YuYu Hakusho (Anime)

Why Yusuke Urameshi Struggles With His Emotions

The “six feet wall of crap” between Yusuke and his emotions

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Six Feet Wall of Crap

During the Dark Tournament, Genkai claims that Yusuke could reach his full power if there wasn’t a “… six feet wall of crap between him and his emotions” (Genkai, YuYu Hakusho, E63, “Yusuke’s Despair”). Yusuke tends to make light of everything with jokes, burying how he really feels. Even after he dies in Episode 1, he tells Botan (aka Death), “Take me to heaven or hell or wherever it is I’m going,” making light of what is possibly one of the most devastating experiences a human can have.

Early in the show, we see plenty of evidence supporting Genkai’s claim. As a result of suppressing his emotions, Yusuke is constantly frustrated and deals with that frustration by engaging in regular fistfights. We see this habit in full force during Episode 1, when Yusuke gets into a fight with Kuwabara after a long and frustrating day. Though Kuwabara started it, Yusuke takes him down, lets out a sigh of relief, and says, “Ahhh, I feel better” (Yusuke, YuYu Hakusho, E1, “Surprised to Be Dead”). Only a few episodes later, he says, “I could use a relaxing showdown” (Yusuke, YuYu Hakusho, E5, “Yusuke’s Back”), just before saving Kuwabara’s cat from a group of thugs. Luckily for him, his fighting habit ends up working in his favor once he becomes a Spirit Detective and gets to take down dangerous demons.

Yusuke Does Have a Big Heart

You only need to see the first few minutes of YuYu Hakusho to know that our protagonist, Yusuke Urameshi, cares deeply for human life. He jumps in front of a moving car to save a random child who is running into the street after a toy ball. He selflessly sacrifices himself and simultaneously gives us one of the most unique pilot episodes in anime history — a dead main protagonist.

Yusuke jumping in front of a speeding car to save a kid. (YuYu Hakusho, Episode 1)

Though Yusuke doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve during the early parts of the series, he still acts on them when necessary. This leads us to believe that he really does care — he just has a hard time showing it.

Suppressing emotions is a real problem for Yusuke, and it took the apparent cost of his best friend’s life during the Dark Tournament for him to finally let his guard down, allowing him to reach his full potential and defeat Toguro once and for all. If it weren’t for Genkai recognizing his issue and pressing Yusuke as she did, the tournament may have ended very differently.

So why does Yusuke tend to bury his emotions? Is it a choice? Or is it perhaps an unconscious, learned behavior that he needs to work on?

Yusuke’s Hardened Demeanor

Yusuke’s closed-off emotions are likely the result of his unfortunate upbringing. His living conditions are made clear early in the show. Even though it’s presented lightheartedly, Yusuke is only 14 years old and practically fends for himself. He has no father figure — nor is his father ever mentioned — and his mother is an alcoholic who makes little to no effort to be there for him or keep him on a good path.

As a result, Yusuke gained his own form of independence at an early age and spends his days skipping class, getting in fights, and hanging out at the arcade. Though his struggles may have given him both independence and physical strength, they also caused him to suppress his emotions. If Yusuke had a hard day, he couldn’t go to his parents for comfort or understanding. He had to bury it and press on — because if he didn’t take care of himself, no one would. He hardened his demeanor to cope and survive.

A child growing up without strong parental figures can develop “… withdrawal from emotional closeness, denial of emotions, independence, and self-sufficiency” (*The Attachment Project, July 2, 2020). They also tend to have a “… lack of trust that the adults will be able to provide them with what they need,” explained therapist Shari Botwin, LCSW, in a [2025 Parents* interview](https://www.parents.com/avoidant-attachment-style-8764398).

This describes Yusuke perfectly. Children with absent or neglectful parents often develop independence at a young age before they’ve learned how to handle their emotions healthily. Although independence and self-sufficiency have their perks, the denial of emotions can lead to complications. These findings also explain why Yusuke has a severe distrust and lack of respect for authority figures like Mr. Takanaka, and even Genkai and Koenma at first. His parents had nothing to offer him, and he assumes it will be the same story with every other adult.

Children like Yusuke feel that their only choice is to hide their “childish” emotions in order to focus on independence and self-sufficiency. Though Yusuke hardly acts responsibly, he does make it on his own, in his own way.

The Turnaround

Yusuke’s full power unleashed following the apparent death of his friend, Kuwabara (YuYu Hakusho, Episode 63)

Yusuke’s power during the Dark Tournament is incredible. He has been trained by one of the most powerful fighters and psychics on the planet, Genkai, who also gave him her Spirit Orb — a ball of incredible spiritual energy that she had been growing within herself for decades. However, if Yusuke wishes to fully access that power, he has to allow himself to care. Joking around isn’t going to cut it this time. If he can’t reach the potential deep within him, Toguro will destroy everything Yusuke has gained since the start of the show and more.

When Yusuke believes Kuwabara has been killed by Toguro, the wall between his conscious mind and his emotions crumbles, granting him a level of power beyond anything he has ever imagined. Not even the formidable Toguro is a match for him anymore.

Yusuke’s First Real Family

As the series progresses, Yusuke gains a new family consisting of his friends and mentor. He has Genkai to keep him disciplined, Kuwabara to goof off with and keep him motivated, Kurama and Hiei to look up to, and Keiko to both love him unconditionally and correct his delinquent behavior. These people truly care about Yusuke, and having that sense of trust and belonging allows him to let his guard down. These factors — along with his new life purpose as a Spirit Detective — allow him to open up and start feeling the things he has buried for so long.

Yusuke Literally Didn’t Know How to Let His Guard Down

In response to his friend’s death, Yusuke says:

“Don’t you think I wanted to use my power and win this thing and go home? Of course. I just didn’t know how to reach it, and I have to live with that” (Yusuke, YuYu Hakusho, E63, “Yusuke’s Despair”).

At this point in the story, Yusuke wasn’t consciously choosing to put a six-foot wall of crap between himself and his emotions. After suppressing them for a lifetime, he literally didn’t know how to let go of this unfortunate survival response. Genkai knew this and decided that risking the life of one of his friends was a necessary sacrifice to free Yusuke from this burden, allowing him to reach his full power and save everyone else.

If Yusuke’s emotional journey resonated with you, I wrote a book that might help you have a breakthrough of your own — Your Power (available on Amazon). It’s a quick but powerful guide to becoming the creator of yourself and your life. I live by its philosophies every day. 👉 Read Part 1 here on Medium: My Book — Your Power (Part 1)

Yusuke explaining that he wanted to use his power to save Kuwabara — he just didn’t know how to reach it (YuYu Hakusho, Episode 63).

Fortunately, Kuwabara lives, and Genkai is brought back to life as a fulfillment of Yusuke’s one wish for winning the Dark Tournament.

Thanks to Genkai and Toguro’s cruel scheme of faking Kuwabara’s death, Yusuke gets a taste of what it’s like to connect with his inner emotions. He reaches deep for this one, and the result is one of the most iconic battle endings in anime history. Yusuke lets go and gains a power far beyond anything we’ve seen up to that point. Both his body and the air around him light up with his glowing spirit energy. He then puts every ounce of his strength into one final Spirit Gun, overwhelming Toguro and leaving his friends and mentor full of pride for his outstanding achievement and growth of character.

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Written by Samuel J. Spoerl