Filipinos have always been fascinated by Japanese works, well in this sense, in Anime Series. One of the most iconic Anime Series that was embraced by the Filipino audience was Voltes V when it aired on local television back in the 1970s. After that, the local otaku community was established and the next wave of tagalized anime series during the 1990s were no less than iconic.
One of these was the Philippine adaptation of the Shonen manga by Yoshihiro Togashi: Yu Yu Hakusho—which is popularly known here as Ghost Fighter. With 114 episodes altogether, Yu Yu Hakusho aired in Japan from 1992 to 1994. It was directed by Noriyuke Abe who also directed well known Anime series such as Flame of Recca, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Boruto Fame. Yu Yu Hakusho became more popular in the country when it was dubbed into Filipino by GMA-7 (a local television network) back in 1998 where the title was changed into Ghost Fighter.
Fun fact though, aside from the title, a couple of things about the series were unintentionally altered. Looking back, the voice actors admitted that they made honest mistakes in the process of dubbing the series. It was because they did not actually know what the show was about, so they just went along with their instincts. For context, here are some of the character name changes: Yusuke Urameshi (Eugene), Kazuma Kuwabara (Alfred), Yoko Kurama (Dennis), Jaganshi Hiei (Vincent), Master Genkai (Jeremiah), Toguro (Toguro) and Keiko Yukimura (Jenny).
These are only some of the name changes in the Philippine adaptation. Back then, the producers thought that it would be easier if they gave the characters English names to make them more relatable to the Filipino audience. BUT, the funny thing about the adaptation was the honest mistakes during the dubbing process. For instance, Dennis (Kurama) was initially introduced as a girl, and Master Jeremiah (Genkai) was introduced as a man. The voice actors improvised a plot twist (which was not canon, by the way) which should explain how Kurama or Denise turned into Dennis. Even funnier, the voice actors, as a matter of fact, did not know that Master Jeremiah was a woman. Not even after the show ended LOL. The show raised a whole Filipino generation in a completely alternate reality.
Among its “batchmates” during the 90s which were more of a slice of life and superhero genres Ghost Fighter remained a staple in the Philippine television despite its otherworldly (literally) theme. Perhaps it resonated with our love of myths and fantastic creatures. If you watched our Halloween Special Episode you know. Speaking of relatability, personally, our favorite character is Vincent (Hiei) and in this part of the article, we’re going to elaborate why.
For those who don’t know… Why? Just kidding. For real, though, if you didn't know Hiei ("Flying Shadow"), it is also known as Jaganshi Hiei. Jaganshi, is in fact not his surname but a title. It means “master of the evil eye". As we all remember, Vincent (we’ll start calling him that now) is a male fire demon who was born into a race of female ice demons. Basically, it’s complicated. He was taken in by a group of thieves who taught him how to k*ll at a very young age (don’t do that). So, he has this necklace which is his only connection to his family and he lost it. To find it he acquired the Jagan 邪眼, which literally means evil eye, to seek the truth behind his life and so forth. We won’t spoil any further.
Anyways, why do we personally love Vincent? Is it because we Filipinos always love rooting for the anti-hero? Vincent, despite his complex backstory, remained to be one of the most loved characters in the series not only in the Philippines, but across the globe too. In fact, he was supposed to be just a starter villain, but the fanbase loved his personality so much that he became a mainstay character. However, to answer the question, Vincent’s character resonates with us because despite the stone-cold exterior, he remains sincere and warm on the inside. For a mere 2-D character, he channeled the human tendency of being elusive at the same time being able to connect with the right people. Phew. TBH, we’d love a friend like him because he is funny as hell and he never lost a battle and that’s us just being practical.
Going back, Ghost Fighter was really a big thing here in the Philippines. Aside from making our childhood, it was also one of the reasons why the Anime sub-culture in the country thrived. To prove how iconic it was, three decades later, the series still remains relevant. All of its episodes are now available for streaming on Netflix (not sponsored lol) and a live-action series is also in the making which is set to air in December 2023.
In honor of one of the most iconic Anime Series of the 90s, and our favorite character Vincent/Hiei/Shorty/Baby Demon, whatever you wanna call him… “Jaganshi” will be seeing (pun intended) you guys soon!
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Who’s your favorite Yu Yu Hakusho character? Let us know in the comments below!