best male anime character of the 1990s by Newtype. In an "Anime! Anime!" poll, Kurama was rated as the most popular character voiced by Megumi Ogata. Manga author Masashi Kishimoto was mainly inspired to create the Naruto character with the same name, Kurama, based on Togashi's character. In Japanese website goo poll, Kurama was voted as the fourth most sexually appealing character in Shonen Jump. In another poll from Goo, Kurama was voted as the most beautiful of men with long hair. Kurama and Hiei's popularity in the series led to demand to introduce their characters earlier in the anime. However, the fact that Kurama was voiced by woman rather than a man generated controversy in Japan when the series first aired. Director Noriyuki Abe said it must have been a lot of pressure on Ogata. However, as the anime went on, the actor's charms were brought out and more fans were born rather those who disliked it. Designer Mari Kitayama found that despite his original friendly personality, Kurama often comes across as scary. Animerica's Justin Kovalsky found Kurama and the others as suitable supporting characters for a fighting anime. THEM Anime Reviews found Kurama appealing especially when interacting with Hiei. Comic Book Resources also enjoyed Kurama's characterization most notably when fighting in the Dark Tournament due to his darker side being exposed when becoming his past demon persona as well as his several styles of fighting. Anime News Network favorited Kurama's tactics in the early episodes of the Black Chapter arc for standing out as one of the most intelligent characters. Despite the Three Kings arc being panned for being the series' worst story arc, Anime News Network praised it for exploring more of Kurama's dark characterization. DVD Talk agreed for the bigger focus on Kurama's character that was briefly explored in previous arcs. Fandom Post liked the balance that both Kurama and Hiei's sidestories bring to Yusuke's in the final arc but felt they were overshadowed by Hiei's side as the series had not properly explored his backstory before. References General Entire manga Togashi, Yoshihiro. [YuYu Hakusho] (in Japanese). 19 vols. Tokyo: Shueisha, 1991–1994. Togashi, Yoshihiro. YuYu Hakusho. 19 vols. San Francisco: Viz Media, 2003–2010. Individual volumes Specific YuYu Hakusho Anime and manga characters who can move at superhuman speeds Anime and manga characters with superhuman strength Anime and manga sidekicks Anthropomorphic foxes Comics characters introduced in 1991