Yu Yu Hakusho/Characters

Team Urameshi

 * Almighty Janitor: The Spirit Detective title when compared to the Spirit Defense Force who are all at least A Class fighters. In fact the SDF is only called in where there's a Godzilla Threshold..
 * Badass Crew: Prevented End of the World more than once and the current Dark Tournament Champions.
 * Fire-Forged Friends: They had a rocky start during the Saint Beasts arcs, but grew to respect each other.
 * Five-Man Band
 * The Hero: Yusuke
 * The Lancer: Kuwabara
 * The Big Guy: Hiei
 * The Smart Guy: Kurama
 * The Chick: Botan
 * The Sixth Ranger: Genkai and/or Koenma
 * Heroic BSOD:
 * It's Personal:
 * Oddly Small Organization: The Spirit World's cleanup squad for when things go wrong consists of one detective and any friends he might make along the way.
 * Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The team consists of a Delinquent Spirit Detective, his rival, a reincarnated Fox Demon, and a Reformed Criminal with an extra eye.
 * True Companions

Yusuke Urameshi
Species: Human Main Power: Spirit Gun

"Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (JP), Justin Cook (EN)"

Delinquent jerk who dies in a tragically ironic manner, saving a child from being hit by a car. It gets even more tragically ironic when he is informed that not only did The Powers That Be never expect such an act of goodness from him, the kid would have survived anyway, without a scratch. Yusuke pushing him out of the way just gave him a few extra scrapes.

Since there's no place for him in heaven or hell, Yusuke is given the opportunity to return to life, but once he does--Koenma owns him, and he becomes the Spirit Detective, taking care of supernatural problems that might threaten ordinary humans. Of course, as we gradually learn, Yusuke isn't all that ordinary, himself...


 * Accidental Aiming Skills: During his first fight with Hiei, Yusuke knew he wouldn't be able to hit Hiei in the front because of his speed. So he fired his Spirit Gun at the Forlorn Hope and the mirror bounces his Spirit Gun onto Hiei's back. He himself wasn't sure if it would work or not.
 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Justified, after Yusuke dies saving a kid life he still sticks as part of his trials for coming back to life. As ghost he helps many people in need like Kuwabara, linger ghosts, and a friend from elementary school.
 * All Genes Are Codominant: Subverted, When Yusuke Urameshi had died for the first time, he was not strong enough to receive the Atavism of the Mazoku. Ironically, through his employment as Spirit Detective, he became strong enough for this demonic trait to 'accept' him and express itself after he died in his second battle against Shinobu Sensui.
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: At least Keiko does, though likely because she knows him from childhood.
 * Anti-Hero: Type III.
 * Attack! Attack! Attack!: Often uses this strategy first to test his opponent's strength before switching up his strategy.
 * Badass
 * Badass Boast: In is debut match during Team Urameshi's first round in the Dark Tournment.
 * "Hey all you stupid demons! I've been trying to sleep through you clever trash-talk long enough and I'm ready to kick some asses!"
 * Badass Normal: Toughest kid at Sarayashiki Junior High. Could One-Man Army entire army of Muggle students.
 * Badass Abnormal: After coming back from the dead
 * Badass Long Hair: During his Mazoku transformation.
 * Battle Aura: Has three different energy types: Spirit Energy, Demon Energy, and Sacred Energy.
 * Actually, Yusuke's third type was merely mistaken for Sacred Energy. It was actually a mix of Spirit Energy, and Demon Energy. Yusuke doesn't have the unique qualities mentioned by Sensui to produce Sacred Energy.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: He and Keiko can't go five minutes withut some form of argument.
 * Berserk Button: Killing any of his friends is not a good idea. Toguro even deliberately invoked this trope by
 * BFG: Yusuke's Rei/Spirit Gun during the Dark Tournament final round.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Shows up Back From the Dead a second time as a S Class demon with a Phoenix Puu and Koenma in the Demon World.
 * Bishonen: When his hair is not slicked back with hair gel. He looks like a completely different person.
 * Blood Knight: Likely his most defining trope. Yusuke loves a good brawl and was so into his fight with Sensui that he could have cared less that a storm of demons were going to swarm the Earth. He just didn't wanna get cheated out of his fight.
 * And when his ancestor takes over his body and ultimately deals fatal blows to Sensui, when Yusuke regains control, to say he was upset their fight was interrupted is putting it lightly.
 * Book Dumb
 * Born Lucky: Some of his earlier Spirit Detective arc fights that he won was because he was just lucky.
 * Brown Eyes
 * Brought Down to Badass: During Team Urameshi's fight with Dr. Ichigaki's team.
 * Byronic Hero: At the start of the series.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Spirit Gun, Shotgun, Spirit Wave, etc.
 * Carnivore Confusion: After Yusuke, he no longer regards the casual eating of innocent human beings as an atrocity, and now can hold happy and friendly conversations with man-eating-demons about their dietary habits as if they are discussing the latest tasy dish at a popular restaurant; RIGHT AFTER, mind you, spending quality time with a happy family of humans.
 * He goes further down the spiral of evil when he casually tells  that if eating humans is what will restore his strength, he will GLADLY kidnap a few innocent human beings to feed him if that's what it takes to get a good fight out of him.
 * Actually, Yusuke offered to go and find evil humans for Raizen to eat.
 * Children Are Innocent: He's rather protective of kids, and one of the best ways to piss him off is to threaten children or Keiko.
 * Chivalrous Pervert: Gropes and teases Keiko, but if she needs his help there's nothing he won't do for her.
 * He also doesn't mind feeling up his female opponents in the middle of a fight either.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Especially in the dub.
 * Dead to Begin With
 * Delinquents: Yusuke has an entire city full of teen delenquents out to send him to the hospital.
 * Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: Being a neglected bastard child who only found peace in anger and violence really did a number on Yusuke: when he lost his hate for the world, he was left so hollow that he could not find joy and meaning in being The King of An Entire Demon Empire.
 * Determinator: Will to use Life Energy or use a Heroic Sacrifice if all else fails.
 * Disguised in Drag: In the manga, Yusuke pulled this off pretty well and look like quite a convincing girl believe it or not.
 * Disappeared Dad: We never hear from or ever see Yusuke's biological father.
 * Diving Save: To rescue the little child in the first episode.
 * Dude, He's Like, In A Coma: Justified, during the time in which Yuusuke was technically dead (although his inert body was given pseudo-life in order to preserve it), Keiko has to kiss him in order to revive him in a kind of spiritual CPR.
 * Before that, Keiko almost kisses his unconscious body while he invisibly and fervently protests, but is interrupted by an announcement from the Neighborhood Watch Committee that kicks her back to her senses.
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He was on the verge of rearranging the face of a Sadist Teacher who mocked his Hot Mom for "pathetically begging" to let him back into school.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: He is neck-deep in Foe Yay with every one of his male enemies.
 * Finger Gun: Yusuke's Rei/Spirit Gun.
 * Friend to All Children
 * Generation Xerox: With Raizen. It's subtle, but it's there.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: He's pulled this off a couple times.
 * Golden Super Mode: Was able to channel his version of Sacred Energy during his fight with Yomi.
 * Go Out with a Smile: His second death.
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Healing Factor: Was able to heal from his wounds suffered from Sensui's energy gun and also able to quickly heal a broken arm that Sensui snapped like a twig.
 * Heir to the Dojo: Chosen as Genkai's successor after defeating Rando and winning her tournament.
 * The Hero
 * Hero with an F In Good: He has prioritized his adolescent anger over the good of humanity on more than one occasion, most notably in his duel with Sensui and not caring about the apocalyptic ramifications of the Demon World Tournament.
 * Heroic Bastard: 14 year old Urameshi Atsuko was definitely not married when she had that bout of morning sickness...
 * Heroic BSOD
 * Heroic Bystander: His introduction in the first episode.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Twice, and subverted both times.
 * Back From the Dead: Again, twice.
 * Holding Your Shoulder Means Injury: Does this quite often in his earlier fights.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Idiot Hero: A darker variant than most.
 * In Name Only: For his Spirit Detective title since he never really does any real detective work.
 * It Amused Me: Well, he is a delinquent.
 * It'sPersonal: His final fight with Toguro after Genkai dies.
 * Jerkass Facade: His Spirit Beast Puu turned out to be a very cute stuffed animal which actually reflects his true personality as Koenma pointed out before the egg hatched.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold : At his core, he's definitely not a bad guy and, from time to time, he does show his softer side.
 * Ki Attacks
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Sensui even tries to deconstruct this giving a Hannibal Lecture and Reason You Suck Speech during their second fight in the demon tunnel cave.
 * Kubrick Stare: Does this before dishing out a can of asswhupping. Kuwabara still hasn't gotten the hint during the first episode.
 * Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: His Knife-Edged Death Match with Chu.
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Magnetic Hero
 * Marked Change
 * Meaningful Name: His name means Ghost Helper.
 * Megaton Punch: One of his specialties.
 * More Dakka: His Spirit Shotgun. Also spammed a bunch of weaker Spirit Guns at Yomi to break his Deflector Shields while mix his Spirit and Demon Energy together.
 * Official Couple: Him and Keiko.
 * Power Limiter: The Spirit Cuffs Genkai gave him. It forces him remain in full Spirit Power and full physical strength 24/7 if he even wants to move. This is similar to how athletes who train in aerobics for extensive periods of time experience heightened states of rest: heart and respiratory rate are much lower than that of a normal person.
 * Power Makes Your Hair Grow: When Yusuke temporarily gets possessed by his ancestor awakening his Mazoku form, he gets long unkempt hair down below his waist, among other cosmetic changes and then proceeds to curp-stomp Sensui.
 * Otaku: Of Combat Sports. That's how Botan baited him to going on the case of tracking down Rando with front row seat tickets in the Tokyo Dome.
 * Psychic Static: He was able to beat Murota's "Tapping" ability by repeating the way he planned on punching him over and over in his head, and then knocking him out just through the reverberations from his fist in the air.
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Kuwabara's Red, Red to Hiei's Blue.
 * Teens Are Monsters: An anti-heroic version. It's suggested near the end of the series that he could be a genuinely good person once he outgrows his adolescent rage problems.
 * Second Place Is for Winners: Form 3, when Yusuke was fighting Yomi in the Demon World Tournament. Yusuke himself stated that his Power Level was only around Shura's range. Yomi and Shura's fight was a complete Curb Stomp Battle in the former's favor. Yusuke however was almost able to end the fight with a Cross Counter Double Knockout, but in the end he injured Yomi so bad that he immediately lost the next round.
 * Second Year Protagonist: Junior High, 8th grade.
 * Middle Schools/Junior High in Japan go up to 9th grade.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Kuwabara is the sensitive guy (also literally) to Yusuke's Manly Man.
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: "Fearless protector of the good stuff, with a healthy kickin-ass-ness and a general hate for authority!"
 * Shotguns Are Just Better: Spirit Energy/Reiki Shotgun that is.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: His second fight with Sensui after he finishes giving his Hannibal Lecture. Yusuke rebuttals with a right hook to the face.
 * "Maybe there have been times when I've been pissed and hated things, but it wasn't from this work. My dad's a no-show, my mom's a lush, and school sucks. But this job is the one damn thing I've ever been good at. And if all the crap in my life hasn't screwed me up yet, then neither will this. And neither will you."
 * Sphere of Destruction: His Spirit Gun becomes this after inheriting Genkai's Spirit Wave Orb. It just keeps getting more powerful from there on.
 * Spirited Competitor
 * Tame His Anger: Yusuke started out as an angry teen who rebel against authority. By the end of the series he's matured and happy with his life.
 * The Runner Up Takes It All: Although Yusuke didn't win the Demon World Tournament nor did he get to the semi-finals, he did succeed in preventing both Yomi and Mukuro (with Hiei's Help) from winning allowing Enki to win the tournament.
 * Tragic Mulatto: Subverted. In the Three Kings arc he becomes leader of his own country and garners full respect from his subordinates. In the Demon World Tournament, there were even demon spectators cheering him on during his fight with Yomi despite being a the underdog and a Half-Human Hybrid.
 * Troubled but Cute: Subverted: the only girl who likes him romantically is Keiko. Botan is more of a Cool Big Sis, and the human girls are terrified of him.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kuwabara. Botan even lampshades this at school.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: Usually during all his most intensive fights.
 * When All You Have Is a Hammer: His solution to any problem is hitting it with his fists or firing the Spirit Gun.
 * Would Hit a Girl: One that can fight him, that is.
 * Yin-Yang Bomb
 * Younger Than They Look: He's fourteen.
 * When All You Have Is a Hammer: His solution to any problem is hitting it with his fists or firing the Spirit Gun.
 * Would Hit a Girl: One that can fight him, that is.
 * Yin-Yang Bomb
 * Younger Than They Look: He's fourteen.

