Anime Season 1: It's okay... just okay.
When I heard a sequel to InuYasha was in the making, I was excited. I wanted to see what happened after the original series, how the original cast were living their lives, wondering if Kagome would ever go back and visit her family, how InuYasha would adapt to a life as a father, how the relationship between demons and humans would play out...
Hell, I was excited for the new cast. The first three episodes were a blast to watch. The series had a lot of potential for character development between the three titular heroes. I always kept wondering how Towa would adapt to the feudal era and if she would ever miss her adoptive family, how Setsuna's strained relationship with Towa would develop, if Moroha would ever wonder about who were her real parents and what happened to them.
I wondered how the old characters like Kaede, Miroku and Sango would be doing, if they would be looking for InuYasha and Kagome, how would they react to Sesshomaru having half-demon daughters and basically taking them away, if Kaede would be telling Moroha stories about the adventures of her parents... And none of that happened.
Instead, what we got was one of these mediocre animes where things only really happen at the very beginning or the very end, while the rest of the show is nothing but a series of one boring Monster of the Week battle after another. Yashahime didn't escape this.
While Towa, Setsuna and Moroha had a lot of potential as characters, it really didn't go anywhere. I think Moroha got done the dirtiest out of the three, because she's completely inessential to the plot and is just there to be comic relief, despite being the daughter of the previous protagonists.
I lost the count of how many times the show, instead of trying to develop their characters right there and then or instead of trying to show the lives of the original cast, decided to show a flashback of "Hey, this character that's going to show up for only this episode did something important in the past... aaaaannnnd they're dead!"
The new antagonists are also as threatening and interesting as a piece of cardboard. Seriously, we're one episode away from ending the show and every time I see Kirinmaru on screen, I immediately want to close my tab and go watch something else. Seriously, what did this guy even do the entire show other than just stand around looking menacing?
The show has some good moments. The first three episodes or so are very good, the final 4 or so episodes are okay, at worst, but the entire rest of the series is easily skippable and forgettable.
Yes, I know we still have one more episode to go where they have their final battle against Kirinmaru, but to be fair, Kirinmaru is boring as hell and I don't think the final episode alone can save the rest of this series.
I would give it a 6/10. It's not bad, but not good either.
EDIT: Looks like we're getting a 2nd season. Hopefully, it'll be better than the 1st one.
Anime Season 2: A Vast Improvement
Season One of Yashahime wasn't the best, it largely favored Monster of the Week adventures over a decent plot or emotional growth for the main characters, which felt nonexistent.
When Season Two was announced, my expectations were low. But now, I'm glad to say that Season Two has fixed virtually every single problem I've had with the previous season and put a big smile on my face.
The writing is still iffy in some places and every single time something big seems like it's going to happen, it doesn't. So, the result is often a bit of a letdown.
For example, in the climax episode, due to the way everything was built up, I was half-expecting Rion to just straight-up steal Towa's body and go on an even bigger rampage, revealing herself as this Evil All Along mastermind because of the prophecy in Season One, because of Setsuna's comments about how Towa is too trusting of people, and because of the fact Towa's sword was given to her so her body could be stolen. Alas, it felt like the writers chickened out at the very last moment.
That being said, I did enjoy most of Season 2's episodes, even if the writing wasn't stellar. I would definitely want another season.
Rating: 8/10