Episode 5: Yourei-Taisei's Test

Chapters covered: 416-421 (heavily adapted), 426-431, 438

The episode was more linear than previous weeks and didn't feel as rushed. Yourei-Taisei's storyline as well as the youketsu were pretty well-executed. Kinka and Ginka was radically changed and Flame Tessaiga was cut altogether. It's that not a great loss considering how much of a plot-hole the Flame Tessaiga was, but it was still a great battle to acquire it. Kai and Kouga's companions (unofficially named Ginta and Hakkaku) were unceremoniously written out of the story this week.

Preview for the next episode: We've known for weeks that episode 6 would mark the much-accelerated end to Mouryoumaru and Akago. The preview wholly confirms this and seems to suggest that the entirety of the episode will be dedicated to it with zero distractions. I hope that we can get a decent fight out of this.

Also, here are some out-of-order (I'm lazy) HD images…

Episode 4 – Dragon-scaled Tessaiga

This episode covered a bunch of chapters: 386-391, 397, 398, 432-436

Byakuya, Kai, Toushuu, Ryuujin, etc… Lot of shit.

I'm not in the mood to do a full blog post right now, but maybe later.

Edit: Next week is Kinka, Ginka, Yourei Taisei, and possibly the youketsu, senki, and Flame Tessaiga. Along with Moryoumaru's pending death in episode 6, this going to be pointless, if not a disaster. I have no idea how Sunrise intends to pull this off when everything is pretty much out of order.

Edit 2: Here's a Japanese broadcast schedule for episodes 5 through 9. Pay close attention to the fact that Daylight Savings Time ends in November this year in the US. I also added the Japanese time on the right to give you an idea of just how much Inuyasha Final Act is getting moved around and why the NTV graveyard slot sucks.

Episode 5 – 10/31 at 2:20 PM EDT (GMT-4) | 11/1 at 3:20 AM JST (GMT+9)

Episode 6 – 11/7 at 1:10 PM EST (GMT-5) | 11/8 at 3:10 AM JST (GMT+9)

Episode 7 – 11/14 at 12:30 PM EST (GMT-5) | 11/15 at 2:30 AM JST (GMT+9)

Episode 8 – 11/21 at 1:00 PM EST (GMT-5) | 11/22 at 3:00 AM JST (GMT+9)

Episode 9 – 11/28 at 2:20 PM EST (GMT-5) | 11/29 at 4:20 AM JST (GMT+9)

Episode 3: Meidou Zangetsuha

As expected, this week covered the Kitsune Youjutsu Exam, Mujina, and the introduction of Meidou Zangetsuha. Much to my relief, the pace was slowed down considerably and didn't feel rushed this week.

Quick note: A serious fansub group has picked up the series – Taka Fansubs.

Episode 4 will broadcast in Japan at 2:40 PM EDT on  October 24th.

(Read on …)

First things first, episode 3 of Inuyasha Final Act will air at 2:35 AM JST (1:35 PM EDT). Hopefully the broadcast times will stabilize soon. I hate these drifts.

With that out of the way, let's get down to business…

(Read on …)

Yes, I just made a Konomini joke. Get over it.

Anyway, episode 2 just aired and I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, it was a visually stunning episode (well, at least the second half was) as promised. On the other hand, it completely ripped apart the manga…

The episode covered chapters 374-377, 380-382, 400, 404, and 406. For most of those chapters though, the anime simply rewrote and blended them together. Much like how Star Wars fans know that "Han shot first", Inuyasha fans know that "Kagura died first". However, Sunrise ignored this and you're not going to like how. I guarantee you that there will be a shit-storm when Viz puts up the sub in a few hours. (Edit: Wow, it's up already. Nice job Viz!)

One hint though: Souryuuha!

Edit: Next week is Shippou's kitsune youjutsu exam (chapter 506), Shippou's encounter with Mujina and her sword, Dakki (chapter 383), and the introduction of Meidou Zangetsuha (chapter 410). Additionally, according to Patches, chapters 432 and 433 with Kai will be done in episode 4.

Edit 2: For those outside of the US, you can watch the subs on ShonenSunday/hulu using Hotspot Shield (Windows, Mac with Wine, Linux with Wine) or Tor (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc).

Edit 3: If you were wondering how I got the HD images up within minutes of the broadcast, I'd like to cite my source as being the kind people of 2chan (a.k.a. Futaba, not 2ch).

Edit 4: Reminder for those watching the live broadcasts: Episode 3 will air at 1:35 PM EDT (2:35 AM JST).

Anyway, here are some HD pics in no particular order. Click to enlarge them.
(The images should be fixed, plus, I added a cool new effect called HighSlide to the thumbnails.)

(Click for full-size)

What was first speculated on 2ch.net is now fact after Sony Music Shop [1][2]  and a magazine (pictured above) have confirmed the titles for episodes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

click here to show spoiler

It looks like Sunrise is doing things out of order and I don't like it.

As for the pace, it continues to be absolutely shocking.

Studio DEEN's "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" may have a contender for worst anime adaptation of 2009. If the episode titles and what we've seen so far are anything to judge by, Inuyasha The Final Act is shaping up to be quite a trainwreck.

Edit: In a bit of good news, Fey tipped me off that the anime's producer, Michihiko Suwa of ytv, promised on his blog that episode 2 will be absolutely gorgeous and legendary in nature. Thanks Fey!

Sunrise, have you lost your mind? 12 chapters in a single episode?!?! Have you learned anything from animating Tales of the Abyss? You can't cram 20 volumes of content or 70 hours of playing into a 26 episode anime!

Next episode is "Kagura's Wind" and if Sunrise blows through a certain scene, there will be a shit-ton of angry fans (not me though <__<).

Edit: To watch the episode and preview at the end, go to the Shonen Sunday website.

Edit 2: Next week will cover a minimum of 8 chapters, including chapter 404 for some reason.

Edit 3: During the Inuyasha Final broadcast earlier today, an animated Kyoukai no Rinne commercial advertising Weekly Shounen Sunday was shown. Keep in mind that this doesn't mean a Rinne anime is coming anytime soon. There's very little to animate right now. Do note that a similar commercial was done for Inuyasha back in 1997. The anime didn't start until 2000.

For those that are interested in watching the Japanese broadcast live, unsubbed, and legally; I'd like to recommend tuning into the Nihon TV channel (日本テレビ) on KeyHoleTV, a P2P application created by the Japanese government, at 2:20 AM JST, which is 1:20 PM Eastern Daylight or 12:20 PM Eastern Standard in the US on Saturdays. Adjust for your timezone and daylight savings accordingly.

Edit: Viz put a longer, subbed, and somewhat higher quality trailer on their site and Hulu.

Behold, the first glimpse at the new series and its opening music.

You can view the trailer here. Please note that it may take a while to load.

Just got out of the Viz panel a little while ago and perhaps the only news worth talking about was the confirmation of a Final Act subtitled simulcast.

As you may already know, Viz, by virtue of their handling of the Final Act license, had made little or no attempt to conceal this plan. The early license and English logo were dead giveaways of their intent to simulcast.

At any rate, this is the first good news in a while aside from the OP and ED titles ('A future without you' and 'With you' respectively).

Edit: I forgot to mention that the simulcasted episodes with English subtitles will be put up on the http://shonensunday.com/anime website within 3 hours of airing in Japan.