Hanyou No Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi

WOAH! WOAH!!! WAIT A MINUTE!!! I thought Inu Yasha ended like over 10 years ago?! The final act was animated and were done with that debatable ending (Kagome screwing the modern lifestyle and went with her dog husband to live in the past – yeah, that one). Because fast forward to end of 2020, suddenly we have a sequel?! So did they lie when they put the word ‘final’ in that title?! Although Hanyou No Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi may not be a direct sequel to Inu Yasha, it is somewhat a direct spinoff sequel. Because this time the daughters of the series’ main characters are now to the fore. Oh well, I guess 10 years is long enough to play on fans’ nostalgia. Considering so many old series got a reboot (Fruits Basket, Shaman King, Chuuka Ichiban) or some sort of spinoff sequel (Battle Athletess Daiundoukai), perhaps this great old series too doesn’t want to be left out of the cold and hence jumping on the bandwagon. Yeah, fans must be asking if all those old series got their remakes, why not our favourite series? When is it gonna happen? Well folks, there you have it. Old diehard fans and new anime weeabos can now enjoy this one.

Episode 1
Towa Higurashi is captured and brought before the deputy shogun of Kanto. She is accused of being a Yashahime (half demon princess) but she denies. However his aide, Sokyuu claims she is from another land and has proof of this modern catalogue as well as a broken bicycle seat that was in her possession. Towa can’t say anything or it’ll change the future and continues to play dumb and warn them to release her or her friends will come. Sokyuu thinks this is very familiar of a priestess who came here from a well. Are we ready for some nostalgia? That’s right. We go back further in time, 6 months after the end of their Shikon Jewel adventure when Kagome decided to stay with Inuyasha. Wow. Sango’s got lots of kids. 2 cute little girls and a baby boy. How more will Miroku have? Anyway, Inuyasha and Miroku are trying to rid of some root head demon terrorizing the locals. Although they destroy the demon, its mini root manages to escape. Then they discover an arrow at its tomb where it was supposedly sealed. Taking it back to Kaede, she confirms it was shot by Kikyo who sealed it before she met Inuyasha. Worse, this demon attacks Kagome and co as it claims she is Kikyo and wants her to hand over the Shikon Jewel. The husbands return as it escapes again. Inuyasha is forced to tell what happened so they have to go round eradicating it. Your usual Inuyasha and gang in action. Even more nostalgia with Sesshoumaru joining in. Oh, Kohaku’s doing all the work. He’s just watching. Kaede fires that same arrow as bait to lure out its main body. When it does, as expected everyone chips in to finally destroy it. Inuyasha isn’t happy Kagome was being reckless but she knew he would come save her. Time for this nostalgia to ends as we return to Towa. Her friends are here to save her, Moroha the bounty hunter and Setsuna the demon slayer. Moroha can sense Sokyuu is a demon in disguise and attacks him but he got away. Towa doesn’t want him killed since he knows about him and they should nab him and make him talk. Towa takes her stuffs and leaves with the duo.

Episode 2
We see young twin sisters, Towa and Setsuna live a happy life in the forest. Until a fire forest broke out and as they’re running for their lives, Setsuna pushed Towa from a falling burning tree. As Towa goes look for her, it’s like her eye activated a portal that throws her into the modern world. A scared Towa was picked up by Souta. They go look for Setsuna but to no avail. 10 years have passed and Towa is Souta’s adopted daughter. Though, he has a real cute daughter, Mei. Towa’s logic of dressing up as a male is so that she can fight better. So will transferring her to an all-girls school solve the problem? Nope. Ruffians still want to beat her up. She beats them up. We return to the past as we see demon slayers Hisui (Miroku’s son, and that makes Kohaku his uncle!) along with Setsuna trying to fight Moroha, thinking she is the one behind the village attacks. Turns out to be this centipede demon who is wants the Rainbow Pearl belonging to Moroha. She manages to devour it and grows stronger. Meanwhile, those ruffians call their big bro. So I guess if they want real revenge, they have to go in for the kill. Yeah, they kidnap Mei, grandma and great grandpa and take them as hostages. Towa can’t fight back and takes a beating or else Mei’s face will get scarred. That is when Towa can’t keep Souta’s promise of keeping her monstrous powers hidden. She uses her superhuman strength and agility to save her family. However Mei keeps screaming to Towa not to fight because it’ll never end. Luckily for them, the police is passing by so those losers run. Meanwhile, the centipede demon manages to take Setsuna’s Rainbow Pearl too and power up further. How the f*ck do these girls let it slip so easily?! Distraction?! Anyway, this causes some reaction and a portal throwing them into the future. Towa still remembers the scent of her sister and is happy to see her again. Well, better rid of the demon first who wants the third and final Rainbow Pearl inside Towa.

Episode 3
Oh well, Towa’s sword breaks! But don’t worry. Her determination to protect her sister makes her unleash a new power! OMFG! Did she turn her broken sword into a lightsaber?! She manages to deal it some damage but the demon now targets Mei?! WTF?! Why are baddies such cowards?! Luckily it is Setsuna who finishes it off for good. After taking back their Rainbow Pearls, Setsuna doesn’t remember anything about Towa and is pretty suspicious of her. Towa thinks because she failed to save her from the fire, she’s acting like this. Setsuna attacks her but Towa dodges. Moroha has them stop and believes they’re both a hanyou. Even more so they are the twin daughters of Sesshoumaru! This is somewhat confirmed by Kaede as he tells Kohaku and Hisui about this incident 14 years ago. Suddenly some Hitokon demon possesses Towa. She controls her to fight Setsuna. Then it’s like because Towa is too powerful, it possesses Mei to easier control her. But with weak ass powers… Setsuna wants to cut her down too but Towa won’t let her. Can’t trouble this family anymore, huh? Setsuna should’ve just done all this from the start. Put everyone to sleep with her dust and then use some potion to expel the Hitokon and watch it squirm to death. Then we have Kaede also explaining how the remnants of the root demon possessed the sacred tree. Because the wood from the well was made from that tree and gave the well its mysterious powers to travel through time, it’s the same reason why the tree also had this power. And that’s how she deduces Setsuna and Moroha being sent to another world. Now the duo are living in Souta’s place. Because of those similar eyes, it is hinted that Moroha could be Kagome’s daughter. Moroha knows that Setsuna cannot sleep because of some cursed Dream Butterfly. I can understand why she always looks this moody! Not only she cannot sleep and cannot dream, this is why she has no memories of her past as it has stolen it from her. This only has Towa feel guiltier all this happened because she couldn’t save her in the first place.

Episode 4
Wow. Our feudal ladies getting used to modern life? Setsuna can play the violin?! DID THAT EXISTED BACK IN THE FEUDAL ERA?! Or is she a prodigy? Moroha has found a way to get back to the past after interrogating the root demon. So she’s packed her bag filled with modern stuffs. How the f*ck did she fit the bicycle in there?! Of course, time for Towa to say goodbye to Souta. She has to go back to help look for the Dream Butterfly. Souta isn’t sad as he knew this day would come. So Moroha offers their Rainbow Pearls to the root demon to take them back in which it agrees. Yeah, last promise by Mei for them to come back. They’re sisters, right? The trio jump into the portal but it takes them to the Tree of Ages. Its spirit looks like Kikyo but she claims she only took her form because her sacred arrow manifested in it or something like that. Anyway, she has a request from the trio and that is to defeat the great dog demon, Kirinmaru. He is planning to twist time and turn everything into nothingness. As time travelling is vital, that’s why she is seeking their help. This happened because Sesshoumaru who is the other one who is supposed to keep the balance, walked away on his own path. Hence Kirinmaru decided to seize this chance. While Moroha accepts it, Setsuna declines because she refuses to acknowledge Sesshoumaru as her father and that she should just ask him to defeat Kirinmaru. That will not do since defeating one would mean the other would emerge. Hence they have to defeat both. Uhm, shouldn’t she say that earlier? With this, now Towa refuses because she doesn’t want to atone for her father’s sins. Seeing they refuse, the spirit transport them to fight the root demon who is now desperate to take their Rainbow Pearls. After pinpointing its weakness, holy sh*t, did Towa’s lightsaber turn into a blue dragon to destroy it?! They return to the past but Towa is devastated to realize they have destroy the root demon. So how will they go back to the future next time? Meanwhile we see the Tree of Ages lamenting the path they took. Because Rin looks like she is in a suspended animation state and if she is forsaken, she will never awaken. But she also notes perhaps staying this way forever would be the best.

