Inuyasha (TV series)

Inuyasha (犬夜叉) is a Japanese anime television series based Rumiko Takahashi's manga series Inuyasha. Produced by Sunrise, the series aired on Yomiuri TV, Nippon Television and their affiliates from October 2000 to September 2004. Since then, it has spanned four films, video games, toys, merchandise and a sequel, covering the last chapters of the manga, titled Inuyasha: The Final Act, which aired from October 2009 to March 2010.

Cast

Episodes

Production and release

The first Inuyasha anime adaptation, was broadcast for 167 episodes on YTV, NTV and their affiliates from October 16, 2000, to September 13, 2004.[3][4]

Inuyasha: The Final Act

In July 2009, it was announced that another anime television series adaptation, covering the original 36–56 volumes of the manga, would be made by the first anime's same cast and crew.[20] Titled Inuyasha: The Final Act (犬夜叉完結編), the series was broadcast for 26 episodes on Nippon TV and Yomiuri TV from October 4, 2009, to March 30, 2010.[21] In other parts of Asia, the series was broadcast in the same week as its broadcast in Japan on Animax Asia.[28] Aniplex collected the episodes on seven DVDs, released between December 23, 2009, and June 23, 2010.[29][30]

In North America, the series was licensed by Viz Media,[31] and the episodes were simulcast via Hulu and Viz Media's Shonen Sunday site in the United States.[32] Viz Media released the series in two DVD and Blu-ray sets, which included an English dub.[33] The first thirteen episodes, constituting the first set, were released on November 20, 2012,[34] and the last thirteen episodes, constituting the second set, were released on February 12, 2013.[35] The series began broadcasting in the United States and Canada on Viz Media's online network, Neon Alley, on October 2, 2012.[36] On October 24, 2014, it was announced that Adult Swim would air The Final Act on the Toonami block, beginning on November 15, at 2:00 a.m. EST.[37]

Films

There are four animated Inuyasha films with original storylines written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, the writer for the Inuyasha anime series.[38] All were released in Japan in the month of December of their respective release years. The films were released with English subtitles and dubs on Region 1 DVD by Viz Media. Together, the four films have earned over US$20 million at Japanese box offices.[39]

The first film, Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time, was released in 2001. In the film, Inuyasha and his friends confront Menomaru, a demonic moth warrior brought to life by one of the shards.

In the second film, Inuyasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass, released in 2002, the group seemingly kills Naraku for good and returns to their normal lives, only to encounter a new enemy named Kaguya, a character based on the literature The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

Music

The score for the series was composed by Kaoru Wada.

The original series features six opening themes and eight ending themes. The first opening theme is titled "Change the World" performed by V6 and used from episodes 1–34, for episodes 35–64, the opening theme is titled "I am" performed by Hitomi, for episodes 65–95, the opening theme is titled "Owarinai yume (終わりない夢)" performed by Nanase Aikawa, for episodes 96–127, the opening theme is titled "Grip!" performed by Every Little Thing, for episodes 128–153, the ending theme is titled "One Day, One Dream" performed by Tackey & Tsubasa and the final opening theme is titled "Angelus", performed by Hitomi Shimatani and used until episode 167. For episodes 1–20, the ending theme is titled "My Will" by Dream, the second ending theme is titled "Fukai Mori", performed by Do As Infinity and used from episodes 21–24, the third ending theme is titled "Dearest", performed by Ayumi Hamasaki and used from episodes 42–60, the fourth ending theme is titled "Every Heart (Minna no Kimochi)", performed by BoA and used from episodes 61–85, the fifth ending theme is titled "Shinjitsu no Uta" performed by Do As Infinity, the sixth ending theme is titled "Itazura na Kiss (イタズラなKISS) performed by Day After Tomorrow, the seventh ending theme is titled "Come" performed by Namie Amuro and used for episodes 128–146 and the final ending theme is titled "Brand-New World", performed by V6 and used until episode 165.

Character songs

Multiple soundtracks and character songs were released for the series by Avex Mode. Three character singles were released August 3, 2005 – "Aoki Yasei o Daite" (蒼き野生を抱いて) by Kappei Yamaguchi featuring Satsuki Yukino as their characters, "Kaze no Naka e" (風のなかへ) by Kōji Tsujitani featuring Hōko Kuwashima and Kumiko Watanabe as their characters, and "Gō" (業) by Ken Narita featuring Yuichi Nagashima and Mamiko Noto as their characters. The singles charted at number 63, 76, and 79, respectively, on the Oricon chart.[42][43][44] Three more character songs were released on January 25, 2006 – "Rakujitsu" (落日) by Toshiyuki Morikawa as his character, "Tatta Hitotsu no Yakusoku" (たったひとつの約束) by Yukino as her character, and "Abarero!!" (暴れろ!!) by Takeshi Kusao and Ai Orikasa as their characters. The singles charted at number 130, 131, and 112, respectively, on the Oricon chart.[45]

On March 24, 2010, Avex released Inuyasha Best Song History (犬夜叉ベストソングヒストリー), a best album that contains all the opening and ending theme songs used in the series.[48] The album peaked at number 20 on the Oricon album chart and charted for seven weeks.[49]

Inuyasha (TV series)

Cast

Episodes

Production and release

Inuyasha: The Final Act

Films

Video games

Music

Character songs

Reception

External links

References

type	tv series
title	Inuyasha: The Final Act
director	Yasunao Aoki
producer	Tomoyuki Saito Mitomu Asai Naohiro Ogata
writer	Katsuyuki Sumisawa
music	Kaoru Wada
studio	Sunrise
network	ytv, NTV, TSB, FCT, KKT
first	October 4, 2009
last	March 30, 2010
episodes	26
episode list	Inuyasha: The Final Act