With a mixture of medieval fantasy, romantic comedy, and lovable, flawed characters, Inuyasha is a must-watch anime. The sequel series Yashahime retains much of the same energy as the original.
However, Inuyasha does have some filler. This guide can help you avoid the filler, while still enjoying the tsundere adventures of Inuyasha, Kagome, and their friends.
We’ll also look at the rumors of an upcoming season 3 of Yashahime.
Inuyasha Plot
In Inuyasha, modern-day high school girl Kagome finds herself in medieval Japan. (Specifically, she time travels back to the Sengoku, or Warring States Period, right before the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate.)
Kagome soon meets Inuyasha — a dog half-demon with a complicated, tragic history. To summarize, it involves his dog demon half-brother, Sesshomaru; a human shrine maiden, Kikyo (who dies, but is brought back to life); and the mysterious evil half-demon, Naraku.
Kagome and Inuyasha seek to recover the shards of the Shikon jewel, a powerful gem. Among other things, the gem could make Inuyasha a full demon. Naturally, others seek the jewel as well.
The series also features the sibling rivalry between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru; and an awkward sort of “love triangle” between Kagome, Kikyo, and Inuyasha. (It doesn’t help matters that Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo.)
In Yashahime, Kagome and Inuyasha end up together. The plot centers on their daughter, Moroha; and Sesshomaru’s daughters, Towa and Setsuna.
Inuyasha Basics
Rumiko Takahashi created the Inuyasha manga in 1996. Inuyasha ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday for 12 years, before reaching a grand finale in 2008.
The anime ran for four seasons from 2000 to 2004. In 2009-2010, Inuyasha: The Final Act brought the anime to a conclusion.
The sequel anime series Hanyo no Yashahime, a.k.a. Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, started in 2020. So far, the series has had two seasons.
The Yashahime anime was created without a manga. But Takahashi was involved in the production. A manga adaptation started in 2021. However, the manga is not by Takahashi, and it deviates from Yashahime‘s anime canon.
About Inuyasha Filler
Filler can be defined as anything which is not included in the manga. Because it’s not manga canon, it also doesn’t advance the plot.
Filler typically happens because the anime overtakes the manga. Filler is often not bad. However, filler can be frustrating if you’re catching up with a long series.
Most Inuyasha episodes are canon, but there are some filler episodes.
A note on story arcs: Most fans don’t attempt to divide Inuyasha up into story arcs, because the series is very episodic. Instead, the series follows a “monster-of-the-week” format.
Therefore, this filler guide doesn’t include arcs:
Inuyasha Canon and Filler Episodes
- Canon: Episodes 1-58
- Filler: Episode 59
- Canon: Episodes 60-62
- Filler: Episodes 63-65
- Canon: Episodes 66-67
- Filler: Episode 68
- Canon: Episodes 69-71
- Filler: Episode 72
- Canon: Episodes 73-74
- Filler: Episodes 75-79
- Canon: Episodes 80-88
- Filler: Episodes 89-101
- Canon: Episodes 102-128
- Filler: Episodes 129-130
- Canon: Episodes 131-132
- Filler: Episodes 133-134
- Canon: Episode 135
- Filler: Episodes 136-140
- Canon: Episodes 141-161
- Filler: Episodes 162-163
- Canon: Episodes 164-193
In other words, these are filler episodes: 59, 63-65, 68, 72, 75-79, 89-101, 129-130, 133-134, 136-140, and 162-163.
Note that The Final Act (episodes 168-193) is completely canon. There is no filler anywhere in the ending to the series.
Is Yashahime Canon or Filler?
You could argue that every episode of Yashahime is filler, since the whole series is not directly based on Takahashi’s original Inuyasha manga.
However, the series is too good to pass up entirely.
Since the anime came out before the manga, a more accurate assessment would be that the sequel is “anime canon.” For the most part, it depicts the characters in a fashion which feels true to the original Inuyasha series.
Is There Good Filler?
As I stated earlier, filler is not all bad. If you have time for filler, you might enjoy it. For example:
- Episode 89, Nursing Battle of the Rival Lovers — This is one of the rare instances where we get a look at Kagome’s modern life. Kagome gets sick, and a concerned Inuyasha goes on a quest to find medicine.
- Episode 162, Forever with Lord Sesshomaru — This one focuses on Sesshomaru’s relationship with the orphan human girl, Rin. In hindsight, we know that Rin will eventually become Towa and Setsuna’s mother in Yashahime.
Inuyasha Movies
Inuyasha has four anime movies:
- Affections Touching Across Time (2001)
- The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (2002)
- Swords of an Honorable Ruler (2003)
- Fire on the Mystic Island (2004)
Like a lot of anime films based on an anime series, the Inuyasha movies are not canon. On the plus side, fans don’t have to watch these films to get the full story. However, everything that happens in these films is filler.
Will There Be Season 3 of Yashahime?
Many Inuyasha fans would undoubtedly watch season 3 of Yashahime, if it existed. Since the series is anime-first, the producers could always add more.
Although Covert Voice claims that there will be a season 3, I could find no collaborating evidence from the official website, Twitter account, or other sources.
The season 2 final episode, A Never-Ending Future, aired in 2023. With no apparent cliffhangers, the episode would make a good ending for the series. But it leaves open room for more.
As of March 2024, there has been no official announcement of a third season or a movie.
Where to Watch
If you want to watch Inuyasha, you can find most of it (except for The Final Act) at Netflix in the United States. You’ll need a VPN to watch in some places.
How to Watch Inuyasha on Netflix if The App Isn’t Available in your Country
As of this article, Inuyasha is available on Netflix in the United States. However, if the anime series is geo-locked in your area, a VPN can help.
The following method works on both desktop PCs and mobile phones or tablets:
-
- Purchase (or start a free trial) of a VPN. I can confirm that NordVPN works for this purpose.
- In the settings, choose United States as your location.
- Fire up the VPN and wait for it to do its magic
- Once you’re connected, navigate to Netflix (browser or app
- Search “Inuyasha” in the Netflix search bar and you should see the anime pop up.
Enjoy! Please note that if your Netflix library doesn’t update to reflect the country you selected in your VPN, you may have to clear the Netflix cache first and try again.
To do this on mobile, go to settings -> apps -> Netflix -> clear cache.
To do this on PC, you have to clear the cache in your web browser.
Watch Inuyasha at Netflix.
Or
Watch Yashahime at Crunchyroll.
Conclusion
Inuyasha doesn’t have a ton of filler. But this guide can help you skip the filler, and get to the canon story.
