YMMV / Yu Yu Hakusho (2023)

• Nightmare Fuel: Much like the original story there is quite a lot on display here, which is greatly enhanced by the much more realistic setting. What else would you expect from a series about a spirit detective fighting supernatural demons and monsters from another world?
  • The yokai insects. Remember the "Chapter Black" story arc from the manga where the city was swarmed by a plague of otherworldly bugs that were invisible to normal humans? Well, this version decided to start with that and give them the powers the demon insects from the "Four Saints Beasts" arc had, all without needing a whistle to remain in the human world this time. That's right, the yokai bugs can possess any ordinary human that they come across and essentially turn them into a violent super powered zombie that'll attack everything in sight and only spirit energy can force them back out of their victim. It took all of Yusuke's strength just to stop one of these guys, now imagine a whole horde of them.
  • Unlike in the anime and manga, we actually see Yusuke's death by getting run over... And boy, it is gruesome...
• Salvaged Story:
  • Owing to the source material's dated period of release, a number of Yusuke's lines and actions in the original manga and anime have nowadays fallen under Values Dissonance, which has consequently led to Yusuke coming off as a Politically Incorrect Hero at times to modern readers and viewers. In particular, his Chivalrous Pervert antics towards Keiko, while openly acknowledged to not be acceptable in-universe, tend to cross the line into what would be considered outright sexual harassment nowadays. Much like Sanji in One Piece (2023), in order to prevent the Jerk from overshadowing the Heart of Gold, Yusuke's more unsavoury characteristics are either toned down or outright removed in the adaptation.
  • Some were disappointed that Yusuke never got to interact with Masaru, the boy he saved at the beginning of the series, after he was resurrected. Here, not only does Masaru get a chance to thank Yusuke for saving him after his revival, but he even returns the favor during his battle with Gouki.
• Signature Scene: Yusuke's fight with Gouki in episode 2 has gotten praise for being a well choreographed action scene and has been favorably compared to something out of a Jackie Chan movie.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Without even getting into the massive amounts of yokai to be cut for time, Genkai is reduced to the barest parts of her role in serving as Yusuke’s mentor then being taken out by Toguro in the span of a single episode, never given her chance to spend a prolonged amount of time as part of the core cast, and seemingly kept dead by the end.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Though many more minor plotlines were cut for time early on, in merging the story of Yukina’s rescue with the fights of the Dark Tournament finals, the entirety of the single most famous storyline in the series is completely brushed over, none of its characters or moments able to appear.

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