This weekend, Sunrise announced a sequel to the iconic anime series Inuyasha called Hanyō no Yashahime, and VIZ hasconfirmed that it has American distribution rights under the English title Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon.
Taking place in the same universe as Inuyasha, Yashahime follows the daughters of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha as they “set out on a journey transcending time”. Here’s the show’s synopsis, straight from VIZ:
In Feudal Japan, Half-Demon twins Towa and Setsuna are separated from each other during a forest fire. While desperately searching for her younger sister, Towa wanders into a mysterious tunnel that sends her into present-day Japan, where she is found and raised by Kagome Higurashi’s brother, Sota, and his family.
Ten years later, the tunnel that connects the two eras has reopened, allowing Towa to be reunited with Setsuna, who is now a Demon Slayer working for Kohaku. But to Towa’s shock, Setsuna appears to have lost all memories of her older sister.
Joined by Moroha, the daughter of Inuyasha and Kagome, the three young women travel between the two eras on an adventure to regain their missing past.
Takahashi Rumiko, creator of Inuyasha, is returning as the main character designer for Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon. Other staff include Satō Teruo as director, Sumisawa Katsuyuki on scripts, Hishinuma Yoshihito on character animation, and Wada Kaoru composing the score.
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon is being produced by Sunrise, one of Japan’s most prolific animation studios. Sunrise is known for creating the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Gundam, and the anime adaptation of Inuyasha (among many other series).
The new series will begin airing in Japan this fall (the southern hemisphere’s spring). VIZ hasn’t indicated when the English version will be available; the company has managed to get simulcasts of other major titles like Boruto and Sailor Moon Crystal, so we can only hope they’ll be able to do the same for Yashahime.
VIZ’s distribution rights cover North America “digital streaming, EST, and home video” in North and Latin America only, with no word yet on plans for Yashahime‘s release in the rest of the world. For Australia and New Zealand, the original Inuyasha—also distributed by VIZ in the Americas—is available on AnimeLab, so hopefully they’ll be able to pick up Yashahime, too.
Note: Japanese names in this article all use the Japanese name order—that is, family name first, followed by given name.
Sources: VIZ, Anime News Network, Sunrise