Customer Reviews

Inuyasha - The Movie 2 - The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As always, it must be noted that those experiencing an Inuyasha film for the first time may be somewhat surprised, as the animation quality and design of the characters is somewhat different from the regular series. This change certainly doesn't hurt the movie, but it might prove to be a slight distraction during the first few moments of the film. In addition, The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass is missing an introduction similar to that found in Affections Touching Across Time, in which the characters and basic plot are introduced in order to familiarize viewers who might not be comfortable with the IY phenomenon just yet. Since this second movie continues to play on elements developed in the television series and first movie, it might be suggested that newer fans watch a few episodes of the regular series before diving into this DVD.

Inuyasha fans (such as myself) who enjoy character development over action scenes probably find many episodes of the series to be hit or miss. However, viewers from both sides of that spectrum will definitely be satisfied with The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass, as once again the story arc proves to be a perfect combination of character interaction and action scenes. This particular film starts out particularly fast, with the team in the middle of a fierce fight with Naraku. The conclusion of this battle leaves Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and Shippo with some time to catch up with their normal lives. The creators used this time to conjure up some creative (and funny) situations involving the characters, which proves to be welcomed breather before the plot begins to pick up a faster pace and more serious atmosphere.

The final encounter scenes between the team and Kaguya are extremely well developed; several plot twists and unexpected events make this to be a particularly nail-biting experience for the audience. This is definitely saying a lot, considering that the entire Inuyasha series is crafted to keep the viewers on their feet. The climax of this intense encounter leaves the team in the worst situation possible-Inuyasha's full demon coming out in full force once again. As always, Kagome is the only one who has the power to help Inuyasha overcome the transformation. This powerful moment in the movie left tears in my eyes, as the emotions evoked by the scenes leading up to this situation are enough to draw anyone into the story.

As always, the ending is a happy one, with everyone's favorite team of heroes overcoming a seemingly invincible foe once again. The cherry on the top of The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass is a feel-good moment between Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku that occurs after the credit roll. Even though it's obvious that the two couples in the group, Inuyasha/Kagome and Sango/Miroku have grown closer together, they still refuse to admit that anything significant had occurred during their most recent adventure. Of course, we can't have a major Inuyasha production without the obligatory "Sit!", so the movie ends with Kagome throwing it at Inuyasha once again. The film tops off just over 1.5 hours long, which is perfect, as I felt as if I couldn't take the emotional stress of that roller coaster ride for much longer.

As with the first movie's DVD, Viz has put about an hour's worth of special features onto the disc. Aside from the standard lineart and movie promos, they've included a 40-minute subtitled television production that counts down 30 of the most popular things (characters, situations, and objects) that are associated with the World of Inuyasha. Proving that even television in a language unfamiliar to many viewers can still be hilarious , the creators of this production (which appears to have been released prior to this film) have included several great components that are weaved in with movie promos and television clips. One of the highlights of this bonus footage was the re-creation of the Inuyasha plot using character plush dolls. Viewers are also treated to a bit of Inuyasha in Japan, a brief look behind the scenes at the IY production facility, a boomerang expert recreating his own Hiraikotsu (Sango's weapon), and a chance to yell at "Sit!" at the screen and watch Inuyasha get pounded to the ground.

Overall, the Castle Beyond the Looking Glass is deserving of every five-star review that it has received thus far. The only thing left missing is Movie 3, which hopefully will hit store shelves in another couple of months.

Inuyasha: The Castle in the Looking Glass, is the best Inuyasha movie thus far. In fact, it is one of the best of all the anime movies. The art is simply dazzling. Gorgeous beyond words. The backgrounds and the lighting look so real, that you feel like you could dive right into the movie. Bravo!! You could even watch the first three quarters of the movie with the sound off, the animation is so incredible and awe-inspiring. Kagome, Sango, Inuyasha, and Miroku's beauty/attractiveness is up a few notches. Each of them looks like a supermodel version of themselves in the series. Sango has longer legs, Miroku is more handsome. Both he and Kagome have more beautiful, intense eyes.

