The Original Feudal Fairytale: Inuyasha
Yes ladies and gentlemen! September
has begun! And as I promised in my last post, this month I will be doing
reviews on some of my favorite anime shows of all time. This month’s first review delves into one of
the most well-known anime shows in the anime world. I don’t think there is anyone, not even a
casual anime watcher, that wouldn’t recognize anime’s most famous half-demon. If you haven’t figured it out already-aside
from the title and the pictures I have on the post-this week’s review will be Inuyasha. So now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s
get started with the reviewing!
For those of you who have seen Inuyasha, I don’t think I need to
explain the basic plot of the show. But
for those who haven’t, it all starts with a girl’s birthday. In modern-day Tokyo, a young Kagome Higurashi
is celebrating her fifteenth birthday.
While on her way to school, she visits an old well located on the
grounds of her home- which also happens to be the grounds of an ancient shrine. Suddenly, Kagome is captured by a demon and is
mysteriously transported to Feudal Japan.
While there, she discovers that she is the reincarnation of a powerful
priestess named Kikyo, and that within her body is a powerful gem called the
Shikon Jewel-a gem that has the power to grant a wish to whoever posses it. She also meets a half demon who has been
sealed to a tree in the woods for fifty years named Inuyasha. When the demon that dragged Kagome through
the well pursues her again, Kagome breaks the fifty-year seal on Inuyasha, who
kills the demon, but then pursues Kagome for the Shikon Jewel. And after a series of events, Inuyasha is put
under control and the jewel is shattered across the land. From there, much of the plot focuses on
Inuyasha and Kagome finding all the pieces to the jewel. But they don’t do it alone; accompanying them
is a womanizing monk named Miroku, a demon-slayer named Sango, and a young fox
demon named Shipo- who all come in later as the plot progress. And they aren’t the only ones after the jewel
shards. Among the many demons and
villains that are after the jewel shards, the worst of them all is Naraku, a
manipulative character who uses others to get what he wants without being
directly involved-and that’s about as much as I can say without giving away any
spoilers. So yes, that-though it’s very
long-is just a brief summary of the Inuyasha.
Now, I will admit that Inuyasha may not be as popular as some
other animes, but it is certainly well-known among otakus and causal anime
watchers. And any fan of the show will
stand their ground and say it is a good show-I would know. But, Inuyasha,
though it is my favorite, does have some glaring problems. So, I give Inuyasha a three point five out five star rating. This may come as a shock, but I have my
reasons. However, I will highlight some
of the positive aspects of the show first.
One of these is the story. It
certainly keeps the audience’s attention, especially if you fall head-over-heels
for the show. Also, most of the
characters are likeable. And in some
cases -particularly Naraku-there are some characters that you just love to
hate. So yes, these are some simple
things that make this show great, and sometimes going the simple route can be a
benefit. However, going the simple route
can make it a little shaky.
One aspect of Inuyasha that is not so good is the plot. There is almost no depth to it. Though there is complexity to it- there is a
good bit of back story to the show, especially with Inuyasha and Kikyo’s past-
much of it is straight forward and doesn’t require any discussion. I find that a bit weak, personally. The same can be said for the characters. Though they have a detailed past that is
relevant to the overall plot, there is no depth to any of the characters. Another thing about the show that’s a big
turn off for many is the show’s length.
The series is one-hundred sixty seven episodes long. For a lot of people, that’s way too many
episodes- many anime series are fifty episodes long at max. But I can certainly say, in the show’s
defense, this count is much smaller than other popular anime shows- Bleach, for instance, runs at over 300 episodes! And don’t get me started
on Naruto and One Piece. So in other
words, don’t let the number of episodes be intimidating. I love the show, so it’s all worth it!
Inuyasha’s
television history is about as long as the series itself. The show has been on Adult Swim since its
English-dubbed premier in 2002! But
unfortunately, it is no longer aired on Adult Swim because Cartoon Network lost
the license to air it. However, it’s
legacy still goes on. In 2009, the sequel
series Inuyash: The Final Act
aired. This twenty-six episode series
picks up where episode 167 left off and officially ends the Inuyasha saga. It was never aired on American television,
but it was released directly to DVD in English.
And it’s just as good as the original series.
So yes, as you can see just by
looking at the length of this post-which is over what I usually write-, I’m
pretty passionate about this show. It
was one of the first shows that got me hooked on anime, so it certainly is very
special to me. With that aside, , Inuyasha is a show with a long history
and long plot that is sure to please through its simple use of characters and
story, though this simplicity does make it of lower quality. But regardless of quality, I’m still a
dedicated fan to the show and I recommend it to anyone! As I stated earlier, though it had a
well-rooted history on Toonami, the show is no longer on American
television. However, hulu.com has all
one-hundred sixty seven episodes as well as The
Final Act in both Japanese and English.
And of course, you can also buy the series online or in store for a
pretty reasonable price. Well, I think I
have written plenty for this post, so I think I’ll call it a day. So until next time, stay posted!
-Hanime
on Anime
P.S.: To get more background on Inuyasha, here's an old Toonami promo. I will try and do the same thing for next week's review!
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