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

Good gravy, how many more Inuyasha reviews can Nicole do? Well, there are two answers.
A.) A lot
B.) Not many

(A) is because there are over 40 volumes involved (3 ÷ 167 = 55 ⅔), so yeah. (B) because after doing so many in such a short amount of time, I’m getting pretty Inuyasha-ed out. Yes, I may be a fan of anime, but even the great VA-identifying Nicole can only take so much before she needs to step back and get a sub sandwich or a shower or something…. It’s 12:11am here in Illinois, my last review was posted around 9ish and I think it might be my last for tonight unless I do that thing where I say to myself, “Ah, just one more,” which, like some of us know, turns into about 5 more.

One more thing before we get into Volume 17 (*urg*) that someone commented on back in Volume 14 or so, the same thing over and over about the animation, music, etc. If you are new to Inuyasha, don’t start here. It’s a bad idea. You wouldn’t have a clue of what is going on. Go start where all things start, at #1 and go on from there. As for the rest of you, nothing has changed – this series is a constant series, the proof in the pudding due to the number of episodes and response it got in Japan and here, hence my lack of anything new to say. If you’re a parent and have no idea what you are looking for, I suggest you get help from your children, but if you’re just perusing around, by all means, forge ahead. Ok. It’s go time.

General Info – Inuyasha is brought to you by the talented and creative Rumiko Takahashi. If you’re familiar with her famous Ranma ½ then by all means go back and look into this series from the beginning. 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 = Uber-crappy.

Episode 49: What was once Naraku’s castle is now just rubble, but the group decides to investigate it one last time to make sure they didn’t miss anything. Who should show up but Kohaku? But this time he acts normal, or at least as normal as he can for not remembering a thing. Inuyasha, however, doesn’t think things are quite right, despite Sango’s trust in her brother.

Episode 50: Picking up from the last episode, Kagome finds herself under the blade of an unexpected opponent, and demons are attacking left and right. Inuyasha still has issues controlling Tetsusaiga, Miroku uses desperate measures to get rid of the demons, and Sango makes a heart-rending choice.

Episode 51: Still curious of his father’s decisions concerning himself and Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru goes to the tree whose wood was used to create Tetsusaiga’s scabbard. The tree, Bokuseno, knows the reasons why their father gave them their respective swords, and tells Sesshoumaru, piquing his interest. It isn’t long before we see Bokuseno’s explanation in action as Inuyasha faces off with yet another nasty demon.

Animation – let’s face it, the animation is awesome. It’s not going to stop being awesome unless the animators suddenly get lazy and start drawing stick figures. But I doubt that because we still have over 100 episodes to go, so that must mean everyone still liked it beyond this point, otherwise I’m sure it would have been cancelled over in Japan. Great use of character design, color, detail (I’m always a fan of detail when it comes to anime – the more the better – we don’t do enough of it here in the US, so sad), and always the facial expressions. Gotta love anime facial expressions.

Music – magical! The opening song is “I Am” by Hitomi Yaida. It’s all right, but her voice is just too high pitched for me to really enjoy it. It’s a good song, but not one of my favorites. My favorite ending song, “Fukai Mori” by Do As Infinity has gone bye-bye and been replaced by “Dearest” by Ayumi Hamasaki. It’s a very nice piano and gentle instrument piece, soft and serene. It almost seems to reflect the strained love between Kagome and Inuyasha, or the trials that all their companions have been through and have yet to go through. Very expressive. I approve this song. Instrumental background music done by Kaoru Wada within the show is always good, a lot of the same themes, but they always work well wherever they’re placed. Piano and gentle string themes, such as Kagome and Inuyasha’s songs of when they’re together make for great soft stuff to fall asleep to.

Voices! Japanese is great of course. English – pretty damn good. As you can see from the little compiled list below, I’m not always biased toward the Japanese version. It just depends upon the script and who they hire for voices. Sometimes they do a good job and I prefer the English version. Then there are times like this, when I just can’t decide…

Inuyasha – love both VAs, and am unable to pick a favorite. Perfect characterization.
Kagome – enjoy both, but prefer Satsuki Yukino for Japanese version.
Sesshoumaru – I *love* David Kaye for the English version, but just barely over the Japanese VA
Shippou – both are totally cute, and I cannot choose a favorite
Jaken – they both crack me up, prefer Japanese just a *bit* over the English one
Kikyo – definitely prefer the Japanese version, just seems to fit better
Miroku – both VAs are very good, very similar, and I can’t pick a favorite
Naraku – the evil guy, done very well by all VAs (2 Japanese, 1 English), no favorites, though they have different qualities, they’re all good.
Sango – both are very good, though I do have a slight preference for the Japanese version
Kirara – no actual voice here, but I like the sound effects chosen to represent her, such as the snarling jaguar noise in her fired up form, and then the little squeak of a mew in her adorable little form.
Kouga – English favorite hands down, but Japanese is still cool. I just love Scott McNeil.
Everyone else, such as Souta, Kagome’s mother, grandfather, Myouga, Kaede, Kohaku, and demons involved are well done. Kaede would be better if she weren’t speaking in medieval English all the time (“Ye?”), but that’s blame on the scriptwriters.

It’s always nice to see Sesshoumaru again, even though by this point he may seem a little obsessive over Tetsusaiga. After all, he’s got a pretty powerful sword now. However, I do really enjoy seeing Inuyasha go ballistic, and the demon he is up against kind of startled me really. Not so much in appearance or anything, but because of what he did to one poor girl that I didn’t think they would have onscreen (nothing gory – just think The Mummy). I don’t know why I would think that, but for some reason I found myself surprised. It was a good shock though, definitely kept me interested and hoping that Inuyasha would get out soon to save the rest of those poor women. …Living in Japan’s feudal era sucks.

Note to Parents: There is some language, some implied nudity, a lot of violence, blood, and dead people are involved. Some of the demons themselves are pretty creepy looking and do some bizarre things. Hey, demons are demons. The point is, be a good parent and make the decision.

Episodes in this Volume:
Episode 49. Kohaku's Lost Memories
Episode 50. The Face that Can't be Forgotten
Episode 51. Inuyasha's Devoured Soul

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
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

Future Inuyasha Volumes:
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