This review contains spoilers.

This review was originally written on Dec 22, 2017; rewritten on Nov 26, 2022.

I love complexity. I adore it when a show challenges me to ponder and examine its vast content at every step, engrossing me in its world and never letting me stop caring about it. In the same vein, I cherish anime that feature straightforward, easy-to-digest and merely entertaining concepts and narratives. Both of these opposites, if done appropriately and wittingly, can provide the viewers with a substantial amount of pleasure and excitement.

However, Inuyashiki is a peculiar case. It shoots for the stars with its morals, even though they are uncomplicated beyond comprehension. It entertains you with its ideas and decisions, yet they are extremely poor, indecisive and chaotically sellotaped together. It is undemandingly enjoyable, though the schlocky nature peeks its head at every opportunity. The show is a crystal clear abomination with which I did not expect to have any fun. Surprisingly, I did.

First things first, the premise. The story of this anime takes place in modern-day Japan, where the titular protagonist lives his unlucky life. He is neglected, finds out he has cancer and is generally unhappy. One day, a blinding light comes out of nowhere, and Ichirou wakes up in the morning, only to discover a group of aliens has turned his frail body into a war machine. Truth be told, the concept sounds fun and intriguing, as following an almost sixty-year-old neglected dad who is offered a second chance at life and the means to do good deeds is not something that the medium tackles often. Yet, as is so often the case, I had my reservations at first, mainly due to the massive number of mixed opinions regarding its source material. Even though I tried to silence my precariousness, I expected the worst. As it turned out, my inner worries were valid.

The debatable quality the show boasts becomes more than apparent when one examines its irritating and wacky writing. While it does have its highlights that take the schlockiness, the goriness and the mindlessness to an extremely entertaining level, the rest of the content is plainly horrid.

Take, for instance, the fourth episode. The show introduces an ordinary and innocent family to us, to let the cliched, evil crime syndicate member ruin their lives. Fear not and cease your worries, as Inuyashiki is here to save the day. Under normal circumstances, this would not bother me. After all, I am willingly experiencing an anime about a personification of being good, and moments like that are unavoidable. They are part of a hero's life, and at one point or another, we would be exposed to a situation similar to this. Nonetheless, the show constantly uses this straightforward scheme to elicit some sort of emotional response from the viewer. Establish a character, less or more deeply, and throw them into a situation where Inuyashiki is the only hope for them. That is the golden formula. However, it simply does not work. It is entertaining when justice is rightfully served, yet it does not evoke anything resembling an authentic feeling or compassion. It is like observing a bunch of cardboard cutouts duke it out.

The already brought-up fourth episode might have the most eye-catching example of this, yet there are more examples of this technique. In the seventh episode, we meet a businesswoman purely to be cured of cancer. Technically, Hiro, the antagonist, does it, but it still follows the same pattern. In the same fashion, in the ninth episode, we were shown a completely unimportant background character on a plane. As a result of Hiro's actions, the plane malfunctions and Inuyashiki, once again, steps in to save the day. Even though he only carries this one particular plane to the beach, all the other ones that were in the sky somehow cease to play up and land safely as well. The worst of them all is the case of Mari, the protagonist's daughter. The show constantly put her in the spotlight in an attempt to develop her. She receives this special treatment merely to make her "death scene" in the tenth episode tragic and emotional. Even though she should be dead by the time of his arrival, she is magically saved by her dad because he cried his eyes out for 3 minutes straight. It is almost like we are being instructed to cry alongside him, but that is not possible. I cannot lament or empathise with characters who exist to fill up the background or be a damsel in distress who desperately needs to be saved. It does not work like that.

