Inuyashiki (Inuyashiki: Last Hero)

Ichirou Inuyashiki is a 58-year-old family man who is going through a difficult time in his life. Though his frequent back problems are painful, nothing hurts quite as much as the indifference and distaste that his wife and children have for him. Despite this, Ichirou still manages to find solace in Hanako, an abandoned Shiba Inu that he adopts into his home. However, his life takes a turn for the worse when a follow-up physical examination reveals that Ichirou has stomach cancer and only three months to live; though he tries to be strong, his family's disinterest causes an emotional breakdown. Running off into a nearby field, Ichirou embraces his dog and weeps—until he notices a strange figure standing before him.

Suddenly, a bright light appears and Ichirou is enveloped by smoke and dust. When he comes to, he discovers something is amiss—he has been reborn as a mechanized weapon wearing the skin of his former self. Though initially shocked, the compassionate Ichirou immediately uses his newfound powers to save a life, an act of kindness that fills him with happiness and newfound hope.

However, the origins of these strange powers remain unclear. Who was the mysterious figure at the site of the explosion, and are they as kind as Ichirou when it comes to using this dangerous gift?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Inuyashiki

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Characters & Voice Actors

Inuyashiki, Ichirou

Main

Kohinata, Fumiyo
Japanese

Shishigami, Hiro

Main

Murakami, Nijirou
Japanese

Trump, Donald

Supporting

Fleming, Bill
Japanese

Watanabe, Shion

Supporting

Morohoshi, Sumire
Japanese

Inuyashiki, Mari

Supporting

Uesaka, Sumire
Japanese

Andou, Naoyuki

Supporting

Hongo, Kanata
Japanese

Inoue, Fumino

Supporting

Kanemoto, Hisako
Japanese

Samejima

Supporting

Kuroda, Takaya
Japanese

Shishigami, Yuuko

Supporting

Katou, Yuuko
Japanese

Kawai

Supporting

Reimi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ootsuka, Manabu

Producer

Matsumoto, Miho

Producer

Masuda, Katsuhito

Producer

Yabuta, Shuuhei

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"My Hero" by MAN WITH A MISSION

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Ending Theme

"Ai wo Oshiete Kureta Kimi e (愛を教えてくれた君へ)" by Qaijff (クアイフ)

Reviews

Dec 21, 2017

Stark700

Recommended

July, 2000. A man named Hiroya Oku revealed to the world with his skills through his infamous sci-fi, horror Gantz. The manga ran over 300 chapters and ended in 2013. It was a time when the man really made a name of himself in the manga community. An anime adaptation aired between April and November 2004. That was over a decade ago. Now, the man has made this new work called Inuyashiki, a title that honestly piqued my interest more than I had expected. However, did it really live up to the hype?

To be clear, Inuyashiki has nothing to do with Gantz or in fact ... any way similar. However, it’s clear from day one that the author wanted the viewers to experience something memorable. Through his craft, it is accomplished with our two main guys – titular character Ichiro Inuyashiki and the sociopath Hiro Shishigami. I don’t want to jump the gun here but these two characters are on complete antithesis of each other; like two sides of a coin, ying and yang.

After a certain mysterious incident from the first episode, we find out that Ichiro and Hiro develops mysterious powers that could change mankind forever. This show establishes the two characters from the first two episodes through their actions and personality. Ichiro is portrayed as a timid old man who has a hard time making friends. However, it’s shown that he has a heart of gold and works to help others. He puts others besides himself and often takes high risks with calculated chance. On the other hand, there’s Hiro. To put it simply, this guy is a sociopath that walks as a demon in human form. He appears to be kind and respectful but his true personality is much more complex as viewers soon discover. Throughout the show, it’s easy to see that he has a God-like complex of himself. He uses his powers to kill others simply for the thrill and because he can. It’s not entirely known how he developed his personality but a look at his storytelling in relation to his family and school life may have attributed to this. However, Hiro is not entirely devoid of humanity. It’s shown that he deeply cares about his mother and also had a friend named Andou that he occasionally defends from bullies. Later on in the series, Hiro also meets a girl who harbors feelings for him that he grew to accept. That being said, I think Hiro represents the worst of humanity. Through his killings, Hiro confesses that he “never felt so alive” while he does so. In other words, Hiro kills with little reason besides to feel.

