Title: InuYasha Volume(s): 38+ Creator(s): Rumiko Takahashi Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left Publisher: VIz Media MSRP: $17.99 Genre(s): Action Rated: Older Teen (16+)   Buy From Amazon.com: Vol. 1-3 / Vol. 4-6 / Vol. 7-9 / Vol. 10-12     Buy From Right Stuf International: Vol. 1-3 / Vol. 4-6 / Vol. 7-9 / Vol. 10-12

CONSUMER ADVICE

Parents should keep all kids away from "Inu-Yasha," as this series is NOT for children (or even preteens for that matter)! The series contains very graphic violence, which includes blood gushing, heads flying, body parts being devoured, and all sorts of things. There is also some rough language here and there, and a few sexual remarks and mild nudity also makes it way into the series. Trust me folks, this series deserves it's OT rating, as this is definetly R rated material.

It took almost ten years and countless of complaints, but fans can breath a sigh of relief: Viz Media has finally release “InuYasha” unflipped. Considering the powerhouse Rumiko Takahashi is, I’m surprised it took them this long to correct their mistake of flipping the artwork in the (still running) American release of the series. For that matter, considering when the title was released and the state of the manga market at the time, I’m surprised they made the mistake at all. Flipping manga artwork to be read as an American comic has always been controversial. While it makes the books more accessible to American readers, it creates mistakes in the artwork.

“InuYasha” was probably the last major American release to utilize the flipping. The fact that the show became a big hit on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim (and by extension a DVD best seller) may have had something to do with the decision, but it’s one the fans have loathed since day one. Now the artwork has been unflipped in the new “Big Edition” release of the series. The “Big Edition” series is Viz’s way of reselling popular best sellers to a new generation of fans. For fans who’ve already committed to purchasing the whole series the need to re-buy the series is debatable. Most of the time the extras are nice, but only hardcore fans really need to re-buy all of “Dragon Ball” again, as most of the time the books are fairly identical.

But with “InuYasha” the new release is practically a must buy even if you’ve already collected most of the standard books. Obviously this is because Takahashi’s unique artwork can be fully appreciated for the first time in English. It’s unflipped and the bigger pages just make you appreciate the little details all the more. This release does skimp on some of the bonus features other series have gotten. The most shocking omission is the color pages. Originally touted as one of the reasons to re-buy many of your favorite series in the new “Big Editions,” “InuYasha” is curiously lacking any color pages (minus a cover art section at the end). Considering all the pages that were in color have been translated to English in one of Viz’s “Artwork of InuYasha” books, there is no reason the color pages shouldn’t be here.

There is also a lack of interviews and other features, but I’m more forgiving of these not being around. This book retails at $18 a book. Each volume contains three of the standard volumes in one, of which those retail for $9 a book. So basically you’re getting three for the price of two, and that’s assuming you don’t find this cheaper at an online store. To the best of my knowledge the translation is the same translation. InuYasha and his friends have to go finds shards of a powerful jewel, all while fighting a powerful enemy. It’s been debated that the series gets stale later on, but re-reading the series from the beginning reminded me of why this became an instant favorite for many comic book fans.

It has likable characters, an interesting story, and cool artwork. My original review was low mainly because of the way Viz released it, but now that they’ve correct the mistakes they made there’s no reason not to recommend this. Yes, there’s a minor frustration with having to re-buy these books if you were already committed to the old release, but I think this new release corrects enough of the mistakes that’s worth selling those old books on eBay and getting these new ones. Besides, at the price for Viz is charging for these new books, you’ll eventually be able to complete the series for a fraction of the cost now. That’s a worthy tradeoff regardless how you look at it.