#tarukane

[yyh4ever]

Yu Yu Hakusho Art Coaster ☆ Yoshihiro Togashi Exhibition (1/2)

A total of 48 coasters come in a BOX.

[yu-yu-hakusho-memes]

He don’t protect

He attack

But most importantly he punch you ‘til you see pitch black

[grimtwin]

Honest opinions on YYH villains. Go!

Already did a few of them, so we’ll make this a bit faster.

Tarukane - Scum of the Earth. Gross head, and jowls.

Sakyo - Cunning as hell, largely psychopathic, and a confusing character. I worried for Shizuru if she actually wound up with him. To his own admission, he tortured and killed animals, has murdered tons of people and his goal was to open a portal to demon world, which could have flooded the world with death and destruction. A moment of kindness in saving Shizuru was nice and all, but he’s still a bad guy through and through.

Saint Beasts - I’ll lump these guys together. Cool designs and abilities for each of them, Seiryuu and Suzaku are largely dickheads, but their plan was interesting although easily countered. They may have infected some humans with Makai insects and caused some property damage, but their whole plan centered around a flute not breaking. Pretty weak. Granted they were strong and apparently feared, but half of them went down incredibly easily. A bit underwhelming. 

Rando - I thought his design was cool as hell, and I loved his premise of hunting down 100 human psychics to learn their techniques, master them instantly, and use that ability to kill the psychic. Shrinking Kuwabara, then snapping his arms one at a time, was truly sadistic. And that sadism is what got him beat. If he’d just killed Yusuke quick and easy, he would have won, but he was playing around. Dumbass. 

Sensui - Probably the best villain of the series. At one point, I felt really bad for this guy. A human, led to believe that demons were the true evil of the world, living only to kill and destroy humans. Then finds out that the humans he was fighting to protect, could be and were just as disgusting and horrible as the lies he was fed about demons. Shattered that man’s mind so badly, he went on a rampage, killed every human he could get his hands on in the Black Black Clubs torture chamber, then developed seven personalities to try and cope with the mental damage. Though as much as I felt bad for him in that sense, he is the cause of multiple people’s deaths during the Chapter Black saga. Tried to kill Mitarai, caused serious harm to Botan and Shizuru, caused Game Master, Murata, and Gourmet’s deaths, killed Yusuke…all for his goal of going to Demon World so he could die there. His plan was well executed, I’ll give him that, but dammit if it wasn’t annoying as hell all over. He purposefully showed several members of his gang the Chapter Black video, to turn them against humanity and help with his plan. His guilt over killing potentially innocent demons, to save possibly horrible humans, put millions of innocent humans at risk, and that’s not cool dude. 

Itsuki - I really don’t have a lot to say about him. Creepy, twisted guy. Togashi said Itsuki was one of his favorite characters, and he wanted to show a lot more of his sick side…and I’m kind of glad we didn’t get to see it. Happily watched Sensui descent into madness, and that certainly makes him an asshole in his own rights. 

Sniper - Cool look, but the edginess is too much. His territory is cool. Loved Hiei stabbing him so effortlessly, and he’s lucky to be alive. Post Chapter Black, he seems to beat/kill some guys who killed a cat, so that’s cool. Good guy for that.

Doctor - What a bitch. Stop dragging innocent people, let alone doctors, nurses, and sick people, into your twisted fight. Glad he got the shit punched out of him by Yusuke. At least after all the Sensui stuff, he seems to actually get back to helping people. Cool abilities though. 

Gourmet - Gross. Though no one deserves to have Elder Toguro growing inside his stomach and slowly consuming his body from the inside out. That was pretty fucked up. And he got his head cut in half by Kurama. Oof. Sad time for Gourmet. 

Game Master - I applaud this kids talent for video games. As a game lover myself, it was nice to see games be brought to life. However, he’s a stupid kid who was easily tricked, and died because of it. Glad he was revived by Koenma, but still, stupid kid for falling so easily for “Cool Mr. Sensui’s” trick. 

Zeru - Cocky dick. Strong though. Hiei had no choice but to use the dragon on him.Roto - Cowardly dick.

Dr. Ichigaki - Massive ugly dick. Ultra fucked up to poison someone, then coerce their subordinates to become your slaves with the promise of healing said person…and not doing it. Glad he’s dead. Risho - Pinocchio looking dick.Gama - Was pretty cool actually. Creative ability, fought to his death for the cause he believed in, even if it wasn’t really worth dying over. 

Makintaro - Ha. Why’d he freak out of his arm being cut off so badly if he could just regrow the damn thing?

