Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the classics of the fighting shonen genre and a favorite of '90s anime fans. Created by Yoshihiro Togashi, who went on to write Hunter X Hunter and marry Sailor Moon's creator Naoko Takeuchi, the manga ran from 1990 to 1994 with 19 volumes, and the anime aired from 1992-1994 with 112 episodes, 6 OVA episodes and two movies. With Netflix announcing a live-action remake, now is a great time to catch up on the series.
The story begins with delinquent Yusuke Urameshi being killed saving a child from being hit by a car. Now a spirit, he meets Botan, a blue-haired guide to the Spirit World, the place all sentient beings go after they die. The problem is, Yusuke wasn't supposed to die and the Spirit World doesn't know what to do with him. Luckily for him, there's a way for him to be revived, though it's gonna be a challenge.
Throughout Yusuke's journey as a spirit and as a Spirit Detective, he meets and befriends all sorts of characters, from the deadly but kind Fox Demon Kurama to the third-eye wielding Hiei to the loudmouth romantic Kuwabara. It's up to these four young men to keep the Human World safe from demons, monsters and villainous humans, all while trying to pass their classes.
Where to Read the Yu Yu Hakusho Manga
The manga is available in digital format from iBooks, Google Play and ComiXology for $6.99 per volume. It is also available on e-readers such as Nook and Kindle for the same price. For those who prefer physical copies, the series is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and even Walmart; MSRP for each volume is $9.99. You can also check your local comic book shop for availability or you can usually have them order you a copy.
Where to Watch the Yu Yu Hakusho Anime
Funimation has the entire TV series available on its site; you can watch it free with ads or ad-free with a subscription. Hulu and Amazon Prime both have the first season available to stream. Amazon also sells DVD copies of each season for around $19.99, or $34.42 for the Blu-ray version. For those of you who have Netflix and a VPN, the entire series is available on the Japanese server.
There are two Yu Yu Hakusho movies and six OVA episodes known as Eizou Hakusho. The OVA episodes and first movie, Yu Yu Hakusho: The Golden Seal, are available together for $19.99 on Amazon. Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie Poltergeist Report is out of print, but can still be purchased for $69.98 on DVD and $9.98 on VHS on Amazon. Two additional OVA episodes were released in Japan in 2019; Funimation has licensed them but not yet released them stateside.
