Episode 98

EPISODE 98

魔界へ！父との対面 (Makai he! Chichi to no Taimen)

To the Demon World! A Meeting With Father

First Broadcast: September 17, 1994

Equivalent Manga Chapter(s): chapter 158 (WSJ #13, 1994, March 14)

Summary: Everyone gathers at Genkai’s temple, where the Spirit World Special Defense Squad opens a portal for Yusuke to travel to the Demon World.  Kurama and Hiei announce their intention to join up with Yomi and Mukuro, the Demon World’s two other major powers.  Five days later, Yusuke reaches Raizen’s country and finally meets his “true” father, who he attacks for meddling in his fight with Sensui.  However, despite being on the verge of death, Raizen is still so powerful that Yusuke can’t even budge him from his throne.

Anime/manga differences after the jump.

Differences from the Manga

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• The episode starts with another anime-only scene of Kuwabara studying.  Botan shows up and says that everyone’s gathering at Genkai’s temple.  Initially Kuwabara declines to come, saying that he must study, but he quickly changes his tune when he learns Yukina will be there.

• This is where things start to get really different between how the manga and anime handle the final story arc.  Chapter 158 starts out with extensive narration from Yusuke explaining that he’s already come to the Demon World; he’s been running nonstop for 5 days to reach Raizen’s country.  Yusuke relates how it was the Spirit World Special Defense Squad who opened up a portal for him to come.  Underlings of the Three Grand Demons asked the Spirit World for their help in transporting Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama to the Demon World.  Koenma told Yusuke that the Spirit World agreed to this because they thought it the easiest way to get rid of them (apparently assuming that Yusuke and co. will not survive long once they get involved in Demon World power struggles).  But besides this, what really surprised and angered Yusuke was what Kuwabara told him.  At this point the narration is interrupted and there’s a flashback to Kuwabara arguing with Yusuke over his decision to go to the Demon World, with Hiei, Kurama, and the Special Defense Squad already present.  Kuwabara is mad that Yusuke’s stated reason for going to the Demon World is simply because there are lots of strong guys there, and he accuses the Special Defense Squad of just trying to get Yusuke and co. out of the way.  Shunjun (the new squad captain, a margin note explains) doesn’t deny this, and says that they’re just fulfilling their duties.  Kuwabara then asks Hiei and Kurama whether they really plan on going to join the other two Grand Demons, and they say they do, though Kurama will have to leave at a later date than Yusuke and Hiei.  Kuwabara gets even angrier, saying that Yusuke and co. are all as bad as Toguro or Sensui, not caring whose side they’re on so long as they get to fight.  To calm him down, Yusuke brings up Kuwabara’s ambitions to get into Gai high school, and that as soon as he gets back from the Demon World he’ll check in to see how Kuwabara’s exams went.  Yukina arrives with refreshments, while Kuwabara tells Yusuke that the paths they both have chosen are only slightly different.  The flashback then ends, as Yusuke, Hokushin and co. reach Raizen’s country.

• The anime though doesn’t use this flashback structure, and just goes in chronological order from the anime-only scene of Kuwabara heading off to Genkai’s temple, to his argument with Yusuke there.  Kuwabara asks why Yusuke is going to the Demon World; is he going to team up with other demons and attack the Human World?  Yusuke says “maybe”, which makes Kuwabara so mad he punches him, blowing out the candles in the room in the process.  At this point Yusuke explains that he’s driven to go to the Demon World, and the only reason why that he can offer is that there’s lots of strong guys there.  Kuwabara wants to know what will happen with Yusuke’s duties as a Spirit World Detective, and Koenma shows up to explain that Yusuke has been fired from his detective job and has an assassination order on his head.  Genkai relights the candles, and reminisces about how much trouble Yusuke had fighting in the dark here back when his spiritual powers were still weak.  Now though he’s gotten too strong for her to handle, and she hopes his demon blood won’t make him do anything crazy.   Kuwabara then asks how Yusuke even plans on going to the Demon World, at which point the Special Defense Squad shows up (in the manga they all seem to be there, while in the anime only Shunjun, Rinpai, and Ryohi are present at this point).  Kuwabara accuses them of just trying to seal Yusuke in the Demon World because they don’t have the power to defeat him themselves, and Shunjun says King Enma has decided this is the best way to ensure the peace of the Human World (the dialogue here is a mix of their manga conversation and what Yusuke’s narration attributes to Koenma).  Kuwabara wants to know what will happen now if somebody like Toguro or Sensui shows up if Yusuke’s gone; will he, Kurama, and Hiei have to fend them off all on their own?  At this point Hiei and Kurama show up and explain that they too are going to the Demon World, to join the powers opposing Raizen.  Kuwabara’s dialogue in response to this is the same as in the manga, where he accuses them of being the same as Toguro or Sensui, not caring whose side they’re on so long as they get to fight.  However, rather than Yusuke like in the manga, it’s Genkai and Yukina who calm Kuwabara down.  With Kuwabara already calmed down, Yusuke gives him the same speech as in the manga about getting into his high school of choice.  Here he says he heard about Kuwabara’s high school ambitions from both Shizuru and Keiko, in keeping with last episode where Keiko tells him (in the manga he says he heard the news from Shizuru, who he happened to bump into).  Shizuru herself shows up at this point, saying Yusuke has chosen the most dangerous path of all, while Genkai says the whole lot of them are crazy.  Shunjun finally says it’s time they get going, and the mid-episode eye catch comes.

• After the eye catch, we see the squad opening the portal (the other members are present now).  As he hugs Puu, Yusuke says he gets mixed feeling seeing them so easily open a portal like the one Sensui went through so much trouble to create, which is taken from his narration in the manga.  It’s at this point that Kuwabara tells him that the paths they have chosen are only slightly different.  The portal’s ready, so Yusuke heads off.  Shunjun tells him not to expect to return alive, while Botan and co. start getting emotional.  Once Yusuke’s gone through, Shunjun says he has mixed feelings about Yusuke, and Ryohi is curious to see what he’ll do in the Demon World.  The squad then start to seal the portal (apparently both Hiei and Kurama leave later then Yusuke in this version).

• Once Yusuke reaches the Demon World, he sees clouds of dust approach him.  It’s actually Hokushin and the others approaching at incredible speed, and when they get there Yusuke notes that they’re all incomparably stronger now that they aren’t suppressing their power.  They head off to meet Raizen, and the scene then switches to Jorge talking with Koenma on top of some building in the Human World.  Koenma explains about the Special Defense Squad sending Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama to the Demon World, including how the Three Grand Demons proposed to King Enma that sending the three there would be the best way to prevent them from harming the Human World (this is all adapted from Yusuke’s narration in the manga).  Koenma mentions that he couldn’t possibly tell Yusuke about this, while in the manga Yusuke learned this information directly from him.

• Next is a scene of Yusuke and co. running to see Raizen.  Yusuke says they’ve already been running for a full day and asks how much longer it will take, and Hokushin says another four days (again, this comes from Yusuke’s manga narration, which explains that they ran for five days to get there).  We see them pass through various landscapes before finally arriving.  At this point things go like in the manga.