1. Surprised to Be Dead
Yusuke Urameshi, the main character, dies after getting hit by a car. As a ghost he sees his body on the ground surrounded by an ambulance, and not noticing he is a ghost, tries to punch the medical assistant and his fist goes through his neck. Astonished, Yusuke reviews what happened that day. He went to school for the first time in 10 days, only to get kicked out. While he was walking a little kid's ball goes into the street and the kid runs out to get it. He sees a car is heading right towards the kid so he saves the kid by pushing him out of the way. Then Botan, a girl flying on an oar comes up to him and reveals herself to be the Grim Reaper. She tells him that since his death wasn't planned he can take a test to come back to life. Yusuke decides not to, but after going to his funeral and seeing people mourn for him, like his rival Kuwabara and childhood friend Keiko, he decides to accept the test.
2. Koenma Appears
Botan takes Yusuke to the Spirit World to meet the King of the Spirit World. Yusuke is terrified of him and makes plans to fight him. He walks in trembling only to find that the King of the Spirit World is away and his son Koenma, a 500 year old toddler gives Yusuke's task which is to raise an egg. The egg feeds on negative and positive spirit energy. If Yusuke does good things the egg will hatch and reflect his soul. If he does bad things it will hatch into a monster that will kill his soul. As Yusuke and Botan return to the human world, Botan remembers that Yusuke has to do something to stop his body from being cremated, so she gives Yusuke one hour to use Kuwabara's body to tell Keiko not to cremate his body. He grabs Keiko which caused her to slap him in Kuwabara's body, and then he quickly explains everything. She runs to his house to tell Yusuke's mom not to cremate him when his mom tells her that when she opened up his coffin to slap him one more time for leaving her (don't ask) his body had a pulse.
3. Kuwabara: A Promise Between Men
As Yusuke watched over Keiko, some thugs from Kazanega Junior High try to mug her. Yusuke tries to punch one of them but his hand goes through her head. Then Kuwabara shows up and he saves her and beats up the gang. The next morning at school Mr. Akashi punishes Kuwabara's gang by taking away Okubo's job if they fought again that week. Then Mr. Akashi starts telling Mr. Iwamoto how happy he is that Yusuke is dead and that Kuwabara and his gang will soon be expelled since they can't resist a fight. When Kuwabara leaves school he runs into the people that he had a fight with and Kuwabara lets himself get beat up. They next morning Mr. Akashi tells the gang that they also all need to get atleast a 50 on the science test. Kuwabara immediately begins spending all his time studying. On the way home more people start beating up Kuwabara. The night before the test Kuwabara falls alseep while studying, so Yusuke goes into his dream and helps Kuwabara study. On the way to school for the test, Kuwabara is about to get beat up so Yusuke enters the body of a random girl and beats up the people that were going to beat up Kuwabara. After the test Mr. Akashi erases Kuwabara's last answer so he would get a 48 instead of 53, but Mr. Takenaka sees him and makes him give Kuwabara the right grade. Since they all got over 50's Okubo got to keep his job, and Kuwabara thanks Yusuke.
4. Requirements for Lovers
At the beginning of the episode Botan tells Yusuke that he has messengers for overhearing stuff and one shows up named Sayaka. She follows Keiko around taking notes and follows her as she goes into Yusuke's house. She begins cleaning and when she finishes she was about to kiss Yusuke when a Neighborhood Safety Patrol person comes by and warns her about fires starting cause of the heat. Keiko leaves and some guy in a mask starts a fire in Yusuke's house. Keiko overhears that there's another fire and rushes back to Yusuke's house. Meanwhile Yusuke, Botan and Sayaka are wondering what to do so Botan races off to get Kuwabara. Keiko splashes water on herself and runs into the fire. When she reaches Yusuke a huge beam falls and blocks her from getting out. Sakaya tells Yusuke that he can hatch the Spirit Beast from his egg now to save Keiko but then he won't be able to return. He decides to do that and a beast comes out and clears a path for her to escape. When they reach the door Kuwabara appears and Keiko explains about how Yusuke's coming back, while Yusuke is sulking about how he won't. Then Koenma appears and gives him another chance to come back.