Episode 5
The demon owl, Yotsume reports to Kyuki, the return of the Yashahime trio. She wants him to warn Jakotsumaru. He is the son of Tokotsu who was defeated by Moroha and is trying to revive his father by gathering bones from living things. Our heroines also learn that something has been sucking out bones from living things and will get on the case right away. Meanwhile Moroha sees Jubei the corpse dealer. Because she did not get Tokotsu’s head, she will not get a bag of gold as bounty. Since she is still saddled with debt, she is made to finish the job and has his tanuki familiar, Takechiyo keep an eye on her. He needs Moroha to finish the job fast too before Jakotsumaru revives his father. Eventually Moroha meets up with the sisters at what is supposed to be Jakotsumaru’s hideout. She doesn’t want to share the bounty but Myouga explains that Tokotsu who is part of the Four Perils is worth more than a bag of gold. The others in this group include Kyuki, Konton and Totetsu. All are underlings of Kirinmaru. So I guess it’s safe to say, defeat them and Kirinmaru will pop up and so will Sesshoumaru. Plus, Moroha doesn’t remember slaying Tokotsu. She was unconscious and by the time she woke up, she was with his corpse. After swiping his Rainbow Pearl, she had to run from his corpse underlings. The trio confront Jakotsumaru but he has already revive his father. Tokotsu of course wants revenge for not only taking his Rainbow Pearl but selling his body on top of it. Moroha doesn’t give a sh*t so she uses the Rainbow Pearl’s power to transform into Beniyasha. Basically, faster and more powerful. She manages to kill Jakotsumaru but her power only lasts a minute. Now she’ll sleep for a day. Setsuna cleans this up by defeating Tokotsu and eventually Towa finishing him. Takechiyo reports that the girls successfully defeated Tokotsu. However since everything vanishes and nothing left, this means no reward for Moroha and they’ll keep the profits. Heh. Sneaky…

Episode 6
With Moroha not getting much from her bounty, looks like Jubei has a job for her. Something about travellers going missing at a northern village. No job is too small for Moroha! As they head there, the village is overrun with cute cats! Awww, so cute! Of course they could smell they are demons and cut them down. They trace the source to the temple that is resided by a lone priest, Juan. However they don’t smell any demons on him and he is completely human. That night, the girls bait the demon cats to attack them. Another successful hunt. Since Juan is surprised with this, he tells them that a demon cat monster was sealed underneath the temple 100 years ago. Moroha and Setsuna go investigate while Towa guards Juan. Underneath the structure, they see a hole and some bones. The bones revive into a giant cat monster. Fight time. However no matter how much they cut, it regenerates. Of course the culprit is Juan himself as he is controlling the other demon cats. However Juan is not totally a demon. When Juan moved here and tried to offer his prayer, it awakened the demon and it possessed him instead. So the demon is keeping him alive to hide his true form and luring in and killing travellers since. He dares them to cut them both down. While Setsuna has no qualms, of course our morally righteous Towa doesn’t want to. How? Will they be cut instead? With Myouga’s story on Inuyasha cutting down the demon portion with Tessaiga, Towa gets an idea. With her Rainbow Pearl and lightsaber, she manages to take down only the demon half. Setsuna notes she was just lucky this time but Towa promises to not die because she’ll get back her dreams and then go back to her era. Moroha thought she’ll get paid this time but looks like the bounty for this is a small one. Oh Moroha, didn’t you ask how much it was worth first before taking on this job? Sure, no job too small but her but the reward is!

Episode 7
Kyuki reports to Kirinmaru about Tokotsu’s defeat. He doesn’t remember his underling. Kyuki offers to go next and do something about this. Towa is doing well slaying demons with the demon slayers. But next day Setsuna left her alone at home and not ask her to come for demon slaying. Thinking that she was in the way, Towa tries to prove herself by finding the Dream Butterfly. She gets lost and meets a lost pirate named Riku along the way. They hang out as she treats him with some foodstuffs. They talk about the sword she is having. It broke because apparently it’s fake. Riku then leaves but leaves her with a sword as a gift. Shortly, guards surround her and think she is the one who stole the actual sword that belonged to the deputy shogun. She is taken to him for interrogation. So the scene plays out like that in the first episode. Meanwhile Setsuna learns from Kaede about Towa. Moroha has got a job by Jubei to slay Kyuki. Noting that Towa is lost, they follow her scent as Takechiyo brings them to the deputy shogun’s place. Kyuki is watching them and is part of her plan to take their Rainbow Pearls in one fell swoop. She has one herself and having them all will make her more powerful than Kirinmaru. She sends her polar bear familiar, Fubuki to attack. Setsuna and Moroha find it hard to fight it since it is made of smoke and the real body is somewhere. Damn, Towa probably wasn’t paying attention to Sokyuu’s stories so she notices a mini Fubuki in the ceiling. She uses her power that signals to the Yashahime about her whereabouts. This allows Moroha to shoot her arrow and then Towa somehow finishing it off. Wow. She did all this without Sokyuu or the deputy shogun noticing?! Of course the rest is history when the ladies barge in to rescue Towa, Sokyuu turns into Yotsume and they leave to hunt him down.

Episode 8
Riku sees Jubei and further requests the destruction of the Four Perils. Jubei is perplexed because with his powers, he could easily destroy them all. He claims he hates the Four Perils and will only kill those he loves. That’s why he’ll get the Yashahime and their Rainbow Pearls. He wonders if he could get all 7 of them. Yotsume returns to Kyuki who gives him her Rainbow Pearl so that he could extract the Yashahime’s weaknesses. So, he grows an extra eye that shoots beams?! Well, it effects everyone except Setsuna since she can’t dream. So we see their dreams. Like Miroku leaving Takechiyo in Jubei’s care, Kagome leaving a baby Moroha in the hands of Hachi before she and Inuyasha face off with Sesshoumaru and Kirinmaru, the Dream Butterfly takes Setsuna’s dreams and then goes to the Tree of Ages where Rin seems to be in slumber inside. Although Setsuna kills Yotsume, the effect is still in place. This means when the Yashahime confront Kyuki, she still has the upper hand as she dares Moroha to turn into Beniyasha. She does so but nothing happens. Her Rainbow Pearl has absorbed their power from their dreams. This means Setsuna can only fight her but she is still lacking since Kyuki transforms into her true tiger beast form. Moroha then tells Towa to use her demon absorbing power as seen during Juan’s case. Although she can use her enemy’s powers, it all depends on how well she can take in the blow. If she can’t handle it, she’ll die. But of course, Towa does this to perfection. Unfortunately she lacks power for the finishing blow so Kyuki fights back and lightly injures Setsuna. Oh God… Not that trauma of being unable to save Setsuna again… But this anger allows Towa to power up and turn her lightsaber into some dragon sword and defeat Kyuki! So while the Yashahime are celebrating their victory, Riku comes by to kill Kyuki and melts her! He is disappointed in her and takes her Rainbow Pearl. He then introduces himself to the Yashahime as Takechiyo gives them their reward.

