December 25, 2008.

End of the world.

Rating: 4
The climactic battles of "Yu Yu Hakusho" are finally here, and Yusuke's team has only mere minutes to prevent a demon invasion into our world.

In fact, the penultimate arc of the supernatural adventure series punches all the buttons to keep itself from getting boring -- tragedy, surprise, action and some truly unexpected transformations. The rest of "Yu Yu Hakusho: Season Four" is a bit less interesting, but it's an action-packed and suitable way of finishing off the classic series.

Yusuke and former Spirit Detective Sensui start duking it out, but Yusuke quickly learns that he hasn't got a chance against Sensui's attacks. But he keeps fighting and prevents Koenma from interfering with him, even as Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara are unable to help him. And in a matter of seconds, Yusuke Urameshi is brutally killed by Sensui.

Enraged and grief-stricken, his three friends' power rises up more fearsomely than before, and they attack Sensui despite not having enough power to beat him. And a group of soldiers appear from Spirit World with a shocking revelation about Yusuke Urameshi -- just in time for the former delinquent and Spirit Detective to undergo a bizarre transformation. With new power (and a new Puu), Yusuke decides to settle the score with his predecessor!

Afterwards, Yusuke is dealing with the revelations about himself when he learns of a war in the Demon Realm -- and the identity of one of the three demon kings there. As he deals with his own problems, Hiei and Kurama are forced to deal with the horrible consequences of their pasts -- and all three boys become tightly wound in a power struggle for the ultimate power over the Demon Realm.

"Yu Yu Hakusho's" fourth season is a solid one -- although after the seamless, harrowing finale of the whole Black Chapter arc, it's a bit of a letdown when the demon lads get involved in months-long politics. Still, the entire fourth season does a great job wrapping up the various plot threads -- including character arcs, such as Kurama's division between his human and fox sides.

But before that ending, there's a lot of slam-bang action -- Yusuke's unexpected physical transformation, a savage duel, and a rage-fueled attack on Sensui by Yusuke's three friends. But there are plenty of quieter moments woven in (Itsuki's thoughts on Sensui) as well as some truly insane comedy (we finally discover why Koenma has been using that pacifier throughout the whole series).

After the harrowing penultimate arc, it feels a bit anticlimactic to have a tournament and lots of political strife. But they manage to make it stay interesting with lots of top-notch fights (especially Kurama's) and the relationships between the cast and their demon friends/relatives -- both old and new.

Yusuke becomes more mature and more powerful here -- and aware of how threatening his newfound power is. Kuwabara is absent for much of the fourth season, butwe get to see how close he and Yusuke have become. But Kurama and Hiei get the most attention: Kurama faces his past as a ruthless bandit and his split personality, while Hiei has to face his cruel past. And our favorite three-eyed demon becomes close to a woman with a past even more ghastly than his -- which is saying something. Remember when he wouldn't have ANY friends?

And it ends on a mellow note, winding down the various character arcs and revealing how the characters are doing, wherever they are. A few of these are actually a bit surprising, but it all fits nicely.

The fourth season of "Yu Yu Hausho" is an all-around solid ending to a much-beloved series, with loads of brutal action and surprising revelations.