As much fun as the first arc of Yu Yu Hakusho was, introducing us to the characters and showing us the world and all the threats contained therein, the show didn’t really hit its best moments as an anime until the second arc. The Dark Tournament introduced Toguro, perhaps the most interesting boring bad guy we’ve ever seen.
His power was literally that he was bigger and stronger than anyone else, but his back story and the way he handled what happened around him made him unlike any other bad guy Yusuke had seen up until then. The fledgling stories springing out about Yusuke had made him a target, and suddenly Yusuke was plunged into a world where he and his friends had to survive against countless demons for the chance to return their lives to normal. This list counts down the ten best episodes from that arc, according to the imDB.
10 YUSUKE'S DESPAIR – 7.2
It’s absurd that this episode ranks as low as it does. One of the final episodes of the arc, it comes after Yusuke’s already removed the spirit cuffs limiting his power, allowing him to fight on an even level with Toguro...or so he thinks. Toguro’s one hundred percent is more than enough to beat Yusuke down, and it’s only after Genkai’s spirit suggests Toguro kill one of Yusuke’s friends to make him take the fight seriously that Yusuke finally gets his head back in the game. It’s too bad it comes at the expense of Kuwabara’s life.
9 GLIMPSE BENEATH THE MASK – 7.5
The Dark Tournament rules demand every team have five warriors working with them, but Team Urameshi only has four...at least, four that we know the identities of. The fifth warrior remains masked until this episode, when we finally see their fifth warrior is a beautiful, pink-haired woman. She saves Yusuke and Kuwabara from getting destroyed by Team Ichigaki, a group largely made up of mind-controlled students who Yusuke and Kuwabara have to figure out how to save. This episode reminds us that beneath these two delinquents’ bravado lie hearts of gold.
8 SAKYO'S PROPOSAL – 7.5
This episode reminds us of why bad guys lose so much. After Kuwabara “beats” the Older Toguro brother, he reveals he’s still alive just in time for his younger brother’s battle with Yusuke. But instead of Younger Toguro taking that help and crushing Yusuke, he refuses and literally punt-kicks his brother off the island and into another arc. This episode also features Sakyo agreeing to bet his life on the outcome of the last battle, with Koenma doing the same...even though Sakyo could’ve just...shot Koenma or something.
7 BENEATH BUI'S ARMOR – 7.6
This episode starts with possibly the biggest rip-off in shonen tournament history. Despite Kurama having successfully defeated Karasu...by killing him...Team Toguro is still awarded the win on a technicality. Nonetheless, the main attraction of this episode winds up being Hiei vs. Bui.
It’s a bit surprising this episode ranked so highly, considering there wasn’t really a connection between these two fighters. Bui’s mostly just there to round out the numbers, even if he does look pretty cool. Still, an episode featuring one of the show’s most popular characters’ final fight for the arc was likely going to get quite a few fans.
6 THE SHADOW OF ELDER TOGURO – 7.6
Outside of Yusuke himself, probably no other warrior gets challenged as much during the Dark Tournament. Kurama winds up injuring himself because he’s too nice, and Hiei always has to be cocky. But Kuwabara is always genuinely trying his hardest, and gets asked to face the most off the wall opponents with his straight forward powers—it began with people with Yo-Yos, then ended with Elder Toguro. Completely immortal thanks to his shapeshifting powers, Elder Toguro takes an early lead in the fight against a guy who’s special ability is just using a sword. He still figures out a way to win, but it doesn’t exactly come easy.
5 OUT WITH A BANG - 7.9
One of the closing episodes of the arc gives us part of the happy ending we need for the series, when Kuwabara reveals he survived Toguro’s attack by pulling off the standard anime “he didn’t hit my vital points” technique. Still, the team is forced to make an exit, as Sakyo remains pretty devoted to his “if Team Toguro loses, I’ll take my life” promise. He detonates the entire arena, causing it to fall apart while everyone there runs away. It’s a solid episode, even if it’s more of a stop gap between Toguro being defeated in the episode before and Genkai finally being brought back in the episode afterwards.
4 WIELDER OF THE DRAGON – 8.0
Is anyone surprised that the first episode to break 8.0 is a Hiei focused one? Dude went from being a nobody character Togashi had no intentions on using again to being a member of the main crew. This episode finishes his fight with Bui, who managed to start beating on Hiei after he finished his DBZ impression and took off his weighted clothing. Hiei brings back everyone’s favorite technique—the Dragon of the Darkness Flame—to take him out, but instead gets his own move turned back around on him. This results in one of the sweetest scenes in shonen anime history, as Hiei taps into an entirely new level of strength with the power of the Darkness Flame to get the win.
3 SUZUKA'S CHALLENGE - 8.1
Gotta show some love to Genkai. Even after she gave up the majority of her strength in the Spirit Orb to help Yusuke skip some steps and become strong enough to fight Toguro before the Dark Tournament got to it’s final round, she wasn’t afraid to get back in the ring to help Team Urameshi actually get to the finals.
She faces off this episode with a man named Suzuka, a dude with absolutely no respect for his elders. He spends a lot of time talking about how the old are unsightly, but it doesn’t really mean anything once Genkai takes things serious and beats him until his once beautiful face is completely wrecked.
2 KURAMA'S STAND – 8.6
Kurama was the MVP of the Dark Tournament. No other way to describe a guy who had his Spirit Energy sealed off and still had no problems facing off against Toya, one of the more powerful members of Team Shadow Channelers. Possessing some incredible ice powers, Toya manages to inflict some big damage on Kurama, but he still goes down after Kurama has the will to use his own body to hatch some plant-based weaponry. The only thing people remember more than this is the beatdown Yusuke gave Bakken for attacking a defenseless Kurama after he won this fight.
1 MASTER OF DISGUISE – 8.7
This episode ranking so highly is strange, but it’s not a bad one by any means. It shows that people really are trying to stop Team Urameshi, as right after barely winning against Team Ichigaki, they’re thrown into the next match against Team Shadow Channelers. And if that wasn’t bad enough, a member of Shadow Channelers takes Hiei and Genkai out of the fight, leaving only Kurama, Yusuke, and an injured Kuwabara to take on the remainder of Team Shadow Channelers. Kurama battles bravely against an opponent who can stop his movements, and just narrowly wins, giving us the start of probably Team Urameshi’s hardest fought victory.