Japanese manga/anime series Yu Yu Hakusho recounts the story of a delinquent teenager who is killed while saving the life of a child. However, he is then revived after being presented with several tests by the son of the ruler of the afterlife, Koenma. He is given the title of “Underworld Detective” and is entrusted with the responsibility of investigating cases involving apparitions and demons. As it progresses, the story gets more focused on tournaments and martial arts battles. The manga led to the creation of the anime series that was 112 episodes long and was initially broadcasted in Japan from 1992 to 1994.
The manga sold more than 50 million copies in Japan, and the anime adaptation went on to win the best anime award in 1994 and 1995. The show has been watched by millions of people in the United States and Japan. It has received a positive review by the critics, especially in North America, where it was appreciated for its character development, writing, comedy, and action. The series has been quite successful in its time; therefore, it is not surprising that Netflix has decided to make a live-action television series based on Yoshihiro Togashi’s impressive manga series.
Netflix made the official announcement through its Twitter account just recently. The Executive producer of the series is going to be Kazutaka Sakamoto, who is Netflix’s Contents Acquisition Director. After manga’s success and the anime adaptation,, the show was also released in North America and ran from 2002 – 2006 on Cartoon Network. In addition to the anime and manga series, Yu Yu Hakusho was later responsible for the 1993’s Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie and 1994’s Yu Yu Hakusho the Movie: Poltergeist Report. Both the movies were a diversion from the content of the manga and explored original stories.
As of now, it is unclear when Netflix’s live-action version of Yu Yu Hakusho will be released since there has been no official statement regarding its release date. Moreover, even the casting information has been kept a secret so far. It might be possible that the fans will have to wait at least two years for the release because of the current global healthcare crisis. However, it would be interesting to see how fans react to the release of the series. Although it has been quite famous when it was at its peak, it has been more than 25 years since manga and anime were first released. Will it be able to be just as successful as it was back then? We will have to wait and see.
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