The creator of the series obviously tries to get viewers to feel something and to be honest, it works. From the first few episodes, it’s intriguing to see the storytelling from both sides. While both Hiro and Ichiro uses violence, they use it for completely different reasons. While Hiro feels alive through killing, Ichiro feels alive through saving others. It’s actually quite relatable too to our today’s society. There are these type of people living in our world. Psychopaths exists and so do heroes. You probably hear about them on the news every day. However, Hiro makes the news for the wrong reasons and it becomes clear that he wants to experiment with his powers and show off his God complex. While this all seems like nonsensational drama, it does actually does work as the show is able to use its violence to full effect. From police massacre to destruction of aircrafts, it gives his insight on what Hiro is truly capable of and how far he goes to prove his point. Additionally, this show also adds a bit of dark humor through the usage of 2chan and other social media drama. My experience from this show made me realize that Hiro and Ichiro really shows what humans are capable of when they are given powers beyond the natural law of order. Ichiro proves that he can use powers to great responsibility to save others and it can be inspiring.

Character relationships throughout the show can be taken in several ways. Hiro’s relationships can elicit various emotions such as with his mother, Andou, and Shion. They are people he actually cares about although as the story progresses, circumstances begins to change. For Ichiro, I honestly feel sorry for him. The closest friend he has is his dog. He has an ill relationship with his family and even his daughter doesn’t seem to respect him. However, I will say that Ichiro is a man of integrity. Even at age 58, he hopes to make a difference in his world after developing his powers. He accepts them like a God’s blessing rather than using it as a weapon. Unfortunately, I can’t say other character relationships in this show is well developed. I can’t really find Shion or Andou memorable at all throughout the series and they hardly influence my enjoyment. On the other hand, the manga itself is well adapted with even references alluding to other manga such as One Piece. I can safely say that the overall tone of the psychology remains impactful. While the show can come off as edgy at times through its violence, it really knows how to use them.

Adapted by studio MAPPA, Inuyashiki’s quality is about as good as it can get. The first few episodes showed that it has the capability of handling CGI. Character designs are also really interesting to take note that shows the frail innocence of Ichiro and deceptive handsomeness of Hiro. The overall setting of Tokyo remains consistent with our modern time. However, what’s really to take notice is the action and violence. To be clear, the violence is over the top especially in later episodes. There’s massive amounts of blood, body parts being blown off, and gunfights. There’s little censorship so expect it to be thrown right to your face. On the other hand, it’s unfortunate to say but I think MAPPA overestimated itself this year. In later episodes, some of the quality suffers such as the flight scenes and pure action movements.

Visually aesthetic and extravagant in style, Inuyashiki’s OP song “My Hero” by MAN WITH A MISSION is among one of the most memorable of the year. The overall tone and just the imagery itself is filled with creativity and hard to duplicate. However, the voice mannerism of the characters can be a mixed bag. It took me some time to accept Hiro’s voice as his personality became easier to understand. Ichiro’s voice is that of an old man and even harder to accept. The OST is moody although can be emotional at the appropriate times or eerie when impactful events happen.

Inuyashiki turned out to be quite an experience to be honest. From the very first episodes, I was hooked by what it had to offer and the characters were well worth investing into. It didn’t feel like a “good vs evil” generic story as we explore the depths of human psychology. While I can’t say this anime is recommendable to anyone, it will be one to remember for years to come. A show like Inuyashiki proves that psychological sci-fi fillers are still a draw in the anime world.

