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Year: Original= 2000-2004; Final Act= 2009-2010
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Historical, Demons, Supernatural, Magic, Romance, Fantasy, Shounen
Episodes: Original= 167; Final Act= 26
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Have you ever wondered what type of demons lived in Japan? There are so many anime series that show demons in the Feudal era or other eras. What kinds of demons would roam the lands? Would there be water demons, earth demons, wolf demons, or how about a turtle demon? The list could go on and on. What would happen if you were transported back to one of these eras and find out demons exist? What would you do? What happened if you found out that you are the reincarnation of a famous person back in that period with great power?
Inuyasha is one of the OG of anime. Some would say it is one of the best anime series to watch and a must-watch anime series before you die. The series has been ranked in the top 100 best anime series of all time, with the main character as one of the most popular anime characters ever.
Overview:
The story of Inuyasha begins with Kagome Higurashi. Kagome lives in modern-day Tokyo with her mother, brother, and grandpa on the grounds of her family’s Shinto shrine. On her 15th birthday, Kagome’s cat gets lose, and she goes searching for him. While searching for her cat, Kagome is dragged into the enshrined Bone Eater’s Well by a centipede demon. Managing to escape the clutches of the centipede demon, Kagome manages to get out of the well only to realize that she has been transported to the past and is in Japan’s Sengoku period.
The centipede demon wants revenge against Kikyo when it fought against the warrior princess and the previous keeper of the Shikon Jewel. The Shikon Jewel is wanted by all demons as it grants its holder any wish their heart desires. The Shikon Jewel was burned with Kikyo’s body for the reason of it not falling in the hands of evil. The demon states that Kagome looks like Kikyo and must have the Shikon Jewel on her. While running for her life, Kagome comes across a sleeping boy pinned by a sacred arrow to a tree. She learns that the boy is Inuyasha, a half-human, half-demon whom Kikyo pinned to the tree as her final act when he attempted to steal the jewel. Inuyasha makes a deal with Kagome that if she frees him, he will kill the centipede demon after her. During the fight, the once lost Shikon Jewel emerges from Kagome’s chest while Inuyasha turns on Kagome for the jewel. Just before he can do anything, he is subdued with a magical beaded necklace. The necklace is to keep Inuyasha in line, and if he does, Kagome has to only say “sit” or “sit boy,” which causes him to violently fall to the ground. When another demon attacks, Kagome accidentally causes the sacred jewel to shatter into many pieces that spread throughout the land. Now in search of the jewel, Kagome and Inuyasha embark on a quest to gain all the pieces once again.
Review:
I know I will get some MAJOR pushback from saying this, but Inuyasha is one of the most boring anime series after like season 2 and maybe the beginning of season 3. The series was entirely too long, and after a while, it became a complete bore. What was the deal with the Final Act series? I will get to you in a second. Now it was cool to have Inuyasha and his group find all the jewel shards of the Shikon Jewel along with a love triangle between Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kikyo. I also didn’t have a problem with Inuyasha and his brother Sesshomaru not really liking each other. I was even cool with the main villain, Naraku being a pain in the ass. What I can’t stand are all the useless episodes that just dragged out this anime. It felt like it would never end. I know One Piece has over 1000+ episodes, but at least those are entertaining. The show was constantly Naraku putting foes in front of the group, and after a while, it got repetitive. It got to the point where I knew what was going to happen. Naraku convinces a person or brings back some legendary foe to fight against Inuyasha. Inuyasha either wins handily or gets his ass handed to him. He reflects for a while, and then his sword gets a new technique. Then the cycle repeats itself all over again. When I saw the jewel get split up into hundreds of pieces, I didn’t think it would be this long. Oh, and the love triangle made it crazier because no one could get their love life together until the very end, when they all stated their feelings for each other. Holy shit man, Inuyasha finally kissed Kagome at the very last episode. Almost 200 episodes later and he finally kissed the girl. Some weak stuff right their man.
