Yu Yu Hakusho movie in the works... who's asking for this?

[Yukaphile]

I've heard Netflix is working on a Yu Yu Hakusho movie. Personally, I REALLY think this is a bad idea. For several reasons. For one, traditionally, anime adaptations have not worked very well. Just look at Dragon Ball Evolution. Another is that anime fans are known for nitpicking details. The 1990s, a lot of anime purists refused to check out the dub imports due to heavy butchered censorship. It was censorship I knew about even as a kid, since I could go google it online. I knew that, say, during the times when Gohan was naked due to his clothes ripping from a transformation, they paint-brushed something over the genitals. Or how they changed Master Roshi's beer to water. Or milk, depending on the version. Or how cigarettes were wiped clean out. But really, YYH is a VERY old franchise. Who even remembers it? Some of my snobbish younger friends refuse to even watch it due to outdated graphics. Personally, I can't help but be concerned that it is going to catch the eye of the normies and not the older traditional fans, those who'd never seen YYH, watched the anime, read the manga, or even heard about it. A movie only has so many hours. A TV series would work better. And you know what? You can say Detective Pikachu worked as an adaptation - I can't speak to what it adapted, but there can be no denying that the original creator is DEAD, so there's no potential controversy there. And since 2016, Pokemon is back in the mainstream's eyes even though it never left. But the creator for YYH, Yoshiro Togashi, is still very much alive even though YYH is pretty much done with and was before Y2K was a worry. The same as Akira Toriyama was when they made Dragon Ball Evolution. Is he even involved in this? The Animorphs creators walked out on the movie since the studios were making way too many demands, and ofc it may bring in the normies, but it won't be the same Animorphs we all knew and loved. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this... no anime fan I know is asking for this. As time passes and cinema goes to the dogs, it changes more from "I wonder what it'd be like for this to be a movie!" and more "I wonder what it'd be like for this to be a TV show!" I don't think this is going to end well, and it's just depressing how they haven't learned from history, from mistakes made ten years ago... and twenty and thirty years ago.

[Thebestoftherest]

If Netflix will do it no one will care

[ProfessorDetective]

With how they bungled Death Note? I have little hope.

The story itself could be translated to the West easily enough (punk kid gives his life for some else out of the blue and the afterlife gives him another shot mostly out of sheer bewilderment) but DN was like that too (supernatural serial killer with a god complex vs. shut-in master detective) and they blew it. And that's if this isn't just an import from Netflix Japan, which might have a better chance. But Fullmetal Alchemist didn't turn out so well, either. I'll give it a shot, but I'm not expecting much.

If I can add a change I'd like to see: maybe have Yusuke actually BE A DETECTIVE this time, just a bit? The title's a real misnomer but maybe 'Spirit Bounty Hunter' was too long-winded?

Oh, and 'Smile Bomb' and 'The Homework Never Ends' had better be in the Soundtrack somewhere. Even if it's a standard 'epic orchestral' rendition.

[Yukaphile]

Plus it's just the height of insult not to involve the original creator. They didn't involve Toriyama for Evolution, nor will they involve Togashi.

I think there's just so little time they have, past a really cool fight sequence, like the battle between Yusuke and Toguro in the final round, or Yusuke's rematch with Sensui in the cave as the tunnel opens up and he allows himself to die. Again, a TV series would have worked better.

It just kinda makes me mad since younger people won't give it a shot, it's an obscure 1990s franchise, and yet, this could respark interest in it, but at what cost? The movie is not gonna be as good as the manga or anime, not by a long shot. Those were legendary, and I think YYH was one of the earliest dubs for Adult Swim, and thus one of the most mature.

[Nealithi]

Yuka? I just Googled Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z, and they are the same age. If anything YYH is slightly newer since DBZ as anime began in 1989, and YYH began in 1992. So being dated seems odd in comparison to DBZ.
As to a live Netflix adaption. . . Who asked for this? Or is this just an anime they can get the license for?

[ProfessorDetective]

Yuka? I just Googled Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z, and they are the same age. If anything YYH is slightly newer since DBZ as anime began in 1989, and YYH began in 1992. So being dated seems odd in comparison to DBZ.
As to a live Netflix adaption. . . Who asked for this? Or is this just an anime they can get the license for?

2022 would be the 30th anniversary of the Anime, at that rate. I'd have rather they'd pull a Sailor Moon or Case Closed and remake the ANIME for the milestone, but...

[Yukaphile]

The difference is DBZ has gotten recent installments, several movies and anime, thus keeping in the public consciousness, while YYH has got little expansions to that franchise. And why should it? The story ended. Stories should end at some point. How many people of now ruined franchises would have just wished they'd stayed ended? At anime cons, you see less and less fan cosplay as the characters, like, go to the early 2000s, girls dressed as Botan were everywhere, among others. Now, not so much.

I'm still not very confident here. The anime had a depth AND a detail that I don't think a Netflix movie can replicate, since most filmmakers see that as "boring" nowadays, they just wanna skip all that nasty buildup stuff and get right to the fun, playing with their toys in the sandbox.

Look at this dialogue.

