Episode 14

EPISODE 14

迷宮城の四聖獣!霊界への挑戦 (Meikyuu-jo no Shiseijuu! Reikai he no Chousen)

The Four Holy Beasts of Maze Castle!  A Challenge to the Spirit World

First Broadcast: January 16, 1993

Equivalent Manga Chapter(s): chapter 33 (WSJ #33, 1991, August 5), first half of chapter 34 (WSJ #34, 1991, August 12)

Summary: Returning home, Yusuke must go to Devil City to save his home town from the 4 Holy Beasts. There, he and Kuwabara are aided by Hiei and Kurama.  The four enter Devil City, but are trapped in the Gate of Betrayal.

Anime/manga differences after the jump.

Differences from the Manga

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• In the manga Atsuko says Yusuke has spent half a month up in the mountains, while in the anime it’s a full month.

• Once Keiko sees Yusuke has returned home, in the manga we never see her again until Suzaku sends his mind-controlled goons after her.  Yusuke and Kuwabara are then shown talking about Yusuke’s training as they walk through the streets, at which point Yusuke notices that they’re being followed.  In the anime Yusuke and Kuwabara are hanging out with Keiko at the park as they discuss Yusuke’s training.  For some reason Yusuke seems to want to keep his training secret from Keiko, so when she overhears Kuwabara saying he wants to see Yusuke’s new attack, Yusuke says he was talking about wanting to see a movie.  At the movies Yusuke notices that he’s been followed by the mind-controlled goons, so he makes up an excuse and leaves Keiko behind at the theater, with Kuwabara tagging along.  Yusuke beats up the goons once they’re a safe distance away.

• The goons have blue skin in the anime.  In the manga there’s no indication that they have an unusual skin color, but it’s black and white so that doesn’t really prove anything.  Why nobody but Yusuke notices a gang of blue guys, I don’t know.  It reminds me of the possessed city residents in Earthbound.

• After seeing how crazy the goons are acting, in the manga Yusuke wonders whether they’re junkies.

• In the anime Yusuke actually yells out “Shotgun” when using his Shotgun attack, but in the manga that’s not used as the proper name for the attack until the Suzaku fight.  Also, in the manga Yusuke uses the attack to take down the goons right away, while in the anime he and Kuwabara try fighting them first before seeing that the goons just won’t stay down.

• The outfit Botan wears for this story arc differs between the manga and anime.  The manga version is a sleeveless shirt, while in the anime she’s got on a long-sleeved jacket.

• In keeping with the anime’s idea that Kuwabara has a crush on Botan, in the anime he’s clearly thrilled to see her while in the manga he’s merely curious to see the same girl who was at Genkai’s tournament (his actual line is the same in both versions, but the facial expression and delivery are different).

• Botan’s explanation of the situation is just her talking in the manga, but the anime conveys part of the information through a flashback to Koenma actually receiving the four beasts’ demands.

• In the manga we don’t see how Yusuke and Kuwabara reach Maze Castle, but the anime shows them going via a magic trapdoor inside an ordinary-looking building with an “off limits” sign outside.  Before Yusuke goes, Botan gives him a communicator compact to allow them to keep in touch.  In the manga we see him use this device later on, but there’s no explanation about how he got it.

• When Hiei and Kurama show up, in the manga they just suddenly jump into sight wearing weird robes (I think they’re supposed to be disguised as the ghouls Yusuke and Kuwabara are fighting, but I’m not sure), which they then dramatically throw off to reveal who they are.  In the anime a portal opens up in the sky and two glowing balls of light come out, which then form into Hiei and Kurama.  Because they can do that sort of thing, I guess.

• Also, when Hiei and Kurama appear, in the anime the ghouls all instantly scatter.  In the manga they stick around as the group talk, and wonder why wanted criminals like Hiei and Kurama are siding with humans.  Then they just kind of back off as the group walks through, without actually running off.

• The episode ends eight pages into chapter 34, as the gang struggles under the Gate of Betrayal.  Chapter 34 goes up to Kurama starting to fight Genbu.