Disclaimer
This review will focus on the plot, characterization, emotional pull, scene quality, and creativity of the movie, not the original source material. I may reference the original material, but I will not base any scores on such. This is the second Inuyasha movie, and last week I did a review for the first one roughly a week ago. I will try my best to remain as unbias as I can during the review of the media in question. Thank you.
WARNING possible spoilers WARNING
So the plot starts out with Inuyasha as a human and the group fighting their famed enemy Naraku. Naraku dies due to Inuyasha turning back to half demon, and the group splits apart. Soon stories and tales of a certain celestial maiden crop up, and while Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo resume their search for the Sacred Jewel, but everyone runs into Naraku's minions and soon Kaguya, the girl everyone has been hearing about, is released from a mirror. The team eventually reunite to fight Kaguya and Kagome's things which are misplaced within time save the team from being frozen in time. Naraku reappears, tries to absorb Kaguya's soul, fails, and Kaguya is defeated.
So is the plot any good? Actually it is but it is slightly convoluted. One of Naraku's minions is looking for freedom, and with Naraku dead she has it, but then Kaguya states the freedom is fleeting which hints Naraku is still out there somewhere, but then when Naraku actually shows up she seems surprised. This doesn't seem to make too much sense. Also the reasons to have everyone meet up again after Naraku's defeat seemed kind of odd. I'm not surprised about Sango, after all her brother happen to have one of the artifacts which was part of Naraku's plot, but what are the odds that Miroku would inherit a letter from his past elder that would lead him there as well? Oh and by sheer force of luck, part of the release spell is Inuyasha's robes or at least part of them. There are some... leaps to say the least, but the plot as a whole is pretty decent and solid.
So all the main characters are here, and they are all pretty good in the film. Miroku reveals some of his feelings for Sango, Kagome reveals some of her feelings for Inuyasha, and the main villain actually forces a few choices that they have. Inuyasha builds as a character having almost faced his actual wish of being a full demon, and Kagome had to face her feelings for Inuyasha. Even Sango and her issues, and Miroku and his issues come back as well a little. That being said...
There are three characters that almost could be out of the movie completely and have the same feeling. Naraku was pointless other then getting Sango back into the plot, and since Naraku split up the group anyway, why was he a thing in this movie? Perhaps so the villain Kaguya could have a minion in Naraku's minion? I'm not sure, as Kagura doesn't need Naraku dead to betray him for the chance of freedom, assuming you watch the actual series. Also, Kikyo was in the movie. I'm not sure as to why, but she was there. Then there was someone who looked just like a kid at Kagome's school in the past. He was incredibly pointless and disappears near the end of the movie with no real characterization of him. I get that Naraku and Kikyo are beloved characters of the original source material, but this movie does nothing for them as characters or even tells us who they really are, nor do they do anything for the plot as a whole. I don't mind cameos but I can't ignore characters who have no real reason to be there. Too bad too, because the good characterization is really good.
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This movie has a lot of humor, action, and a touching moment between Kagome and Inuyasha before Miroku runs it with more humor. Honestly not many flaws here in this area, as the humor is there and in strides, the drama of the world ending is there as Kaguya tries to stop time, and the romantic part between Inuyasha and Kagome, something the source material is known for is there and done fairly well. Also the action scenes are pretty cool and well done.
The animation and scenes are well done, nothing was overly confusing with the settings and fights, and there are a couple times the animation is kind of amazing. There are some issues with the sound quality however where people were talking quietly, but most of the issues were caused by the loud AC unit also in the room. It will get quiet and then loud at times though so beware of that. Minor issues though, the movie overall was great in this department.
The powers and abilities of the main villain as well as the design are pretty cool. There was a large amount of creativity, and it wasn't bad. It may have been overly saturated, but not bad at the same time. The sea monster's design was good, Kaguya's design was pretty decent, and her powers were really cool and interesting as she says incantations before using some of her powers. The setting was the best part of the creativity though, as it was massive and beautiful while having a deadly air about it in design.
Some of the plot was convoluted, and some of the characters were pointless despite appearing in larger portions of the movie, but overall this movie is really good. There are good elements to the main plot and the main characters, and the emotional pull is great with humor and action as well as a bit of romance, the animation and scenes flow nicely, and the creative elements and settings are all really well done.
If you are a fan of the original series, this movie isn't a bad thing to look at. If you are not a fan of the series, this may not be the best time to jump right in. If you are an action junkie, there are some decent pay offs, and if you are a fan of romantic comedies, this movie may be something you will enjoy. It does explain the characters somewhat well, but certain characters will leave you confused if you don't know the series well. If you are into plot or character development, this isn't a bad piece of work but there are some issues there too so tread lightly. Still this movie is pretty good none the less.