I've watched the show all the way through at different points in my life. As a kid seeing it was all the hype. Loving it and relating to it as a teenager. And now loving the depth of the characters as an adult.

But one plot point used to bother me. At the end of the dark tournament, Kuwabara's fake out death and Genkai coming back to life. Tbf Togashi kind of does this a few times in his writing (e.g. Gon after the Chimera Ant arc).

And why I disliked it was I thought it undermined Yusuke's story. He finally has to accept his emotions and be more mature or the people he loves can be hurt. And them coming back just loses the consequence. Felt like it undercut the emotional throughline.

But rewatching now I definitely see why it's good they don't stay dead, even if it is a bit of an ass pull. Besides for being great characters and be in future arcs so they needed to stick around, I think it works for Yusuke's story.

Specially with Kuwabara it makes sense story and character wise. Teguro is given more than enough depth and character to understand why he held back. Except for when he first powers up and loses control he doesn't enjoy senseless death, even stating the idea of killing someone to make Yusuke stronger bothered him. I think it actually fits the character to try to get the same result without killing Kuwabara.

But overall I think if the characters stayed dead Yusuke would just be suffering too much and could basically become another Teguro (which he even says to Genkai) or even Sensui. The kid deserved a break. He deserved to see that the world can be good. After all he's been through to finally break free of emotional constraints at the cost of his loved ones would just be more needless suffering to him.

He learned his lesson while being able to not have to live with their blood on his hands. I think it's a much more optimistic and beautiful story because of it rather than the edginess I would have wanted as a teenager.

Sure it can be called a cop out, but the person Yusuke eventually becomes who is a mix of power, optimism, and maturity may not have happened if he had to get beaten down again in his hard life. And the story was never pessimistic or overly dark, it does show that having the right intentions and heart can lead to everything working out.

There are other anime and stories that can tackle the complexities of life and that sometimes even a victory comes with devastating losses, but I get a warm feeling for YYH. It reminds me to believe that maybe if you put your whole self into something and trust the people you love, it can all be alright.

And that's a positivity I feel like I need to be reminded of as an adult when the weight of the real world can be so oppressive and unforgiving.

Their deaths may have been more realistic and lead to a more complex character study, but I'm glad they come back and allow Yusuke, and indirectly in some ways myself, to be optimistic.