Netflix’s previous live-action series like Alice in Borderland and The Naked Director have been quite successful amongst fans. With nineties anime still selling well, Netflix is setting into motion a live-action series for the wildly beloved nineties anime series, Yu Yu Hakusho.

THE CONTRACT WITH TOHO

TOHO Studios announced that Netflix has signed a multi-year contract with them to lease two stage facilities in Tokyo starting on April 1. Netflix‘s first production there will be the live-action series based on Yoshihiro Togashi‘s Yū Yū Hakusho manga. Togashi is also famous for the Hunter X Hunter series.

Netflix Leases 2 Soundstages At Japan’s Iconic Toho Studio – The agreement begins in April 2021 and will commence with two of Netflix’s upcoming Japanese projects, Yu Yu Hakusho and Sanctuary, which will both film this year https://t.co/i5otXZpPND

— FilmTVDiversity (@FilmTVDiversity) March 18, 2021

TOHO studio currently owns 10 stage facilities. Of those, Netflix leased stages 7 and 10. While stage 7 is the largest stage owned by TOHO, stage 10 boasts state-of-the-art equipment. Two acting centers and one production center have also been provided.

The live-action Yū Yū Hakusho series will stream on Netflix worldwide. Netflix’s content acquisition director, Kazutaka Sakamoto, is the executive producer, and Akira Morii (Wild 7, Brave Heart Umizaru) is producing at Robot.

When Yusuke dies saving another’s life, he’ll embark on a journey across the world of humans, spirits, and demons to return to the land of the living. Yoshihiro Togashi’s legendary manga Yu Yu Hakusho will be a live action series on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/K4t5eNta9d

— NX (@NXOnNetflix) December 16, 2020

ABOUT YU YU HAKUSHO

The series ran from 1992 to 1995 and served as the gateway anime for many people who ended up loving the genre. Modern fans were delightfully treated to a two-part OVA (original video animation) in 2018, which now in retrospect probably served as a hint that Yu Yu Hakusho would somehow be ushered into the modern age.

Since Netflix struck a multi-year deal with Toho, many more projects will be filmed in the facilities. Netflix aims to stream its productions around the world. The release date of the live-action Yu Yu Hakusho series on Netflix remains unconfirmed.

Yu Yu Hakusho follows the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent (as evidenced by his slicked-back hair) who dies after pushing a kid out of the way of a car. In the afterlife, Yusuke meets the Grim Reaper named Botan, who gives him a second chance at life if he agrees to become a spirit detective who battles dark forces. Yusuke agrees, taking down dark forces with his buddies and Hiei.

Togashi published the original Yū Yū Hakusho manga from 1990 to 1994. A television anime adaptation ran from 1992 to 1995 and spawned two films and two OVA releases. The manga inspired a stage play that ran in Japan from August to September 2019.

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