Yoshihiro Togashi’s Yu Yu Hakusho remains one of the most popular action manga and anime series of all time even years after it ended, and it’s often brought up as one of the many series fans would like to see more of someday. But what fans didn’t expect to see, however, was a spirited musical take on the franchise. Did you know that the series once got a little musical in Japan? Yeah, it’s as wild as you’d expect.
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It’s not a full-on musical, but during the Anidan Grand Prix in 2015 — a special dancing celebration of great anime music — a group performed a special dance to Yu Yu Hakusho‘s memorable “Smile Bomb” opening theme. You can check out the wild performance in the video above!
The series will actually be getting an official new live-action project in Japan later this year, too. Produced by Office ENDLESS, a new stage play based on Yu Yu Hakusho will be directed and written by the writer and script supervisor for Tokyo Ghoul’s anime Chuji Mikasano. The play will be running at Tokyo’s Theater 1010 from August 28th to September 2nd, then will shift to Osaka’s Morinomiya Piloti Hall September 4-8th, then to Fukuoka’s Momochi Palace September 10-12, and Aichi’s Ichinomiya Community Hall September 20-22.
Yu Yu Hakusho was originally created by Yoshihiro Togashi for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1990. The story follows Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who loses his life when he is hit by a car trying to save a child’s life. After passing a series of tests, Yusuke is allowed to return to the living world but with a few caveats. With the gained ability to see spirits and demons, Yusuke is given the title of “Underworld Detective” and must solve various cases of spirits running amok in the living world.
Yu Yu Hakusho recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a return OVA special featuring the returning staff of director Noriyuki Abe, and the voice cast of Nozomu Sasaki as Yusuke Urameshi, Shigeru Chiba as Kazuma Kuwabara, Megumi Ogata as Kurama, and Nobuyuki Hiyama as Hiei. Covering two different stories, the OVA adapts “Two Shots,” which is a side-manga story revealing how Kurama and Hiei first met, and “All or Nothing,” the second-to-last chapter of Yoshihiro Togashi’s original manga which sees Yusuke and the gang try and solve a major terrorist crisis.
