Inuyasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass Review

Carl Kimlinger of ANN called the second film the closest thing to a straight remake of the first, and the skeleton is identical: a sealed evil set loose, minions, a captured Kagome, a combined finale. The villain this time is Kaguya, a demon princess drawn from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, who needs five treasures to leave her mirror and then sets about freezing time into endless night.

The good idea comes first. The heroes appear to kill Naraku in the opening battle, Miroku's Wind Tunnel closes, Sango finds her brother Kohaku again with no memory of what he did, and Kagura bargains with Kaguya for her freedom. For a while the film is about what these people would do if the quest were over, and Kimlinger found those quieter passages sensitive and surprisingly touching. Kaguya's castle at Lake Motosu and the frozen night give Sunrise some of its most poetic images.

Then the formula takes over. Kaguya turns Inuyasha into a full demon for Kagome to bring back, nobody will be surprised by how long Naraku stays dead, and the finale is a light show. Every Little Thing's theme song, Yurayura, plays over the credits.