Kazuma Kuwabara
Species: Human Main Power: Spirit Sword

"Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (JP), Christopher Sabat (EN)"

Yusukes rival-turned-best-friend, Kuwabara is slightly jerk-y himself, but still easily the nicest of the four main characters. Kuwabara has a very powerful sixth sense, which he doesn't seem to enjoy, and is able to manifest his reiki as a sword. Definitely something of a comic relief character, he falls in love with the ice demon, Yukina, and is utterly devoted to her. Sometimes called "Kuwa-chan." Punk antagonists use it to get on his nerves, but Botan uses it affectionately.

""Stand aside, you are not the man I'm here to kill... I'm here for that monster up there!!""
 * A Day in the Limelight: Is the key player during Chapter Black.
 * Alliterative Name
 * Anti-Hero: Type II
 * Badass Longcoat: Has a white longcoat he usually wears during a serious fight.
 * Badass in Distress: In the third quarter of the Chapter Black arc.
 * Big Brother Mentor: To young Seaman.
 * Black Eyes
 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * Book Dumb: Still less than Yusuke..
 * Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's a little gruff, but a massive softie underneath.
 * Buffy-Speak: "SWORD, GET LONG!"
 * Courtly Love: While his jaw will drop and ogle at the sight of any attractive female (cut him some slack, he IS a 14 year old boy after all), he is the picture of a polite and considerate gentleman towards the one girl he truly loves, Yukina.
 * Delinquents: Second only to Yusuke.
 * Determinator: Kamina could learn a thing or two from him.
 * Dogged Nice Guy: To Yukina.
 * Dumbass No More: Gets into a prestigious university through sheer study and hard work.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Honour Before Reason: Kuwabara embodies this trope, and it almost kills him several times.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * How Do I Shot Web?: Has trouble summoning his dimensional sword after his first use of it, and only manages it twice;.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Yukina.
 * Idiot Hero
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Gentle Giant: Has a warm, tender, sensitive and kind heart that is almost never found in boys his age, let alone a violent delinquent.
 * And he adores kittens.
 * Knight in Sour Armor
 * The Heart: Will always be the first to (angrily) interject his idealism and kindness into a situation whenever anyone (ESPECIALLY Hiei) gets too heartless and cynical.
 * The Lancer/The Big Guy: Usually the former, though on occassion he's the latter.
 * Large Ham:
 * Incoming Ham: When he summons his Spirit Sword.
 * Laser Blade: His main weapon.
 * Locked Out of the Loop: Only one that doesn't know that Hiei and Yukina are siblings.
 * Also he was the one of the last to learn that
 * Luminescent Blush: Whenever Yukina touches him or reacts positively to his hammy displays of affection. The more positive the response, the more likely Kazuma is to catch a severe case of High-Pressure Emotion.
 * Man in White: In later episodes.
 * Manly Tears: As is befitting for a true Badass.
 * Maybe Ever After: The big guy and Yukina. Though if they do, he is going to have a son with a personality as rotten as Hiei's, as all Ice-Maidens will bear when they consumate with a man. Poor fella...AS well as a daughter just as sweet and gentle as her mother.
 * The McCoy
 * Nice Guy: Kuwabara mellows throughout the series, crossing out the "Jerk" and underlining the "Heart of Gold".
 * Overshadowed by Awesome: A subversion; despite being tremendously overshadowed by his three fighting partners, Kuwabara manages to stay in the game through his bullheadedness, psychic powers, and Spirit Sword in all its varieties. Particularly blatant in the Chapter Black arc, where his power is a major factor in Sensui's plan.
 * The Power of Friendship and The Power of Love: Both make him do amazing things.
 * In his second solo fight in the Dark Tournament Arc, he is getting knocked around by Risho due to having almost no spirit energy left and possibly a broken spine. Yukina shows up, and he suddenly throws Risho aside and runs up to Yukina as if he isn't even injured. When Risho tries to attack him again, Kuwabara suddenly gains his spirit energy back and one shots him across the arena.
 * After the match, Yukina tried to cure his wounds, only to discover they were already half healed on their own.
 * Real Men Wear Pink: Has quite the soft spot for cats, and especially Eikichi, his very own pet kitten.
 * Red Oni
 * Red String of Fate: With Yukina.
 * Rescue Romance: Upon falling for Yukina, he joins Yusuke and Botan to rescue her.
 * Spirited Competitor
 * Stone Wall: His speed and offense might not be anywhere as good as the rest of his team(Can't blame him, spirit guns, dragons and all). But watch how much he can endure. Rinku even lampshades this in his fight with Kuwabara.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Losing to a kid in the first round in the tournament,
 * What the Hell, Hero?: "I thought we were a team, but I guess I'm just one big joke to you. Well this joke has feelings!"
 * Wife-Basher Basher: His dialoge to Younger-Toguro after he (psychically) sees how the brute's boss tortured Yukina with fire and abused her for her valuable tears.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: "I thought we were a team, but I guess I'm just one big joke to you. Well this joke has feelings!"
 * Wife-Basher Basher: His dialoge to Younger-Toguro after he (psychically) sees how the brute's boss tortured Yukina with fire and abused her for her valuable tears.


 * The Worf Effect: Often loses fights to show how powerful certain opponents are, but partly due to stupidity rather than weakness. Lampshaded by Yusuke in one preview. Played with hilariously during his fights against Shishiwakamaru and Onji.
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Has trouble fighting Miyuki the Villainous Crossdresser.

Kurama / Shuiichi Minamino
Species: Demon / Partially Human Main Power: Flora Manipulation

"Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (Shūichi) and (JP), John Burgmeier (EN)"

Kurama is over a thousand years old, a fox demon and former thief killed by a hunter. Unwilling to die peacefully, his soul passed into the human world and entered the womb of a pregnant woman, Shiori Minamino. Reborn as her son, Shuuichi Minamino, Kurama planned to return to his life as a rogue thief as soon as he could, but his mother's unconditional love convinced him to stay for her sake, and even risk his life to save hers when she gravely got sick. After he's caught by Yusuke, he is paroled. Part of his sentence is to help Yusuke, and basically do Koenma's bidding.

Personality-wise, Kurama is outwardly kind, cryptic, intelligent and not above teasing Yusuke or Hiei mercilessly (sometimes with Kuwabara's help).


 * Aloof Ally: Though he is nice, he does not often hang out with the group outside of battle.
 * Aloof Big Brother: Despite not being related to any of the main characters. Although this has been subverted towards his little stepbrother.
 * Animal Motifs / Animal Stereotypes: The guy is really a kitsune.
 * Anti-Hero: Type III.
 * The Atoner: Becoming a genuinely good-hearted, if still vengeful, person for his beloved human mother.
 * Badass: A premier example within the story.
 * Badass Bookworm: He can outsmart a genius who's written several best selling literature and an ability to steal your soul if you accidentally say a word or use the the first letters of that word in the right order.
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Batman Gambit: VERY important in his strategies.
 * Becoming the Mask: He intended to leave Shiori's side when his injuries got better. Found out he had grown genuinely fond of her and decided to stay with her anyway.
 * Berserk Button: Only two things seem to piss him off: threatening his human mother and family, and
 * He does have a third: Being mistaken for a girl. He nearly snapped on Yusuke and Keiko when they pushed this button as lil too far...
 * Beware the Nice Ones: He is a lot more polite than Yusuke and Hiei (to be fair everybody has a friendlier demeanor then Hiei). That doesn't mean he is above killing someone in a particularly brutal and bloody manner should they piss him off.
 * Big Brother Instinct: He does not react well to Yomi threatening his human stepbrother, who does not know about Kurama's true identity for his own protection.
 * Bishonen: To the extent that
 * The Chessmaster: Generally during his fights in the series he wins in the first minute or so, even if his foes don't know it yet, and it's repeatedly shown that the longer you take to beat him the only thing you're actually accomplishing his giving him more time to come up with a cruel and unusual death for you, regardless of how screwed he might look. Of his foes, only Toya manages to think at his level (and even then Kurama had a massive handicap)
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Japanese version only. Actually, this was Megumi Ogata's debut role.
 * Cunning Like a Fox: Literally, as he is a demon humanoid fox with a thousand years of experience, no not the one you're thinking of.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: More then a few first time viewers of the show have mistook him for a girl. Oh yeah, so did the Filipino dub studio!
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: If not for Shiori, he'd still be a ruthless Youkai. He's also very fond of his stepfather and little stepbrother.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Karasu really really likes him.
 * Fusion Dance: In the sub, he's the same person in whatever form even though his true form is more ruthless.
 * Gentleman Snarker
 * Green Eyed Red Head: Probably used to play into the old tale about green-eyed redheads can be expected to have magical powers. Note Kurama's eyes turn golden and his hair turns white when he switches into his demonic form.
 * Green Thumb: And he makes it awesome.
 * Guile Hero: While he's an excellent fighter, his most dangerous weapon is his tremendously sharp mind.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Megumi Ogata's debut role.
 * Honest Advisor
 * I Have Your Mother: Roto tries this to prevent him from fighting back, but Kurama prevents him from pressing the button that signals her execution..
 * In Touch with His Feminine Side: A Bishonen whose very soft spoken, girly-looking, elegant as well as being the most sensitive to others emotions and able to 'read the atmosphere.'
 * Jack of All Stats: In his human form.
 * The Kirk: He's perfectly level-headed until his Berserk Buttons are pushed, and often works to keep the group working smoothly together.
 * Kitsune: He is a Japanese fox demon.
 * Little Bit Beastly: His demonic form-in addition to changing his hair and eye color-gives him fox ears and a tail.
 * Love Redeems
 * Man in White: As Yoko Kurama.
 * The Medic: His knowledge of plants is useful for this as well.
 * Nerves of Steel
 * Noble Demon: Well, he IS a demon, and is genuinely noble.
 * Not So Above It All: He usually likes to play the part of the cool-headed, rational demon. As the series goes on, it's revealed he isn't exactly above teasing Yusuke (with Kuwabara even!), spending countless hours on video games (even MORE than Kuwabara or Yusuke!), and actually cheats the hell out of card games.
 * Not So Stoic: Becomes visibly enraged for the first and only time during the Chapter Black arc, when
 * One of Us: Chapter Black comes with the stunning revelation that Kurama is a huge video game nerd.
 * One Steve Limit: Averted. Shares the same human name with his little stepbrother, Shuuichi.
 * Princely Young Man: By virtue of his attitude and how he's treated in this case, rather than status. He's a Prince Charming type.
 * Real Men Wear Pink: He doesn't look impressive, being a pretty boy that often wears a pink school uniform and has this thing for roses. Guess who is one of the series' biggest Badasses and the only member of the Five-Man Band that Hiei actually admits being afraid of.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Looks like a teenager, is thousands of years old.
 * Yoko Kurama looks like a 20-to-early 30s man,
 * Redheaded Hero
 * The Stoic: The guy has a pokerface that is simply unbreakable in a fight, to the point of almost coming across as a sociopath at times. He DOES have emotions, he's just able to look past them an analyze a situation with a cold rational mind, then switch back to being pleasant and upbeat when he has to be.
 * School Uniforms Are the New Black: In a manga bonus story, his classmates note that he wears the uniform even when he doesn't have to.
 * She's a Man In Japan: In the Philippines actually. They Hand Waved this after they found out.
 * Shout-Out: "Just call me Tuxedo Mask" in Chapter 44 of the manga. The authors of Yu Yu Hakusho and Sailor Moon (who later married) were dating at this time.
 * The Smart Guy: An anime poster boy for this trope, competing with Shikamaru for the spot.
 * Something About a Rose: Rose Whip.
 * Training From Hell: Gives Kuwabara some fairly harsh training to prepare him for the Dark Tournament, and later.
 * Tranquil Fury: This makes him absolutely frightening. During Chapter Black, when he's forced to, he is completely utterly enraged. Fortunately,  was there for him to take his fury out on.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy, Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Though he normally looks like this his true demonic form is this.
 * Whip It Good: Main weapon.

