November 12th, 2009

Play Free Online Inuyasha Games

The sun was not the only one who rose from Nihon. The ikebana, the origami, the tea ceremony and not the last, the anime come from the rich culture that abounds there.

Since "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", Japanese stories have been beautified with pictures and, sometimes, animated cartoons. They got a special name: manga or anime.

Manga, a representative part of publishing industry in Japan

Manga is a comic book made by the fusion of the traditional woodblock (ukiyo-e) and Western art. It took the current form shortly after World War II, influencing the television and thus creating the anime. In 1958, studio Toei screened the first anime feature film, "The Tale of the White Serpent", which marked the beginning of the animation industry. Then, in 1962, the first anime TV show was screened by studio Otogi. It concerned historical cartoons in black and white. One year after that, Osamu Tezuka, "The God of Manga" has founded the Mushi productions and released his first anime series, "Tetsuwan Atom". This was the start of an anime boom, that occurred in 1963. Between1987-1992, The wings of Honneamise was released, making anime officially an art form. This kind of animation became popular in the entire world. The road from here to video games was made in a split second.

The semi-demon InuYasha

"InuYasha, a Feudal Fairy Tale" is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It concerns the adventures of a high school student who travels in time - Kagome Higurashi, a semi-demon - the character who gives the anime's name - an immoral monk, a nekomata - a supernatural cat, a demon hunter and a fox- demon. They are all gathered with the same purpose: to find the pieces of the Sacred Jewel (Shikon no Tama) that are desired by all the demons.

A story filled with time dust

InuYasha is an hanyō (a semi-demon), born after the union of a demon-dog with a human being. Even his name, translated to the letter, means "a spirit dog" (Inu in Japanese means dog and Yasha is spirit). In the feudal times, InuYasha (shortly, Inu) steals the Sacred Jewel or the Four Souls Jewels that could grant a wish. His biggest desire was to become a full-blooded demon. Inu is sealed by Kikyo, the village's priestess onto the Goshinboku, the Times' Tree for fifty years.

After this story, the setting is changed to modern Tokyo, where Kagome searches for her cat, Buyo. When she gets into the well house to take her out, she is pulled in the Bone Eater's Well by a centipede demon.

Not knowing where she is, Kagome lingers through a forest nearby the well. She sees The Sacred Tree, where InuYasha trapped by the curse of an enchanted sleep. Because the demon attacks again, she frees Inu from the spell. After the centipede is defeated, the hanyō tries to take the Jewel from the teenager, but Kaede, the priestess' little sister, puts a magic rosary around Inu's neck, so that Kagome could control him using the word "Osuari!" (- Sit!).

During the fight with a crow- demon, the Four Souls Jewels is broke into numerous pieces that spread through Japan. Kagome and the semi-demon InuYasha start a journey to find all the pieces and to remake the Sacred Jewel.

Dress up InuYasha the demon or the man?

At http://www.dressupdollgames.net/game/618/Dress-Up-Inuyasha.html, not only you can dress Inu up as you like, but you can dress him up in the hanyō or in the human form by changing the color of its hair. I also found it funny that you can change the expression of his face, making him serious, nervous, happy, very happy, ashamed or even sleeping. A thing I have not met before in the flash dress up games is that you do not need to dress the character up according to the season, you can change the season according to his clothes!

This game is rather peculiar, though ingenious. There were some things I could not comprehend, like why are there Kagome's clothes, skirts and red knots. I must also admit I have never pictured Inu with Nike shoes and net clothes. And one more thing: there is a tiny semi-Kagome somewhere between the jewels, and I did not know what to do with her. Could the designer of this game have placed her there with Bryan Adam's "The Only Thing that Looks Good On Me Is You" in mind?

The "InuYasha Demon Tournamen"t is a strategy game at a lower level. The turn based game is a mix between Street Fighter and Final Fantasy, with two difficulty levels: easy and hard. You have to fight for the Jewel with your enemies, and you can either be on the good side, as InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku or in the other team, made by Kagura, Koga, Sesshomaru or Naraku. Using cards with different types of motion or attack, you have to fight the enemy.

A funny flash game I found is located at this address: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/419727. InuYasha has a tough life having to choose between "cuddle" or "rock", for example. Each choice leads to a different set of choices. To understand how this game works, here is a tip: if you choose "cuddle" for the first part, Inu will get a toy rabbit thrown at him, but that is better than choosing the rock. Get it?