“Inuyashiki Last Hero” Anime Review: Middle Aged Protagonist In A World Full Of Nonsense

“Ichiro Inuyashiki is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he’s constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he’s done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world. But just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichiro stands”. (ANN)

★Original Creator – Hiroya Oku (Gantz)

★Animation Studio – MAPPA (Yuri on Ice, Teekyu (Season 1-3), Terror in Resonance)

★Chief Director – Keiichi Satō (Rage of Bahamut, Tiger & Bunny, Asura)

★Series Composition – Hiroshi Seko (Ajin, Mob Psycho 100)

★Character Design – Naoyuki Onda (Rage of Bahamut, Psycho-Pass (movie), Blassreiter)

Writing

• The protagonist, Ichirō Inuyashiki, is an instantly likable protagonist that you can’t help but root for due to his caring personality and the fact that he is an older and unusual character taking the lead role.
• Inuyashiki’s caring personality feels true and authentic. 
• The hardships that Inuyashiki endures are compelling.
• Inuyashiki has great character growth. 
• The script is great and unique when it comes to Inuyashiki. (E.G.  Inuyashiki has the tendency to speak to God when he is distressed and needs help solving a problem.)
• Inuyashiki’s mannerisms and physical movements are realistic and perfectly fit his character. (E.G. There is an impressive and realistic moment in Episode 3 that showcases how unknowledgeable Inuyashiki is in fighting when he faces a group of thugs.)
• The dark moments of the show can truly be disturbing and freighting. (E.G. In episode two there’s an uncomfortable and terrifying murder of a child. The death of the child, although about ten to twenty seconds long, was unbearable to endure for even a second. In episode 6, during the last half of the episode there is a confrontation between Hiro and a sleazy guy that managed to be terrifyingly tense.)
• Hiro is unlikable but the love he shows for his family made me sympathize with him slightly.
• Along with sympathizing for him more, Hiro feels like he is a bit more human during the half of the show.
• Although rushed, the relationship between Andō and Inuyashiki is both nice and funny.
• The story has you constantly interested and wondering what could happen next.
• There are some weird heartwarming sequences. 

Directing, Illustrations, and Music

• There are emotional moments that feel believable. 
• The show somehow is able to keep you engaged visually.
• Even with the funny looking CG, the moments when Inuyashiki showcases his powers looks awesome.
• During battle sequences, the camera work gets interesting. 
• The illustrations are top notch when they want to be.
• The opening theme, “My Hero”, by Man with a Mission is a rocking and powerful tune that somehow matches the show.
• The ending theme, “Ai wo Oshietekureta Kimi e” (“To You Who Taught Me Love”), by Qaijff is a nice and pleasing song that matches the theme of the show. 

• Besides Inuyashiki, the rest of the characters are either  annoying or flat. 
• The character relationships that are established, never get to build properly. 
• How Inuyashiki and Hiro get their powers is not just random but totally ridiculous.
• Whenever Inuyashiki or Hiro is given the spotlight, it’s like the writers forgot the other existed. (E.G. There could be an episode about Inuyashiki and nothing of Hiro could be found or connected to what’s going on. And vice-versa.) 
• Hiro Shishigami is an obnoxious villain. (E.G. Hiro is the type of character who lacks empathy for the ones out of his inner circle and takes pleasure in killing. But that’s not all, he also has a really annoying “cute” way of saying things while hurting others. Specifically the word “bang”.)
• The story tries so hard to make the viewer feel sorry for Hiro but every moment that tries to humanize him is usually just over the top or melodramatic.
• Inuyashiki is typically thrown into very cliche scenarios to showcase his powers and helpfulness. (E.G. There is a random episode where Inuyashiki fights evil Yakuzas who kidnap a innocent girl.)
• Inuyashiki seems to not care that people whom he helps know of his powers. 
• There is a moment of self-finding that Inuyashiki has by the end of episode 1 that wasn’t completely compelling due to Inuyashiki showing no moment of soul searching or self searching throughout the episode.
• The whole “stressful intense moment” that triggers a protagonist powers is an overdone cliche that didn’t work for this story. 
• The super hearing that both Inuyashiki and Hiro have is inconsistent due to the fact that the two never find each other when they are active.
• The alien technology that Inuyashiki and Hiro inherit is never thoroughly explained but Andō is able to make accurate guesses about how some of the functions work. (E.G. In episode 6, Inuyashiki is able to have a USB phone cable sticked into his finger because Andō somehow knew it would work.)
• There are some major cheesy moments. (E.G. There is a moment in Episode 6 when Hiro shoots down a bunch of people while making machine gun sounds.)
• Not every moment is able to deliver the emotional blow because of how weak the build ups are. (E.G. There’s a scene when Inuyashiki saves a family from a house fire that could’ve been built better. I felt his energy to save the family but when he arrived to the house on fire, he just went in and went out like it was nothing and the scene finished.)
• Many of the scenes are rushed and feel undone. (E.G. The first meeting between Andō and Inuyashiki quickly becomes more funny than emotional due to how rushed it was.)
• Some scenes aren’t elaborated on enough.
• The civilians can be complete buffoons in deadly situations.
• Episode 7 is the most terribly written episode due to how melodramatic and random it is.
• The ending is rushed, ridiculous, terrible, and completely random to the point that it’s embarrassing and laughable.

• The show uses CG a lot throughout the show. 
• The blend of illustrations and CG together looks terrible and ruins the immersion. (E.G. There is a horrendous scene where Hiro is eating with a family of two and for some reason he in CG while the other two are illustrated.)
• Many scenes are awkward looking due to the stale camera angles, lack of proper transitions, and animation.
• Further into the series the illustrations grow bad.
• The movements of the characters can be awkward, stiff, and laughable at times. 

(Reference Source for “Behind The Anime” – Anime News Network)

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