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The voting this year certainly supports my choice again, which I think
proves that AL fans appreciate quality. (heh)
Inuyasha
gets my special recognition this year for these reasons:
Characters ~ Inuyasha
has a large cast of characters, and almost all of them are enjoyable and
fascinating. They also each get a chance to be developed. Watching Inuyasha
himself develop from a spoiled selfish brat who wants to be a demon into
a caring human would be worth the price of admission all in itself. But
then we have Kagome, who is now my all-time favorite heroine, a truly
decent girl who is maturing as she is forced by her own good nature into
shouldering huge responsibilities. Miroku brings lecherous humor to the
group, but also wisdom and courage. Most courageous of any of them is
the devastated and torn demon hunter, Sango, whose sweetness is second
only to Kagome's. Then there's Shippo, a fox-demon child with all the
typical childlike directness, which is often hilarious, who also shows
a child's clear insight at times. Also on the side of the good guys is
Kaede, a priestess with a gruff manner and power she uses wisely, and
Kirara, a magical and very intelligent catlike being. The villains of
Inuyasha are more ambiguous ~ well, two of them are. There is no doubt
of the pervasively horrifying evil of the devious Naraku, a scheming,
powerful being who was once an evil man, but gave up his body to demons.
The enigmatic, beautiful Kikyo, on the other hand, seems evil (she gathers
souls, after all), but her motives are strong. And the equally beautiful
Sesshoumaru, with his disdain for Inuyasha and his total disregard for
human lives, spares Inuyasha when he could have killed him and has adopted
a human girl, making him as ambiguous a villain as Kikyo. Then there is
the pathetic Kohaku, Sango's young brother, who is controlled by Naraku
and made to slay his family and friends.
Stories ~ I haven't
even seen all the episodes yet! This has been a long-running series, over
100 episodes. The fact that it's lasted so long says something for the
scripts and the story. Character arcs interweave in complex patterns,
and the action sometimes moves from medieval Japan to the present with
Kagome, yet no character or story line ever gets lost. Even if they seem
to, they come back later. No character gets neglected, and each episode
has excitement and humor.
Art ~ The world of medieval
Japan as portrayed in Inuyasha is
a grim and dangerous place (being a villager in this show is like wearing
a red shirt in Star Trek), but it is also beautiful. The beauty
is natural, of trees and flowers and grass and earth, done in soft colors
and an almost watercolor style. The characters also have their own beauty,
both male and female, and the costumes enhance that. The animation is
excellent, and the special effects spectacular.
All things considered,
Inuyasha is about as good as it gets and is the best thing I've
seen this year. |
