Alright! Here's the first of my several intended threads for the big day... First up "Nostalgic Retrospection."
As the name of the thread implies, this is all about looking back. This can cover a vast range of topics, from first impressions of the series to how your life was impacted by it to where you were then and now. Anything goes in this thread as long as it pertains to this topic, which, in all fairness, is broad, and posts follow the following rules:
No spamming
No trolling
No flaming
No character bashing
No inappropriate/explicit content
No disrespect of board members
I should emphasize that this topic relies on people's personal experiences, as a result please be respectful of what they have to say and what they've gone through... (But then again, there never was an issue with that... I guess I just included this for formality above anything else, but you can go wrong, just the same. Right?)
I guess I'll take a stab at this first to kind of break the ice.
I was in middle school when I first heard of this series. It was about a couple of years after its debut on [as]. Before getting into anything else, I should point out that I had a very conservative upbringing (which I'm not bashing or being ungrateful for... quite the contrary, I'm really glad for it), so it goes without saying that the type of stuff I was allowed to watch was extremely limited. In fact, to give a perfect example of this, I wasn't allowed to see PG-13 rated films until I was literally 13, which honestly I have no complaints or disagreements about (c'mon, do you see what's in these movies? In fact, I think it's too lenient.). As a result, it naturally followed that similarly rated television series, such as this, were out of the question during that time. I was actually really obedient about these rules, so I stayed away from them. Sometimes, I would try to sneak a peek of that kind of stuff, but after 30 seconds, I would change the channel and go to what I was allowed (I was supposedly being rebellious 
). Anyways, since "InuYasha" was on [as], I avoided it like the plague, basically. I couldn't even bring myself to think about watching it. Once or twice, I did catch a glimpse of what the series had to offer, but I was immediately repulsed... no lie...I distinctly remember the two scenes I saw, even today. One involved Inuyasha cursing out the bad guy, which immediately had me gasp, plug my ears, and change the channel, and the other involved Miroku asking Kagome about groping women (I now know it was a scene in the filler after the Togenkyo arc). I just found it a bizarre, lewd show with a creepy monk with cat ears who always looked angry and resided in this outlandish universe (to this day, I never stop laughing about my first impressions about Inuyasha and where he lived... ) that I wanted no part of. In fact, when asking a friend who loved the series and was up to date on the manga about it, I would call it "InuNasha." In retrospect, I really created a bizarre world for myself out of something that's actually rather normal... well, as normal as fantasy gets, anyways...
So fast forward many years later to last year when I was a college student who was bored during fall break. I was looking into some anime that I liked as a kid for nostalgia. I came across the name of this series again and all the memories came back. I reasoned that since I was then an adult, I could look into the material shamelessly. I started from the beginning, but for some reason, I missed half the stuff that went on. The only thing I caught was gratuitous violence (it's still too much for me at times, I admit, although it's not bad at all, especially when compared to what's out there) and that Inuyasha was a demon. It gained some sense of normalcy in my eyes, but it still was weird for me. So I decided another approach several weeks later: start from the end to see if I liked how it ended and then try to explore the series. My main motivation for this was the Inuyasha and Kagome relationship. As soon as I saw them bickering,
), so I had to see if my suspicions were right. Of course, lo and behold, they kiss and get married in the last episode, and I saw that the series seemed to have an overall happy ending, so I knew I could get into it.After that, I looked up clips and episodes and even checked out these boards a little bit to see what others had to say about it, and thus, an InuFan was born!
I should say that I'm glad that I got into the series when I did. On one hand, it would've been nice to have been part of the phenomena when it was still airing, but on the other hand, now that I was older, I could appreciate it for its thematic elements and the emotional content. I don't think I would've been as influenced or inspired by it or would've appreciated it as much as I do now if I got into it years ago when I was much younger and unable to pick up all of the stuff I noticed while watching it.
So that's my story! 
Cool experience! But I never said that I actually had it bad or complained about the restriction/censorship. Actually, I kind of agree with seeing things when you fall into the appropriate age group... Although I think this show really did not merit a TV-14/PG-13, rating but rather PG... They really went overboard with rating if you ask me.
