Yoshihiro Togashi

YuYu Hakusho volume five continues the Four Beasts case. Ghost/Underworld detective Yusuke Urameshi, Kuwabara, his rival for the title of 'Sarayashi Public Jr. High's toughest punk'; accompanied by demon thieves Hiei and Kurama, have to take away the Enabling Whistle that controls humans infested with Roundworm Monsters. Kurama the fox demon took out Genbu, the first beast, in the last volume. He's wounded, though, so he's not expected to do much against the other three.

Kuwabara volunteers show more to take on the second beast, Byakko, before finding out that he's a humanoid tiger who is about 10 feet / 3.048 meters tall. Don't laugh at his mullet-like mane -- those are a couple of nasty-looking tusks protruding from his lower jaw. His hairballs have an alarming power. If Kuwabara isn't careful, he could wind up in acid!

Hiei, the short demon whose third eye is an evil eye, gets to fight the third beast, Seiryu. I wouldn't mind hiring Seiryu to re-freeze the polar ice caps, if he could be trusted.

Of course Yusuke gets to face off with top beast Suzuku, who plays the Enabling Whistle. Suzuku is a sadist who sends Roundworm Monster-infested humans to kill Yusuke's best friend, Keiko Yukimura. Keiko has Underworld Guide Botan with her, but can these tough ladies save their lives? Poor Yusuke can see their plight on a magic screen in Suzuku's tower.

There's also a chapter about half-demons attacking punks from another junior high school. I rather liked the way that one turned out.

By the way, this is the volume in which Kurama tells the creatures he attacks to just call him Tuxedo Mask, the name of the guy who kept saving the day in 'Sailor Moon'. show less

Yes, YuYu Hakusho volume 9 continues the Dark Tournament. It's the end of the bout between Jin and Yusuke, followed by smug Risho versus Kuwabara.

Team Urameshi's cheering squad (Yusuke's mom, Atsuko; Kuwabara's big sister, Shizuru; Yusuke's best friend, Keiko, Botan the Spirit Guide is back. (Loved their scene with the burly demon with a Hitler mustache guarding the arena entrance!) They are joined by Hiei's paternal half-sister, Yukina. She's heard she has a brother and has come to seek show more him. Yusuke, Botan, and Kurama know it's Hiei. The rest don't, which leads to Kuwabara bad-mouthing Hiei to his big crush, Yukina. Heh! (Also, Yusuke gives Keiko a compliment that earns him a punch which sends him flying. Double hee!)

Koenma (in his human world aspect of handsome teen instead of very little boy) has brought the egg containing Yusuke's spirit beast. It hatches. Meet Pu.

There's a cameo scene where Mr. Sakyo and Younger Toguro have a private chat with the Shadow Channelers cheating sponsor, Mr. Butajiri. No, they haven't come to order him to have his cheating reversed. He probably wishes they had.

We hit the semi-finals. Koto, the cat-headed demon girl who had been the referee, has been demoted to play-by-play announcer (probably because she objected to some unfair rulings). The semi-finals referee, Juri, is a demon who looks like a pretty human girl except for her ears, which are bat wings.

A big subplot is Master Genkai's final test for Yusuke. He should have had another 10 years' training, but there's no time for that. We learn how Genkai appeared as she was when she was 20 during the brief time her mask came undone in volume 8. Got some chuckles out of Genkai's expressions on. p. 101. She's a great old gal.

With the Shadow Channelers out of the way, the team to beat is the Fractured Fairy Tales. Team Six Deadly Evils is taken down with a speed that stuns Kuwabara. Page 105 shows the four teams that make it to the semi-finals, but only the Ochre Ranger of the High-Five Rangers gets more than his team's panel.

While Genkai and Yusuke are off dealing with the final test, the rest of Team Urameshi is up against Team Fractured Fairy Tales. Their Shishiwakamaru rolls dice to see who fights whom. Bouts this volume:

Hiei versus Evil Kintaro
Hiei versus Poison Peach Boy
Kurama versus Reverse Urashima.

Considering that Hiei's aura is at only about 60 percent, the way he deals with his opponents is really something. (Loved Kuwabara's reaction when he realized why Hiei didn't want to use one of his powers.)

I've read the Peach Boy (Momotaro) and Urashima folktales before, but I don't remember reading about Kintaro, the Golden Boy. I'm not familiar with Oniwakamaru, but Utagawa Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e print of Oniwakamaru killing a giant carp is impressive. Look it up.

Kurama the fox demon bound with a human body is my favorite Team Urameshi member. I really enjoyed his cliffhanger ending for this volume.

