Everyone already knows the tragedy of Netflix’s previous attempts at adapting anime to live-action series. Cowboy Bebop is one of the highest profile streaming disasters of the previous year, and its failure was bolstered by the marketable name that should’ve made it a success. It’s hard to tell if anyone has learned anything, but it’s easy to tell that more attempts are on the way.
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Yoshihiro Togashi’s 1990 manga series Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the most beloved and influential pieces of art in the medium. The tale of Yusuke Urameshi, a high-school student and Underworld Detective, gradually shifts from supernatural horror to martial arts tournament while nailing both. Unlike many other extremely popular shonen anime series, Yu Yu Hakusho has the courtesy to tell a complete story and reach a satisfying conclusion. 19 volumes of manga or 112 episodes of anime tell a stellar winding tale of power, responsibility, and friendship. Younger anime fans who started with stuff like Bleach, Naruto, or even My Hero Academia will find a lot of the DNA of those series originated or evolved in Togashi’s first hit series. Anime fans might also know Togashi’s name because he’s also the mind behind Hunter x Hunter, making him one of the biggest figures in the genre. And now, almost 30 years after the original series’ run concluded, Netflix unveils a live-action adaptation and is met with a defeated sigh.
While anime fans are still dreading the eventual release of Netflix’s One Piece, the company stepped up to announce that Yu Yu Hakusho is next to attempt the leap to live-action. On the list of anime that would be tough to translate into Netflix’s streaming series format, One Piece ranks pretty high. Yu Yu Hakusho definitely comes across as a shorter row to hoe, but it’s still not going to be particularly easy. Togashi’s series is a little more grounded when it comes to most of its character designs and more simplistic in its depiction of superpowers, both of which will lighten the load on the VFX team. While it’s not the hardest anime one could adapt, Netflix has done less with more.
When compared to some of the other subjects, Yu Yu Hakusho offers several benefits to the team setting out to adapt it. The show takes a ton of inspiration from other works of fiction that a live-action adaptation could more closely emulate. The early arcs of the series are heavily inspired by horror films of the era. The opportunity to create a horror series that gradually evolves into a martial arts epic would be an inspired piece of filmmaking. A ton of anime adaptations suffer from the inability of their adaptors to find the spirit of the original work. If the new team can’t figure out what made the source material beloved, they’re stuck either meaninglessly recreating popular moments or slapping a marketable name on an unrelated product. Where many live-action adaptations fail to translate the material from the medium in which they worked, Yu Yu Hakusho feels like it could work as a live-action series.
It’s also worth looking into the team charged with this adaptation. The director set to take over this project is Sho Tsukikawa. The director is likely best known for another anime adaptation, the 2017 film Let Me Eat Your Pancreas. Despite the unnerving title, the film tells a beautiful story of a girl’s magical final months after a tragic cancer diagnosis. Tsukikawa also adapted My Little Monster, which didn’t fare quite as well. Tsukikawa has a history with anime adaptation, but no notable experience in the action or horror genres. A portion of the cast has also been revealed, and it’s primarily made up of anime adaptation veterans including Takumi Kitamura, Kanata Hongo, and Jun Shison.
It’s worth noting the cultural discrepancy between this work and the other Netflix entries in this medium. Cowboy Bebop and Death Note are American adaptations, made by primarily American showrunners, crew, and performers. Adaptations from Asia have a generally better history. Netflix’s adaptations of Rurouni Kenshin, Bleach, or Fullmetal Alchemist aren’t exactly transcendent, but they are perfectly serviceable as both adaptations and standalone films. Netflix isn’t the sole purveyor of dreadful live-action anime, Dragonball Evolution predates the streaming service. With very few exceptions, American takes on anime are typically abysmal from every angle. The fact that a Japanese director and a majority Japanese cast will be taking on this material should provide some hope to fans.
Anime adaptation is always a shaky business, but the fact that a culturally appropriate team of seasoned professionals is working with good material should provide a bit of hope. Yu Yu Hakusho isn’t dropping until next year, so fans will have to wait and see.
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