Well one problem, in cases like Byuka(sp? the tiger demon from Maze Arc) and Elder Toguru is that an inexperienced 14 yr old got the raw hand of having to deal with the guys known for their powers in endurance or raw power.
@Wagomu:
Togashi built up Kuwabara's power up enough that it wasn't a complete ass pull (though in the context of the series, it's def weird that Kuwabara got it at all). What I remember about the fight, though, is the resolution, where Kuwabara, battered from the fight and having defeated Mitarai, drags him and his passed out friends on his back to bring them to get help.
Kuwabara's broken ability was something that just felt good for him to get. Even if it is sorta bullshit that a random human got sweet dimension cutting powers, I was happy to see him get something that he could call his own. It doesn't get a lot of use, but it's a key plot point for the Chapter Black arc, and conceptually cool.
True, many forget that it didn't really come out of nowhere, it just took a long time to build up. But I disagree on 'random human got the sweet dimension cutting powers'.
Kuwabara was shown early to have very strong psychic awareness.
Even way back in Genkai's test/tournament, when Genkai was thinking about Kuwabara & Yusuke's potential, she thought that Kuwabara could be taught to handle enchanted weapons and to 'manifest' his energy. Then in Maze Arc when they were in the Makai, Kuwabara showed awareness of happenings back on Earth, like Keiko being in danger.
I'd have a hard time defending a lot of YYH from the Sensui fight on, but I was never too dissatisfied with Kuwabara's place in the series. Your comments are definitely a reality check, and it's hard not to notice that he never got much of the glory that Hiei or Kurama got (they were always the most popular, from what I recall, and that may have influenced things), but I think that Kuwabara just stands out enough to me in other regards that I never felt robbed.
Yes, Hiei & Kurama were highly popular. Kurama was often at #1, sometimes pushing Yusuke to #2 and Hiei not too far behind in number of votes.
Oh it did affect the writing. It DID influence things a lot! I was following YYH back then and was among the fans that got startled on the sudden change in the last arc (Kuwabara got written out. The sudden ending in the manga) Togashi was being pressured by the editors in how he should write YYH and they wanted less Kuwabara, despite the Chapter Black arc that gave Kuwabara such growth. Rumor was the pressure was why Togashi brought YYH to an end so fast.
@HeartOfDarkness:
I think you are giving Togashi too much credit as a writer.
His attention span as a writer is worse then a fifth grader so i don't think he was screwing Kuwabara over intentionally, instead he simply got bored with it, and just lazily throw it to the side. Same with how Hiei as a plot-device that only exists to kill off characters for no real reason besides Togashi being bored with them.
As I said above, he didn't throw Kuwabara aside as much as it was his editors interfering in his writing.
Togashi spent much of YYH building Kuwa up from just a basic human (Yusuke doesn't count as he had demon ancestry that later manifested in such a manner he was no longer human) -always was human- to slowly gain strength. Lets remember that the majority of the story was only a year long, minus part of the Three Kings arc and the ending.
Yusuke & Kuwabara were only 14 at the beginning, and when Yusuke went to go meet Raizen, he was still 14.
Togashi had Kuwabara go through a change in the Chapter Black arc and get a power-up…then the Three Kings arc happened and Kuwabara was thrown to the side.
I've always thought Togashi had more planned between those two arcs and possibly had more for Kuwabara in the last arc but tossed them out due to his editors interference .... at least that was the feeling with the fans.
@Nobodyman:
Seriously though, despite my disdain towards HxH, I always really liked Yu Yu Hakusho. I remember watching it on Toonami, and it's a series I've always wanted to revisit, especially since I never saw the very end of the Sensui arc or any of the Three Kings arc (and I think there's some stuff I missed in between as well). Of course, I understand the last arc is rushed and/or incomplete, but I think the anime expanded on it a bit if I heard correctly? I don't know. Does anyone have any suggestion as to whether the anime or manga is the better experience?
Yes it was rushed, as I hinted above a few times. And Yes its one time the anime does a better job than the manga as it was more complete.
Over all the manga was the best, but YYH was one of the few animes I did enjoy …as long I had the language in Japanese and read subtitles. I HATED the English version with a passion. From stupid translations (For instance EV had Kuwabara say "I got a Tingle feeling" when sensing Yusuke's ghost...WTF!) to atrocious voice (many people didn't like Kuwabara due to "He got such a stupid voice!"), the English Version was really grating on me so I stuck with the JV with subtitles.
I found reading & watching the best as sometimes one gave more in-depth definition of things than the other did.
@Robby:
KUWABARA WAS THE BEST.
(All caps)
YES! I AGREE!!!!!!