The story is about the demise of the vile, disgusting Naraku, and the ramifications his death has with our heroes and villians. With Naraku gone, a new menace manifests. She is Kaguya, the Moon Princess. Kaguya wants to plunge the world into eternal night with a perpetual full moon. For the promise of freedom, Kagura and Kana help Kaguya break out of her prison by collecting five sacred items for her, one of which is Inuyasha's Fire-Rat robe.

The first three-quarters of the movie seem predictable. Like I said, you can watch it with the sound off and still know what is going on. But look out! The last quarter is jaw-droppingly intense, with a couple of twists that will have you on the edge of your seat.

A raven-haired beauty trapped for ages in a mirror seeks to plunge the world into eternal darkness? Sailor Moon, anyone? It would seem like this villian is a mimeograph of the one in Sailor Moon Super S, but Kaguya has chops of her own. She looks very beautiful in her purple robe and strange head ornament, and she has another outfit that looks very demoness-like. (Love the red eyeshadow).

Sesshoumaru, Jaken, Rin, and Kaede are not in this movie, although they are in the stills in the closing credits. Koga is not featured at all, in case you were wondering. Kikyo plays a small but important role. She is sad, conflicted, and haunted as usual.
There are lots of delightful, scream-out-loud-with-laughter moments in this movie. By all means, if you can afford it, buy this one. It bears repeated viewing. I myself cannot wait to watch it again.

Yes, yes, Inu and Kagome kiss in this movie! Granted, it is not much of a lip-lock, but fans got what they wanted. "Castle" was not written by or approved by Inuyasha creator Rumiko Takahashi. It is independent of the ongoing series. What really happens to Naraku, Kagome, and Inuyasha remains to be seen.

The song at the end of the movie is absolutely wonderful. The song is accompanied by adorable stills of the characters, some tying up loose ends of the movie, others just for awwwww's. Extras on this DVD are disappointing. How many trailers and art galleries can we see? I know Takahashi-san is private, like most manga creators - but we have made her very wealthy. How about an interview? How about interviews with the English voice actors, like ADV did with Pretear? Come on, be creative, people!!

My friend managed to find a download of it, and put it on network so that I could watch. As is it is pretty awesome.
Basic plot: The party appears to have killed Naraku. Miroku's hand has healed, Kagura's heart is back, and all seems back to normal. But Kanna's mirror leads them to another mirror, one occupied by Kaguya an immortal of legend sent to the moon from Mount Fushi (Eternity), which is now called Fuji. She leads Kanna on a quest to find five treasures representing the five elements of Chinese religion, which includes Inuyasha's fire robe. Releasing her has its price, as she plans to stop time for eternity.
Spoiler: Kagome and Inuyasha kiss in this film.

This is probably my second favorite of the Inuyasha quartet of movies. This is a really awesome movie for any Inuyasha fan, The old Japanese voice track has been redone wonderfully and watching the Japanese is the coolest thing. The plot is also awesome. I've been ranting long enough, so let me cut to my normal chase.
The picture quality is good enough. Though, some people have commented that the characters do not look like themselves. That is because the animators who made the regular series did not animate the movies. But, the picture wuality is excellent and there is no required tracking adjustment needed.
The sound is excellent. Since it's been a while since the old Japanese track has been redone, but it has been masterfully reinstated to perfect sound quality. Since the English in newly recorded, it must be in excellent condition, though I never watch the English myself.
The plot was masterfully done to fit into the story. Unlike the first movie, which was excellent, everything ties into it's point in time in the series. The first movie had a few anachronisms. But, this is a plot that has plenty of romance, action, humor, and everything.

InuYasha fans will not be let down with the second movie, "The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass" . If InuYasha fans were pleased with the first feature film, "Affections Touching Across Time", then they will be blown away by this next one. Excellent voice acting, beautiful animation and a great composition create another InuYasha master piece.

