×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Review

by Alexander Harris

Inu-Yasha

Synopsis:
Inu-Yasha
Except for the fact that her family lives in and runs the local shrine, Kagome Higurashi is a typical fifteen-year old Japanese schoolgirl. One day, while searching for her missing pet cat, Kagome is violently dragged into a nearby well by a huge, centipede demon that asks her if she has "the Jewel of Four Souls." Kagome, having barely survived the attack, later wakes up at the bottom of the well, finding that the demon has left. When she climbs to the surface, she discovers that she is no longer in contemporary Japan; she's in ancient Japan, a Japan where demons, monsters, and violent swordplay still exist and thrive. Confused, scared, and unsure of herself, Kagome is at a loss at to what to do. She soon crosses paths with a half-human, half-dog demon boy named Inu-Yasha, who has nasty claws, an acidic mouth, and a violent temper. After Yasha easily deals with the resurfaced centipede demon, he turns his attentions and his claws toward Kagome, demanding the Jewel of Four Souls from her.
Review:
Thus begins the macabre, violent fantasy saga that is "Inu Yasha." The story itself, technically, focuses around the Jewel of Four Souls, which can give any demon ultimate power, and Yasha's/Kagome ongoing, relentless quest to find it and keep it out of the hands of malicious, power hungry demons. On the surface, it sounds like a simple, straightforward action Anime/Manga. In actuality, it turns out to be much, much more than that. Inu Yasha is a pleasantly surprising character oriented tale. Slowly but surely, you start caring less and less about the Jewel and more about those who hunt it. Love, hate, circumstance, and fear gradually change and remold all of the characters over time, particularly Inu Yasha, who seems to be full of surprises. As soon as you think you have him figured out emotionally, Takahashi throws us curve ball about Inu Yasha that just leaves you gaping in shock and wanting more. The people/demons around Yasha and Kagome, whether they be friend or enemy, are often a treat within themselves, too. The young, mischievous, shape-shifting fox demon named Shippio. Yasha's elder, placid, confident full demon brother, Lord Shessho Maru. The wise, elder sister of the deceased village priestess who once killed Inu Yasha (yes, killed!), Kaede. Myoga, the blood sucking demon flea who was a servant of Inu Yasha's full demon father. And Naraku, a mysterious demon with a huge hatred for Yasha.

For those who are big on action, Inu Yasha has plenty of that to go around, as well. The violence, which usually involves Inu Yasha slashing and hacking away at demons, can be a bit graphic and bloody at times, and is not for the younger readers. It's a good thing Yasha is part demon; if he were fully human, he'd NEVER survive most of the fights that he takes part in. Indeed, because of the violence and bloodshed (and brief, rare nudity), I'm inclined to give this the "Teens Only" label. Fortunately, the characters and story DO NOT take a back seat to the fighting, so it's not like watching "Dragon Ball Z" with demons.

The artwork for Inu Yasha (both the Manga and the Anime) is excellent, as is expected from Takahashi. She has a smooth, clean shonen artwork style; it could be viewed as a bit cartoonish because of the lack of details, but it's simple, and pleasing to the eye; very similar to the later works of Kosuke Fujishima (creator of "Oh My Goddess!" and "You're Under Arrest!"). The Manga, as to be expected, is in black and white. The Anime artwork and character designs are based straight from the Manga, so (art wise) it's basically the equivalent of a moving Inu Yasha manga with color.

For those who don't want to wait for that all-important Viz or Bandai announcement, the Manga is available in comic book and graphic novel format, and is easily accessible mail order/online from Viz or any comic store/retailer. Whether you're looking for some interesting, cool characters to get attached to, or for some superb, ultra-violent action, or just a fun fantasy story in general, Inu Yasha is the way to go.

Grade:
bookmark/share with: short url
Add this anime to
Production Info:
Director:
Yasunao Aoki
Masashi Ikeda
Series Composition: Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Script:
Katsuhiko Chiba
Akinori Endo
Masashi Ikeda
Ai Ota
Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Tetsuko Takahashi
Junki Takegami
Takashi Yamada
Akatsuki Yamatoya
Storyboard:
Masakazu Amiya
Yasunao Aoki
Tomoe Aratani
Kiyoshi Fukumoto
Masami Hata
Masakazu Hishida
Masashi Ikeda
Takashi Ikehata
Tatsuya Ishihara
Mitsuko Kase
Toshifumi Kawase
Hitoyuki Matsui
Masayuki Miyaji
Toshiya Niidome
Akira Nishimori
Yukio Nishimoto
Susumu Nishizawa
Teruo Sato
Toshiya Shinohara
Tsukasa Sunaga
Yasuhiro Takemoto
Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Megumi Yamamoto
Eiji Yamanaka
Episode Director:
Masashi Abe
Masakazu Amiya
Yasunao Aoki
Tomoe Aratani
Kiyoshi Fukumoto
Masakazu Hishida
Naoki Hishikawa
Masashi Ikeda
Takashi Ikehata
Tatsuya Ishihara
Hitoyuki Matsui
Kunihiro Mori
Takehiro Nakayama
Akira Nishimori
Hirofumi Ogura
Takahiro Okada
Teruo Sato
Kaoru Suzuki
Yasuhiro Takemoto
Satoshi Toba
Megumi Yamamoto
Music: Kaoru Wada
Original creator: Rumiko Takahashi
Character Design: Yoshihito Hishinuma
Art Director: Shigemi Ikeda
Animation Director:
Hideki Araki
Kenji Hachizaki
Yoshihito Hishinuma
Shoko Ikeda
Ayako Kurata
Rie Nakajima
Mamiko Nakanishi
Takehiro Nakayama
Hiroaki Noguchi
Shinichi Sakuma
Taka Sato
Atsushi Shigeta
Kumiko Takahashi
Hiroshi Takeuchi
Kazuo Takigawa
Teiichi Takiguchi
Keiji Tani
Atsuo Tobe
Naoko Yamamoto
Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka
Director of Photography:
Kumiko Itō
Yōichi Ōgami
Producer:
Michihiko Suwa
Hideyuki Tomioka
Licensed by: ShoPro Entertainment

Full encyclopedia details about
Inuyasha (TV)

Review homepage / archives