Yu Yu Hakusho History and Storyline

Yu Yu Hakusho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi in 1990, and spans 112 anime episodes and 19 volumes of manga. The name Yu Yu Hakusho roughly translates to Poltergeist Report, but Ghost Files is also an acceptable interpretation. The manga and the anime have slightly different beginnings. The opening volume's of the manga's storyline are of Yusuke as a spirit, attempting to do good deeds to redeem his blackened soul; thereby avoiding a spirit monster devouring him. Further, in the seventh volume of the manga, there is a side-story examining how Kurama and Hiei first met.

When the manga ended in 1994, the story was incomplete; seemingly from conflicts with the creator, publishers, and sponsors (as rumors suggest). However, when the anime aired in Japan, the producers added 5 episodes to the series to give it a deserving ending.

The story of Yu Yu Hakusho follows a young juvenile named Yusuke Urameshi as he tries to atone for the bad life he has led. After dying to save a child from getting hit by a car, Yusuke is given a second chance to return to life since his death was not planned for, nor the child's he saved. To test whether or not Yusuke deserves to return to life, Koenma (son of King Yama, ruler of Hades) gives Yusuke a spirit egg, which when hatched will either be full of good energies, allowing Yusuke to return to life, or full of negative energies, which will result in a huge monster devouring Yusuke's soul. Of course Yusuke eventually passes the tests (which is for different reasons in the manga compared to the anime), and is appointed Spirit Detective to the human realm. As the story progresses, Yusuke's power grows as do the number of his allies.

The story of Yu Yu Hakusho spans 4 main sagas, and 16 sub-sagas. The beginning saga is the Spirit Detective Saga, outlining how Yusuke died, came back, became Spirit Detective, the Genkai Tournament, the Holy Beasts, and Yukina's imprisonment by the Toguro brothers. Following this is the Dark Tournament Saga, a tournament held by the rich and evil of mankind for personal enjoyment and to allow the demons of the spirit realm a chance to gain acceptance, acclaim, and just about anything else they would want.

The Door to Makai and the Makai Tournament Sagas dwell deeper into the origins of the characters, especially into the ancestry of Yusuke. Yusuke's reasons for having such incredible potential and powers, even before becoming the Spirit Detective, are explained. Further, even more powerful characters than Toguro are introduced.