Here's a Review and Analysis of Inayusha before you begin Yashahime in October
- Jatin Thukral
- Sep 25, 2020
- 4 min read
Yashahime: Princess Half Demon is right around the corner having been announced by AniOne on September 12th with a trailer released on its official Facebook page. Yashahime has been in talks for being the spin-off anime series of popular anime series “Inuyasha”. So before you begin watching Yashahime: Princess Half Demon on AniOne this October, here is a quick introduction and a brief review of Inuyasha.
Introduction and Storyline –
Inuyasha was an early 2000s shonen anime show based on its manga of the same name. Inuyasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi (Ramna ½) The anime consisted of episodes summing up to nearly 200 episodes with 4 full-length feature films. The Anime first ran from 2000 to 2004 and returned for a final act come-back series which ran from 2009 till 2010. Anime had a mixed response from both critics and viewers.
The story followed a teenage girl Kagome Higurashi who lived in a shrine in Tokyo, Japan who is magically and mysteriously transported to older Japan in ‘Feudal Era’. Upon getting on the other side, she encounters a half-demon and gives birth to an awkward romantic relationship with him. They fought other powerful demons and enemies throughout their run. While fighting demons, the unofficial couple is in search of 99 shards (parts) of a massive precious jewel that originally somehow broke down into 99 shards.
Review and Analysis –
Inuyasha garnered popularity of its time when it released along with heavy criticism of its absurdly told story and forgettable episodes. Although the shonen anime based on the manga of its own episodic nature, anime had a lot of filler episodes that were not included in the manga, only to increase the length of the show run. Inuyasha had its share of criticism, but it still comes out as an enjoyable show, especially for its time when shows were majorly produced and created for the audience for utter entertainment and the storyline was often compromised.
Kagome Higurashi is an everyday teenage girl whose life completely changed when she accidentally falls into a well on her family property and gets transported to feudal Japan. She finds her ancient identity and supposedly her purpose to this life. She meets Inuyasha, a half-demon and forms a friendly bond with him which eventually turned into a romantic angle for both of our main characters.
Inuyasha is in his own efforts to become a full-time demon and get rid of his half demon-half boy identity. Show creators gave him the regular character arc with seemingly ordinary back-story and typical image of a millennial boy. He is constantly bothered by not knowing Kagome’s original identity. These two share a healthy run with bits and pieces of fights and humour along the way and form up a nice bond which seems fresh and congenial to the viewers of that time.
This show had well animated and choreographed action scenes, but since the plot was highly episodic and didn’t quite hold hands with the continuous action which felt like a rough ride to adjust at times. The storytelling adopted by the showrunners is majorly repetitive and follows similar arcs and scenes again and again making viewers often losing interest in the show. On top of it, the awkward relationship between a teenage girl from today’s Tokyo and a half-demon boy from ancient Japan presents you with some aimless and unproductive romantic scenes. The amount of side characters with very little to do in the show and all with somewhat tragic backstories made the show even more baffled. With so many characters and so less content for them do, it made the show a forgettable one. All the characters grow as the show proceeds but they didn’t have a proper stand anywhere in the show. There’s Sango, a demon hunter. Sango is a sole character that was loved by everyone who watched the show, basically for the coolness of her character and her companion, Kirara, a giant cat. Sango’s boomerang kills of demons also added to her character’s likeability.
With its circular, lagging progress in the story, one would only require to watch one or two arcs for getting the overall idea of the show. Alongside these criticisms, comes the colourful animation which children and teenagers of its time really enjoyed.
Inuyasha films didn’t present much either. The third film would stand ahead of the rest of them. The rest of the films feel as pointless as the show itself and therefore, adds nothing to its already mundane outlook.
Conclusively, if you want to just casually watch an anime show without worrying about paying enough attention and to enjoy a gentle story with easy-going animation, this is the show for you. These series have some epic moments in store for you, and people who have yet to watch this show can enjoy watching it. Those who are planning to watch Yashahime: Princess Half Demon on AniOne this coming October, Inuyasha is the show they must watch first.
Tags:
Comments