Yu Yu Hakusho: Fight for the Netherworld (1994) User Reviews

Why not use the show's cast?!

[Wayori · 8/10 · 10 October 2004]

Yu-Yu Hakusho is in my top five list of favorite anime shows, so naturally I got excited when I discovered Poltergeist Report. I was very disappointed when the characters started speaking, however. The dubbed cast for the movie is awful compared to the English cast for the show, which is awesome. I know the movie came to America long before the show (you really don't need to know jack about the show to have some understanding of what's going on in the movie), but I really wish that FUNimation would re-release it with the TRUE English cast.

Another flaw with the movie is the same flaw the show has: the animation, well, let's just say it's not offensively horrible, like what one would expect from an episode of Scooby Doo, but it could be better. The story is typical of movies based on action anime (an hour-and-a-half-long episode), but it is still an entertaining plot, so no harm done there. Overall, Poltergeist Report is something worth watching, it just depends on how you tolerate partially-formulaic approaches to movies.

Not bad, but the dub and the continuity errors make it a look like a mess

[MBN-81762 · 7/10 · 26 November 2018]

This Movie is not terrible... It's decent! The English voice acting for this movie is actually hilarious. It made the movie really fun to watch as me and my friends were nitpicking the hell out of it. The plot was okay, though it was a little convoluted at times... but the animation was pretty great for its time... So overall it's not bad but not any good either as the incompetent dialogue completely takes away what made Yu Yu Hakusho's characters great in the first place... Also it's impossible to understand where this movie fits in the cannon.

Hand-drawn animation. of the 90's is grand

[diegy-fuentes · 7/10 · 22 June 2023]

Just think of anime other Inuyasha, Bleach or Naruto movie and you'll get the basic concept/plot. But image those side ops made with mid 90's top grade animation. I'm talking detailed explosions, blood, dismemberments, moody cityscapes and general 90's anime movie lighting [chef's kiss] A new enemy introduced to disrupt the well documented life of that of our beloved protagonist to make a godd story (and a quick buck for the producers) but the story is non-canon. But unlike those other movies this was more akin to the early Dragon Ball Z movies where it was a cheesy set up to get all these characters together (whom we already know but for the sake of the three people coming in to watch this movie withiout knowing who they were) come together to face a new foe but that foe turns out to be rather well thought out or pretty cool; have a side story even. Saying that, this wouldve worked better as a mini arc. Not that it felt rushed but this really didnt feel like a movie but a half of a story. (which i wouldnt have minded hearing

The only thing was that the character designs were really weak for the newcomers. These new malicious entities looked like they all borrowed outfits from an esentric rock lobster.

It's rewally worth it for the old school anime feel and lack of CG . Handdrawn animation is best always.

Not bad Good story!

[iwatcheverything · 7/10 · 24 December 2003]

This was not a very bad movie. It kept me somewhat interested with the story line. The dialogue was okay but there was very little comedy relief in the film. It also was not as graphic violently as I had expected. The fight scenes in the film were great. Although it may seem that I am downing this movie I am not. I own the film and recommend it to any anime movie lover. If you do not know what anime is then do not try to watch this film before learning.

Never say goodbye.

[SSJAniFan · 9/10 · 20 June 2003]

Yu Yu Hakusho is quite possibly the best anime series ever. With action, comedy, drama, and... more action, a diverse cast of characters, and Kurama, quite possibly the coolest anime character in existence, you have one obvious hit.

SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH

The 2nd movie features one good plot. In it, Spirit World, or Rei Ki, is mysteriously destroyed by an oncoming flood. Back on Earth, or Nigenkai, Yusuke discovers the only person to escape the flood-- an extremely injured Botan. Before falling into a coma, she tells him to go and find the guide to Rei Ki, Hinageshi. With Kuwabara's help, Yusuke is able to locate her, but she's being attacked by demons! The two easily defeat the monsters and save Hinageshi, who then is able to tell them how to restore Rei Ki. Soon, the YYH heroes(Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei) are off to unseal five elemental sites and use their power to bring back Rei Ki....... but something goes horribly wrong. Each of them is ambushed by the movie's villain, Yakumo, and his goons, who then DESTROY the elemental sites as part of the plan to restore their own world, the Netherworld. But Yakumo's plan is not complete without one object.. something called the power sphere. And it ties in with Botan's current condition.

END SPOILERS.

Of course, the movie has each of the YYH heroes having their own dramatic 1-on-1 fight with each of the villains in the film. One nice thing is it also ties in a bit with Kurama's past, showing a bit more of his past life before the series begins. I won't spoil it, but it's pretty neat. Also, the animation and music of the film are superb. They take everything from the TV show and amplify it. It really does feel like a big budget version of the TV series.

Now for the bad...... the horrible English dubbed voices. Handled by Central Park Media and U.S. Manga Corps., the people behind this decided to use the worst voices from the English versions of Poke'mon and Slayers to do the voices in this. It is BAD! Yusuke sounds like some comic book super hero, Hiei ridiculous, and Kuwabara is so awful I shut the mute button anytime he starts speaking. In fact, the dubbing company even renamed Kuwabara! Avoid this horrible translation! The DVD has Japanese and English... don't play the English one!

On an end note, the film ends with an excellent piece, titled "Never Say Goodbye."(I think that's the song's title, at least.) Luckily, no horrible English version of the song has been made, unlike FUNimation's constant trend of dubbing the TV show theme songs.

BOTTOM LINE: An excellent tie-in for those who want to see more YYH.

Great film hampered by a mediocre dub

[WeAreLive · 9/10 · 7 April 2021]

Yusuke and his team of spirit detectives must fight the demons of the Netherworld before they bring a new reign to the human world.

I am going to keep this short and just say if you are a fan of the series you would really enjoy this movie.

However, what is keeping me from giving this a full score is the fact that this is the only problem with this movie that it has a medocre dub and because the bloody license holder funimation can't redub it with their own epic voice cast.

Funimation I don't normally ask but please redub this movie.

Just Your Typical Love Story...

[tesswysko · 8/10 · 7 June 2022]

Boy demon meets human girl, boy says girl looks like a snack, girl takes it as a compliment, even though she doesn't realize that she has the context all wrong! What he means is he wants to eat her beating heart, & wear her like a meat suit! Girl actually kinda liked the quiet guy who's best friend has become said meat mascot, and has been trying to help the girl figure out what their next move should be! But they're too late, the sounds of them arguing earlier has called every creepy crawler for a hundred miles! They rush the house & it's a bloodbath, they don't even care that the kids are watching, and they kill everyone until The girls get out of the bath & quickly dressed, the big muddy tadpoles had better be ready, because Hell is comin' to Frog Town once again! The world is truly ending if all of these soccer moms are REALLY wanting to cut somebody's head off to do it, hopeLMBO!

A must for fans of the series

[geeked-out-4-movies · 9 August 2021]

Yu Yu Hakusho Poltergeist Report is a must see for fans of the series but be warned as please don't see it if you haven't at least seen 2/3rds of the TV series. The movie has great action scenes and a fantastic story that is interesting to watch.

9/10 stars.