"The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass" opens with the main characters, InuYasha (voiced by Richard Cox), Kagome (voiced by Moneca Stori) and crew battling their arch-nemisis, Naraku (voiced by Paul Dobson). They defeat their foe and go their separate ways, but peace is not celebrated for long when a new enemy, Kaguya (voiced by Nicole Oliver), the Princess of the Heavens arrives. With Kaguya and a new character introduced, new voice actors are needed.

In most anime, the dialogue NEEDS great voice actors. The people working on the English half of VIZ made some of the best decisions when they chose Richard Cox to play InuYasha himself and Kelly Sheridan for the demon slayer Sango. They also made a good decision when they chose Nicole Oliver to voice the new villian, Kaguya. Calm, smooth and dark is what this evil Princess of the Heavens needed, and Nicole Oliver delivered. She made her part of the dialogue plausible and gave me that chill which good villians should give you in a desirable setting.

What good is an anime when the animation is no good? In this second InuYasha film, the animation is colourful and along with some special computerized effects, it has a streak of perfection. The character designers showed what these characters are really made of! InuYasha's Wind Scar and Back-Lash Wave seem to come out of the screen and hit the audience, the animation is so convincing. The audience is taken into the Feudal Era of Japan itself, with InuYasha and crew standing along side them. Kudos to the artists!

As expected with any InuYasha film, the music has to be uplifting and create the mood. Kaoru Wada, the composer for the series and the films, does just that in this film again. In the first movie, "Affections Touching Across Time", he wowed many with his compostion named after the film, and he somewhat does the same with the song we hear during that romantic moment between InuYasha and Kagome, but not quite. He could have given it a more romantic feeling to it like the last film, but I'm pleased with the result otherwise. With a good ending song as well as a new insertion song by the group "Every Little Thing", the film is always omitting the desired mood.

In conclusion, the second InuYasha movie is a must have. With a humourous epilogue and a new romantic twist makes this movie enjoyable for the passionate fan and the newcoming fan. There is little to dislike in such a great movie. I certainly enjoyed the second movie more than the first and I LOVE the first movie. After seeing this second film, I can't wait to see the third movie!

First off, this is just about the worst possible place to start on InuYasha. Only those with a decent knowledge of the series and/or the first movie will have any clue what this movie is about in the first place. If you can't watch either of those, the special footage at least gives some idea of the main plot of the first two seasons.

That being said, I thought this was an absolutely wonderful movie. The animation is just as brilliant as that of the first movie, Affections Touching Across Time, and the English dubbing was also well beyond the average anime movie. The special features are great, I especially enjoyed the trailer for the third movie and the re-enactment of Kikyo's death, performed by chibi plushies. Unfortunately the special footage is not dubbed, so you'll have to suffer reading sub-titles, which tends to be a bother.

The plot is quite a bit more complex than the plot of the first movie, so you may need to watch it a second time to understand it all, but it's well worth it. This movie has more action than the first, just as much comedy, and a lot more romance, a great combination if you ask me. The language is fairly mild, but rated `teen' for a reason. The main villain, Kaguya, uses plenty of dark magic and incantations, plus there is a fair amount of blood and violence, which would no doubt scare the average 8 year old.

And before I forget, this DVD also comes with a holographic replica of the front cover, and a promotional InuYasha card for the Trading Card game.

Overall, this is a great movie, and any InuYasha will adore it. I know I do!

I hope this review was both helpful and informative for you.
~Beth

P.S.: You absolutely cannot forget to wait for the end of the credits! There's a hilarious scene between Miroku and Sango you won't want you miss!

Inuyasha The Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass is a movie I have been highly excited to see. I bought it, of course, because I bought the 1st movie too. Let me tell you, my money was not wasted!

In the beginning, they start off with Inuyasha in his human form, angry because the morning hasn't come yet. Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku are actually fighting Naraku; Kagome joins in too as they try to defeat their ultimate enemy. Eventully they all do it together; even Inuyasha, who turns back to a hanyou(Half-demon) before he started fighting; and they've done it! Miroku's Kazaana(Wind Tunnel, a curse that was set upon his grandfather by Naraku, and passed down to him) disappears, clearly stating that Naraku is dead. Even Kikyou and Sesshoumaru notice that he's dead, including Kohaku(Sango's brother, who killed the demon slayers when he was possessed by Naraku), Kagara, and Kanna.

