The Influences of Yoshiro Togashi
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At least once or twice, you heard of the anime Yu Yu Hasuko and Hunter X Hunter. These are the well-supported manga of Yoshiro Togashi. If we're talking about the early 90s, Yu Yu Hakusho is a stand-out and may be one of the early 90s Big 3. Yu Yu Hashuko defied the traditional anime storyline when it killed its main character after the first few episodes. Yusuke, the main character, died when he saves a child from an impending accident. He wanders as a spirit for a while as he attempts to bring his life back. Togashi enables the smooth introduction of how the spirit world works with these scenes.
When we get the hook out of it, Togashi surprised us with how Yusuke can get back his life after fulfilling a series of tests. Yusuke passed the test and was able to return to the living world but with a proviso. At the same time, he gained the ability to see spirits and demons and became a detective for the underworld, which he needs to resolve cases of spirits in amok at the living world.
Yusuke's first mission is to recover the stolen treasures of the ReiKai. He meets the thieves, Kurama and Hiei, which they become a team later on together with his best friend, Kazuma Kuwabara. They have accomplished several missions given by Koenma. Their dynamics were quite shaky but became well when they join the Dark Tournament. The tournament brings them closer.
I think people got a hook in the series when the Dark Tournament arc. The climactic battles between the main characters, demons, and bad guys excites the audience. Togashi builds a climactic fight until Yusuke fought the Younger Toguro. Before the tournament start, Yusuke and Kuwabara train with Genkai. Genkai is Yusuke's teacher who died when she loses to the younger Toguro. Before she died, he was able to train Yusuke.
Togashi created each character to have a unique set of goals outsides Yusuke's influence. It makes fans rooted to them when Yusuke isn't involved. Togashi enables each of the characters to shine in the series. He put good work into developing the series antagonist. His portrayal of the Toguro and Sensui alludes to the fans continuing to watch the series. Toguro sold his humanity to seek more thrills for fighting demons. Sensui was a former spirit detective who discovered the truth, and he wants to eliminate the real threats. Yusuke and their ideologies clashed, and we see great action scenes as they fight with one another. The fans so a lot of parallels between these characters.
Togashi created a seemingly effortless tale on how warriors fight to find themselves and lose themselves as well. He must have taken a one or two page from Dragon Ball. Every battle animes after Dragon Ball pays respect to it. Togashi showcased the pride and angst of each character as they find themself in the fight. Yu Yu Hakusho meets criticisms in its run, but it holds up because of its well-developed storyline and characters.
Yu Yu Hakusho debuted in Shonen Jump in 1990 and became a motion by 1992. It ran for 112 episodes. It reached global fame when Toonami released an English Dub in 2003. The Yu Yu Hashuko manga ended abruptly due to the health issues of Togashi. The Studio Poerrots gave their take on the series finale. When you start watching the series, you will get hooked on it, and every episode compels you to watch the next.
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Yoshiro Togashi created another series in 1998, which is the Hunter X Hunter. It is still running in Shonen Jump to date, but It is on hiatus. Togashi is taking a leave of absence due to his health issues. The Hunter X Hunter runs in 1999-2000 by Nippon Animation, and in 2011-2014 by Madhouse Inc. The Hunter X Hunter follows Gon Freecs, who searches for his father. Gon started a journey to find his father. Throughout that journey, he becomes a world-class hunter and meets some friends.
Gon is a 12-year-old kid on Whale Island who spends a lot of time fishing and running in the forest. He knew Hunter's world when he took the hunter exam and learned nen from his mentors. He was with his friends Kurapika, Leorio, Killua, and more when they developed their supernatural abilities. Togashi's storytelling continues to expand the story. His plot focuses on game-like fights where the main characters fight of series of enemies before reaching the final villain rather than stretched-out battles like Dragon Balls Z.
Togashi gave us a decent character development for us to understand the characters like Kurapika and Kurama. Along the way, he introduces more characters that fit right into the storyline and creates a theme of power struggles. Gon and Yusuke are similar in many ways. In appearance, they have jet black hair and wears a green outfit. They both developed supernatural physical abilities in the series. They are unstoppable when they know what they are fighting. They have great resolve when fighting villains. Their emotions lead to strength when villains mess with the people and things that they value.
Togashi's work influenced some of the successful and new manga series. One of these mangas is Bleach and Naruto. Bleach and Naruto are two of the most popular Shonen anime and manga series. They complete the Big 3 with One Piece. But a few people knew that these mangas take a page or two from Togashi's work. Tite Kubo, the creator of Bleach, may refuse to say that Bleach's influence is Togashi's Yu Yu Hashuko. When we look at the initial story of Bleach, we can see a similarity to Yu Yu Hashuko. However, Bleach is not a rip-off of Yu Yu Hasuko; hence it has its own unique story.
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A delinquent teenager meets a young girl that gives him power. The power enables him to fight demons in the afterlife. He soon meets a two-man that kidnaps his lower. One man has red hair while the other has black. After, he faced powerful enemies, who were presumed to be dead. The villain reveals that they are unbeatable. The main character fought a series of battles to become strong together with his friends. The hero went to a cave to overcome something within themselves. He faced the enemy and win. After the fight ended, a character loses power. When things seem normal, humans gain supernatural powers, and then some people kidnap the hero and bring him to a house. It turns out that it is a way to train the hero. Not long after, a new villain surfaced, which is a former agent of the afterlife.
The plot fits both Yu Yu Hashuko and Bleach. Yusuke was a spirit detective, while Ichigo is a Substitute Shinigami. For Yu Yu Hashuko, Yusuke has to pass an entrance test to be trained by Genkai. At the same time, A demon, Rando, is vying for the position too. Bleach also has an unseen enemy in Aizen. Yu Yu Hashulo ends after four arcs, while Bleach has a well-explored storyline. The power-up of its villain in the second arc is quite similar. In the third arc, ordinary humans have special powers. Yusuke and Ichigo discovered their ancestor are the most powerful characters in the series in the fourth arc.
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Masahi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, openly admits that Togashi's Hunter X Hunter influenced his series, Naruto. The beginning of Naruto follows Togashi's work. The hero is a 12-year-old whose father is a well-known ninja or hunter. The hero undergoes an exam to become a ninja or a hunter, and he finds friends during the exam. The Chunin and The Hunter exam has different phases with equal difficulty. Kurapika and Sasuke share the same fate with its clan demised. Both of them have a power associated with their eyes.
Bleach and Naruto bear similarities with Togashi's work, and it is clear that Togashi influenced their work. We can't deny that Bleach and Naruto have a unique storyline. We can say, without a doubt, Togashi's influenced the new manga and anime series. Togashi's works became the starting point of the two of the most popular stories of all time. If you love Bleach and Naruto, you will love Togashi's Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter X Hunter.
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