Ura Urashima - Ha. Felt bad he was killed by his teammate though. Shishi’s an asshole. 

Kuro Momotaro - Stop smacking your gum asshole! Was surprised he was able to put up such a good fight against a very weakened Hiei, even if it was only because of those dango. 

Did I miss anyone?

[yyh4ever]

Togashi's Comments from the Table of Contents (1990-1994)

WSJ #47 (1991)  to WSJ #6 (1992)

Volume 6: Chapters 46 to 55

ᐊ Volume 5: Chapters 36 to 45     Volume 7: Chapters 56 to 63 + “TWO SHOTS” ᐅ

1991

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°47 (November 11, 1991)

★ Chapter 46. "Springtime for Kuwabara!!" (桑原の春！！, Kuwabara no Haru!!)

*Yu Yu Hakusho is on the cover of this issue*

*Last Part of Togashi’s H☆S Award advice. He talks about his debut on the Weekly Shounen Jump magazine with "I'm not afraid of the wolf!!". Translation here.*

Table of Contents:  

"The eyes of the namakubi (decapitated head) opening were on the TV. I wish they were really open, but it's hard to rule out the fly theory as well." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵  TVで生首の目が開くってのをやってた。本当に開いていて欲しいが蠅説も捨てがたい。〈義博〉

T/N: In 1976, during a TV broadcast, they introduced the painting of "Watanabe Kinzaburou's namabuki", an official of the Edo period who was assassinated. After the assassination, Kinzaburou's head was exposed in Kyoto and the painting depicting his decapitated head is still at the Shodenji Temple. After the program was broadcast, the TV station received a large number of calls from the viewers claiming to have seen Kinzaburou's eyes opening and moving during the program. Although the truth afterwards was thought to be a fly that happened to rest on Kinzaburou's eye, the horror story is still circulating in Japan today. The moment remains in recorded video, but the truth is unknown. It is said to be the anger of Kinzaburou, who was exposed not only to many people in Kyoto at that time, but also in modern times.

"Namakubi" roughly translates to "freshly severed head". It has its origin in the warrior class of Feudal Japan. When a samurai lost a battle, it was a tradition for the opposing team to gather his severed head and present it to their ruler, considered an act of respect to a fellow warrior. The Namakubi tattoo, widely known worldwide, is exactly the image of a severed head.

➤  Shounen Jump Autumn Special (November 6, 1991)

*Not related to the the regular WSJ magazine, but a Yu Yu Hakusho poster was released in the appendix of the SJ Autumn Special. This illustration was later used as the cover of volume 5, released on March 10th 1992. Togashi didn't comment in the TOC of this seasonal special issue.

The chinese characters written on the wall means something like “All is vanity” and “To the end of time” (色即是空 & 尽未来際). They are Buddhist philosophies, so it's hard to accurately translate them. Even Togashi mentions in the Artbook (2005) having no idea what the writing by Yusuke means.*

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°48 (November 18, 1991)

★ Chapter 47. "The Black Book Club!!" (B・B・C！！, Burakku Bukku Kurabu!!)

Table of Contents:  

"There are villains that are fun to draw and villains that are fun to imagine. The former are the Toguro brothers and the latter is Tarukane." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 描いてて楽しい悪役と考えてて楽しい悪役がいる。前者は戸愚呂兄弟で後者は垂金だ。〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°49 (November 25, 1991)

★ Chapter 48. "Next Up: The Ogre Triad!!" (三鬼衆登場！！, Sanki Shū Ttōjō!!)

Table of Contents: 

"The workplace and my private room are finally separated. I'm happy to be able to sleep on a futon for the first time in about half a year." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 仕事場と私生活の部屋とが、ようやく別れた。半年ぶり位に布団で寝れそうでうれしい。〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°50 (December 2, 1991)

★ Chapter 49. "The Last Gamble!!" (最後の賭け！！, Saigo no Kake!!)

Table of Contents:  

"The new workplace is very close to the station. Just the thought of more variety in food cheers me up." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 新しい仕事場は駅にすごく近い。食い物のバラエティが増えると思うだけで元気が出る。〈義博〉

T/N: Kunio Ajino mentions in "Sensei Hakusho" that Omori and he only moved in with their things on April 1992. Probably, Togashi moved first with all the work supplies and the assistants only brought their stuff later, when the new workplace was ready for use. Ajino also says that when they arrived in the new studio, everything had already been settled and arranged.

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°51 (December 9, 1991)

★ Chapter 50. "The Final Battle: Two on Two!!" (決戦・２対２！！, Kessen - Ni Tai Ni!!)