Hiei
Species: Demon Main Power: Superspeed / Jagan Eye

"Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (JP), Chuck Huber (EN)"

An aloof and elusive swordsman from the Demon World. Hiei possesses a surgically implanted third eye that endows him with several abilities such as mind control, telepathy, and telekinesis. Hiei is a fire demon, and is capable of manipulating the human world's crimson flames as well as the demon world's dark flames. He is taciturn and misanthropic, and the only being he cares about seems to be his twin sister Yukina. Hiei was the ringleader of the theft that led to Yusuke meeting him, Kurama and Gouki. Unlike Kurama, Hiei had no good intentions, but like Kurama, part of his sentence to assist Yusuke and Koenma. Eventually, he does come to respect Yusuke as a friend and warrior, although he usually won't help without a good pretense.


 * Aloof Ally: A trope poster boy.
 * Aloof Big Brother - To Yukina.
 * Anti-Hero: Type V
 * Ascended Extra
 * Badass
 * Bandage Babe: His bandaged arm and his good looks fulfill this trope, though if you wanted to give him a hug he'd rip your spine out.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: With, in a much more literal way that Yusuke and Keiko.
 * Berserk Button: Hiei does not take too kindly to You Have Outlived Your Usefulness especially coming from the enemy. Seiryu found out the HARD way.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Blood Knight: Although he's too arrogant to acknowledge his opponent, he clearly likes fighting because he was literally born in a dog-eat-dog world.
 * Brought Down to Badass: Hiei reached A class levels of power just a few years after birth, but lost most of his power during his surgery for the Jagan.
 * Byronic Hero: Think Yusuke, but dipped in liquid nitrogen, and you'll have a good idea of how cold this guy is.
 * Characterization Marches On: When he was a villain, he was outright psychotic, with Nobuyuki Hiyama hamming it up in voicing him. When he makes his Heel Face Turn, he's a Deadpan Snarker Perpetual Frowner Aloof Ally, and the way he's voiced naturally changes along with the characterization.
 * Continuity Drift: Togashi, apparently, was not always sure if Hiei was going to become recurring character--certainly not that he would rank #1 in both Character Popularity polls--and it shows. When he first appears, he transforms into his "full/true demon form," but this is, oddly, never seen again. Except for a Non-Serial Movie, okay, but still. This demon form is apparently derived from and based on his Jagan, which we later find out . In an early episode, he also tells Yusuke that he and Yukina are half-siblings with different mothers, but his Whole-Episode Flashback clearly shows that they do have the same mother, Hina. Of course, that one can be written off easily; it wouldn't be out of character for Hiei to lie.
 * Or he could be using this as a cover. He doesn't really hold the fondest of regards for the Ice Maidens, after all.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Hiei's... actually quite good at unleashing unholy amounts of badass to crush his opponents with sheer anticlimactic force. See Zeru, who spent half an episode being built up as The Guy To Watch Out For, and Hiei reduced him to an ashy impression on a wall in seconds.
 * At least his attack on Zeru left him effectively crippled for nearly the entire tournament, which he thought was a necessary sacrifice against someone so strong...except that several of his other opponents were still killed in a single move. Then he fought Bui, one of the strongest fighters in the tournament, and celebrated by smacking his body all the way up and down the arena.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Easily Forgiven: Yusuke is immediately OK with working alongside the guy who kidnapped his girlfriend and tried to turn her into a demon.
 * Enfant Terrible: When he was kid.
 * Evil Eye: His Jagan, which literally means "evil eye," allows him to see great distances and allows him some minor clairvoyance.
 * Expy: Of Vegeta.
 * Extra Eyes: Also, this.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Technically, it's a headband. It covers his Jagan so it still counts.
 * Flawless Victory: Hiei was the only character in the Dark Tournament Arc to win every battle he participated in, and only one of his opponents survived.
 * Glass Cannon -> Lightning Bruiser: At least initially, since a single Spirit Gun from Yusuke was able to knock him out (back when it was only around twice as strong as his punch). Subverted in later seasons, as despite his small size, he is shown to be surprisingly hardy and resistant to damage. By absorbing his dragon, his defense increases to the point that most attacks don't even phase him.
 * Heel Face Turn: After being defeated...
 * Hidden Depths: More complex than you'd think.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: To wit, he usually starts the battle with his katana even after finding out that his bare hands and Ki Attacks are much more effective. Guess what appears in his part of the opening credits.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother: In the anime, is willing to kill Tarukane for abducting Yukina.
 * Morality Pet: His sister Yukina.
 * Noble Demon: Going by his flashbacks and his own narration, Hiei was an incredibly sadistic and brutal killer as a child. However, he doesn't take kindly at all to people betraying their allies, and he always keeps his word.
 * No Kill Like Overkill: Unlike other fighters who frequently warm up with lesser offenses and have fun with the fight (Yusuke) or gauge their foes until they counterattack (Kurama), Hiei's favored tactic seems to be to start out with overwhelming force and end his fights as quickly as possible, partially because he likes showing off what a badass he is. On occasion this has actually worked against him as much as it helps: since he tries to solve all his problems with swift application of brute force, cleverer fighters with more unique abilities can remove him from the fight early on.
 * Not So Different: In his battle with, both find out that they are much more similar than what they first thought.
 * Perpetual Frowner
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse
 * Playing Against Type: For Nobuyuki Hiyama. And he's not THAT Hot-Blooded, considering he's a fire demon.
 * Playing with Fire: Demonic fire.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue oni to Yusuke, Red oni to Kurama, and Yukina.
 * Shiny Midnight Black
 * Shirtless Scene: It would be easier to count the number of fights in which he's wearing it for the whole time. Usually is ripped/exploded/tossed aside within the first few seconds.
 * The Spock
 * Short Dark And Snarky
 * Starter Villain: Along with Gouki, he was set up as this before his unexpected popularity.
 * Token Evil Teammate: At first.
 * Too Many Belts
 * Training From Hell: Trains Kuwabara for the Dark Tournament. Because of Hiei's honour system, his training is less hellish than Kurama's.
 * Whole-Episode Flashback: The two episodes detailing his past.
 * The Worf Barrage: His Dragon of the Darkness Flame incinerates Zeru, but afterward (not counting the second movie), can't kill anything stronger than a Mook (though it can quickly obliterate an entire army of A-class demons).
 * Too Many Belts
 * Training From Hell: Trains Kuwabara for the Dark Tournament. Because of Hiei's honour system, his training is less hellish than Kurama's.
 * Whole-Episode Flashback: The two episodes detailing his past.
 * The Worf Barrage: His Dragon of the Darkness Flame incinerates Zeru, but afterward (not counting the second movie), can't kill anything stronger than a Mook (though it can quickly obliterate an entire army of A-class demons).

Botan
Species: Spirit Being Main Power: Healing

"Voiced by: Sanae Miyuki (JP), Cynthia Cranz (EN)"

Chief ferry girl across the river Styx, Botan is the perky shinigami sent to retrieve Yusuke's soul after his unexpected death. She initially serves as his guide back to life and becomes his assistant upon his appointment as Spirit Detective.


 * Action Girl --> Action Survivor: In the Four Saint Beasts storyline, where she easily fends off possessed people with a baseball bat... until too many of them focus entirely on Keiko and she turns into the latter in attempts to save her.
 * Catch Phrase: "Bingo!"
 * Cat Smile
 * The Chick: Only female member of the main team.
 * Cool Big Sis: To the team as a whole.
 * The Grim Reaper: A pleasant Japanese subversion.
 * Don't Fear the Reaper: Both in apperance (cute and perky) and in role (guide to the after life)
 * Genki Girl: Her liveliness and general energy is one reason why Yusuke didn't think she was a grim reaper.
 * Healing Hands
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl: She fits the personality type (minus crazy impluses) but her relationship with Yusuke was always platonic.
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In the English dub, she has a slight English accent which diminishes over the course of the series...then pops back up in random intervals.
 * Purple Eyes
 * Shinigami
 * Team Mom
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Or baby blue hair.

Keiko Yukimura
Species: Human Main Power: One hell of a slap!

"Voiced by: Yuri Amano (JP), Laura Bailey (EN)"

Class Representative of Sariyashki High and Yusuke's childhood friend, Keiko is his Love Interest throughout the series.


 * Action Survivor
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her and Yusuke. Justified in that while the rest of the school thinks he's some kind of mob boss she knows he's not as bad as seems.
 * Armor-Piercing Slap: Especially when Yusuke touches her inappropriately.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: Her and Yusuke.
 * Brainy Brunette: The invesigator from spirit world says "Her marks are next to perfect."
 * Brown Eyes
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Damsel in Distress: Not her fault, as it's a consequence of having no magic or spiritual powers.
 * Girl Next Door
 * Heroic BSOD: Has a pretty big one when Yusuke gets the tar beaten out of him by Younger Toguro.
 * I Wished You Were Dead
 * Morality Pet: To Yusuke. Seeing him caring for, and being bossed around by, her shows he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
 * Muggle: Keiko and Atsuko are the only characters listed here without any kind of supernatural powers.
 * Official Couple: With Yusuke since his revival more or less. Cemented at the end.
 * Plucky Girl: Hiei's Shadow Sword, insect-controlled humans, the Dark Tournament...she's been able to handle it all pretty nicely. Borders on Badass Normal sometimes (the girl's willing to douse herself with water and go through fire to rescue Yusuke's body!)
 * Shorttank: Even if she is fond of wearing dresses.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Television closed captions for the English dub spell her name as "Kayko".
 * Traumatic Haircut: Averted - getting parts of her hair singed off after rescuing Yusuke from a fire leads to no angst on her part.
 * Tsundere: Emphasis more on the "deredere" (making her a Type B)... although more of her "tsuntsun" side shows up in the early parts of the manga.
 * Victorious Childhood Friend

Koenma
Species: Spirit Being Main Power: Shapeshifting / Ma Fū Kan

"Voiced by: Mayumi Tanaka (JP), Sean Michael Teague (EN)"

Chief administrator of the Spirit World and son of King Yama, Koenma resurrects Yusuke and becomes his employer.


