The Show:
Rumiko Takahashi's epic adventure series InuYasha continues with
the release of the 41st volume in the series. Though it only has
a mere three episodes, the trio on this disc are filled with action and
some significant plot developments. Not only does Inu battle Bankotsu
in a mortal fight, but a very powerful villain from the past proves that
it's hard to keep an evil demon down. Fans of the show won't want
to miss this one.
Series background:
As told in the first episodes, Kagome Higurashi is a typical teenage
girl. On her 15th birthday she goes looking for her little brother
and discovers him near a centuries-old well that is on their property.
He's afraid that the family cat has fallen down the well, and Kagome, being
a good sister, investigates. Peering into the dark shaft, the poor
girl is grabbed and pulled in. Fighting free she manages to climb
out, but things have changed drastically. She's now in feudal Japan
and her life becomes much more complicated.
It turns out that Kagome is the spitting image of another woman, Kikyo,
who was in love with the half-demon Inuyasha. Unfortunately, the
two were tricked by the demon Naraku into betraying each other. The
half-demon ended up imprisoned and the woman died, all because of an item
that grants demons terrific power, that Shikon jewel.
While being attacked Kagome ends up freeing Inuyasha, and when the Shikon
jewel is shattered soon after, the pair team up to reassemble it.
Only Kagome can sense the jewel fragments, and Inuyasha wants to take revenge
against Naraku. They are joined on their journey by aa colorful assortment
of characters including a monk named Miroku, and Sango a demon slayer.
This volume:
Three action packed episodes make up this volume. Inuyasha and
company have gotten to Mt. Harukei but their troubles are just starting.
Demons start streaming out of the mountain and attack. While the
other fight, Inu encounter Bankotsu, the last member of the Shichinin-tai,
who is pretty powerful. Having several shards of the jewel embedded
in his body, this is one foe who isn't so easily defeated.
While Inuyasha is battling, Kouga and Kagome head inside the mountain
where Kagome senses more Shikon fragments. Traveling deeper and deeper
into the rock, they discover that Naraku has yet another trap, and this
one not only ensnares some of the heroes, but nets him a new body in the
process.
Having missed the episodes between the end of season 2 and the beginning
of this disc, I'll admit that the situation was a little confusing at the
beginning. Not being familiar with some of the characters or knowing
how their circumstances have changed did lessen the impact of this disc
a bit. Having said that, this was still a pretty exciting volume
with very good fight scenes and some intense moments. Heading towards
the end of the fifth season this show still has a good head of steam and
the next volume promises to be equally exciting.
The DVD:
Audio:
This set comes with the original Japanese language track and an English
dub, both in stereo. I alternated audio tracks for a few shows and
found them both to be very good, though I prefer the Japanese track a bit
more. Both languages were free from hiss, dropouts, distortion and
other audio defects. The dialog was easy to hear and the music came
through clearly. A solid sounding set.
Video:
The full frame color video looks very good. The image is bright
and colorful and the lines are very sharp. The level of detail is
fine, and there are no print defects to speak of. On the digital
side, things also look very good. A little minor aliasing is present,
but it doesn't mar the picture. A very nice looking set.
Extras:
The only extra on this disc is an art gallery.
Final Thoughts:
Though I haven't screened many of the discs immediately preceding this
one, I didn't find it very hard to get into. The action was fast
and furious, and the plot moved at a good clip. Several interesting
things occur in these episodes, so if you've followed the series this far,
you won't want to stop now. Even though I really thing that four episodes should be the minimum released on a DVD, this disc is still Recommended.
Buy: