when it comes to developing a gothic tone to the visual storytelling is a major component of its success as an adaptation.

As a whole, the Chapter Black arc of Yu Yu Hakusho is somewhat unorthodox in several elements of its storytelling in a manner not unlike author Togashi Yoshihiro’s unique tendencies as a creative. Its story presents its themes in a unique manner that evokes a complex set of emotions. Its particular focus on the wider coming of age narrative is interesting as the arc’s existence is perhaps the fundamental part of what makes Yu Yu Hakusho’s presentation of this common arc something that is actually unique. All of this is tied together with strong production values that mix in aspects that most battle shounen excel at with certain slightly avant garde elements which makes it rather unique in a genre that is more often than not rather homogenous.