Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

But Nicole, didn’t you say unrequited love annoys the crap out of you?

Heheh, well yeah. Heh…hmm… ^_^;

All right kids, get ready for a long haul, one that I plan to stick out because I’m psychotic about finishing things I start – anime is absolutely no exception. So what do we have here today? Inuyasha, another little gem of joy brought to you by the talented and ridiculously creative Rumiko Takahashi. If you’re already familiar with her famous Ranma ½ oh ho ho! Then by all means look into it. Cartoon Network used to have Inuyasha on all the time, but these days the craze is Naruto (#$&@%! just wait until that gets listed here on Epinions – I’m going to go nuts on it).

Anyway, if you do decide to get into Inuyasha, then beware, because you’re going to be in for a long haul. Why? Because this series clocks in at a grand total of 167 episodes – and the DVDs only come with 3 episodes a pop. Yeah, I know. Dumb idea in my opinion, but that was Viz’s decision, so there you have it. Still, that’s sort of good for you because that makes it so I have absolutely no reason not to give you episode summaries (minus any spoilers of course). One last note before I begin, if you’re going to stick with me with all these reviews, I’m going to let you know right now I’m not going to give you a recap summary like I did with Fushigi Yuugi. Honestly, it would be a ridiculous idea, unless I come up with a flash-summary outlining the bare bones, but I almost question the reason behind doing that since it would cover pretty much everything you’d find out in the first 10 episodes or so in the first place. But let’s get to the first 3.

Episode 1: Kagome Higurashi is a normal girl, living a normal life. She goes to school, has some good (if not nosey) friends, has a cute little brother, a fat cat, a nice mother, and a nice grandfather (even if he is a bit weird sometimes). Yes, Kagome is just like any other regular girl in Japan. It doesn’t even enter her mind that her family’s home is built upon an old shrine and all that. It’s just home to her. That is, until one day her little brother Souta can’t find the cat. Kagome helps him look, ending up by the old well housed in a small shrine. Suddenly something grabs onto Kagome and drags her into the well – it doesn’t help to see that it’s some strange woman-centipede. Kagome manages to get away from it, but when she climbs out of the well, she’s nowhere near her house. In fact, she’s nowhere near her time. She’s in feudal Japan, and sees a strange boy pinned to a tree by an arrow – a boy with long white hair and…ears? Kagome has just met Inuyasha, and her adventures with him are about to begin.

Episode 2: A freed Inuyasha is an attacking Inuyasha. Why? The Shikon no Tama – or the Shikon Jewel. It is a mysterious gem with much power locked away inside of it. Upon her arrival to a village previously, she met an old woman named Kaede. She learned that Kaede once had a sister named Kikyo, and she believes Kagome is the reincarnation of a powerful priestess named Kikyo. Apparently Kikyo and Inuyasha fought 50 years ago, leaving Inuyasha pinned to the tree in a near-death state and Kikyo died from her wounds. Ouch. Naturally Inuyasha doesn’t like Kagome, and to stop him from getting to rambunctious, the (famous) rosary (necklace) is slipped around his neck by Kaede – and he can’t get it off. Upon Kaede’s command, Kagome chooses her word to stop Inuyasha in his tracks. “Osuwari!” in Japanese and “Sit boy!” in English. Kagome now finds herself in charge of the Shikon Jewel, but also finds herself attacked by bandits, demons, and finally the jewel is stolen from her by a nasty crow demon. In an attempt to get the jewel back, Kagome lets loose an arrow at the crow – but her plan backfires and the jewel breaks – into hundreds of pieces that shoot through the air, scattering everywhere, and opening up a long journey.

Episode 3: Frustrated with being unable to take a decent bath, with being stuck in feudal Japan, and mostly irritated with a constantly grumpy Inuyasha, Kagome finally announces she has had it – she is going home. Kaede and Inuyasha request that she stay (ok, so Inuyasha demanding it) so she can help find the Shikon shards in order to return the jewel to its original state. With all these Shikon shards out there, demons are going to be skipping for joy with the prospect of an extra power boost. Not something the people in the land are going to be excited about. But Kagome stands firm and heads off to the well, only to bump into a demon named Yura, who’s got a pretty unique talent. Lucky for Kagome, Yura knocks her into the well and she ends up at home. Not so lucky for the others…

Ok, I know those were long, but honestly, you’re going to have to know a little bit before I get into further episode summaries. I’d like them to be somewhat coherent. I’m not spoiling anything by letting it be obvious that Kagome is Kikyo’s reincarnation and that Inuyasha wakes up and all that. That’s pretty obvious anyway without me saying it.

