Inuyasha was my second wave in anime.

Guyver/Akira/DBZ/Yu Yu Hakusho were all my gateways into anime. My starter kit as a young 6-8 year old boy is the mid 90's/late 90's. But the second wave of anime wasn't far behind, and thanks to something like cartoon network and Toonami, Inuyasha became a big part of my life along with shows like Zoids, Gundam, FMA, and even a bit later death note.

Inuyasha is a fairy tale of a story. A high school student falls into a well and ends up in a fantasy world where the jewel she's holding has great power. When the demons go to attack her she runs to a man stuck on a tree by a arrow. She unleashes this boy with big wolf ears because, why not, she doesn't want to die.

Inuyasha and Kagome are out main leads here and they work well. First not liking each other at all, with Kagome reminding Inuyasha of the person who shot him into the trip and stuck him there for over 60 years. On the flipside, they have to work together to retrieve the shards otherwise, well, demons will unleash and all hell will break loose.

It's fun stories, mostly self contained, that wrap up within 3-4 chapters. The first half is world building, we also get the great Sesshomaru (Inuyasha's half brother who is full demon) and get to see some great fights there. And of course get to see Kagome handle her daily school life while also being a shard hunter in a fantasy world.

This series was always great for casual fun fantasy style action. However, the manga is a lot Darker than the manga presented. Creatures ripping heads off with their mouths, arms and stomachs getting sliced up, this has a lot more gore and I am all here for it since Takahashi has awesome art along with solid storytelling and GREAT characters.

While this ends right as we meet the VIP (SHIPPO!!!) I can't wait to dive deeper into the world of Inuyasha once more. A 4.5 out of 5.