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INU YASHA (VOL. 53): MALEVOLENT MACHINATIONS |
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Wednesday, 25 April 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 4:3 FULL SCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 75 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 04/25/07 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/25/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
With his plan to trap Inuyasha and the rest of the heroes having failed, Naraku has set his sights on the target he blames for it: Kikyo. It was her spiritually imbued arrow that Kagome released that had broken the demonic barrier and injured Hakudoshi. Now ferreting her out and destroying her is Naraku’s main ambition. His latest scheme is to release a legion of flesh devouring demon rats to lure the priestess out. Inuyasha and his friends quickly realize Naraku’s aims and try to stop the rats, but it pits Sango against the person she least wants to fight – her brother! It’s all starting to come to a head in this latest volume of the epic feudal fairytale.
With only a handful of episodes remaining, the suspense mounts admirably. The latest battle shows Kohaku’s true aims and the pain he suffers when facing his sister. But he is steeled to his goal of finding the right moment to kill Naraku by finding his heart. Sango is ignorant of this and remains in turmoil over the possibility of having to kill her brother. Meanwhile Naraku’s bid to annihilate Kikyo by such destructive and heinous means forces Kikyo into a pivotal decision as she steels herself to meet her fate.
All this tense drama and action doesn’t necessarily rule out a bit of comedy. Episode 160 has Kagome returning to her own time in Tokyo in order to get a bit of a break. However, when Inuyasha follows her and Kagome’s school girl friends learn he’s at Kagome’s home, they decide it’s well past time for them to meet this elusive boyfriend of Kagome’s! Throw in Kagome’s love for her bicycle, Inuyasha’s clueless nature and first part-time job in modern day Japan, and it’s a recipe for laughs and a nice respite before the anime heads into its final, climatic arc.
Volume 53 contains episodes 158 to 160.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include cast list, line-art gallery, and Japanese promos.
IN SUMMARY:
Naraku sets a trap for Kikyo, Sango and Kohaku face off for maybe the last time, and Kikyo makes a fateful decision. Fantasy anime doesn’t get better than Inuyasha! |