 * Berserk Button: Being laughed off for resembling a toddler.
 * Big Good
 * Bishonen: In his adult form.
 * Chekhov's Gun: His pacifier is a weapon.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: The Chapter Black Saga forces him out of the sidelines, and into the front field for the first time.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Voiced by Mrs. Mayumi Tanaka in the original Japanese. Is also often voiced by female actresses in the dubs.
 * Averted Trope: But not the English dub of the series. His voice actor is Sean Teague.
 * Playing with a Trope: Played with in the Latin American dub. Child!Koenma was voiced by a woman; older!Koenma, by a man.
 * Deadpan Snarker: In his older form.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: In his younger form.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Mayumi Tanaka also voices Kuririn and Luffy.
 * King of All Cosmos: More like prince, but still.
 * He Is All Grown Up / Older Alter Ego: Has a very bishounen adult form.
 * Immortal Immaturity: More in the anime than the manga, and usually when he's in his baby form.
 * Mr. Exposition: Particularly in the anime, where he has a video screen that lets him see everything and a clueless assistant who needs things spelled out to him.
 * Non-Action Guy: The Koenmatron jetpack is his solution to fighting.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old
 * Sexier Alter Ego: Koenma (usually in the form of an infant with a pacifier) is able to take on an older, more Bishounen appearance.
 * Shout-Out: He is disguised as  at the Makai Tournament, probably because Togashi and Takeuchi were dating at the time.

Genkai
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Spirit Wave

"Voiced by: Hisako Kyoda (Older) and Megumi Hayashibara (Younger) (JP), Linda Young (EN)"

A legendary human psychic that holds a tournament to choose an apprentice to pass on her power to in her old age. With Yusuke's victory, she becomes his mentor, determined to beat skill into him even if he doesn't want it.


 * Action Girl: Hell yes.
 * Badass
 * Brought Down to Normal:.
 * Brought Down to Badass: Yet the lil 'ol hag still manages to hold her own quite well against Doctor's territory.
 * Cool Old Lady
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Gamer Chick: Because she doesn't have much to do when she's not training besides playing some arcade game she owns. Really.
 * Healing Hands: Though she doesn't use them often.
 * Honest Advisor: See Deadpan Snarker.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: In the dub, she's voiced by Freeza!
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: One of the complaints leveled against Funimation's early dub of DBZ was that Freeza sounded like an old woman. Ms. Young uses the exact same voice for Genkai.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With her old friend.
 * I Was Quite a Looker: Was VERY cute when young.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Meaningful Name: Genkai generally means "limit" in Japanese. Has quite a few meanings in context of the show, huh?
 * It's actually a homonym; her name is written with the kanji for "illusion" and "sea"- "sea of illusion", which is also meaningful as she's an Old Master with a lot of secrets.
 * Miniature Senior Citizen
 * Never Mess with Granny
 * Not So Stoic: Is harsh and stern, but almost has an Heroic BSOD
 * Also, )
 * The Obi-Wan:
 * ]]
 * Old Master
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: Doubly subverted.
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Implied when she was a girl. Now she's a cranky old lady.
 * She's a Man In Japan: In the Philippines actually.
 * Sink or Swim Mentor: "Use your spirit energy to float above the spike."
 * Training From Hell: For Yusuke and herself.
 * Heroic Neutral: kills demons not because they actively harm people, but because they stand in her way.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Pink hair, which grayed over time.
 * Sink or Swim Mentor: "Use your spirit energy to float above the spike."
 * Training From Hell: For Yusuke and herself.
 * Heroic Neutral: kills demons not because they actively harm people, but because they stand in her way.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Pink hair, which grayed over time.

Yukina
Species: Demon Main Power: Ice Manipulation

"Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (JP), Jessica Dismuke (EN)"

Hiei's younger sister, an ice demon that's the object of Kuwabara's affections. .


 * An Ice Person: She's a lot nice then Seiryuu at least.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Her very appearance is enough to turn anyone into a doting big-brother and Cool Big Sis who wants to hug her all day long.
 * Damsel in Distress: A defiantly dignified one, facing torture with as much dignity as she can unless others are threatened/tortured/killed in front of her.
 * Which hits you like a sack of bricks when you think of how long she has been tortured until the point of desensitization.
 * Friend to All Living Things
 * Healing Hands: But not The Medic. Her powers are good, but she doesn't appear often enough for that.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Kazuma who is easily twice her size.
 * I'm Taking Her Home with Me: Kuwabara's first reaction upon seeing her in Koenma's mission video, and just about every good person in the cast when they meet her for the first time. By the end of the series
 * Implied Love Interest: Of Kuwabara by the end of the series.
 * The Ingenue: Kind, innocent, gentle, etc.
 * Nice Girl
 * Protectorate: Of Kuwabara. Needless to say that raising a hand to her is a very good way to cause Kuwabara's instant Unstoppable Rage.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Subverted. She has deep red eyes yet she's anything BUT evil. A little like Kurenai.
 * Red String of Fate: With Kuwabara.
 * Separated at Birth: With Hiei.
 * Tears to Jewel
 * Will They or Won't They?: Her and Kuwabara. And the finale
 * Woman in White
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Apperance (long hair, kimono, moderate height) personality (dignified, strong willed, polite, loving) and
 * You Gotta Have Sea Green Hair
 * You Gotta Have Sea Green Hair

Atsuko Urameshi
Species: Human Main Power: None

"Voiced by: Yoko Soumi (JP), Meredith McCoy (EN)"

Yusuke's alcoholic mother, unaware of his Spirit Detective job.


 * Absurdly Youthful Mother: Was only 15 when Yusuke was born.
 * Alcoholic Parent
 * Bottle Fairy
 * Demoted to Extra: She kinda disappears after the anime's Spirit Detective arc. Notably, when Keiko, Botan and Shizuru are discussing the Dark Tournament in the anime, Atsuko is passed out drunk. In the manga, the scene is never shown, but all four show up there together.
 * Hot Mom: At times. It depends on how she's drawn that day. Though Kuwabara's gang certainly seemed to think so.
 * Muggle

Shizuru Kuwabara
Species: Human Main Power: None

"Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (JP), Kasey Buckley (EN)"

Kuwabara's Deadpan Snarker sister, even more spiritually aware than him.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her and Sakyo in the anime. Thought she doesn't seem to have many illusions about him turning to the side of good, she does listen to his really creepy backstory and show him far more compassion than he deserves.
 * Aloof Big Sister
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * It Runs in The Family: Has a high spiritual awareness like her brother.
 * Psychic Powers
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Tragic Keepsake:.

George Saotome
Species: Spirit Being Main Power: None

"Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (JP), Kent Williams (EN)"

Koenma's ogre assistant, often blamed and bullied by him.


 * Butt Monkey: He gets abused by Koenma even when he doesn't do anything.
 * Iron Butt Monkey
 * Canon Foreigner: Doesn't appear in the manga, where his function is usually served by Botan or Ayame.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname / No Name Given: The dub credits him as "Blue Ogre" up until Chapter Black, and Koenma addresses him as "Ogre." The Japanese version reveals his name during or near the end of the Dark Tournament, and Koenma just calls him "you" before that.
 * Only Sane Man: Painfully obvious...
 * The Watson: He exists purely for Koenma to abuse and explain things to.
 * The Watson: He exists purely for Koenma to abuse and explain things to.

Toya
Species: Demon Main Power: Ice Manipulation

"Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto (JP), Daniel Katzuk (EN)"

Toya is the ice master of the shinobi of the Spirit World. During the fight for control of the Makai, Toya is one of the demons that Kurama trains to fight for Yomi, though they eventually all disband to fight individually in the Makai tournament.


 * The Ace: Considered to be the greatest ice master alive.
 * A Day in the Limelight
 * Badass: Very tough customer.
 * Friendly Enemy: In his fight with Kurama.
 * An Ice Person
 * Icy Blue Eyes
 * Monochromatic Eyes
 * Ninja
 * Noble Demon: Very honour-bound. In the first tournament he openly objects to his team leader's dirty tactics.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Ice blue hair with pale green bangs

Jin
Species: Demon Main Power: Wind Manipulation

"Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (JP), Jerry Jewell (EN)"

Jin is a demon with mastery over the wind. This grants him the power to fly at great speeds. His signature move is to spin his forearm at high speed, creating a tornado around it, making his punches more powerful, even causing damage when he misses. He enjoys his battles, especially when he has a worthy opponent. He states that when he gets excited about a fight his ears twitch. During the fight for control of the Demon World, Jin is one of the demons that Kurama trains to fight for Yomi, though they disband to fight individually in the Demon World tournament.


 * A Day in the Limelight
 * Badass
 * Blow You Away
 * Blood Knight
 * Blue Eyes
 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * Cute Little Fangs: See here
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Flight: Due to his wind controlling powers, propelling himself into the air is like walking amongst humans.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Ranma and Inuyasha
 * Keet
 * Lightning Bruiser: Throughout their match, Yusuke had difficulty catching up with him while at the same, trying to deal with his hits.
 * Ninja
 * Worthy Opponent: Views Yusuke as one.

Chu
Species: Demon Main Power: Drunken Fist

"Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (JP), Kent Williams (EN)"

Chu is the strongest fighter and leader of team Jolly Devil Six, but ends up as the team alternate after losing at Jan-ken-pon. Chu specializes in the "Drunken Fist", which fuses the alcohol he drinks with his aura. During the fight for control of the Makai, Chu is one of the demons that Kurama trains to fight for Yomi, though they eventually all disband to fight individually in the Makai tournament. At the end of the manga, he begins training with, and falls for, Natsume, the female demon who defeated him in the Makai tournament.


 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * Blood Knight
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He shows up tripping over everything, acting dumbly and lazily, and looking like crap. Boy, does he ever turn out to be total badass.
 * Drunken Master
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Large Ham: What did you expect of Norio Wakomoto? And surprisingly enough, Kent Williams manages to up the ante with a hammy Australian accent!
 * Love At First Punch: With Natsume.
 * The Ace
 * Wild Card
 * Worthy Opponent: Views Yusuke as one.

Rinku
Species: Demon Main Power: Serpent Yo-Yos

"Voiced by: Yoshiko Kondo (JP), Kimberly Grant (EN)"

Rinku is a young demon who uses yo-yos to attack. Rinku is childish and playful, and often annoys those around him. He controls his yo-yos by channeling his aura through the strings. During the fight for control of the Makai, Rinku is one of the demons that Kurama trains to fight for Yomi, though they eventually all disband to fight individually in the Makai tournament. At the end of the manga, he becomes stricken with Sasuga, a female demon who defeated him in the Makai Tournament, and it is hinted that they are in a relationship together.


