Fourteen-year-old Yusuke Urameshi, the hero of the fantasy-adventure Yu Yu Hakusho, brags about being the toughest kid in Sarayashki Junior High: He lives to fight, especially with his rival Kuwabara. When Yusuke's killed saving a little boy from a speeding car, he's given another chance by Koenma, the son of the ruler of the Spirit World. If Yusuke properly nurtures a "spirit egg," it will hatch into a benevolent beast that can help him return to his body permanently; too much negative energy will produce a monster that will devour him. Yusuke temporarily wins his life back with some help from Kayko (or Keiko), the girl he secretly loves, and Botan, the pretty pilot of the River Styx. Koenma makes him a "spirit detective," assigned to tracking down evil spirits prowling the human world. Yusuke's evolution from selfish thug to good guy includes some false steps, but he defeats his first foes with a mixture of daring, imagination, luck--and kindness. He wins over Kuwabara and the demons Kurama and Hiei, and undergoes special training from super-psychic Genkai. Yusuke and his allies battle the four "Saint Beasts," demons associated with the Chinese directional animals, and rescue a Snow Maiden imprisoned by a corrupt capitalist. These episodes conclude with the opening of the Dark Tournament, a sort of supernatural WWF tag-team smackdown that will take up most of the next two seasons. This popular comedy-adventure plays like a cross between Dragon Ball Z and a minor Frank Capra movie. (Rated TV PG: risqué humor, cartoon violence, violence against women, alcohol and tobacco use.) --Charles Solomon less