KURAMA: Listen, Amanuma, I have something I need to ask you.
AMANUMA: What is it?
KURAMA: Did Sensui specifically instruct you to challenge us at Goblin City?
AMANUMA: What's it to you? Yeah, Mr. Sensui really likes this game and thought it'd keep you guys busy. I said I didn't care 'cause I'm good at 'em all.
KURAMA: Just as I thought. I need to know, do you understand what Sensui plans to do?
AMANUMA: Of course I do. He'll let a bunch of demons out of their hole so they can wreak havoc and mess with everyone. I thought it'd be fun. Plus no school for a while. Sweet. I think the best part is while all those dumb people are running and screaming, I'll be safe in my territory playing games without homework or parents.
KURAMA: Didn't Sensui tell you you won't be around that long?
AMANUMA: Huh?
KURAMA: You'll die if you lose.
AMANUMA: Huh?
YUSUKE: What?!
YANA: Is that true?
KURAMA: What do you think? Does it still sound fun?
AMANUMA: Ha, you almost had me for a sec, but I'm not that gullible! He told me you'd try something like this.
KURAMA: Because he's counting on us to figure it out. Now I'm sure you've made it to the game's end more times than I.
AMANUMA: The end of the game?
KURAMA: When you beat the game, they vividly depict the Goblin King's death. That's an ending very specific to this game.
VOICE: Game over! Hark and rejoice, for the evil Goblin King is dead, and peace has been restored to the town! Dead! Dead!
AMANUMA: That role will be played by me.
KURAMA: He too must follow his game counterpart's fate. Of course, Sensui never wanted you to practice your power playing Goblin City inside your territory, did he?
AMANUMA: But how could you possibly know that? No, I couldn't play this because I didn't have seven people to play with! Besides, it's not like I died in other games!
KURAMA: But you have never tested your powers in manifesting any games of this type, have you, Amanuma, where you take the role of a villain who explicitly dies at the game's conclusion? Is that correct?
AMANUMA: I don't know. Yes?
KURAMA: Surely Sensui gave you some reason for avoiding them.
AMANUMA: Well...
(FLASHBACK)
SENSUI: Such high-stakes games will take their toll on your underdeveloped powers and tire you out. You should save your energy until the time comes. You do want to perform at your absolute peak when I need you, don't you?
AMANUMA: Hm-hmm.
(END FLASHBACK)
YUSUKE: Wait a second... so Sensui's putting his own men up on the chopping block just to stall us for a couple of hours while he digs a hole? I gotta tell you, between you and Mitarai, Sensui's not big on the whole "building company loyalty," is he?
SENSUI: A man like Sensui has no other loyalty except to himself and his cause, and he cares nothing for how much blood is shed to reach that goal, not even the blood... of an ignorant young boy who foolishly chose wrong over right!
VOICE: Game start! The player who clears the most blocks without filling them to the top wins the game!
YUSUKE: You can go ahead and call me a dimwit, but... let me just ask the stupid questions. If Kurama's got this all figured out, why'd he tell the Game Master instead of keeping it to himself? And why'd he wait until it was too late to stop the round?
GENKAI: Sensui had a strategic reason for not telling Amanuma he would die in real life if he died in the game. Young people are stupid about life and death. They think they're invincible. Too young to die, so they're not consumed with the fear of it. That's why armies recruit teenagers. That's why Koenma recruited you.
YUSUKE: Hey, I resent that. I know I can die 'cause I've done it once and lived to tell about it.
GENKAI: I don't have time to show how you've proved my point. Sensui didn't want the boy thinking of the possibility of death. However, he counts on us to figure it out and think of nothing else. It fits into Sensui's pattern, testing our moral limits, seeing if we will justify the kill.
YUSUKE: Well, we won't... will we?
GENKAI: Kurama has. That's why he told the boy the truth, to make him weak. It's a dirty trick, but Kurama knows what he must do.
YUSUKE: Is that true?

And they just kill him. Bam. He's dead. Killed for the greater good. And Genkai's lines about the personal fable younger people tell themselves resonates. BECAUSE IT'S TRUE. We've all been dumb kids and know how that feels. I just think they're going to focus more on the superficial aspects and not the underlying nuance. I mean, historically anime movies have had a very uphill battle, for a long time now, given Japan's repute for creativity and how an artistic vision has more wriggle room than here in the states. Plus let's just be honest, we all know, we know there's a lot more freedom in animation you're never going to get in a live-action setting without some kind of extreme CGI we haven't pioneered yet. Look at the Elder Toguro's movements, very similar to Durge from the 2003 Clone Wars. Dave Filoni tried to do something similar for Durge on his Clone Wars, but wasn't able to, which is why we got Cad Bane after he discarded the idea of changing him to human. That wasn't that long ago. Just ten years. Technology hasn't changed that much in that time. So I don't know how they intend to go with a lot of the crazier stuff in YYH, like Toguro's massive bulking up as his muscles twist and deform into really warped positions. I suppose the graphics snobs may like it, though.

[Draco Dracul]

If Netflix is remaking 90s anime that have long fallen out of the public consciousness, could they get Noelle Stevenson to do thier take on Ranma 1/2?

[Nealithi]

Yuka? I just Googled Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z, and they are the same age. If anything YYH is slightly newer since DBZ as anime began in 1989, and YYH began in 1992. So being dated seems odd in comparison to DBZ.
As to a live Netflix adaption. . . Who asked for this? Or is this just an anime they can get the license for?

2022 would be the 30th anniversary of the Anime, at that rate. I'd have rather they'd pull a Sailor Moon or Case Closed and remake the ANIME for the milestone, but...

Okay I admit I would want a Sailor Moon redo before this one. But live action never seems to capture the spirit of anime.

[ProfessorDetective]

Yuka? I just Googled Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragon Ball Z, and they are the same age. If anything YYH is slightly newer since DBZ as anime began in 1989, and YYH began in 1992. So being dated seems odd in comparison to DBZ.
As to a live Netflix adaption. . . Who asked for this? Or is this just an anime they can get the license for?

2022 would be the 30th anniversary of the Anime, at that rate. I'd have rather they'd pull a Sailor Moon or Case Closed and remake the ANIME for the milestone, but...

Okay I admit I would want a Sailor Moon redo before this one. But live action never seems to capture the spirit of anime.

Then give Sailor Moon Crystal a shot.