That was quick. Richard B. posted a link to a video featuring Richard Ian Cox at Anime Evolution in Vancouver which was held a few days ago. Cox confirmed his role as Inuyasha and gave us a little preview of how he handles the most ridiculous attack name in the entire series.
This doesn't completely eliminate my concern regarding how far into recording he is, but whatever.
Is Richard Ian Cox recording his lines for Final Act? From his twitter account and Facebook account.
"Is in studio recording stuff – yay!"
"Is in studio, studio-ing it up!"
What could he be recording? He doesn't get much work these days. If it's Final Act and he's only just started, then a late September dub premiere seems almost ludicrous to me. If he started with Kelly, Willow, and the others back a few months ago, things should be fine. At any rate, the silence from Viz and countless missed panel opportunities at conventions is getting frustrating.
Credit to LoverDemon for the tip.
In a move that should really surprise nobody, David Kaye announced at TFCon that he will not be reprising his role for Final Act.
Over the past few years, David has pretty much retired from anime voice acting on moved onto sports, moving to California in the process. This development is a bit disappointing considering his intention to be a part of the dub as per a statement last July at Mechacon and does not bode well for the participation of other VAs like Willow Johnson (Kikyou) and Moneca Stori (Kagome).
I don't sympathize with the now-screaming Sesshoumaru fanbase, but I will admit that David Kaye is a great VA who was vastly underused.
Edit: Kelly Sherridan (Sango) remains the only confirmed voice actor.
Edit 2: I'd like a more concrete confirmation, but Willow will be reprising her role as Kikyou: http://blog.willow-johnson.net/index.php?itemid=49
Episode 26: Toward tomorrow
(明日へ Ashita e)
Insert song: Kimi ga inai mirai
Ending song: Tooi michi no saki de
Covers: Chapter 556 through the end
First and foremost, let me get this off my chest: I have problems with the kiss.
I've reread the final volumes quite a few times and to me, Rumiko went out of her way, despite internal pushes from Shogakukan, to end Inuyasha a certain way and accomplish as much as possible. If the relationship between Kagome and Inuyasha wasn't so painfully obvious, I would've never made this image (click to overlay) as I finished scanlating the final chapter. My understanding of Inuyasha was not wrong and neither were my very brief emotions as I reflected on the final chapter and manga as whole. In short, Sunrise was wrong to add a kiss and even moreso to poorly execute it. I was half-expecting the kiss, but at the end, not in the middle of the friggin' episode.
So where does that leave other non-canon additions? I don't care. It's pretty harmless stuff in the grand scheme of things. After going to an all-guys high school, I could've sworn that Houjou would come out as gay. Jinenji was recycled so much throughout both the original anime and Final Act that a place for him in the epilogue was almost guaranteed. As for Ayame, Sunrise really wrote themselves into a corner when they introduced her and then brought her back during the Band of Seven arc. When you pair that with how Kouga was rather unceremoniously written out of the story, it was unavoidable. Midoriko and Naraku also coming to peace with themselves was also quite unnecessary.
But where does this leave the rest of the episode? Sunrise seemed to have been struggling to fill the entire slot. They remove the OP, a common practice for final episodes, but do an insert song and ending theme with a highlight reel back to back. Animation was great, but again, the new background music was difficult to spot or simply new renditions of music. I liked how Rin looked visibly taller in the epilogue. It was very hard to tell in the manga and wouldn't seem fair if Souta was the only one to receive a growth spurt. At the end, ytv seemed to have snuck in a promo for Working!!, a new Spring 2010 series by A-1 that will air (despite already having a preview airing of the first episode on other channels) on ytv. Haven't seen it, but I've heard that isn't that great compared to the rest of the lineup for the season. I might update this post if I ever get around to watching the episode.
Aside from my objections, it was a good episode and a fitting end to the series. I will admit that I didn't feel anything emotional while watching the episode, but that's just me. As I've said in the past, I made my peace with the end of the series when the manga ended and back then, I thought long and hard for a good 48 hours about the ending.
On the whole, Final Act has been quite a fun ride. It's quite hard to forget how horrible the first 5 episodes were. Even though the Moryoumaru arc was complete trash in manga, nothing critical to the plot was omitted or changed in its adaptation. We should be thankful that the only character development that was lost was Kanna's, and even then, it was trivial.
In other news, Adult Swim has acquired Kekkaishi for May and prospects for a Fall dub of Final Act are looking better than ever. Unfortunately for the Bleach dub, it's back to episode 1 because Viz can't meet deadlines or keep licensing deals up to date. I pray that this is just a strategic move for AS to put pressure on Viz and that the restart is just a placeholder.
Finally, to those of you who question my reasons for blogging about Inuyasha. Let me restate my attitude towards Inuyasha in the simplest of terms: I appreciate Inuyasha because I understand it. Interpret and twist that however you like.
