What’s the difference between Hunter x Hunter VS Yu Yu Hakusho ?

Yoshihiro Togashi is a mangaka legend and a name known by many anime and manga fans around the world. It is a rarity for a mangaka to have written 2 long-running shonen series that are extremely popular and well regarded by the community. Yu Yu Hakusho was published from 1990-1994, Hunter X Hunter started in 1999 and is still publishing today in Weekly Shonen Jump. So what is the debate between these two? Why are they often compared?

Let me start off by saying I am a huge fan and lover of both. They both hold the #6 and #7 spots in my top anime of all time. But to give some context as to why many compare the two series and why they are debated I want to discuss why Togashi has two long-running series. Togashi’s first work was Yu Yu Hakusho, and it took the world by storm. It was ground-breaking to the shonen community because it took the flag that Dragon Ball began waving and carried it into a new era. It was an amazing and beloved series, however, Togashi is a perfectionist and under the stress of the schedule and his own personal health, Togashi became unhappy with the series. He decided to put an end to the series abruptly and so to many fans it is a little disappointing because the ending is sort-of incomplete. Then came Hunter X Hunter 4 years later. It is said that Togashi created this series to be the perfected version of Yu Yu Hakusho. They have many similarities and the series goes on many hiatuses so that it lives up to Togashi’s standards. So with that being said, I’m going to start with a comparison of the two series and my own personal take on these series and why I like one slightly better.

The Story

Togashi has similar themes in both series but the difference is that he conveys them differently in both. Togashi preaches the idea of adventure and friends made along the way, however, this theme is more prevalent in Hunter X Hunter. It is perfected in this series whereas in Yu Yu Hakusho it was implied but the story wasn’t as much of an adventure because the majority of situations were life-threatening. And that’s where I want to start when discussing these two series storylines.

Where Hunter X Hunter is better known for being perfect in its execution, power-system, and technicality, Yu Yu Hakusho is better known for its simplicity, youthfulness, and excitement. That is mainly what distinguishes these two series from one another, and what makes me prefer one slightly above the other.

Hunter X Hunter follows our protagonist Gon Freeces on his journey to becoming a Hunter in the Hunter Association. We follow him on his adventure as a Hunter to discover himself, make new friends along the way, and eventually learn more about his father and why he became a Hunter too. The story’s premise is simple and gives a lot of room for the story to develop. Despite its simple premise, however, Hunter X Hunter is far from simple because Togashi is very technical in the way he explains arcs and the power systems. The power system in HXH is called Nen which is a power based on your own energy. He gives nen a lot of flexibility and amazing qualities but makes it a very complex power with rules, technicalities, and fundamentals. He can take pages upon pages to explain how one character’s Nen ability works. This gives the reader an in-depth view of the system and really helps us understand such an amazing power system. However, aside from its power system, I feel what HXH lacks is more of that simple youthfulness and excitement. It can become too technical for its own good making it at times boring for the viewer because they wish to get to the action. An example of this would be the notorious Chimera Ant arc. However, from a viewer standpoint, I found myself getting impatient at times. I felt that at many times during the arc they over-explained or complicated things that didn’t really need to be that way. Some people really love technicality while others enjoy simplicity and it is really a matter of preference. In the case of these two series I find myself favoring the latter.

Yu Yu Hakusho, individually, starts off with a much more interesting premise that really pulls the viewer in. It follows protagonist Yusuke Urameshi, a no-good punk who’s supposed to amount to nothing. Yet one day he gets hit by a truck and dies trying to save a little kid.  He then meets Botan, the sort of “Grim Reaper ” of the spirit world and she explains that he wasn’t actually meant to die yet. Because of this and the fact that he died doing a good thing if he can prove that he’s actually a good person they will allow his spirit to return to his body. Needless to say, he returns to his body but that’s only how the story begins. It is then discovered by Koenma (The son of the leader of the spirit realm) that Yusuke contains very strong spiritual powers and upon this discovery, he tells Yusuke that since he allowed him to live he must become a spirit world detective. From then Yusuke takes on various spirit world cases, forms a team during his various cases and begins his adventure as a spirit detective. To me, the story of YYH has much more depth and is more interesting inherently then that of HXH. Where the two go head to head is their execution. YYH is looser in its execution, meaning some things are not explained as well, some arcs are not as technical and overall it retains more simplicity than complexity. But when watching the series I found myself finding more enjoyment overall from YYH than HXH. Because I am more interested in the hyped up excitement then I am in how they got there. It’s all a matter of preference. There is no dispute that HXH is executed to a perfect T but there is also just something… refreshing about Yu Yu Hakusho that is absent from that of Hunter X Hunter and I believe it lies in their stories.

The Characters

The other comparison people make between these series are the characters. Togashi is a masterful character writer and both series have a god tier main cast and antagonists. Both series are set up with four people in the main cast and in both series each character lines up with one from the other. So with that being said, I’m going to compare and contrast the two characters that match each other and give my personal opinion on which Togashi does better with.

Kurama vs Kurapika

Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho) and Kurapika (Hunter X Hunter) are both the characters in their respective cast that are the most methodical, intelligent, collected, and level-headed. However, when something affects them personally they can be undeniably terrifying. I love both of these characters a lot and they are both amazing in their own respect, however, it is undeniable that Togashi perfected Kurapika and really made him one of the most well written supporting characters in all of anime. Because Togashi’s goal was to make Hunter X Hunter perfect he took what Kurama was and built upon that. Kurapika now has about 2 full arcs of development for himself (Yorknew and the current arc) and so it’s hard for him not to be a better character simply because he’s been given more development. However, we would not have Kurapika without Kurama so it’s important to remember that but overall Kurapika takes the award between these two.

Kuwabara vs Leorio

Kuwabara (Yu Yu Hakusho) and Leorio (Hunter X Hunter) represent the opposite of the latter two characters listed. They both react solely based on emotion, are very hot-headed, and lack control of themselves very often. However, you can count on them to be reliable when one of their friends are in danger. Between these two characters, currently, Kuwabara has still had the most time dedicated to him. Leorio has had some great moments but he really lacks development in comparison to Kuwabara who is one of the most beloved characters of YYH. Kuwabara’s relationship with Yusuke is special and it is through that relationship that he really shines. Kuwabara is dumb and a punk but he respects Yusuke and would do anything for him. He’s also a man of pride and has the sweetest heart. It’s just very hard not to fall for his character and overall I feel Togashi has been unable to write Leorio with as much depth as him.

Hiei vs Killua

Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho) and Killua (Hunter X Hunter) represent your sort-of “dark” character. Both are intelligent and fight based on instinct and experience. However, like the previous character list, this one is a blow out on one side due to character development. Hiei is an amazing character but does not receive nearly the amount of character development that Killua does. Killua is arguably the best and most developed character of HXH and is also my personal favorite character out of both of these franchises. He overcomes his own insecurities after becoming friends with Gon, and you watch him change drastically through their friendship. Where HXH supersedes YYH is in the relationship between Killua and Gon. It is far more developed than that of its counterpart Yusuke and Kuwabara, and thus really gives Killua and HXH as a whole a leg up above YYH in character writing.

Yusuke vs Gon

We are finally down to our protagonists. Both of these characters are almost exactly equal in terms of writing and quality as a protagonist. However, in the end, I find myself preferring Yusuke. I find him to be a much cooler character with a more developed personality. To me, I feel as though without Killua I wouldn’t find Gon to be that interesting of a protagonist, however, Yusuke I find to be a great protagonist standing alone. Although both carry their own morals, Yusuke expresses those morals more in the series not to mention he’s just such a cool character. He’s a punk but an exceptionally nice guy, who maintains a girlfriend throughout the entire series (literally almost never seen in shonen?) He wears his emotions on his sleeves more, and I also find him to be super funny. I have so many relatable Yusuke quotes in my back pocket you wouldn’t believe it. I think ultimately both characters are great but as stand-alone protagonists, Yusuke is far more interesting.

At this point in the comparison, both series are quite literally neck-in-neck. Yu Yu Hakusho slightly dominates in the story but Hunter X Hunter slightly dominates in character writing. Then between the two protagonists, Yu Yu Hakusho takes the upper hand but that’s not to ignore that overall Hunter X Hunter still has better character writing. So where did I decide which I found myself slightly more drawn to?

To sum up,  they are both masterpieces worthy of praise. Anime lovers should take a try to enjoy these series, I bet they will never disappoint you. 

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