The upcoming live-action Yu Yu Hakusho adaptation revealed the first cast member: Takumi Kitamura who will play Yusuke Urameshi. The series is coming to Netflix in 2023. Sho Tsukikawa is directing the series, while Tatsuro Mishira is writing the script. A new poster that teases upcoming cast announcements (which are expected in the coming days) was revealed:
Kitamura, who is well-known Japanese actor, singer, and model, is not a new face when it comes to live-action adaptations of manga series, having starred in the live-action Let Me Eat Your Pancreas and Tokyo Revengers movies. Netflix also revealed a visual featuring Kitamura as Yusuke:
Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga by Yoshihiro Togashi (also known for the Hunter x Hunter series). It ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from December 1990 to July 1994. The story has been compiled into 19 volumes that were published in English by Viz Media. Viz Media describes the story as:
Yusuke Urameshi was a tough teen delinquent until one selfless act changed his life…by ending it. When he died saving a little kid from a speeding car, the afterlife didn’t know what to do with him, so it gave him a second chance at life. Now, Yusuke is a ghost with a mission, performing good deeds at the beshest of Botan, the spirit guide of the dead, and Koenma, her pacifier-sucking boss from the “other side.” But what strange things await him on the borderline between life and death?
The manga has a TV anime adaptation by studio Pierrot, which aired from 1992 to 1994, as well as multiple movies and OVAs.
Source: Netflix
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