Table of Contents: 

"As the weather gets colder, last year's nightmare comes back. Low back pain is really painful. Let's all pay attention to the posture." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 寒さが厳しくなってくると去年の悪夢が蘇る。腰痛は本当に辛い。皆も姿勢に注意しよう〈義博〉

➤ Weekly Shounen Jump N°52 (December 16, 1991)

★ Chapter 51. "I Must Get Stronger!!" (強くなりたい！！, Tsuyoku Naritai!!)

Table of Contents:  

"A powerful alarm clock is bad for your heart, so I switched to a soft-sounding one. As a result, when it rings, I don't notice it." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵  強力な目ざまし時計は心臓に悪いのでソフトな音のやつに変えたら、鳴っても気づかない〈義博〉

1992

➤Weekly Shounen Jump N°1・2 (January 1, 1992)  

★ Chapter 52 (Colored). "The Dark Tournament Begins!!" (暗黒武術会開幕！！, Ankoku Bujutsu Kai Kaimaku!!)

*Commemoration of the 1st Anniversary of the series! They were  announcing the voting for the 1st Yu Yu Hakusho Character Popularity Poll. 12 applicants were selected by lottery to win a Yu Yu Hakusho Walkman Aiwa Auto Reverse. The results and winners were announced in the WSJ N°11 1992, chapter 60.*

Yusuke: “I’ll win this contest”

Kuwabara: “I'm thinking of a comment for first place”

Hiei: “I don’t care”

Kurama: “Then, let’s get to the the main story”

*Part-color chapter with the lead pages in full color.*

*This issue also brings the results of the 80th H☆S Award. Togashi was the judge of this edition.*

Table of Contents:  

"Denki Groove's All Night Japan is interesting. The album "UFO" is also great. Recommended for those who want to perceive something peculiar." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 電気グルーヴのANN (オールナイトニッポン) が面白い。A『UFO』も最高。妙な臭いかぎたい人におすすめ。〈義博〉

T/N: Denki Groove is a Japanese techno/electro music group founded in 1989. One of their members, Pierre Taki, had his name written on Kuwabara's energetic drink, in Chapter 53. Read about: Kazuma Kuwabara and Pierre Taki Energy Drink.

Denki Groove's "All Night Japan" was a radio program they hosted from 1991-1994. The album UFO was released in November 1991.

➤Weekly Shounen Jump N°3・4 (January 13, 1992)

★ Chapter 53. "The First Opponents!!" (最初の敵！！, Saisho no Teki!!)

*Main heroes on the cover! Commemorative issue that celebrated 6.18 million copies in circulation. It also comes with a sports calendar. To know more about this edition and the Golden Age, check this post.*

Table of Contents:  

"The morning and evening skies are beautiful, it seems to be the influence of the volcanic ash. Is it just me who finds anomalies and destruction beautiful?" - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵  朝夕の空がきれいだ火山灰の影響らしい。異常や破滅が美しいと思うのは私だけか? 〈義博〉

➤Weekly Shounen Jump N°5 (January 20, 1992)

★ Chapter 54. "The Vanguard Battle Begins!!" (先鋒戦開始！！, Senpō-sen Kaishi!!)

*'92 New Year issue. All mangakas, including Togashi, as space pirates.*

*This issue also comes with a poster called “Where’s the hero?”. You have to find all jump heroes from that time. Yusuke is dresses as a matador.*

Table of Contents:  

"There are more and more electrical appliances in the workplace and not enough outlets. I don't know which one is which due to the octopus wiring." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 仕事場に電気製品が増えてコンセントが足りない。タコ足でどれがどれだか分らん。〈義博〉

➤Weekly Shounen Jump N°6 (January 27, 1992)  

★ Chapter 55. "The Secret of Devil Yo-Yos!!" (秘技・魔妖妖！！, Higi - Debiru Yōyō!!)

Table of Contents:  

"I'm late, but congratulations on the 1st anniversary. Thanks to everyone's support. Thank you." - Yoshihiro

🇯🇵 遅くなりましたが、めでたく1周年突破。皆さんの応援のおかげです。ありがとう。〈義博〉

T/N: Yu Yu Hakusho debuted in the Weekly Shounen Jump N°51, on November 20th 1990.

*On June 10, 1992, Volume 6 (Chapters 46 to 55) was published!*

▼ Togashi's comment from the dust jacket of volume 6. Translation by VIZ Media.

  ᐊ Volume 5: Chapters 36 to 45     Volume 7: Chapters 56 to 63 + “TWO SHOTS” ᐅ 

[yyh4ever]

[yu-yu-hakusho-memes]

Can you spot the difference?

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