They go their seperate ways, but soon an evil being is awakened; Princess Kaguya, who is apparently the ruler of the night. The group bands together once more to defeat Kaguya, and you'll meet a new, slightly humorous character named Akitoki or something.(I forgot his name) Anyway, the movie DOES rule, especially since it's partly based on an old Japanese tale, The Tale of Princess Kaguya. However, sometimes you kinda question some stuff in the movie; like what DID Kaguya really want to do in the movie, anyway? Engulf the world in eternal night? A little lame. And why would she want to kill all living beings, or something, or make time stand still? It's confusing, but alas, still a funny, action-packed, and romantic movie. If your an IY/Kagome fan, you'll see a lot of hints in the movie!^^

The Special Features are cool too. You can see Japanese trailers for Movie 3, which apparently has Sesshoumaru as one of the main characters. The Special Footage was awesome; it was funny seeing the people play out the whole "Inuyasha, Kikyou" thing, and seeing how the extremly close couple was torn apart, but seeing it in plush-form!xD I also LOVED saying "Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwariiiiiiiiii!!" at the screen and seeing Inu fall down! Lol! It was also cool seeing how they do the sound effects, the music, the studio, Anime Town, a real sized Hiraikotsu(Demon Slayer Sango's weapon) and more. You even get a plush sized Shippou to tell the the tale of Princess Kaguya! Basically I loved the Special Footage as much as the movie!!

overall, get this movie! Or at least rent it. It's fun to watch with your friends or yourself! It'll have you going "GASP~" and "Awwww" and "KICK HIS/HER BUTT!!" You don't want to miss this movie people! Buy it today!^___^

Funniest part of the movie:
Shippou: What are you doing Miroku?
Miroku: (painting on his right hand) Somehow, I just don't feel right without it. Eh..I guess I don't write well with my left hand..(closeup of his right hand, showing a terribly drawn Kazaana on it)

ha ha! XD

For starters, I saw this in Japan and "The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass," or "Movie 2," IS the movie where Kagome and Inuyasha share their first (and only recorded) kiss.

As for him choosing Kikyo, the anime series ends on September 13th, 2004, with an hour special of episodes 166 & 167 (TvTome.com). The manga will also end this year, though a precise date hasn't been given. If you've read the manga and have seen the most recent Japanese episodes, he doesn't choose Kikyo. Or Kagome, for that matter. It's inconclusive.

TV Tome mentioned that the producer of the show said something about "the first installment of the show," implying that there may be a second one yet to come, or, he just meant the series and manga are ending this year, but the 4th movie is still in production. The only thing that the producer makes somewhat clear is that the anime will be left open-ended, because since neither the defeat of Naraku, nor the completion of the jewel have happened in the manga yet, they don't want to make up their own ending that would either contradict or spoil Takahashi's. That and there will be a seiyuu commentary at the end of the episode, which will likely just be, "Thanks for watching, go see the movie."

Thank you and goodnight.

This has got to be one of my most favorite animes of all time. I have just recently purchased the boxed set of the first season and I am pleased to say it was a wonderful anime. This story starts off with the gang fighting off Nataku, but im not gonna spoil it for those who choose to watch this movie. After the battle Miroku's wind tunnel just dissapears and that of course means only one thing. As the story progresses Sango's brother is reunited with her sister, but theres something fishy about that. I won't say anymore, but i recommend this movie to any inuyasha fan and you will not be dissapointed with this movie in your collection!!!!!!

This is definately a great movie, and this actually IS the one where InuYasha and Kagome kiss...but it's not for a usual reason. Anyway, a few people that I've talked to have told me that the first movie was "so much better blah blah blah", but they are wrong! (But I guess you're going to have to buy it and see for yourself, right?).
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Here are some screencaps of the movie, but be warned that it is a mega spoiler! http://www.inuyashaworld.com/movies2.cfm?num=1