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DarkFireDragon
Reviews
Inuyasha (2000)
One of the greatest anime I've ever seen
"Inuyasha" is one of the greatest anime that I have ever had the fortune to see. Despite not seeing the very first episodes, reading the manga brought me up to speed since the anime mirrors it very closely. I know there are a few detractors out there, but thankfully they went to the trouble of actually watching it before they started bashing. Hopefully, they'll either warm up to "Inuyasha" or find an anime capable of satisfying their exacting standards.
The characters are what make "Inuyasha" so awesome. Without the characters, the show wouldn't be the success that it is. We start with Kagome Higurashi, a typical Japanese teenage girl --- until she stumbles into an ancient well that transports her back into Japan's Warring States Era. There, she meets a canine-based half-demon named Inuyasha and after shattering the Shikon Jewel, or the Jewel of Four Souls, they have to work together to find the fragments before demons can use those fragments to enhance their own abilities and use them for evil. They largely fail in the whole "stopping demons from using the Shikon Jewel shards" deal, because by the time they find a jewel shard, a demon already has custody of it and is using it for evil. So they have little choice but to fight the aforementioned demon and take the shard from him or her once they achieve victory. The funny thing is that Inuyasha initially hates Kagome, as she is the reincarnation of Kikyo, a priestess he loved (until she pinned him to a tree with a sacred arrow). However, he grows fond of Kagome and obviously comes to love her, but he won't admit it to anyone. Things don't get any easier when a portion of Kagome's soul is stolen and used to animate a facsimile of Kikyo's body made from clay, resulting in a rather disturbing love triangle.
Then there are the supporting characters, which I'll name in order of appearance. There's Shippo, a kitsune (fox spirit/demon) whose father was killed by a duo of demons called the Thunder Brothers. Next, there's Miroku, a monk who's overly fond of women and has a "wind tunnel" in his hand, a void that can consume demons but will eventually consume him. Then there's Sango, a tough-as-nails demon slayer whose family and tribe were slaughtered by Naraku's demons. To add cruel insult to already-grievous injury, Naraku has reanimated Sango's brother's body with a shard of the Shikon Jewel and placed him under his control.
Now I have to explain the villains of "Inuyasha." The two main villains of "Inuyasha" are Sesshomaru and Naraku. Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's half brother and a full demon, as Sesshomaru's mother was a demon woman and Inuyasha's mother was human. Their father gave each brother a sword; Inuyasha received Tetsusaiga, a sword that can slay a hundred demons in one swing, while Sesshomaru received Tenseiga, a sword that can save a hundred lives in one swing. However, it is only in later episodes that Inuyasha learns how to use Tetsusaiga's powers. Sesshomaru hates Tenseiga, as it is a sword of life and thus he cannot kill anyone with it. He especially doesn't want to save human lives, as he has no respect for humanity at all. Ironically, he uses Tenseiga to restore the life of a little girl named Rin when she's killed by wolves. For being a villain, Sesshomaru is very complex; he's not pure evil so much as semi-evil.
Naraku, on the other hand, is undeniably and unforgivably evil. He is the fusion of hundreds of demons and the soul of a human bandit named Onigumo who lusted after Kikyo. He apparently desires the Shikon Jewel, but he may have other reasons beyond the obvious. Naraku's primary skill lies in twisted schemes designed to make Inuyasha and his allies suffer. He started by turning Inuyasha and Kikyo against each other, continued by cursing Miroku's grandfather with the wind tunnel (a curse that would ultimately be passed on to Miroku), and recently orchestrated the slaughter of Sango's tribe. As another person who commented on this anime said, Naraku is the consummate "supervillain."
Besides the obvious action, there are also elements of romance-comedy to be found in "Inuyasha." For example, the Inuyasha/Kagome/Koga triangle. Koga is a wolf demon that falls in love with Kagome and declares her "his woman." Inuyasha gets extremely jealous, especially when Kagome is nice to Koga, and yet he cannot figure out why he's so jealous. Then there's the interaction between Miroku and Sango. Miroku constantly gropes Sango and she constantly slaps him for it, but if you read into their actions, it's fairly obvious that they care deeply for each other. If only Miroku would stop groping her so much . . .
These are the reasons why "Inuyasha" is awesome and if you haven't figured that out by now, then read the manga or rent one of the DVDs. You won't regret it, and if you do, it's your own fault.
Teen Titans (2003)
Just enjoy and quit nitpicking
I know the animation style the producers use for Teen Titans doesn't appeal to everyone. Some see it as a rip-off, and some just don't like it, period. Sure, Teen Titans can be goofy at times, but it has its cute moments, its romantic moments (between Robin and Starfire, as they are my favorite pair), and its dark moments (the dynamics of Robin and Slade's interaction). One of my favorite episodes in the first season is "Masks," as it shows that Robin will do almost anything to beat Slade, regardless of whatever risks he has to take, whatever laws he has to break, and whichever friends he has to beat up (as Red X). Another favorite is "Apprentice," parts 1 and 2. Part 1 showed a Robin who was coming apart at the seams, losing control of himself in his desperation to beat Slade. Part 2 showed just how far the other Titans would go for Robin's sake.
Those were the dark episodes of season 1. The cute episode, as I see it, was "Sisters." Yes, Blackfire was an evil witch, but other than what she tried to do to Starfire, the episode was cute, especially when Starfire thought Blackfire and Robin were kissing and when Robin told her at the end, "No one can ever take your place." The funny episode was "Mad Mod," in which the title character takes the Titans hostage in his school and tortures them. (Not really, it's a kids' show so they won't allow torture.)
As for season 2, the premiere episode ("How Long Is Forever?") was semi-dark. It started out cute when Starfire was excited over the Tamaranian festival of friendship, but got kinda sad when the others seemed to prefer childish bickering to celebrating with her. It got really sad when Starfire ended up 20 years into the future following Warp and saw what had happened to the Titans in her absence. Despite the fact that Nightwing (future version of Robin) had done very well for himself in Star's absence, one could tell that he had suffered most. (I mean, he does love her, even if he won't admit it.)
The episode that was cute, funny, and romantic all at once was the Valentine's Day episode "Date With Destiny." Kitten's spoiled-brat attitude was very funny, as was Starfire's jealousy when Killer Moth blackmailed Robin into taking Kitten (his daughter) to her junior prom. The jealousy was cute, too, by the way. The romantic scenes were Starfire showing up to the prom in a dress and giving Robin a corsage and Robin and Starfire being announced as Prom King and Queen. (Now if only the episode had shown them dancing together.)
Overall, this is a bloody good show. It has its flaws, it's not quite like the comics, but no comic-based animated series is ever a complete mirror of its printed counterpart. Just sit back, enjoy, and quit nitpicking.