The mechanical bodies the main characters receive at the start of the show exhibit how absurd and wacky the writing can become. On account of them being alien war machines, I was more than eager to grasp and accept that they are capable of tapping into the Internet, police radios, and security cameras from around the world. Even sending an American nuclear missile to China without breaking a sweat was convincing and understandable. We see their fighting capabilities, weaponry, durability, autopilot mode and general prowess, so it is more than probable that they can perform any technological task. Even though I was aware of all these pieces of information, I still could not get around the fact that the show managed to make these machines extremely convoluted, illogical and oozing with bullshit. Firstly, Hiro's signature weapon: the finger gun. Some sources claim that it is a telekinetic weapon that does not use ammo or powder, unlike an ordinary pistol, yet that sounds like a lazy excuse for a poorly thought-out concept. It would be much more intriguing if it used logical ammunition, like air pressure and whatnot, to kill the owner's targets. However, that would make the already senseless developments even more outrageous. For instance, holding an invisible rifle and shooting it like a real one would not work anymore, as the bullshit factor is no longer in place. Secondly, the protagonists can cure diseases and even heal people from fatal incidents like the one involving Mari in episode ten, where she is at death's door. Somehow, the alien tech brought her back from almost certain death. Thirdly, the USB port underneath Ichirou's fingernail. There are zero reasons why an alien race, which has access to technology far surpassing that of the earthlings, would go out of their way to use one of these, yet it is there because the plot demanded it. If this is not the textbook definition of pulling things out of your arse, then I have no clue what is. Lastly, the ultimate, most ridiculous plot device of them all is the ability to transport the finger gun projectile through an electronic device's screen and kill the person on the receiving end with it. It does not make a lick of sense. One could chalk it up to being yet another example of the alien technology's incomprehensible capabilities, yet to me, it looks absolutely goofy. Even machinery from outer space has to follow some sort of logic and be consistent, but this takes the cake in the stupidity department. It may look cool to some, yet to me, it is nothing short of laughable.

The series's pacing exacerbates its monumental issues all the more. There are countless instances of scenes transitioning between themselves with little cohesion intact. You sit in your chair with eyes glued to the screen as a scene plays out. You blink, and magically, you are witnessing a completely different scenery that does not correspond to the previous one. Surely, we could attribute it to the poor, chaotic editing, yet the responsibility lies in the rapid-fire pace at which the series moves. Again, I need to mention the fourth episode since it is like an endless pot full of examples to use. Inuyashiki walks into the room where a drugged-out girl is lying and screaming on a bed. A second later, she is standing straight in front of him, as if she moved at lightning speed. We can connect the dots ourselves and grasp what transpires in the scene, but that does not excuse the severe lack of continuity moments like that produce. If it happened once or twice, I would not bat an eye. However, it is a constant element of almost every episode. It is almost as if the anime does not want you to lose interest in its endeavours, and as such, it cuts corners. Additionally, it feels like it desires to use its limited duration to the fullest by cramming as much content into an episode as possible. Consequently, it haphazardly and hastily jumps between scenes. It does not make the scenes more compact but rather makes them appear scatterbrained and constructed without a care in the world. It merely ruins whatever impact they might have had.

In the same manner as the narrative surrounding them, the anime's cast of characters fails to be solid and remarkable. Quite frankly, it is astonishingly bad. None of these personages is multi-layered and intricately crafted; they are all absurdly one-note and one-dimensional. On account of that, there are no figures whom I could describe in more than a single sentence besides the main duo. The supporting characters are thrown in to serve as damsels in distress, merely fill up the background with their presence or be comically immoral purely for the sake of it. That is what their role in the story boils down to: being bloody morons, victims or sick psychos. They are more akin to tools that the protagonists interact with than flesh-and-blood people. It is merely unconvincing.

As the antagonist of the show, Hiro comes off as an inconsistent mess. At first, he appears to be a psychopath with no regard for human life, as the show goes to extreme lengths to depict his horrific killing sprees on innocent citizens that he performs to feel alive; a pure, unadulterated embodiment of evil. However, as the story continues, it appears as though the series does not comprehend what and who Hiro should be. We learn that he used to kill animals when he was younger, which outright states his psychopathic personality. His actions and how he responds to his crimes throughout the show exemplify this notion even further. So, what is the issue here? Well, his personality shifts as unpredictably as a drunkard's walk. From a cold-hearted killing machine to an individual who cares deeply for those around him. Then he reverts to being a ruthless murderer, only to sacrifice himself in the end to protect the planet. He does not develop in a steady, organised way; it is erratic and chaotic to an improbable degree. It seems the anime genuinely desired to flesh out and humanise him, yet it had no clue how to do it. So, it decided to straight-up alter his character at random times. Therefore, every element of his character, from his personality to his displays of emotions, comes off as superficial, fake and convoluted.

Sometimes, not setting lofty goals and not attempting to make your straightforward villain more complex when you do not have the capacity and wit to do so is the correct choice, and Hiro might be the best instance of that. As it stands, it is impossible to care about him since he is a character who is so ridiculously wicked, superficially apathetic and painfully inconsistent. The show clearly tripped over its ambition, and it is vexatious to see it unfold and decay before your eyes.

