Yashahime

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Japanese: 半妖の夜叉姫, Hepburn: Han'yō no Yashahime) is a Japanese anime television series produced and animated by Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks). It is a sequel spin-off to the Inuyasha anime television series, which itself is based on Rumiko Takahashi's manga series of the same title. It follows the adventures of Towa Higurashi and Setsuna, Sesshomaru and Rin's fraternal twin daughters, and Moroha, Inuyasha and Kagome Higurashi's daughter. The series' first season aired from October 2020 to March 2021; a second season aired from October 2021 to March 2022. A manga adaptation, illustrated by Takashi Shiina, started in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Shōnen Sunday S in September 2021.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon
Key visual for the first season
半妖の夜叉姫
(Han'yō no Yashahime)
GenreAdventure, fantasy[1]
Anime television series
Directed by
  • Teruo Sato (S1)
  • Masakazu Hishida (S2)
Produced byHisakazu Naka
Written byKatsuyuki Sumisawa
Music byKaoru Wada
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
Original networkNNS (ytv)
English network
Original run October 3, 2020 – March 26, 2022
Episodes48
Manga
Written by
Illustrated byTakashi Shiina
Published byShogakukan
English publisher
  • NA: Viz Media
ImprintShōnen Sunday Comics Special
MagazineShōnen Sunday S
DemographicShōnen
Original runSeptember 25, 2021 – present
Volumes4

Viz Media has licensed the series for North and Latin American territories, while Medialink has licensed it for Southeast Asian and South Asian territories.

Plot
See also: List of Inuyasha characters § Yashahime main characters

Ten years after the events of Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Rin's daughter Towa is separated from her twin sister Setsuna, and gets stranded in the modern era, where she is adopted into the family of her father's sister-in-law, Kagome Higurashi, raised by Kagome's younger brother Sōta and his warmhearted wife Moe. Towa becomes close to her younger adopted sister, six-year-old Mei, who is Towa's “substitute” for Setsuna.

One decade later, Towa is reunited with Setsuna, when she leaves the modern era through the vast time-traveling power of the spiritual Sacred Tree of Ages. During their separation, Setsuna became one of the demon-slayers working with Kohaku and does not remember her past, as the mythical Dream Butterfly stole her dreams and memories. In order to restore them, the half-demon twins embark on an adventure, alongside their quarter-demon bounty hunter cousin Moroha, the fourteen-year-old daughter of Kagome and Inuyasha, who lacks full knowledge of her parents' fate; except that her human mother is an uppermost-level priestess and that her equally impulsive and overconfident father is half dog-demon and half human, just like her half-first twin cousins.

At times, the vital essence of the Sacred Tree of Ages awakens from centuries of dormancy to warn them that a long-standing rival of their paternal dog-demon grandfather is plotting to warp time itself, since Sesshomaru refuses to fight him directly in place of his late father. At the same time, the unparalleled time-based unsurpassable entity is harboring adult Rin in suspended animation for her husband Sesshomaru because of her fatal connection to Zero, the elder sister of Kirinmaru and creator of the seven mystical Rainbow Pearls, whose respective mighty demonic abilities rival those of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls itself. During a battle with Kirinmaru at the ruins of Lady Izayoi's mansion, Setsuna is seemingly killed by Kirinmaru, but Towa uses the broken Tenseiga to revive Setsuna.

Setsuna has her Kanemitsu no Tomoe upgraded by Tōtōsai into the mighty Yukari no Tachikiri, which can cut the invisible red threads of fate. Towa receives the legendary cosmic sword Zanseiken from Kirinmaru's late daughter Rion, whose soul is contained within an artificial body created by her father. The Half-Demon Princesses must become strong enough to save Rin, before she perishes from the fatal curse placed on her by the deeply bitter Zero. Ultimately, Zero lifts the curse herself and passes on to Heaven. As Towa and Setsuna are ready to reunite with Rin, Kirinmaru gives an ultimatum for Moroha to save her parents or steal Akuru's pinwheel.

Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru's duel recommence, with the former taking the hit for his twin daughters and half-niece, which fatally wounds and weakens him. He manages to use his remaining strength to send them into the Black Pearl, where the girls meet Inuyasha and Kagome Higurashi. After escaping from the Black Pearl using the combined powers of Tessaiga and Tenseiga, the group discovers that Kirinmaru's true objective is to travel to the Reiwa Era to destroy the Grim Comet that threatens to destroy human civilization, and become a supreme ruler over all humans and demons alike. After saving Sesshomaru, Towa discovers that Kirinmaru allowed her to keep Zanseiken so that her soul is eventually extinguished by using its power so that he can use her body as a living vessel for Rion against the wishes of his undead daughter while Moroha is given a spiritually-empowered longbow made by Inuyasha and Kagome, which greatly boosts the effectiveness and spiritual energies of her sacred arrows.

Using Akuru's time-based pinwheel, the Half-Demon Princesses travel back to the modern era to destroy the comet themselves, with Kirinmaru chasing after them. They encounter Osamu Kirin, formerly Kirinmaru's right arm, and Towa's homeroom teacher, who informs them about his desire to save humanity. However, he double-crosses the girls and brings the Grim Comet to the feudal era to grant Kirinmaru's wish in obliterating it from the plane of existence, and showing Rion various countries and states from around the modern world. With the last of his strength, Akuru opens the gateway to the ancient past on the Sacred Tree of Ages, so the Princess' can return to help their parents' and their closest friends in preventing the Degenerate Age from progressing further.

Media

Anime
See also: List of Yashahime episodes

The series was first announced in May 2020.[2] It aired from October 3, 2020 to March 20, 2021 on Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV.[3][4] The series was produced and animated by Sunrise (later renamed as Bandai Namco Filmworks), directed by Teruo Sato with main character designs by Inuyasha original creator Rumiko Takahashi.[2] Staff from Inuyasha returned, with Katsuyuki Sumisawa in charge of the scripts while Rumiko Takahashi acted as storyboard supervisor,[5] Yoshihito Hishinuma in charge of the anime character designs and Kaoru Wada composing the music.[2] The opening theme "New Era" was performed by the male idol group SixTones, while the ending theme "Break" was performed by Uru.[6][7] The second opening theme "Burn" was performed by NEWS, while the second ending theme "Kesshō" was performed by Ryokuōshoku Shakai.[8][9]

Viz Media announced the rights to digital streaming, EST, and home video release of the series for North and Latin American territories.[2][10] Viz Media streamed the series on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu.[11] On October 26, 2020, Funimation announced a partnership with Viz Media to release an English dub of the series, with the English cast of Inuyasha reprising their roles.[12][13] Funimation began streaming the English dub on November 6, 2020 along with Hulu and Crunchyroll.[14] The English dub of the series began broadcasting on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on June 27, 2021.[15] Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asian territories.[16] The series premiered on Animax Asia on June 21, 2021.[17]

On March 20, 2021, a second season of the series was announced following the release of the 24th episode.[18][19] The second season, titled Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon – The Second Act, aired from October 2, 2021, to March 26, 2022.[20][21][22] The opening theme is "ReBorn" performed by NEWS, while the ending theme is "Toumei na Sekai" performed by Little Glee Monster.[23] The second opening theme is "Kyōmei" performed by SixTones, while the second ending theme is "Anaaki no Sora" by Adieu (Moka Kamishiraishi).[24]

Manga

A manga adaptation by Takashi Shiina, with script cooperation by Katsuyuki Sumisawa,[25] started in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday S on September 25, 2021.[26][27] Shogakukan released the first collected tankōbon volume on January 18, 2022.[28] As of April 18, 2023, four volumes have been released.[29]

Viz Media has licensed the manga for English release in North America.[30] The first volume was released on June 21, 2022.[25] On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched their Viz Manga digital manga service, with the series' chapters receiving simultaneous English publication in North America as they are released in Japan.[31]

Volume list
No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 January 18, 2022[32]978-4-09-850880-8June 21, 2022[25]978-1-9747-3265-4
2 May 18, 2022[33]978-4-09-851144-0December 20, 2022[34]978-1-9747-3449-8
3 October 12, 2022[35]978-4-09-851300-0June 13, 2023[36]978-1-9747-1989-1
4 April 18, 2023[29]978-4-09-852035-0December 12, 2023[37]978-1-9747-4115-1

Reception

The series ranked ninth on Animage's 43rd Anime Grand Prix in 2020.[38] Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihito Hishinuma were nominated for the Best Character Design category in the Crunchyroll's 2021 Anime Awards.[39]

