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Life is hard, and then you die. If you're unlucky, like Yusuke Urameshi, then life gets harder AFTER you die.

In fact, death is only the beginning of his troubles in the first season of "Yu Yu Hakusho." While this action-comedy series lags during the first few episodes (seriously, a whole episode about Kuwabara's schoolwork?), it picks up considerably once the eclectic main characters are introduced, and Yusuke starts spending his time working as a spirit detective.

Despite a reputation as a hardened rebel, Yusuke was killed knocking a toddler from the path of a moving car. Turns out the afterlife, aka Spirit World, didn't expect such a selfless act -- so Spirit World's toddler ruler Koenma offers him a second chance at life, with the help of the sprightly Botan. After seeing how the people around him are responding to his death -- including his rival Kuwabara and semi-girlfriend Keiko -- Yusuke agrees.

But that's a lot easier said than done, and only another selfless act keeps Yusuke from being permanently dead. And his return is conditional -- now he's working for Koenma as Spirit Detective. And his first case is a doozy -- retrieve three stolen artifacts from a demon trio, including the ruthless Hiei and mysterious Kurama. But Yusuke soon finds that Kurama's motives are a lot more complicated than he thought -- and that Hiei has a very nasty fate in mind for Keiko.

On Koenma's orders Yusuke signs up for an aging martial-artist's Pick-A-Student competition, to hunt down a lethal demon -- and his psychic rival Kuwabara may be in danger. And when rage-inducing insects start swarming his town, Yusuke and Kuwabara are sent to stop the malevolent demon band responsible for it. What's more they have some reluctant new allies -- the paroled Hiei and Kurama.

But Yusuke receives an even more sensitive assignment after that -- rescue a beautiful ice maiden from a human crimelord. To complicate matters, Kuwabara has fallen in love with her, and she's also Hiei's twin sister. But as the boys fight their way into the fortified mansion, they can't even imagine the danger that is guarding the ice maiden... and just slavering for a fight with them.

The first season of "Yu Yu Hakusho" is all about introducing the characters, and easing Yusuke into his new role as Spirit Detective. It starts off rather slowly, with a string of episodes all about Yusuke floating around yelling at people, occasionally possessing Kuwabara and helping the big friendly lug with his homework. It's a rather bland start to an action-series.

But things start picking up when Yusuke is made Spirit Detective. Then we're treated to grotesque demonic opponents, superpowers, nasty spells, and lots of action-packed sequences involving fists, lightning, lava, swords and rose vines. And the villains get way worse with each successive battle, right up to the explosive fight at the end of the first season.

It's not all action, though. There's some romantic stuff between the bickering Yusuke and Keiko, as well as Kuwabara's adorable crush on Hiei's sister. And there's a pretty hefty dose of humor as well -- the pacifier-sucking Koenma and his overworked office ogres, Kuwabara's kitten, or Genkai's torturous training. Funny dialogue too ("We're just watching fuzz." "Fuzz, yes fuzz! We find it relaxing").

Yusuke makes a solid anti-hero, with his alcoholic mother and a mile-wide rebellious streak. While he's a bit obnoxious at first, his increasing strength and responsibility make him more likable. And his thuggish-looking classmate Kuwabara makes an unexpected ally, since he turns out to be a lot more powerful and sweet-natured than you'd expect.

The crabby, lethal Hiei is still something of an enigma here, but Kurama more than makes up for that -- he's graceful, elegant, and has a very peculiar past as a foxy thief with a rose whip. We've also got a number of interesting supporting characters, such as Botan the perky Grim Reaper, Genkai the crusty martial-artist, and the feisty Keiko who proves to be Yusuke's only weak spot.

It's worth noting that the edited and unedited versions of the series are quite different -- the edited versions lack some of the gorier, more violent moments, and some of the more colourful words have been redubbed with more tame alternatives.

The first season of "Yu Yu Hakusho" is there to warm up the storyline, and introduce the main characters. While the beginning is a bit slow, it's a solid beginning to a good anime.

This series introduces a new take on the after life when Yuske Yurimeshie saves a little boy and dies in the process, sort of. Death is a beautiful woman named Boton, and the underworld is run by a baby! Anyway, Yuske finds a way back to life, with powers of course, and as his adventures against demons and authority lead him to better power and friends, he comes up against powerful foes that would like nothing better than to kill him, permanently. Yuske faces the Saint Beasts, and a demon with 99 spirit moves to use. As this part winds down, Yuske faces a seemingly unbeatable opponent, a demon that looks human, but is unbelievably strong. This all leads up to the challenge to enter the Dark Tournament, the next Season. An overall good series with characters that can keep a light atmosphere while still giving very human perfomances.

When I received this box set of six DVDs, I found that they had been previously opened and re-sealed. The security stickers and inside description pamphlet on three of the DVDs were missing. There is a small glich on two of the discs. For the price I payed, I did not expect to get a used product form [...], but the return hassel is so great I decided to live with it. In the future I will think twice from ordering from [...].

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