Inu-Yasha

[Bean Bandit]

Shikon't take it, Cahptain! (An Inu-Yasha review)
or: Forty bazillion fangirls can't be wrong, right? RIGHT?

(Writing style stolen from Dave Barry)

Well. Here I am. Looking around the anime review section of this board, I can see that most of the reviews are for recent anime, and fairly cut and dried, expressing honest, straightforward opinions. Well, If that's what you're looking for, then read no further, as you'll find none of that here. ^_^
"To heck with honest, straightforward opinions", That is our motto. I'll be indulging in flagrantly irreverent wiseass remarks, amusing only to myself, combined with my actual opinions, with quite a few highly inaccurate statements, just for flavor...provided this does not require too much work. Otherwise, I may just resort to booger jokes. ^_^ Join me below for my review, where I display a flagrant death wish by reviewing an older anime, that has been exposed to many, and also has garnered many adoring fans, as measured in total decibels of squeals. ^_^

***

Well. Since you're still reading, I assume you're interested in hearing my review of the anime 'Inu-Yasha' as originally seen in the manga by Rumiko "Bud" Takahashi. As Ol' Bud is a noted Manga-ka, and has produced many epics, such as Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and Urusei Yatsura, many wonder where exactly Inu-Yasha fits into this respected panthenon.

"Marge," They say to their wives, "I often wonder where Inu-Yasha fits into the collected works of Rumiko Takahashi."

"Have you forgotten to take your pills again?" Their wives answer.

Such is the lot of an anime purist. But that shall not discourage us from asking the important questions. Is Inu-Yasha the new Ranma? Is it truly worthy of being Bud's latest work?  What (If anything) Is Inu-Yasha about?

These are indeed, some questions. This critic set out to answer them, courage in his soul, and a song in his heart. First off, What is Inu-Yasha about? Well, this critic won't beat around the bush. I will, clearly, and consicely inform you, despite the very real risk of winning an award for journalism for this review, of what Inu-Yasha is about: It is about 140 (+) episodes long.
This is, frankly, more anime than this critic has the patience for, especially if the animators indulge in the Dragonball School Of Storytelling (Motto: "To hell with plot! Everyone stand around flexing for nine episodes, then beat the shit out of each other for nine more!")

But no! This critic had a mission...nay, a DUTY to record his opinions for posterity, and the opportunity to watch anime while pretending to engage in useful activites. Thusly, this critic went about obtaining the first twenty-five episodes of the series, then from seventy-five on, to better inform you, the reader. No, don't thank me, I'm just doing my job.

Now, onto the subject of the review! (Inu-Yasha, for those who forgot.)  This critic was a little reluctant to watch this anime. This anime has a reputation, you see. Thus, like many who have seen only fragments of the show, this critic formed his opinions, and used them to mock the fans of the show. This critic's opinions were based on the highly factual method of watching one episode, ("...Is that guy wearing MAKEUP?") and reading the occasional Ranma fanfiction crossover with it, and noting that the majority of the fans seemed to be female. Armed with this exhaustive information, This crtitic's conclusion seemed obvious. "Chick Anime." This critic decided, nodding sagely. Thus armed, this critic joined the ranks of the non-believers, fully prepared to add to any discussion.

"Sesshoumaru is so HOT!" the fangirls would say.

"Er...the guy with the makeup? Bah, he's gay." I'd reply.

"Kagome and Inuyasha are so cute together!" The fangirls would say.  

"They're just Ranma and Akane with makeovers," I'd smirk.

"BANG," The fangirls would say, shooting me in the forehead with a .45 caliber revolver. Then they'd walk off together, 'squee'ing over the bishounen of their choice. The fangirls don't take that kind of crap from anyone, and ESPECIALLY don't try to point out that if the bishounen were all making out with one another, Yaoi-style, the chance that they could have one of their own is statistically, quite small.

They are a scary bunch.

Anyway, this critic decided to face my fears, and bite the bullet, taking it one step at a time, and give it one hundred and ten percent-

**SLAP!**

Thanks, this critic needed that. Anyway, having made the decision, this critic aquired the anime, and sat down to watch. And within fifteen minutes of being completely enthralled by the first episode, this critic had an epiphany. This critic was watching the wrong anime. Yes, I'd put in my 'Scrapped Princess' disks by mistake. After a few hours, (Hey, it's GOOD.) this critic took them out, and Began to watch 'Inu-Yasha'.

Inuyasha is the timeless tale of a Japanese schoolgirl, and her quest to win the heart of a handsome warrior, and save the world from evil. No, Wait. That's  Escaflowne. The Schoolgirl in Inuyasha is in love with a dog-boy. Which, goes to show you, love is blind, and, in the case of Kagome Higurashi, possibly deaf as well. Inuyasha is not exactly Mister Wonderful. Even for a Takahashi hero, he's pretty abrasive. And loud.  He tends to shout and growl a lot. This is not all there is to him, but after awhile, it tends to dominate the thoughts.  Just like certain newscasters. Here I'm thinking of Sam Donaldson. This man may be a wonderful, nice person, but when you watch him after awhile, all you can think is, "What is that thing on his head? Groomed Roadkill?"

At any rate, The story begins by setting up a love story as complex and disturbing as anything you'd  find in Shakespeare, but with cuter girls. They are then given, A Quest To Save The World, which is the focus of, by my best estimation, 10% of their attention. If they knew how long this quest would take from the beginning, if they had an ounce of sense in their heads, they'd leave to star in a less meandering anime.

Now on their way, the supporting characters come in, each with their own tragic story. These people have been through crap that would make Mihoshi Kurumitsu, of Tenchi fame, beg for Prozac, yet they're relatively normal, and happy until it becomes time to center an episode on them, wherupon they mope and brood like a goth teenager on downers. But, this is where it gets tricky, because, these supporting characters are by FAR the most interesting characters in the show. The first companion is a little boy, and a fox demon.

General comic relief, and 'Kawaii' factor. I will give Shippo credit, he's by far one of the least obnoxious 'brat' characters I've seen in anime, but really, only so-so as a character, though he has his moments.

Next comes a staple character in any Takahashi Anime, the lech. Miroku, the buddhist priest, has an interesting ability, and a semi-plausible tragic story. He grows into an acceptable male character as the series progesses, and...in point of fact, could easily have served as the lead. I'd watch it.

Then along comes Sango, my favorite, hands down. She's not 'too' anything, and she comes across believably and, frankly, appealingly as a girl who's been dealt an absolutely brutal hand by life, and manages to find the strength to pick up and move on, and eventually, build something out of what remains, to live on for. *Hides his 'Sango Fan Club' T-shirt*

Then you have an assortment of lesser characters. There's Kouga, who fights with Inuyasha to cover up his deep-seated insecurity over being born, tragically, with no pupils.

Sesshoumaru, He of the fangirls, who apparently shops with Sango, as they both wear the same color eyeliner. In fact, he looks like he should be taking orders from Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. All prettyboys with pointy ears look alike to this critic. >. >

Sesshoumaru is set up as something of a cold hearted badass, who has evidently been involved in some sort of altercation with the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" stars. Or perhaps he picked those clothes out himself. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Takahashi promptly shatters this image, by giving him a short, toad-like servant, named Jaken and there's definitely something going on there, In this critic's humble opinion. Perhaps some late night 'Toad-licking' goes on, if you catch this critic's drift. >.>

Anyway, a little later on, Sesshoumaru and his wife...ahem, excuse me, servant, pick up a daughter to add to their makeshift family, cute as a button, and roughly as intelligent. Rin is a later addition and further obliterates any trace of coolness left in Sesshoumaru as he and his...Whatever Jaken is...play parent to the derangedly cheerful child.