 * Creepy Child: While not evil, he can be damn creepy.
 * Glass Cannon/Fragile Speedster: His yo-yos can inflict mean to damage to his opponents and he's fast enough to create several afterimages at once, but Kuwabara punching with his fists causes him to fly around like a rag doll, when many other fighters beside him can just shrug them off.
 * Green Eyes
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Nice Hat
 * Killer Yoyo

Shishiwakamaru
Species: Demon Main Power: Shapeshifting / Banshee Shriek

"Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (JP), Christopher Bevins (EN)"

Shishiwakamaru is a tiny imp demon who can transform into a full human appearance. He is a swordsman who seeks to make himself famous. Suzuki gives him the Sword of Trials, a sword hilt that changes into whatever weapon suits the wielder. For Shishi it becomes the Banshee Shriek, a sword which channels the souls of the dead and materializes them to devour his opponent. During the fight for control of the Makai, Shishi is one of the demons that Kurama trains to fight for Yomi, though they eventually all disband to fight individually in the Makai tournament.


 * Big Bad Wannabe: For a minute there, it really looked like he'd be the next tough opponent. ...He wasn't.
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Kiku Honda voices a demon swordsman?!
 * It's All About Me
 * Retcon: Shishiwakamaru was clearly meant to be dead after Genkai defeats him. In the original Japanese version, Genkai even refers to him as "the late Shishiwakamaru" in her battle with Suzuki. But in the final Tournament Arc, he's inexplicably alive and a good guy. One wonders if his real-life fangirls had some sort of influence on this decision.
 * Samurai: Shishiwakamaru, patterned after the legendary hero Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, aka Ushiwakamaru, the samurai that was said to originate the term Bishonen.
 * Smug Snake
 * Split Personality: Shishiwakamaru fluxuates between a smug warrior and a bloodthristy berserker.
 * Team Prima Donna: To both Team Uraotogi and the Six Fighters.
 * Villainous Breakdown: Shishiwakamaru goes ballistic once he realizes Genkai has the upper hand in their fight.

Onji
Species: Demon Main Power: Shape Shifting / Space Manipulation

"Voiced by: Kazuyuki Sogabe (JP), Jeremy Inman (EN)"


 * Curb Stomp Battle: After Shishiwakamaru was efficiently disposed of, then it looked like this guy would be the next tough customer...
 * It's All About Me
 * The Trickster: He's actually very powerful and tricky. He just has no Godamn idea how to properly use that power...
 * It's All About Me
 * The Trickster: He's actually very powerful and tricky. He just has no Godamn idea how to properly use that power...
 * It's All About Me
 * The Trickster: He's actually very powerful and tricky. He just has no Godamn idea how to properly use that power...

Yu Kaito
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Taboo

"Voiced by: Issei Futamata (JP), Jakie Cabe (EN)"

Yu Kaito is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. He is a student at Meioh Private Academy where he constantly attempts to outdo Kurama for top grades. He is a master of the written word, having written several books and enjoys word puzzles.

His ability is "Taboo" which allows him to create word games that those within his territory must adhere to or their soul will be extracted from their body. While testing the limits of his power, Kaito breaks his Taboo and has his own soul sucked from his body, prompting Kido and Yanagisawa to consult Genkai to help him and explain their new powers.

In the manga, his last appearance shows him spending his day off mostly playing video games and writing.


 * Badass Pacifist: Literally. His power completely bans violence of any kind, and the only way to beat him is to outsmart him in word games. Considering just how freaking intelligent the guy is, good luck.
 * Meaningful Name: Yu means ghost and Kaito means thief. One can only wonder why he steals the souls of up to three of our main characters.
 * The Scottish Trope, Words Can Break My Bones: If you say the Taboo word, you lose your soul.
 * Secret Keeper:
 * Story-Breaker Power: His territory powers are ridiculously broken, you can't physically do anything to him stop it, and trying to do mind tricks only give you chances slim-to-none with how smart he is. Thankfully, the main weaknesses of his power is that he only has a limited range for it, and it affects him as much as the person he's against.
 * Reality Warper: His territory bans violence and imposes linguistical taboos which must be cleared.

Asato Kido
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Shadow

"Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu(JP), Iman Nazemzadeh (EN)"

Asato Kido is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. His ability, "Shadow", allows him to step on someone's shadow and incapacitate them. Along with Yu Kaito and Yanagisawa he seeks the aid of Genkai when his powers appear. It is shown that he also has limited control over his own shadow, using it to spell out his attackers name after he is paralyzed by Doctor. In his final manga appearance, Kido is shown to have been stood up by his date in a cinema while the narration says he is far too forgiving.


 * Curb Stomp Battle: As Genkai so kindly puts it, if Yusuke's fight with Kaito was for real, he would've been deader than dead.
 * Nice Guy: Despite appearing to be the toughest thug of his group, he's actually the kindest and most polite guy of his bunch.
 * Shadow Pin

Mitsunari Yanagisawa
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Copy

"Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (JP), Travis Willingham (EN)"

Mitsunari Yanagisawa is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. His power is "Copy" which allows him to copy the appearance, memories, attributes, abilities, and spirit print of anyone he touches. In his last appearance in the manga, he is too shy to ask an attractive girl out, and it is revealed that ten years later, he marries the girl that tries to cheer him up.


 * Eighties Hair: That's some epic hair, man.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Travis Willingham's debut role.
 * Master of Disguise

Rando
Species: Demon Main Power: Has 99 Different Powers

"Voiced by: You Inoue (JP), Eric Vale (EN)"

Rando is a demon who participated in Genkai's tournament and serves as the main antagonist in Yusuke's second case. He has killed 99 masters and copied their techniques. He disguises himself as Shaolin monk during Genkai's tournament so as not to draw attention to himself. He had planned to win the tournament and make Genkai's Spirit Wave the 100th technique in his arsenal.


 * Ambition Is Evil
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
 * Awesome but Impractical: His Shrinking Curse is basically an instant win if it hits, but requires an absurdly long chant to use and can be defeated by earplugs.
 * Badass: Yes, he's a sadistic psycho, but the way he was dominating Kuwabara (as Shorin) and Yusuke showed that he was no pushover. Oh, and keep in mind that in order for him to have his 100 techniques he had to fight and kill 100 psychics/martial artists.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: In the Japanese version.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Elemental Powers
 * Facial Markings
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: The Shrinking curse backfires on him.
 * Jack of All Stats: He has only basic information on what his techniques can do, but his ability to adapt to them and his own demonic power are enough to back this up.
 * Mega Manning: Steals other martial arts masters' techniques.
 * Not-So-Harmless Villain: His scores on the tests are barely high enough to pass, but he turns out to be the strongest opponent Yusuke faces.
 * Playing with Fire: One of his stolen abilities.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: More obvious in the Japanese version.
 * Piranha Pool

The Four Saint Beasts

The Four Beasts are four demons who rule a part of the Underworld called Demon City and the antagonists for Yusuke's third case. The beasts share their names with the four symbols of Chinese astrology. In the anime adaptation they are known as the Saint Beasts.


 * Knight of Cerebus: The first enemies that have, and to be killed through determination rather then dumb luck.
 * Bishonen Line: The stronger the Beast, the more human they are.
 * Elemental Powers: Genbu can control the stones that make up his body, Seiryuu can manipulate ice and Suzaku is able to use lightning. Byakko is just a tiger man who can fire beams from his mouth and create creatures from his hair.
 * The Four Gods: Each of them have an obvious design theme that makes them related to that specific god.
 * Four Is Death
 * Smug Super: All of them are arrogant to varying degrees, but with power like their's, who wouldn't?

Genbu
Species: Demon Main Power: Stone Body / Stone Manipulation

"Voiced by: Yutaka Shimaka (JP), Chris Forbis (EN)"

A rock demon with the power to move through stone as though it were part of his body.


 * The Four Gods: With his shell and reptilian features, he's like demon throwback to gargoyle turtle men.
 * The Brute
 * Dishing Out Dirt
 * Monstrosity Equals Weakness
 * Pulling Themselves Together
 * Smug Super: Believes he's going to win and that his power has no flaws, leading him to plead with his opponent not to kill him.
 * Tagalong Kid: A sinister subversion. The reason the other Saint Beasts tolerate him is that he can communicate with the demons, they would've been the Three Saint Beasts a long time ago if that wasn't the case.

Byakko
Species: Demon Main Power: Energy Absorbtion / Summon Beasts / Tiger Scream

"Voiced by: Takeshi Watabe (JP), Andrew Chandler (EN)"

An anthropomorphic white tiger who can turn pieces of his hair into lesser beasts, absorb aura energy and fire sonic blasts from his mouth.


 * The Four Gods
 * Evil Genius: See Genius Bruiser below.
 * Feed It with Fire: He can absorb spirit energy, becoming bigger in the process.
 * Genius Bruiser: Although he is just muscle like Genbu, he employs a lot more moves and wit.
 * Made of Iron: He survives falling into lava, but is grievously injured
 * Make Me Wanna Shout: His "Tiger Scream" disintegrates anything it hits.
 * Monstrosity Equals Weakness: Averted in that he's tougher than Seiryuu.
 * Noble Demon: He's honorable and straightforward compared to hide and seek Genbu, ruthless Seiryuu and twisted Suzaku.
 * Panthera Awesome
 * Sympathy for the Devil

Seiryuu
Species: Demon Main Power: Ice Manipulation

"Voiced by: Mitsuo Senda (JP), Justin Cook (EN)"

A demon with enhanced speed and control over ice.


 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
 * Evil Counterpart: To Hiei.
 * The Four Gods: He'd be the dragon...though he's just a big blue skinned man with a dragon outfit. Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged so Lampshades this.
 * An Ice Person: To the point that one blow is enough to defeat.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Cut into many pieces by Hiei almost instantly.
 * The Dragon: Which is fitting.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Byakko.

Suzaku
Species: Demon Main Power: Lightning Manipulation / Prism of Seven

"Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (JP), Jerry Jewell (EN)"

The leader of the Four Beasts. A demon who uses lightning to attack, he is able to split himself into seven separate, yet equally powerful bodies, and can endlessly regenerate his power by reabsorbing the copies.


 * The Four Gods: He'd be the Phoenix, especially since he can revive himself mutliple times and has a bird for a companion.
 * Big Bad: Of the Spirit Detective saga.
 * Bishonen: Fits with the Bishonen Line theme that the Saint Beasts are going for.
 * Doppelganger Attack: Seven Clones, Blonde hair...I see where Naruto got its idea from.
 * Jerry Jewell: You'd be surprised to know he plays a happy-go-lucky Irish demon who Yusuke is best buds with.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Figuratively to the other Saint Beasts, and literally with his flute.
 * And emotionally towards Yusuke. Yusuke even says "You think you can control me, don't you?" To which Suzaku just smirks.
 * Musical Assassin: uses the flute to control insects, but never uses it in combat for obvious reasons.
 * Night of the Living Mooks: His cultivated humans.
 * Nobuo Tobita: Playing Against Type - who would've thought that the guy who play sneaky characters like Kanryu and The Major was once a pretty boy.
 * Or that Kamille Bidan would end up as such a villain.
 * Shock and Awe: Uses it as arrows or shocking his enemies to death.
 * Morality Pet: Murugu, though she's as gleefully sadistic as he is, she's still the only thing he's shown to care for.

