I was introduced to Inuyasha by my friend when I was in elementary school (year 4) on Animax. I used to watch other things on Animax, but I had never watched Inuyasha and had merely passed it off as "meh, i don't think I'll like it" until she persuaded me to watch it.
How wrong a half-assed judgement can be.
I started watching it and I wasn't able to stop. Inuyasha filled all my days and nights and it was the only thing I could think about. I even forged a makeshift tetsusaiga from thermocol and waved it around in front of the TV. I was entirely in love with this anime.
Okay, now let me get to the point. Kanketsu-Hen has the reviews it deserves (it is absolutely brilliant!), but there are people who won't watch it because of how the first season turned out. Okay, now, in the first season's defense - the manga was still going on at that time (beyond a whopping 300+ chapters at that!) so I don't blame the studio for going entirely off-track and feeding the TV slot times with fillers, fillers and more fillers. Eventually it was dropped with a disappointing end (understatement) and we waited and waited and waited for a conclusive ending.
And years later, determined not to be forgotten, Kanketsu-Hen began its airing on TV. And jesus-f*cking christ, was it GOOD!
I won't elaborate on Kanketsu-hen too much here, but I have a few words I'd like to say on why this anime is different from what you'll think it is just by looking at it. Here goes.
A few episodes of Inuyasha will give people the idea that the show has no depth. A hot tempered half-demon, a selfless and kind main heroine from another era, a gang of quirky characters, lots of evil villains, and the "REVENGE!" theme surrounding the entire plot in yellow ticker tape... yeah, it sounds so cliche, and average.
WRONG.
If you really watch Inuyasha, you'll realize that there is in fact, a LOT of depth to the series. The characters have real feelings, real worries and real emotions. Love is portrayed in all its complexity - just like how love is. There's no black and white throughout, plenty of patches of grey are present. The show is as real as a show can ever be.
Mindless fights and lots of unnecessary repeated fight scenes, not to mention the fillers that dragged the show to the end of the cliff in season 1, these are some of the reasons that push people away from watching the final season.
Here's my advice to you. Give Kanketsu hen a chance. You lose nothing.
I assure you that you'll be mind blown.
Ah one point before I end. The music. I cannot finish this review without mentioning the music. As i already have a weakness for feudal era Japan (started by.... yes, Inuyasha xD) the music, i found, was priceless. And I mean the soundtrack of the anime, built in through the scenes. Kaoru Wada is a genius.
I'm 19 years old today, I've spent my entire childhood watching this amazing series, and again this year on repeat, and there is no feeling similar to the one I get when I listen to Soutanshi.
Thank you for reading this review.
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