This review was taken from the old reviews system and was originally submitted by Gremio.

Yu Yu Hakusho is very much something that needs to appeal to you for you to find interest in. For some people an in depth plot line is almost essential for a good anime, let it be known now that Yu Yu Hakusho trades a lot of plot just to be nothing short of sheer fun. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a plot either, and thankfully it doesn’t conform to the stereotypical action without reason of several other well known action anime such as DBZ. The plot thickens later on and because of Yu Yu Hakushos massive characterization of the main and supporting characters, and even the bad guys, its so easy to find yourself getting sucked in desiring to see what happens next to the group. The characterization of the main set in anime is something that always made watching an enjoyable experience and this is where Yu Yu Hakusho shines. By the end you feel you know the characters and care deeply for them. Yu Yu Hakusho only leaves you wanting more.
That said, it’s not entirely perfect. The cliches are present though not as abstract as the norm. This has a tendency to make some of the plot predictable. However Yu Yu Hakusho employs several plot twists to try and break free of this. Thankfully the fight scenes are not drawn out, at its longest a fight would be 2-3 episodes and that is extremely rare. Let it not be said that quality was substituted for time, because Yu Yu Hakusho has some of the best fight scenes and unique concepts I have seen. The techniques used such as Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame are simply stunning and are guaranteed to send shivers down any action anime fans spine. That said, the animation is slightly dated compared to a lot of titles today, which is understandable considering this title is a good 13 years old.
Finally, as I said, Yu Yu Hakusho is just plain fun. I have never come across an anime which is so genuinely funny and does it at all the right times remaining serious when it’s needed. There are the occasional plot holes large enough to fly a 737 aircraft through, but so what? There is very little that will take away anyone’s enjoyment of Yu Yu Hakusho. It simply is an enjoyable experience from start to finish. With almost real characters, brilliant fight sequences employing creative concepts, comic relief in almost every episode that will never cease to make the viewer laugh, this anime will have you captured from beginning to end. If you like a bit of fun, get your wallet out.

Music
Average. The score and themes are generally J-Pop in nature, but there are very few if any that made a lasting impression on me. The songs are fairly good such as the opening theme, however the background music never really excelled, but at the same time it never did get repetitive, and there are very few places that are left without any music, which was while bland, rather appropriate when it comes to fitting the mood. Certainly not the best, but definitely not the worst either, consider this as an average score that is worth borrowing the OST from a friend, but not buying.

Sub vs Dub
This surprised me, while I was one of those who ripped off FUNimation for their generally poor dubbing, with Yu Yu Hakusho Il happily admit I was wrong, at least for this title. The subs themselves are very good, the voices rarely fail to capture the mood of the character, however the dubs stay right up there with them. I would say that this series is actually better dubbed than subbed, the voices of Hiei and Yusuke were very impressive, and while the voice of Kuwabara gets a little annoying occasionally, its something that can be lived with. Thats not to say the dub was perfect, there are a few places that the viewer becomes wary of the attempts to fit the words into the mouth movements to the point it doesn’t quite sound natural. Thankfully this only happens in a few episodes and for the most part people can overlook it.

Manga
[goldy's note: The manga was not mentioned by the reviewer, but a 19 volumes manga does exist for Yu Yu Hakusho that was licensed in the US by Viz Media through Shounen Jump. It was just completed in 2010.]


Related Movies
Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie
Poltergeist Report: Yu Yu Hakusho

Violence Details
Yu Yu Hakusho, from the very start to the very end, concentrates on pushing through the genre of action, and in doing so has created an anime in which there are the typical large amounts of blood and gore in almost every big fight. Having said that, I’ve seen a lot worse, and the blood and gore is kept to a minimum in the edited version seen on TV, but should violence not be your cup of tea, then Yu Yu Hakusho certainly won’t either. There is a lot of punching and kicking, slashing and hacking and special moves by the dozen all of which inflict great pain on the opponents, whether they be demons or simple thugs in the street.
So by now, your thinking this is an ultra-violent anime, right? Well, not quite. While the violence is present from beginning to end, its done well, and its nothing that you wouldn’t find in other anime of this genre. I have never known someone to be put off Yu Yu Hakusho for its violence, as squeamish as I am, I didn’t break that trend.

Language Details
Language level above is high because there are some bad words in the unedited version of this anime. Whilst watching it on Cartoon Network Adult Swim, all bad words to mention are removed. In the unedited version it becomes clear the full extent of them there are in Yu Yu Hakusho. There’s nothing overly explicit, the f and s bombs are thankfully never dropped, but some might take offence to the occasional bad word thrown in as an insult. However having said that, there is never any *pointless* bad language, its almost always at an understandable time when it does occur, which is a bonus. 13+

Nudity Details
No real nudity to speak of, the worst it possibly gets is the shirts being ripped off some of the male fighters during battle, which is, of course, harmless.

Sexual Content Details
Sexual content is never something the show aims at, but something that does occur occasionally because of its secondary goal to provide humor and comic relief. These places include Yusuke lifting the skirt of Kayko in the opening episode and of course, immediately getting slapped. In that same mold almost every time there is innuendo, it is only for humor and it is never really in any way graphic or intended to be harmful or to the shows detriment. There is one episode were there Yusuke was fighting a demon who was found out to be a trans-sexual but again it was mostly in the name of fun and subliminally to set the viewers feelings against those who had mutated him/her. Overall, the vast majority of episodes are free from any sexual content at all, and that includes fan service, which for me made the show all the sweeter.

Religious Material Details
At first I had very little qualms with the story of Yu Yu Hakusho on a religious level. The constant mention of the soul and its existence after death is very much a Biblical message as is the joining of the Body and Soul and thus the resurrection of the dead. However there are several points in which I know will be against what we know religiously. For example, while the presence of demons should be nothing strange, they are often sometimes GOOD demons and live in a place called demon world. The souls of the dead are sent to the spirit realm were they are judged by a sort of ruler figure named King Yamma and while he is gone, his son Koenma. This bears striking resemblance to the figure of G-d Almighty and may come across as blasphemous to some, however, this is played down heavily in the series and is more than likely a moot point. One disappointing factor is that the full version of the 1st Yu Yu Hakusho ending in Japanese takes the Lords name in vain once, this of course doesn’t happen in the English, and thankfully the end credits don’t last long enough for the viewer to hear it.