Yusuke vs Doctor was one of THE best fights in Yu Yu Hakusho and the turning point for
the show. Let me tell you why.
Firstly, allow me to set the tone for this video and dispel any misconceptions you may
have coming in. Genkai is the only viable waifu and Puu is a D tier trash Mascot character
second only to hapi from fairy tail.
You heard me you degenerates.
I Never watched YYH in its hayday. Hunter hunter is EASILY in my top 3 anime of all
time and considering Toogashi has a short but sweet Mangography you may of thought I
would have surely checked it out.
Well, UK Toonami and cartoon network had some great shows but in a land before Netflix,
VPNs and torrents, young anime fried chicken was gatekept and got by with the classics,
and soon after, the big 3 of weekly shounen jump.
So being the wage cuck that I am now, I have an hour a day on the tube for my commute,
and so i watch anime, ignoring weird looks from people over my shoulder wondering why
a grown man is watching Chinese cartoons, and really weird looks when it gets a bit
spicy.
I've been watching 5 eps of yyh a week for the past 23 weeks and as good as it’s been,
it's the chapter black arc, that hints of Togashi’s true true form broke through.
(Away) no he didn't go on hiatus.
The story transforms and the world shifts, similar to hunter hunter where the successive
arcs feel as if they could belong to a completely different anime with regards to plot beats
and setting.
As we close out on the Dark tournament arc, the stakes were raised and we had one of the
best fights in yyh so far, yusuke's battle with Dr Ichigaki. There's plenty more good
stuff later in the arc and in the show, but this battle easily had the most profound effect
on me throughout the entire series.
In my opinion, Every fight so far excluding, Yusuke Vs Togoro has been trash, and that
can be taken as an understatement or an overstatement yourself depending on how honest you are willing
to be. Ok not trash, its’ more that this fight was just phenomenal.
When comparing the Doctor fight TO the Dark Tournament Togoro fight. The Dr fight is far
far more entertaining and immersive. All this despite Togoro being far stronger, faster
and, well, this.
So why is the Doctor so menacing? Well firstly he's cutting everyone the fk'(cut short) up.
And these are civilians, bystandanders. On a parallel to the Togora rampage taking out
tournament spectators, well, these guys were ass holes. And I'm clearly not above discrimination
as the weight of human life lost hits me harder than green skinned canon fodder, call me racist
I dare you.
Next, Doctors are seen by society as good natured with pure intentions for the most
part, and thus its jarring to see one callously cut down colleagues and school kids.
Visually speaking, this fight felt like the first true sakuga flex of the series and they
really pushed their creative limits. Having not watched YYH years back, I had wondered
if the show deserved the high regard the community has always held it to. And having not watched
this through nostalgia-tinted glasses, I'd like to think that my opinion is unbiased,
despite being a shounentard fucboi that loves anything JUMP. The animation in this fight
was beautiful.
For the fight as a theme, the Doctor using sickness as a weapon is more relatable as
an evil of our own world. Illness sucks. If you're an author looking to resonate with
your audience with a great evil, they themselves are more likely to have lost a loved one from
sickness and disease, than from an energy blast. Probably.
OK, Not to say the fight was written perfectly, Yusuke still did technically kill a person,
and it just so happened BY CHANCE the doctor was resuscitated. And he really did struggle
with the idea of taking a life. Likewise on morality, when it came to demon-kin, Yusuke
has had no issues slaughtering humanoid demons in the past that had been pretty humanised
in their brief characterisations by Togashi.
I’ve now finished YYH and it’s going to be a show I won’t be forgetting anytime
soon. It feels a stretch to call the series timeless or a classic as it definitely feels
it’s age and as a full package it doesn’t compare to hunter hunter.
But I can appreciate the broad appeal and wide audience it has reached and the impact
it would of had while airing over 10 years ago. If I had watched YYH when I was young
, impressionable and first discovering anime, I could say without a doubt that YYH would
have been a massive part of my anime world.
This was Anime Fried Chicken, I make anime discussion videos and have loads of them.
Go check them out. This was a fun video to make, YYH was one of those shows that I felt
like I missed out on since way back. In times long gone where I would be lurking on forums
and Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Kurama avatars were everywhere. So if you’d like more videos
on me binging nostalgic works I missed, like comment subscribe share whatevers easiest.
I'll catch you guys next time. Cheers.