This, no doubt, will contribute to large therapy bills in the child's future. ("Tell me about your parents." "Well, my dad is a sexy bishounen, and my mom is this weird little toad thing...")

What's more, there's Kikyo, the formerly deceased Priestess who along with having mysterious ties to Inu-Yasha and Kagome, possesses a body made of, among other things, clay.

As you can imagine, this is a big time saver in the plastic surgery department. (*SPLAT* "Argh, I fell in the mud-Hey, D-cups!")

And numerous others, who this critic would recount here, but I simply do not have the patience-Space. I meant Space. "I simply do not have the space" Is what this critic meant. In any event, We are left with the questions that plagued us at the beginning, which are quite promenant, despite this critic being unable to remember what they are.

How does Inuyasha rate? 2.5 out of 5, in this critic's esteemed opinion. While the basics for a good anime are in place, the storytelling is somewhat inconsistent, and sacrifices plot to excessive dramatics, or out of place comedy, and just plain boring developments, like the *Censored*

Whoops, almost spoiled. Anyway, Inuyasha rates a solid average. Now, if you'll excuse this critic, I will be hiding in a bomb shelter from the fangirls.


*Runs off*

[StormDragon]

God, I loved your review.

[Merc]

"Sesshoumaru is so HOT!" the fangirls would say.

"Er...the guy with the makeup? Bah, he's gay." I'd reply.

"Kagome and Inuyasha are so cute together!" The fangirls would say.  

"They're just Ranma and Akane with makeovers," I'd smirk.

"BANG," The fangirls would say, shooting me in the forehead with a .45 caliber revolver. Then they'd walk off together, 'squee'ing over the bishounen of their choice. The fangirls don't take that kind of crap from anyone, and ESPECIALLY don't try to point out that if the bishounen were all making out with one another, Yaoi-style, the chance that they could have one of their own is statistically, quite small.

They are a scary bunch.

You forget to mention the oddity that for yaoi fangirls, the one gay character, Jakotsu, is often paired with girls. Aren't fangirls a twisted bunch?

Thanks, this critic needed that. Anyway, having made the decision, this critic aquired the anime, and sat down to watch. And within fifteen minutes of being completely enthralled by the first episode, this critic had an epiphany. this critic was watching the wrong anime. Yes, I'd put in my 'Scrapped Princess' disks by mistake. After a few hours, (Hey, it's GOOD.) this critic took them out, and Began to watch 'Inu-Yasha'.

I do hope that by "a few hours" you meant "enough hours to finish watching the whole damn show, because it's just that good" ^_^

Inuyasha is the timeless tale of a Japanese schoolgirl, and her quest to win the heart of a handsome warrior, and save the world from evil. No, Wait. That's  Escaflowne. The Schoolgirl in Inuyasha is in love with a dog-boy. Which, goes to show you, love is blind, and, in the case of Kagome Higurashi, possibly deaf as well.

See, this is where you should have made a crack about color-blindness ^_~

I will give Shippo credit, he's by far one of the least obnoxious 'brat' characters I've seen in anime, but really, only so-so as a character, though he has his moments.

I've actually found him -more- obnoxious than other brat characters.

Next comes a staple character in any Takahashi Anime, the lech. Miroku, the buddhist priest, has an interesting ability, and a semi-plausible tragic story. He grows into an acceptable male character as the series progesses, and...in point of fact, could easily have served as the lead. I'd watch it.

Who wouldn't? He rocks ^_^

Then along comes Sango, my favorite, hands down. She's not 'too' anything, and she comes across believably and, frankly, appealingly as a girl who's been dealt an absolutely brutal hand by life, and manages to find the strength to pick up and move on, and eventually, build something out of what remains, to live on for. *Hides his 'Sango Fan Club' T-shirt*

I think the only reason I'd have to get back on the anime or manga is to get the respective episode or chapter where Miroku proposes to Sango and the moments leading to it. She's a cool character.

Then you have an assortment of lesser characters. There's Kouga, who fights with Inuyasha to cover up his deep-seated insecurity over being born, tragically, with no pupils.

