Inuyasha: The Final Act | 1 - Naraku's Heart

[luxken27]

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!

Comments

[sakura-kyoshi.livejournal.com]

*I* can't wait for it to become a season so I can watch it over and over and over and over and over and over...

[eggplantlady.livejournal.com]

I hated it. The Japanese voices make me want to -headdesk- so hard. -sigh- The only thing that surprised me was seeing Kagura and Kohaku get as much screentime as they did. I was expecting a lot more of Inuyasha and Kagome. The fact that I'm 90% certain any/all Mir/San stuff will get cut from this or glossed over totally has nothing to do with my annoyance.

[piratequeen0405.livejournal.com]

Very condensed, but like you I was happy that it wasn't a catch-up episode...especially since they are fitting sooo much story into so few episodes.

I'm giddy with excitement over Kikyou's death and the Hell arc. Kikyou is my favorite character and her death scene always make me weepy. Ahhh I'm the biggest sucker for unrequited love and Inuyasha's reaction never fails to hit me hard. Such a wonderful way to bring a bit of closure to the "love triangle".

I also liked the ending better. The song was fitting with the level of action (though there was some serious melancholy) and the red thread at the very end worked so well visually.

*sigh* I'd been checking shonensunday off and on through the afternoon, evening. Now I'm just so ready for bed!

[replicantangel.livejournal.com]

It has been SO long since I watched the original anime (*looks at DVDs and apologizes*) that it was kind of weird. Half the time, I was wondering, "Was... was that how they did that in the original?" LoL. It *was* condensed - that fight with Goryoumaru alone would have taken 2 episodes in the old series. But I was glad of the Kagura face time - I love her a lot, although I'm usually repelled by the Sess/Kagura pairing, so next episode might be difficult for me. :P

I would love to see SessMom and the Hell arc too, but otherwise, I'm pretty cool with what they decide to cut... except the ending. We got gypped out of a kiss in the manga, so I hope there's one in this series. While I would like them to actually go in depth into everything, I'm not one of those purists that has to have everything follow the book (or in this case, manga). I dunno - overall, I liked it and was SO glad there wasn't a recap episode.

Um, and did anyone else giggle their face off in the opening credits when Shippo and Jaken were playing what looked like Red Light, Green Light?

[kmoaton.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping that maybe the rush job will allow them to spend more time on some of the more sensitive episodes like the Hell arc, Kikyo's death, Bakusaiga, and the rebirth of Hiraikotsu. We have GOT to see Sessmom! I hope and pray they don't leave her out!!!

[kriscynical.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear at least somebody seems pleased with it besides me. Everybody is, of course, entitled to their own opinion, but I'm getting tired of all the complaining and neysaying already happening all around the fandom. We're lucky to even be getting this, and I'm looking at it that way. If it has to be the manga on speed in order to fit it all into 26 episodes, so be it. I was mainly happy just to hear the Japanese cast back together again (the English cast makes my ears bleed, omfg.) and get the little InuKag tidbits you mentioned. I can't wait for the next episode. :)

[beermoney5.livejournal.com]

I’m assuming you can only watch the new episodes on the Internet or am I wrong. I’m not familiar with Hulu and Shonen Sunday.

I might just wait till it’s dubbed. It seems I’m the only one who likes the English version better then the Japanese. I like all their voices in English and hope the same cast comes back. I will be very disappointed if David Kaye doesn’t return.

[landofthekwt.livejournal.com]

I cannot stand Kappei. I know that RT is his fangirl, but they have changed so many scenes so that he can yell his stupid attacks.

While I enjoyed a lot of the canon scenes, I did not like the additional scenes where Hakudoshi steals the shards or Kikyou saving Kouga . The original was important because Moryomaru discovers IY's human night and Jaken reveals that Kagura has told Sesshoumaru where to find Naraku's heart which guarantees Kagura's death. That scene is great because IY will not get out of Moromaru's body and Fluffy says OK I will kill both of them. Sesshoumaru reveals his feelings for Kagura by preventing Jaken from saying that Kagura gave them the crystals which will lead to the heart.( He says enough that Moryomaru figures it out.) Why did they not show SEsshoumaru saving IY. Re: Kouga If the anime had shown the birth of Moryomaru the manga way they would not need to include this fight.Instead they cut Kouga
out of the birth of Moryomaru.

All in all I was impressed. The scene from the Kind Boy and the two Mirokus
actually comes way down the line. I always liked the Kind Boy scene because it shows the actual relation between IY and Kagome not IY abuse of Kagome that is prevalent in both IK and SK. She really is scary and he really is afraid of her.

[yumi-michiyo.livejournal.com]

I must say I found the new episode rather good. Despite their cutting out the Medicine Seller arc (which I found unforgivable - I mean, they spent an entire episode on the Master of the Lake arc! Yes, I love filler. I love to pieces Miroku/Sango and Sango/Kohaku filler) they did a fantastic job with the rest of the cramming. It was a whirlwind ride after I got used to the slow pace of the first 167 episodes.

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 knittingknots and kriscynical here: I cannot stand the English dub. However, I confess to not being overly fond of Yamaguchi-san's voice... but the rest of the cast kicks ass. In my opinion, so much of the jokes and character gets lost in translation... But each to their own.

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.