Younger Toguro
Species: Human (formerly) / Demon Main Power: Muscle Manipulation

"Voiced by: Tessho Genda (JP), Dameon Clarke (EN)"

Younger Toguro is a former human turned demon, and one of the main antagonists of the Rescue Yukina and Dark Tournament arcs. 50 years later he returns to the Dark Tournament, challenging Yusuke, hoping he has finally found a fighter worthy of his full 100% power.


 * Anti-Villain - Type I. Once he's defeated we find out his true motivations, . Even before that, he was a guy you couldn't help but admire.
 * Badass: Oh good Lord, yes.
 * Beyond the Impossible
 * Blood Knight: Dislikes fighting weak opponents, but fights them anyway because it's a fight after all.
 * Once Yusuke doesn't give him a challenge, he goes to kill one of his friends to get him to be more serious both big, gentle-hearted and red-haired
 * Though unlike the perpetrator in the aforementioned show, this wasn't his first choice.
 * Common Knowledge
 * Cool Shades: Almost never seen without them. It's only at the very end of the Dark Tournament do we see his eyes.
 * Deadpan Snarker: And not exactly subtle about it, either.
 * Deal with the Devil: Combined with He Who Fights Monsters when
 * The Dragon: To Sakyo.
 * Dragon-in-Chief: But he is much more dangerous than his boss.
 * Dragon with an Agenda:
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Still finds some actions completely distasteful, especially those of his own brother.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Yusuke, while Sensui is Yusuke's opposite; Toguro is more of if Yusuke decided to abandon his good tendencies and love for his Nakama and gave in to his inner Blood Knight. Even his coat is olive green, a darker shade to Yusuke's usual outfit.
 * Finger-Poke of Doom: He can make peoples heads explode by simply tapping on them, which sounds suspiciously familiar.
 * Genius Bruiser: Despite being muscular, he is a Warrior Poet and a Deadpan Snarker, it's just that it's only limited to fighting.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl
 * The Juggernaut: Spends the majority of his screentime being utterly implacable by even the strongest of fighters. Even Yusuke during the final round of the tournament is thoroughly outclassed during most of the fight, despite two power-ups (though the third finally pushes him to Toguro's level).
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: Literatelly kicks his older brother, then punches him into yet another temporary death. Ironically, in the dub, "son of a bitch" is what said brother calls Toguro when he does this.
 * He also kills Gonzo Tarukane by literally kicking him in the back of the head, decapitating him in the process.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Unlike most beings of his stature, Toguro is every bit as fast as he is strong and muscular, even at his maximum.
 * Megaton Punch
 * Muscles Are Meaningless: A complete subversion. As he powers up, he becomes incredibly muscular in the process.
 * Noble Demon
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Most of his fights are Curb Stomp Battles, but
 * One-Winged Angel
 * Sinister Shades: Throughout most of his appearances.
 * Sympathy for the Devil: His Freudian Excuse definitely earns this.
 * Spirited Competitor: Does not like fighting weaklings at all,
 * Start of Darkness:
 * Stealth Mentor (towards Yusuke)
 * The Stoic: One of his most notable attributes is his constant poker face.
 * Not So Stoic:
 * When All You Have Is a Hammer (Notes that brute strength is the only thing he's really good at, but manages to get by with that)
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity (The power of his demon body; a big part of the reason he )
 * Worthy Opponent: Views Yusuke as one
 * Not So Stoic:
 * When All You Have Is a Hammer (Notes that brute strength is the only thing he's really good at, but manages to get by with that)
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity (The power of his demon body; a big part of the reason he )
 * Worthy Opponent: Views Yusuke as one

Elder Toguro
Species: Human (formerly) / Demon Main Power: Body Manipulation / Immortality

"Voiced by: Katsumi Suzuki (JP), Bill Townsley (EN)"

Elder Toguro is a human turned demon shapeshifter. He usually rides on his brother's shoulder, and often fights alongside him. Elder Toguro can alter the shape of his body to form weapons or to move his organs to escape harm, and also has powerful regenerative abilities, almost to the point of immortality.


 * Ax Crazy: Gets more and more insane throughout the series till the end he's completely lost it.
 * Body Horror: His power involves manipulating his body into anything, and shifting his vital organs around.
 * The Dark Chick: Unlike his teammates excluding Sakyo, his acts do not ultimately do much damage outside the ring.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: White skinned, which begs the question on how he and his younger brother are related.
 * Embarrassing Nickname: Is often called "Toguro's shoulder monkey", in-universe included.
 * From a Single Cell: He can regenerate from anything
 * I Lied: "But unlike my brother, my word is not my bond. So you can die too."
 * Immortality Seeker:, he gains Immortality
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice (what he does with his fingers)
 * Jerkass: While his brother is a Noble Demon, he is so repulsive to every one
 * Recurring Villain: While he isn't the Big Bad by any stretch, he might as well be - he's the most recurring enemy that Yusuke and his crew go up against. During their raid on Tarukane's mansion, he's leader of the Apparition Gang. During the Dark Tournament, he's one of the co-founders of Team Toguro..
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the, he represents Greed.
 * Shapeshifter Weapon: He can change his body into anything, from swords to shields; even a machine gun in his own words.
 * Smug Snake: He's very arrogant and is upset when he loses the upper hand.
 * Why Won't You Die?: Most common reaction towards his constant returns.
 * Smug Snake: He's very arrogant and is upset when he loses the upper hand.
 * Why Won't You Die?: Most common reaction towards his constant returns.

Sakyo N.
Species: Human Main Power: None

"Voiced by: Nobuyuki Furuta (JP), Eric Vale (EN)"

Sakyou is the wealthy owner of Team Toguro and a member of the underground Black-Black Club. While he appears to be calm and charismatic, he is a sociopath who grew up torturing and killing animals and people. He has an affinity and knack for gambling, occasionally putting his own life on the line just for the thrill of it. He accumulates a vast fortune which he plans to use to create a hole to the demon world, for no other reason than to just see what happens. In the anime, he forms a romantic bond with Shizuru Kuwabara.


 * Affably Evil: He's very polite and gentlemanly for a villain, especially towards Shizuru.
 * Ax Crazy: In his younger days, he enjoyed dissecting animals, and eventually humans. Present-time, however, he seems to have moved on from that particular sin.
 * Big Bad: Of the Dark Tournament saga, and pretty much the entire series for that matter. His past actions have deep repercussions during Chapter Black,.
 * Bishonen: Reasonably attractive, even with the scar on his right eye.
 * Bored with Insanity: Sort of--he eventually became bored with personal killing and torturing, and found gambling to be his truest pleasure.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Freely admits that he doesn't have a Freudian Excuse and is just rotten to the core for no reason.
 * The Chessmaster
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Deadpan Snarker: Notable in this show as a villainous example.
 * Dub Text: Even though the original Japanese Sakyo was still a sociopath, he remembered his happy childhood with a warm fondness, genuinely loved his family ("My parent were decent and kind people; it was what you could call an ideal family") and blamed nobody but himself for how he turned out, the English dub added a lot of changes to his narration, making him hate his parents and swearing he would kill himself if he became a white-collar worker.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: It is poor taste for a gambler to cheat, and Sakyo does NOT tolerate poor taste gracefully.
 * Fiction 500: He is able to stake the equivalent of Japan's entire national budget like it was pocket change when betting on the victory of Yusuke and Kuwabara over the Toguro brothers with Torukane Gonzo...
 * For the Evulz: Wants a portal to the Makai to be opened...just so life will be more interesting as the world goes to hell..
 * The Gambler
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars
 * I Gave My Word: For all his flaws, Sakyo is a deeply honorable man whose word is his absolute bond; if he promises you that he'll kill himself for losing a bet, he means it.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: While he does have some genuinely evil moments, at least two of them has him offing some very Corrupt Corporate Executives... to further his own ends, of course.
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Man of Wealth and Taste
 * The Man Behind the Man: He's in charge of Team Toguro, and is thus the true villain of the Dark Tournament saga.
 * Nightmare Fetishist: He claims to have been fascinated by death and suffering since childhood.
 * Non-Action Guy: In a Double Subversion, he reveals himself as the fifth member of Team Toguro... before wagering his life on Toguro so he doesn't have to fight.
 * Playing Against Type, and preparing him for a similar, yet more Ax Crazy role.
 * Sharp-Dressed Man
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * The Sociopath: His backstory tells us how he would torture animals when he ran a pet shop, and only entering the dark underground because he could gamble lives including his own.
 * Sharp-Dressed Man
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * The Sociopath: His backstory tells us how he would torture animals when he ran a pet shop, and only entering the dark underground because he could gamble lives including his own.

Karasu
Species: Demon Main Power: Explosive Touch

"Voiced by: Ryo Horikawa (JP), Kyle Hebert (EN)"

Karasu is a Quest class demon. He is able to use his aura to create bombs undetectable by lower level demons, as well as create bombs within his victims. He wears a mask over his mouth which restricts his unstable powers. He is also able to use his entire body as an explosive. He takes quite a liking to Kurama.


 * Ax Crazy: Not as much as Elder Toguro, but he is dangerously obsessed with killing Kurama.
 * Badass: Even if he is nuts, he have to admire how awesome he is in a fight.
 * Bishonen: A definite one for the villains's side.
 * Cool Mask: A gray one with tiny spectacles
 * Depraved Homosexual: In love with Kurama and shows this with his desire to kill him.
 * Evil Genius: Take a good look, ladies and gentlemen; this is one of the few men who can outsmart Kurama.
 * Mad Bomber: His fighting style, utilized by conjuring hand-grenades, dynamite and even mines.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Is extremely fast and swift. He can plant sticks of dynamite on you before you even notice he's moved.
 * The Stoic: Normally this, even in his Yandere (disambiguation) moments
 * Not So Stoic:
 * Power Limiter:
 * Psycho for Hire: He's a Yandere (disambiguation) type for Sakyo.
 * Pyrrhic Victory
 * Ravens and Crows
 * Stalker with a Crush: To Kurama.
 * Shout-Out:
 * Yandere (disambiguation): A male version, for Kurama.
 * Shout-Out:
 * Yandere (disambiguation): A male version, for Kurama.

Bui
Species: Demon Main Power: Battle Aura

"Voiced by: Tetsuo Kaneo (JP), Vic Mignogna (EN)"

Bui is a demon warrior who possesses an immense battle aura. When he was younger Bui fought Younger Toguro and lost. He swore he would train and one day defeat him so Toguro invites Bui to join his team as he trains, but Bui is unable to surpass him. He wears heavy armor to suppress his aura and wields an axe larger than his own body.


 * An Axe to Grind: His main weapon,
 * Audio Erotica: Lampshaded in-story.
 * Badass: Arguably the second-strongest member of Team Toguro.
 * Battle Aura:
 * The Brute: He's so freakishly strong that he's able to deflect and toss Hiei's dragon up in the sky.
 * Genius Bruiser
 * Hidden Depths: He looks like a silent brute who wears bulky armour and carries a heavy axe... before losing the axe, taking his armour off, and using his Spirit Energy to fight whilst eloquently chatting with Hiei.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Significantly faster than his opponent in the semifinals expected.
 * The Quiet One: Never speaks until his fight with Hiei.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Never seen again after Hiei spares him. The last time we see him in the manga, he's watching Yusuke's fight with Toguro.
 * The Quiet One: Never speaks until his fight with Hiei.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Never seen again after Hiei spares him. The last time we see him in the manga, he's watching Yusuke's fight with Toguro.

