Stunning Yu Yu Hakusho Animation Fires Off with Hiei

Yoshihiro Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the best action anime and manga franchises of all [...]

By Nick Valdez

Yoshihiro Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the best action anime and manga franchises of all time, and one viral animation featuring Hiei definitely has fans asking for the series to come back. With the anime initially making its debut in 1992 (and getting an official English language release ten years later), this '90s classic series is one of the many anime fans would like to see return in some official capacity. Following the release of a new set of OVA specials to celebrated the series' 25th Anniversary, fans have been left to wonder what this series would look like with a new take.

Artist @AzouraArt (who you can find more work from on Twitter here) took it into their own hands to imagine just that with a slick new take on Hiei. But this take on Hiei makes sure to highlight one of his best moments in the original series, when he unleashes the power Dragon of the Darkness Flame attack (complete with brief pause for the attack's title card just like in the original anime). You can check out the slick Hiei animation below:

Yu Yu Hakusho briefly returned with an official HD take on the anime series featuring the return of the original Japanese voice cast with new two OVA specials animating stories from the manga that never made it to that first anime series. These were released alongside the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release in Japan, but Funimation did announce last year that these specials would be getting an official English language release.

Although there have been no updates on the English release of these new specials since they were announced last October, The English dub cast did confirm that they would be returning to reprise their roles as well. These OVA releases featured two new stories. The first, "Two Shots," is a side-manga story revealing how Kurama and Hiei first met, and the second, "All or Nothing," adapts the second-to-last chapter of Yoshihiro Togashi's original manga which sees Yusuke and the gang try and solve a major terrorist crisis. This was never taken on in the anime because it had its own original ending.

Where were you when you first saw Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame? What were your favorite moments of the Dark Tournament arc? What were your favorite moments of Yu Yu Hakusho overall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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