The Netflix live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series Yu Yu Hakusho was announced last year and has been in the works for quite some time now. It was no secret either, as set pictures were making the rounds on Instagram.
However, the latest announcement of Yu Yu Hakusho officially returning along with the first live-action poster on Twitter does amount to something and it has the internet abuzz. So far, one casting choice has been announced and it is for the main character, Yusuke Urameshi, who will be played by Tokyo Revengers‘ Takumi Kitamura, as revealed by IGN.
A surprise from the underworld.
The legendary manga is returning as a live action series. The main roles for Yu Yu Hakusho will be revealed soon…pic.twitter.com/bUp2Q6FV2l
— IGN (@IGN) July 16, 2022
The legacy of Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho is an anime classic; its manga first came in 1990 and was an instant hit worldwide. The plot entailed a high school student losing his life while saving a young child from a traffic accident but being given a chance to get resurrected. He rises from the grave to become a spirit detective. The Anime adaptation was a masterpiece as well, with over a hundred episodes and what is often believed to be one of the best Shonen arcs of all time. The manga and series have a hefty and huge legacy. A live-action adaptation, and that too by Netflix is a big blank question mark.Netflix has a taste for sloppy live-actions
Netflix’s disaster diary (may we call it a “Cancel NOTE”…) had another recent utterly failed attempt – the Cowboy Bebop live-action adaptation. The show, much like Yu Yu Hakusho, holds a great legacy but the live-action was a bland and over-ambitious project. The anime series had archetype characters that the creator tried to evolve into fully-rounded beings– haphazardly recasting two characters as queer and black, respectively; a deliberate and forced attempt at LGBTQ+ and POC representation. The creator is entitled to their own revised representation and no absolute fidelity is owed to the original work, but it is the unsatisfactory product that has nothing redeeming to it. The humor is dry and the writing is sloppy. In conclusion, a big flop and nothing else, the fans are testaments to the fact.The announcement of One Piece’s live-action Netflix adaptation too has garnered mixed reactions so far. Still in the making, we have time before we can say anything concrete about it.
What Netflix actually has, is the AUDACITY
What is the most surprising fact is the perseverance and audacity with which Netflix is AT IT. We mean the pretty unhealthy obsession with creating live-action remakes, especially considering how extremely terrible they’ve been turning out so far. Mistakes make people grow but Netflix refuses to take note and learn from their previous mistakes. Or maybe, (a big “what if?!”) Netflix is actually banking on hate-watchers now? Because the fans have had anything but a positive reaction since the live-action was announced.For some fans, it’s not so much the fact that the anime is getting adapted into a live-action project but it is Netflix holding the reigns that’s the deal-breaker for them.Netflix is really out here creating incredible shows that people love only to cancel them after one season to save money to make
*checks notes*
live action Yu Yu Hakusho
— TheGinachu(@TheGinachu) July 16, 2022
For some, the adaptation is the deliberate desecration of something holy. Our sincere condolences.
Even the people who haven’t watched the anime are dead sure of live-action being a shit show.
With no hopes in our hearts and expectations lower than the sea level during a low tide, let’s see in what ways Netflix massacres our boy.