In her review of the first two episodes, Kara Dennison of Otaku USA made positive comments about the series, praising its cast and its way to "echo the story of Inuyasha without simply retreading it."[40] James Beckett and Monique Thomas of Anime News Network listed Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon as one of the worst anime of the winter 2021 season.[41] Rebecca Silverman of the same website also listed it as one of the worst anime of 2021.[42] The series received criticism from some reviewers for its portrayal of Sesshomaru and Rin as a couple, considering the fact that in the original Inuyasha series, Sesshomaru traveled along with Rin when she was a young girl, calling their relationship "grooming."[43][44][45][46]

References
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  2. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 8, 2020). "Inuyasha Anime Gets Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon TV Spinoff This Fall". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  3. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 21, 2020). "Inuyasha Anime Spinoff Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Airs on Saturdays This Fall". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  4. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 6, 2020). "Inuyasha Spinoff Anime Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon's 1st Trailer Reveals Cast, October 3 Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  5. vizmedia (December 5, 2020). "Yashahime: Princess Half- Demon | Series Composition Interview". YouTube. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  6. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 16, 2020). "SixTONES Idols Perform Inuyasha Spinoff Anime Yashahime's Opening Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  7. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 6, 2020). "Uru Performs Ending Theme for Inuyasha Spinoff Anime Yashahime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  8. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 6, 2020). "4-Member Band Ryokuōshoku Shakai Perform New Ending Theme for Yashahime Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  9. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 26, 2020). "Idol Group NEWS Perform New Opening Theme for Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  10. Frater, Patrick (May 11, 2020). "Iconic 'Inuyasha' Anime Rebooted as 'Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. Sherman, Jennifer (September 23, 2020). "Inuyasha Spinoff Anime Yashahime to Stream on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
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  14. Funimation [@FUNimation] (November 3, 2020). "They're back! @richardiancox, @dkayevo, Jillian Michaels and more are returning to their iconic roles for the Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon dub!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
  15. Mateo, Alex (June 8, 2021). "Toonami Airs Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Anime on June 26". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021. June 26 at 1:00 a.m. EDT (effectively, June 27)
  16. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 3, 2020). "Ani-One Asia Licenses Inuyasha Spinoff Anime Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  17. Animax Asia [@animaxasiatv] (June 13, 2021). "A great month awaits InuYasha fans as the story continues years later! Join Towa, Setsuna and Moroha as they take fate into their own hands. 'Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon', premieres Jun 21, Mon & Tue at 10PM (9PM JKT/BKK) with double episodes" (Tweet). Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Twitter.
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  22. 「半妖の夜叉姫 弐の章」殺生丸と犬夜叉の娘達の物語、ついに完結！ 第48話（最終回）先行カット. AnimeAnime.jp (in Japanese). March 26, 2022. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  23. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 5, 2021). "Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon - The Second Act Anime Reveals New Trailer, More Cast, Ending Song Artists". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  24. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 7, 2022). "Adieu Performs Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon - The Second Act Anime's 2nd Ending Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
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  30. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 10, 2021). "Viz Announces Summer 2022 Book Releases Including Junji Ito's The Liminal Zone, Takashi Shiina's Yashahime Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  31. Cayanan, Joanna (May 9, 2023). "Viz Media Simultaneously Releases Shogakukan Manga Titles in New VIZ Manga App". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  32. 【1月18日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  33. 【5月18日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. May 18, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
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  35. 【10月12日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 12, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
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  37. "Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  38. 第43回アニメグランプリ [43rd Anime Grand Prix]. Animage (in Japanese). No. 8. Tokuma Shoten. July 1, 2021. p. 33. ASIN B097BSPBMF.
  39. Luster, Joseph (February 19, 2021). "Rewatch the 2021 Anime Awards Here (and Find Out Who Won!)". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  40. Dennison, Kara (October 12, 2020). "Yashahime: Princess Half Demon Is Already a Worthy Successor". Otaku USA. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  41. The Anime News Network Editorial Team (March 29, 2021). "The Best and Worst Anime of Winter 2021". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  42. The Anime News Network Editorial Team (December 31, 2021). "The Worst Anime of 2021 & Mega Poll Results". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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  44. Beckett, James (January 19, 2021). "Episode 15". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
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  46. St. Sauver, Olive (January 16, 2021). "Yashahime Episode 15 Review – "Farewell Under the Lunar Eclipse"". butwhythopodcast.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.

Further reading
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