Spirit Detective Saga

## Sagas & Story Arcs

**The Spirit Detective Saga** is the introductory saga of the Yu Yu Hakusho series. It spans five story arcs that follow Yusuke Urameshi's early missions as Spirit Detective.

## Plot

Yusuke Urameshi is a fourteen-year-old boy who sacrifices his life to saves a little boy from a car accident. After undergoing an ordeal to get his life back, Yusuke becomes a Spirit Detective and works on resolving supernatural cases that threaten the living world.

Yusuke meets crucial allies along the way including Botan Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama. He also comes face to face with lethal demons such as Rando, Suzaku, and even Toguro.

## Anime

The first season of the Yu Yu Hakusho anime, the Spirit Detective Saga, adapts Volume 1 through the first half of Volume 6 (Chapter 1 - 51) of the manga over twenty-five episodes. This season ran from October 10, 1992, to April 10, 1993, on Fuji Television in Japan.

The Funimation English version aired in North America from February 2002 to April 2003. Episode 1 - 21 was shown on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, with re-runs playing after July 2002. Episodes 22 to 25 began airing in April 2003, once the episodes began airing on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block.

### Music

**Opening Theme:**

* 「Smile Bomb」

**Closing Theme:**

* 「Homework Never Ends」

## DVD Releases

### The Spirit Detective Saga Box Set

On April 15, 2002, Funimation released the first of seven DVD compilations that contained three to four episodes each. Each volume cover art featured artwork representing the ongoing events of the series. The back cover features a recap summary as well as screencaps from each episode included on the DVD. They were dual-language DVD CDs that included both the original Japanese as well as Funimation's English Dub.

The main menu was designed by members of the Funimation dubbing team. It is decorated with a silhouette of a volume-specific character in the background. The menu includes a play-all button, episode selection, as well as access to extras. Character profiles and translations for character names, super kanji, and fighting techniques are among the features included in extras.

The seventh and final volume of the Spirit Detective was released on December 10, 2002. A full box-set collection of the Spirit Detective Saga containing all seven volumes was released on January 14, 2003 in both uncut and edited versions.

The physical box sets are made of cardboard, though some plastic versions have been made. The top, front, and back of the box is decorated with the "Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files" Logo as well as the text: "The Spirit Detective Saga". On the bottom are the names of each DVD volume included in the set and all the credits for the anime season. One side of the box is hollow, allowing for storage of the seven DVD cases. On the opposite side is the artwork of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama over a misty green background used to represent the saga.

Vol.1: Yusuke Lost, Yusuke Found
Episodes 11 - 4Vol.2: Artifacts of Darkness
Episodes 5 - 8Vol.3: A New Apprentice
Episodes 9 - 12Vol.4: The Gate of Betrayal
Episodes 13 - 15Vol.5: The Beasts of Maze Castle
Episodes 16 - 18Vol.6: Seven Ways to Die
Episodes 19 - 21Vol.7: Rescue Yukina
Episodes 22 - 25