Synopsis– It has been close to 5 years since we last left off Inuyasha in the anime world and the gang of InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku and Sango were all still trying to regain all of the fragments of the Shikkon jewel and defeat Naraku. Other characters are also aiming towards Naraku, such as Sesshomaru, Koga and more. Naraku can create other forms with his pieces of the Shikkon jewel and uses these forms to try to destroy InuYasha and others. InuYasha the Final Act 2 is the epic conclusion to a series that had a run on Adult Swim back in 2000.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyOnnAb-wHk&w=560&h=315]
Review- When InuYasha had it’s initial run on Adult Swim, I never gave it much of a chance. When I got to college I had several friends that really stood by the series so I eventually caved in and gave it a chance. After the first season I fell in love with the cast of characters and their adventure to track down Naraku.
The final episodes in InuYasha the Final Act 2 didn’t disappoint. I don’t really know what else to say other than it felt very satisfying to see the show finally come to a close and get closure to the characters and what decisions they were going to make. InuYasha spans 8 seasons and 4 movies and were well worth the time. It’s not like I can suggest watching just one season out of all of them.
I personally, am a big fan of longer running shows because I am interested in the dynamic of telling longer stories and the challenges that arise in keeping them fresh and well paced.
If your a fan of longer running shows, InuYasha may be worth checking out. There are a few times where the story does drag a little, but find a series that spans more than 3 seasons that doesn’t have it’s moments. The good storytelling and interesting characters far outweighs the bad. The tagline for the show is a “feudal fairytale” and it lives up to that billing with a good mix of shonen action but also a counter balance of the relationships between characters that has it’s serious moments. It even has it’s comedic characters to give it a little bit of something for everyone.
Production Quality- InuYasha the Final Act 2 is one of my favorite aesthetics of any series. The hybrid of 2D, 3D and effects make this finale look really sharp. While the animation isn’t as smooth as a film may be that is to be expected with the shorter budget and more content to produce. InuYasha has some great visuals as you could expect since it is the final conclusion of an epic battle. The effects and 3D really add to certain shots, especially Inuyasha’s technique that cuts into a space dimension, the same can be said of Sesshomaru’s technique as well. I can’t recall seeing battle scenes so masterfully put together in a series. I am a big fan of the titles out right now that can put the two styles together well. It is good to see the experiments of the last several years paying off in titles today.
Music- The opening and closing themes fit well into the soundtrack of the series overall and makes you forget the gap in production.
Dub Quality- The dub was very solid, fits in with the rest of the series and no characters switching voices after the layoff.
Extras- I was a little disappointed with the fact that InuYasha finally came to a close and the DVD had no extras of substance, just some trailers, credits and previews. Perhaps they are saving this content for some kind of anniversary set or something, but some interviews, commentaries or a panel discussion has to exist. No series of that popularity and with all of the anticipation for the final season, there is no way something along those lines doesn’t exist that could have been on the DVDs.
Both parts of the Final Act are available to stream on Viz.