5. Yusuke's Back
Koenma visits Yusuke to tell him that in order for him to return to his body someone he knows must kiss him within 24 hours. Yusuke visits his mom, Kuwabara and Keiko in their dreams and tells them this, but his mom is too busy partying and Kuwabara thinks he's having a nightmare. Keiko was going to Yusuke's house after school the next day when her mom had a heat stroke so she went to the hospital to visit her. 5 minutes before midnight Botan enters Keiko's mom and tells Keiko to save Yusuke. Keiko runs to Yusuke's house and kisses him just in time. The next day after school Yusuke is pulled into an alley and a fortune teller begins telling him about his past and future. He gets freaked out and goes into a restaurant where some boys are waiting for Kuwabara to bring some stolen comics. Yusuke thinks this is really weird because Kuwabara doesn't steal. Kuwabara walks in and puts the comics on the table and the reciet falls out. The leader of the other gang gets really ticked off and takes the kitten Kuwabara was trying to save. Then he takes Kuwabara and his gang ouside and tells Kuwabara to punch one of his friends. When Kuwabara refuses he puts a knife to the kitten, and Yusuke jumps in and a fight begins. Kuwabara saves the kitten while Yusuke goes after the leader. They end up in a tunnel and Yusuke sees that the leader has horns on his head and a demon comes out of his mouth. Yusuke is shocked but grabs the demon before it escaped. Then the fortune teller comes up to him and it turns out to be...Botan! She tells Yusuke that he's going to become a Spirit Detective and when Yusuke objects she says it's mandatory. Then they set off for the Spirit World.
6. Three Monsters
At the Great Treasure Hall of the Spirit World, three demons break free of a prison and steal three sacred artifacts. At school, everyone still thinks Yusuke is dead, until he shows up and scares the crap out of everyone ^_^ Keiko then shows up and Yusuke shows his first actual sign that he likes Keiko. Yusuke skips Gym class and pulls out what looks to be a magnifying glass from his pocket. Then there's a flashback of Botan giving it to him. It's actually his first spirit item. It's called the Psychic Spyglass and it can see through anything. During the next class, everyone notices that something of theirs is missing. Mr. Iwamoto calls him out of class and blames him for the items missing. Yusuke gets mad and just as he is about to punch him Koenma appears and freezes time. Koenma tells him about his first Spirit Dectective case. It's to catch the three demons that stole the three items, the Shadow Sword, the Forlorn Hope, and the Orb of Baast. He then tells Yusuke to use his Psychic Spyglass on Mr. Iwamoto's pocket to find out that he stole the student's items. Koenma makes time pass again and Yusuke goes into Mr. Iwamoto's pocket and takes out a pen that was stolen from a student. The principal gets mad at Mr. Iwamoto and takes him to his office. As they're walking away Koenma appears again and shows Yusuke how to use the Spirit Gun, an energy attack that can be shot from his index finger. He can only use it once a day though because his Spirit Energy is so low. Yusuke uses it on Mr. Iwamoto while he's walking away and Mr. Iwamoto crashes to the floor. Then Yusuke goes out walking in the city and sees a child faint for no reason. He also sees the child's spirit floating away in the air - the work of the Orb of Baast. Yusuke follows it into an alley where he finds the person who has the Orb. Then a mob attacks him and the stranger gets away. Meanwhile Koenma learns that the names of the three demons who stole the items are Hiei, Kurama and Gouki. Then Botan shows up and demands that Koenma give her a human form so she can help Yusuke. Meanwhile Yusuke is following the stranger's footprints in the rain and sees a place where it's very bright and there's no rain at all. He runs there and sees all three demons. Hiei is talking about how he thinks they can take over the planet if they use all their items. Kurama refuses to use the Forlorn Hope for this purpose and leaves. Hiei gets mad and rushes after Kurama, leaving Gouki and Yusuke alone. Yusuke demands the Orb back but Gouki refuses to give it up. Instead he takes the little boy's soul out of the Orb and puts it into his mouth. Yusuke hits Gouki making him spit it out and drop the Orb, which Yusuke picks up and the soul goes back to the little boy. Gouki gets mad and transforms into his Kyukonki form. He lifts up a tree and hits Yusuke, making him drop the Orb, which he picks up. Yusuke then tries to use his Spirit Gun on Gouki but remembers that he already used it that day, and the episode ends.
