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[adamwatchesmovies]

Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time (2004)

Unless you’re a fan of the Inuyasha TV show, there nothing in Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time for you. Even for fans of the series, there’s nothing about this 100-minute movie that’s any better than watching a 5-episode story arc.

Kagome (Moneca Stori) is a normal 16-year-old who falls into her family's well. The plunge transports her back in time to feudal Japan where she finds a half-demon named Inuyasha (Richard Ian Cox), the two go on a search for the shards of the Shikon Jewel, which empower any demon who possesses them and when reassembled, has the ability to turn Inuyasha into a full demon. Having fallen for him, Kagome hopes to convince him, instead to become fully human. On their quest, Kagome and Inuyasha are joined by a cursed lecherous monk named Miroku (Kirby Morrow) and a female demon hunter Sango (Kelly Sheridan).

Our heroes now face a powerful new enemy, the insect-affiliated Menomaru (Vincent Gale), who seeks to use the power of Inuyasha’s sword, the Tetseiga, in order to rule the world.

The obvious love and dramatic plots which receive minimal development in order to string the audience along, the overabundance of comic relief characters are flaws found in the TV series and are therefore "not this film's fault". The problem with Inuyasha the Movie is the same you can expect from any number of movies based on television series from Japan: the film has no consequences or bearings on the story whatsoever. The personalities of the characters are not developed further and they don't learn anything new or experience injuries that will haunt them later, no one gets killed, no new ground is broken at all. You could be a huge fan of the Inuyasha show, never even hear about this movie and not notice.

The plot is exactly like the plot of the television show. We are introduced to a bad guy and, surprise, surprise, it’s a demon. This time, however, he’s not after the shards of the Shikon jewel but after ultimate power! What is he going to do after he kills every living thing on Earth? Nobody knows because he never speaks or dreams of anything else. Menomaru is a bland, one-dimensional villain. He has two sexy female sidekicks but they don’t really have personalities either, just colourful powers to distract Sango and Miroku while Inuyasha and Kagome save the day. Instead of showing Inuyasha’s half-brother Sesshomaru and making teenage girls SQUEE pointlessly, how about pushing something, ANYTHING, further? 

The dialogue in the film is frustrating and repetitive. It’s typical in Japanese television to have characters spell out what is happening, but is it necessary to have it in the English dub as well? I can tell that Inuyasha is passing out because his eyes are glazing over and he is starting to lose his balance. I don’t need him to tell me. As for the story itself, it alternates between nutty and cliché-ridden. There is a part where some of Inuyasha’s teammates get mind controlled by one of Menomaru’s minions. What do you bet the thing that breaks the spell is either friendship or love? Give me a break. I also really don’t think the people who wrote the film understand how time travel works. As Menomaru's power grows, he begins draining power from the future, which plunges Japan in a perpetual winter. Wouldn’t that create all kinds of weird time paradoxes?

On a technical level, the movie isn’t particularly impressive either. The animation is about as good as the TV show, with a scene of badly integrated CGI thrown in to show us how awesome Menomaru’s powers are. You’ve got all of the typical anime action movie tropes on display. This, combined with the abundant exposition makes it easy to follow.

Affections Touching Across Time isn’t terrible, but it’s completely inconsequential. It’s only for die-hard fans of the television series that just can’t get enough of it, even when it gets repetitive. If you do see it, stick around for a post-credit scene. (English dub on DVD, September 17, 2014)