Episode 9
Jubei has a bounty hunting job that pays a year’s worth of rice! Some demon has destroyed a fortress and scouts that were sent there never returned. Moroha as usual is up to the job but her cousins aren’t. Wow. She’s so disappointed and throws insults at them? Hey, less men, more share? Apparently Moroha doesn’t like to be lonely… :(. Anyway, because Jubei has not heard any clues of the Dream Butterfly, he suggests putting up a bounty. Someone will be bound to look into it. How much? Maybe a year’s worth of rice? Okay then. Looks like they’ll be joining Moroha. Yeah, look at her face lighting up. So they arrive at the supposed fortress only to realize that demon is Konton. So he destroyed the place because it blocked the scenery? They fight but Konton has his lion familiars to help out. Towa’s sword cannot absorb anything from him because it’s just a very hard armour. In the end, they are whisked away. Also being whisked away is a turtle kid, Meifuku. He shows them the bones of his dead father at the bottom of the lake. Konton killed him just to get a piece of his shell to make his armour. Hence Meifuku is out for revenge and has been following Konton. For 10 years?! Oh, Meifuku is 50 years old?! So he needs another 50 years to be ready?! Moroha can’t wait that long so does this justify the turtle abuse?! Oh look, Konton is here to resume the fight. Moroha trying to put up Meifuku to fight him but I guess this turtle’s a chicken. As the fight resumes, Towa gets this idea to put some demonic energy into Konton’s armour. This means the spirit of Meifuku’s dad talks to his son and wants him to use some dark cannon on Konton. Although it might hurt him too, he wants to be put to rest. And so Meifuku sums up his courage to do so. Konton loses his armour but flees before the Yashahime could land the finishing blow. I guess no bounty if they don’t get his head. Meifuku returns the shell and prays to put his father’s soul to rest for good. So this will take about another 50 years?!

Episode 10
The Yashahime investigate a village destroyed by a quarrel between demon siblings. Turns out Kinka and Ginka who are conjoint have to fight each other to the death and the stronger one will absorb the loser. It should’ve been done and dusted when they’re babies but looks like it has drawn out for too long. This sibling rivalry is a thorny issue for Towa since it invokes that traumatic past of hers. The brothers realize the sisters have got the Rainbow Pearls and decide to call a truce and retreat for today. The Yashahime are rewarded dinner by the villagers for saving the village. It is then, Kinka and Ginka possess Towa and Setsuna. How the f*ck did they even let this happen?! Did they let their guard down? The sisters are unable to control their body and start fighting. Thanks to Setsuna releasing some poison to expel the brothers, now that they’ve got their Rainbow Pearls, they flee. I thought it was a no brainer that they possessed the sisters to fight. Couldn’t they just take the Rainbow Pearls and leave?! Anyway, they return to their leader, Jouka to present their steal. She is pleased since she can get her revenge on Sesshoumaru. However she starts to absorb Ginka since one of them is fated to die anyway. And just like that, the brothers don’t hate each other and try to fight her. Yeah, I guess they belong to each other and not some b*tch. Towa and Setsuna arrive on the scene. Watching the siblings fend for each other reminds them of their past. Especially Setsuna partially regaining some of her memories although they are still fuzzy. Eventually the brothers cannot defeat her. Kinka seeks their help but Setsuna wants to do the honours. Jouka is taken down but unfortunately Ginka has died. As Kinka also sustained injuries, he too will die but not before noting despite they hated each other, they were each other’s reason to live. RIP, bros. Towa wonders if Setsuna’s memories have returned although Setsuna remains tight lipped. The biggest loser is Moroha. Since the bodies turn into ashes, she can’t collect any proof as bounty. Maybe the ashes will. Then the wind blows… FFFUUUUU!!!

Episode 11
Moroha almost choked on modern pancakes… Trying to take a drink from the muddy pond, luckily Towa stops her. Moroha saw the pond ate a bird but the sisters don’t believe her since they didn’t see anything. But they do seek advice from Kohaku and Hisui about this and they confirmed of a demonic pond. As the sisters are about to go slay it, they see Chiyo trying to stop her brother, Hikomaru from heading to the pond. Seems the pond ate their parents so he wants revenge? What the f*ck can he do?! Of course the sisters stop them. The sisters accept their invitation to stay at their home since it’s near the pond and they can investigate it. Grandma tells them it was once clear as a sage purified it with medicinal herbs. He also planted a patch nearby but a demon serpent prevented them from collecting it. Next day, Moroha rendezvous with the sisters at the pond. It doesn’t take long before the demon serpent shows up from the pond and blows the Yashahime away with his poison mist. Oddly, only Towa isn’t affected. When she tries to fight it, the pond itself is a demon and protects the serpent. This time its liquid poison affects Towa but has none over Setsuna. Myouga deduces that the sisters have different poison immunity. Setsuna sees the patch of herbs nearby and uses her cyclone move to sweep them all up to purify the pond demon. With that, Towa then lands the finishing blow on the demon serpent. With both demons gone, the pond is now clear as a mirror.

Episode 12
Konton still wants the Rainbow Pearls so he sends Nikosen to do the job. When plantations of a village start to decay and lose its nutrients, Kohaku sends his demon corps to investigate. Of course Moroha is there too for the bounty. She knows a bit about Nikosen as he was a sage but strayed to the path of evil and became an apparition. It didn’t take long before Nikosen shows up. He spews poison but Towa becomes affected the most as she loses her strength. While Setsuna tends to her, Moroha manages to decapitate Nikosen. However his head still lives and flies away. Now it’s Setsuna’s turn to chase after the head while Moroha look after Towa. Setsuna soon realizes the head is just a decoy as the real core is in the body. Speaking of which, WTF Nikosen trying to shake off Moroha and Towa crossing a flimsy bridge. Why are they crossing it in the first place?! Anyway, Moroha is shocked to see Towa’s hair longer and turned black. They survive the fall and take refuge in a cave. Myouga explains Towa has lost her demonic powers due to tonight’s new moon. Different half demons have different conditions when they turn back into humans. Towa didn’t experience such in the other world since she was from this era originally. During such state, it is best they hide themselves. Hence Moroha puts up a spiritual barrier around the cave. But Towa is still worried about Setsuna. As her sister, she could be facing the same effects now. Well, not quite. Setsuna rendezvous with Kohaku as the demon slayers try to bomb the hell out of the mountain?! WTF?! Thanks to all the bombing, the barrier becomes loose and this allows Nikosen to find Towa and Moroha. Yeah, they get petrified! But Setsuna arrives in time to save them. So just the stone part covering them get destroyed? Damn, I thought their whole body and everything would shatter. Thankfully they didn’t. Plot convenience says night time is over and since it is dawn, Towa regains her powers and kills off Nikosen. Towa asks Setsuna about her power loss but she is unsure what she is talking about. It is perhaps she has lost her dreams and memories, the reason why she isn’t affected. But today’s biggest loser is still Moroha. No head, no body, no bounty!

