Counting Down the 20 Coolest Characters in Anime - #7 Yusuke Urameshi, Yu Yu Hakusho

"Since I started this tournament I learned the value of what you gave away, and I won't let it go. Even if I have to give up my life."

This is where we get to probably the most nostalgic part of this countdown. I mean, I literally rushed home from school everyday when I was 12 to catch Yu Yu Hakusho and Dragonball Z airing back to back on Toonami back in the day. So its no surprise that when it comes to the protagonist of Yu Yu Hakusho, Yusuke Urameshi, writing this gives me a lot of nostalgic warm fuzzies. It's not just me that feels this way either. Yusuke Urameshi is one of the most iconic characters in anime history and in an era (80's-90's era anime) when many protagonists were perfect little boy scouts in anime (Neon Genesis Evangelion a major exception as well) Yusuke is a breath of fresh air.

Always the joker

So yes, Yusuke Urameshi begins the story of Yu Yu Hakusho as a delinquent whose just kind of a jerkass that doesn't really care about school or anything really. However, it's clearly shown that Yusuke is one of those jerkasses with a heart of gold and his antics are more hilarious than anything. He does definitely earn his reputation as a bad boy since nobody can take him in a fight. However, it's also shown that his reputation is largely inflated and exaggerated by people that don't really know him. So in the first episode, Yusuke actually dies (yes...the protagonist dies in the first episode) trying to save a kid from being hit by a car. However, it turns out that Yusuke's actions were pointless as the car wouldn't have actually hit the kid and Yusuke's pushing him out of the way actually gives the kid one or two more scrapes. Of course, this doesn't change the fact that Yusuke did something ridiculously unexpected by risking his life to save a little boy. So Spirit World doesn't exactly have a place prepared for him in either heaven or hell so they decide to give Yusuke the chance to get his life back. Yusuke isn't originally thrilled with this idea since he thinks that nobody will miss him since he was such a jerkass. However, after observing his funeral as a spirit, he realizes he was much more important to people than he realized and resolves to earn his life back. Through this ordeal, Yusuke does get his life back but with a catch. The interim king of Spirit World, Prince Koenma, recruits him to be a Spirit Detective and protect the living world from the threat of demons. Yusuke is snarky, a smart ass, but extremely good at his job as Spirit Detective. Thats what makes him such a great character (doesn't hurt either that Justin Cook does a phenomenal job voicing him). Not to mention the fact that he basically makes a friend out of everyone who fights him mostly because he's a strong fighter and great guy. Don't even get me started on how awesome his signature Spirit Gun attack is. (I'd take that thing over a Kamehameha any day) He's the kind of character who cracks jokes in the face of danger, isn't scared of anyone, and will be a smartass until the end. Yusuke's moments of hilarity rival the number of moments he has being a badass.

Throughout the series you feel that Yusuke is constantly growing as a character. Despite being a jerkass its made abundantly obvious that there is more to Yusuke than meets the eye. However, there is so much for him to learn as the series moves along. For example, during the Dark Tournament Arc, Yusuke realizes the value of mortality and that theres so much more to fight for rather than just testing one's strength against another's. Yusuke learns that in his position there are people he must protect and he can't afford to lose. Yu Yu Hakusho uses the theme of maturing and growing up throughout it's run. Yusuke's journey and development as a character are the same kind of developments that people make when they're 14. He's a very relatable protagonist which is rare for most shounen characters since most of the time they're too busy screaming and shooting beams at each other to really develop their characters. Don't get me wrong, Yusuke does his fair share of that in the series but Yu Yu Hakusho makes time for Yusuke to slow down and really develop his character. It feels as if the entire show is the road that Yusuke takes to adulthood, evaluating his priorities and watching them mature as he matures as a person. He remains the lovable, snarky protagonist that he always was, but you really get a sense of how far he's come since his initial appearance.

I'm a little biased here I know because I absolutely love Yu Yu Hakusho because it holds such nostalgic value for me. However, the reason I really love him as a character is because he's a masterfully developed character for a shounen series that you can really root for and relate to. Anyone who watched Yu Yu Hakusho will find it nearly impossible to dislike Yusuke, because lets be honest, snarky protagonists are the best kind of protagonists.