When the popular "feudal fairy tale" InuYasha ended in 2004 after 167 episodes and four theatrical features, it just stopped. Rumiko Takahashi's manga was still running, so the characters thanked the viewers for watching and flew off. The Final Act (2009) picks up where the first series ended, and the filmmakers assume the audience is familiar with the story, which has grown extremely convoluted. Kagome, a modern high school girl, spends most of her time in the Warring States era, working with the half-demon InuYasha to recover the magical shards of the shattered Shikkon Jewel. The evil Naraku has managed to capture almost all the fragments, but he's having problems with his servants: Kogura, Kanna, the evil infant, and Gorymaru escape his control and even try to destroy him. Many of these episodes focus on supernatural weapons: InuYasha makes his sword Tetseiga even more powerful; by learning sorrow and fear, his half-brother Sesshoumaru acquires the Meidou Zangetsuha technique that sends foes directly to the underworld; Sango discovers the true nature of her boomerang-like Hiraikotsu; and Miroku finds the limit of his Wind Tunnel. Perhaps the most significant weapon is the spark of light the dying Kikyou managed to preserve within the defiled Jewel: Could that tiny glimmer be Naraku's undoing? Richard Ian Cox repeats his role as the bad-tempered but ultimately goodhearted InuYasha; however, several of the cast members are new, notably Kira Tozer as Kagome, and arguments will certainly rage on the web over the merits of the new actors vs. the original ones. Director Yasunao Aoki is drawing together the narrative threads that will bring the tale to a conclusion otaku have awaited for almost 10 years. (Rated Teen: violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon (1. Naraku's Heart, 2. Kagura's Wind, 3. Meidou Zangetsuha, 4. Dragon-scaled Tessaiga, 5. Yorei Taisei's Trial, 6. The End of Moryomaru, 7. The Mausoleum of Mount Azusa, 8. While the Stars Twinkle, 9. Sesshoumaru in Hell, 10. A Grief-stained Flower, 11. Kanna's Gravestone, 12. Sango's Feelings, Miroku's Resolve, 13. The Complete Pathway to Hades)
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