4.0 out of 5 stars
Let the fights begin, August 17, 2008
This review is from: Yu Yu Hakusho, Third Strike eps. 29-42 w/keychain (DVD)
"Yu Yu Hakusho: Second Wind" first season ended with Yusuke and his buddies coming to the Dark Tournament, determined to fight their way to the finals, and defeat Toguro's team.
So it's already pretty clear what "Yu Yu Hakusho: Third Strike" consists of -- a string of one-on-one fights, with Yusuke and his buddies fighting a series of increasingly dangerous enemies. There's not a great deal of central plot beyond this, but the dangerous problems for Team Urameshi -- as well as some cloak-and-dagger machinations -- keep things interesting.
After Kuwabara barely survives his opening bout with the creepy child Rinku, his teammates square off against other members of Team Rokuyukai -- Kurama is blackmailed during his bout and must use his wits to survive against the man who threatens his mother, Yusuke dukes it out with a drunken warrior, and Hiei unleashes a devastating fire attack called Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
But things take a nasty turn when they fight Team Ichigaki, a group of human martial artists being controlled by a malignant scientist. The kindhearted Kuwabara can't bring himself to hurt three innocents even if they are out to kill him -- and the mysterious Masked Fighter may be their only hope. And even worse, Kurama and a badly injured Hiei are being attacked outside the stadium. Then Team Urameshi is pitted against a team of lethal ninja with no time to rest. Even worse, Hiei and the Masked Fighter have been tricked into a forcefield, and Kuwabara is badly injured.
Kurama is pitted against a master of body paint who imprisons his body and demon powers, and then a lethal ice master who intends to take advantage of his helplessness. With Kurama half-dead from his wounds, Yusuke sets off on a furious string of fights, against the honorless thug Bakken and the quirky Irish wind demon Jin. But it may not be enough to triumph...
The first and second collections of "Yu Yu Hakusho" basically consisted of a string of smaller adventure arcs, with Yusuke working to vanquish the villain of the week. But "Yu Yu Hakusho: Third Strike" takes a very different format -- instead we get a series of one-on-one fights. It sounds a bit monotonous, but the various superpowers -- and some interesting side subplots, such as Sakyo's machinations -- keep it from being so.
The fights themselves are pretty colorful -- killer plants, ice, blood paint, fire dragons, tiny tornados, killer robots, and a warrior who can coat himself in clay armor. So needless to say, the battles are fairly interesting and there's really no way of telling how some of them will turn out. The whole subplot about Dr. Ichigaki and his helpless guinea pigs is pretty wrenching, although the ending is a bit limp.
But equally interesting are the stories outside the ring -- Toguro and his equally villainous partner Sakyo are doing some behind-the-scenes scheming, although Toguro's honorable side is also glimpsed. It adds a bit of spice to Team Urameshi's forthcoming battles with Team Toguro, because a lot more than their lives are now riding on their victory.
Yusuke spends the first few episodes sleeping like a talking log -- he does some pretty top-notch fights, and we get to see his anguish when Kurama and Kuwabara are being slowly killed in front of him. Hiei is badly injured in an attempt to master a new technique, and Kurama's abilities are stretched to the limit when he has to somehow defeat an Ice Master without his abilities.
Kuwabara is the only one who doesn't change much, but he serves as the kind heart of the team, and even fights when he can barely stand for his friends' sake. And he provides some comic relief, such as when he sees his beloved Yukina watching his fight.
And this particular edition comes with a little Kurama keychain -- a cute little chibi figure with layered hair and a rather cheerful expression, in fairly tough rubbery plastic.
"Yu Yu Hakusho: Third Strike" is basically an escalating string of supernatural fights, but it's colorful enough to not be monotonous. It ends on a solid note, and promises to get even more interesting.
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