Friday, August 14, 2009

YuYu Hakusho Volume 17 by Yoshihiro Togashi

His allies nearly defeated by Sensui, Yusuke returns from the human world through the portal, accompanied by Koenma and his mount, Pu, a huge flying bird. When Yusuke arrives, he disturbs members of the order who are trying to seal off the portal, protecting the human world from the World of the Demons.

When the squad feel Yusuke, they are alarmed. They are able to take down A-class demons, but Yusuke is so much more powerful than that- how can this be? The Captain reveals to them the existence of S-class Demons, who are like gods compared even to the other demons. They might not be able to fight S-class demons, but they can fence them in with the forcefields they are trained to create... And now, they must close the portal!

In the Demon World, Yusuke meets with his friends, and asks them if he can take on Sensui. Hiei and Kurama can sense Yusuke's increased power, and realize that Yusuke is part S-Demon. He and Sensui clash, and after only a short battle, Yusuke overcomes Sensui- but in the process, Yusuke learns to control all the power his S-Demon father bestowed on him, even if his hair growa three feet longer in the process. But his last strike nearly kills Sensui, and Yusuke is enraged. Surely Sensui is stronger than this? Surely he has more fight in him?

Apparently not, for Sensui is dying. Even if Yusuke hadn't struck him down, he only had two more weeks to live, being riddled with numerous tumors. He wanted to die in the demon plane, and be reborn as a demon. His friend takes him off to die somewhere in the demon plane, as Sensui wants nothing to do with the Underworld of the dead, and Koenma himself.

But when Yusuke asks about his Class-S status, he finds out that his father is still alive, and he gets angry, realizing that his father was responsible for the last attack that shattered Sensui's strength, he wants to find his father and take him out. But Koenma points out that they have less than 2 days to return to the human world before the Defense squad close the portal, or be trapped in the demon world forever. He asks Yusuke which he prefers to live in, and Yusuke says no contest- the human world.

But once back, he finds the human world to be, in a word, boring. He visits Genkai for advice, and she tells him that he must hold in his destructive aspects now- how much death and chaos could he create if he really let loose now? She sends him to someone who might help- the first spirit detective, a woman named Kuroko Sato.

Yusuke goes in search of her and finds she's been teaching her children to hunt demons as well- demons who might wish to take revenge on her for what she's done during her time as spirit detective. But when a group of Demon monks show up at her home, they aren't there for her, but Yusuke- they tell him his father wants to see him, and tell him his father is dying. But will Yusuke agree to see his father, and what does the type-S demon want with him? The answers await Yusuke on the Demon plane...

Well, it's the end of combat, at least for now, but the page showing what is coming next promises more combat in the offing. Because it's going to be another tournament to determine the fate of the Demon world, as well as who will be its king. But thankfully we got to see how humans can be just as powerful as even the most powerful, S-type demons, Sensui being one example, and Kuroko Sato being another.

Yusuke's path seems to be leading inevitably to the demon world. He's so powerful, now that he has awakened his S-type power, that he won't be able to stay in the human world, eventually, for if he ever got angry and lost control, he could wreak incredible carnage and destruction on the world. But what will that mean for his human friends, like Kuwabara? Would he ever be able to see them again?

I don't know, and it seems like they may never be reunited after this. Kuwabara might be strong for a human, but for a demon? Not so much, even if he is the strongest human alive (In spirit power, anyway). Will he ever be reunited with Keiko, who revived his dead body with her kiss? Or will he choose to remain with his father in the Demon World forever? Good question, and I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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