Inukami! The Movie: Tokumei Reiteki Sousakan Karina Shirou!

Perverts, giant robots and elephants, oh my!

It can only be Inukami!

Those of you who are familiar with the original series will know that Inukami! never does anything in the normal manner - not even parody. As a fan of the original series I looked forward to the movie and, aside from wishing it was longer (no pun intended), I wasn't disappointed. Inukami! returns with more elephants, mor manservice, more perverts, and more action.

I won't go into the details of the story as this only runs for around 30 minutes, and I don't want to spoil any surprises. Suffice to say that fans of the show ... will find this movie to be a great addition to the joy that is Inukami!, and that running around naked was never more cool or heroic. Whilst the story does have it's problems, it still manages to pack in everything that makes Inukami! "special"

As far as the art and animation go, the movie is on par with the series. The designs, characters, backgrounds, and animation are all very much the same asthey were in the main show. Fans will notice two changes though. The first is the inclusion of CG, especially the 3d elephants, and the second is that there are sometimes two elephants on display, and they're colour coded as well. For those of you who are confused by this statement, watch the movie and you'll understand.

The sound is, again, on par with the main series. Although the movie was released some months after the original show ended, the production quality has been maintained. The actors are just as funny as they were the first time around, the music is just as catchy, and the effects are just as well executed.

The one area where Inukami! excels is in the wealth of characters it has. All the stereotypes are here, and all have that twist that only seems to come with this show. A big plus for the series is the fact that Kawahira Keita is the king (that's right, the king), of ecchi comedy. He isn't a loser, or ugly, or misunderstood. He wears his heart on his sleeve (or he would if he could find some clothes), and is very much a "what you see is what you get" person (quite literally). Where most male leads would balk at hugging another man, Keita is happy to have a naked hug. Where most would try to cover up their voyeurism with excuses, Keita states his intentions with pride. Many folks would consider this to be very juvenile humour, however I find it refreshingly different to have a character who isn't hung up on things past or future, or burdened with various complexes.

In terms of enjoyment, I never stopped laughing from start to finish. I even went back and re-watched the main show afterwards as the movie gave me a hankering for more anime wrongness. The humour is very much in keeping with the series, however the movie tries to push the boundaries oftaste a lot more.

This isn't for everybody sadly. There are some out there who will find the humour childish or offensive. That said, if you're a fan of the original series, or of Gintama, Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu, Seto no Hanayome, or other comedies of that ilk, then Inukami! the movie is one to watch.

Those fateful words "try it, you might like it" were never more true.

After watching Inukami The Movie, I’m convinced there is no anime quite as “special” as Inukami. No other anime (at least, of the one’s I’ve watched or heard of) has ever made such prevalent use of elephants (and in such a unique way), no other anime has so much manservice instead of fanservice, and no other anime has made me laugh so hard.

Inukami! The Movie certainly does the anime series justice.

The movie opens with Karina dead, Keita missing, and a pervert extermination force roaming the city beating up and imprisoning random perverts. All hope lies in Keita, as he is the only one who can ... solve the mystery of Karina’s death and the sudden assaults on perverts.

On the outlook the plot seems cliché and perhaps uninteresting. But Inukami never really cared about plot. Character and sheer randomness are what carry this movie to awesomeness.

The Inukami girls are a lot cuter and more moe than in the anime series (especially Youko). I also have to admit, The Movie made Keita look quite cool; his fight scene with the exterminators towards the beginning of the movie was pretty sweet. Of course, The Movie also has Keita acting “cool” at the most random times. Even when he’s naked, he still puts on a hero face, voice, and pose.

Indeed, the randomness sprinkled throughout The Movie makes it so much more enjoyable. A few examples:
-3D Elephants (instead of the 2D ones of the regular anime).
-Karina has a Mona Lisa cover instead of an elephant cover.
-Engrish title screen.
-The priest who presided over Karina’s funeral is imprisoned by the pervert extermination force.
-Keita telling Youko that he’ll turn her into a pervert.
-A million Karina clones.
-A million Karin clones combining to form a mecha Karina.
-Karina and Keita hugging each other naked.

There are also quite a few references to popular anime; Furano thinks Karina died since she wrote his name in her Death Note, and one pervert cosplays as Nanoha. My favorite by far was of Sailor Moon, when the masochist from the regular anime series “magical girl transforms” into having bondage ropes tied around him. Best yet, when the exterminators beat him up, he screams “Ah, this feels so good!!!”

And of course, Inukami! The Movie would not be complete without manservice. Instead of obligatory boob shots, The Movie gives you a long shot of Keita’s elephant-censored butt. (On a side note, there is an actual fanservice-y scene in the beginning when Keita and the Inukami have an underwear party.)

In short…
Pros
-3D ELEPHANTS
-On the surface Inukami The Movie has a formulaic story, but Inukami really makes fun of it and manages to make it uniquely its own.
-And even if the story is cliché, it’s well knit. Keita uses the frog statue he wins at the beginning of the movie to defeat the mecha Karina at the end of the movie.
-Girls have a moe upgrade from the regular anime. (And the animation on a whole is a lot better than the anime’s)
-Several parodies—Death Note, Haruhi Suzmiya, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Sailor Moon, and Power Rangers, to name a few.
-Many random, laugh-out-loud moments.
-The Movie brings back the soundtrack of the anime and a couple of new, catchy songs.
-A pretty decent remix of the anime series’ ED.

Cons
-As I said, a formulaic story.
-I can only give Enjoyment a 10. The Movie deserves an 11.
-Definitely NOT for those who prefer serious anime.

Bottom Line
In the words of one of my good friends, “Inukami the Movie is best described as simply..Fuxing funny. You'll cry with laughter...and then you'll run out in your cul de sac butt-nekkid because to do so is now heroic.” And indeed, from the humongous 3D elephant on the title screen, to Keita and Karina’s romantic…err gar…elephant hug, Inukami! The Movie had me choking up with tears of laughter from beginning to end. If you watched the regular anime series, this is a movie you can’t miss!

Inukami! The Movie: Tokumei Reiteki Sousakan Karina Shirou! feels more like a regular episode than a standalone movie. With a runtime of around 30 minutes, it maintains the familiar pacing and storytelling style of the series it post-dates. The movie fails to contribute to or expand upon the series' conclusion, rendering it largely inconsequential. Aside from some fanservice, there's little incentive to watch the movie unless you were particularly drawn to the earlier episodes of the series. Inukami! The Movie: Tokumei Reiteki Sousakan Karina Shirou! does not stand on its own, and unless you are a fan of the original series, it's not worth a ... watch.