Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files - 30th Anniversary Box Set Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files - 30th Anniversary Box Set Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard October 6, 2023

A spectacular anime in every sense of the word, Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the best Shonen action series ever made. The story centers upon the troubled teenager Yusuke Urameshi. After seeing a young kid crossing the street unattended, Yusuke risks his life to push the child out out of way of the incoming traffic and dies a tragic death.

Entering the Spirit World, Yusuke finds himself tossed into a spirit detective role alongside a group of heroes who fight the worst demons the world has ever seen. Featuring breathtaking animation, outstanding music, exceptional character designs, and remarkable characters, Yu Yu Hakusho is an essential 90's gem that has stood the test of time as a defining classic of the genre.

The series became a cult favorite while airing on Cartoon Network’s Toonami action-anime programming block. I was always enamored with the series and I couldn’t miss an episode – it was appointment television for me. One of the best action-anime productions, Yu Yu Hakusho looks and sounds amazing on Blu-ray disc. I still recall fondly seeing the entire series in high-definition with the original box-set releases – and how impressed I was by the upgrade in presentation quality.

For individual season reviews, please refer to the original reviews by my colleague Jeffrey Kauffman:

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 3 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 4 Blu-ray Review  

Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files - 30th Anniversary Box Set Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released in a 30^th anniversary box-set by Crunchyroll, Yu Yu Hakusho is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The release retains the same excellent native high-definition scans of the original film. For more information on these fantastic presentations, please refer to the original reviews by my colleague Jeffrey Kauffman:

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 3 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 4 Blu-ray Review  

The new OVA features included in the box-set are presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. These OVA shorts have excellent color reproduction and detail. There was some mild banding in a few moments of the encode but nothing major to distract audiences from the enjoying the set. A good encode by Crunchyroll.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files - 30th Anniversary Box Set Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release presents the series with a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). I have always been a huge admirer of the English dub soundtrack. It is wonderful that both audio options are included on the release so viewers can select based on their preferences.

I normally opt for the original Japanese language audio – which I often prefer – but in this case I grew up watching the Toonami broadcasts and always had great admiration for the English dub cast. For more information on the audio quality across the season sets, please refer to the original reviews by my colleague Jeffrey Kauffman:

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 3 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 4 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files - 30th Anniversary Box Set Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

NEW to the 30^th Anniversary Collection is a brand-new bonus disc featuring two OVA shorts previously unreleased on home media: Two Shots & All Or Nothing (HD, 29:07). Presented in Dolby TrueHD 2.0. 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition. The short OVA episodes highlight the main cast of the characters across the two approximately 15-minute-long mini episodes.

 The shorts were produced/released in 2018. The shorts originally appeared on the Japanese Blu-ray box set collection (the 25^th Anniversary Blu-ray Collection) and have now been licensed for release (and dubbed) by Crunchyroll with the original English dub cast. The shorts feature modern animation, produced in a similar fashion to Dragon Ball Super – not the hand-drawn cell-based style of the original series. The first short, Two Shots, explores how Hiei and Kurama originally met.

The second short, All Or Nothing, explores the characters journey together with all the main cast members back for a adventure – resolving a dangerous hostage crisis situation occurring within the realm of the spirit world. These OVA shorts adapt a selection of moments from the original manga. The conclusion of the second OVA short is similar to the conclusion of the original television series.

The 30^th Anniversary Collection also includes all of the supplements that were previously exclusive to the steelbook editions. Originally featured on special bonus discs included in each of the four steelbook box sets, these bonus features are now available outside of the steelbook editions. Fans who previously had only purchased the individual season sets on Blu-ray will also gain the following content as part of the collection:

Season 1 Bonus Disc –

Yu Yu Hakusho: Looking Back at a Legacy (HD, 17:39) is a nostalgic interview featuring Funimation English-dub voice actors Justin Cook (Yusuke Urameshi), John Burgmeier (Kurama), Christopher Sabat (Kuwabara), and Cynthia Cranz (Botan). The group have an excellent time together waxing nostalgia about the success of the beloved anime series and the importance of its lasting legacy to anime enthusiasts. Memories are rekindled and shared with unbridled enthusiasm.