Episode 13
Totetsu eats a virtuous monk. Not as delicious as he thinks. His ideal is Sanzo but since he can’t find that dude, he consults his Rainbow Pearl to find the next monk. Apparently this isn’t the first monk and there have been many similar incidents. Hence Kohaku and his demon slayers are on a mission to protect monks in the vicinity. Hisui is not fond in particular as he is tasked to protect his father. It seems he doesn’t think highly of him and views him as a coward. While Towa and Setsuna accompany Hisui, Moroha thinks the monk she is guarding is targeted and hence is waiting for the big demon to show up so she could get his head for the bounty. Keep waiting. We see Miroku training and he has to undergo such for 1000 days in order to attain some divine power, which he might not even get. Miroku recognizes Setsuna but the latter not so. The sisters talk to Gyokuto who is Hisui’s older sister and then to Hisui as they find out he isn’t happy Miroku is wasting his time with this flimsy training while others are putting their lives on the line. Of course, Totetsu is here so the young ones go into action. Miroku runs away, leaving Hisui with yet another bad impression. But he soon returns with some poison. Using himself as bait, Hisui then releases the poison since Totetsu is sucking everything up into this mouth. Didn’t work since he spits out the poison in time. Consequently, the backlash injures Kohaku. While Towa handles Totetsu, Setsuna who now remembers Miroku, seeks his help to undo the seal on her. Setsuna transforms into her demonic state and lets Totetsu eat her poisonous hand. It tastes bad so he gives up eating and escapes. In the aftermath, Kohaku is healed and Miroku reseals Setsuna’s power. Setsuna explains to tower about the poison in her body is an inherited demon power. However it is hard to control if she transforms into a demon. Since Towa is half demon, she may have some inherited power too. As this monk eating incident blows over, Moroha gets word there will be no more bounty. Not again! Wasted time and effort. Oh well, she did nothing too.

Episode 14
Who is this hot babe, Tamano at Jubei’s place? And she came with Riku? Apparently Tamano lives at the foot of the mountains with her grandparents. So pretty that there were lots of guys asking for her hand in marriage. Of course she declined them all. Then one night, an evil mountain god, Homura whisked her away to his mansion deep in the snowy mountains. His mansion is the only place where it is always spring time. At first Homura treated her nice. But when his human servants just took a glance at Tamano, he became jealous and burnt them! Plus, he blamed Tamano for trying to seduce them and locked her up! Tamano managed to pick the lock and escape but as she grew weak from descending the snowy mountains, that was when she stumbled into Riku who saved and brought her here. Hence the request is to slay Homura before he comes to kidnap her again. There’s a high bounty for this god so you bet Moroha wants this job and drags the sisters into it. Upon arriving, they see Homura frantically looking for Tamano. He becomes enraged since they won’t tell him. When he recognizes their Rainbow Pearls, he is surprised since he thought he killed them. Yes, this is the guy who burnt down the forest and separated the sisters. He was under orders by a mysterious demon lady, Zero (who somewhat knows Sesshoumaru) to kill the sisters. Towa becomes mad seeing he was the one who started the tragedy. Meanwhile, Tamano thinks of settling it with Homura since this was her problem to begin with. With Riku, they head to the snowy mountains. As usual, Homura gets jealous seeing her with a hot guy. This time, Tamano rejects him and claims she will never ever live with him again despite Riku egging her to go with Homura. Homura becomes so sad that he burns himself to death!!! WTF?! Oh well, I guess nobody got their hands dirty. Not sure if Towa is satisfied seeing she couldn’t get proper revenge on the perpetrator. And of course, no reward for ashes. Poor Moroha…

Episode 15
Now we delve deeper into the flashback of everything of this season. 18 years ago when Riku went to see Housenki II as he completed the black pearl that leads one to the border of this world and the afterlife. Riku wants him to pass it to Inuyasha as well as this rouge from Izayoi (Inuyasha’s mom). Housenki II did that in exchange for Inuyasha showing him his Kongosouha move. Stupid mutt! You destroyed your house! Housenki II continues explaining when Great Dog Demon (Inuyasha’s father) died, Izayoi became sad and thus her tears turned to a jewel. It houses Tessaiga and the path to his grave. The rouge was needed to create the black pearl as it contained Izayoi’s despair. Later, Kagome is approached by Riku who warns of a catastrophe in the form of a comet. 500 years ago, its fragments caused war and famine to the land and people. Great Dog Demon and Kirinmaru teamed up to destroy it. Now the comet is here again and with Great Dog Demon’s demise and Kirinmaru in slumber, he needs Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to join hands to stop it. He advised not to awaken Kirinmaru as he hates humans and even those who are half demons. Sesshoumaru is approached by Zero and told the same thing. However, seeing she would like to see his family in despair, she doesn’t press him to be a hero. After Rin gives birth to Towa and Setsuna, Sesshoumaru takes them away. Yeah, believe in him, right? Sesshoumaru is then attacked by Jouka under orders to kill the sisters. But he defeats her, takes her Rainbow Pearls that supposedly are tears of Zero and with Jaken’s power, the sisters are sealed under some barrier. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha meet and cooperate to destroy the comet. Easy. Shortly, Zero awakens Kirinmaru from his slumber and warns him about the prophecy of the Shikon Jewel that will have him killed by something that is not human or demon. Basically it would be Towa and Setsuna since they are half demons. But technically aren’t they both? Also, Moroha who is a quarter demon who can travel time will be a big threat. If he cannot destroy these trio, his doom is certain. Surprisingly, Sesshoumaru teams up with Kirinmaru to fight Inuyasha. After Kagome hands Moroha to Hachi who in turn leaves her in the hands of Kouga’s wolf tribe, Sesshoumaru steals Inuyasha’s black pearl and then seals him along with Kagome inside it. Kirinmaru isn’t pleased that Inuyasha is only sealed off but as Jaken explains, there will come a time when Inuyasha’s Meidou Zangetsuha will be needed. The rest is literally history as we see Zero discovering the location of the sisters and letting Homura burning the forest down seeing Sesshoumaru gave his ‘permission’.

Episode 16
Now it’s Moroha’s turn for a flashback. A few years ago, her master, Yawaragi told her to undergo a test at the Kodoku crucible. Basically all demons and monsters fight in a cave in this battle royale till one emerge as the winner. As a reward, she will give Moroha her sword, Kurikaramaru and her training will end. The catch is that she cannot use her rouge. Eventually Moroha wins it but is soon disheartened to learn Yawaragi has abandoned her. Yawaragi is seen talking to Jubei about why she forbade Moroha to use the rouge because every time she uses it, she loses her heart and herself. In fact, Yawaragi sealed her demon blood inside it. Otherwise naturally when cornered, Moroha will transform into a monster herself. Eventually a mad Moroha comes by to demand her reward. She is further shocked to learn that Yawaragi has sold her off in a bet. But Jubei offers to buy Moroha from her at a good price so that she could find some rat blacksmith to forge a key to free herself from this cursed armour that shrinks every year till it crushes her bones. With that, Moroha is now forced to work as a bounty hunter under Jubei to clear that debt. Now, we see Moroha facing off with Yawaragi. Earlier on, she found the rat blacksmith but the entire clan was slaughtered by Konton. He has the key to her armour and if she wants it, she must bring Moroha’s head as she was to one who killed Tokotsu. Master and pupil fight. Moroha is tempted to use her rouge but Yawaragi dares her to do it and this would prove she hasn’t changed. Further flashbacks revealed a panicky Moroha used the rouge to kill monsters cornering her. She went berserk and scarred Yawaragi. At the same time with monster reinforcements arriving, a sneaky weasel tricked Yawaragi to unlock his armour and this was when she got the cursed. But it enhanced her power. Now that Moroha remembers this, she will not use the rouge and show how much she has improved. Both unleash their powerful move. But this is a setup by Yawaragi to hold down a watching Konton and die with him. Too bad Konton disappears with his Rainbow Pearl and Yawaragi bears the brunt of the move. Konton escapes while Yawaragi has no regrets since Moroha mastered her final move. After burying her, Moroha ponders about her place of belonging since she isn’t a half demon to begin with. She’ll have to continue living in such incomplete existence. Her pals say whatever she does is her own decision. Moroha quickly recovers and is glad they aren’t alone like before.

