L;DR:
Watching Inuyasha makes me feel nostalgic. That’s something a lot of people who love Inuyasha will say; many people grew up watching this show on Adult Swim into the wee hours of the morning, and in this way Inuyasha is special to many people.
I am not one of those people.
But, Inuyasha has this special quality that makes it feel nostalgic. The first time I watched this show was semi-recently but I instantly felt a connection. It wasn’t necessarily because the show was outstanding, mind you. But something- be it the music, dubbing, the characters, the animation, something about it gave such a nostalgic quality. Something made me see this anime and go, “Ah. It’s a classic”
And honestly, it is a classic. It was also my first introduction to the Rumiko Takahashi, the mangaka who I would go on to become a huge fan of.
So, review time. I'll break it up like this.
(BEWARE OF SPOILERS!) I'll try to keep them to a minimum but you might see a few.
TALKING STORY
Inuyasha's plotline is basic in concept, as it follows a pretty standard shonen formula. I will be honest, though, it got a little difficult for me to really keep tabs on everything going on towards the latter parts of the show. That may just be my fault, though, as I often would put Inuyasha on as a background show to watch during homework or video games. Even if the show is "formulaic," I still think it has its own merits. For instance, Rumiko Takahashi, queen of the romance comedy, crafted a great romance plot. And as romance-filled as the show is, it's also a darn good shonen. The action scenes, to my plebeian eyes, seemed well done and easy to follow (I can sometimes get lost during action scenes so this is a big thing for me). There's a clear goal for the characters to aim for, and it's set up in a way that allows for a lot of different plot lines to converge. Even the filler wasn't too bad for the most part. Storywise, Inuyasha has something for everyone. Good action, solid romance, interesting villains and demons, some good comedic elements, and the Feudal Japan setting is extremely atmospheric.
You do have to suspend your disbelief to watch this show. Like, how Kagome's sailor uniform which she for some reason wears is always clean? Or the logistics of managing life between two worlds? There's a lot of little things to pick apart here, but honestly, I didn't think about it too much (and usually I always am!).
CHARACTERS
I really liked the character designs in Inuyasha. A good way to tell if a character design is good is to look at a silhouette of the character, and see how iconic it is. For example, if I saw a silhouette of the main cast, it would be easy to pick apart who is who. The colors work well for the most part. About the characters themselves, they're all likable and have their own motives and backstories. There was never a moment where I went "that doesn't seem like something they would do/say". Sometimes Kagome can get annoying, but I also don't really blame her. Every character trope is filled, but not in an obvious or shoehorned way.
BANGER SOUNDTRACK
It is a banger. All of the openings are jammable (never once skipped!). Side note, if you watch on Netflix, they for some reason didn't include the opening "Change the World" which is the best and most iconic one. So please, please, listen to that if you plan on watching via Netflix. The background music is also awesome. The lullabies make me cry every time, too, and "To Love's End" was the first melody I learned for the piano. I listen to the complete soundtrack on Spotify all the time while doing homework. Good stuff.
CONTROVERSIALLY, I LIKE THE DUB
When I was first getting into anime, that was around the time I started Inuyasha, too. At this point of my weeb journey I generally liked to watch dubs instead, simply because it was easier to multitask that way. I do think that the dub was well casted, and though it might not be objectively on the same level as dubs such as Death Note, it is certainly packed full of charm. A few things are off about the dub, like how the pronunciation of characters' names range from alright to downright cringey, or how the reusing of voice actors is extremely obvious when multiple minor characters have the same voice. But there was a pretty good cast, some notable voices include: Inuyasha, Sesshomaru (very hot voice... am I allowed to say that?), Sango and Miroku, and even Shippo. I was iffy about Kagome's voice at first but once I got used to it, I think she actually encapsulated her pretty well.
Also, I listened to many clips of the original audio and it sounds great! I definitely foresee myself rewatching the show in the future with the sub.
BONUS: DRINKING GAME
This part here is a little joke, but this seems a good place to write about a few frustrating parts of the show, namely, certain tropes and scenes that were repeated over the course of the show to an extremely noticeable point. If you're feeling brave, maybe try and take a shot every time one of these things comes up.
- Inuyasha and Kagome screaming each others' names
- an illusion in which a character is placed into a non-real world
- Kagome getting kidnapped/held hostage
- Kikyo falling off a cliff
- Character being put under trance and then, by power of sheer will/friendship/love manage to break out of the trance. Likely followed by a villain saying "How are you awake? Impossible!"
- Inuyasha becoming full demon and only being able to be brought back by Kagome
~Thank you for reading my review!~
