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Inuyasha: The Final Act | 1 - Naraku's Heart
So the subbed episodes of the anime are up, both at Hulu and Shonen Sunday. I was able to watch it commercial-free at Hulu (guess I got back to the States just in time, LOL) and it was a pretty action-packed ride! Its nice to see everything animated again, and it'll be interesting to see how much of the story they cut and/or simplify.
I guess it's what we expected, considering only 26 episodes were ordered, in order to cover 21 volumes (approx 210 chapters) of manga. Even with the filler arcs, that's still shaving it mighty close to still include all the important stuff.
So I went and had a look ~ they skipped the medicine seller arc altogether (Chapters 357-358) and started with material from Chapter 359, "Hitoukon," where the little youkai that overpowers hosts is introduced in the form of a mountain dog. In the anime, Kohaku deals with this demon himself, with no help/intervention from the Inutachi, and he catches up to Kagura, to have the discussion of the location of Naraku's heart that's covered in chapter 368. The actual death of Goryoumaru is related to the Inutachi via a heated discussion between Kagura and Hakudoshi, instead of the way it was depicted in approximately five chapters of the manga, where both the Inutachi and Sesshoumaru fought with the newly transformed Mouryoumaru. The episode covers the betrayal and death of Hakudoshi, and leads directly into the end of Kagura's fate.
I was actually pretty impressed with the first episode, even if they did condense and simplify ten chapters of manga action into 24 minutes of playtime. The animation is reminiscent of the movies instead of the first anime, which has its strong and weak points. I liked the animation of Kagura's dance of blades (very impressive), and the adamant barrage attack, but the rest seemed a bit stilted, in the style of the movies. I was surprised and pleased to see at least a cameo from every major character in the series (the only one who didn't have any face time was Kaede), and splices of daily life from both the modern and feudal eras. We saw Naraku's group first, then Kagome's friends at her school, which lead to a LOL-worthy cut to Sesshoumaru's group (poor, put-upon Jaken!), and finally back to the reunited Inutachi. Even Koga and Kikyo had moments of action against Mouryoumaru. Instead of a dreaded "catch-up" episode, the second anime jumped right back into the story, so glossing over as much as they did feels a bit more forgivable.
It appears the next episode will be Kagura's death (and Koga's fight for the gorashi, which is being subbed as "Lightning Claws"), and the scenes we've seen via the preview here and the longer-cut preview at Shonen Sunday make me think its really going to be a good one! Goodness knows they spent most of this episode trying to redeem Kagura and make her sympathetic o.O But, Kagura's death means more facetime for Sesshoumaru, so you won't hear any complaints from this department :D Maybe it will breathe a bit more life into that ship, as the modern-day scenes from this episode will delight those Inu/Kag fans.
All in all, this was pretty good ~ if they can stay away from packing 10 chapters' worth of storyline into an episode, then I like the chances of seeing my favorite arcs coming to life: the Hell arc (with SessMom OMG!!!!!), Kikyo's death, Bakusaiga, and the rebirth of Hiraikotsu...before the big showdown. *fingers crossed*
Of the new opening/ending, I like the ending better - the song is pretty fast-paced, and it chronicles all of the important relationships between the characters in the story, starting with the brothers and ending with the red thread of destiny, tying Inuyasha and Kagome together. That was a magnificent piece of animation IMO, and here's hoping it'll be attached to most of the episodes!
I guess it's what we expected, considering only 26 episodes were ordered, in order to cover 21 volumes (approx 210 chapters) of manga. Even with the filler arcs, that's still shaving it mighty close to still include all the important stuff.
So I went and had a look ~ they skipped the medicine seller arc altogether (Chapters 357-358) and started with material from Chapter 359, "Hitoukon," where the little youkai that overpowers hosts is introduced in the form of a mountain dog. In the anime, Kohaku deals with this demon himself, with no help/intervention from the Inutachi, and he catches up to Kagura, to have the discussion of the location of Naraku's heart that's covered in chapter 368. The actual death of Goryoumaru is related to the Inutachi via a heated discussion between Kagura and Hakudoshi, instead of the way it was depicted in approximately five chapters of the manga, where both the Inutachi and Sesshoumaru fought with the newly transformed Mouryoumaru. The episode covers the betrayal and death of Hakudoshi, and leads directly into the end of Kagura's fate.