Tropes Associated With "Sensui Seven"

 * Ax Crazy: Varies from very obvious to subtle Dissonant Serenity.
 * Driven to Suicide: Don't seem to mind that their plan might mean that they'll be killed by demons as well.

Black Angel - Shinobu Sensui
Species: Human Main Power: Resshūken / Sacred Energy

"Voiced by: Rokuro Naya (JP), Robert McCollum (EN)"

Shinobu Sensui, codename Black Angel, is the previous Sprit World Detective and the main antagonist of the Sensui arc. During a routine case Sensui came upon an early hideout of the Black Black Club, a room where humans were torturing demons, bathing in their blood, and committing other evil acts. Seeing the cruelty of those he was sworn to protect Sensui went mad and killed everyone there. He soon disappeared, taking with him a video known only as Chapter Black, a video tape kept in the vaults of the underworld containing footage of the most evil deeds of humanity. Sensui waited until a new Sprit World Detective was revealed before coming out of hiding, springing his plan to judge the human race.


 * Alliterative Name
 * A Sinister Clue Yep, he's left-handed.
 * Ax Crazy:, with a heaping side of Gorn and Combat Sadomasochist!!!
 * Though he is still arguably insane for having
 * Badass: The strongest full-blooded human in the series.
 * Bad Boss
 * Batman Gambit / Xanatos Gambit: His whole plot, with the Xanatos embedded within the Batman.
 * Big Bad: Of the Chapter Black saga.
 * Black and White Insanity: What broke him.
 * Bloodbath Villain Origin
 * Blue Eyes: A rare combination of all three "blue eye" subtropes in some capacity- but only in the anime. In the manga, they're brown.
 * Blue Oni to Yusuke's Red Oni
 * Boomerang Bigot: A human leading a crusade of genocide on the entire human race.
 * The Chessmaster: Yusuke and his friends have become so adept combating evil as warriors that Sensui's cerebral, calculating and ruthlessly intelligent evil renders them completely helpless.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: The guy is utterly unstoppable. When fighting seriously he is easily the most powerful villain in the series, surpassing Yomi in raw power, which explains the amazingly one-sided nature of the latter half of the fight with him. It takes to intervene to finally beat the guy. The real irony?.
 * Actually, Sensui was simply in the lower tiers of S class. Each of the Three Kings are in the upper tiers. Yusuke admitted Demon Energy didn't work the same was as Spirit Energy, and he wasn't accustomed to it, and Raizen even stated that Yusuke didn't know what he was doing, so he'd do it for him. Regardless, it still doesn't make Sensui any less unique and powerful as a human being.
 * Cry for the Devil:
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: More than just his prior Detective experience, Sensui has a fond love of movies and video games - a love his has absolutely no qualms about using to his advantage - from tricking Gamemaster into challenging Yusuke's crew to Goblin City, to perfectly timing the runtime of a Vietnam war flick to his fight with Yusuke....so that would be immaculately on-sync with the end-credit song. It works, too.
 * Dark Messiah - Interesting in that he was one Face Heel Turn away from being an actual Messiah.
 * Death of a Thousand Cuts: What the Splinter Roushuyuken does
 * Depraved Homosexual Subverted/played around with/deconstructed/possibly inverted.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?:
 * Driven to Villainy: Because that damn Black Black Club
 * Evil Genius: A rare Darker and Edgier version that's also the Big Bad in the series.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Yusuke.
 * Extremity Extremist / Energy Ball
 * Face Heel Turn: After going nuts.
 * Facial Markings: His bindi.
 * Fallen Hero: Used to Spirit World's finest till everything went to hell.
 * Fountain of Expies: GOOD LORD, where will we start? Chrollo, Homura, Jin Kariya and possibly Aizen...although this may be subverted if Sensui himself is an Expy of Souther.
 * Genius Bruiser: Up there with Kurama, Karasu, Kaito, and Yomi as one of the most intelligent characters in the entire series, as well as the series' most skilled martial artist and first shown.
 * Golden Super Mode
 * Go Mad From the Revelation - Hoo. Lee. Shit.
 * Good Hair, Evil Hair: It's slicked back when he appears as a Big Bad, but in flashbacks, when he's a Spirit Detective, it's more of a bowl cut.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: He believed in this so strongly that it ultimately broke him when he found out the possibility that humans are not the saints that they're made out to be.
 * Humans Are Bastards: His pet hangup.
 *  "Never satisfied, never full, they eat and destory with grubby hands till nothing is left but piss, but now the judgement of all humans has begun." 
 * Kill All Humans: A very creepy subversion.
 * Knight of Cerebus: If Toguro brought the series to a darker, more serious tone, then Sensui basically brings forth hell, brimming with the worst of humanity and Armaggedon.
 * Kung Fu Jesus: A dark Deconstruction of this trope.
 * Light'Em Up
 * Macho Masochism:
 * Manipulative Bastard: His  persona.
 * Misanthrope Supreme: He pretty much IS this trope.
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: His plans to unleash Hell on Earth because Humans Are Bastards
 * One of Us: Painfully subverted. He's pretty much the best Goblin City (a popular arcade game) player out there, but it's nothing more than a means to an end.
 * Person of Mass Destruction: While nothing is totally concrete, Sensui as well as Koenma have implied that S class level fighters can wreck entire planets. Very likely the reason why no S classes ever fought on Earth. And guess what, Sensui was the weakest one.
 * Pure Is Not Good: If Sensui wasn't so pure as a good guy, he couldn't have become so tainted as a villain.
 * Purple Is Powerful / Supernatural Is Purple: His bindi and Ki Attacks.
 * Seven Deadly Sins:
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers: Part of his attitude/egotism after becoming a villain, in addition to hating humans.
 * Significant Birth Date: June 6th. Add in his year of birth (1967, given that the Sensui Arc takes place in 1993), write it numerically (6/6/67), and you get the Number of the Beast with a seven left over.
 * Start of Darkness
 * Straight Gay: By Word of God.
 * Badass Gay: HELL YES.
 * Sympathy for the Devil
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Given to Yusuke by Minoru
 * The Unfettered
 * TV Genius: Sensui is extremely smart, but he seems to have no clue how to relate to people beyond using and/or killing them. Not Good with People is, in his case, an understatement.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Even as a kid and part of the good guys, he was like this.
 * Knight Templar: His stance as a kid and part of the good guys. A particularly brutal one, too.
 * Yaoi Guys / Official Couple / Mind Game Ship / Birds of a Feather / Unholy Matrimony: Him and Itsuki.
 * Young Conqueror: Was born with very high spiritual awareness as well as being a martial-arts prodigy, in contrast to Yusuke's Idiot Hero.
 * The Unfettered
 * TV Genius: Sensui is extremely smart, but he seems to have no clue how to relate to people beyond using and/or killing them. Not Good with People is, in his case, an understatement.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Even as a kid and part of the good guys, he was like this.
 * Knight Templar: His stance as a kid and part of the good guys. A particularly brutal one, too.
 * Yaoi Guys / Official Couple / Mind Game Ship / Birds of a Feather / Unholy Matrimony: Him and Itsuki.
 * Young Conqueror: Was born with very high spiritual awareness as well as being a martial-arts prodigy, in contrast to Yusuke's Idiot Hero.
 * Young Conqueror: Was born with very high spiritual awareness as well as being a martial-arts prodigy, in contrast to Yusuke's Idiot Hero.

Gatekeeper - Itsuki
Species: Demon Main Power: Space Manipulation

"Voiced by: Kouji Tsujitani (JP), Jerome 57 (EN)"

Itsuki, codename Gatekeeper, is a demon who can traverse dimensions and one of Sensui's comrades. Having been with Sensui the longest he has grown very fond of him, stating that he wishes for Sensui to be his lover. Itsuki controls a being known as the Reverse Man, a shadow living between dimensions.


 * Ax Crazy: A Dissonant Serenity type who is arguably much worse in the manga when he compares Sensui's downfall to watching a sweet little girl becoming a whore, and being intoxicated with this fact.
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Bishonen / Long-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Corrupt the Cutie: In the manga, his motive for why he started to hang around Sensui. It's still there in the anime (especially the dub), but nowhere near as noticeable or blatant. One of the main reasons why Sensui/Itsuki is a Mind Game Ship.
 * Dissonant Serenity: Itsuki seems to be a very mellow, quiet guy on the surface,but he will unexpectedly snap, especially when Sensui is about to do something violent (which he agrees with only because of Mad Love). Also, his Ura-otoko is full of dead bodies, airplane wreckage, etc.
 * The Dragon: Sensui's right hand.
 * Evil Genius: And here's the other man who can outsmart Kurama. Might be played with because it's not clear of he outsmarted Kurama or justs out-crazied him.
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Eyes Do Not Belong There.
 * Fauxlosophic Narration: About half of his speaking lines are this.
 * Happiness in Slavery: To Sensui.
 * Lady Macbeth Possibly.
 * Mad Love: To Sensui
 * Manipulative Bastard: Of the passive-aggressive variety.
 * Moral Myopia: His last speech is filled with this. He calls out Team Urameshi and Spirit World for their crimes in an attempt to justify his and Sensui's goals, despire what he and Sensui did.
 * Multi-Armed and Dangerous: His shadow hands.
 * Non-Action Guy: But he is surprisingly Badass for one. And woe betide anyone who makes him angry...
 * Action Survivor
 * The Philosopher: Somewhat of a subversion, as he's bloody crazy.
 * Psycho Supporter: Itsuki EMBODIES this trope.
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he represents Lust.
 * Single-Target Sexuality: Taken to a very obsessive degree - he loves Sensui. A LOT.
 * Single Specimen Species: The only yaminade left.
 * Soft-Spoken Sadist
 * Subordinate Excuse: AND HOW.
 * Undying Loyalty
 * Villain Teleportation: A variant with his power over dimensions and the Ura-otoko.
 * Thinking Up Portals
 * Yaoi Guys / Official Couple / Mind Game Ship / Birds of a Feather / Unholy Matrimony: Him and Sensui.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Well, turquoise, but still...

