In literature and film a strong main character helps pull the reader in into the story. Yu Yu Hakusho is no exception. It first aired in 1992 and concluded in 1994, but it is still very popular and this can be attributed to its main character Yusuke Urameshi. 

Yu Yu Hakusho is about a young boy named Yusuke Urameshi who jumps in front of a car to save a little boy’s life and has to go through a test to come back to life. This results in him becoming a spirit detective whose job is to defeat demons that threaten the human world. 

The first description of Yusuke in the series gives the reader an idea of what to expect from him. Yusuke Urameshi is, “14 years old” and “a truly obnoxious punk” (Yu Yu Hakusho Volume 1). It sets up for a perfect curveball as in the next scene readers see that he sacrifices himself by jumping in front of a car to save a little boy. This happens so quickly that it forces the reader to start thinking about who Yusuke really is. 

After Yusuke dies, he meets a reaper named Botan. She says, “None of us had any idea you would risk your life to save a child,” and that because of what he did he can earn a second chance at life after passing a test.

During the test, he finds himself viewing other people and different perspectives and these all line up with this idea of caring. (Most of these scenes are only in the manga, but have no significant difference from the anime’s story.) 

The first person Yusuke visits is a young boy whose dog is on the brink of death. He and Botan both know the dog does not have much time left.

This dog is holding on to life because of how much he cares for this boy. When he passes on, the boy doesn’t know what to do with himself. He doesn’t have anything to fight for. That’s when it reconnects back to Yusuke. Yusuke is a person who hasn’t had anything to “fight for” for so long that he just stopped caring. He felt like his life was meaningless. He then helps the boy find a reason to “fight on.”

The theme of finding a purpose hits home to teen and adult readers alike. Yusuke highlights this importance of having something to care about and to fight for. I highly recommend reading Yu Yu Hakusho.