Kouga is also the Ryouga to IY's Ranma. The only reason "Ol' Bud" would care to make him a semi-regular character would be an obsession with a rivalry for Ranm, err, IY. I mean, c'mon, he fucking slaughtered a village, and he's just forgiven for this? So he lost most of his tribe, big fucking boohoo. That's karma.

And numerous others, who this critic would recount here, but I simply do not have the patience-Space. I meant Space. "I simply do not have the space" Is what this critic meant.

I really think you shoulda put some space for Jakotsu ^_^

[Bean Bandit]

You forget to mention the oddity that for yaoi fangirls, the one gay character, Jakotsu, is often paired with girls. Aren't fangirls a twisted bunch?

Word. >.>

I'm pretty sure this has to do with the obvious disdain he holds for women. It's a challenge, or something. ^^;

I do hope that by "a few hours" you meant "enough hours to finish watching the whole damn show, because it's just that good" ^_^

Most assuredly. >.> If I can think of a way to make it fun, I'll review that next. <.<

See, this is where you should have made a crack about color-blindness ^_~

=P

I will give Shippo credit, he's by far one of the least obnoxious 'brat' characters I've seen in anime, but really, only so-so as a character, though he has his moments.

I've actually found him -more- obnoxious than other brat characters.

Next comes a staple character in any Takahashi Anime, the lech. Miroku, the buddhist priest, has an interesting ability, and a semi-plausible tragic story. He grows into an acceptable male character as the series progesses, and...in point of fact, could easily have served as the lead. I'd watch it.

Who wouldn't? He rocks ^_^

Yeah, by the end, I was thinking along the same lines. Though frankly, he would have made an excellent villian. >.>

Then along comes Sango, my favorite, hands down. She's not 'too' anything, and she comes across believably and, frankly, appealingly as a girl who's been dealt an absolutely brutal hand by life, and manages to find the strength to pick up and move on, and eventually, build something out of what remains, to live on for. *Hides his 'Sango Fan Club' T-shirt*

I think the only reason I'd have to get back on the anime or manga is to get the respective episode or chapter where Miroku proposes to Sango and the moments leading to it. She's a cool character.

It wasn't bad, but I mantain she could do better. I mean, hey...the young lord seemed to think she was worth it...>.>

Then you have an assortment of lesser characters. There's Kouga, who fights with Inuyasha to cover up his deep-seated insecurity over being born, tragically, with no pupils.

Kouga is also the Ryouga to IY's Ranma. The only reason "Ol' Bud" would care to make him a semi-regular character would be an obsession with a rivalry for Ranm, err, IY. I mean, c'mon, he fucking slaughtered a village, and he's just forgiven for this? So he lost most of his tribe, big fucking boohoo. That's karma.

Yeah, well, Kouga heralds the beginning of Kagome bout of Akanisia...siding with the other guy, no matter how obnoxious a prick he is. @_@

And numerous others, who this critic would recount here, but I simply do not have the patience-Space. I meant Space. "I simply do not have the space" Is what this critic meant.

I really think you shoulda put some space for Jakotsu ^_^

>.> Maybe I will, if I can get through his episodes without cringing, sometime. <.<

Note: Added more to the character sections.

[kpjam]

Rocking good review, Bean.

[KLSymph]

Excellent review, very entertaining.

What's more, there's Kikyo, the formerly deceased Priestess who along with having mysterious ties to Inu-Yasha and Kagome, possesses a body made of, among other things, clay.

As you can imagine, this is a big time saver in the plastic surgery department. (*SPLAT* "Argh, I fell in the mud-Hey, D-cups!")

...

I'll honestly admit that I've never thought of it in those terms. o_o

[Music-chan]

I agree with everything...

Wait, no. Strike that. I disagree with most. =p  But then, I wouldn't be the Inuyasha-chan if I didn't.

At least I'm not a squeeling fangirl. ¬_¬