Inu-Yasha, Vol. 1

Reviewed By:  Carla Land

DVD  Viz Communications

Review based on first disk (episodes 1-3)

Rated T (Teen)

What it’s (basically) all about: Half-demon Inu-Yasha wants a sacred jewel so he can become a full fledged demon. Unfortunately for him, Kikyo is in his way. She pins him to a tree before she dies, asking that the jewel be burned with her. Flash forward several hundred years and Kagome is a teenager who could care less for the traditional stories her grandfather tells- until she is pulled back to Feudal Japan by a centipede woman bent on getting the sacred jewel from her. After discovering the jewel literally inside of herself, Kagome learns she is the reincarnation of Kikyo. What follows are Kagome’s adventures with Inu-Yasha as they try to gather pieces of the shattered jewel and restore peace to the world.

Nitty Gritty: Disk extras are all about the show itself, so there aren’t any inappropriate previews to deal with. The English preview gives a really good plot synopsis of the show if you want to skip watching the three episodes included on the disk. Line drawing, clean opening/ closing also included as well.

Kagome, the overly attractive teenager in the short school uniform, has a couple of scenes in episode three where she’s bathing in a river. You see nothing. There aren’t any inappropriate sexual situations, though the people of feudal Japan do comment on her strange clothing, even implying she may be a woman of questionable honor. At one point a bandit grabs her skirt to peek underneath, and she gives him what for. Inu-Yasha, as befits a half-demon, is hard to figure out at first. Is he on Kagome’s side or is he after the jewel for himself? You get the feeling he may have had a crush on Kikyo, but as of episode three he and Kagome have a plutonic love-hate relationship. This all may be confusing to some younger audiences.

The creepy centipede woman mentioned in the synopsis is bare-breasted throughout her short mostly one-episode appearance, but there isn’t a nipple to be seen. Besides, she is clearly a bug and she gets eliminated by Inu-Yasha with deft skill after shedding her skin in a slightly gruesome scene. Though she is somewhat sensual in nature, she is also not around long enough to cause too many problems. A second demon baddie shows up in episode three, and she is somewhat scantily dressed, but all the parts that need covered are covered. Compared to some other anime characters, she’s rather mildly dressed.

The violence in this series so far hasn’t been very over the top, but people die (Kikyo in the first two minutes of the show) and demons also meet their makers on a regular basis. Inu-Yasha gets shot with an arrow and pinned to a tree, and while this isn’t a graphic scene, there is an arrow sticking out of him.

“Damn” makes an appearance in the subbed version. Mostly the language is mild, innuendo is a non-issue, and foul language is non-existent.

Survey says:  For teens. The “nudity” may bother some, but it’s not full frontal and you see nothing worth getting worked up about. This show also appears on Adult Swim, so clearly it isn’t meant for young audiences. The violence factor makes this a Young Adult title, as well.

Personal Ad: The first two episodes of “Inu-Yasha” aren’t all that great. The third episode starts to get interesting, but unfortunately the first disk of the series only has those three episodes, so just as it starts getting good you get let down. If there were more (and better) extras, this might be forgivable, but the extras aren’t all that great, either. I wasn’t sure I’d care for it, but I’m intrigued enough to watch disk two and see if it keeps me interested. It’s a big pet peeve for me when I don’t get at least four episodes a disk (in case you couldn’t tell) so I’m predisposed to think ill of the overall packaging. For the price of most anime you’d expect more episodes, but that’s just me.