It's never gonna end, is it?
Viz is still publishing it in English.
It's currently the fourth-most popular series on Fanfiction.net.
And now the anime version is back on the air.
By the way, would now be a bad time to tell you otakus that I think Rumiko Takahashi is an overrated hack?
Oh whatever. Inuyasha came, and it wants to stay.
But not if I have something to say about it.
A number of Inuyasha video games have been made. I myself have borne witness to an IY game.
xm0123 presents: Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale for the original Sony Playstation.
IY: AFFT is a 2D tourney fighter for the PS1. It was developed by Dimps and published by Bandai in December of 2002 in Japan and April of 2003 in America. According to Wikipedia, it was one of the last games made for the PS1.
That's no typo by the way; there really is a IY game for the PS1, one of which that came out TWO YEARS AFTER THE SONY PLAYSTATION 2! At this point, the PS1 was obsolete, and even a game made to be in 2D (like what the PS1 was supposed to showcase, as opposed to the shitty-looking 3D games that came to dominate the console) could not compare to anything coming out on the PS2. This was a budget title, the kind of which you may find for ten bucks in the "old" games section at Target. Only one kind of person would own a game like this: an IY fanboy/fangirl.
Yeah, one of my anime-whoring assfuck "friends" owned this game. Showcased it to me one day, even offered me the chance to play it; I declined, because honestly, the game looked like shit.
IY: AFFT had decent graphics, and the artwork was very true to the anime version. The background music, I don't know if it was ripped from the show, but it was appropriate, sounding "Japanese-y." Being a budget title, the game was not dubbed in English. The text was in English, but the voices? Nihongo only. Of course, knowing them, they saw that as a high point.
The game suffered from very obvious slowdowns. For example, if someone did a super, the game would display a closeup of the character doing their super, and shouting in Japanese. (how do you say "Wind Scar!" in Japanese again?) However, it's a pretty obvious access pause, for whenever someone connects a super, the game pauses for about fifteen seconds, closeup and all, before getting back to the action. Not only that, the game itself isn't very fast-paced. I saw my "friends" try out all 12 of the playable characters, and none of it looked very exciting.
But the worst part? The game was unbalanced as Hell. Certain fighters could win by simply spamming certain attacks over and over. Some fighters had crazy good supers, while others had worthless supers. You know why I love the Naruto:Ultimate Ninja games and Guilty Gear XX AC+? Because they had balance. There's a fighter for every playing style. Not so in this game. If I remember correctly, it seemed like Koga and Kikyo could wipe the floor with everyone in IN: AFFT. I don't know if that's true to canon or not, but knowing me, I don't care.
Every other Inuyasha game I know is poorly received. I'm not surprised; the source material is crap, and the only people who would buy it or any other IY game would be anyone who shouts, "OMG! Sesshomaru (if you're attracted to guys, if not, substitute Sesshomaru with Kagome or Kikyo) is my Bishie/Waifu!" on a daily basis. Of course, things are different now: lots of "real" anime fans hate on IY for its popularity, and more sensible fans have come to their senses over the years. (Meanwhile, people like me, who hated IY from the start, are no longer seen as "freaks", but as people ahead of our time. Funny how patience has worked in my favor.)
Well, rest assured, IY is gonna go the way of the dodo sometime, only to be remembered by the most obsessive of fanatics. Until that day comes, though, I have one word of warning for Viz Media:
Do not tempt me with Kagome's hair!
And do not tempt me with her brown eyes either.
Or . . .
You know something? If Kagome was a likable character, I would list her somewhere on my list of Cute Anime Girls. Alas, she is only remembered as an unlikable female protagonist, albeit one with gorgeous black hair.
Hey, this fixation on just one aspect of her body, it reminds me of Yu-Gi-Oh abridged, how everyone remarks about Mai Valentine's breasts, but not Mai herself. You know, like, "I'm going on a date with Mai's breasts!" Or "Don't talk about Mai's breasts that way!" It's all too similar.
"Wait! You don't think Kagome's hair is a good female protagonist!? How rude! Don't talk about Kagome's hair that way, you hater! Go back to, uh, I don't know, obsessing over Youmu's dress, and leave anything related to Inu to us! Me/Kagome's hair 'til the day I die!"
Okay, have it your way.
