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Major irritants about "Inuyasha."


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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:50 am Reply with quote
Just to clarify.: This is not about Inuyasha: The Final Act.

  • I looked for a similar thread to post this in, but couldn't find one. If there is one out there, then please accept my humble apologies.
  • This posting is inspired by John Casey's post here in this thread.

So, what do you find irritating about "Inuyasha"?

  1. In the X Files, it was said that no episode was complete until Agent Sculley yelled out "Mulderrrr!!!" Similarly, Kagome in every other episode yells out, "InuYASHAAAA!!!"
  2. The expositions wherein the characters explain what's going on (e.g., when Kagome trips over a rock, Shippo will then exclaim, "Kagome tripped over a rock!"
  3. Naraku always escaping in defiance of all logic and common sense.
  4. And don't get me started on those damned fillers.....


Last edited by nobahn on Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:58 pm; edited 3 times in total
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dageiver



Joined: 09 Oct 2010
Posts: 39
PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:02 am Reply with quote
hehe all very true. Shippo was such a weak character too.

I didn't mind the show though and I didn't think the fillers were nearly as bad as nurato. What I liked about the show and others like it is it has no intelectual premise so you can just zone out and watch it, that and I really like the intro theme for some reason >.<

I did find the rivalry between inuyasha and the wolf guy to be irritating towards the end, felt so forced.
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Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 8:45 am Reply with quote
The Inuyasha manga (NOT the anime) has always been a favorite of mine since it first came out in America, and I've followed it ever since all the way to the end.

It actually remains a very special series to me, despite it becoming pretty much an unfashionable joke among people here.

But I really don't care, I really like it, and nothing can change my conviction of it.

And that's all.
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nobahn
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:07 pm Reply with quote
I guess that I should have mentioned that while Inuyasha is far from a favorite of mine, I don't intensely dislike it either.

Personally, I always felt that its strengths were in exploring:
  • The Kagome/Inuyasha/Kikyo triangle;
  • Inuyasha's childhood; and
  • How Inuyasha navigated society.

Of course, such explorations were relatively few and far between.


@dageiver:
I do enjoy almost all of the opening/closing themes.
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Key
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:53 pm Reply with quote
Inuyasha was generally at its best when it delved into backstories, let the romantic tensions and heavy drama percolate, or had Inuyasha and Sesshomaru head-to-head. (I also like all of the content involving Rin, who I thought was an extremely well-used supporting character.) Its "Tragic Love Song of Destiny" set (eps 147-148) is still, in my book, the best recap story I've ever seen in any anime, and the series had many other great moments, including spoiler[Miroku finally (essentially) proposing to Sango and the episode where Kagome and Kikyo had to work together to escape a cave].

Unfortunately, the series much too often strayed away from that, and some of the story arcs were painfully drawn out drivel; I'm especially referring to the "seven warriors" arc, but there were other problem spots, too.
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bravetailor



Joined: 30 May 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:31 pm Reply with quote
Well, we know Takahashi is first a foremost a creator of cashcows. She's more Jerry Bruckheimer than Ingmar Bergman, in other words. But she IS talented though, so her creations always start off very entertaining for at least 1/4 of its run. Of course, the well eventually begins to run dry and certain repetitive gags and situations that were initially amusing begin to annoy.

I think it was best in creating a complicated mythology and weaving elements of ficto-history with old Japanese lore. Some of the fantasy stuff really does capture the mystery and beauty of ancient romantic Japanese fantasies.

Takahashi's also good at creating slapstick, too. Whether one likes or dislikes that type of humour is largely a matter of taste of course, but there are certain repeating gags she puts in place that do largely work for about 50 or so episodes.

Because Sunrise animated it (at least for most of the series I saw), it's also one of the best looking animated adaptations of a Takahashi manga.

I wouldn't say anything irritated me about the show or manga. I think ultimately it just ran out of steam and became stale as most cashcow franchises eventually do.
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John Casey



Joined: 31 May 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:49 pm Reply with quote
I definitely hate a few things about Inuyasha, as I do with every other Rumiko Takashi work. As follows:

1-The characters are about as deep, intriguing, and involving as cardboard.
2-Forced, cheesy romance.
3-Absurd amounts of exposition during fights. The cop outs are especially explained in painful detail so they can evade seeming like cop outs. I'm looking at you, Naraku, SNK boss to end all SNK bosses.
4-Takashi's very, very blatantly obvious and cheap foot fetish. Even Quentin Tarantino would ask "...Why?" regarding the convenient author appeal circumstances.
5-Abhorrent, cheap humor that feels like I'm watching a bad episode of the Three Stooges.
6-Pretty much all her characters look the same...
7-Most of her stories, simply put, never end, unless her editor gets her ass into gear... In which case, the endings are painfully rushed. Best of all? Almost certainly, they end with a wedding between our hero and heroine...
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bravetailor



Joined: 30 May 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:13 pm Reply with quote
John Casey wrote:

7-Most of her stories, simply put, never end, unless her editor gets her ass into gear... In which case, the endings are painfully rushed. Best of all? Almost certainly, they end with a wedding between our hero and heroine...


Errr...everyone seems to think that every manga artist goes out trying to tell a "story" in the name of "art" when the fact is it's often more the case that the artist is there to solely make money for the publisher. If anything, it's the publisher who hopes Takahashi keeps her manga going on and on because her stuff makes money. There are many artists who do it for the name of "art" and it's true that ultimately they can stop doing it whenever they want. But it's not like the editors tell their most successful artists to stop a series just because they feel like it is "damaging" the quality of the series.

