Hunter X Hunter: A response to Yu Yu Hakusho?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv3FN2y6zJI - 15:25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2aLBywVQ9U - 10:39

     Is the anime Hunter X Hunter a response to the anime Yu Yu Hakusho?  With the help of the two

videos in this reflection, I will attempt to explain why I think that the answer to this question is yes.

There is a lot that I have already shared of my thoughts about the anime Yu Yu Hakusho on this blog

(Day 11 - 15 and 20 posts for my summer anime class), so if I share anything else about it here, it

will be in relation to the anime Hunter X Hunter and the question I started this post with.

     The two videos in this reflection mostly talk about the character similarities and differences

between these two anime.  I don't really agree or disagree with any of the ones suggested, but I just

think Togashi, the creator of both of these series, really knows how to write good characters.  After

all, from what I've seen with anime, the story pretty much depends on how well the characters are

written (for example, my first reflection of Yu Yu Hakusho in my Day 11 post is based on a video of

analyzing the main character of the anime).  Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter X Hunter are both very well

written thanks to the characters in them.

      However, despite the fact that I prefer Yu Yu Hakusho to Hunter X Hunter, I would say Hunter X

Hunter is definitely a response to Yu Yu Hakusho since Hunter X Hunter is more developed than Yu

Yu Hakusho.  Part of this is due to what is said in the second video about Togashi having more

freedom and time with Hunter X Hunter than with Yu Yu Hakusho, which is also why the creator of

these videos would think Hunter X Hunter is a response to Yu Yu Hakusho.  The character

comparison that I think suggests this the most would be comparing Yusuke, the main character of Yu

Yu Hakusho, to Ging, the father of the main character in Hunter X Hunter Gon.  Gon and Yusuke are

also similar, but saying Yusuke is more like Ging suggests that Yusuke is like the father of Gon.  This

would also mean that Yusuke came before Gon, which actually happened.

     There are also other reasons why Hunter X Hunter can be seen as a response to Yu Yu Hakusho.

For example, the difference in how gender identity is treated.  Hunter X Hunter is definitely better at

this than Yu Yu Hakusho (I used the following video that explains an example of gender identity and

how it's treated in the anime Hunter X Hunter for a graduate school assignment on gender identity

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7R4CGgV8qk).  However, how it's dealt with in Yu Yu

Hakusho, with not as memorable examples (not to me anyway), is more of an insight into some of it's

characters, which is also true in Hunter X Hunter.  This is just one example of many, like the

differences in character development, including the idea of teamwork and the use of power.

Basically, Hunter X Hunter is not just a response to Yu Yu Hakusho, but an evolution of its ideas.

      Anyway, I believe Hunter X Hunter is a response to Yu Yu Hakusho (and a better response than

Yu Yu Hakusho's latest OVA - I'm usually not much of an OVA fan anyway, but it depends on the

OVA) for the reasons I talk about in this reflection. 

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