More than 30 years since the most legendary battle-action manga series Yu Yu Hakusho was first published, the highly anticipated live-action series is coming to Netflix. Directed by Shô Tsukikawa and with visual effects by Scanline (Shadow and Bone, Stranger Things, Cowboy Bebop), Yu Yu Hakusho will star Takumi Kitamura as the unruly Yusuke Urameshi. Alongside him, Jun Shison joins the cast as Kurama, Kanata Hongô as Hiei, and Shûhei Uesugi as Kazuma Kuwabara. Lovers of classic Japanese cinema will get a thrill from seeing the legendary Meiko Kaji, as well as Go Ayano who plays Younger Toguro. For manga fans, a long wait is nearly over, as the series premieres before the end of the year.

In the teaser above, we meet some of the Yu Yu Hakusho family. The teaser opens with a car accident, and we see Yusuke (Kitamura) standing over his own body and realizing he’s dead. From there, Yusuke travels to the spirit world and meets Koenma (Keita Machida), who offers to bring Yusuke back to life… as an Underworld Detective. 

What’s Yu Yu Hakusho about? 

The series follows Yusuke, a tearaway teenager who dies trying to save a young boy from being hit by a speeding car. As he looks down at his body from the afterlife, Yusuke meets a woman named Botan (Kotone Furukawa), who guides him to the spirit world. She tells Yusuke that his death was premature and unexpected, but that no one would’ve ever believed a troubled kid like him could perform such a selfless act — so there’s no place for him in heaven or hell. Yusuke is then given the opportunity to be revived after completing a trial, allowing him to be sent back to the human world to investigate demons as an Underworld Detective.  

Is Yu Yu Hakusho based on a book? 

The series is based on a manga of the same name, which ran from 1990 until 1994. The manga was then adapted into an animated series that aired from 1992 to 1994. With more than 78 million copies in circulation worldwide, Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the bestselling manga series of all time. 

Which voice actors are in the cast of Yu Yu Hakusho?

• Takumi Kitamura (Let Me Eat Your Pancreas, Tokyo Revengers) as Yusuke Urameshi
• Jun Shison as Kurama (Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High, Bubble)
• Kanata Hongô (Kingdom, Attack on Titan) as Hiei
• Shûhei Uesugi as Kazuma Kuwabara
• Sei Shiraishi as Keiko Yukimura 
• Kotone Furukawa as Botan
• Ai Mikami as Yukina
• Hiroya Shimizu as Karasu
• Keita Machida (Alice in Borderland) as Koenma
• Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion, and Stray Cat Rock film series) as Genkai 
• Ken’ichi Takitô as Older Toguro
• Gorô Inagaki as Sakyo 
• Gô Ayano (Yakuza to Kazoku: The Family) as Younger Toguro

“Yusuke has a lot of kindness deep down, but it makes his life more difficult,” Kitamura told Netflix about the titular character. “His flaws slowly become his weapon, and he gets stronger. It’s not an obvious story of growth, but there were many moments when it felt like Yusuke was able to do something because these people were here, or for these people, which really connected with us as actors.”

When does Yu Yu Hakusho come to Netflix? 

Stream it now.

How many episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho are there? 

It’s a five-episode series.

Where can I watch the Yu Yu Hakusho trailer?

You can catch the trailer at the top of this article. 

Where does Yu Yu Hakusho take place?

The series takes place in Japan. It was filmed in Ashikaga, Fujinomiya, Higashiōmi, Kisarazu, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Nagoya Shi, Shimonoseki, and Tokyo. 

“It’s very meaningful that this Yu Yu Hakusho adaptation was made in Japan,” the series action director, Takahito Ouchi, told Netflix. “We were able to create intricate action scenes with Japanese sensibilities. And with cutting-edge visual effects, I feel like we created a new action style that is only possible in Japan.” 

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