Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the earlier works by Togashi. It’s a fantastic series that is often overshadowed by Hunter X Hunter. The story is centered around Yusuke Urameshi, who is assigned as a Spirit detective and is required to resolve the cases assigned to him. Yu Yu Hakusho is a very old series that has aged well and is entertaining even today.

There are four arcs, or sagas, within the entire series. Let’s look at them from the worst to the best.

4. Saga of the Makai Tournament

This story arc is focused on the competition that is held in the realm of the demons. Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei all adventure to the realm of the demons. At the suggestion of Yusuke, the tournament takes place to determine the next king for the world. The participants meet powerful monsters from the world. Then, Enki wins the tournament after a series of hard-fought battles and is crowned the King. In the end, Yusuke returns to Earth to be with his family.

The tournament arc wasn’t as thrilling as the Dark Tournament because the stakes weren’t as high. In addition, our protagonists have become so powerful that the element of terror or mystery has waned. But, the story has some wonderful moments. The demon realm and its culture, and its class system was fascinating to examine. The designs for the newly created demon characters were incredible. I would say that this arc would have worked better had it been based on high levels of stakes and tension. However, it’s quite a nice arc.

Notable Moments:

• Hiei vs Mukuro
• Yusuke vs Yomi
• Kurama’s flashback
• Yusuke’s suggestion to host the tournament.
• Yusuke is back with Keiko

3. Spirit Detective Arc

This is a huge epic saga with five smaller segments. They include Yusuke’s experiences, Artifacts arc, Maze Castle arc, and Yukina rescue arc. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei are all joined during the course of the story and their team unit is one of the greatest shonen relationships ever. Each character is distinct and has a variety of great personality characteristics.

In each mini-arc, we meet new characters, demons, the power system, world-building, fights and more.
The Artifacts arc revealed Kurama as well as Hiei and offered us the chance to see their characters. Genkai’s story arc showcases what powers are available and provides something about how the system works. Genkai’s mini-tournament story is superior to tournament arcs from other series. The Maze castle arc portrayed the first time that each character in the series were working together.

Yukina’s rescue is the best in this arc. Yusuke and Kuwabara are able to save Yukina. Togoro brothers are subdued by this arc and are great villains. Additionally, the dark side of humankind is explored and there are questions about the morality of humans when compared to demons.

Notable Moments:

• Yusuke sacrifices himself for Kurama.
• Yusuke against Kuwabara was expected to win against the Togoro brothers.
• Yusuke vs Suzaku.
• Yusuke vs Hiei.
• Yusuke won Genkai’s tournament.

2. The Black Chapter Arc – My Favorite Among Yu Yu Hakusho Arcs

The story centers around Sensui, who was an ex-spirit investigator, as well as his aim of opening the passageway connecting the demon realm and the world of humans. This will result in high-level demons being able to escape to humankind that humans are unable to take on.
The power levels are explained in terms of Togoro is simply B level, while demons exist that go up through to S level.

The mini-arc that sees Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara, Botan try to rescue Yusuke is among the most enjoyable parts of the story. Then, the team must deal with Sensui’s seven psychic group formed to help Sensui.

This episode explored the morality of mankind. The chapter’s black video is one of the most gruesome elements of the show. Sensui is among the morally upright people who couldn’t believe how bad humankind could be when he spent his life killing monsters with no regret. The anger and guilt made him make different personalities of himself.

The conclusion is a bit disappointing in that Yusuke transforms into a demon due to his ancestry generations back. The power system was developed in this story so that physically weaker characters can beat strong ones with particular capabilities. Sensui is an incredible villain who suffered because of an unsatisfactory ending, but I still loved the character’s arc.

Notable Moments:

• Taboo game.
• Itsuki is the one who takes Sensui to a virtual space for the duration of time.
• Gamemaster games.
• Feast of Human Vices

1. Dark Tournament Arc – The Best Among Yu Yu Hakusho Arcs

Dark Tournament The arc follows the story of Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Genkai participating in the dark tournament that was arranged by greedy human beings and subsequently joined by blood-sucking demons.

The team battled against four teams before facing Team Toguro in the final. They will face Team Rokuyukai first, then Team Ichigaki, and then Team Masho and finally in the semifinals, they will face Uraotogi before meeting Toguro’s squad.

Every battle is a struggle to win. Furthermore, all fights are original and inventive. Tournament arcs can be boring because they don’t have stakes or a thrilling storyline, but this one was able to get past this. Yu Yu Hakusho isn’t an unsubverted tournament arc like Chunin examinations, for instance. It’s simply a tournament arc that doesn’t have subversion. It has raised the bar for the trope of the tournament in Shonen. It is, without doubt, one of the most memorable tournament arcs ever made in anime.

Notable Moments:

• Yusuke vs Toguro
• Hiei using Dragon flames
• The majority of fights