Jei

It was fun for a minute…

I am writing this review after having watched the first 19 episodes and then slowly petered out.

Story

The story in itself had so much promise. It followed a similar trope to the original Inu Yasha series where the main characters must collect something in order to achieve a greater goal and stop “the big bad”. The underlying story concept is there, but the dialogue and general writing felt weak and perhaps a bit outdated. I really struggled to maintain interest and focus until I eventually just stopped watching entirely. The entire thing gave me a fanfiction vibe, which I guess would be valid considering the original creator Takahashi Rumiko had nothing to do with the creation of the sequel.

Animation

Like I mentioned before, this show feels as though its trying to mirror the original series, and that goes with the animation style as well. Aspects of it are cleaner and crisper with new technology. However, nothing “wowed” me to give it a higher score.

Sound

The BGM was very nostalgic and was nice to hear and added to the whole experience as an Inu Yasha fan. The opening and ending songs were also wonderful and fit the overall theme of the anime

Characters

(Potential spoilers ahead)

When I heard that the series was going to be following Sesshoumaru’s children, I was extremely excited. However, I personally couldn’t connect with them and felt they were a bit annoying at times. This could be because of the tropes that were pushed on them. The overprotective older sister and the more-than-capable-but-stubbornly-aloof younger sister. Given the circumstances that they grew up in, I understand why their personalities are they way they are, but it felt flat to me.

Instead, I fell in love with Moroha, the daughter of Inu Yasha and Kagome-- but who was raised by Koga and Ayane and it SHOWS! If you are watching the show in Japanese, you may think that Moroha’s mannerisms mirror that of Inu Yasha, but upon closer inspection it more closely resembles Koga. I thought that was a super fun quirk to her personality while not letting it /define/ her entire existence. She still acted like a young, lonely girl struggling to make her way in the world, and just wants to stick with her family.

The cameos for the original cast are what honestly kept me watching for as long as I did. They were very fun to see, but would maybe feel awkward to those who never watched the original series.

Overall

I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would, as an original Inu Yasha fan. It could be that my tastes have changed, or perhaps the show was relying too much on the original series. Regardless, I would encourage fans of the original series to give it a try before shutting it down completely.