Some anime shows like to focus on high school life, and many others are fantasy anime that focus on a medieval Europe style setting (many isekai anime take this route). But while some fantasy anime celebrate Western knights and castles, other anime shows like to keep things local and focus on Japanese mythology and history. Shoguns, samurai, ninjas, gods, and ancient magic dominate these series.
One good example of this is the hugely popular Demon Slayer, and this anime's first season just concluded on Crunchyroll (there's an upcoming movie, too!). Meanwhile, there's also the older and popular series InuYasha, from the creative mind of Rumiko Takahashi. At a glance, these anime seem like brothers, and in many ways, they are. But not entirely. In which ways does Demon Slayer resemble that older series, and what are its more unique aspects?
10 Similar: Japanese setting
Let's start with something fairly straightforward. Demon Slayer is set at the turn of the century Japan, and in this time of change, wooden Japanese castles and samurai are rubbing shoulders with cars and electric street lights. But Tanjiro, being a country boy, lives in the more traditional parts of Japan, and he still uses a sword while wearing robes.
In InuYasha, the time setting is feudal Japan, with practically no foreign guests or culture at all. And in both series, many demons are inspired by Japanese mythology, often being based on spiders, tengu, ogres, and the like.
9 Different: No time travel
While Demon Slayer has many elements of magic and monsters, it has not, so far, dabbled in time travel at all. The closest thing to time travel that Tanjiro does is go on a journey from the countryside to a rapidly modernizing Tokyo, where he sees cars and electricity for the first time.
Meanwhile, InuYasha uses time travel, and pictured above is the well house where the heroine, Kagome, travels 500 years in the past. If that did not happen, InuYasha could not have happened at all! Kagome's friends in that era are curious about her sailor-style school uniform and the snacks that she brings from her own time.
8 Similar: demons everywhere
From the title alone, you know for sure that Demon Slayer is packing all kinds of demonic foes to face. Indeed, in the span of just one season, Tanjiro and friends go up against spider demons, an ogre with magic drums on his body, a girl with six arms and deadly metal temari balls, and much more. The Twelve Moons loom over the good guys as the most powerful demons of all, with Muzan as their leader.
In a similar vein, InuYasha has a similar menagerie of demons, though not all are hostile. InuYasha himself is a half demon, and his half-brother Sesshomaru is one of the most powerful demons alive! Don't forget the villain Naraku, a former mortal man who absorbed hundreds of lesser demons to become a total monster.
7 Different: Tanjiro Joins an organization
At the start of Demon Slayer, Tanjiro is a responsible big brother who lives with his family in the snowy Japanese mountains. But soon, he meets a demon slayer, and he vows to join that organization no matter what. After grueling training, he does just that, being granted a uniform and sword. Now he has allies to call upon and a good cause to fight for.
By contrast, the heroes and neutral characters in InuYasha tend to form nomadic factions, and people often join or leave these groups. InuYasha and Kagome roam Japan with a little fox demon Shippo, a monk Miroku, and a demon hunter, Sango. Sesshomaru has a group too, as does Naraku. But there's not much in the way of a standing army in the narrative of InuYasha, at least not early on.
6 Similar: magic swords
How do you fight the forces of evil? How about a magic sword? Many fantasy anime feature magic swords, and the Demon Slaying Corps in Demon Slayer use enchanted katanas. In fact, these swords are the only way other than sunlight exposure to kill a demon, so you bet Tanjiro gets his hands on one.
The world of InuYasha shows a greater variety of weapons, but swords are not left out. InuYasha himself has the Tetsusaiga, a katana that grows into an oversized version of itself, complete with magic attacks (it was forged from the fang of his demon dog father). Sesshomaru has two swords: one to heal, and one for combat (the latter being forged from an ogre fang). Many of InuYasha's best attacks are possible only with the Tetsusaiga.
5 Different: Nezuko's quest
Tanjiro faces an awkward situation that InuYasha and Kagome didn't usually have to deal with: protecting a demon sibling! This is the central plot of Demon Slayer. Early on, Tanjiro's little sister Nezuko is converted into a demon herself, but through force of will, she abstains from human flesh. Tanjiro is desperate to find a way to fix her, and until then, Nezuko belongs neither in human society nor among the demons.
While there is a plot involving a possessed sibling in InuYasha (more on that later), it's not the main plot of that series and is in fact a subplot. InuYasha has other goals in mind, one of them being slaughtering Naraku once and for all!
4 Similar: A cruel demon villain
Many fantasy anime series have a despicable villain, from Freiza to Sosuke Aizen to Orochimaru, but both Demon Slayer and InuYasha feature a demonic arch-villain with a heart of ice. In the case of Demon Slayer, we're up against Muzan, who kills humans at will and drains their life essence. He also grew frustrated with the lowest six of the Twelve Moons, and killed them out of disgust! Those were his own minions!
Naraku, meanwhile, is the big baddie of InuYasha, who lusted after the archer-priestess Kikyo. So, to repay Kikyo for healing him, he absorbed many demons, become one himself, and schemed to steal her away from her lover, InuYasha. Along the way, Naraku enjoys turning friends and family against each other and creating lose-lose situations for the heroes.
3 Different: No archers yet
While Demon Slayer is ongoing, we can say that so far, it has no cool archers. All of the demon hunters are swordsmen, and none of the Twelve Moons have used bows and arrows yet, either.
By contrast, InuYasha features two: the priestess Kikyo (pictured), and now Kagome. In fact, these two women start to resemble one another time goes on, and InuYasha is unsure which archer maiden is the right girl for him. Both Kikyo and Kagome are a great shot, especially the former, and many demons have fallen to their deadly aim.
2 Similar: A corrupted sibling
True, it's been mentioned that Tanjiro's quest to restore Nezuko's humanity sets the plot of Demon Slayer apart from that of InuYasha. While that concept isn't the central idea of InuYasha, it still happens. In InuYasha's case, it's Sango who lost her beloved sibling to a fate possibly worse than death.
She's a demon hunter in the feudal era, who lost her younger brother Kokahu in battle. But Naraku, being the monster he is, used a shard of the Shikon Jewel to resurrect Kohaku into undeath and use him against his sister! It's despicable, but Sango has resolved to free Kohaku of his undeath. In that way, Sango would know what Tanjiro is going through.
1 Different: linear plot
This is intended as neither praise nor criticism for the plot of Demon Slayer. So far, this anime has a fairly straightforward premise: Tanjiro becomes a demon slayer to find a way to return Nezuko's humanity, and he's ready to find and kill Muzan to do it. The plot revolves almost entirely around that so far.
In contrast, the plot of InuYasha feels more like it was written with a seat-of-your-pants mindset. The central conflict is that InuYasha wants Naraku dead, but other than that, this older anime meanders and likes to explore itself. InuYasha faces a new foe in almost every episode, and there aren't many concrete plot arcs. What will happen next? You never know!