Episode 26

EPISODE 26

暗黒武術会への招待者 (Ankoku-Bujutsukai he no Shoutai-sha)

Invitees to the Dark Tournament

First Broadcast: April 17, 1993

Equivalent Manga Chapter(s): chapter 51 (WSJ #52, 1991, December 16), first half of chapter 52 (WSJ #1-2, 1992, December 23)

Summary: In reality, the Toguro Brothers were working for Sakyo and threw the fight.  Toguro forces Yusuke and co. to enter the Dark Tournament, and Yusuke goes to Genkai to train.  Two months later Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and a masked fighter board the boat to the Dark Tournament.

Anime/manga differences after the jump.

Differences from the Manga

(What's all this about?  Read here)

• This episode rearranges the manga order of events quite a bit.  Chapter 51 opens with the Toguro Brothers getting up after their “defeat” and talking with Sakyo.  Then we get the scene with Kuwabara looking gloomy and his friends wondering what’s up, which leads into Yusuke and Botan discussing how Hiei never told her he was her brother.  Yusuke remembers what Hiei told him, about he and Yukina having different mothers (totally contradicted later in both the manga and anime), the Ice Maidens’ custom to never leave the Land of Glaciers, and how Yukina got captured when she broke that custom so she could go and play with some animals out in the mountains, only to be spotted by a Dark Broker.  Yusuke wonders whether Hiei got the Jagan to find Yukina, but he denies this.

• In the anime on the other hand, the episode starts with Kuwabara’s memories of how he saw Yukina off as she leaves for the Land of Glaciers.  Kuwabara asks if she’s really set on going, and she says yes, noting that it’s the custom of the Ice Maidens to never leave the Land of Glaciers (Hiei noted this in the manga).  Kuwabara snaps back to reality, and this leads to the scene where his friends wonder what’s wrong with him.  Then when Yusuke remembers his conversation with Hiei, we see that they were standing behind Kuwabara as Yukina left.  Yusuke asks Hiei if he’s OK not telling Yukina who he is.  Hiei says no, giving the same (later retconned) explanation that she never knew about him because they had different mothers.  Instead of noting how Ice Maidens don’t leave their homeland and that Yukina got caught precisely because she did that, in the anime Hiei says that she probably wouldn’t be very happy to discover that she had a brother who was a criminal like him, and that he’s better off just watching her from the shadows.

• After Yusuke and Botan’s talk, in the manga Botan says the case is closed and he won’t have any more orders for a while, then we get the scene where Yusuke sees Toguro again.  In the anime Botan just says he won’t have any cases for a while, and Yusuke meets up with Keiko.  Then in the afterlife Botan tells Koenma that the case is closed, though she was pretty worried there for a while.  Koenma says he knew the whole time that Yusuke and Kuwabara would win (they’ve gotten even more powerful, after all), but then Jorge comes in asking what Koenma wants to do with the funeral clothes and offering he had prepared.  On Koenma’s TV is an image of Younger Toguro laying seemingly dead on the ground with Kuwabara’s still Spirit Sword sticking out of him, but then a red ogre rushes in with a new video sent by their “agents”, which contains the scene where the Toguro Brothers get right back up again and talk to Sakyo about how they threw the fight and all that jazz.  Why the “agents” didn’t send this video in until now, I don’t know.  Koenma and Botan discuss the prospect of Yusuke and co. being invited to the Dark Tournament.

• In the manga Toguro meets Yusuke outside of Yusuke’s school (Yusuke and Botan were heading there while they discussed Hiei).  Toguro’s just standing there, drawing some stares from passing students, and asks Yusuke to come with him.  In the anime Yusuke’s out shopping with Keiko, quite against his will.  When they go outside they see a big commotion over two huge holes that have mysteriously appeared in the side of a building.  Big chunks of the building are still falling off, and the police have to keep pedestrians away.  While Yusuke and Keiko are looking at this, Toguro rides up on a motorcycle and speaks to Yusuke, but Yusuke doesn’t recognize him until he removes his motorcycle helmet (apparently Sarayashiki City is filled with 8-foot tall guys).  Toguro pumps his fist, which creates a fierce wind that cuts Yusuke’s shirt (in the manga Yusuke suddenly realizes his shirt is cut, but it’s not clear how or when Toguro cut it).  As Yusuke and Toguro leave to go talk, Kuwabara happens by and sees them.

• Now, I’d assume the idea here is that the big holes in the building was caused by Toguro, as a way of attracting Yusuke’s attention or something.  But this is never flat-out stated, and frankly it seems like a rather nonsensical plan.  How does Toguro know Yusuke will be passing by that one building?  And if he does know Yusuke will be there, what’s the point of the holes anyway?  Am I missing something here?

• Toguro takes Yusuke to a building under construction so they can talk.  In the manga, Toguro merely notes that at 60% power he could demolish the entire building in minutes.  In the anime he actually does this, and then he and Yusuke continue their conversation amid the rubble.  We also see in the anime that Kuwabara has followed them and seen the whole thing.  As Toguro leaves he meets Kurama and Hiei, who have heard what’s up.  In the manga they’re on the ground, while in the anime they’re standing on top of a building and Toguro talks to them from the ground.

• When Yusuke goes to Genkai to train, in the anime she says he’s “finally come”, implying she was expecting him, while in the manga she just said he hardly ever stops by.  In the manga Yusuke then says he wants to get as strong as is possible within 2 months, while Genkai says she won’t hold back this time.  In the anime these remarks are said in brief flashbacks during the training montage.

• We then get a training montage in the anime.  Hiei beats up Kuwabara with a stick of bamboo.  Genkai and Yusuke jump around the mountains.  Yusuke has to wear a heavy ball-and-chain on both legs, and Genkai punches him when he falls behind.  Kurama tells Kuwabara that Hiei held back on him (since Kuwabara’s human), but Kurama’s training won’t be so easy.  In the manga it’s later mentioned that Kuwabara trained with Kurama, but nothing’s said about him training with Hiei.

• Chapter 52 opens with an explanation of the Dark Tournament and how Yusuke and co. have been “invited” as guests (they’ll be killed if they refuse).  In the anime this is moved to next episode.

• In the manga the demons heading for the Dark Tournament talk about how you get whatever you want if you win the championship, and one says he wants 1,000 humans to eat.  This gets left out in the anime. 

• The episode ends 11 pages into chapter 52, as the ship takes off for Kubi-Kukuri Island.