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REVIEW: Yu Yu Hakusho Blu-ray Season 1 Box Set


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barrelroller



Joined: 27 Jul 2010
Posts: 104
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:32 pm Reply with quote
Yu Yu Hakusho is still my favorite shonen series ever. It's a little long, but it's so much better compared to today's shonen series (and wouldn't ya know, that it ends too!)

I own the DVD versions of these that came out a year or two ago, and I see no reason for ever buying this on Blu. It's almost as bad as buying Dragonball Z on Blu. Funimation will probably defend their upscales to the grave. I wonder if anyone has asked them about the upscales at a con panel or whatever as I know D.Gray-Man, FLCL, and Samurai Champloo were cheap cash in styled upscales.

As for the changes they actually did, Justin Cook made a blog post on the Funimation Blog claiming that the dub track has had a few changes. But very little. Meaning, nearly all of you will probably think it's the exact same season you saw on Adult Swim a decade ago. And yes, I remember YYH on Adult Swim. Wink
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lascd123



Joined: 20 Sep 2009
Posts: 12
PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:48 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I own the DVD versions of these that came out a year or two ago, and I see no reason for ever buying this on Blu. It's almost as bad as buying Dragonball Z on Blu. Funimation will probably defend their upscales to the grave. I wonder if anyone has asked them about the upscales at a con panel or whatever as I know D.Gray-Man, FLCL, and Samurai Champloo were cheap cash in styled upscales.


While I am not going to argue that that the improved visuals are upgraded by an amazing degree, I thought the upgrade was pretty noticeable on my big hdtv. Also, I am 99% sure that the Yu Yu Hakusho bluray is NOT an upscale: It is hd native. Oh, and I too remember Yu Yu Hakusho on AS.....now I feel old Sad
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barrelroller



Joined: 27 Jul 2010
Posts: 104
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:58 pm Reply with quote
lascd123 wrote:
While I am not going to argue that that the improved visuals are upgraded by an amazing degree, I thought the upgrade was pretty noticeable on my big hdtv. Also, I am 99% sure that the Yu Yu Hakusho bluray is NOT an upscale: It is hd native. Oh, and I too remember Yu Yu Hakusho on AS.....now I feel old Sad


I haven't seen them... but I was just going by what the review said. I guess all it has going for it is the "clarity". So is this a remaster from Toei then? I'm so lost when it comes to these complicated upscaling or remastering things that companies do.

And don't feel so bad... I'm only 22 and I remember watching it every Saturday night on AS, then being disappointed that I could never finish the series on Toonami (had a paper route) and that it was edited as well. It was a double bummer at that time.


Last edited by barrelroller on Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:59 pm Reply with quote
I watched a few episodes of this before sending it off to Carl. The show is old enough to have been shot on film and this set isn't an upscale. It looks about as good as a cheaply-animated mid-90s anime series could look on bluray, and I was actually pretty pleased with it. Made me want more pre-digipaint TV anime on bluray, for sure.
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barrelroller



Joined: 27 Jul 2010
Posts: 104
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:06 am Reply with quote
Zac wrote:
I watched a few episodes of this before sending it off to Carl. The show is old enough to have been shot on film and this set isn't an upscale. It looks about as good as a cheaply-animated mid-90s anime series could look on bluray, and I was actually pretty pleased with it. Made me want more pre-digipaint TV anime on bluray, for sure.

Well, I'm glad to see that Funimation didn't casually run this through the upscale bin then. I've just been burned by them so many times in the past. Thanks for the confirmation, Zac.
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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:29 am Reply with quote
Shocked Shocked Shocked

I thought you outdid yourself with those NANA reviews Carl, but this here is one of the most endearingly appraising, most affectionately forgiving work you've ever done...
....and yes, I mean that as a high (if not the highest) compliment from me.

Just when I thought you were gonna razz up Funi's dub, you just admit whats there.

Quote:
Instead of Dragon Ball Z with ghosts, Yu Yu Hakusho starts off more like a more violent It's a Wonderful Life, with cheerful lady reaper Botan playing Clarence to Yusuke's irritable George Bailey.


That Wonderful Life comparison is rich!

Quote:
Don't be surprised if you find yourself getting a little misty-eyed, particularly during Yusuke's wake.


Agree.
I hope to see more BD Yu Yu reviews in the future. Smile
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NJ_



Joined: 31 Oct 2009
Posts: 3112
Location: Wallington, NJ
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:04 am Reply with quote
barrelroller wrote:
Funimation will probably defend their upscales to the grave. I wonder if anyone has asked them about the upscales at a con panel or whatever as I know D.Gray-Man, FLCL, and Samurai Champloo were cheap cash in styled upscales.


