This review on Hanyo no Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi contains spoiler. If you haven't seen this chapterWe encourage you to do this and then go back to read those review.
Chapter 6: "John the Cat in the Old Temple"
Hanyo no Yashahime This sixth episode begins with three protagonists accepting a mission proposed by Jyubei: Apparently, numerous travelers have disappeared in the northern mountains.
Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha meet on the road with a village infested by cat demons (Bakeneko). By defeating them, they release the villagers from their spell and prepare to investigate the temple in the area. There they find a lonely monk who invites them to spend the night, but in the middle of it new cat demons attack them. The monk then tells them where the bones are Bakeneko cleaned, with the suspicion that he has returned. Sure enough, the demon has returned and is attacking Moroha and Setsuna. Its true form, however, possessed the monk.
After an intense fight on two fronts, the three girls manage to defeat him once and for all and save the lives of the religious.
Analysis: parallel adventure, success or failure?
Hanyo no Yashahime was programmed with a total of 24 chapters and presented as a respectful continuation of Inuyashawithout clarifying whether it is a humble homage to the saga or whether new seasons are to be launched. Of course it's still very early.
Doubt, however, arises like thirst as soon as an isolated chapter of the main story appears - so that we can understand and fill each other. I don't want to use this last term because of the negative perception involved. Well-planned plots can use parallel stories that enchant, and most importantly, enrich the plot, the relationships between characters, and the space-time universe in which they move.
On the flip side, the original saga cooked in no hurry to close its episodes, immersing us in an environment full of adventure that either landed in the main plot or delved into the secrets of feudal Japan and the folklore of Yokai.
Anyway, I cannot express a firm opinion. I enjoyed the chapter, yes the approach is perfect and in line with the spirit of its predecessor, but I'm hungry for another week and we already have 6 installments.
Inuyasha and Japanese folklore
Inquire about the wonderful cosmos of Yokai and the AyakashiI gave an anecdote of at one point Osamu Tezuka. What he had in it was that an invisible wall kept him from falling off a cliff, and so these beings were quite real to him. Not only for him, all this rich mythology deals with Japanese roots and beliefs.
As this episode wanted to focus on one of the hundreds that could be named that BakenekoI will not miss the opportunity to underscore the great legacy he left us Inuyasha and of which no doubt other manga and anime drank. The atmosphere of the story was dark and violent, the horror genre intertwined with romance, comedy and adventure. In it the ideal chemistry was given to develop this huge folklore, and Rumiko Takahashi demonstrated knowledge and mastery.
Let us also emphasize this Bakeneko It's a design practically identical to Byoki, the demon who curses the protagonists of MAO, the last manga by Takahashi. Maybe a lot of this chapter of Hanyo no Yashahime should be interpreted as an allusion to the author's more recent works and to the encyclopedic spirit of Inuyasha in relation to this mythology.
Two scenes
It's worth going into two scenes. The first for the grace and mark he will leave on fans; the second because it is an evolution of Towa's clumsy intent that was so poorly drawn in earlier chapters.
The scene of the three cousins riding bicycles is passed on to the fans' memes and sound images and the anime season without hesitation. This reflects the personality of the three protagonists and the enormous charisma of Moroha, funny and great, is underlined. In addition, the scene anticipates the natural connection that exists between three girls who combine blood, friendship, age and nature on the path between man and the devil.
As for Towa, she doesn't deserve the scripts she has been faced with YokaisHe finally seems to have assumed a power that embodies his firm determination to stick to the 21st century mentality in feudal Japan. He "inherits" the role of Inuyasha, so to speak, and is able to absorb demonic energy and save the monk.
Finally
Hanyo no Yashahime made a detour on the main route of the plot and gave us an adventure drinking from its predecessor, Inuyasha. Before assessing whether it is a success or a failure (given the 24-episode closed format), we will point out its worth to immerse yourself in the mythological feudal setting. It also deals with the relationships of the three protagonists with the world around them, with each other and with themselves.
If my cats were rational to analyze the chapter, they wouldn't be very happy if Moroha tossed kittens in the air, but since I don't have their opinion, I consider the episode approved.
