Over recent weeks, Netflix has slowly teased Yu Yu Hakusho fans with character posters and short teasers before finally dropping the full official trailer on Dec. 5, 2023. Sporting special effects, monster depictions and high-octane fight sequences, the trailer has been a major hit with typically cautious fans on social media. Robot Communications, which is behind the special effects, was praised in the trailer’s description: “Feast your eyes on this top-class Asian battle action series, featuring world-class, cutting-edge visual effects and presented by a cast and staff who are at the pinnacle of Japanese entertainment!”

Ready for a glimpse into the spirit world?

Yu Yu Hakusho — the live-action adaptation of the legendary Weekly Shonen Jump manga — premieres December 14. pic.twitter.com/xlCY64eICH

— Netflix (@netflix) December 5, 2023

【New Trailer】
YU YU HAKUSHO Live Action
Scheduled for December 14 on Netflix!

✨More: https://t.co/CGCjBh2jaI
pic.twitter.com/XXcCfCFWvT

— AnimeTV チェーン (@animetv_jp) December 5, 2023

【New Trailer】
YU YU HAKUSHO Live Action
Scheduled for December 14 on Netflix!

✨More: https://t.co/CGCjBh2jaI
pic.twitter.com/XXcCfCFWvT

— AnimeTV チェーン (@animetv_jp) December 5, 2023

Ready for a glimpse into the spirit world?

Yu Yu Hakusho — the live-action adaptation of the legendary Weekly Shonen Jump manga — premieres December 14. pic.twitter.com/xlCY64eICH

— Netflix (@netflix) December 5, 2023

Fans may get even more excited when they learn that Robot Communications likewise produced the special effects seen in Alice in Borderland and the new Godzilla Minus One alongside Toho. Godzilla Minus One is considered one of the greatest entries in the franchise, with fans baffled at how such a blockbuster adaptation was produced on a shoestring budget. With fan sentiment and the names to go alongside it, headlined by the popular Tokyo Revengers live-action lead Takumi Kitamura, Netflix has every chance of success following the massive fan acclaim of One Piece and Alice in Borderland.

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho will adapt the Yoshihiro Togashi (Hunter x Hunter) manga of the same name. The series was first published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from December 1990 to July 1994 and is described by English publishers VIZ Media as: “Yusuke Urameshi was a tough teen delinquent until one selfless act changed his life…by ending it. When he died saving a little kid from a speeding car, the afterlife didn’t know what to do with him, so it gave him a second chance at life. Now, Yusuke is a ghost with a mission, performing good deeds at the behest of Botan, the spirit guide of the dead, and Koenma, her pacifier-sucking boss from the ‘other side.’ But what strange things await him on the borderline between life and death?”

Yoshihiro Togashi has released a message regarding his ideas for Hunter x Hunter in case something happens to him, which fans are heavily analyzing.

Yu Yu Hakusho joins the growing slate of manga and anime franchises to receive the live-action treatment. Fans continue to wait for One Piece Season 2, while the Naruto and Akira live-action films also recently received updates. In addition, while based on a game, the live-action Legend of Zelda has promised to invoke Studio Ghibli’s magic — an iconic studio name among the anime fandom.