Moving on to animation – lovely! The countryside Kagome finds herself surrounded by is lush and green with waving grasses and rustling trees. Colors are bright and vibrant, and though I’ve never thought of Inuyasha’s ears as doggy-ish, they’re still cute. I don’t blame Kagome for rubbing them out of curiosity – I probably would have too. His sharp claws and gold eyes are a nice touch, and Kagome is pretty cute herself. It has that Rumiko Takahashi touch to it – if you’ve ever seen any Ranma at all, you know what I’m talking about.

Music – aww, nice. I’m not the biggest fan of the opening song (“Change the World” by V6), but I’m sure they’ll switch it up sooner or later. The ending song, however, I am a fan of. Do yourself a favor and find “My Will” by Dream. I often listen to it. They’re both upbeat and in Japanese…well, “My Will” is completely anyway, maybe that’s partially why I don’t like “Change the World” so much – random English tossed into a Japanese song throws me off sometimes. As for the instrumental stuff, well, let’s just say it’s very nice, gets even better over time, and makes for great soft stuff to fall asleep too (been doin’ it for years actually ^_~).

And the final verdict for voices! Japanese is great of course. No problems there. Kagome is cute, her bother Souta is really cute, Grandpa is a good ojiisan, and Inuyasha is downright loads of fun. He’s such a young, snarling puppy – kudos to Kappei Yamaguchi. English? Ah, well I have high hopes actually. Right now they’re just starting out in their characters, and I’m very sure that they’ll grow into the roles (actually, I won’t lie – I’ve seen episodes way beyond these and yes, they do, and very nicely I might add). I must admit that whoever is doing the English script needs to get away from stupid jokes/quips/lines and/or anything else that can be filed under the general section of “Wow, that was lame.” One other annoyance is Kaede's speech. Honestly, why is she the only one around speaking in old Shakespearian? "Ye?" Honestly, who says that in feudal Japan? I rest my case. Still, I do commend them for using “Sit boy!” to replace “Osuwari” as it looks like Kagome is indeed saying a two-syllable word, who knows what they could have used, but huzzah, huzzah! Osuwari does indeed mean sit.

Final thoughts? Oh, Inuyasha is so much fun. I only wish there were more episodes involved. Ah well.

Episodes in this Volume:
Episode 1: The Girl Who Overcame Time and the Boy Who Was Just Overcome
Episode 2: Seekers of the Sacred Jewel
Episode 3: Down the Rabbit Hole & Back Again

NT

Note: I know all the titles have it as InuYasha with the “Y” capitalized, but honestly, that’s a huge pain to write over and over and doesn’t quite make sense to me, thus he’s going to be Inuyasha forever and ever in my reviews, whether you like it or not. So nyah. XP

Future Inuyasha Volumes:
Volume 2: A Girl’s Best Friend
Volume 3: Fathers and Sons
Volume 4: The Thunder Brothers
Volume 5: Secret of the New Moon
Volume 6: Deadly Liaisons
Volume 7: Face of the Enemy
Volume 8: Kikyo’s Wandering Soul
Volume 9: Origin of the Sacred Jewel
Volume 10: Scars of Battle
Volume 11: Into the Miasma
Volume 12: Swords of Destiny
Volume 13: Den of Wolves
Volume 14: The Wind and the Void
Volume 15: Broken Fang
Volume 16: Heart of the Beast
Volume 17: Shattered Memories
Volume 18: The Demon Within
Volume 19: The Way to Wisdom
Volume 20: Fathers and Sons
Volume 21: Double Trouble
Volume 22: The True Face Of Evil
Volume 23: Wicked Clutches
Volume 24: Severed Identities
Volume 25: Crimson Blade
Volume 26: Curse of Generations
Volume 27: Brothers In Arms
Volume 28: Promise of the Past
Volume 29: Castle of Evil
Volume 30: Monkey Business
Volume 31: Duplicates and Dilemas
Volume 32: Glow of the False Jewel
Volume 33: Unexpected Encounters
Volume 34: Children of Snow


Inuyasha Movies:
Movie 1: Affections Touching Across Time
Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older