REC: InuYasha

Some people spell it with a lower-case "y" but I always capitalize it. I have no idea why but includes this in my reasons-why-I-have-OCD list. Yes, it is quite extensive.

A good friend of mine has recently divulged to me that she isn't familiar with anime/manga.

I shall give you all time to gasp in horror or faint out of your chairs.

So I give you the first of a series of reviews: InuYasha, my first ever anime/manga created by the JK Rowling of the manga world, Rumiko Takahashi.

I warn you now, spoilers may exist below.

The plot seems simple: a teenage girl - Kagome - travels 500 years back in time through a well. Her first action is - well, after wandering around in a confused daze - is to free a half-demon sealed into a tree. His name? InuYasha, which apparently means "dog-something" - do we have any Japanese experts in the audience? Then because men are all jerks, the guy attacks her, believing her to be the priestess who sealed him in the first place, 50 years ago. Spoiler alert here, Kagome isn't but she is the reincarnation of the priestess, Kikyo who also so happens to be InuYasha's ex. The scene is set for a tragic love triangle that annoys me to be honest. Kikyo annoys me, I mean, I feel for her, really I do, she's a tragic character but her later actions? WTF?

Moving on from the love triangle that just won't die, Kagome manages to subdue InuYasha with magical beads. This I thought was a clever thing on the mangaka's part; with one oh so appropriate word "Sit," from Kagome, InuYasha faceplants into the ground, often several inches in.

Now what really drives the plotline is the Shikon jewel, which is reputed to grant its holder any wish. This I thought was weird but Kagome brought the jewel back into the feudal era because it was in her body: this centipede demon (who seriously needs a bra) actually bites Kagome and out comes the jewel. Yeah, that happened. And then there's a mad grab for it because well, grants-wishes? Then some crow demon snatches it away. Kagome, being told she is the reincarnation of archer-priestess Kikyo, does archery for the first time in her life. She hits the crow on her second try I think but ends up shattering the jewel, the shards rain all over the land.

Well, now she must go and collect them all, now doesn't she? (Well, if she doesn't, then the manga ends right there.)

Now, he doesn't appear in the first episode sadly but Sesshoumaru. I just love him. He appears in a handful of episodes but he was my first anime crush. Wow, that sounds so sad.

In fanfiction, I ship Sesshoumaru/Kagome. Yes, they hardly ever meet in canon but there's just something about those characters together that... well, for whatever reason, this ship is my OTP.

Oh and I also love Miroku/Sango. Of course that's canon, so it's less rebellious but I think they make a cute couple. And in the epilogue with their twin daughters! SO CUTE.

So verdict? The episodes are rather repetitive: encounter a demon after a jewel shard, fight it, Kagome screams "InuYasha!" a lot, kill it, end episode. Some episodes actually have plot development, especially ones concerning InuYasha's family. You can pretty much cherry pick the episodes to watch, but definitely see the first few and last few episodes. (Oh and the ones involving Sesshoumaru because well, <3). There are healthy doses of humour in between the serious stuff; it's not gratuitously violent or gory; and there's a happy, somewhat-resolved ending.

So even shorter verdict? 4.5/5