Edit: In case anyone asks, a 5th movie still does not exist and should never be made. All of the movies, save for 2nd, were just downright terrible. Inuyasha is done and it should stay that way.
Okay, episode 26 airs in about 30 hours and I feel compelled to reiterate everything I know about the presentation of the episode and what we should expect.
Beyond that, there is nothing to know. No news of anything in terms of a special ending theme or expanded epilogue.
Edit: However, given the release of Inuyasha Best Song History a few days ago, I wouldn't be surprised if "My Will" is used again.
At any rate, if you intend to bawl your eyes out and cry hysterically at the ending, however it turns out, know that I will not be joining you.
Finally, I have no plans to shut this site down yet or change its focus in the short-term. Domain is still good until September and I will likely be renewing it for another year just for the hell of it and in order to perhaps blog about the dub when it comes out.
Edit: I'll try to upload raws of Black Tessaiga and the other It's A Rumic World OVAs on Monday or Tuesday.
"Wrong for one's age"
(年甲斐もなく Toshigaimonaku)
Another Rumiko one-shot to bring me out of retirement? Perhaps.
But you guys know the routine. Free-to-use high quality raw (thanks Heiji-sama) plus a free-to-use translated script (thanks Patches) equals a maybe as to whether or not I scanlate.
Raw download: http://www.mediafire.com/?qymiyzydajy
Also, if the plot sucks harder than My Sweet Sunday, I won't touch this with a 10 foot pole. All I know about the story is that it revolves around a old man getting involved with a young woman a few decades his junior.
Pro-tip: If I do scanlate, that work would be at the bottom of my list after my college work. Remember how long Unmei no Tori took?
Source: Big Comic Original
These came a lot earlier than I was expected. Nevertheless, I came across these titles the other day in a 2ch thread. No verification though. Hence, I dismissed them until now.
Episode 24: Naraku: A fleeting wish
(奈落 儚き望み Naraku hakanaki nozomi)
Episode 25: Unfulfilled feelings
(届かぬ想い Todoka nu omoi)
Episode 26: Towards tomorrow
(明日へ Ashita e)
Source: Sony Music Shop
(Yes, I just made a Dallas reference, get over it.)
Episode 20: When the Shikon no Tama is complete
(完成する四魂の玉 Kansei suru shikon no tama)
Chapters covered: Rest of 525 through 529
No complaints this week. Panel-for-panel adaptation of the manga courtesy of Maezawa and Tachibana. The attention to detail was impressive, but the animation itself was quite good save for a few instances of oddly-drawn facial expressions. There was one noticeable instance of artistic license this week and it kind of threw me for a loop. As the jewel was completing, Sunrise made it shatter in a bright, pink flash before recombining completely filled with darkness. Aside from that, no deviations. Because this week was quite faithful, the tone and feelings of the chapters covered were kept and executed very well. No shortage of tears this week.
Next week marks the beginning of the Naraku arc and while this will take us through the end of the manga, Sunrise's pacing for 24, 25, and 26 will make or break the anime.
Usually 2ch beats Sunrise to the punch on revealing monthly titles and summaries, but not this time. First off, I am very glad to learn that the animation duo for episode 13 (Shishinki fight), Tachibana and Maezawa, will be returning for episode 20.
Episode 21: Into Naraku's body
(奈落の体内へ Naraku no tainai he)
Episode 22: Naraku, the trap of darkness
(奈落 闇の罠 Naraku yami no wana)
Episode 23: Naraku, the trap of light
(奈落 光の罠 Naraku hikari no wana)
There you have it folks. From what I can tell through the summaries, episodes 21 through 23 will cover content from 530 up to and including chapter 544.
Source: Sunrise – http://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/yasya-kanketsu/onair/
Episode is up on Hulu servers and Shonen Sunday, but isn't visible as of the time of this posting:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/125220/inuyasha—the-final-act-kohaku%E2%80%99s-shard#play-all
Episode 19: Kohaku's Shard
(琥珀の欠片 Kohaku no Kakera)
Chapters covered: 392, 521 through half of 525
Very faithful episode save for the first minute or so wasted in the modern era. I did not appreciate how Sunrise had Inuyasha destroy part of the Higurashi house. The use of payphones is probably a jab at how Rumiko couldn't decide whether the series would have 1997 or 2007 technology. Poor Kagome, all of her friends have cell phones though. Edit: Apparently I completely forget about chapter 392, Peaceful Table. My bad. It was very nice to see it animated.
Animation direction was done by Fujimori this week. His work is really nothing special, but you can thank him for when the animation and emotions peaked during Shippou's conversation with Sango. After that, however, everything started to go downhill. The ending of this episode was not handled that well in the manga to begin with, but the whole "Is it too late?" exchange looked terribly cheesy animated.
Next week, Kohaku goes into badass mode and gets his shard sniped. Should make for good times and a lot of emotion if the manga is followed and given proper deference.
Edit: Episode titles for 21-24 should appear on 2ch some time this week.
Also, remember this?