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Dec 21, 2017

DarthInvader

Mixed Feelings

*Minimum Spoiler DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA!!! Review*
TL;DR: No, this is not a Inuyasha remake. It's your typical Japanese Shounen version of "Breaking Bad" but with good vs evil mindless sci-fi that makes you question, who would win? Some edgy teenager or some wholesome grandpa! Oh there is also Anime Trump!
[Story: 7/10 , Characters: 5/10, Art: 4/10, Sound: 6/10, Enjoyment: 8/10]

"So, you're telling me... I'm the villain?" - Hiro Shishigami

Inuyashiki is your classic psychological sci-fi anime, by the visionary mangaka, Hiroya Oku (GANTZ), where the core idea explores the juxtaposition of two ideologies centered around a single question: "What makes a person "human"? Especially when that person used to ... be a human but after a slight alteration with Aliens, they are nothing more than a reconstruction of themselves out of spare parts. This anime is a bit twisted at times when looking at humans moral ethics and at times ludicrous with its out of character "bang bang" fight sequences. However, it is enjoyable to watch albeit its questionable CGI animations and over the top finger banging skills. Regardless, if you don't mind watching a mindless yet mind-tickling sci-fi action flick, then just watch it. The story in a nutshell is about a shunned Grandpa, Inuyashiki, who dies by alien crash, gets resurrected as a machine with all of his feelings intact and serves justice. Little does he know, the same fate happens to Shishigami but instead of serving justice he commits mass murder. The interesting part of the story is that they both have the exact same power and limitations however one feels humanly emotions from saving people and the other from killing people. This very simple good vs evil setup helps us explore and enjoy the show rather than getting caught up in a convoluted ambiguous melodramatic plot drama. The story is edgy and real to an extent that you can sort of question yourself, "well, if I don't know them, do their lives really matter to me." Regardless, the story is adapted pretty well by Studio MAPPA and has a solid ending. Whether it is good or bad that's for you to decide.

"He isn't Hiro anymore. He is just a killing machine." - Naoyuki Andou

The fun part about this anime are the characters. They main two characters Inuyashiki and Shishigami are polar opposites of each other. They are juxtaposed so well that each of them become foils for one another. You have the morally ethical eponymous protagonist, Inuyashiki, on one end of the spectrum and then you have the chaotic unethical eponymous antagonist, Shishigami, on the other end of the spectrum. Best part is, they don't really realize if they are the typical "hero" or "villain" till half-way through the anime. The side characters aren't too well developed other than Andou, who is best friends with both Shishigami and Inuyashiki and acts as the control variable or represent the viewer evaluating the decisions of both. In a way, it just makes this unrealistic sci-fi anime more realistic and grounded to our society.

"I want you to spend the rest of your lives thinking about the people you’ve hurt and the lives you’ve ruined.” - Ichiro Inuyashiki

Aside from the linear plot and polar opposite characters, for a studio like MAPPA, the CGI animation didn't really live up to its expectation as the show progressed from the first few episodes. By the end, the CGI animations in the fight sequences seemed choppy and some frames were noticeably poorly drawn. If they maintained the quality throughout, this show could've been even better. However, the OP Song "My Hero" and the ED song "Ai wo Oshiete Kureta Kimi e" were really suited for this anime. They are fun to listen to over and over again. The background score was pretty decent. However, since this anime did deals with death a lot, maybe more violin background scores could've enhanced the show. Lastly, the seiyuus did a great job. They made every character feel important. The seiyuu for Inuyashiki was spot on. Kudos to him.

"Anyway, did you hear? There are already 10 fan clubs for Shishigami" - A mindless chick from the anime.

Overall, Inuyashiki is your typical mind-tickling sci-fi anime about two people with the same power but different goals; where one feels alive when saving lives and the other feels alive by taking lives. Sure it deals with some moral ethical dilemmas however it's a show meant to not be taken itself too seriously. If you prefer serious psychological shows, then Parasyte is what you are looking for. Nevertheless, If you don't mind mishandled CGI animation and want a good laugh by watching a kickass Grandpa, then definitely give this show a watch. Let me know later how you like it as well as share with me your favourite quote from the anime! Bang!

P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!

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Dec 21, 2017

LIQfilms

Not Recommended

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s a flying Grandpa!

Perhaps it’s rather counter-intuitive to even mention this, considering how much we actively consume as fans of this medium, but anime is… strange. It’s a medium in which vigorously seems to try and go against societal norms; a medium not afraid to cover taboo or heavy topics such as incest or depression, and covers such a myriad of different ideas and themes that if someone were looking for something incredibly specific from a piece of media, they’d probably find their incredibly niche want within anime. This is the main reason why I choose ...

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