Inuyashiki, on the other hand, is not that haywire. He is a generic personification of good morals and ideals; a goody two-shoes. It might make him a fantastic person in his world, but as a character, he does not evoke any stronger, more passionate emotions. Without question, you desire to see him come out on top since no one in their right mind cheers on the evildoers, yet he does not bring much more than that to the table. Even though likeability and an ounce of relatability radiate from him at times, I cannot label him as anything more than an uninteresting individual who does not stand out from the crowd. Of course, he is leagues above his polar opposite in terms of development, as Hiro feels wholly inorganic and superficial. But, it is very apparent how one-note and painfully uncomplicated Inuyashiki's goals and personality are. He is not a tremendous detriment to the series. However, he does not redeem its other elements one bit.

As far as the visuals go, Inuyashiki does not have a whole lot to offer. Truth be told, they make the already grim-looking, awfully crafted narrative considerably worse, even though they could salvage most of the show's flaws had they been more refined. While the art style is not of the quality I could gush over, it does fit with the established plot and themes of the show. The colours, the character designs and the backgrounds prioritise mimicking realism over all else, and it is understandable considering the type of story the show conveys. They do not look out of place or outlandish. They are simplistic and unimpressive to the bone, but they work well enough. However, they suffer from a severe case of persistent inconsistency and are overshadowed by the abundance of CGI. When the anime forgoes using computer-generated models, it has trouble keeping the art style at an acceptable level; it dips below it, stumbles like a drunkard and makes a mess. There are moments where certain characters appear in 2D in one scene, and in the following one, they are instantly transformed into their 3D model, even though the moment does not demand such a change.

On the topic of CGI, I believe that it is both overused and overly ambitious. Throughout the series, there are many instances of that unfulfilled desire and deviation of quality. Using CGI to present the intricacies of the protagonists' mechanical bodies and exhibit the fights between them is not an odd decision. It makes sense. Nevertheless, it does not justify its dodgy appearance, which takes you aback. Most models made in 3D are merely painful to look at, and you cannot turn your eyes away from them as they are always on display. What is even more damning is the fact that the CGI populates even the most serene, uncomplicated moments where their presence does not make a lick of sense. It leads to mind-numbing moments where both animation styles are blended as if they were thrown into a blender at full speed. Albeit they aid the show in becoming a funny, horrendous spectacle, I am convinced that it was not their genuine intention. It is just a byproduct of the apparent lack of quality which the anime constantly reminds us of. Add the awful camerawork and editing on top, and you have a combination that is so horrendous it is hard to believe it exists.

The sound of Inuyashiki is both a lovely surprise and a disappointment. While it has an equitable share of questionable sound effects here and there, I cannot stress enough how much I adore the opening and the ending themes. They fulfil their purpose on an actually decent level, getting you in the mood to watch some gruesome action and energetic conflicts or soothe your nerves after everything is over. They create a fuzzy feeling inside your body and fill you with a sense of hype and amusement. It is an uncommon sight in shows with foundations as poor as this one. As for the insert songs, they do not bring anything memorable to the table. They might not be the most egregious tracks I have heard, as they do sound pleasant, but they fail to leave an impact in any way, shape or form. To top it off, a few of them are overplayed to the point that they become a pure nuisance.

I never bother to include a separate section dedicated exclusively to expressing the enjoyment a show provided me with, since bits of it are contained in paragraphs discussing other components. Despite that, in the case of Inuyashiki, I feel it is more than essential. I genuinely hate labelling shows as a "turn off your brain" type, but this series might be the best example of such a phenomenon. It is so ridiculously awful. The number of times when I scratched my damn head because of the stupidity displayed on the screen was enormous, yet I could not bring myself to truly dislike it. Quite the opposite. I was enjoying myself through and through. You may fully realise that it is schlocky, but at the same time, you are having a great time, whether ironically or not. The sole fact that I rewatched the show instantly after it ended says a lot since that was the first time I had done something like that. Regardless of how you perceive the content's quality, the enjoyment it offers to the viewers, both the casual and the more critical ones, is immense. It is genuinely commendable.

Inuyashiki is an incredibly bizarre entity. It is inconsistent, rushed, jumbled, and plagued with so many problems that you could easily write a thesis about the issues' abundance. The horrible pacing, the awful characters that either do not feel tangible or are of non-existent importance and the completely broken logic are genuine eyesores that cannot be overlooked. It is a gory and shlocky mess that tries way too hard to seem profound, even though it is hilariously bad on multiple levels. However, it is not a show that brings forth genuine hatred. It is more akin to a fast-food dish that may be an easy-to-digest and fun-to-consume product, yet it provides you with barely any nutrients. Surely, it is enjoyable despite its glaring shortcomings, but it could have been even better if given enough care and attention to detail.

I had a lot of fun with it, so ultimately, it was well worth it.