InuYasha (2000–2005)
"Inuyasha" (original title)

A teenage girl periodically travels back in time to feudal Japan to help a young half demon recover the shards of a orb of great power.

Creator:

Rumiko Takahashi

Stars:

Moneca Stori, Richard Ian Cox, Kirby Morrow

Cast

Series cast summary:
Moneca Stori	...	Kagome Higurashi (164 episodes, 2000-2005)
Richard Ian Cox	...	InuYasha (163 episodes, 2000-2005)
Kirby Morrow	...	Miroku (156 episodes, 2001-2005)
Kelly Sheridan	...	Sango (148 episodes, 2001-2005)
Candice Moore	...	Kaede (English version) (120 episodes, 2000-2005)
Russell Wait	...	Koga (English version) (120 episodes, 2000-2005)
Andrea Kwan	...	Kikyo (Animax Asia dub) (95 episodes, 2000-2005)
Darren Pleavin	...	InuYasha (95 episodes, 2000-2005)
Kappei Yamaguchi	...	Inuyasha (67 episodes, 2000-2004)
Satsuki Yukino	...	Higurashi Kagome (67 episodes, 2000-2004)

Storyline

Kagome Higurashi is a 15 year old schoolgirl who lives at a history-filled Japanese shrine. She is also the reincarnation of an ancient priestess named Kikyo, who guarded the sacred Shikon no Tama (Jewel of Four Souls), and who sealed away the half-demon Inuyasha who had tried to steal the jewel in order to become a full demon. Kikyo died of her wounds and had the jewel burned with her body. Kagome is one day pulled into the ancient well on her family's shrine and thrown into the past, 50 years after Kikyo's death. She befriends Kaede, the late Kikyo's sister, who realizes Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation. They are attacked, and learn that Kagome has the Shikon no Tama, but it's actually inside her body! Kagome accidentally awakens the dog-demon Inuyasha, and frees him after the jewel has been ripped from her body. Now Inuyasha wants the jewel back, but Kagome can't let him have it. He is forced (by Kaede's magic) to wear a necklace that allows Kagome to control him with one word, "Sit...

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Plot Keywords:

jewel | demon | reincarnation | priestess | well | 

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Taglines:

Attack of the demon rats!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Sunrise [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

31 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

InuYasha

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (YTV), Sunrise

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 min 24 min (167 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kaede is Japanese for "Maple Tree".

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Quotes

Miroku: Life itself is a frightening image for every human being... being strong in life isn't easy.

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Connections

Spin-off Inuyasha the Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Shinjitsu no Uta"
("True Song")
Written, Composed, Arranged and Performed by Dai Nagao, Tomiko Van and Ryo Owatari (as Do As Infinity)
Closing Theme: Episodes 86-108

User Reviews

Awesome show!

If you liked Ranma 1/2, it is safe to say that you'd most likely enjoy InuYasha. Based off of the manga of the same title by Takahashi Rumiko, this is the tale of the half-demon Inuyasha and his companions Kagome, Miroku (aka: Houshi-sama), Sango, Shippou, and sometimes Myouga the youkai flea (more in the earlier season than later ones) as they search for the shards of the Shikon no Tama (Jewel of Four Souls), then hunt for the demon Naraku.

The series is a juvenile one, but not offensively so. I really enjoy the epic nature of the series. There are the standard "filler" episodes, but there are long stretches where the story just presses on. The writers often don't feel pressed to end the story withing the 30-minute format and so a certain tale can go on for a few episodes. Filler episodes are used to allow the viewers (and the writers) to catch their breath before plunging in again. But in recent episodes (starting at the late 90's into the 110's), the stories have dragged much longer than they should, just to extend things (IMO). However, things have improved with the current season in Japan. The fun filler episodes are back, but then the action episodes are more like the early season's in nature rather than last season. So my enjoyment has gone back up this year (2004).

Characters are another nice touch to this series. Characters are allowed to grow to a certain degree though relationships don't grow beyond a certain point. I would have liked to have seen Sango and Miroku do more at being a couple rather than just eyeing each other. That may have been fixed in episode 132. Also, I would like the writers to advance the Kagome/Inuyasha romance and we may see that this season. The other problem is that after a while, Inuyasha becomes the only character to do anything. Everyone else just stands around looking stupid rather than jump in and try to help. I hear that it will get better (based on the manga apparently) so I keep my fingers crossed.

The English dub is pretty well done, though the show felt a tad more juvenile in English than it did in Japanese. The DVD subtitles aren't to great, so if you are used to the excellent job done by the fansubbers (Anime-Kraze), you'll be in for some disappointments.

Bottom line: Nicely drawn and interesting characters & good (and sometimes humorous) writing make this otherwise juvenile series very enjoyable to watch.