Five hundred and fifty years ago, a small-scale battle is going on in a small village where someone named Inu Yasha is rampaging the town. He's not human, but he isn't a youkai [demon], either - he's a hanyou, which is half-and-half. Blasting through the temple's shrine, he steals a glowing, pink sphere called the "Shikon no Tama" [Ball of Four Souls], and runs off, only to be pinned to a tree by a holy sealing arrow by the village's priestess, Kikyou. He falls asleep, Kikyou dies, and she is cremated along with the Shikon no Tama. Fast-forwarding to the present, Higurashi Kagome is a perfectly normal girl in her last year of junior high, and lives in the 1000 year old shrine that used to protect the Shikon no Tama (which is now non-existent, of course). While helping her brother look for their abnormally fat cat, she is grabbed by a 'mononoke' [vengeful spirit] and taken into her shrine's well - and appears in the Sengoku Jidai, five hundred years in the past. Inu Yasha has been pinned to the tree for fifty years, Kikyou has been dead for fifty years, and Kagome is thoroughly confused. Through a series of events, Inu Yasha is awakened, the Shikon no Tama appears, and then Kagome breaks it. As this jewel gives immense power, various mononoke or youkai - human or not - are taking use of its power, and Kagome must go searching for the shards, scattered over the land. Since Inu Yasha still wants it, he is lumped together with her - and they go on their 'peaceful' journey.
Although this set-up sounds like the story will have a 'Shard of the Day' type of plot (as in Sailor Moon, which I liked an~y~way~ [EN: A bit off topic ;p]), it certainly isn't - for one thing, if there is a battle, it usually spans two or three episodes. There is really nothing about this show that I find annoyingly repetitive - the plot is interesting, always developing, and the characters range from funny to disgusting to downright odd. Although I haven't watched the entire show (it's still continuing to air), I highly enjoy what has happened so far. More characters are introduced, new plotlines are being made, and Inu Yasha and Kagome are just so enjoyable to watch. One of the quirks of the show is the facial expressions, which change often through one conversation. Inu Yasha makes a zillion different faces, all depending on what mood he's in or a particular comment that's made. Besides, Inu Yasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi, who also created Ranma 1/2. The voice actor of Ranma does Inu Yasha, and the voice actor of Akane does Kikyou. For Ranma 1/2 fans (or just Rumiko Takahashi works in general), Inu Yasha is made that much more enjoyable to watch.
In returning back to the story, Kagome is Kagome, will always be Kagome, and has never changed from being Kagome. [EN: What a concept!] Characterization is not a big aspect with her - the main focus on Kagome is to show the traits that she already has. Inu Yasha himself makes the most changes in his character, softening up a great deal - and as the show points out, it is all due to Kagome. There is a big difference in Inu Yasha in episode forty and upwards from his first introduction. In the beginning, if Kagome got hurt, the very first thing Inu Yasha would ask her was, "How's the Shikon no Tama?", much to her dismay. In the later episodes, that is one of the last things that even comes to his mind. It is not that his duty is lessened, but more that he has a better appreciation for life (specifically Kagome's) in general. Later, when Kikyou 'returns,' the most human sides of Inu Yasha are shown, in a heart breaking way. Did I cry? No. Did I come close? Yes.
Despite this manga running in a shonen magazine, I don't really think it's for specifically boys or girls - I adore Inu Yasha, and I found it to be highly enjoyable.
[ Movie 1 ] (Toki o Koeru Omoi / Love That Transcends Time)
When Kagome fatefully cracked the Shikon no Tama in episode two, the shards of it shot out all around the country. Some of them pin into trees; others corrupt humans and youkai. Many of them fall into Naraku's hands. However, one piece in particular reached a tree - a tree where an enemy from two hundred years earlier lay sleeping. It is this youkai, Menomaru, who plots to gain Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha - and then wreak his chaos. It is he who causes the most traumatic events in this, testing the friendships and loves of the characters - and repeats an event from fifty years earlier…
The plot is not the most complicated of things - there's basically one enemy with two sidekicks (there only to distract Miroku and Sango) while the main conflict is really between Inuyasha and Kagome. The best way to describe the ambiance of this movie is to think of a particular plot thread in Inuyasha (one which would normally cover several episodes) and make it into a movie. Add in a Significant Romance Scene between IY and Kagome (plus throwing in Sesshoumaru on the side), and one has the basics of the movie.
While watching this movie, I had a flashback to the Tsubaki arc - those who've watched or read the particular storyline, think of the conflict between IY and Kagome as if Tsubaki's control had been a little better. I think the anime isn't purposely being uncreative - this particular animation studio doesn't strike me as clichéd [makers of Escaflowne, Gundam Wing] - but rather, they're trying to stay true to the nature of the manga [Menomaru is a Takahashi-created enemy]. Rather than strike out on their own and create a particularly odd and possible out of character storyline, the anime mostly takes cues from the manga. Not that the anime doesn't have their own clever points (Kagome's grandfather and Souta are a pretty funny pair in this), but it accounts for the lack of originality in the plot.
Because this is a movie that fits in with the regular story of the anime & manga, the characterization is the type that doesn't involve Great Epiphanies About Life (which would interfere with the main storyline, probably), and they do it well. Kagome and Inuyasha really are a beautiful couple - although some of it was a bit recycled, no one could say in this case that recycling is bad. Miroku and Sango get some interesting moments here - more so Sango than Miroku, especially with the conflict concerning Kirara. The characterization is better in this movie when it involves more than one significant person, and as Miroku was stuck with a degeneric youkai and his already-done-for Kazaana, it seems that Miroku was left a bit short. As for Shippou - well, he never gets much attention in the show anyway. One of the funnier parts in this movie was probably when Kaede was actually abandoned during one of her lectures - she often strikes me as a bit tedious when she begins to Give Her Advice, and I think this movie touched on the humor of making fun of her.
The animation of the movie is interesting - it's slightly different from the anime (which is a glossier version [longer legs] of the manga), and it's obvious that they spent more money on this. Even through my camcorder rip, one can tell some of the more delicate parts of the movie - although Inuyasha and Kagome looked a bit, er, odd, the butterflies and scenery were very pretty, while Kikyou looked elegantly deadly as usual. Overall, I truly enjoyed this movie, although it requires a love of the characters from the beginning.