Discussing their involvement in the show, each of the voice-actors delves into favorite moments during the history of the series. The group has so much energy that the extra is enormously fun to watch. It is obvious that this group still has a lot of love for the ongoing legacy of Yu Yu Hakusho: just like the die-hard fans. A must-see extras for fans of the Yu Yu Hakusho English dub.

Season 2 Bonus Disc –

Yu Yu Hakusho: Behind the Design (HD, 12:56) is an insightful discussion about the creation of the steelbook designs for the series re-release. The discussion includes Chris Han, brand manager at Funimation, who was involved on Yu Yu Hakusho, Ian Bailon, senior graphic designer for Yu Yu Hakusho, and associate brand manager Aaron Walsh. This might just be one of my favorite extras included as a bonus on a steelbook release to date.

The reason why? As a steelbook collector, it was enormous fun to see the men who were involved in bringing the steelbook designs to life. Each of these creatives was involved in the process behind the scenes for the development and final design of the Yu Yu Hakusho steelbooks. The group discuss the process of involving Yu Yu Hakusho illustrator Masaaki Kannan in the process for the illustrations on the designs (with finishing work completed by Yukiko Kakita and Yoshimi Shibata). The steelbook design concepts are newly commissioned from the Japanese studio just for these special re-releases. Funimation pitched the concept and the animators brought the concept to life.

As the trio discuss the Blu-ray steelbook releases of Yu Yu Hakusho, the group also delve into their love of anime and how exciting it was to watch the series on Toonami when it originally aired on television. Having grown up watching the series on Toonami myself, I appreciated the fond nostalgia for the great platform. The group also delve into how the steelbook designs were pitched with the idea of rock band cover-art (with each character image resembling a rock album cover-art style).

Season 3 Bonus Disc –

Episode 63 Video Commentary with Justin Cook (Yusuke) and Christopher Saabat (Kuwabara) is just as it sounds on paper (screen?): a commentary-track with the format reversed from audio-only to include behind-the-scenes footage of the voice-actors during the creation of the commentary. The track is quite fun. Throughout the video (which alternates between picture-in-picture of the episode playing in the right hand corner of the screen or the voice-actors footage being placed in the same corner), the duo delve into discussing the ongoing legacy of Yu Yu Hakusho. The reminiscing leads to a number of jokes and some surprising conversations about Justin Cook's personal home server channel (which he created to broadcast content just for him 24/7). The extra is enormously fun for fans of the English language dub. Don't miss it.

Season 4 Bonus Disc –

Yu Yu Hakusho: Season 4: Moments with Cast & Crew (HD, 17:56) features Justin Cook (ADR and Voice of Yusuke), Robert McCollum (voice of Sensui), and John Burgmeier (voice of Kurama) delving into the series once again. The group discuss their favorite moments on the series and some of the fun had producing the dub. The cast reminisce about Yu Yu Hakusho and their fond memories. The extra highlights 6 key scenes which the cast reflect on (and the sequences include action-packed moments – such as when Yusuke turned into a demon for the first time – to quieter scenes between the characters). The group also delve into the steelbook re-releases and Justin Cook drops some additional information about the design.

The 30^th Anniversary box set also includes all of the original legacy bonus features included across the four season sets.

For more information on the legacy bonus features, please refer to the original season set reviews by my colleague Jeffrey Kauffman:

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 2 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 3 Blu-ray Review

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 4 Blu-ray Review  

Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files - 30th Anniversary Box Set Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the greatest anime series of all time. Fans of the series looking to own the series in a quality collection with superb video/audio and an assortment of extras will find this to be a must-own complete collection release. The 30^th anniversary collector's edition includes all of the series legacy bonus features, all of the previously exclusive bonus disc content from the steelbook editions, and a new exclusive bonus disc with the short OVA episodes: Two Shots & All Or Nothing. The shorts bring back the original English language dub cast.

For fans who do not own the previous Yu Yu Hakusho season sets or steelbook editions, the release is an easy purchase and comes highly recommended. For those considering double-dipping (or triple dipping – or perhaps quadruple dipping), the included shorts might be a hard sell for only 30 minutes of new exclusive content. Nonetheless, an impressive and worthwhile collection for fans.