This weekend, Funimation revealed some new information about the upcoming Yu Yu Hakusho OVA (original video animation) during the Yu Yu Hakusho Reunion panel at New York Comic Con 2019. Voice actors Justin Cook and Christopher R. Sabat who voiced the characters Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara in the dubbed version of the anime series announced that they will be reprising their roles in the OVAs, including two stories titled Two Shots and All or Nothing.
It was at the panel where Cook said: “Anytime we can return to the skins of these characters, that’s awesome.”
Both of these new entries in the series will also include both English subtitles and English dubs. The story of Two Shots will feature the prequel tale about how the characters Kurama and Hiei first meet and become friends.
The other OVA titled All or Nothing will adapt the second to last chapter of the original manga series. It will showcase Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Heiei, in which they reunite to take care of a hostage crisis in the spirit world.
These two stories first screened in Japan at the TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku back in October 2018 and were shipped as part of the 26th Anniversary Blu-ray Box Collection. This OVA marks the return of director and storyboarder Noriyuki Abe at studio Pierrot and the original Japanese voice cast of Nozomu Sasaki as Yusuke Urameshi, Shigeru Chiba as Kazuma Kuwabara, Megumi Ogata as Kurama, and Nobuyuki Hiyama as Hiei.
At the moment, Funimation has not confirmed the release date for the OVA.
The series follows the adventures of a 14 year old delinquent by the name of Yusuke Urameshi who dies after saving a child in a car accident. He was given a second chance at life and came back as a spirit detective who took care of demons trying to cause trouble on Earth.
The original Yu Yu Hakusho manga series by Yoshihiro Togashi was first published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 1990 to July 1994. The manga consisted of 175 chapters, which were collected in nineteen volumes. VIZ Media published the English version of the series in Shonen Jump from 2003 to 2010.
An anime adaptation of the series was produced by Fuji Television, Yomiko Advertising, and Studio Pierrot which included 112 episodes, two films, and two OVAs that aired from 1992 to 1994. Funimation licensed the show for North America in 2001 where it gained a lot of popularity on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and Toonami.