Great taste, less fillers

// Synopsis: Kagome is a vivacious 15 year old high school girl. One day she gets sucked into a well of a temple and finds herself in the feudal era of Japan. Fate brings her to the half demon Inuyasha and a band of demon slayers. Together they pursue the evil demon Naraku who seeks to assemble all of the shards of a mystical jewel and thus gain ultimate power.

// Review: This series has the essence of classic anime: demons and hot girls. All that is missing are giant robots. I had a lot of fun with Inuyasha. I normally hate dubbed anime, but I found that in many ways I enjoyed Cartoon Network’s version over the subs.

/ This series could’ve easily been 100 episodes and 2 movies shorter. Filler episodes that deviate from the main storyline are entertaining if they are used for character development in my opinion. But most of the fillers were forgettable rabbit trails. It got old when Inuyasha would just whip out his ultimate move over and over again. It became formulaic and predictable. But after the first 100 episodes it starts to rock big time with a new story arc. I felt like episodes 1-140 were building up to this enormous Armageddon-battle royal with their arch-nemesis. And then…the series just ends. 167 freaking episodes, 50+ hours, 4 seasons, and they don’t have the time to conclude the story? It’s like I’m being beaten over the head with Inuyasha’s over-sized sword to read the manga. After all of that time the characters really grow on you, but sadly Inuyasha and Kagome are the only characters that really evolve at all.

// Wrap up: Despite its commercial sell out by stringing out the series, I recommend this title. The music is engaging and makes for nice j pop ear candy. The animation is solid. Don’t expect the movies to progress the story. You have to read the manga. But Inuyasha makes for entertaing anime for anyone new to the genre.

Entertainment rating: 3