Episode 17
Riku sees Konton trying to create a field trap. However he needs someone affixed as the focal point for power. Riku suggests using Totetsu but Konton wants the Yashahime to be lured into it instead. Hence Riku goes to see Moroha with rumours that he might know Totetsu’s whereabouts. Money faced Moroha is eager to go so she goes get the sisters to join her. Although Towa is more interested in finding the Dream Butterfly first, Riku heard another rumour that it might be connected to Kirinmaru. Yeah. Such flimsy rumour is enough to get them all on board. They arrive at a temple just in time before Totetsu eats a monk. Totetsu holding a monk hostage and making a fool out of them. Then he escapes and seemingly lures them into a barrier field. Moroha continues to chase Totetsu until she realizes it is just an illusion. Now she realizes the whole place may be an illusion. She tries climbing out of the ravine but has to fight more demons. Meanwhile the sisters are separated from her and they notice no matter how far they walk, they can’t seem to get close to that centre tree. Noting this might be one of Konton’s spells, Towa has Setsuna stay put as she runs about while using her sister as landmark. Before she knows it, she lost Setsuna. However she smells Setsuna’s blood (earlier on she stabbed her thigh thinking this was all just an illusion) and this reunites them again. Realizing Konton is twisting and shifting the space of this area, all they need is to sever the nexus of the spell. Yeah, just sniff out the riff! Why didn’t they use this before?! Is the scent not that obvious? Anyway, they do so and return to reality. Konton in a pinch since he has to deal with the sisters physically now.

Episode 18
While Moroha fights the real Totetsu, the sisters deal with Konton and his familiars. Konton mocks them for not knowing the real meaning of Rainbow Pearls. And something about Zero scattering them all over the world. Long story short, even if Konton has one himself, he gets defeated and decapitated. Yeah, I guess it’s overdue that we have to kill off a Four Perils. Riku takes his Rainbow Pearl. All that’s left is Totetsu. Outnumbered, he runs but the girls are hot on his tail. Kirinmaru then shows up and is not amused that Totetsu led them to his ship. Now GTFO! Kirinmaru introduces himself to them. Moroha is itching to take his head until Takechiyo confirms there isn’t any bounty on his head. Not working for free then. Kirinmaru says they must kill him in order to make the Dream Butterfly disappear. Can we do that without anybody dying? Of course Kirinmaru is worried about the prophecy so he fights the girls to see how much they are of a threat. In short, they’re laughable. Even Moroha in Beniyasha mode didn’t even do much. All this with Kirinmaru didn’t even unleash any special moves of his! So right he is about to kill the sisters, here comes Sesshoumaru. The sisters don’t recognize him since they’ve never seen daddy before. Even if they now know, they didn’t put up that flabbergasted look. Anyway, Sesshoumaru isn’t here to save his daughters. Some score they want to settle, huh? Yeah, we’re tired of weak girly fights. Show them how a true legend fights! OMG. Just the clash of their sword, the ground splits, tsunami created, the sky turn dark and lightning striking all over the place! WOAH!!! I guess they can’t have the world destroyed now so Kirinmaru backs down but reminds Sesshoumaru of some deed that he still needs to do for him. And just like that, Sesshoumaru also leaves, not giving a f*cks for his own daughters. So while the Yashahime trio are still very much alive, they’re just f*cking confused over everything that has just happened. Yeah, that’s because you all are just so damn weak!

Episode 19
Princess Aiya who is the daughter of the deputy shogun has a job for Hisui and his demon hunter fellows. Actually, it is more of a contest. If they manage to defeat a group of bounty hunters, she will employ them into her father’s forces. Besides the bounty hunters consisting of a tranny, a fortune telling grandma, a ninja and a muscle man, the one to watch out is Moroha. Hence Hisui accepts this challenge seeing if they get employed, they’ll have a fixed income and this will help repay Kohaku’s kindness. They also recruit Setsuna for this and she agrees to join but not tell Towa about this. So you bet next morning when Moroha gets her stuffs and is acting suspicious, it sets some alarms ringing for Towa. So we see the battle between demon slayers and bounty hunters. The demon slayers just bomb the hell out of those bounty hunters! Useless. Aiya is enjoying every bit of it. Is she bloodthirsty? It gets complicated when Towa enters the picture to save Moroha. Setsuna will go deal with it. Without telling her the full picture, it is obvious Towa is confused that they are both fighting. Since it has come down to this, Setsuna fights Towa against her own will. Even Moroha thinks Setsuna has gone too far and unexpectedly fights alongside Towa. Then Hisui comes into the picture to end it all. Moroha protects Towa from Hisui’s attack. Towa is mad and sad that they’re prioritizing money over life. Turns out this Moroha is just Takechiyo in disguise. Real Moroha is okay. The demon slayers thought they have won but here comes Kohaku to bring the bad news. He just caught Aiya confessing that all this was just a lie. They will not be employed. Kohaku also tells them that they are demon slayer who help those in need and not for money. Aiya gets scolded by her father for this unauthorized fight. The reason she did this was because when Setsuna and Moroha barged in here to save Towa, they accidentally kicked dirt on her kimono! So this is all petty revenge? Yeah… Setsuna and Moroha think Towa is mad at them for the lie. But she gives them a big hug and is relieved that they’re okay. Yeah, they’re feeling guilty now and this feels worse.

Episode 20
Time for Setsuna to fill Towa in a little about her past when Towa went to the future. After the forest fire, Jaken brought her to a hidden village for half demons. It was run and managed by Shiori, a half demon herself and her barrier kept out those who hunt their kind. It is there Setsuna also learn to train in using weapons from letters of a mysterious sender. For a while, Setsuna was sent to live at Kaede’s village but because she got too violent fighting off bandits, she left and return to the hidden village. One day, a demon named Gaga Gozen and his men came looking for the village. Because that day had solar eclipse, this means Shiori’s power is weakened and she is reverted to a mere human. Setsuna and some of the kids go fight them off. Although Miroku assisted them, they’re still no match for Gaga Gozen. Eventually Setsuna herself turned into a demon and killed him. Because she also went berserk, Miroku had to put her to sleep and then use Gaga Gozen’s naginata to seal her demonic powers. Soon after, Setsuna left the hidden village to live at Kaede’s village and joined the demon hunters (not knowing Hisui was Miroku’s son then) since Shiori deemed her to be independent and don’t need her protection anymore. Shiori’s wish is that if she finds any lost half demons, please tell them about this village. So uhm, does Towa fit into that category? Thus once in a while, Setsuna pays a visit and also kill demons who approach too close to the hidden village.

Episode 21
Flashback shows when Great Dog Demon was injured, the Four Perils wanted to take this chance for Kirinmaru and attack him. However Kirinmaru didn’t like this distasteful idea and would prefer to fight him at full strength. Hence he sent Riku to gather herbs to be sent to Great Dog Demon. Unfortunately he was too late and he died. Zero became saddened by this and believed the demons cannot escape their fate. Hence to seal her demonic powers, she made a wish upon the Shikon Jewel to seal it in 7 Rainbow Pearls. 200 years later, Riku is in possession of 3 of them now and plans to have all 7. As tonight is the new moon, this means Towa is now human. So while staying inside with Kaede, she learns a bit more about Rin. However Kaede isn’t sure what happened to Rin 14 years ago as one night she just disappeared. She could be dead for all you know. Later, Towa sees the Dream Butterfly and follows it to the Tree of Ages. Since Riku is also here, they talk about things and eventually Riku revealing that his goal is to get all the Rainbow Pearls. It is unsure what will happen when all of them are gathered but he wants to do so as a gift for the madam who took care of him. He could remove Towa’s without much pain but looks like Totetsu is here to interrupt. He knows about Towa’s loss of powers tonight so he’s coming to get her head. Towa becoming the damsel in distress several times as Riku protects her, even taking some painful damage. Towa is surprised to learn Riku’s former master is Kirinmaru but was abandoned. He only survived this long because of his madam. Then there’s this weird talk about love. I believe they’re both not proficient on the subject… Totetsu’s charge only stops when Moroha and Setsuna come into the fray. And since sunrise is here, this means Towa has her powers returned. Totetsu tries to flee but Riku decapitates him. And that’s the end of the Four Perils? At least Moroha has got a head for her bounty this time. Towa willingly gives her Rainbow Pearl to Riku so he would overlook those from Setsuna and Moroha. Well, he didn’t say no but I guess they got distracted by this weird talk about love again. So Towa knows what it’s like to like (but not to love) someone, huh? Setsuna wonders if Towa did the right decision. Not only it would make the bearer even more powerful, what if Riku’s master is an evil one and will use it for nefarious ends? Besides, didn’t Riku work for Kirinmaru before? Towa realizes she didn’t think this far and changes her mind. She tries to go after Riku to get back her Rainbow Pearl. WTF… He’s gone… Oh well, love makes you do stupid things…

