YuYu Hakusho may be almost 30 years old now, but that does not stop it from being one of the most famous anime of all time. Anime fans old and young still love this old story, and it continues to be relevant even today. With many people interested in YuYu Hakusho at the moment thanks to its upcoming live-action series, a new café has been announced to open for a limited time in September.
The YuYu Hakusho Café will be operated by GiGO Collab Cafés, a chain that specializes in concept cafés, especially related to anime and games. The café will be in the heart of one of Tokyo's otaku neighborhoods, Ikebukuro. With themed food, drinks, and exclusive merchandise all announced now, fans are already getting excited.
YuYu Hakusho originally aired in Japan from 1992 to 1994, but did not make it to the Western world until 2001 when it was finally licensed by Toonami. Since then, the series has had several animated spin-off movies in addition to its original 112-episode anime and 19-volume manga. Most recently, in 2020 it was announced that a live-action version of the story would be released on Netflix. The show's cast was revealed just this summer, along with a release date of December 2023.
The YuYu Hakusho Café will have two separate food menus, each with two dishes to choose from. The first will run from the café's opening on September 3rd to September 23rd. The choices will be Koenma's Ramen complete with a blue egg that looks like his signature pacifier, or Raizen and Yusuke's beef curry which is actually black. The second menu from September 24th to October 10th will be Kuwabara's ramen with his sword sticking out of an egg in the middle, and a chicken and rice dish with Yoko Kurama's silhouette on it.
In addition to the main dishes, there will be two desserts and several drinks to choose from through the length of the café's opening. Hiei's parfait has the Dragon of the Darkness Flame decorating it. There is also a sweets plate with a very Japanese red bean and butter sandwich and ice cream. Nearly all the main YuYu Hakusho characters have their own drink available as well, featuring their signature color in the form of jelly mixed with soda.
There's plenty of limited merchandise available for sale, too. These include badges, key chains, and acrylic statuettes. Most of them are blind box style, so you do not know which character you will get until you open it. Additionally, every item on the menu (food, drink, and dessert) comes with a special coaster for free. Again, the character is random, but the more things you order the more likely you are to collect your favorites.
That the live-action show may still be almost a year and a half away, but that has not stopped YuYu Hakusho from garnering renewed interest. With fans of the original anime excited to see it coming back and new fans who have just discovered the series in anticipation of the live-action series, it's likely that the café will be difficult to get reservations for. Theme cafés in Japan usually only feature current anime, so seeing something from the 90s make a comeback is definitely going to create a stir.
The YuYu Hakusho Café will be open from September 3 to October 10, 2022, in Ikebukuro. Reservations can be made via the official website.
Source: GiGO Collab