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Rating:  -
I've loved Inuyasha ever since I saw my first episode over a year ago. As time passed on I cought myself getting hooked. Staying up late into the night just to watch it, then passing out, exhuasted afterwards.
I've not yet read the manga. but I hear rave reviews.
What I would like to know is Inuyasha still going to continue to air in the US on Adult Swim? Or is this the last time we shall see him and the lovely Kagome?
Rating:  -
I found InuYasha to be relatively enjoyable when I was first exposed to a handful of the earlier episodes about five years ago. However, I started getting tired of it when I realized that nearly every episode had one of three or four plot formulas.
And here we are at the last volume of the series. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that a series with 167 episodes is stretched out over fifty-five volumes, averaging about three episodes per DVD. If you plan on buying the series, buy the season sets, as that is a much less costly and more efficient way of purchasing all of it.
With that said, the ending of the InuYasha anime resolves very little. As other reviews will tell you, the anime is but a portion of the story contained within the ongoing manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, a woman notorious for not knowing when to end her series. Such is the case with InuYasha. It's dragged on for an absurdly long time. I'm all for long series, but InuYasha's story severely lacks the substance required to keep itself interesting for such a long time. InuYasha is all about repetition, and I highly recommend that you don't waste your time finding this out for yourself.
On an interesting side note, one person who reviewed this DVD claimed that the InuYasha anime was a portrayal of a story too big to be contained in a TV series. This is inaccurate, as it is a mere 167 episodes. Other series, such as Dragon Ball Z, contain upwards of 270 episodes, and the ongoing series One Piece is currently on episode 309 or 310. There have been other series, such as Detective Conan, to go well beyond 400 episodes as well. InuYasha is by no means too big to be contained in a TV show, so the fact that it was still cancelled should make some sort of statement.
The same reviewer mentioned above comments on the deep psychological impacts the characters have on one another, saying that they are complex enough to provide the material with which to produce a psychology paper for a Master's degree. This is simply not true. The characters are actually some of the most bland, flat characters I've found in anime of this sort, and that's saying something. Their "psychological impacts" on one another amount to little more than mutual romantic feelings and fear of admitting them, a concept used countless times and done a thousand times better in many other series. The reviewer who made such absurd claims about the show's depth seems to me to be one who really enjoys the growing relationships between the characters, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, they should not be built up to be anything more than what they are, which is very shallow. Doing so makes for a very misleading review. Having conflicting thoughts and feelings and a past do not necessarily make for a complex character; these are merely the requirements to raise the characters above those of fiction for very young children, an accomplishment that is hardly difficult and little to be proud of.
Even when taken for what it is, a teen-oriented fantasy series with comedic and romantic elements, InuYasha just doesn't deliver. Seeing InuYasha and his companions battle demon after demon in nearly identical settings (forest, village, or mountain - take your pick) becomes extremely stale, and each confrontation with the main villain loses its excitement and intensity when you realize that he's simply going to run away again. If the genres of fantasy and romance appeal to you, then watch Fushigi Yuugi, a 52-episode anime series far superior to InuYasha. The fact that it has a real ending is a big plus, and it accomplishes much, much more in 52 episodes that InuYasha manages to do in 167. (Fushigi Yuugi technically has more than 52 episodes, but the extra ones are released in separate OVA series and tell different stories involving the same characters. I assure you that the main story of the original series is resolved.)
I wanted to be able to recommend InuYasha, but the only good thing I can really say about the series as a whole is that it has very nice music. So, however, do a lot of series, and plenty of them also have decent stories, interesting characters, and a satisfying ending somewhere in sight. Don't waste your time with InuYasha when you can find better things for far less money.
Rating:  -
Oh yeah, I'm an old f**t, too. Got into Inuyasha through my son. In re the characters relative ages I would suggest that (this being fantasy and all) perhaps it's taken Inuyasha 150 years to reach the relative physical and emotional age of 15. He's certainly not depicted as a mature individual of considered mien. He behaves exactly like a teenage boy (I've got one of those so I see it up close and personal.) I've enjoyed the series as a door to Japanese culture and history. Dog spirits? Kitsune foxes? The Feudal Era? Even the history of the Japanese "thing" about sailor-style school uniforms. Great stuff!
Rating: -
There is one tricky thing about watching Japanese anime versus readingthe original manga that inspired it. Sometimes the two are not quite the same due to the fitting of the story to the medium. If you've only experienced the American incarnations of either, you might be surprised at the differences between the Japanese and Americanized versions.
Thus,when the last episode aired here, many have been distressed that the story seems to end unresolved. The anime loosely follows the manga for about the first 370 some-odd chapters, but what then? I strongly recommend reading the manga as it is still going on and promises some really amazing surprises as well as some truly heartwrenching moments. I too, was alarmed when the series seemed to cut off without resolving some sticky issues, BUT, it's much easier to handle if you know that Takahashi has not yet reached the end of her epic series and in Japan, the number of published chapters has just passed 500. Enjoy the series for what it is: an animated protrayal of some really enjoyable characters whose story is much bigger than what can be contained in a TV series.
I'm probably a good deal older than the target audience for InuYasha, and yet I have been utterly hooked on it for two years now, which is far longer than I was ever enchanted by Harry Potter (which is way cool still). What is it about InuYasha that holds me so fascinated? Well, I discovered that each of the characters have a deep and complex psychological impact on each other, and the interactions between them is so interwoven and detailed, I could probably write a Psychology Paper for a master's degree just on the sheer depth of the story participants despite the fantasy evironment. Fantasy has historically had difficulty creating characters that engage the mind on more than a momentary entertainment level. If you are willing to really immerse yourself in the InuYasha universe, there is so much to experience and learn that it clearly would take far more space than I have here to describe.
At the more superficial "entertainment" level, it's completely enjoyable, though I would have been happier with InuYasha if the story played up the obvious chronological age difference between Kagome and InuYasha. He looks to be in his mid to late teens (depending on who is doing the animation in a particular episode) though he is actually around 150 years old. (200 years actual years, 50 of which he spent sealed to a tree.) He would have 150 years of life experiences behind him before he ever met Kagome so he would hardly be as naive as he is portrayed in the anime. The manga is more cagey about his past and reveals little about his history. Since Kagome is 15, that makes him 10 times her age, and to him, she would seem a mere infant. This could explain why their relationship is not so easily diagnosed.
Then there's the whole thing about the nenju necklace that gives her control over him. It was originally supposed to control his more violent nature, but in later in the series, Kagome uses it time and again in sheer spite. I have wondered how well a "real" InuYasha would have tolerated a device that made him a slave at the emotional whim of a girl so much younger than himself. No doubt he would have chafed a good deal more than he does in the series.
Anyway, loads of fun, loads of thought-provoking interactions, painstakingly researched historical elements, and you have to admit, InuYasha and his brother Sesshomaru are both really easy on the eyes. I love the series, and I am actually very happy that it ends the way it does, because then each watcher can imagine the ending they want. If it were me, InuYasha would stay a half-demon, which is what he was born to be, running loose in the beautiful landscapes of Japan of the 1500's.
Rating: -
this is not the end of the animee seires they are just taking a break so that more of the manga can be witten. that is how it works.
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