Netflix officially released its live-action adaptation of Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga Yu Yu Hakusho. Though the series received mixed reviews, with some complaining about its lack of character development and skipping multiple arcs, only running for five episodes, it was proven to be a big hit on the streamer, leading its top 10 list for the week.
Yu Yu Hakusho dominated Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English TV shows for December 11-17. For its premiere week, it has 32,100,000 million hours viewed across 7,700,000 million views, followed by My Demon, Blood Coast, and Single’s Inferno Season 3. It’s among the top 10 non-English TV shows in 76 countries and is number one in Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Philippines, Qatar, Taiwan, and Thailand.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it receives a 67% Tomatometer with six reviews and an 84% audience score with over 250 ratings. Though many lauded Takumi Kitamura and Shuhei Uesugi’s acting prowess as Yusuke and Kuwabara, some complained about its fast pacing, not allowing the characters to develop their connections naturally. Others also criticized the removal of certain arcs to condense the series into five episodes. However, its good visuals and action-packed scenes are said to have outweighed how shallow it sometimes feels.
Will there be Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2?
Warning: Major spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Netflix has yet to announce if there will be Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2. The five-episode series is based on a few different arcs, telling its own story in one timeline and combining the Rescue Yukina and Dark Tournament into one. Its fifth episode features the fight between Team Urameshi and Team Toguro in a smaller tournament, ending with Yusuke defeating the younger Toguro.
Though its source material still has plenty of stories to tell, with Yusuke being pitted against a former Spirit Detective and fighting against the other demons to control the Demon World, the live-action seems to only run for one season. The show has wrapped up its characters’ stories. Win or lose, it will be a good ending for the adaptation. But a second season is still likely if it's a success.
It’s still early to assume that a second season will come, as it has only been a week since Yu Yu Hakusho was released. Its ratings have proved that it’s already a hit, so it may only take a matter of time before a renewal happens.
