Story & Characters

Alright- so this is my very first review ever-- Because Inuyasha was pretty much my first anime ever. I'll try to be as neutral as I can, so please bear with me. And forgive any spelling mistakes- english is not my first language. All clear? Let's get this started :D :

Story and characters:

Story: So we've got a -as some videogames and the anime itself may call- feudal fairytale, in which the plot is simply to have our five main heroes find all the jewel shards that were scattered practically EVERYWHERE in feudal Japan, and kill the bad guy who managed to ruin pretty much everyone's life.
Although simple, that's pretty much it.
As dull as it may sound to people who aren't familiarized with the show, the story actually manages to flow around that pretty well, and manages to make the crowd sink into many emotional arcs in which we see the main characters gain new abilities, grow in a more emotional manner, become better, etc; which makes us also grow attached to the characters and wonder what will become of them when the story moves into the next arc- in a way, it makes you kind of eager to see what's next.
The problem, though, is that this particular story tends to take a little bit too long to flow. As in, they take, say, two whole seasons to find... around three to five shards of the jewel, when there are a lot yet to obtain, meanwhile the villian has more than half of the whole thing done already.
There's also the uncountable amount of fillers, which normally dwell around the heroes coming across random village#3435, help random person#454469 in whatever he/she needs help with, defeating random weak demo#5665465464, just to get about...two shards, at the most. And these proccess take about 2 to 4 chapters to take place. Not to mention the shards they do manage to obtain always get stolen or lost. Good grief...
Leaving that behind, here's what makes up for the anime's slowliness:

characters:
Inuyasha is a shonen anime/manga, so you get your typical clichés: A jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold hero, a damsell in destress teenage girl in sailor outfit for your leading lady, two cute mascots (both with magical powers, one who takes the form of a cute little boy) a perverted monk, and an action-girl. The difference is, they've ALL, even the demon-fox-boy, have very complex, natural personalities, and the way they get along with everyone is very real; you can easily get fond of everyone and choosing a favorite character can be difficult at times. The secondary characters can also manage to be like this- from Kaede to Koga, Kikyo, Seshomaru, etc- all of them have at least one human, enjoyable trait that makes them likeable.
It's very fun to see everyone's reactions to anything, and you can tell they all were made with a lot of emotion and thought...
Now, even Kagome and Kikyo, who are constantly picked on by the fans because of their situations with Inuyasha, can be understood when you get on their feet. Heck, Naraku also has a very human feeling to him; not to mention Kagura, and almost every other 'bad' guy we may come across during the series. The characters are very good.

General rating:

Rating: 7

Art

Alright...
The artwork is really good, seeing how this is a story based on an ancient Japan made in present time.You can tell there was research and hard work put into the backgrounds for Kagome and Inuyasha's respective eras- if we get to comparasion- I always find myself amazed (specially at the movies) by how pretty the Tree of Ages (goshinboku) is, and how simple and pretty Kagome's house/room is. I think though, most of the better artwork is put into feudal era's backgrounds, seeing how many times the main characters travel and witness various and different mountains, caves, villages, lakes, grassy landscapes, shots at the night sky; and it always seems so well-designed and natural.
As for character design, I like how everyone can be easily differed by his-her expressions; for example,even if Kagome once dressed up and put on even the same hairstyle as Kikyo, you could really easily tell them apart, because of the roundiness on her eyes, and the more youtful expression. What I mean is, everyone's face is done with specific cares, and that's to be liked. (this is an anime only thing. In the manga, I honestly see everyone having the same face. D: )
The only bad point is, though, how different everything looks every once in a while. Compare the first episode's art to the last, and you can tell all the diferences easily. And not only there- in the first two or three seasons, there were certain episodes in which everything looked a lot more handmade, or the noices were all pointy, and somewhere in the in-between, everyone looks rounder, or has bigger eyes, etc. And in the movies it's way more evident. Sometimes, if you compare scenes from the first to the second, you get the feeling that the animators were completely switched (they probably were, but I'm reviewing this field more from my perspective and things I know by memory).

Overall rating:

Rating: 9

Sound

Inuyasha's sound, overall, is impresive.

The OST's: What really amazes me, is how the OST's are made: instead of having concepts in mind while making the music, (for example, Fight Music!) they have the characters in mind. The main theme of the series is Inuyasha's theme: the masterpiece called 'Hanyou', which is an iconic melody that I can hapilly recall getting pumped about in childhood. The love theme was sometimes Kagome's theme (the hum version), the sad theme was Sango's or Kikyo's theme, etc...
Overall, the OST's amaze me on how they can manage, without actually plugging usual instruments, to move you with classy oldschool style that makes you really sink into the Feudal Japan theme. For example, all the percusions and flute-action on Hanyou always manage to send chills to my back.
If I dare-say, I think this anime's music was (the composer) Kaoru Wada's best work. In all the other animes I've seen his work, I can only think "Yeah, this is just a lower, softer Inuyasha OST". Meaning that this music is either too memorable, or the other animes just lack 'something' for Kaoru Wada.
Anyways, I'm getting out of track, so let's get to another big sound point:

Voice acting: So, I'll review the japanese version, to get on the easier path. I really like the voice acting here. There is a LOT of yelling and fighting, so the actors really do work it out a lot. My only complains are Miroku and Sango. (sorry, fans! n-n; ) Don't get me wrong; I adore them both, but I find them a bit...awkward. Sango sounds a bit out of place to be around 17-18, and gives me the impression of an adult voice- maybe I'm being picky, but that's what I think. As for Miroku, the same. He sounds a bit older than he should, and even though he handles the screaming and serious scenes just well, but he's also a comic character, and his serious voice doesn't really get to me when he's doing a funny scene. ("Will you bear my child?" for example, in japanese). But then again, that's me being picky again.
And then again there's Koga's voice... but let's leave that aside for now.
Overall, everyone else is very fitting and puts in the right emotions.

Overall rating:

Rating: 9

Presentation

I think with everything else reviewed, I gave out a pretty good idea on what I think about the presentation and show, in general. So just to sum it up:
-The show is enjoyable, but the long arcs and fillers can get tiring- it becomes a must-see when it follows well the manga storylines and gets to the serious stuff. The romance is to die for- You'll find yourself debating ships without realizing it.
-The concept of the story is well put, even if sometimes you kind of forget what's it really about due the laid-back-ness that some breather episodes tend to have.
-The humor is okay- not to burst out laughing, not to stay there with a blank face. The comedid timing is pretty good, even if it's repetitive. For example:
The 'sit!' (osuwari) can get old after a while, but you have to admit that once, even for a brief moment, you DO wish you could do that to anyone if they ever made you angry -also-, the classical 'Will you bear my child?' *sango slaps miroku or punches him with whatever's at hand* and *shippo's bratty comment of the day* are funny scenes that can get old, but not too fast. You kind of still enjoy or dislike them when you see them again.

(I hope the review was enjoyable/reliable! :) )

Rating:

Rating: 7

Final Verdict

7.6667 (good)

Reviewed by AnimeBubble, Jun 06, 2010

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