MAO

Episode 14

Believe it or not, I'm trying really hard not to talk about Inuyasha too much in these weekly MAO reviews. It's easier some weeks than others, but y'all. I mean, come on. The group formerly known as V6—who did the first intro song to Inuyasha—is doing the new opening theme. And the whole episode revolves around Mao learning that the dead woman he was in love with isn't dead, actually. This show does have its unique qualities, yes, but weeks like this really do make it feel pretty plainly like Inuyasha, with a new coat of paint. Which, to be clear: I don't mind! I love Inuyasha. But during weeks like these, where the similarities are so painfully overt, I just can't help but laugh. Go ahead, Queen Takahashi, reheat your nachos. You earned it.

In hindsight, I feel like I should've seen this twist that the mysterious Yurako is actually Sana coming from a mile away. There's the Inuyasha of it all, and we've been given no reason to believe there were any other women who played a significant role in Mao's human life other than Sana. And speaking of Sana, we also learned that while Mao was in love with her, she only had eyes for someone else. We don't know who yet—we don't even know if it's a character we've met—just that it wasn't Mao. This feels like a quintessential Takahashi writing move—she just can't resist the siren song of a messy, complicated romance, where describing the relationships makes you sound like you should be taking out a corkboard and some string. She does this in just about every series she makes; this isn't even just an Inuyasha thing for once.

Still, even if it feels obvious in hindsight, this was a good twist. There's a lot of romantic tension in this series, much of which still feels really ambiguous and abstract—the presence of Sana will finally give it a place to live and thrive, and add more to the story. I'm actually really excited about this, because nobody does a messy romance quite like Takahashi. This is very much one of her biggest strengths, and I'm glad to see that it's finally becoming a bigger presence in the show than “It feels like Nanoka might be crushing on Mao but doesn't realize it yet.”

There's also the matter of the Byoki, who was—as we've come to understand—originally Sana's cat. She's got to have some complicated feelings about that, if that really is the case. I just hope the series doesn't bait us with explanations before leaving us out to dry. This series seems allergic to giving us direct answers, even when we know the characters have them (see example: the most recent few episodes).

The episode ended on the promising note of Mao getting attacked by a metal shikigami (who jumpscared me the first time it appeared on-screen; I can't tell if the CGI looks better, or if this shikigami's design lends itself better to CGI than the giant water guy, but either way, visually this was an improvement) who then takes him to Shiranui. We know Shiranui hates Mao and has been trying to get him in his clutches for a while now. But also, this series has had a bit of a problem with ending episodes and picking them back up the next week—the continuity and pacing have been a bit off at times, ending on promising notes and picking up again in weird, often momentum-killing places. But if it can turn a corner and actually pick up next week's episode in a good spot, we could be headed into a really cool (not to mention long-awaited) face-off.

Finally, as you've maybe heard by now, we finally have a dub for this series incoming! We don't have a cast yet, but we do have a premiere date: August 24. On the one hand, this anime could do the funniest thing imaginable by recasting a bunch of the old Inuyasha voice actors and really bring this whole thing full circle. But of course, for a long list of reasons —hilarious as it would be (and, I'm sure, the silliness of it all aside, they'd all do a great job!) —it's still pretty unlikely. Hardly matters, though, because there are plenty of great voice actors around who I think could be fantastic in these roles, and I'm looking forward to hearing them! I guess I'm only curious why it took so comparatively long for this series to get a dub. I would've expected it a lot sooner for a series by Takahashi, even if this isn't exactly her best-known or most beloved work. Well, better late than never either way. Rest assured that once the dub premieres, I'll offer my

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MAO is currently streaming on Hulu.