“Better than One Piece”: Fans go ecstatic as Yu Yu Hakusho live-action unveils final trailer

The trailer for the Yu Yu Hakusho live-action series was released on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. It begins with a monster slaughtering a group of humans who attempted to flee from it. The trailer then cuts to Koenma meeting Urameshi Yusuke, the protagonist of the series, for the first time.

The trailer transitions to a shot of Toguro and Sakyo, who will be the antagonists of the series. Koenma orders Yusuke to become a Spirit Detective in exchange for bringing him back to life and being sent back to Earth. The trailer concludes by showing a few shots of Yusuke training and introducing the main deuteragonists as well.

So far, the reception has been incredible, with many believing that the Yu Yu Hakusho live-action series looked better than the live-action adaptation of One Piece. Let’s take a closer look at some of the responses from the anime and manga community that watched the trailer.

Yu Yu Hakusho live-action trailer receives massive praise from fans

Fans loved the Yu Yu Hakusho live-action trailer, with a large section praising the visuals. In terms of recreating some of the important design elements from the anime series, the production team has done a stellar job.

Goenma’s room, the particle effects, character outfits, and makeup were spot on, as per fans. The team did a brilliant job of recreating the characters from the original anime. Some fans also went on to say that it was better than the One Piece live-action series. This is high praise considering live-action adaptations’ track record and One Piece live-action’s success.

Fans react to the latest trailer by Yu Yu Hakusho and compare it to One Piece live-action series (Screengrab via X)

In addition to admiring the graphics, fans have also acknowledged the potential that the Yu Yu Hakusho live-action series has. Live-action adaptations have had a terrible history, and fans are fully aware of it. Despite that, fans want to give this series a shot and believe that it will go on to perform well once it’s released.

Fans have high hopes for the Yu Yu Hakusho live-action series (Screengrab via X)

However, not all comments are positive. Some are skeptical of how the show will turn out. Fans believe that the live-action adaptation could potentially stray away from the source material, which could impede the overall viewing experience. One fan in particular also pointed out Goenma’s Pacified as an example to support the above point.

Fans criticize the latest trailer and raise concerns about the upcoming live-action adaptation (Screengrab via X)

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt that fans are cautiously optimistic. Based on what was shown in the trailer, fans have raised certain concerns, and the show could potentially suffer from bad pacing. It seems like Yu Yu Hakusho live-action is attempting to adapt way more than what should ideally be adapted.

However, the visuals and the overall execution seem perfect. The trailer is promising, and the response is great for the most part. If they stick to the source material and execute it perfectly, then the live-action adaptation could perform well globally. While it’s difficult to match the One Piece live-action series’ performance, it is possible that Yu Yu Hakusho could match and even surpass the former title’s performance.

Netflix will begin streaming the series on December 14, 2023.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.