Honestly, I think it varies from person to person and is up to the person to decide. I mean, I still had a normal childhood, still grew up, and am perfectly fine right now (and I don't mean to come across as arrogant in saying that). Sure I didn't get into half the things that kids my age were until several years later, when they were age appropriate, mind you, but I still didn't miss out on the development and experience that they all had (I actually ended up behaving more maturely some times in high school... but then again, that's a bit subjective). Sure I took longer to expose myself to different content, but that doesn't mean that I'm not a functional or mature adult or that I didn't end up catching up on what they saw. Actually, I have to say that waiting to see some stuff when I did helped me go about doing it more comfortably, and I was definitely able to catch on most of the stuff I wouldn't have otherwise caught if I were younger. I can't really say that I missed out, because I'm where I need to be and am up to par with everyone else. I don't mean to tell you off, but I am telling you my perspective. Also, it's really important to consider how different cultures and religious/moral values treat the upbringing of chldren. No two ways are alike, nor is one right and the others wrong. It just all comes down to how the person is, really.
I meant like going into the deeper thematic elements and such... I don't think I would've taken half the stuff in this show, or Death Note, or FMA as seriously as I do now if I had seen them years ago... I would've picked up that they are dark and intense, but I don't think I would've appreciated the depth as much as I do now. And maybe you're right.
I actually should point this out. Last year when I started really getting into this show and the more mature anime, I was going through a major transition in my life. I think it's only fitting that I got a nice and drastic change in perspective and interest and a newfound awareness and appreciation of everything as my life started to change. I honestly don't think my mind would have been as blown as it is now if I were to start years ago. And if I did watch frequently since I was younger, it would've just been a mere memory, nothing for me to look at with the interest and views I look at it now. The proof? All of the films and literature I came across as a younger teen are now nearly half forgotten and it takes a lot for me to remember every single experience I had. Unfortunately, I can't really appreciate those shows beyond their nostalgic value.
Ah where to start.
I think going to where I got into anime three years ago which ties into InuYasha. Toonami got cancelled, I was in tears, and months later I kept hearing about this anime known as Bleach. Tried it three years ago, and from there I became an otaku. That was my gateway anime. Where InuYasha is tied into this is, I tried more and more anime on [adult swim] and I tried InuYasha one time. I remember seeing some very small parts of it years ago when I would be playing video games late, and then switch it back to TV and [as] would be on.
From there, I watched the re-runs [as] had for the series in November 2008 every Saturday night/Sunday morning at 4:30 AM (I live in the Central Time Zone.). I was that dedicated (Sometimes I would fall asleep, and then watch the Tivo recording.), always looking forward to each episode, and it was a great thing I caught it when the re-runs were before episode 10. This series is one of my all-time favorites, and I must say, it probably will always be one of my favorites, along with InuYasha: The Final Act.
With the re-runs, I rarely missed episodes up until past the Band of Seven arc. For some reason, I kept falling asleep, and got lazy with Tivo, so I never saw all the English dubbed episodes on [as]. I did manage to see many of the episodes after that, so I saw most of the episodes on [as]. How I finished the series starts from where the very day VIZ Media announced they would be streaming the series on Hulu. I immediately watched some episodes, and tried to get to where I would watch the episode subbed after having that seen that episode dubbed the previous night, that fell apart. It wasn't until last Fall I got dedicated to trying to finish the entire series subbed on Hulu. I finally finished the entire series subbed very early this year.
As for InuYasha: The Final Act, it doesn't bring as much nostalgia to me. The re-runs on [adult swim] were still at the Band of Seven arc. I was watching the simulcast from VIZ Media, and I didn't really get lost. I just finished the series, though it had one heck of an ending. I don't like it as much due to them cramming 30 some volumes of material in 26 episodes, which made the series too fast-paced. I wish they would do another adaption where they take their time, but it probably won't happen.
So basically, InuYasha is one of the first few anime I watched after getting really into this stuff (After having just watching anime whenever I caught it on TV. Basically, watching it like regular cartoons.). It is one of my all-time favorite series, and it holds dear memories for me. The movies (I first watched them on Hulu. Thank you VIZ Media for legally streaming them subbed for a limited-time for those of us who didn't see them on [as].), the manga (Even though I've read only volume 1.), the series, and the sequel.
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