The first season of the anime television series Inuyasha aired in Japan on Yomiuri TV from October 16, 2000, through September 17, 2001.

Based on the manga series of the same title by Rumiko Takahashi, the episodes were produced by Sunrise and directed by Masashi Ikeda.

The series follows a half dog demon Inuyasha, high school girl Kagome Higurashi, and their friends Shippo, Miroku and Sango, on a journey to obtain the fragments of the shattered Jewel of Four Souls, a powerful jewel that had been hidden inside Kagome's body, and keep the shards from being used for evil.

In Japan, the first season was retroactively collected under the title Encounter Arc (出会い編, Deai-hen).

Streaming services in the United States typically use an instrumental opening theme for "Change the World" due to licensing issues.