Ask John: Will There Be More Inuyasha Anime?

Question:
Is Inuyasha the anime version never gonna be finish? I mean it had an ending, but a really inconclusive ending. They never defeated Naraku and also I’ve read in Anime Insider that the manga is gonna be ending this year. If it does, are there any chances of seeing any more episodes for the anime version?

Answer:
With a show that was as popular and successful as Inuyasha, the possibility of more animation is always open. There are presently no known plans for more Inuyasha anime, but there are prior examples of successful anime series being revived years later. Excellent examples include Lupin the 3rd and City Hunter. Lupin III was a successful, long running television series that ended in 1985. Four years later, in 1989, a feature length Lupin III TV special aired. New movie length TV specials have aired annually every year since. Likewise, the long running City Hunter television series ended in 1991, yet the first of three new TV specials aired five years later, in 1996. We also can’t overlook the long running St. Seiya and Hokuto no Ken television series that were revived with new OAV series years after their TV series concluded.

Inuyasha was a successful franchise with 167 television episodes and 4 motion pictures. On one hand, it seems to be a franchise with enough support to sustain a revival sometime in the future, similar to the other previously mentioned revivals. However, on the other hand, the Sailor Moon franchise was also tremendously successful with 200 television episodes and 3 motion pictures, yet Sailor Moon has never had any new animation produced. In effect, there’s no way for viewers to accurately guess whether or not there will ever be new Inuyasha anime, nor when a revival could happen.