One Piece season 1.

One Piece was one of Netflix's biggest shows of 2023, and with a second season on the way, Eiichiro Oda's global hit will continue to find new audiences that may have never gotten into the anime or the manga. As someone whose favorite anime is Naruto, I hope that the Naruto live-action movie can be as well-made and successful as One Piece. That said, the Naruto film should also learn a few lessons from Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho, a show that was not as big as One Piece season 1 but that also got a lot of things right.

Yu Yu Hakusho Live-Action Perfectly Captured The Spirit Of The Anime

Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho Felt Like A 1990s Anime

Yu Yu Hakusho is considered one of the greatest action anime of all time for a reason. It is one of those series that effortlessly captures a moment in time and invites viewers on a journey where they quickly become attached to the characters. This is why I was worried going into Netflix's live-action remake of Yu Yu Hakusho – it would be all but impossible for a new show to replicate the magic of the anime. Fortunately, Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho felt surprisingly similar to the classic anime despite all the major changes.

While I didn't like that Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho merged the Spirit Detective saga and the Dark Tournament into just one story that only lasted five episodes, I did appreciate how close to the anime the live-action show felt. Yu Yu Hakusho has a very distinct aesthetic and has inspired countless other anime over the years, meaning it wouldn't be easy to replicate that in live-action. Still, between the casting choices and the performances, 2023's Yu Yu Hakusho turned out very nostalgic and reminded me of when I would watch the anime on TV.

The Naruto Movie Can Learn A Few Things From Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho

The Costumes And The Fights Were On-Point In Yu Yu Hakusho

Naruto, like most anime of its era, borrows a lot from Yu Yu Hakusho. This is especially true for the fights, which is something that the Netflix series nailed despite not having a blockbuster movie budget. While the Naruto universe is very fantastical and includes all kinds of gods and monsters, the early part of the series is relatively grounded and focuses a lot on strategy and hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, I would love to see Naruto having intense, well-choreographed fights like the ones in Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho.

A theatrical Naruto movie will have to be more ambitious than a five-episode TV show...

2023's Yu Yu Hakusho was also not afraid of embracing the quirks of the source material. Some of the most iconic scenes from the anime were recreated for live-action, and while Koenma didn't look like a baby, the Netflix show wasn't trying to distance itself too much from the tone of the anime. This is something that Lionsgate's Naruto movie and all other live-action adaptations should definitely learn from.

Naruto will have to nail its casting choices considering how iconic the characters are, which is also something that Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho got right. All of the actors captured the spirit of their characters, not to mention how the costumes could not have been more anime accurate. A theatrical Naruto movie will have to be more ambitious than a five-episode TV show, but the charm that came with the simplicity of Netflix's Yu Yu Hakusho is actually something that would fit the story of Naruto Uzumaki on the big screen.