I just watched the first episode of Inuyasha–The Final Act on Hulu.

First the good news: the subtitle translation seems noticeably better than the one on the VIZ DVDs for the original series–although they still translate “youkai” as “demon”, a pet peeve of mine.

The bad news is that they apparently intend to cover the final 21 volumes of the manga in 26 episodes or less. Thus, while the original series was arguably too padded and drawn out, the new series is far too rushed.

Anyone who did not watch the original series should forget about watching this one. Even fans of the original series whose memories have faded in the intervening years may have trouble following the action.

Worse, the proper pacing and rhythm of the story is lost. The first episode rushes through several minor story arcs and at least 4 major climactic moments:
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Each of these deserves at least an episode of its own, to allow us to experience the full emotional impact. Instead each is rushed through in a few seconds and is over almost before we know it.

So far it looks like this potentially great but overly-ambitious epic will have a botched ending.