PASS OR PLAY

Why 'Ghost Fighter' might still be worth a watch today

"Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files," locally known as "Ghost Fighter" just dropped on Netlfix Philippines today and 90's anime fans are none the happier. This classic shonen anime, after all, mobilized a whole generation of Pinoy kids to rush home from school to catch the latest episodes (remember appointment viewing?) and pretend that they have spirit energy shooting from their fingertips.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

If your memory of "Ghost Fighter" is already hazy or you’re a zoomer who hasn’t watched it yet, here’s a quick plot: it follows the story of teen rascal Yusuke (Eugene in GMA's 1999 airing) who dies after getting hit by a car to save a child. He enters the Spirit World where he gets a second chance at life, literally, as a Spirit Detective who must protect the Human World from supernatural threats.

In his new job, Yusuke finds himself investigating Demon World-related cases and fighting tournaments with unlikely allies: demons Kurama (Dennis) and Hiei (Vincent), and another powered human, Kuwabara (Alfred).

Now that the basics are settled, you might be wondering: is this old-school anime worth my bandwidth and all that nostalgic hype?

Yes, and here are four reasons why:

1. It’s the OG martial arts tournament anime.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

90's kids might argue that "Ghost Fighter" help set the formula of tournament arcs in animes. Think of other early ones like "Flame of Recca" and "Naruto" (Chunin Exams arc), and recent ones like "My Hero Academia" (U.A. Sports Festival arc) and "Kengan Ashura" (Kengan Annihilation Tournament).

Ghost Files’ Dark Tournament arc is actually considered as one of greatest tourneys in anime history. It might have dragged on for episodes in the GMA airing but the fights were properly paced that you wouldn’t mind spending the whole week waiting for the result, even if it’s painfully obvious sometimes.

2. The fight scenes are iconic.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

You’re not a true 90's Filo weeb if you’ve never uttered, even once, Ghost File’s Toguro’s “Isang-daang porysento!” catchphrase and if you didn’t flex your imaginary guns while doing so. Yusuke’s battle with this musclebound villain was so iconic that it spawned countless of memes years later, which, let’s be honest, is a true gauge of relevance.

Another memorable battle was Kurama v.s. Karasu, also in the Dark Tournament arc. To be fair, Kurama fight scenes are always worth the watch for the amazing visuals. His moves just make for good animation like the the whirlwind of roses of Petal and Thorns and the lush yet deadly beauty of the Ojigi Plant that put an end to Karasu.

The Demon World Tournament arc also had great moments, especially when the telepath and telekinesis queen Mukuro whips out that Third Dimensional Cutter in her fight versus Hiei. Her mind!

3. You’ll be rooting for some of the villains too.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

It’s a given that you’ll be supporting Team Urameshi all the way. But their enemies have interesting and well-defined back stories that will make you cheer for them as they slug it out with our heroes.

Take, for example, Shinobu Sensui, a former Spirit Detective who got disillusioned after witnessing humans torturing low-level demons for amusement. This incident drove the once gifted Spirit Detective mad and employ extreme measures to rectify his mistakes.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

Villains like Sensui aren’t cookie cutter bad guys that fight just to prove they are the most powerful in the world. Often, they are driven by traumatic events in their past that resulted in warped morals. The anime has more in store. Even Toguro has a neat back story.

4. It goes beyond brawls and Rei Guns.

If you’re a 90's kid, you probably liked "Ghost Fighter" because the episodic storylines are a breeze to follow. It’s mostly, “Who’s going to win the fight this time?” The simple but action-packed battles, after all, are an effective hook for young viewers.

You may even rewatch the show just to be reminded of simpler times when watching animes means making sure you get home quickly and then shamelessly mimicking the characters’ power moves the next day in school with your classmates.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

If you will watch it now though with a mature mind and fresh eyes, you might be surprised that it has some philosophical musings that are relevant in whatever era we are in.

To begin with, "Ghost Fighter" started off with an “Us v.s Them” plot when human Yusuke had to fight off demons. But as the series progressed, the latter become his friends and worthy allies. It will make you wonder if all demons, or other symbolic Thems, are really bad or most are just antagonized because of sketchy politics.

The Sensui arc pretty much answered this, albeit a bit extremist in its execution.

^{Photo courtesy of Netflix}

"Ghost Fighter" also has an interesting take on the idea of winning, which is refreshing for a martial arts tournament anime. We won’t bother you with spoilers for this one. Rather, we’ll just repeat our earlier verdict: press play for this iconic anime.

For zoomers, it’s worth the bandwidth as this classic series is a great showcase of the foundations of shonen and tournament animes. As for 90's kids, this "oldie but goodie" deserves as a rewatch for the nostalgia hits and the nuggets of wisdom that you might have missed when your form was still not at its, well, “Isang daang porsyento.” —JCB, GMA News