I was actually pretty impressed with the first episode, even if they did condense and simplify ten chapters of manga action into 24 minutes of playtime. The animation is reminiscent of the movies instead of the first anime, which has its strong and weak points. I liked the animation of Kagura's dance of blades (very impressive), and the adamant barrage attack, but the rest seemed a bit stilted, in the style of the movies. I was surprised and pleased to see at least a cameo from every major character in the series (the only one who didn't have any face time was Kaede), and splices of daily life from both the modern and feudal eras. We saw Naraku's group first, then Kagome's friends at her school, which lead to a LOL-worthy cut to Sesshoumaru's group (poor, put-upon Jaken!), and finally back to the reunited Inutachi. Even Koga and Kikyo had moments of action against Mouryoumaru. Instead of a dreaded "catch-up" episode, the second anime jumped right back into the story, so glossing over as much as they did feels a bit more forgivable.
It appears the next episode will be Kagura's death (and Koga's fight for the gorashi, which is being subbed as "Lightning Claws"), and the scenes we've seen via the preview here and the longer-cut preview at Shonen Sunday make me think its really going to be a good one! Goodness knows they spent most of this episode trying to redeem Kagura and make her sympathetic o.O But, Kagura's death means more facetime for Sesshoumaru, so you won't hear any complaints from this department :D Maybe it will breathe a bit more life into that ship, as the modern-day scenes from this episode will delight those Inu/Kag fans.
All in all, this was pretty good ~ if they can stay away from packing 10 chapters' worth of storyline into an episode, then I like the chances of seeing my favorite arcs coming to life: the Hell arc (with SessMom OMG!!!!!), Kikyo's death, Bakusaiga, and the rebirth of Hiraikotsu...before the big showdown. *fingers crossed*
Of the new opening/ending, I like the ending better - the song is pretty fast-paced, and it chronicles all of the important relationships between the characters in the story, starting with the brothers and ending with the red thread of destiny, tying Inuyasha and Kagome together. That was a magnificent piece of animation IMO, and here's hoping it'll be attached to most of the episodes!
no subject
That statement is blasphemous in my household. lol
That may not be lightning, but if you heard a thud that was my jaw hitting the floor at the anti-Japanese cast sentiment floating around. As
It's funny how people can have such drastically different opinions about the same thing.
no subject
Well, I said I was one of the few, LOL!! The rest of the cast doesn't bother me nearly so much (and I actually prefer Kagome's Japanese voice)...but, well, if you were introduced via the dub, that's prolly where your allegiance will lie. Case in point: I watched subbed Ouran HS Host Club and fell in love; the dub is like listening to nails on a chalkboard, especially of Tamaki.
At least nowadays on the season sets you have your choice of which voice track to listen to!
It's funny how people can have such drastically different opinions about the same thing.
And still be friends? Yeah, in this fandom, that's a freaking miracle!
no subject
Not necessarily true. I got into this series because I accidentally caught the premiere of the very first episode on Adult Swim back in 2002. I got all the way up through the first block of Adult Swim episodes before finally discovering torrents and fansubs... I've never looked back since and I wonder how in the hell I watched that many episodes in English to begin with. To me, it sounds like the "nails on a chalkboard" you mentioned, paired with (in my opinion) horrendous acting. :P
The only case I can really think of for myself in which I prefer the English to the Japanese (well, besides the Miyazaki movies sans the Disney dub of Totoro) in a series is Black Jack. I found that series in the animation section of Blockbuster when I was in high school and once I got ahold of the DVDs rather than VHS, I can listen to the Japanese but I prefer the English.
no subject
You will never be able to convince me David Kaye is bad at anything <3
Sub vs dub is, like, debating religion in anime fandom ~ I try to avoid the topic at all times! (Though I have to admit, I did the D: face when people asked if we'd have the English voice cast on these simulcast episodes... *facepalm*)
no subject
I will admit that David Kaye is one of the only things about the dub I like. You will never hear me say that about Richard Cox or Monica Stori, though. >_>
(Though I have to admit, I did the D: face when people asked if we'd have the English voice cast on these simulcast episodes... *facepalm*)
It's amazing how well the "D:" captures the look of abject horror that goes along with a question like that. lol