![]() ![]() No unnecessary bells and whistles that distract from what’s supposed to be the story’s real draw: good fights and good characterization. They’ve got sensible belts, bandages if they need them, and… that’s it. Everything is loose-fitted and looks easy to move in. No one (even the women to my recollection) wear heels. ![]() It makes sense that they wouldn’t obey these same average laws of the rest of the cast and they are our first taste of a world that, in terms of character design, will eventually get pretty wonderfully weird. The ones who look more visually distinct - Hiei and Botan - aren’t human. Which, as said, is crucial to a lot of YYH’s themes. You can still easily tell them apart thanks to different hair colors, texture, jaw lines, and outfits, but none of them seem out of place in the average world they start out in. They’re just normal people going about their lives and I always appreciated that they looked the part. So he gets black hair, brown yes, and a green school uniform. A kid who has to work and learn and grow if he wants to make something of himself. This isn’t supposed to be a Super Special Kid Destined For Greatness. Making him visually distinct in terms of Anime Protagonist Looks would undermine a lot of that. His normal-ness - and others’ expectation that he could someday make himself great if he learns to work at it - is crucial to where Yusuke starts out. Indeed, it’s a HUGE moment of emotional growth for Yusuke to realize that people do love him despite his supposedly average, unremarkable, and otherwise negative personality. Yeah, Yusuke is talented when it comes to fighting and spirit energy, but at the start that’s rarely emphasized outside of “He’s the best street fighter among no-name street fighters so really, it’s not impressive once you take Yusuke out of his tiny world of school parking lots and the occasional alleyway.” The takeaway is that he’s a dime-a-dozen troubled teen who got involved in the spirit world due to an impulsive act and a bunch of bureaucracy. Then he gets to pay back that second chance by becoming a Spirit Detective. The afterlife doesn’t know what to do with an asshole kid who unexpectedly saved another kid’s life so they just kind of… shuffle him around until he’s given another chance to live. When he dies this doesn’t unlock some Super Special Backstory - you were innately amazing all along! - he just gets caught up in the plot because of a paperwork issue. He’s a delinquent kid who most assume isn’t going anywhere in life. The entire point at the start is that Yusuke is not special. However, normalcy is a really important part of YYH. ![]()
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