Sniper - Kaname Hagiri
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Marksmanship / Death Print Bull's Eye

"Voiced by: Eiji Sekiguchi (JP), Aaron Hatch (EN)"

Kaname Hagiri, codename Sniper, is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. Any object he throws within his expanded territory will always hit its mark with lethal force. One of Sensui's most devoted followers, he was thought to have been killed by Hiei while fighting Yusuke,


 * Always Accurate Attack: His territory allows him to fire objects at incredible speeds and force, and will always home in on their marks.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: When someone is in his territory, and he can mark them to allow objects to home in on them.
 * Even without his Territory, his marksmanship is insane. He was roughly half-a-mile away when he . And with just a handgun. Even with a sniper-rifle, a shot with that distance is near-impossible.
 * Badass: Aside from, he comes closest to actually killing Yusuke.
 * Badass Biker
 * Biker Bishie: He seems to fit this trope better than Badass Biker, especially knowing his boss...
 * Cold Sniper
 * Combat Pragmatist: He's not above toying with his victims, but he never lets it go on for too long either.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Yusuke's fight against him was absurdly one-sided. In all his experience, Yusuke was always used to fighting enemies head on, but never against somebody who methodically kept his distance and chipped away at him. If it wasn't for, Yusuke would've been dead a second time.
 * The Dragon: Sensui's left hand.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * For the Evulz: Like Itsuki, Hagiri could care less about the Chapter Black and the evils of humanity. He is mainly motivated by a massive superiority complex: He finds most everyone around him too stupid and not worth the dirt they walk on, and thus they deserve to be replaced with Demons. He does however value his family.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Let's see, he uses dice, marbles and shot a guy on the head bloodtastically with a pencil eraser.
 * The Gunslinger: Always carries a pistol with him, just in case.
 * Psycho Supporter
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he represents Pride.
 * Shout-Out: Honestly, who doesn't think he looks a bit like Kaneda?
 * Undying Loyalty: Is arguably the most loyal to Sensui, after Itsuki.
 * Weak but Skilled: There's a reason he's called Sniper. For how hax his powers are, he's a regular human, and would be knocked out by a direct him from pretty much any main character.
 * Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: After playing around with Yusuke as target practice, he finally opts to just gun him down with a pistol..

Doctor - Minoru Kamiya
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Psychic Scalpel / Chemical Manipulation

"Voiced by: Taro Arakawa (JP), Sonny Strait (EN)"

Minoru Kamiya, codename Doctor, is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. While within his territory he can create viruses, reattach limbs, alter his own body chemistry and wield a psychic scalpel which he uses with surgical accuracy. He is shown as a deranged man during the beginning of the Chapter Black arc. Kamiya knows that finishing the hole to the demon plane will mean the destruction of the human world but believes that the human race deserves this fate after seeing the contraband Chapter Black Videotape. As a doctor, he has seen many cruel ways to die and decided that being killed by a Demon would be a good way to die.


 * Ax Crazy: He was going to kill every person in an entire hospital, paralyzed Kido, and slashed a woman's torso open. And he did it all with a smile.
 * Badass: The guy is freaking spry for a doctor! And while he's hardly the strongest opponent Team Urameshi has faced, the situation which he creates for them makes him one of their most dangerous.
 * Badass Abnormal: By forcing his body to continuously pump adrenaline, he boosts his body's strength, speed, and reflexes.
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He was once of the most sadistic members of Team Sensui, at least before
 * Healing Factor
 * Healing Hands
 * Mad Doctor: This guy is freaking crazy!
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate / Deadly Doctor
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he represents Wrath.
 * The Sociopath
 * Psycho Supporter

Seaman - Kiyoshi Mitarai
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Water Manipulation

"Voiced by: Rica Matsumoto (JP), Justin Pate (EN)"

Kiyoshi Mitarai, codenamed Seaman, is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. He is able to mix his blood with water to create water golems. His territory is contained within these monsters. Mitarai is emotionally scarred after watching the Chapter Black videotape by Sensui, and his hate of humans is fueled by his hatred of bullies since he never seemed to have any friends. He believes that all humans are inherently evil and simply require the chance to show it.


 * Ax Crazy: Pre-Heel Face Turn
 * Bishonen
 * Bloody Murder: Seaman's power is to create monsters by mixing his blood with water. Which he strangely doesn't use after his Heel Face Turn, although it can be justified because it needs a large source of water to strengthen it.
 * Blue Eyes
 * Break the Cutie
 * Freudian Excuse: Was savagely bullied in his former school, then Sensui subjects him to watch the Chapter Black.
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Making a Splash
 * More Than Mind Control
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he represents Envy.
 * Villainous BSOD: Pretty much the basis for his entire character, from watching the Chapter Black video to discovering people who contradict its contents, it's just one breakdown after another for the poor guy...

Gamemaster - Tsukihito Amanuma
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Video Game Materialization

"Voiced by: Yoshiko Kamei (JP), Monica Rial (EN)"

Tsukihito Amanuma, codenamed Gamemaster, is a human boy who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. He is rejected from kids his age because of his extreme love of video games since most kids play sports. Amanuma is able to bring video games to life, creating his territory within them.


 * Curtains Match the Window: He has brown hair to match his brown eyes.
 * Enfant Terrible
 * Loners Are Freaks
 * I Know Mortal Kombat: In the most literal way imaginable.
 * More Than Mind Control
 * The Reveal: Despite his tragic character, this actually serves to be more amusing than anything else as we learn that both Kurama and Genkai are video game nerds.
 * Reality Warper: His powers allow him to make video games into reality.
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he represents Sloth.
 * Reality Warper: His powers allow him to make video games into reality.
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he represents Sloth.

Gourmet - Sadao Makihara
Species: Human Psychic Main Power: Gluttonous Absorbtion

"Voiced by: Atsushi Ishida (JP), E. Bailey (EN)"

Sadao Makihara, codename Gourmet, is a human who develops superhuman powers as a result of the demon plane hole opened by Sensui. He is able to eat other beings and gain their powers as his own. Ends up working in Sensui's favor anyway.


 * Cannibalism Superpower: When he eats other demons or psychics, he gains their powers.
 * Dumb Muscle:.
 * Mega Manning
 * I'm a Humanitarian
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he fittingly represents Gluttony.
 * I'm a Humanitarian
 * Seven Deadly Sins: As one of the Sensui Seven, he fittingly represents Gluttony.

"See folder."

Yomi
Species: Demon Main Power: Raw Demon Energy

"Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (JP), Rick Robertson (EN)"

Yomi is the newest of the Three Kings - he has a bad relationship with both Mukuro and Raizen, but seeks to unify all three sides and end the squabbling. He plans to take over both the demon and human planes in an act of unification, calling on Kurama to his side.


 * Anti-Villain: Type I
 * Badass: To survive in the demon world, you need some level of this trope. To become one of the ruling powers in demon world, you need to be made of this trope!
 * Handicapped Badass
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Beam Spam: Used against Yusuke.
 * Blood Knight: Yusuke helps bring this out of him, and Yomi admits that for all his planning and status, he's always wanted to fight against Raizen.
 * The Chessmaster
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Against Shura.
 * Disability Superpower: Yomi has grown two extra sets of ears, giving him six in total. His hearing is so acute that he can hear everything within the borders of his country, hear heart rates spike and decrease, as well as accurately guess facial expressions. Oh, and he can fight just fine. You don't need eyes when you're this guy!
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The reason Yomi was able to win against Yusuke during their Cross Counter was he was able to hear his son's voice encouraging him not to give up. Otherwise it would have been ended in a double KO.
 * Jerkass Facade: To his son, to make him stronger and more self reliant.
 * Leeroy Jenkins: He used to be one of these, until he lost his eyes. He seems to imply that he has not once, in a full 1000 years ever again relied on impulse.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Noble Demon
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Probably the most rational and reasonable of all the kings. He seeks to end the fighting and unify all three realms under a single, stable rule. Too bad no one really trusts him.
 * Would Hurt a Child: And how! Yomi has no problem at all kicking the ever loving crap out of his own son in battle. Although given how much of a cocky smartass Shura is, it's kind of hard to feel sorry for him.
 * Would Hurt a Child: And how! Yomi has no problem at all kicking the ever loving crap out of his own son in battle. Although given how much of a cocky smartass Shura is, it's kind of hard to feel sorry for him.

Mukuro
Species: Demon Main Power: Raw Demon Energy

"Voiced by: Minami Takayama(JP), Wendy Powell (EN)"

Mukuro is one of the three kings of the Demon realm - despised by Yomi as a " chaos preaching tyrant", somewhat liked by Raizen, but more or less feared by everyone for being shady and unpredictable. Discovering Hiei while preparing for war and, after testing his strength against Shigure, Mukuro placed him as second in command. Mukuro is quick to agree when Yusuke proposes the demon world tournament, battling with Hiei and winning but then ending up up losing to Enki in the final round.


 * : The biggest one in the series.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Badass
 * Subverted.
 * Ki Attacks
 * Made a Slave: Back in the days, before Mukuro became one of the three kings.
 * Rags to Royalty - Self-Made Man.
 * Noble Demon:
 * Not So Different: With Hiei.
 * Orgasmic Combat: Again with Hiei during the tournament since.
 * Tsundere
 * Orgasmic Combat: Again with Hiei during the tournament since.
 * Tsundere
 * Tsundere
 * Tsundere
 * Tsundere

Raizen
Species: Demon Main Power: Raw Demon Energy

"Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (JP), Christopher Sabat (EN)"

Raizen is one of the three kings of the Demon World (in fact, he was considered the strongest of the three) and Yusuke's ancestor. After Sensui is defeated, Raizen summons Yusuke to the Demon Realm as he is on the brink of death from starvation and requires someone to take his throne.


 * Badass Great Grandpa: At his peak, Raizen is stronger than everyone in the series!
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Big Damn Heroes: During Chapter Black, Raizen
 * Face Death with Dignity: After going completely berserk first....
 * Go Out with a Smile
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Like his "son".
 * Noble Demon
 * Razor Wind
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: When he's so overcome by hunger, he goes into a berserk state.
 * Soap Opera Disease: When we first meet him, he's already dying of starvation.
 * Story-Breaker Power: When he was in his prime centuries ago.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Koto
"Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (JP), Amber Cotton (EN)"

The more prominent of the two hostesses of the Dark Tournament. Koto resembles a cat. At the end of the manga, the two and Ruka, the nurse of the Dark Tournament, become the "Cult Trio" and become widely popular on human television. She also has a crush on Toya.


 * Catgirl
 * Combat Commentator
 * Cute Monster Girl
 * Dub Text: The dub gave her a crush on Kurama, or at least on his demon form.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Although she previously came across as somewhat amoral, she seriously objects to the dirty methods used by two of Team Masho's members, and goes surprisingly out of her way to save Juri from the Dragon of the Darkness Flame during Hiei and Bui's fight.

Juri
"Voiced by: Katsuyo Endou (JP), Jamie Marchi (EN)"

The second of the two hostesses of the Dark Tournament, introduced in the Semi-finals. Juri resembles an amphibian. At the end of the manga, it's revealed that she has a crush on Suzuki.


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Cute Monster Girl
 * Combat Commentator

Natsume

 * Action Girl
 * Half-Identical Twins: She and her brother
 * Hot Amazon

Koko

 * Action Girl
 * Bottle Fairy
 * Hot Amazon
 * Tsundere: She treats her husband Enki rather harshly, but then she breaks down crying in front of

Enki

 * Battle Couple: He and Koko
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Is much larger than Kokou.
 * Noble Demon: Wins the tournament and ends up making it the most peaceful place in ages,and yes he is a demon

Maya Kitajima
Kurama's underclassman who seems to have a crush on him and gets accidentally caught in the middle of his struggles. She only appears in the manga and the Drama CD's.
 * The Cutie
 * Damsel in Distress
 * Sempai Kouhai
 * Yuki Matsuoka: Drama CD's.
 * Yuki Matsuoka: Drama CD's.

Shigure
"Voiced by: Takashi Taniguchi"

A very powerful and eccentric warrior and combat medic from the Demon World.


 * Badass Long Hair
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Very efficient at work. His fees and charges are very... personalized.
 * Combat Medic
 * Rings of Death: His Weapon of Choice
 * Rings of Death: His Weapon of Choice