This is one of the translated manga where the art hasn't been flipped, but you should get used to reading in the opposite direction from American comics. Do pay attention to the tiny print in the margins. They can be quite fun. (My favorite for this volume involves cat-headed referee Koto. It's on p. 160.)

My great thanks to the YuYu Hakusho Wiki character section for some of the team members' names, especially which fairy tales the one team's members represent.
(Because the team's name can be translated as 'Reversed Bedtime Stories,' according to that Wiki, I'm guessing that someone at Viz is a fan of the 'Fractured Fairy Tales' cartoons that were my favorite part of the 'Rocky and Bullwinkle" show. That someone has good taste! show less

With volume six, YuYu Hakusho moves individual cases to the Dark Tournament (yawn). If you love fighting in tournaments storylines, you'll probably be impatient to get to the first match on p.167. Before then we get the story of how Kazuma Kuwabara and Yusuke Urameshi rescue the beautiful Yukina, an ice maiden demon whose tears turn into rare crystals that are worth a lot of money. That's why greedy human scumbag Gonzo Tarukane has held her prisoner for five years.

Kawabara falls in love with show more Yukina upon seeing her image in the assignment videotape sent to Yusuke. He didn't stick around to find out that she's the paternal half-sister of Hiei, the three-eyed demon who caused them so much trouble when Yusuke was new at the paranormal investigating business. Yusuke knows, but doesn't tell Kuwabara.

Returning supporting cast characters are Yusuke's boss, Koenma [Enma, Jr.], Yusuke's mother, Atsuko, Yusuke's best friend, cute and feisty Keiko Yukimura; and Kuwabara's older sister, Shizuru. (Poor Kuwabara. He's homely, she's pretty -- and her sixth sense is stronger than his. Obviously she was the winner in the family genetics lottery.)

I was amused when I noticed that the anime version pronounced Enma and Koenma's names with the 'n,' which is silent when it appears before an 'm'. Hot and tough Emma Peel and Emma Frost notwithstanding, 'Emma' usually conjures up images of little old ladies in 19th century clothes; so it's understandable that Viz didn't go with the correct pronunciation for the ruler of the Japanese underworld. In this volume we get to see Koenma in the handsome teen look he used for the human world. Too bad he spoiled it by continuing to suck on his pacifier, a 'dummy' if you're British. (By the way, when I was a child in the 1960s, pacifiers were also called 'nipples'. I wouldn't recommend calling them that these days.)

During the rescue we meet the Brokers of Darkness (demon brothers and their demon mercenaries. The most powerful of the underlings are the Ogre Triad. We also meet the Black Book Club, a bunch of rich, bored, degenerate humans. Sakyo is young and handsome, unlike the other members.

Super-powered siblings don't always have the same powers -- note Yukina and Hiei. The same is true for the Toguro brothers, leaders of the Brokers of Darkness. I don't want to spoil the action, so I won't say what they can do.

Yusuke gets a most unpleasant surprise when he finds out that his and Kuwabara's prowess in the rescue operation has earned them an invitation to participate in the Dark Tournament. The participants are usually demons, but humans who have interfered in demonic matters are forced to join guest teams. Hiei and the very handsome fox demon Kurama are stuck being on Team Urameshi. Their fellow demons consider them traitors. The fifth member of the team is the Masked Fighter, who gives everyone but Yusuke a shock.

This is one of the translated manga where the art hasn't been flipped, but you should get used to reading in the opposite direction from American comics. Do pay attention to the tiny print in the margins. They can be quite fun. (My favorite is on p. 45.) As a bonus, the author shares the boxing game he used to play in school. The players appear on p. 26 and the rules on p. 68. I recommend photocopying both pages if you want to play. show less

Let me tell you something about Killua Zoldyck.

He's a pretty little monster who is like aged 12 but then again he's a motherfu*kin beast. All you must know about him is that he is a talented baby assassin who just so isn't very fond of going round killing people. He attacks with his bare hands or his yo-yo (that's how badass the kid is). I keep saying kid but he ain't no ordinary one. His family are the Zoldycks who are this pretty cool family of assassins. The best assassins. His brothers show more are pretentions brats who don't share any affection for him. He is the strongest, most powerful kid in the family. He had no friends until he met Gon and that changed everything. The murderers didn't even allow Killua to have friends. Can you imagine that, going like ''yo mom I met a cool guy today he is extra chill'' and she replies ''u piece of s*it don't you know any better than making acquaintance with other people''. He's imune to pain and poison. He's basically the boss.
The best manga character I've ever come across. show less