"The capacity for evil is but one ingredient in the human soul."
Women are rejoicing in the streets. Authoritarian state media is on high alert. It's the after hours sensation sweeping the nation, Late Night Togashiposting. The 100 sub spectacular edition. This time we're not tangentially tying it to potential references that drifted into One Piece down the line. At least not beyond just talking about Kurama which means illustrating squarely where there is an open final spot on the Straw Hat crew. This time it's more about the Chapter Black. Because the world has been making me think of it.
The actual tape, the MacGuffin of the titular saga. If you're unfamiliar, the villain Sensui manipulated his allied psychics with it. It's a VHS tape, but because YuYu Hakusho was trying to be modern in a way that ended up making it an awesome 90s period piece in hindsight it's a magic Spirit World VHS tape. I swear this man has a fascination with them. Imagine the ultimate snuff film, back in the day this was the equivalent of urban legends about horrific videos online. Chapter Black is a record of the most haness human acts. Make no mistake, Togashi had balls here. We call out shit that is clearly referencing the Holocaust and bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. In an era where you don't get that on point in mainstream manga.
Believe it or not this is one of the cheerier images. We learn of the tape through a defector, Mitarai or "Seaman." A bullied kid who cracked after seeing Chapter Black. Recall Sensui's whole thing is being a straight-up groomer to some of his followers. His breakdown is some powerful stuff, but I always liked how hero Yusuke was able to shrug it off. Remarking he sees it everyday on the 6 o'clock news but never feels it's a reason to give in. Prompting the Kurama quote from the start here. I always loved the wrinkle of him lowkey being seduced by the appeal of it. The anime having a bigger group for the scene adds so much. Keiko breaking at hearing some of the things, Genkai quietly fuming the entire time...YuYu Hakusho really is an oddball where the manga gave way to a better anime that got so much better dubbed in English that continues to age like the finest wine.
I don't know if any story beat encapsulates this better than the simplicity of the Chapter Black tape. It's become one of the most prescient parts of the series. In a world where you can pick any boogeyman and find a community of people just stewing in hatred towards it, marinating in a steady drip of laser-guided examples one VHS compilation almost sounds quaint.
Where Togashi really shines here though is how it affects people differently. I love how Mitarai is the one trying to justify it by functionally calling Yusuke privileged. While it's true Urameshi didn't grow up in a warzone he was clearly the one of the pair who had a rougher life and also the one who just didn't get how it'd warp someone. Because deep down Seaman wanted revenge, the tape was nurturing something dark that was already there. Villains never want to think of themselves as such. It's so real, so raw. So relevant to today.
