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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!
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The opening and ending songs were gorgeous. I practically worship DAI; it's great to see them back with new songs. But the ending was a pleasant surprise, although the animation could have done with a little less from the previous anime...
Meh... why is there an outburst of dislike for the Japanese seiyuus? I have to agree with
That being said, I will cut some bitches if any more filler arcs get cut (looking forward to seeing the Hiraikotsu arc, the wounds of shouki and the Kitsune Inn... and they'd better do the final battle properly!)
*deep breathing* That's over and done with.