Don't Be Scared of Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho Live-Action Series

Yoshihiro Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho is the perfect anime and manga franchise for a live-action series, so you shouldn't be scared of Netflix's new take on the franchise. While live-action adaptations have understandably developed a poor reputation among fans, there are less reasons to be concerned with their development anymore. It's the same for Netflix's line of projects as well. Because while they have had a couple of notable failures in terms of direct adaptation, there are also a number of successful live-action series that managed to keep the spirit of the original series alive. What is going to matter most is the team behind the new series.

Netflix has announced they will be developing a live-action series for Yu Yu Hakusho, and the initial details for the new project revealed it will be produced by those who have worked on several of Netflix's original anime releases such as Aggretsuko, Devilman Crybaby, and more. Honestly, a live-action take on the franchise is probably the best alternative considering the anime's kind of untouchable at this point.

While Yoshihiro Togashi notably burned himself out toward the end of Yu Yu Hakusho's run, the anime fared better when it came to the finale. Both ended in an abrupt manner, but the anime is often looked upon as one of the best action anime series of all time regardless of what language you watch it in. So the idea of a new anime series taking on the franchise just wouldn't make sense considering how timeless that anime still feels. It's still just as strong as it was back then as it manages to avoid all of the pitfalls of early action series.

The concerns for its adaptation are understandable, but it's still too soon to be completely worried. It's not like the series is going to have a completely whitewashed cast either considering it sounds like it's going to largely be a Japanese production according to that initial announcement. As for whether or not the series' designs can even be replicated in real life, the stage plays have proven that Yu Yu Hakusho can definitely work in a real setting.

To be completely frank about it, Yu Yu Hakusho's initial Spirit Detective saga is the perfect fit for a live-action take. It's not action intensive, nor do the early characters have wild designs that would be hard to replicate (that fashion has to hit though). Series favorite villains like the Toguro brothers wouldn't even really make an appearance until the tail end of the first season, if that. The first season would likely get to The Beasts of Maze Castle arc, and by the time a second rolls around fans will have already made their respective decisions to keep watching or not.

As much as you would want a new anime series, it just would not meet expectations. Yu Yu Hakusho isn't a series that you could explore further with a sequel considering its focus on emotional growth over physical action, and Togashi's still creatively wrapped in Hunter x Hunter (and he was done with Yu Yu Hakusho before it even ended). The original anime series also still has some of the most fluidly animated fight scenes of all time, so it's not like a "high definition" series could improve on that in any way either.

This is the first major new project for the Yu Yu Hakusho franchise in a long time, so really the only thing we should be scared of is whether or not there will be enough of. This could certainly all change as we learn more about this new production, and I could likely have tons of egg on my face a year from now, but at this point it's far more exciting than not. But what do you think?

Are you looking forward to having new Yu Yu Hakusho at all? What are you most concerned about for Netflix's new live-action series? 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!