Her being retired aside, she can easily teach Yusuke and co the stuff Genkai taught them in the beginning of the arc, plus she knew Sensui and her ideology is quite opposite to his, so I think that could've allowed for an interesting interaction.

https://preview.redd.it/y5esur50gige1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97d461e13299e9a7bed6f162125ad6427799e574

https://preview.redd.it/qry3ms50gige1.png?width=776&format=png&auto=webp&s=436104b1485d2e2d233de0ae29d1fbbe1d90ebe8

Mine was “Game Over.” I remember watching it after Thanksgiving passed on Toonami Saturday night when it premiered on CN and found the series to be pretty fascinating with its supernatural vibes.

I was super confused on why Kuwabara was tied up (and eventually gagged), until years later I really got into the series and then it made much more sense when I saw he was kidnapped (side note: Gourmet is my favorite of the Sensui 7).

not stronger but better written

I’m rewatching for first time since i was 10 years old & noticed that Botan, Kuwabara, & the rest of the characters were acting as if they lost a family member when thats not even the case however you try to put it. They barely even KNEW her, nor had a relationship with her to act the way the way they were. Definitely a corny moment in this show 😂😂

for me mukuro whats for yall?

Few days ago, someone posted about how our generation was the last one that knows about yyh. It’s old and nobody is getting into it.

I disagree.

I teach. Kids are more likely to read easy books. So I bring in some comics and manga. Spy x family, jjk, naruto, and of course yyh. Today, some of them asked me about it and I just said it’s good. Now I got someone who is reading a volume a day, I got another waiting for the slow reader, and I got a problem child who is sitting down to read it cause “yusuke is just like me fr”.

Relax guys, the next generation will come through.

It has a prisim effect!!

Kuwabara's Spirit sword always sounded like a light saber anyways right? Fanart drawn by me on 11x17 paper with Micron Pens and Sharpie, then colored digitally by Lydia Monette.

just a battle lool

Not going to open these, at least the sealed three. One is opened so I might build it.

Here's a meme I created, based on that video from a few days ago

I just want to see your thoughts on this take.

When Togashi was working on Yu Yu Hakusho, I believe he was at his peak of storytelling (would it be okay if I ask you guys not to mention HxH here? Thank you). This is why:

The story of Toguro vs. Yusuke begins at Yukina's rescue. At that point, we have no idea who Toguro is or his backstory. And maybe Togashi didn’t know either. Here, Yusuke thinks he won.

After that, we have a second encounter where Toguro is presented in a new lens. He is manipulative, dangerous, and scarily powerful. This second encounter is also important, not just because of the narrative of Toguro vs. Yusuke, but also because we are again presented with a protagonist that we are not forced to like.

I use the word “forced” because, in a typical shonen, you will likely be forced to like the stereotype: strongest and/or nicest/super positive. We can see now that Yusuke is not only a bad boy but a kid who is afraid and has gotten himself into trouble he might not be able to solve. And the way he deals with that is not by drama or by saying, “I have to be the strongest,” but instead a mix of “There is no other way” and “I have to try.”

They will have a few dialogues and face-offs before their third and final encounter in the final fight.

At this point, Toguro has gone from a random villain to a complex, well-built villain. Someone who has morals, desires, humor, style, swag, and is still the final boss.

And here Togashi finds himself with a problem. The same problem I believe many authors have when creating a good villain with a good story: Toguro was the main drive for all the other fights. Why did Yusuke⁹ need to win? Because a 60+-year-old guy challenged a bad boy of 14–16 years old to a fight. This is not to save the world (not directly, but it also helps, right? If you don’t see why, ask, and I can go into more detail). It’s not because anyone is in immediate danger. This is simply an answer to a challenge.

But here’s how Togashi uses his storytelling to build up the tournament and the third meeting between Toguro and Yusuke: Genkai’s death.

Toguro is solidified as a “must-die” villain, and the stakes are higher now. Yusuke accepts the challenge, but now he can’t lose anymore.

Back to the final fight: again, we see why this is peak. Two really strong characters in Yusuke and Toguro. Toguro has all the background to make this fight the ultimate fight, and Togashi finds a way to raise a question:

“Okay, we are both strong. But how do we decide who should win?”

Yusuke finally realizes that he has no choice—he has to kill Toguro. He is only 14–16, and he has to understand and accept the fact that he has to kill someone. Except, he can’t.

Togashi shows us that Yusuke was never really ready to make this decision, nor was he prepared to defeat Toguro.

And from Toguro's side: He had already made the decision to die fighting long ago. He thought Yusuke would be the one, but the truth is, he was not.

Toguro was strongest in all aspects. He had better control of his power and skill, more experience, and a martial arts background. More emotional control. He could have won, but he decided this was worth being his last fight. Yusuke, although not as strong as Toguro, is able to land a blow strong enough to kill Toguro.

And what does Togashi do next? He presents us with someone who is strong, has the same desire to die, and doesn’t find Yusuke to be his final fight (justified, since Sensui is much stronger than both Toguro and Yusuke). But this character serves to show us how Togashi knew Toguro had to die yet realized that Yusuke was not strong enough at that point. And the format he brought to us (the tournament) didn’t allow for a satisfactory narrative shift that could explore Toguro’s potential. This is how Sensui becomes his response and reaction to “I wish I could work more with a veteran warrior.”

In conclusion: Toguro was the winner of the fight. He just wasn’t allowed to win at that moment.

I found this topic interisting because to me the author's desire was "i want to write more about a veteran warrior" but because he had responsabilities to the producers, to us, also to, probably, final dates, he had to finnish that arc. And because of that he had to be creative and concise and responsible.

so i just finished yyh for the first time ever. i started it back in 2021 and dropped it (i’m horrible at finishing series.) i made my return to it about two months ago and WOW. just finished the last episode and felt like a big baby. i thought the ending was so wonderful and while it left some unanswered questions, they were ones i could guess about. so, so sweet. i ended up getting so attached to this series!

what did you all think of the ending? who ended up being your favorite character? mine will always be genkai!

ps. forever shipping yukina and kuwabara. <3