latinozevran:

dumb gay thoughts ahead but what i think is so interesting about yyh is that instead of being presented with characters who have dark/difficult things happen to them over the course of the story that you watch them react to in all their innocence, youre presented with this cast who you immediately are told dont merely have Dark Pasts, but are also just kind of straight up unlikable people as a result. the protagonist is like. highkey a miserable, angry kid voicing suicidal ideation at the very very beginning of the story. it really cancels out the potential for the kind of later-stage serious character deconstruction that you see take place in something like hxh

instead yyh is simply all about construction from the get-go. yusuke and his new life, learning how be at peace with what he has and how to actually want lasting relationships with people; kuwabara initially lacking in self confidence building this relationship with yusuke and going on this grand journey to discover his own self worth and independence; kurama mid-process of building an entirely new identity, distancing himself from this Evil Figure he believes he used to be and trying to navigate accepting his past and moving forward at the same time; hiei learning to value human life, sure, but really: hiei openly believing he is just irredeemably evil at the start of the story, and learning what its like to value others only because hes learning for the first time in his life what its like to be valued by others.

honestly a lot of the darkest parts of this story are essentially… over before it begins. its more about setbacks to that growth than anything else imo. and i hate to get too deep but just Structurally i think its so important that instead of what i associate with most shounen—a character striving to become more Powerful and having character growth as a result/along the way–i see it as being much more about a cast of characters striving to grow as people and becoming more powerful as a result. and like… i really love that so much