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Nothing bothers me more than when people meet me, find out I like Inu-Yasha and then get all pissy with me. They say, “ OMG!!! How can you possibly like Inu-Yasha, it’s so terrible!!!”

“Terrible?” I say, “What makes you think that?”

They then go into a lengthy and ill-conceived list of reasons why Inu-Yasha is the worst anime (reasons such as too much filler and a terrible ending) and why the series they like is so much better (usually Naruto or FMA or, more recently, BLEACH). Did they ever stop and think that maybe I know all this and still like it anyway? Did it ever occur to them that maybe Inu-Yasha isn’t even my favorite series, just one of the many I enjoy watching?

Did they ever think maybe I choose to watch Inu-Yasha as a matter of personal preferences in the anime I watch?

It’s rather unfortunate that I don’t really have the option of liking things that aren’t mainstream because I like action series. Let’s face it: Action sells, so most action series enjoy a reputation for being mainstream. Most action series have in fact come to America and been shown on TV, so most people have at least heard of them. To know the obscure series, I’d have to watch them before they get licensed over here, and that’s a feat that would involve YouTube (which I abhor). So I must go with the mainstream. It’s not bad, if you can avoid the fanbrats. And so, a little equation: Inu-Yasha=Action. Action=Mainstream (usually). Therefore, Inu-Yasha=Mainstream. That’s called the Transitive property for those of you who were asleep in Math class.

I watch Inu-Yasha because it goes along with the common motifs in the other anime I watch. Those motifs would be Demons, Period dramas, Massive phallic issues (a.k.a. Huge Swords), and people with some sort of animal ears. Whenever I want to watch a series with these things, I think to myself, well I could watch Tokyo Mew Mew, then Fushigi Yuugi, then Chrono Crusade, then BLEACH, or I could just watch Inu-Yasha and get that instant gratification, plus a good look at Kouga (<3). To me, watching Inu-Yasha just saves time.

I’m ok with the filler because I’m not waiting for new episodes to premiere on [adult swim], and I’m fine with the way the anime ended because I understand why it ended when it did and I own 39 volumes of the manga (29 in English and 10 in Japanese) that pretty much covers the entire anime series plus where it left off and am waiting for the next 10 to be released as a set.

Inu-Yasha’s not my favorite series. It’s just the only one I know enough about to talk about with out looking like a total moron, coupled with the fact that it’s the only series I know of that people besides me seem to know about. My favorite series is in fact this little series called Yo-U (published as BY THE SWORD in America). I love that series to death, but no matter who I mention it to, nobody has a clue what it is (even the most well read manga fiends are at a loss). The best way to describe it is Inu-Yasha if it were truly good. It’s got your hanyou, your demon sword, your dead miko, your wolf demons, your Kaede, and your jewels to collect (sound familiar?), but it’s also got your incest, your teeny-tiny ghost of a character’s father (whom I have decided looks suspiciously like how Inu-Yasha’s father was portrayed in the third movie), and the plot is totally different. But since nobody seems to know about it, but they do know about Inu-Yasha, I normally talk about Inu-Yasha.

So in conclusion, before you bother me with your accusations of me being a n00b because I like Inu-Yasha, realize that it’s all a matter of personal preference.

By the way, here’s a list of series I’ve seen and liked (bear with me, I suck at remembering titles):
Inu-Yasha
Sailor Moon
Fushigi Yuugi
CardCaptor Sakura
The Twelve Kingdoms
Ruroni Kenshin
Samurai Champloo
Excel Saga
Ranma ½
Shaman King
Kyo Kara Maoh!
Magic Knight Rayearth
Tokyo Mew Mew
Chrono Crusade
Fist of the North Star
Dragon Drive
Pretear
Kaleido Star
Vision of the Escaflowne
Saiyuki
DragonballZ (I’m confused by that too.)
Requiem for (from?) the Darkness
Elfen Lied
Neo(n?) Genesis Evangelion
Fafner


Currently waiting to own and watch (or be released in America [or come in my NetFlix]):
Shonen Onmyoji
Twin Signal
Puni Pani Poemi
BLEACH
Virtua Fighter
Lucky H Star(this really seems out of place, doesn’t it?)
Black Cat
Gestalt

If you have any recommendations (other than Naruto) feel free to make them, provided they’re for an action series!