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

Yes, this is what I do with my life. I stay up into the wee hours of the night (though for me, 3:00am isn’t quite wee yet) reviewing anime after watching it and eating fudge cows (see Vermonty Python ice cream by Ben & Jerry’s). And yes, I am still cool.

Haha.

General Info – Inuyasha is brought to you by the talented and creative Rumiko Takahashi. If you’re familiar with her famous Ranma ˝ then by all means look into this series. The Inuyasha series is a total of 167 episodes with a mere 3 episodes per DVD, and once you’re in, it’s really hard to get out. Yeah, I know. 3 per DVD = Dumb Idea, but that was Viz’s decision, so oh well.

It’s getting really late to turn back now. Once we hit the episode 15 we’ll be introduced yet another important character. Back out now and that would be a waste of your hard earned time and whatnot. I mean, you could, but why would you? Again, I don’t quite get the title of this volume; they don’t seem to focus on the more dominating episodes when it comes to names. But I guess I can understand the difficulty, as all the episodes are pretty diverse.

Episode 13: While floating down a river in a boat, the trio of Kagome, Inuyasha, and the little kitsune Shippou see a young girl fall into the river from a cliff and manage to rescue her. She informs them her village has been attacked by spider demons and Kagome agrees to help, much to the chagrin of Inuyasha, who is never interested in helping people unless a Shikon shard is involved. What everyone gets in the village after the sun goes down is a jumble of unpleasant surprises involving the spider demons, Inuyasha, and Kagome’s Shikon shards.

Episode 14: Kaede is at her village, minding her own business when an extremely creepy-looking old woman named Urasue violently barges into town, heading for Kikyo’s grave and stealing her bones. Never a good thing. When Kagome and the other return and talk to Kaede, Inuyasha turns his back on helping her. Kikyo is the one who betrayed him and sealed him to the tree – why should he care about her old bones? Of course, Inuyasha is persuaded to help, causing Kagome to ponder just what exactly the deal was between Inuyasha and Kikyo. Meanwhile Urasue has her own plans with Kikyo’s bones.

Episode 15: As the title gives it away, and I am unable to give any sort of synopsis without doing the same as well, Kikyo is back, via old bones, Urasue’s evil power, and the stealing of Kagome’s soul. And of course, Kikyo is back with a vengeance, remembering her death and hatred for Inuyasha. Kagome cannot return to her normal self (virtually in a coma) while her soul rests in Kikyo. Suddenly Inuyasha finds himself confused, at a standstill, and at a total loss of what to do.

Animation – grand! The countryside Kagome finds herself surrounded by is lush and green with open fields of grasses and wildflowers, mountains in the distance. Colors are bright and vibrant; the difference between modern and feudal Japan is well done. The addition of Shippou brings an element of cuteness and fun into the show, and I just love the interaction between Shippou and Inuyasha. The cutest thing about Shippou – I adore his little fox feet. Yes, that’s right. He’s got adorable feet. Just look at them! Tell me they’re not cute…

Music – fun times! I’m not the biggest fan of the opening song, “Change the World” by V6, but I still think they’ll switch it up 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 ^_~).

Voices! Japanese is great of course. Love Kappei Yamaguchi and Richard Ian Cox as Inuyasha, the young, snarling puppy – kudos to them both for portraying him well. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pick one VA over another. I admit though I like both Kagomes, I prefer her Japanese version, but as for Sesshoumaru, his English VA, David Kaye, is perfect. I prefer it over the Japanese version by just *eensy* bit. I enjoy both Jakens and I’m pretty much torn when it comes to Shippou. As for everyone else (demons and such), I’m pretty versatile. Then there’s Kikyo. Let’s talk about her.

I don’t like Kikyo. I would go so far as to say I hate Kikyo. Right now I can understand her, but later on, she simply annoys the hell out of me. I admit that part of it is the voice – I like her Japanese one better because it seems softer. Her English voice is deeper, and just sounds dark all the time. It gives her an added edge of “I’m a vengeful b*tch” when that’s a big part of what annoys me. I guess I should just take her as a very screwed up being, seeing as she’s technically dead and all, but as my little sister can tell you, when we used to watch it on Cartoon Network, if Kikyo showed up, 99% of the time I would end up saying, “Ugh, Kikyo just needs to die.” I know, I sound like a horrible person, but I just have issues with her. I’ll rant more later on when she does things that I can specifically point to as annoying.

Oh, I apologize for not mentioning this way sooner, but you might want to watch a few episodes yourself before forking it over to your kids. There is some language, some implied nudity (such as if Kagome is bathing and Inuyasha accidentally shows up and sees something – though it usually earns him a particularly hard “OSUWARI!”), and a definite amount of blood involved. Inuyasha even has an attack using his own blood if need be. It sounds creepy, but he only uses it when he’s wounded and actually it disappears completely after a while. The point is, be a good parent and make the decision. That’s why I’ve been putting up the "13 and up" label on all of these. Hint hint.

Final thoughts? Ugh. Kikyo…

Episodes in this Volume:
Episode 13: The Mystery of the New Moon and the Black-Haired Inuyasha
Episode 14: Kikyo's Stolen Ashes
Episode 15: Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyo

NT


Earlier Inuyasha Volumes:
Volume 1: Down the Well
Volume 2: A Girl’s Best Friend
Volume 3: Fathers and Sons
Volume 4: The Thunder Brothers

Future Inuyasha Volumes:
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