OP Sequence

OP: 「My Hero」 by MAN WITH A MISSION

「犬屋敷 壱郎」 (Inuyashiki Ichirou)
“Ichirou Inuyashiki”

Out of all the shows this season the one I was most excited for must have been Inuyashiki. Lonely dad gone grandpa who gets run over by aliens and becomes a sexagenarian Robocop? Oh yes, I’ll be having some (all) of that. I’m not sure what to expect going into this one, but I will say Inuyashiki’s first appearance does not disappoint in the slightest.

What probably enraptured me the most about this show was main man Ichirou (Kohinata Fumiyo). It’s not often we get characters whose age is found outside of the low double digits, but to also get one with a disheartening backstory and an agonizing life? Now that’s shooting hard for memorable. It’s an incredibly strong setup, although a lot of the impact will likely be lost if you have never experienced or personally know of similar situations. Having volunteered in a seniors centre and learned of my father’s own past, Ichirou’s life hits a little close to home for me. His story may seem played up for emotions, but a lot of poor, unfortunate people are stuck in similar situations, living a lonely life without a caring family or friends, and in the case of the elderly, often relegated to a meager room by those who simply wish they would hurry up and die. Not much gets to me, but these stories truly break my heart, men (and women) who should be at the centre of their families and looked upon with respect for what they’ve done, but are instead abandoned by selfish pricks only out for themselves. Giving your all to take care of your family? Spit on as not enough in a world where young is best and hard, honest work is frowned upon. I promised myself long ago to always be there and do whatever is necessary for my family, and stories like Ichirou’s only reinforce that importance for me.

The real beauty of Inuyashiki so far, however, lies in how it utilizes this foundation. Rather than spending too long in the nihilistic quagmire, Ichirou quickly gets back on his feet and with one fateful decision, finds new meaning in his life. I admit it’s strange the guy would hardly question why his head is full of metal and where that arm cannon came from, but if you’re supposedly living on borrowed time with no one else caring, you’d probably roll with the punch(es) too. Ichirou’s dull acceptance though does pave the way for that very emotional display of joy, showing just how beaten the poor guy was before circumstances allowed him to finally overturn his apparent fate. It might seem like a minor thing, but realizing you are (still) human and are treated as a human? Often the only thing anyone ever really asks for. For the first time in a long time Ichirou feels alive, and as I can personally attest to, there is no better feeling in the whole damn world.

As the start of something new (in more than one way), Inuyashiki has hit all of the right notes for me and is definitely being covered some more. We may not get much in the way of answers regarding those aliens, the 3D might be annoying at times, and Ichirou’s voice may take some time getting used to, but there’s no doubt in my mind this one will be a blast all the way through. With a fine OP and the hints of something greater to come, Inuyashiki has everything needed to be one of this season’s best shows.

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「愛を教えてくれた君へ」 (Ai wo Oshiete Kureta Kimi e) by クアイフ (Kuaifu)

27 Comments

  1. The source manga ended last July 2017, at 10 volumes/85 chapters.
    This episode covered about the 1st 7 chapters.

    Most chapters consist of dramatic pauses and scenery pages, so there’s confidence the anime can adapt the entire series in its allocated 11 episodes.

    Hiroya Oku tweeted back in 2015 that Inuyashiki was always planned to be 10 volumes long only.
    http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-03-24/hiroya-oku-inuyashiki-manga-planned-for-10-volumes/.86310

    IIRC he said it was to avoid the series becoming too convoluted and bloated, like Gantz.

    zztop
    1. I’m really hoping it’s good, I’ve heard some bad things about how Inuyashiki ends, but considering some of the supposed changes made in this episode, there’s a good chance this adaptation will patch over the rough spots.

    2. At least he’s learned from his mistakes. I felt that Gantz didn’t need that final arc and could have ended way sooner than what it did. He should have kept with the mystery behind the Gantz spheres themselves and set up a final confrontation mission. He made the whole thing so unnecessarily complicated when all people really wanted from Gantz was the blood, gore, and the action.

      Maybe the publisher forced him to drag out the series as it was very popular at the time? It became such a chore to read.

      Lyfe
    1. You forgot Kashimashi, which did the “oh noes, our spaceship killed an intelligent lifeform, we must rebuild it” thing over 10 years ago.

      But is older MCs a trend? We also have a 30yo lead in Net-juu no Susume.

      Angelus
    2. Heh I did get some Breaking Bad vibes too, but Ichirou isn’t fighting for his family as much as fighting for himself. I’m really interested to see if his strength eventually goes to his head though like with Walter White.

  2. Did anyone else get True Detective vibes from the OP visuals?

    Also, I love that the crime was immediately uploaded to social media and how quickly someone found and posted their names to their faces. Social media is an incredibly useful tool against injustice, something I hadn’t thought of until I saw that scene.

    Razorstain
  3. With just first episode and we can already see his cyborg’s body autonomous mode corresponds to his personality, i.e those beams could have easily vaporized all the murderous teens (which i was expecting tbh) the way Ledo (Suisei no Gargantia) did with the pirates, but instead they simply stunned them deterring further aggression. I would imagine our antagonist will be the exact opposite, his body will simply murder everything even if he will be passed out.

    Kelab
  4. Throw the whole family away.
    Imma keep saying that every episode of the series or until they literally stop showing up.
    Throw them all away and try again, shoulda rebuilt that instead. >.>

    Kabble
    1. Nawh death for such people is too easy, it’s too quick. These individuals need to suffer, to learn what it’s like having all your accomplishments, all your passions treated no better than trash. It’s the only way to even begin instilling a sense of empathy and respect.

  5. This is just an Reboot of “Roijin Z” in my eyes…. so far. Just that he want to use this Body to be an “Superhero”

    or Bubblegum Crisis’s Boomer got an Angel injection

    Worldwidedepp
    1. IIRC they talked about accidentally running him and the other kid over and needing to restore both (probably obey a policy of noninterference). They only had military-grade robots on hand for replacement though, which apparently are enough to wipe out the Earth, but because they were in a hurry wound up giving them to Ichirou and the kid anyway.

  6. I loved that first episode. I discovered the Manga in an store. i was hoping it would come into anime and here it is.
    The only small complain i have is they shouldn’t start with the Opening. We loose the surprise.

    dionysos01
  7. This might just be the sleeper hit of the season.
    I don’t know what I liked so much (probably because I wasn’t fully awake yet) but the opening alone already made me think “this should be good”. I tend to have a good instinct for quickly judging what anime I’d like based on just the production.

    JHN

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