Yu Yu Hakusho's main protagonist Yusuke Urameshi is young, hotheaded and usually just flies by the seat of his pants. Despite his age and demeanor, he isn't to be taken lightly. Yusuke is considered to be one of the series' most powerful characters for a reason. This could be attributed to the fact that he's a descendent of the Demon King Raizen, but considering he spends most of his youth fighting against gang members, he's probably just naturally gifted as well.
He's so gifted in fact that he wins the chance to train under Genkai, the most powerful human alive. But how much of his strength is training, and how much is raw talent? Here are five lesser-known details about Yusuke's supernatural abilities.
Yusuke Has Extraordinary Strength - Even in the Beginning
This seems rather obvious in the latter half Yu Yu Hakusho, but it's hinted at even in the beginning. For a 14-year-old, Yusuke is abnormally strong, able to take out multiple thugs by himself with no problem. This becomes even clearer when he's sent on his first official mission as a Spirit Detective to retrieve a set of stolen Spirit World artifacts from Hiei, Kurama, and Gouki.
In his battle with Gouki, Yusuke is able to lift a fallen tree and use it as a weapon against the demon, proving that he was insanely strong even before his training with Genkai. Whether this is due to all the fights he's been in or a result of the dormant demon blood within him remains up for speculation.
Yusuke's Mind Is Sharper Than It Appears
For all his attitude problems, Yusuke is a surprisingly good judge of a person's character. He's able to feel when a person is outwardly malicious, such as in the case of Younger Toguro. He keeps his guard up, letting his friends know when someone gives him bad vibes. When the stranger isn't a threat, he becomes relaxed and nonchalant.
In many of Yusuke's fights during the Dark Tournament, he treats opponents such as Chu and Jin with respect and even befriends them. He also instinctually trusted Hiei during their first mission together. When Yusuke's very recent foe had the chance to let everyone else die and save himself, Hiei chose to save everyone. Yusuke's trust was proven to be well placed, as Hiei helped his teammates repeatedly throughout Yu Yu Hakusho.
Yusuke Is Descended From Demons
Many of Yusuke's abilities most likely result from the fact that the elite demon Raizen is his ancestral father. Back when humans and demons lived together, Raizen was injured in a fight with other demons and was nursed back to health by a human woman. Despite his urges to eat her, he fell in love with the woman and together they had a baby -- though the woman died during childbirth.
This was the beginning of Yusuke's bloodline, and he inherited the latent demon blood that his family has carried since the birth of that first child. It was also through their shared demon blood that Raizen was able to take control of Yusuke's body during his fight with Sensui and defeat the former Spirit Detective.
Yusuke Can Use Both Spirit Energy and Demon Energy
Thanks to his training as a Spirit Detective and his demon lineage, Yusuke is able to use both types of Spirit and Demon Energy at will once his Mazoku side awakens. When using his Demon Energy, he's able to use it in a similar way to his Spirit Energy, shooting it like his Spirit Gun. During his fight with Yomi, he actually combines the two to create his own unique version of Sacred Energy, though this was an anime-only technique. Yusuke's Demon Energy also allows him to transform into his Mazoku state, though the full strength of this remains unknown.
Yusuke Has Tremendous Stamina
On top of what seems to be superhuman strength, Yusuke's stamina is rather impressive as well. This could also be attributed to his life of delinquency or his demon genetics or both. Whatever the reason, Yusuke alone is able to keep going even after his friends have all been taken out during an Earth-shattering battle. He's even able to run for up to five days straight when being taken to see Raizen for the first time and is immediately able to enter combat with the Demon King while his two companions are exhausted.
It's also revealed later that his fight with Yomi during the Demon World Tournament was over 60 hours long. So even by S-Class demon standards, Yusuke's stamina is extraordinary.