Yoshihiro Togashi’s Yu Yu Hakusho returns on the small screen as the live-action series drops on Netflix with five episodes. The series is a cult classic translated into titles like Ghost Fighter, Poltergeist Report, and even Ghost Files, but what does Yu Yu Hakusho mean? What’s the meaning of the series’ title?
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What Does Yu Yu Hakusho Mean?
Yoshihiro Togashi, the same manga artist who brought Hunter x Hunter and Level E to the world, developed the highly acclaimed manga and anime series Yu Yu Hakusho.
It is a cult classic series beloved by many due to its likable characters, villains, story arcs, and more.
Around November 1990, Yoshihiro Togashi started working on Yu Yu Hakusho, but he had no clear idea of what to call his new project.
In fact, he even used a tentative title called How to Be a Ghost in the rough drafts he submitted to his editors.
When Togashi was given the thumbs-up to start publication, Togashi thought of the title, YuYu-Ki, translated as Poltergeist Chronicles.
The reason behind this is that Togashi’s new work involves characters fighting demons, in addition to the title being a play on SaiYu-Ki (Journey to the West).
However, a series with a similar name, Chin-Yu-Ki, had been publicized at the time.
This pushed Togashi to change the title to Yu Yu Hakusho, though he wanted to use Den (Legend) and/or Monogatari (Story) instead of Hakusho (Report). It just so happens that Hakusho was the first thing that came to his mind.
If we break down Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu means dim or gloomy; other/next world. Yu is also the initial of Yurei, which means ghost or spirit from the other world.
If we combine them, the title, Yu Yu Hakusho, literally means the report of a ghost or spirit from another world.
In other countries, Yu Yu Hakusho is known by different titles. One of which is Ghost Fighter, which is used in the Philippines.
The American audience, on the other hand, knows Yu Yu Hakusho as Poltergeist Report or Ghost Files.
What Is the Plot of Yu Yu Hakusho?
Yu Yu Hakusho is set in a world where demons pose a huge threat to the peace and harmony humans enjoy.
It follows Yusuke Urameshi, a troublemaker often labeled as a delinquent by his foolish teachers, who happens to have immense spiritual energy.
One day, Yusuke got involved in an accident that took his life—that is until he met Botan, a grim reaper who led him to Koenma, the ruler of the Spirit World.
Koenma gives Yusuke another chance in life in exchange for a job offer. Yusuke has to agree to Koenma’s conditions and work under him.
He will be a spirit detective tasked with capturing demons who have transitioned to the human world. He is accompanied by Botan and, later on, the delinquent Kuwabara.
What Yusuke didn’t know is that there’s more to the job than meets the eye. He is about to face the most dangerous opponents—demons, humans, and even a former spirit detective!
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