Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer.
Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV.
When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama.
Netflix’s One Piece is one of the best live-action anime adaptations on any streaming platform, but its top spot would be harder to defend if one particular series had more episodes. For years, live-action anime adaptations have fallen short of expectations because many couldn’t translate their original worlds in a way that satisfied viewers. With One Piece, Netflix proved it is possible to execute anime in live-action without changing the core foundation of its source material.
Netflix’s live-action YuYu Hakusho is a prime example of a series whose greatest strength is also one of its biggest limitations. Based on Yoshihiro Togashi’s celebrated manga, the dark fantasy action series follows Yusuke Urameshi, a rebellious teenager who dies unexpectedly and is given a second chance at life as a Spirit Detective. Yet, for all its impressive action, YuYu Hakusho faces a problem that Netflix’s live-action One Piece largely avoids. Whereas the live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s sprawling pirate adventure dedicates eight episodes to introducing its central characters, YuYu Hakusho races through major storylines.
The series has many of the ingredients needed to rival, and perhaps even surpass, One Piece as a live-action anime adaptation. With a few more episodes devoted to character development and meaningful worldbuilding, YuYu Hakusho could have transformed its greatest weakness into a major strength.
YuYu Hakusho’s Biggest Problem In Live-Action Is Being Too Short
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Netflix’s live-action anime YuYu Hakusho has many ingredients for a successful adaptation, including impressive fight choreography and a strong supernatural world. Despite these strengths, the series has one major weakness holding it back: it tries to tell far too much story in far too little time. The YuYu Hakusho anime has 112 episodes across four seasons, while the live-action adaptation has only five episodes in one season.
Though a live-action remake doesn’t need to recreate every event, it still needs enough time to establish the world and develop its characters. Netflix’s YuYu Hakusho instead combines material from multiple story arcs, including the Spirit Detective storyline and elements of the Dark Tournament. As a result, events that once unfolded gradually in the anime are brought together in a much shorter narrative.
Yusuke’s journey is about more than becoming a stronger fighter. At the beginning of the story, he is a rebellious teenager whose aggressive attitude conceals a more compassionate nature. His unexpected death forces him to confront how much he matters to the people around him, even though he rarely expresses his feelings openly. That emotional foundation is essential to understanding why he eventually becomes a Spirit Detective. The live-action series establishes these ideas, but its compressed structure leaves little time to explore them in depth.
The biggest problem with Netflix’s YuYu Hakusho is not that it is nothing like the anime. Instead, it’s that the story moves so quickly that some of its most important relationships and turning points never get the attention they deserve.
YuYu Hakusho’s Live-Action Battle Scenes Do Justice To The Source Material
YuYu Hakusho is famous for a lot of things, but its fight scenes are one of the anime’s most defining qualities. So naturally, the major challenge that the Netflix live-action adaptation needed to overcome was ensuring that it captured the essence of these fight scenes. Thankfully, the series did more than just reproduce the original confrontations. YuYu Hakusho‘s battle scenes have the same level of intensity, perfect fight choreography, and danger as its source material.
Oftentimes in fantasy TV shows, some of the most difficult things to bring to life are special powers. In Yusuke’s case, his spirit gun is a signature power move. The anime executed the spirit gun move perfectly, and the live-action series brought it to life in a way that didn’t feel awkward or too artificial.
One fight in particular, featuring Yusuke and Goki, is an absolute joy to watch. Goki, a demon who devours children, is a formidable character with the kind of strength that can put the fear of god into anyone. The live-action series fortunately captures all the punches, kicks, and power blasts in extraordinary detail.
Hiei is another formidable fighter in YuYu Hakusho. Translating him into live-action presented a particular challenge because animated characters can move at seemingly impossible speeds during fights without losing visual clarity, whereas live-action battles need to remain convincing enough for audiences to follow. The adaptation addresses this challenge through sword-based choreography that emphasizes Hiei’s precision instead of making him fight like Yusuke, who favors direct physical attacks.
Yu Yu Hakusho
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