Yashahime – Princess Half-Demon
Studio: Sunrise
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Hello my friends.
Now the time has come for me to review…
But first, I must apologise to all of you, my friends, because I tried to finish the Part II of My Own Impressions entry of Inuyasha; unfortunately I had to work last Friday (I thought I didn’t have to, but then some misunderstanding took place), without mentioning that I overslept due to the Daylight Saving Time. The good news is that the first thing I did was to check out the first episode of Yashamine: Princess Half-Demon. And with that still fresh, I’m ready to write.
But firstm the usual questions:
Are you my friends ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Having said that, let’s go on the review,
PREMISE
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD. BE CAREFUL!
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon takes after the events of Inuyasha: The Final Act. Naraku has been defeated, the Shikon Jewel has been destroyed, Kagome decided to stay in Feudal Japan with Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku got married and have offsprings. Even Sesshomaru himself. Two twin daughters – Towa and Setsuna.
At some point, the sisters are separated, and while Setsuna remains in Feudal Japan, Towa enters the Bone Eater’s Well and transports herself to modern era, where she is adopted by the Higurashi family. Now, ten years later, they get reunited, however… Setsuna doesn’t anything about her childhood.
Now both must embark into a new journey to recover the lost memories of Setsuna, along with Moroha, the daughter of Kagome and Inuyasha.
Takahashi-sensei (Rumiko Takahashi) designed the characters, and the studio behind Yashahime is Sunrise, the same one that produced Inuyasha, Inuyasha: The Final Act, and the four movies, something that I am personally grateful about. So no complains, at least not the ones that came from One Punch Man, season 2, and Nanatsu no Taizai: Wrath of the Gods.
Another detail that I really cherished is the return of Kaoru Wada, who also composed the complete soundtrack of Inuyasha.
Finally, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon will consists in two cours (23-24 episodes).
STORY
Well. Before I start talking about the first episode of Yashamine, I must quote some «trending topic», and that is…
Ok. Hear me out.
I am quoting Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, because one of the biggest criticisms of the movie was the ridiculous and messy use of fanservice to attract the fans at the expense of the story, something I can’t argue with, especially because it «inherited» all the flaws from both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, especially the worst of all: introducing the classic characters like Han, Leia and Luke in the lousiest, disrespectful way possible, but when Rise of Skywalker was released, it destroyed any trace of subtlety, if there was any.
Anyway, my point is that Yashahime starts introducing Towa Higurashi in Feudal Japan, as a way of tease, and then, the story goes six months after the end of Inuyasha: The Final Act. It takes its time to visually explain what happened to our classic characters, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Sesshomaru. After all, none of Yashahime will be possible without them, and the new anime focuses in the daughters of Sesshomaru, Moroha and their relationships, so it makes sense to start from the classics, revealing how Towa, Setsuna and Moroha became who they are in the most organic way possible, and finally, giving Inuyasha, Kagome and the others the respect they earned. Not just deserved… earned, with their stories and individual developments.
If something, giving us a satisfying ending to what Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Shippo, Sango and Sesshomaru started before expanding them as characters. Something that Star Wars sequel trilogy FAILED to do. Instead, all of its movies turned Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and Lando, into generic filler cast.
I am making it sound like Episode 1 is another adventure from Inuyasha and company, and for the most part… It is. Setsuna and Moroha appear almost at the end, but don’t worry, I’ll get there later. Again, Inuyasha and company (including Kohaku) are in their best shapes; as awesome and badass as in Inuyasha and Inuyasha: The Final Act, there are two changes. 1. That Miroku and Sango have a new son, Hisui. 2. Kagome has become stronger and braver. So rest assured that our beloved characters are still great. And now, they must hunt a Root Demon that Kikyo sealed, even before meeting Inuyasha. They win, but… nothing seems what it is.
And the preview of Episode 2 confirms that it will expand what episode 1 started, and answer how Towa and Setsuna got separated.
So again, the story:
- Respects the identity of Inuyasha and company as characters.
- Is making a proper transition between one story and the other.
- Teases us delightfully with our loveable heroines.
- Gives us some references about Reiwa Era. (Times goes by)
I must confess that one of my favourite elements of any kind of story is a timeskip properly done (i.e. Naruto, Ben 10, Mortal Kombat X, God of War 2018). And this is why I am excited about Yashamine: Princess Half-Demon. Can’t wait until episode 2.
CHARACTERS
Like I said, it is still too soon to start talking about Towa, Setsuna and Moroha, but, for now, I am pretty satisfied with how this new series is developing the classic characters. So, I will talk about the design of the three of them. I think they look really beautiful. Towa has this vibe of modern-era Japan, combined with that awesome, charming onee-chan, if I am correct about her role in the Higurashi family. Setsuna looks like the cool, stoic character that has a lot of potential for the story, and there is plenty of both Inuyasha and Kagome in Moroha. After all…
«The apple never falls far from the tree.»
Takahashi-sensei, from my perspective, is an expert in creating characters, both physically and mentally, especially in Inuyasha, and despite from having a manga… yet, Yashahime has a lot of potential.
I will be for episode 2.
CONCLUSION
There you go! After finally completing the cycle of Sword Art Online: Alicization, it is good to move on and see different proposals, and I believe that Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon worth the attention.
But I am not done yet. I will come back for My Own Impressions of Inuyasha – Part II very soon. And I need to watch Fire Force – season 2, Re:Zero – season 2; Haikyu!!, and The Misfit of the Demon Academy.
I will be pretty busy writing in my blog. So no more Star Wars sequel trilogy. For the fans… Can you forgive for not loving it that much?
I guess not.