7. Gouki and Kurama
The episode begins with Gouki transforming into his real form and proceeds to kick the crap out of Yusuke. Then Gouki hears a bunch of voices from the forest so he runs away so he won't get caught. It turns out to be Botan who brings Yusuke back to his house. When Yusuke wakes up they debate on what to do next when Yusuke's mother walks in and when Yusuke gets annoyed because they're "trying to have a private conversation" she gets annoyed and starts yelling at him about how she thought Keiko was his girlfriend. Then Yusuke goes out looking for Gouki again because he's taking the souls of little kids and they can't be saved after one day. Yusuke finds him and Gouki kicks his butt again because Yusuke's punches have no effect on Gouki's body. Then Botan breaks off a really large stick to save Yusuke once again. Gouki says he's going to kill both of them when Yusuke shoves the stick into his mouth and blasts his insides with his Spirit Gun. Weak from his battle Yusuke hobbles into town with Botan when Kurama passes him and telepathically tells him to meet him at the hospital in three days so he can give him the Forlorn Hope. He meets up with Kurama while Botan goes to Koenma to get more information about it. They go to see Kurama's sick mother and Kurama tells of how he became human. The doctors then come and say that his mother won't live long. Botan finds out from Koenma that you need to sacrafice a life to use the Forlorn Hope and she rushes back to tell Yusuke. Kurama makes his wish but then Yusuke tells the Forlorn Hope to take his life instead saying that he doesn't want to see Kurama's mom sad. The wish is granted without either of them dying and then Yusuke comments on how stupid that once since then his mom would be sad when he died.
8. The Three Eyes of Hiei
Yusuke and Botan (in her school girl outfit) are talking about the last artifact to recover, the Shadow Sword which Hiei still posesses. Keiko walks in on their conversation and seems annoyed that she's been left out, and thinks they're going out. As Keiko walks down the street, brooding over Yusuke, Hiei comes out of the shadows and slashes her with the Sword, planning on using her as bait to bring Yusuke and the other two artifacts. In school, Yusuke sees his compass go crazy, and ditches class to follow the lead. He arrives at the warehouse where Keiko is beginning to transform into a demon. He gets really annoyed and trades the two other items for Keiko. However, Keiko still begins to turn into a demon! This gets Yusuke really pissed off and he starts attacked Hiei, but he's too fast for him. But then Hiei begins to talk and Yusuke catches him off guard twice, surprising Hiei with his speed and punches, they're much more powerful cause he's pissed off. Hiei pulls out the Shadow Sword, intending to use it on Yusuke but just when it's about to hit, Kurama steps in and takes the blow. He'll be fine since he's of demonic blood anyway. Hiei gets ticked off at Kurama and changes into his demon form with eyes all over his body to kill them both. Yusuke blocks him from getting to Kurama and Kurama goes to help Botan try to stop Keiko from turning into a demon. Meanwhile Yusuke is getting smacked around, and goes for a last try. He fires his Spirit Gun, and Hiei dodges it. He's mocking Yusuke when the Spirit Gun hits him from behind, Yusuke aimed it at the mirror of Forlorn Hope so it would bounce off and hit Hiei off guard. Hiei defeated, Yusuke heals Keiko with the Spirit Sword, and it seems all is well. Later when he and Botan are talking alone Keiko walks in on them again, and rushes out annoyed and Yusuke runs after her yelling, "It's not what you think!" while Botan giggles. ^_^
9. The Search Begins
Now that Yusuke's had a little while to rest, it's back to work for the Spirit Detective! His next mission is to participate in the Genkai Tournament. The old psychic Genkai wishes to pass her powers to a pupil, and the demon Rando is interested. Yusuke must defeat Rando and get Genkai's powers. He, and a hundred other hopefuls show up. Kuwabara oddly enough, is there as well. He is sensitive to spirit energy, after all. Genkai greets them all, and announces the first test: Pick an envelope from an urn. If it's red, go inside. If it's white, go home. As it turns out, your spirit energy will make the paper red for you. Of course, this makes some fighters angry, though Genkai deals with them pretty effectively. Inside is a variety of games that test your Spirit Energy. The candidates are a little confused, but try it anyway. Afterwards, they meet in the woods, where they have to get through in the shortest possible time. Kuwabara, amazingly, is the first to arrive. The others show up, and wait for Yusuke, whose facing a bat demon. He easily defeats him, and finished over his time limit. Genkai is impressed Yusuke could defeat the bat demon, and makes an exception. Now comes the real part of the Tournament. Genkai matches everyone up, and they prepare to enter the fighting ring.