Let’s talk about the Final Act part. What type of dog s**t did you make because it was a COMPLETE waste of time. It was like the makers were like, okay, we need to wrap this series up, but let’s throw in like 10 episodes that really don’t make sense or progress the story. Oh, and let’s change the voice actors to make sure things are not the same. To make sure everyone is happy, let’s finally kill the one called Naraku after all these episodes and years. This anime could’ve been over within a maximum of three seasons. At least Yu Yu Hakusho had a consistent arc.
I don’t want people to think I absolutely hate this anime. Rather than the length and some of the repetitiveness, I did enjoy most of this anime. For one, the fighting scenes were great. I thought the battle between Inuyasha and several demons were awesome. When he fought against the Band of Seven, I thought that was entertaining. I like how the anime showed so many demons and how each one was crazy and unique in its own way. Also, I love the development of Tessaiga and how it gained power throughout the series. Some of the sword’s abilities were insane. I liked the Wind Scar, but when it changed to dragon scale or even the one back Tessaiga, it was a beast of a weapon.
The animation was spot on for this anime, and I thought for its era, it was crisp and visually appealing. Everyone was drawn in their unique way, and it didn’t look out of place. When the Final Act series came along, it seemed to throw off the whole anime because it looked so brand new. There was too much time that passed between the two series, but hey, gotta look clean and fresh sometimes.
Now for all the characters in this long-ass anime. First, the title character, Inuyasha. Inuyasha is cool, but he is also a complete cocky person as he believes nothing can defeat him. I found him annoying at first until you see how messed up his life was. It made his a little bearable, but to me, he was one of the most whipped characters in history. Always running after Kikyo. I know they had a past, but she’s dead man. Just let her go and move on to the one who looks exactly like her. Now for Kagome. I feel like she was annoying initially because she fell through the well and always commanded Inuyasha around. Yet, she turned into a brave and kind girl who becomes a powerhouse. I feel like she was the one who carried the most emotional strength out of all the characters as she never let her anger or jealousy corrupt her in the way of doing an evil act. You feel for the girl as she develops powerful feelings for Inuyasha, but he keeps sneaking behind her even though they were never together.
I want to say that Miroku was one of my favorite characters because the dude was completely true to his nature. The dude was a Buddhist monk who traveled along and performed spiritual services, but the dude was a complete con artist sometimes and a big-time womanizer. It seemed like every village he went to, the dude talked that sweet nothingness to any pretty girl, and he fully accepted himself like that. The dude is Ludacris’ song, Area Codes. He sure did have someone in every village and didn’t mind grouping a woman. If only lawyers were around back then. Sango was really cool and really cared for her brother. She went overboard with that love and almost got the group killed a few times, but everyone in this anime has some type of issue.
I liked Shippo but found him quite annoying also. He was small and had a big heart, but sometimes, you need to keep your fox butt out of major things. He and Inuyasha are constantly at each other’s throats but what I like about it is they have a brotherly bond that works. One of my favorite characters is Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru is an absolute beast that is feared throughout the land and is also the older half-brother of Inuyasha. You want to talk about someone who changed during the series? It’s this dude. Dude has a HUGE ego, but he backs it up with his power and gives zero cares about people. He is also quite formal but hates his little brother. He starts caring for a little girl named Rin that changes the way he thinks about some people.
As far as music goes, I usually don’t listen to the opening or ending theme unless it catches my ear. With that said, I liked Ending 2 – “Fukai Mori” by Do As Infinity was the first jam that I liked. I don’t know why I liked it so much, but it sounded powerful and like the girl was singing a love ballad for a lost love. Ending 3 – “Dearest” by Ayumi Hamasaki is a nice and sweet song with a caring melody. It’s one of those songs you can play on the piano. How can I forget about Ending 4 – “Every Heart – Minna no Kimochi” by BoA. That’s the type of song you sign to your loved ones and let them know they aren’t going anywhere. Finally, Ending 7 – “Come” by Namie Amuro is that nice pop song that you can do with your loved ones in the club.
Overall, Inuyasha is a really good anime but a little long and repetitive for my taste. The Final Act completely ruined the whole ending. Really, it took them forever to kill the final character. I thought all the characters are great and memorable. Some of the music is straight amazing to listen to. I can’t give this anime a perfect rating, but it is one of the best as a starter anime.
