Yashahime

is a Japanese anime television series produced and animated by Sunrise. It is a sequel spin-off to the '' Inuyasha'' anime television series, which itself is based on Rumiko Takahashi's manga series. The series follows the adventures of Towa Higurashi and Setsuna, Sesshomaru and Rin's fraternal twin daughters, and Moroha, Inuyasha and Kagome Higurashi's daughter.

The series' first season aired from October 2020 to March 2021. The second one aired from October 2021 to March 2022. Viz Media has licensed the series in North America, while Medialink has licensed it for Southeast Asian and South Asian territories.

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Takashi Shiina, started in Shogakukan's manga magazine '' Shōnen Sunday S'' in September 2021.

Plot

Ten years after the events of '' Inuyasha'', Sesshomaru and Rin's daughter Towa is separated from her twin sister Setsuna, and gets stranded in the modern era. Towa is adopted into the family of her father's sister-in-law, Kagome Higurashi, raised by her younger brother Sōta, his warmhearted wife Moe, and their daughter, Mei.

One decade later, Towa is reunited with Setsuna, when she leaves the modern era through the vast time-traveling power of the spiritual Sacred Tree of Ages. During their separation, Setsuna became one of the demon-slayers working with Kohaku and forgetting her past, as the mythical Dream Butterfly stole her dreams and memories. To restore them, the half-demon twins embark on a journey, alongside their half-demon bounty hunter cousin Moroha, the fourteen-year-old daughter of Kagome and Inuyasha, who lacks knowledge of her parents, except that Kagome is an uppermost-level priestess, and Inuyasha is a half dog-demon and half-human, just like her half-first twin cousins.

At times, the vital essence of the Sacred Tree of Ages awakens from centuries of dormancy to warn them that a long-standing rival of their paternal dog-demon grandfather is plotting to warp time itself, since Sesshomaru does not fight him directly in place of his father. At the same time, the unparalleled time-based unsurpassable entity is harboring adult Rin in suspended animation for Sesshomaru, due to her fatal connection to Zero, the elder sister of Kirinmaru and creator of the seven mystical Rainbow Pearls, whose respective mighty demonic abilities rival those of the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls itself.

While confronting Kirinmaru at the ruins of Izayoi's mansion, Setsuna is seemingly killed by Kirinmaru. However, Towa uses the broken Tenseiga to revive Setsuna. Tōtōsai repairs the polearm changing the name from Kanemitsu no Tomoe into Yukari no Tachikiri, which can cut the invisible red threads of fate. Towa receives the legendary cosmic sword Zanseiken from Kirinmaru's late daughter Rion, whose soul is contained within an artificial body created by her father. The Half-Demon Princesses set out to save Rin, before she perishes from the fatal curse placed on her by the deeply bitter Zero. However, Zero lifts the curse herself and passes it on to the afterlife. While Towa and Setsuna reunite with Rin, Kirinmaru forces Moroha to choose between saving her parents or stealing Akuru's time-based pinwheel.

Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru's duel recommences, with the former taking the hit for the Half-Demon Princesses, which fatally wounds and weakens him. He sacrifices his strength to send them into the Black Pearl, where the girls meet Inuyasha and Kagome. After escaping from the Black Pearl using the combined powers of both Tessaiga and Tenseiga, the group discovers that Kirinmaru's true objective is to travel to the Reiwa Era to destroy the Grim Comet that threatens to destroy human civilization, and become a supreme ruler over all humans and demons alike. After saving Sesshomaru, Towa discovers that Kirinmaru allowed her to keep Zanseiken so that her soul is eventually extinguished by using its power so that he can use her body as a living vessel for Rion against the wishes of his undead daughter while Moroha is given a spiritually-empowered longbow made by Inuyasha and Kagome, which greatly boosts the effectiveness and spiritual energies of her sacred arrows.