FLCL - They did nothing but use the Japanese upscale which was terrible to begin with.

Samurai Champloo - They fixed the problems on the original set for the Anime Classics re-release and this new encode is also used for the Japanese Blu-ray set.

Quote:
So is this a remaster from Toei then? I'm so lost when it comes to these complicated upscaling or remastering things that companies do.


This anime is not by Toei, it's by Studio Pierrot and the remastering was done by Bandai Visual for the Japanese box sets which is where FUNi got the video masters from.

To compare go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfbCzQ5fq9A
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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1529
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:50 am Reply with quote
Quote:
And there aren't any cool new extras to attract more casual buyers.


I would love it if Funimation would include the "Eizou Hakusho" specials. I've only seen grainy copies, but they're a nice treat.

Despite its flaws, YYH is one of my favorite series. Even though the plot sometimes sags (I agree that the tournaments become a crutch), I love the characters and how they change. And, unlike many long-running shonen series, YYH has a fantastic ending.

Quote:
The show is old enough to have been shot on film and this set isn't an upscale. It looks about as good as a cheaply-animated mid-90s anime series could look on bluray, and I was actually pretty pleased with it. Made me want more pre-digipaint TV anime on bluray, for sure.


I agree. Sure it doesn't look like Garden of Sinners, but I can really tell the difference between the DVD and Bluray release.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:44 am Reply with quote
Is this referring to the anime? I haven't seen how the anime ends, but I've read how the manga ends, and the manga ending is terrible. The arc suddenly ends, and then we get a chapter or two of exposition talking about what happened.

If they actually show not tell in the anime, I'd be curious to see. I'm not sure why, but I was no longer able to watch Yu Yu Hakusho on Adult Swim after some certain point.
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Divineking



Joined: 03 Jul 2010
Posts: 1298
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:45 am Reply with quote
Personally I've always seen Yu Yu Hakusho as THE definative shonen title. It has all the cliches and powerups you'd see in any other shonen title, but it just manages to do everything right. It certainly helps that it has a pretty fun cast of characters and a pretty much perfect level of pacing that no action shonen title has really achieved since. It's not a perfect work of art of course, but I think even a non shonen fan can find something to like about the series(and I've met some who have).

I only really decided to get the Blu Rays because I heard they fixed all the problems with the season sets, but the video quality really does look better.
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onetimepost



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:14 am Reply with quote
Everything after the Dark Tournament is forgettable, but it was better than Dragonball Z.
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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1529
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:33 am Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Is this referring to the anime? I haven't seen how the anime ends, but I've read how the manga ends, and the manga ending is terrible. The arc suddenly ends, and then we get a chapter or two of exposition talking about what happened.


The final story arc in the manga is not in the anime. The anime's final story arc is about spoiler[the tournament battles in the demon world. You actually get to see most of the a battles and there isn't that stupid laser.] Then the show skips to something like two (or three?) years into the future so you can see what has become of the characters since the final events. Parts of it are like the manga and parts of it have changed. spoiler[For example, Genkai is still alive.]
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redranger



Joined: 13 Sep 2010
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:39 am Reply with quote
You know what I love about the Yu Yu hakusho anime? No ***ing filler!!
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Zhou-BR



Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 1461
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:33 am Reply with quote
I watched this set 2 months ago and I was very pleased with the video quality. The content felt very simplistic compared to current shonen fighting shows, but it's still as charming and addictive as it was when I first watched it in the '90s.

The series really hits its stride when the Dark Tournament gets under way, but I'm also very fond of the JoJo-influenced Sensui arc, in which Togashi started developing a more cerebral take on the fighting genre, which he would later refine in Hunter x Hunter. The Makai arc had a very promising start, too, although it deteriorated into a much less satisfying version of the Dark Tournament.


Last edited by Zhou-BR on Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Banden



Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:28 pm Reply with quote
You have perplexed me on this one, ANN. What is this "political BS" which Yu Yu Hakusho's peers are supposedly clogged with?

Credit where credit is due, I think YYH opens its story with a more grown-up and engaging exposition than probably any shonen series I've ever watched. But I really struggle to think of YYH or any of its peers as "convoluted" or "political", and descriptions such as: "[D]ecent eye for violence, combining straightforwards scoring, arty flourishes, and lots cool poses for its progressively battered protagonists to cover for its less than stellar budget" seem to me like relevant general description of DBZ, YYH, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and just about any other shonen martial arts anime I can think of?
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