Episode 22
Flashback shows Kirinmaru and Great Demon Dog cooperating to destroy the comet. Easy. Great Demon Dog and Zero had some chat. From what it sounded like, she’s like had a crush on him? I could be wrong but whatever. Now, Zero finds Miroku and wants the seal on Setsuna to be undone. Of course he won’t do it but she traps him and takes his powers. Setsuna is looking for someone to sharpen her naginata. Moroha takes on the job but since it’s going nowhere, both of them blame each other for the dulling of her weapon. So as the Yashahime head to town, Zero approaches Towa. Because she doesn’t have a Rainbow Pearl on her, it is easy to hypnotize her to do her bidding. Towa then holds down Setsuna so that Zero could undo the seal on her. Setsuna changes into a demon before unlinking herself with Towa (while Towa is under her spell, Moroha can’t kill Zero because doing so would mean killing Towa too). Zero then reveals that she is Kirinmaru’s older sister. As they fight, Zero is clearly superior. She’s just testing them and since they haven’t gotten stronger, she leaves and mocks them to do so before their fight with Kirinmaru. Setsuna is now rampaging throughout town. Moroha has no choice but to turn into Beniyasha to try and stop her. Great. 2 rampaging demons in town. Towa tries to keep up with them and luckily Hisui and Kinu (Gyokuto’s twin sister) come by and heard from Miroku what happened. Kinu can try to help seal Setsuna’s power but she can’t do it while she’s moving. Towa remembers Shiori’s story so she’ll be the one to try and hold her down. Good timing because Beniyasha just lost. So as Towa tries to hold down Setsuna, she has to endure the pain of Setsuna struggling and attacking her. You don’t think trying to shout and make her remember that they’re sisters would help, right? WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WORKED?! With Setsuna calmed down, Kinu is able to do the sealing but it isn’t perfect as there are still traces of the power. Setsuna now remembers Zero from her dreams and promises payback hundredfold times.

Episode 23
In the modern era, Osamu Kirin who was Towa’s homeroom teacher, talks to Souta about the comet reappearing again. However Souta cannot see the comet so Kirin notes that ordinary person can’t. It seems that this is the future self of Kirinmaru? Because back to the past he realizes the comet will still return in the future and needs to do something about it. Jubei confirms the streak of blood on Setsuna’s arm is Blood Blade. This means she has inherited the blood of a great demon and can wield some of Sesshoumaru’s abilities. Moroha wants to know if there are any juicy bounties around. So she’s greedy and Totetsu’s bounty didn’t set her for life already? Anyway, Jubei points out that the sisters want to hire her and pay her all their Totetsu’s share. The job is to help them slay Zero. Meanwhile Kirinmaru sees Sesshoumaru’s mom. They talk about Zero meddling in the affairs but they just let her be. Also, something about the Windmill of Time because Akuru’s pinwheel has been missing. Seems Sesshoumaru is looking for it and although it may seem he is doing it to protect his daughters, mom dismisses it since it will make him so human-like. Now the epic battle begins. Albeit just for a short while. Towa taking on Zero while Setsuna contends with Riku. Then it becomes tag team when Moroha joins in the fight. Myouga trying to advise Moroha to give up this fight because this place is where Great Demon Dog died and the soil still has his powers. Of course Moroha refuses. The Yashahime are shocked to learn Zero is the person whom Riku wants to give the Rainbow Pearls to. Zero too is surprised because she didn’t know this was his intention. She wants him to return them but he won’t because he already gathered all of them here. This makes Zero even more upset since it’s like bringing back those tears to her. As Zero is going to show him the true powers of the Rainbow Pearls, this causes Setsuna’s Blood Blade to act up. In the process it kills her.

Meanwhile Sesshoumaru and Jaken has found Akuru. How convenient. However instead of chasing it, they head back to the Tree of Ages. Suddenly Rin wakes up. Sesshoumaru realizes this means Zero is dead. Who slew her then? Zero is seen walking on the path to the underworld. Sesshoumaru’s mom mocking her as her last rites but Zero might have the last laugh that the joke is on her because if she dies, Rin who is connected to her will also die. And she can’t help think how this will greatly affect Sesshoumaru. Zero adds that she must be feeling as relieved as her too because she is now walking the same path that Izayoi did. After all, she wasn’t chosen by the Great Dog Demon. Sesshoumaru’s mom plays it cool and has no more words for her. However she makes Zero’s blood boil when she points out that her jealousy makes her very human-like. Sesshoumaru appears before Zero’s dead body. Then he uses Tenseiga to kill the demons taking her soul. This then brings Zero back to life and put Rin back to slumber. Apparently it isn’t gratitude that Zero has for this life saving tactic. Since Tenseiga was made by the fang of a certain someone and now that she has been resurrected by it, she feels angry. So mad that she destroys Tenseiga! Now that she doesn’t give a f*cks about everything anymore, she’s also going to kill Sesshoumaru’s daughters too and has Riku assemble all the Rainbow Pearls for her. So Riku now doesn’t want to and needs her to calm down? Things go from bad to worse because here comes Kirinmaru. Yeah. Everybody’s here now. The complication is just killing me at this moment…

Episode 24
Kirara takes away the Yashahime because those girls would’ve died if those dog dudes start attacking each other. First, Kirinmaru apologizes on behalf to Sesshoumaru for his broken Tenseiga and then chastises Zero for going overboard. Sesshoumaru doesn’t care about Tenseiga. As long as he has Bakusaiga. Sesshoumaru wants to kill Zero but Kirinmaru gets in the way. Viewing those Rainbow Pearls as the source of the troubles, Kirinmaru scatters them all over the world. Oh great. This going to be like the Shikon Jewel saga again? With that, Zero severs ties with her brother. They are now mere strangers as she goes on to retrieve her Rainbow Pearls. As Sesshoumaru goes after her, Riku then stabs Kirinmaru from the back as handicap. Because now the Yashahime return to fight him. Hopefully they’ll put on a better performance because the last time, Kirinmaru was holding back. Moroha gets taken out first. Kirinmaru realizes when Setsuna is in trouble, it only brings out Towa’s bloodthirst. This lets his guard down so Towa stabs through him right where Riku made his mark. Setsuna seizes this chance to attack him and scars his face. Kirinmaru so mad that he unleashes a strike so powerful that it breaks Setsuna’s naginata and slices through her! OMFG! Setsuna dead?! Towa in despair as she hears Setsuna’s last words about her regret to die in such a state. RIP, Setsuna. You bet that is the trigger to transform Towa into her true demonic form. I see that Moroha has recovered and returned as Beniyasha. Now both girls go on a mad offensive against Kirinmaru. Woah! So powerful their dragon attacks that not only it caused a crater (and dealt lots of damage to Kirinmaru) but they’re now fighting in an alternate space?! You wonder why but that’s because it’s to show us how their power could cut a planet in half!!! OMFG!!! But at the end of the day, the ladies run out of power so it’s Kirinmaru’s victory although I would call it more of a draw. Kirinmaru hopes to fight again another time since he too has suffered some injuries. I take it, another season? As Towa griefs over Setsuna, suddenly Sesshoumaru drops by to give her his broken Tenseiga. Care to give it a try? Remember, Towa can do lightsaber stuffs with a broken sword! Yeah, I can be rest assured how Setsuna will be revived.

Princess Half-baked, Given No Quarter
It is no surprise that given the direction of where this season is heading and looking at how things ended, a second season was soon announced after this first season ended, right at the abrupt end of the final episode. I mean, we’ve already got 1 foot in the grave so might as well put the other in. Oops! Sorry to word it that way! I mean, this series has its own following and was popular enough to warrant another season so it’ll be stupid for the producers not to capitalize on it and strike while the iron is hot. After all, in today’s era of uncertainty (thanks to a certain persistent virus), it gives something for fans could look forward to. And also for others to make money. Am I right?!

Anyway, personally I wasn’t a big fan of the original Inu Yasha series and you could’ve guessed that I am watching this largely out of nostalgia. After all, back then the internet wasn’t really that advanced and there weren’t many options of what kinds of animes to watch. But as far as this direct spinoff sequel is concerned, if I had to put my honest feelings and sum it up in a few words, it would be a hot mess! You see, this Hanyou No Yashahime is not based on any manga from the original creator and is actually an original anime. Heck, I don’t think the stories were even written by Rumiko Takahashi (Inu Yasha’s creator and writer). So I understand that it is hard to write something original and exciting from scratch these days but you can’t say it is totally from ground zero since we have the base from Inu Yasha to start off with. I mostly feel that some of the stories and plots that we have seen so far here were just filling the gaps and holes that the original series didn’t really cover or did not cover much in detail. Like that black pearl thingy. Actually I don’t remember much either but had I not refer back to my old blog, I would have missed this. Hence the stories and plots I feel are just extended from that to give this season some sort of direction. But it is too premature to pin all the blame on that since the original Inu Yasha series had like almost 200 episodes. But remember, first impressions count a lot too.

So while the early episodes establishes the basics, I feel that somewhere halfway and in the middle of the season, the series starts to meander. Some of them felt like filler episodes (like that flashback on Shiori) but not entirely so because they put in very little elements that would seem integral to the overall plot. But yeah, overall that episode felt like a filler if you take away those. As I said, I’m not a big fan of this series so there could be many things of the series’ lore that I don’t understand or have missed just because of that. That’s why I feel that instead of walking a straight line to the goal that is clearly in sight, the series itself took a slight detour and wanders about like a drunkard who can’t keep his footing balanced before stumbling to the finish line. Only to find that there is another long road ahead of him! The second season, if you didn’t get what I was trying to say!

Of course we 2 cours for this season, it would be utterly boring to see just see Towa trying to find the Dream Butterfly for Setsuna. So they had to add in other stuffs to make it look interesting. But by the time I reached the end of the series, all the final revelations about who is who (Great Dog Demon is the father of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, Izayoi his wife, Zero is Kirinmaru’s sister… ARGH! DON’T CONFUSE ME WITH THIS FAMILY TREE THINGY!), I’m overwhelmed and mostly confused. I know it sounds straightforward but it’s too much for a simpleton like me to bear. Heh. First world problems… Some happened to fast like Homura and Yawaragi’s case. Suddenly we’re introduced to this revelation of the guy who burnt down the forest and caused the separation of the sisters as well as Moroha’s master. Then in the same episode they died! Woah! Like, did they just want to get that out of the way and make the characters and plot move along?!

I would want to b*tch about some of the things that don’t make sense especially I still can’t accept the fact that this takes place in the past and not in some alternate world (which seems more feasible), but that would take paragraphs and I’m feeling lazy right now. Heh. First world problems. Okay, just let me b*tch a little. So whatever the characters do don’t really have an impact in the future, huh? Thank goodness feudal Japan is very bad at recording things. So all those snacks that Moroha brought back, I guess nobody who tasted it ever wanted to taste it again. Or Setsuna playing her violin out in the open airs of the wilderness. So Japanese commoners aren’t interested in this strange instrument? Isn’t that why history still credits Italians creating the violin in the 16th century? Oh yeah, I guess throwing the characters back to the past beats having to call this show an isekai! A term we now loath so much!

And we thought after the Shikon Jewel was destroyed, peace would forever reigned the land and hence the end of the original Inu Yasha series. But nope. Suddenly there’s this Rainbow Pearls. So they weren’t a threat during Inuyasha’s time? But now? Oh well, they aren’t really any threat at all but it feels like they’re just an excuse to replace the Shikon Jewel. I mean, it just feels out of convenience, everything. Need to advance the plot or something, here, Rainbow Pearl flashing. And then something happens, which isn’t all that great if you ask me. And having Towa and Setsuna as half demons feels like a convenient way for them not to be overpowered and let some drama flow because it builds character. Get what I’m saying? They already have their doggy fathers’ blood flowing through them, it wouldn’t be right if they’re just copy and paste materials of their daddies.

I feel the main 3 characters are just mediocre and sometimes a joke. Like for example, Moron-ha is quite crude and brute only because she takes after her father’s side. Yeah, y’all remember how Inuyasha is, right? With only making money on her mind (it has become a running joke that she whines and complains when her hard earned bounty proof becomes nothing), she’s like the group’s joker and she’s the only one who is most lively and carefree among the trio. Then there’s Sad-tsuna whose poker face and seriousness just makes her not a fun character. Sure, her dreams were stolen. Does this give her the right to act like a proud b*tch? She claims she doesn’t want to get too close to Towa and doesn’t believe they’re sisters but often too many times the opposite happens. I mean, she doesn’t outright reject Towa but she doesn’t want to get all too close to her too. So is she a tsundere? Set-tsundere-na… Finally there’s Troll-wa who really wants to make up time she lost spending with her sister. She’ll do anything for it but her virtue signalling might want to make us puke sometimes. Don’t even get me started about her annoying trauma of her uselessness to save her sister in their younger years. Setsuna calls her soft and naïve for that kind of attitude in this era but thankfully Towa has luck on her side so she doesn’t have to change and continues to be the Towa we all know. Essentially, both sisters have their strengths and weak points even during their other forms but at this point I don’t remember because I’m confused. To be fair, the old characters in Inu Yasha had their weird personalities too so I’m saying that I was expecting something better especially for heroines who are the main characters and the poster faces of this sequel spinoff.

As for the other characters, well, the new ones are pretty meh and the old returning ones just feel they’re there to ramp up the nostalgia feel. Like Myouga who is on and off there to explain to us things. Miroku makes the most appearance of the original quartet but that is only give seeing what happened to Inuyasha and Kagome. We still have some questions about them but I suppose that is for next season to reveal. To replace a certain fox demon kid as the series’ mascot, now we have a tanuki that goes by the name of Takechiyo. Basically he is more annoying than Shippo despite both animal kiddies are similar in the sense they could be easily bribed and be helpful to others at times but mostly useless at others. Kohaku now as a grownup is more responsible than his kiddie self that last time but he still doesn’t do anything much. Same case for Hisui. They’re just like the backup if ever our main characters need or the plot calls for their assistance. Some felt sorely missed like Kouga. So what happened to this dude? But grandma Kaede is still around?! Damn, Kikyo’s sister really does have a long life.