Using the pinwheel, the Half-Demon Princesses travel back to the modern era to destroy the comet themselves, with Kirinmaru chasing after them. They encounter Osamu Kirin, formerly Kirinmaru's right arm, and Towa's homeroom teacher, who informs them about his desire to save humanity. However, he betrays them by bringing the Grim Comet to the feudal era to grant Kirinmaru's wish in obliterating it from the plane of existence, and showing everything in the world for Rion. Akuru sacrifices himself to open the gateway to the feudal era within the Sacred Tree of Ages, so the Princesses can return to help their families prevent the Degenerate Age from progressing further.

Media

Anime

The series was first announced in May 2020. It aired from October 3, 2020, to March 20, 2021, on Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV. The series was produced and animated by Sunrise, directed by Teruo Sato with main character designs by '' Inuyasha'' original creator Rumiko Takahashi. Staff from ''Inuyasha'' returned, with Katsuyuki Sumisawa in charge of the scripts while Rumiko Takahashi acted as storyboard supervisor, Yoshihito Hishinuma in charge of the anime character designs and Kaoru Wada composing the music. The opening theme "New Era" was performed by the male idol group SixTones, while the ending theme "Break" was performed by Uru. The second opening theme "Burn" was performed by NEWS, while the second ending theme "Kesshō" was performed by Ryokuōshoku Shakai.

Viz Media announced the rights to digital streaming, EST, and home video release of the series in North America, and it was streamed on Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu. On October 26, 2020, Funimation announced a partnership with Viz Media to release an English dub of the series, with the English cast of ''Inuyasha'' reprising their roles. Funimation began streaming the English dub on November 6, 2020, along with Hulu and Crunchyroll. The English dub of the series aired on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on June 27, 2021. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asian territories. The series premiered on Animax Asia on June 21, 2021.

On March 20, 2021, a second season of the series was announced following the release of the 24th episode. The second season, titled ''Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon – The Second Act'', aired from October 2, 2021 to March 26, 2022. The opening theme is "ReBorn" performed by NEWS, while the ending theme is "Toumei na Sekai" performed by Little Glee Monster. The second opening theme is "Kyōmei" performed by SixTones, while the second ending theme is "Anaaki no Sora" by Adieu ( Moka Kamishiraishi).

Manga

A manga adaptation by Takashi Shiina, with script cooperation by Katsuyuki Sumisawa, started in Shogakukan's '' Shōnen Sunday S'' on September 25, 2021. Shogakukan released the first collected volume on January 18, 2022. As of May 16, 2025, nine volumes have been released. The series is set to end with its tenth volume, slated for Q3 2025.

Viz Media has licensed the manga for English release in North America. The first volume was released on June 21, 2022. On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched their ''Viz Manga'' digital manga service, with the series' chapters receiving simultaneous English publication in North America as they are released in Japan.

Volumes

Reception

The series ranked ninth on Animage's 43rd Anime Grand Prix in 2020. Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihito Hishinuma were nominated for the Best Character Design category in the Crunchyroll's 2021 Anime Awards.

In her review of the first two episodes, Kara Dennison of ''Otaku USA'' made positive comments about the series, praising its cast and its way to "echo the story of ''Inuyasha'' without simply retreading it." James Beckett and Monique Thomas of Anime News Network listed ''Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon'' as one of the worst anime of the winter 2021 season. Rebecca Silverman of the same website also listed it as one of the worst anime of 2021. The series received criticism from some reviewers for its portrayal of Sesshomaru and Rin as a couple, because in the original ''Inuyasha'' series, Sesshomaru traveled along with Rin when she was a young girl, calling their relationship " grooming."

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{Shōnen Sunday Super

Adaptations of works by Rumiko Takahashi
Adventure anime and manga
Animated television series about sisters
Animated television series about twins
Anime and manga about time travel
Aniplex
Exorcism in anime and manga
Fantasy anime and manga
Fiction set in 16th-century Sengoku period
Funimation
Inuyasha
Medialink
Nippon Television original programming
Sequel television series
Shogakukan manga
Shōnen manga
Sunrise (company)
Television shows about time travel
Viz Media anime
Viz Media manga
Yōkai in anime and manga
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming