200 years ago, Inuyasha’s father sealed away a powerful demon from a foreign land named Hyoga. A Shikon Jewel Shard awakens Hyoga’s son, Menomaru, inspiring him to absorb the remains of his father’s power to take control of the world.

The first Inu-Yasha theatrical feature plays like an extended episode of the popular television series. Kagome, Inu-Yasha, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango are pitted not against Naraku, but against the moth-demon Menomaru, who was awakened by a falling shard from the enchanted Shikon Jewel. Menomaru seeks to recapture the power of his father Hyoga, who was defeated by Inu-Yasha’s father when Hyoga came to Japan “from the continent” (i.e., during the Mongol invasion of 1274). Only the combined power of Kagome’s arrows and Inu-Yasha’s sword Tetsusaiga can defeat this mighty demon. Affections Touching Across Time is unusually handsome for a feature based on a broadcast series: When snow falls on Kagome’s 20th-century home, the designers evoke the prints of Kawase Hasui.