English Dub Review: Yashahime “The Three Princesses”

 

While the first episode of this series was all about getting us caught up with the original cast, and establishing how the Tree of Ages got its time-travelling powers from Root Head, this episode serves as our official introduction to Towa, Setsuna, and Yashahime. Though there’s plenty of confusion from the demon fighting and time travel to complicate their introduction, the three strong personalities are quickly established, as well as their connection to each other through their Rainbow Pearls (which are present in both the opening and closing themes, so nice to have that explained early in the series!) The first episode made sense to orient new viewers, and re-establish the timeline, sort of, for us older fans, but this episode is our chance to meet the real stars of this series.

I always loved how the light filtering through the trees was rendered in InuYasha, and I love that they’ve continued this visual tradition in the sequel. The simple but still widely varied eye and hair shapes also keep the feeling of the original series, although that strayed considerably from Rumiko Takahashi’s art style in the manga. I feel like the original style is still there, with the bullies in this episode in particular sporting the hair and clothing styles popular in manga (and presumably real-life Japan) of the time.

But it’s not just the nostalgia that makes it great so far, it’s the choices of where to update as well. From the pitch-perfect choice for the opening theme “NEW ERA” by idol group SixTONES to Towa’s sleek ensemble and whatever is going on in the brief post-intro scene (charging up some sort of power bank with Kagome’s bike, I think?) There’s also a few jabs at strict gender roles, which has always been in Takahashi’s wheelhouse, with Towa wearing a boy’s uniform because it’s easier to fight in, and Mei pleading with her to stop fighting, because she knows her big sister would rather do “cute girly things.” Towa even examines these “rules” outright, which should make for some interesting plot development throughout the series. This continues to be a classic story of feeling out of place in the world, finding your family (both lost blood relations and chosen connections), and of course, fighting demons, and I think the team is expanding this world in a fascinating way.

Whether it’s in the writing, audio, or character design, this reboot intertwines plenty of what made the original series so great with a new, women-led story with the deftness of The Force Awakens. My fingers are crossed that it doesn’t make the Star Wars franchise’s mistake of losing sight of how essential story writing is while pursuing that sweet, sweet cash, but so far it seems like Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon is avoiding being blinded by dollar signs. Will it be to the level of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Well, that remains to be seen, but here’s hoping!