Sesshoumaru still around and still hasn’t change much. Still the taciturn he is and things might be easily resolved if he had just open his mouth and explain properly. He acts like he doesn’t care for his daughters but our guts say he does. But that wouldn’t be the Sesshoumaru we know. So we are all left wondering about his intentions and the likes, whether or not he is friend or foe. Whether or not he is a heartless bastard who abandoned his daughters or if there is actually more to it. And of course the biggest question old time fans might be asking is how the f*ck did Sesshoumaru got Rin pregnant! WE JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW! This dude hates humans so much although the irony was he let Rin and Kohaku follow him around. Hypocrisy of that level is one thing, but assuming he really knocked up Rin… That would just be unthinkable! Even though Rin confirmed Towa and Setsuna are her daughters, I am guessing that there will be a twist somewhere. Yeah, lazy writing says somebody implanted her with fake memories and that she isn’t their real mom!!! SAY IT ISN’T SO!!! Same question for Inuyasha and Kagome. Can we imagine this dog dude shagged Kagome and they got a daughter out of it?! I really can’t imagine it lest it’s porn… Unless you tell me some magic fairy made their wish come true to have a child. Damn, then it makes Kagome more virgin than Mother Virgin Mary!

This season’s antagonists are also pretty meh and mostly iffy. Kirinmaru is supposed to be the big bad guy that replaces Naraku but from what we’ve seen, it all feels unclear. I mean, we’re told that the prophecy of the disaster he would bring by turning everything into nothingness, but could that all be fake too? Then there’s Zero and Riku who don’t really feel like villains in their own right. They just have different ideals and own problems to deal with but from what I can see, it’s just confusing. So are they the real enemies that our Yashahime are supposed to be facing? Don’t tell me it’s that comet… Making it all feel cheaper are the Four Perils. If they were nameless henchmen, I don’t think it will impact the series very much either. Right away, we see 2 of them getting killed off. And then in the second half, the balance followed. It makes me wonder what made them so terrifying that they needed to be nicknamed so other than serving under Kirinmaru. They’re not even as close to a threat and the only reason why our heroines have a hard time dealing with them is because for dramatic purpose and their own bungling! To see the Four Perils getting killed off so easily and unceremoniously feels like an insult. Even Naraku’s incarnations had better treatment and respect than these losers. Now can we rename them to the Four Perished?

One of the annoying things this anime has is that how it spams the characters’ names when they first appear for that episode. For every episode! Damn, I am thinking to name this the Boku No Hero Academia Effect because that’s the show that I started to notice this annoying trend. So while it may be good for the first few episodes, but soon it starts to become really irritating when they start doing this for the main characters for every other episode! I mean, come on! Can’t you not even remember the Yashahime’s name even a quarter into this season?! I think it’s an insult to old time viewers to be spammed Sesshoumaru’s name each time he pops up. What? You don’t remember this dude?! What show were you watching then?! If that’s the case, you are truly bad with remembering names, oh boy, watching shows with multiple episodes aren’t a thing for you! And if you must, be sure to have a handy thick fan guide book to everything by your side! Hah. Seriously, I thought the Dream Butterfly was bad enough to take away your dreams, emotions and memories. Now we have the Brain Cell Butterfly who turn people into having short memory for names. HAHAHA! Oh damn, it’s not a laughable matter the more I think of it… Sure, I admit I have memory problems but at least not for the names of the anime I am currently watching!

The action parts are just rather okay. I’m not really impressed despite the Yashahime having just a variety of set of moves under their arsenal, the effects mostly look all the same to me. Just in different form. For instance, Setsuna’s Muretachi No Tsubame AKA Scourge of Swallows and Moroha’s Kouryuuha AKA Crimson Dragon Wave, they feel like some air slashing moves that become some giant flashy projectile. And I suppose Moroha wields bow and arrows as a way to pay homage to Kagome, huh? Towa’s lightsaber I feel is like a homage to Star Wars and I was waiting for the moment for Sesshoumaru to say to his daughters, “Towa, Setsuna, I am your father”! HAHAHA!!! Anyway, the action sequences are the staple of the series but shouldn’t be thought of as a masterpiece. If you are familiar with such fights in the Inu Yasha series, you’ll feel just like home. After all, when low level demons die, they just disappear from existence, right?

It’s nice to see that the overall art and animation style of this series still maintains the trademark of its original (as well as other works of Rumiko Takahashi). It’s no doubt that Sunrise who animated the original seasons of Inu Yasha, continue to work on this direct sequel spinoff. Hence Sango fans won’t feel ‘left out’ because you can see some of that resemblance in Setsuna since she dons the demon slayer uniform (as well as to Sesshoumaru because who else wears a huge animal fur thingy too?) and some parts in Moroha that resembles Kagome only to be overwhelmed by her crude personality. Oddly for Towa, she does have her reasons why she dresses up as a male. But I keep thinking that if this is the only set of clothes she brought back because otherwise, laundry is going to be hell for her as her clothes are all white. Some characters have that bishonen look (Riku, Kirinmaru) while others look weird (Zero, seriously) while others look funny (Totetsu). It’s a weird time to live in.

Voice acting, while those from the previous Inu Yasha series are retained, a whole new casts for the new characters. Unfortunately I recognized Jun Fukuyama as Riku and Hiroki Yasumoto as Konton. At first I thought Ikue Ohtani was behind Takechiyo’s voice. Then I could write wild conspiracy theories who she was an electric rat and a tonakai-mistaken-for-a-tanuki and now really a tanuki. Oh boy. I would have a field day. Too bad it’s Ai Fairouz. She’s been laying low after her amazing debut as Hibiki in Dumbbel Nan Kilo Moteru. The other casts are Sara Matsumoto as Towa (Hiro in Kono Oto Tomare), Mikako Komatsu as Setsuna (Neko in K), Azusa Tadakoro as Moroha (Fino in Yuushibu), Yoshimasa Hosoya as Kirinmaru (Reiner in Shingeki No Kyojin), Maaya Sakamoto as Zero (Ciel in Kuroshitsuji), Tsuyoshi Koyama as Jubei (Leon in Trinity Blood), Takehiro Urao as Hisui, Hiroshi Shirokuma as Totetsu (Warrod in Fairy Tail).

The first opening theme is New Era by SixTones. It feels a bit out of place this hip hop K-pop-like piece especially when a series is set in the feudal era. However the original Inu Yasha had a myriad of opening and ending themes that also feel out of place too. Anyway, New Era somewhat reminds me of I Want To Change The World (the first opening theme of the Inu Yasha series) since it has that similar vibe. Burn by News for the second opening theme also have this rap hip hop style that made me raise an eyebrow. Break by Uru as the first ending theme may flow to a slower beat but be reminded to lower your bass because the dubstep in the background may be shaking your ground if your bass effect is up. Among all the themes, this is the one I prefer the most. The second ending theme is Kesshou by Ryokuoushoku Shakai and resembles a slow rock.

Overall, I am not really impressed with this sequel spinoff and read many comments online that they mostly share the same sentiments as I do. I mean, this is not a bad series entirely per se but after 10 long years from the original that has ended, we expected something much more from this revival. You dig up something that is supposed to stay dead or in eternal slumber and you gave us something this mediocre? Makes me feel of wanting to go back in time and stop whoever came up with this brilliant idea of making Hanyou No Yashahime. But I won’t because I fear history might repeat itself. Or let the Dream Butterfly eat my negative sentiments for this series. But I won’t because I need to remember this season wasn’t really that good and shouldn’t be repeating that mistake. All that is left now is to wait for the second season and hopefully things will pick up from there. It is one thing the characters from the present goes back to live in the past. It’ll be another (and a disaster) if the anime itself is stuck in the past!