The legendary shonen icon. Yu Yu Hakusho is a piece you must read, simply out of respect for how big of a piece it is in the community. Even if you do not enjoy the 90's anime and manga era or shonen is not your cup of tea - there is still a reason why it stands the test of time and it is still given so much respect down to this day. The anime is legendary, an untouchable piece and the manga is very good as well.

Some readers of this review may fear the 'nostalgia-train', and that is a good thing to be fearful of. Let us be honest for a moment, especially in the animation department but even with manga's, sometimes they just don't hit quite at home as compared to many modern pieces. The manga is now 30+ years old, and for many that's a massive red flag - but for Yu Yu Hakusho I assure you it is not something that should turn you away. It is a classic for a reason and reader - don't forget - the greatest of stories in human history have origins and were written years, decades, centuries or even millennium's ago.

For those of us who like shonen, no matter how cliché it sounds, it is a guaranteed must-read. There is always a good reason to say such a thing. On forums and in the community there is a reason that we younger generation people are told of how good this piece was, how it inspired so many, and how it is rated so highly. I agree with a lot of those sentiments when it comes to this manga. There is a reason why Yu Yu Hakusho is the legendary battle shonen.

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Rating: 87

It is actually a bit of a rarity in shonen to find a really good story line. What brings this manga to the fore believe it or not is such a story. The best part about the manga is that it is not a piece where lore and loads of backstory is required, it is quite a simple piece really and that's what makes it so good. 'Simple' and 'empty' are two different things, and one may worry when I say 'simple' but it means that this manga is not a piece where you need to sit up and focus or read stories within stories. You are quite simply in a good, entertaining world and follow the story of the main characters without any over-complication. Credit is deserved for such a feat because that is honestly an incredibly difficult thing to do.

There is one part where I would dock a few points - despite how blasphemous that sounds. Sometimes I do feel that the story line could have taken an extra chapter or two and provided a bit more depth or even slowed down the story at certain points throughout the manga - even with just an extra panel or two. This leads me onto the artwork, majority of the time the manga stands the test of time. Even the action scenes, they do not look out of place with many fantastic shonen battle manga's throughout time. There is however a point in time in certain chapters and volumes where it does feel like the mangaka really slacked on the artwork and rushed on the story. The ending was controversial and it can still unnerve parts of the community to this day - but there is a reason for all of this.

Unfortunately which seems to be a lot more common then many would like to admit, the mangaka wanted to end the story at an earlier point in the manga but was pressured to keep the series going due to the popularity of it. As readers, you do feel that when reading the manga. Yoshihiro Togashi (the mangaka) made comments that the stress became too much and the manga dominated his life that he ended the series in a way where nobody could continue it. Through the whole run of the manga, it really took a toll on his health, and at points you do see that in both the artwork and story line which is drastically unfortunate. You do need to remember as well that this is the manga that we are talking about, the anime did take a slightly different turn but that is not what this review is about.

The characters are fantastic, really hard not to like and enjoy no matter what side they are on. The character development at first seems linear and predictable, but over the course of the manga the development is refined and developed to the point of feeling complete and whole - leaving very little left to cover. While some may point out that there are several side characters who could use more story - and I do agree with that sentiment - the way that the manga is structured overall, there really is no need or even point to cover most characters in such a manner because of some fault.

The arcs are fun, and while at times the quality does drop because of reasons mentioned above overall the stereotypes are never a burden. Despite the tournament battles and tropes of shonen, it feels good and different. The one key part of Yu Yu Hakusho is the humor, which is pretty good even today albeit a tad difficult to understand with some translations simply because of the age of the piece. Also there are references and speech patterns which may be difficult to understand simply again because of age and some comments that are made by characters by today's modern society may not be deemed as acceptable.

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It's funny, even after 175 chapters and Togashi wanting even less - I feel like I want to read another volume or two. Yu Yu Hakusho is really good, and rightfully holds it's label as a "legendary shonen". There are a few points as pointed out above which for me hold it shy of the 90 threshold which many - and rightfully so - put it in.

The nostalgia train is long gone from the station, but even then - it's still pretty damn good.