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the richest woman in the industry. Clearly, she has an eye for making money and she has a very good relationship with her editors and publishers because she makes THEM money. I truly doubt any editor would "get on her ass" to end something unless it stopped making money.
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Shenl742



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:23 pm Reply with quote
To me Inuyasha kind of represents that sort of "classic pulp adventure series", it has a lot of stuff that people would call cliche, but I think Takahashi tells it in a very colorful, fun way and does a nice job of mixing genres in. Hell I even LIKE Naraku. Sure his constant escaping at the last minute gets irritating, but he fits that kind of "Dark Lord"archetype rather perfectly.

Definatley not trying to get into a "vs" topic, but what alot of people attribute to One Piece, I attribute to Inuyasha, to break my feelings for it down a bit.
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John Casey



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:37 pm Reply with quote
bravetailor wrote:

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the richest woman in the industry. Clearly, she has an eye for making money and she has a very good relationship with her editors and publishers because she makes THEM money. I truly doubt any editor would "get on her ass" to end something unless it stopped making money.

Then I'm just gonna have to assume it gets so repetitive and annoying to the point where money is no object - just trying to get her to move the hell on.

Yes, we know Naraku is invincible for the 30th time. I think we should skip the next fifteen times where his "weakness" is revealed, only to be half-assedly exploited by the heroes, and he just goes back regenerating, and being invincible again - all in favor of a character marriage. The end.

And people say Kubo Tite is a troll.
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bravetailor



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:42 pm Reply with quote
^^
Not just One Piece, but all long shonen series in general.


Shonen series in general tend to be highly expository because

a: they are meant for kids
b: they are meant to be watched casually, while kids are eating a meal or doing something with the TV on. So when something happens onscreen, they overexplain it so that the programs can be followed even if the audience is not always looking at the TV while it is on. And no--I am not making this up, I think one of the producers for the Inu-Yasha anime even said this in an interview.

If these things begin to bother you, chances are you're ready to start looking for anime that are meant for people older than 13 years old.

It's like complaining about Hollywood rom-coms for hiring gorgeous actresses to play so-called "dateless" and "homely" women when they are anything but. Or why they always seem to end up in some glamourous flat in the middle of NYC and get to wear the trendiest clothes despite being written in the script as being "poor". Guys and gals, it's all about marketing for a specific audience.


Quote:
Then I'm just gonna have to assume it gets so repetitive and annoying to the point where money is no object - just trying to get her to move the hell on.

Yes, we know Naraku is invincible for the 30th time. I think we should skip the next fifteen times where his "weakness" is revealed, only to be half-assedly exploited by the heroes, and he just goes back regenerating, and being invincible again - all in favor of a character marriage. The end.

And people say Kubo Tite is a troll.


The point of a long running series is to find formulas you can repeat over and over. Look at CSI. Does anyone ever buy it when they nail someone at the 35 minute mark of the show? No! You know that in every episode of CSI or Law and Order that the real criminal will be revealed in the last 10 minutes of each episode. The formula NEVER deviates. Everyone knows this, but they still watch it.

Or more aptly, look at comic books. Every story about Batman vs the Joker is pretty much the exact same story with a few minor deviations. Sometimes the Joker dies, but everyone knows that he'll be back because he's just TOO DAMNED PROFITABLE!

So when Naraku dies and revives for the 99th time, bear in mind the Joker has been doing it since the 1940s. Laughing


Last edited by bravetailor on Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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John Casey



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:46 pm Reply with quote
Lol. Anime smile;;

I wasn't comparing Inuyasha to One Piece or Bleach. That's like comparing Bebop to Violence Jack or something. A cowpie doesn't stand tall next to Fort Knox.

Bleach and One Piece, at the least, have fairly interesting and likeable characters, and most of the time, the action is followable and kept interesting.

Inuyasha is just [expletive] boring. And I'm more than willing to bet that Naraku was stretched out longer than Aizen.

At least Aizen was suave, and had a badass like Coyote Stark for a subordinate. Naraku? Trollfest. With a - surprise - sexy, rebellious minion that is in actuality, probably his...lung, or something, that looks like 20 of Takashi's previous characters and is once again conveniently, perpetually barefooted for absolutely no reason no matter the location, and undertakes Ikki Tousen-esque clothing damage logic during battle. And let's not forget a romance that has no place in the story other than inspire 500 horrifyingly written fanfics.
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bravetailor



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 5:53 pm Reply with quote
John Casey wrote:
Lol. Anime smile;;

I wasn't comparing Inuyasha to One Piece or Bleach. That's like comparing Bebop to Violence Jack or something. A cowpie doesn't stand tall next to Fort Knox.

Bleach and One Piece, at the least, have fairly interesting and likeable characters, and most of the time, the action is followable and kept interesting.

.


I think Bleach is one of the most boring shonen series I've ever seen. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Some shonen series appeal to others while others don't.

But ALL of them drag out their stories for commercial reasons. A lot of the "annoying" tics found in Bleach or Inu Yasha ARE because of their commercial obligations. Fans like to talk like these are totally creator owned properties without commercial obligations but shonen series are bar none the most commercially influenced manga/anime in the entire industry.
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Scormio





PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:53 pm Reply with quote
In response to the title question, the words "Inuyasha" and "Kagome".
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Mai Yukino



Joined: 26 Aug 2009
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:40 pm Reply with quote
Besides the whole Naraku thing, a couple of things I found irritating about the series is Inuyasha's group taking Kagome's side when Kikyo comes around and Inuyasha shares a moment with her and Kagome gets upset. Kagome claims she understands Inuyasha's feelings about Kikyo, but she contradicts herself when she shouts out endless "Sit!" commands and uses Inuyasha as her personal punching bag. Something about Kagome's character gave me the impression that she showed more negative personality traits than positive.
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