Hanjó no jašahime: Sengoku otogizóši - Season 1

So, after finishing the first season, I can safely say that this anime series is not that big a deal as some other ongoing popular anime series (like for example Boruto). Unfortunately, it is also not as magical and interesting as the original Inuyasha, though some important elements have been thankfully retained. The first thing I want to say, because I have to give a lot of credit to it, is the soundtrack. Kaoru Wada has returned with some of his original and familiar musical motifs, he even managed to select two great opening tunes that managed to get me in the mood for each episode, and the tracks used for the ending really did the trick. The music was really distinctive, had a lot of feeling and made some of the more lukewarm episodes seem better. Another thing that came back is the setting, roaming around feudal Japan, and there are also some occasional glimpses into the present day. In addition to that, there are also some new and interesting demons... I really enjoyed these elements of the show before, and I still like them to this day. The characters from the original Inuyasha also show up here and there, and bring a refreshing element to the episodes they appear in. We did not know what they had been up to, and so there was a real air of mystery that had built up around the original characters, and so the show used that mysterious atmosphere to great effect. I believe that it grabs your attention and is really driving the show, because it is the most interesting aspect for true aficionados of the original anime series. Saying that, therefore it has to be said that some of the controversial non-canon elements will not be to everyone’s liking. For example, the very notion of someone as cool, divine and unattainable as Lord Sesshomaru having two children is just unimaginable to some die-hard fans, but is exactly what happened! Likewise, some found who he had the children with (which actually did not surprise me all that much) really shocking. Some even got into working out exactly how much time actually passed between the two seasons, and how much the characters were in it before, and how much they are in it now... Anyway, every episode where Sesshomaru, Miroku, Sango, Jaken, Rin, Inuyasha and Kagome appear, even if just for a moment by themselves, is immediately a huge treat! I mean, it is like I have been drinking that proverbial juice made of Memberberries. What I thought did not work so well was the pace of the story itself, because I felt it sometimes dragged quite a bit, and at other times it just rushed past leaving you wondering if the girls will have no enemies left. At other times you are left wondering if a particular episode was important or just a filler, and when it comes to the big revelations, there does not seem to have been enough build up to create that sort of suspense which can really seriously knock you for six. At times, especially in the middle of the season, it really felt like it was just another anime series with a "monster of the week" concept, which was sometimes the case in Inuyasha. However that idea probably spoils the overall impression of the show itself a bit more. The story itself is not particularly complex either, the most interesting part of it is of course the destinies of the old familiar characters, however - the rest of it is just we are going to stop someone evil getting a hold of seven objects he wants... There is nothing new under the sun. The other thing I want to tell you about is the main characters. There are three girls, two of them are interesting and then there is Towa. Two of them are charming and have character and are somewhat of a reflection of their parents. Then there is Towa... This is a girl whom I did not find interesting at all at the beginning, I thought she was ordinary, naive, and mundane and so I therefore expected her character to be the one which developed somehow more significantly as the season went on. However, even towards the end of the first season she was still incredibly uninteresting, naive and often making decisions that I found absolutely baffling. Oh well, hopefully we will see her change and develop much more in the next season. That is because the only thing which cheered me up slightly was the fact that there might be a storyline where she has some sort of romantic interest, which might at least help her character grow a bit. Otherwise, all in all the little romance that spiced up Inuyasha is very much in evidence... However let us get back to the (more interesting) girls! Setsuna’s character carries the haughtiness of her father, although it is admittedly still not quite as overpowering as Lord Sesshomaru’s, but I think it is quite obvious. She is quite quiet and pragmatic, and I for one am very interested in seeing if her character changes in any way when the girls "catch the Dream Butterfly". Oh, and finally there is Moroha - who is my favorite new character, and I think it is a shame that she does not get as much screen time as the twins because, while she is maybe not the smartest, she is amusing, energetic - exactly like her father Inuyasha. I thought Moroha was great and I enjoyed the show much more when she started to appear in every episode. The animation is also of a very good standard, it relies entirely on traditional drawing even for the fight scenes, and everything looks fluid, dynamic, colorful and sometimes a bit retro, which I actually quite like. All in all, I quite enjoyed Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon despite its flaws, which I thought were mainly the pacing and the depth of the narrative. I am going to watch the second season when it comes out, and after much deliberation about whether to award three strong stars or four weak stars. I am going to award the first season the latter of the two. 6.6/10. (20/09/2021) (moins) (plus)