Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho will premiere this December.
In 1990, Weekly Shonen Jump introduced readers to “Underworld Detective” Yusuke Urameshi, who rose to become one of the most iconic shounen heroes of the decade. According to Netflix’s website, the live-action retelling of Yoshihiro Togashi’s hit manga will premiere on December 14. Netflix Japan also posted a short video announcing the release date on its X page (formerly is Twitter). Additionally, the post highlights the main cast of the series along with the upcoming promotional event titled “New Year’s Eve Festival: The World’s Fastest Show,” which will be held on December 13. Detailed information about the screening location and guests will be announced at a later date.
Netflix revealed some key details about its live-action Yu Yu Hakusho project last summer. In July 2022, the popular streaming company confirmed the casting of live-action Tokyo Revengers star Takumi Kitamura as Yusuke Urameshi. Subsequent announcements revealed the casting of Kanata Hongo, Jun Shison, and Shuhei Uesugi as Hiei, Kurama, and Kazuma Kawabara, respectively. Netflix also revealed a series of official Yu Yu Hakusho promotional images, one of which depicts Yusuke charging his Spirit Gun.
Sho Tsukikawa, who previously directed the live-action adaptation of Yoru Sumino’s romance novel Let Me Eat Your Pancreas, will direct Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho. The film chronicles the love story of high school students Haruki Shiga and Yamauchi Sakura, who are later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Yu Yu Hakusho screenwriter Tatsuro Mishima also co-wrote the script for Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, a unique horror comedy about a young man who receives new appreciation for life after a zombie apocalypse.
Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga Yu Yu Hakusho is about a delinquent high school student named Yusuke Urameshi, who sacrifices his life to save a child from being hit by a car. Yusuke awakens as a ghost next to a cheerful Botan, who informs him that, due to his untimely death, he does not have a place reserved for heaven or hell. Therefore, Yusuke is given the opportunity to regain his life by overcoming a series of challenges. After succeeding, he was given special powers on the condition that he would use them to investigate supernatural phenomena in the human realm. Pierrot’s popular anime adaptation ran for 112 episodes from October 1992 to December 1994. 2020 saw the release of the first live-action adaptation of the series, Butai Yu Yu Hakusho, directed and co-written by Chuji Mikasano (live-action Tokyo Ghoul). .)
Netflix’s live-action Yu Yu Hakusho is scheduled to premiere on December 14. The original manga is available in English on VIZ Media.
Source: Netflix and X website (formerly Twitter)