10. Kuwabara's Spirit Sword
Genkai announces the last part of the Quest for her Spirit Wave attack is a Tournament in the Dark. The winners of the first round were Kasamaru, Shoren, and Kuwabara. In the meantime, Yusuke tells Kuwabara about being a spirit detective. The next match is Kuwabara's match. He fights a swordsman who has the upper hand with his Shinbauto (Shining Sword Attack) The sword breaks and Kuwabara picks up the piece that broke, creating a Spirit Sword. Kuwabara easily wins the match and makes it to the next round. Yusuke goes up against his opponent and starts to get his butt kicked easily. His opponent has this headpiece that lets him concentrate his spirit energy to parts of his body, so he uses it on his arms and does the Big Arm Bomber on Yusuke. Yusuke hits the floor and appears to be down for the count.
11. Hard Fights for Yusuke
Yusuke can't land a single hit on Kibano, and is getting angry. By luck, he grabs Kibano's arm, but Kibano is too strong and just flings him away. Finally, Yusuke makes a last ditch effort. He concentrates on the Kibano's presence, then aims, and fires. It hits him square in the forehead and shatters his helmet. Kibano is too dazed to fight anymore. The semi finals begin, and now Yusuke must fight the bodyguard Kazemaru. Yusuke is very tired from his last fight, and the odds don't look good. Kazemaru throws a set of ninja stars, but they have a twist. They lock on to a person's spirit energy and have gunpowder in them. Yusuke believes this is the end, and makes a kamikaze run towards Kazemaru. When they're about to collide, Yusuke suddenly disappears, and the stars blow up on Kazemaru, incapacitating him. Then Yusuke pops up out of a a marsh pit. Everyone thinks it's genius that Yusuke dropped into that hole, but it turns out he did that by accident.
12. Rando Rises, Kuwabara Falls
The show starts out by Genkai announcing the match between Kuwabara and Shorin and Yusuke telling Kuwabara to back down. Kuwabara starts out strong with Shorin not being able to hit him very hard. Meanwhile, Boton and Yusuke remark on how weak Shorin is and wonder if he's been hiding but not as a fighter. Then Kuwabara asks Shorin if that's all he has and Shorin says no as he has to try a couple techniques. He uses the Circles of Inferno which do hit Kuwabara (albiet barely) and then he summons his Spirit Sword to use as a bat against the next barrage of fireballs. He hits one back at Shorin which hammers him pretty badly and Shorin marvels at how he used his own attack against him twice. Shorin then does a chant to make Kuwabara small and proceeds to shatter his bones in his arm and ribs. Genkai calls the match and Shorin throws him at Yusuke. Shorin returns him to his regular size and Yusuke has some words with Kuwabara to make sure he's ok (well if you consider the fact his bones were shattered and on the verge of death ok then he would be). Genkai announces the final match between Yusuke and Shorin. Yusuke tells Shorin he's a Spirit Detective and Shorin is unfazed. That is, until Yusuke punches him in the face and he begins to pummel Shorin while Shorin is amazed that he's this strong. Then he uses an attack that sucks out air from cuts in the body and with the battle scars Yusuke had, it would hurt alot. He gets flattened by the first wave but gets up and flies through all the tornado and drives Shorin to the ground. Yusuke walks over to Genkai to claim his prize when Genkai says that the fights not over, and Shorin transforms into Rando.
