kristensk | An Update Update and the Inuyasha 4 Fangirling (Reply)

Website Updates: Working away on the update for the SWAT Kats Fan Art Archive. I've been noticing a trend in a lot of the recent submissions by new artists. They keep asking, "Can I join your site?" Eh???? I thought the rules were pretty clear - "Have SWAT Kat art rated no higher than PG-13, and you're good to go." Or is this question the result of sites like the ones I see so often in the Inuyasha fandom where art and fanfiction archives are "invitation only" or where you have to pass a review of some kind to get in? Yipes, there's too few of us Katsfans around to be that kinda picky!

Happy Chatter: Things are looking much better this week. My grandmother is home from the hospital, I have a new bike so I can take a stab at getting some exercise (now on a bike with tires that aren't dry-rotted - it rides so smooth!) and I'm slowly chipping away at my e-mail backlog.

The Fangirl Squealing I Promised: Yes... Mwahahaaaa! But, I'll put my prattle on the fourth Inuyasha movie behind a cut for the sake of sparing those who could care less... and in case I utter any spoilers.

So, I saw the fourth Inuyasha movie, "Inuyasha: Guren no Houraijima"... last week? Week before last? Whenever. It's not like I haven't watched my favorite scenes over again twenty times since.

For some weird reason, the movie didn't get me all excited in my first watching. At least, not as excited as thought I would be given I haven't seen new Inuyasha animation since the anime ended (It's just on hiatus! It had soooo better be just on a long hiatus of some sort....) last fall. However, I keep watching it over and over again, and it's still enjoyable.

For a full summary and other goodies, I recommend visiting Ear-Tweak.com. For my comments, see below:

The Good Stuff:

Inuyasha's entrance at the movie's opening - so cool!

The two hanyou twins, Roku and Dai... more specifically, the fact that they keep mouthing off and getting smacked in the head for it.

Shippou beating Inuyasha to it and smacking the twins for snarking at Kagome.

Sesshoumaru's finishing move against Kyoura. Yeah, he got a cool point out of me... though, is it just me or does his Souryuuha now favor Souunga's Gokuryuuha from movie 3??? What with the dragon shape of the energy and all...

Kagome gets irritable after the appearance of the Kikyou clone the Shitoushin created (though the cast didn't know it wasn't the real Kikyou at the time) and takes it out on the twins! Yes! For once, it's not poor Inuyasha. The twins were so much more deserving. Not that I don't like them. I actually really love them... but they still deserve every smack they get. And, when they jump to attention and all but salute Kagome, it's hysterical.

Inuyasha's finishing move on the combined Shitoushin. He crystallized the Bakuryuuha with his Kongousouha! So awesome!

The Obligatory Not-Quite-Explained Stuff That is in All Inuyasha Movies:

Why can't the hanyou children leave the island? They say it's because the Shitoushin gave them the "Guren" marks on their backs. I believe a barrier is even mentioned at some point. However, we never see this barrier.

Are Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru really compelled to return to the island because of the Guren marks they have? This doesn't seem likely. Sesshoumaru appears to be purely interested in Kyoura, who used a cheap trick to mark him fifty years ago and then ran away. His bruised ego seems to compel him more than any mark. In fact, he defeats Kyoura and leaves not to be seen again in the entire movie. Supposedly, all four members of the Shitoushin had to be defeated in order to break the spell, but Sesshoumaru appears unconcerned. Inuyasha also seems relatively unaffected except for one, brief moment where the mark apparently causes him pain. Otherwise, we have no clear indication that he ever planned to revisit the island prior to agreeing to help save the hanyou children (Okay, so he said he was just going to kick the Shitoushin's butts because they ticked him off, but that's Inuyasha-ese for, "Yes, I'll help you.")

Exactly how long were Inuyasha and Kikyou on the island when they visited it 50 years ago? Because the way the flashback scene plays out the two are a little lost off-shore in their boat, they stumble onto the island, they're greeted by the hanyou children, Kikyou says, "Inuyasha, let's hear their story"... then immediately after she says this the fiery bird creatures that have been ominously watching from the cliffs go nuts and attack, then the Shitoushin attack, Inuyasha gets marked by a slash in the back, then the island abruptly fades away and Inuyasha and Kikyou are left in their boat wondering what on earth just happened. However, the hanyou children know Inuyasha's name when he returns 50 years later and speak to him as though Inuyasha and Kikyou did at least stay long enough to hear their story like Kikyou suggested. Personally, this makes the flashback scene the weakest part of the entire movie for me because I feel like there was at least thirty seconds worth of, "And so, they told their story..." footage lopped out between Kikyou's, "Let's hear their story," line and the birds going crazy.

So, yeah... Overall, the movie was great, had some awesome scenes, had some good funny scenes and was really everything I was hoping for with only a very few things that felt like the explanations for them got left on the cutting room floor somewhere.

Okay, now I believe I have some things I promised to read and beta for both