InuYasha

Updated - December 30th - Hulu is a great place to watch the latest episodes of InuYasha.  I am really impressed with the true connection between Sesshomaru's sword Tenseiga and InuYasha's sword Tetsusaiga.  However, from the way things are going, it's not going to create the outcome that their father was hoping for.  

Updated - December 15th - I have watched up through Episode 11 of Season 8 which aired December 13th.  I really like how this last season is wrapping up all the loose ends that existed at the end of season 7.  The could have left it to be one of those Scooby-Doo kind of environments where no one gets older and the conflict continues, but they didn't.  It's nice to see Kagome and InuYasha advance in abilities and strength.  I'm also glad that Shippo won't be like the Simpsons' Maggie, the eternal child.  

I was elated when I discovered that InuYasha would be continued for season 8 because I felt like there was just so much left undone!

It's now coming full circle, or so it seems so far.

So, why InuYasha? Because it covers many different aspects of real life that people have to deal with but they're cleverly disguised in the confines of Feudal Japan.

First aspect is the fact that Kagome is the granddaughter of a priest shrine keeper, in a long line of shrine keepers, making her a priestess by birth. As she's fifteen years old when it all starts, she thinks that most of what her father yammers on about is just unnecessary bluster and not worth listening to until an amazing thing happens to her - she falls down into the shrine's bone eaters well and is transported back in time to the feudal era in Japan, before there was a Tokyo and when demons walked the earth and mingled with humans. In this journey through the past, she realizes that there is some useful information hidden amongst his ramblings and that she needs to learn to pay more attention to him.

Second aspect of real life is that InuYasha is a half-demon. Shunned by demons and disrespected because he is just a, "half-breed." His demon father, the great dog-demon, died before he was born, and his human mother died when he was very young. He grew up being an outcast wherever he was, constantly being chased by demons in their effort to rid the world of the "imperfection." For that reason, he fostered a hatred of demons. His mother's love, for the brief time he had it, kept him from hating humans, but he still remained on the outside of life. For years, he kept to himself, until a young priestess named Kikyo, caught his attention. They developed a friendship, even a relationship. However, even though he cared deeply for Kikyo, it is evident in what happens to them, that even though he learned to care about someone, he never learned to truly trust anyone.

Third aspect of real life - friends. Friendships are so important for many reasons. But for InuYasha, his friendships mean so much more because it is only through the development of these friendships that he becomes a strong fighter. He learns that it's okay to runaway if it means that everyone survives to fight another day because no fight is worth risking the life of someone he cares about. He also learns that not everyone does evil by choice. Some creatures and people are forced to do so, and they are still worth saving because everyone deserves a second chance. Along the way, Kagome and InuYasha collect Shippo, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara. But there are others they meet along the way, but these are ones that make up the core traveling party.

Fourth aspect - the difficulty of relationships when you're in high school. Kagome is only the second girl that InuYasha has ever spent time with, and at first, he only spends time with her because she can see the shards, but after awhile, it becomes more than that. They become connected in ways that neither one of them can handle. The strength of their bond excites, infuriates and scares them. Through their journey, they fight with each other, run away from each other and comfort each other.

But the fun with Kagome and InuYasha is the relationship drama that surrounds them both. First, Kikyo, InuYasha's first love, is brought back from the dead. Then Kagome meets Koga, the leader of the Wolf Demon tribe and he develops a thing for Kagome to the extent that he kidnaps her and pledges himself to her (or actually claims her as his woman) in front of his entire clan, to which she rebuffs him in front of all of them. He must really like and respect her because none of the violent fallout everyone expected did not occur.

Not only that, but all the made up illnesses bring one of the most popular boys at Kagome's school to her doorstep - Hojo Akitoki. First he brings her all kinds of remedies from his mother's shop for her many ailments. He is so kind, sweet and utterly clueless. He actively pursues Kagome even after she tries unsuccessfully to break up with him. I say unsuccessfully because she really tried to let him know that it was okay for him to date this younger girl if he wanted to, but he took it not as a kiss off but as an indication that Kagome was jealous, which made even more in love with Kagome. To be honest, I'm not really sure how that whole thing really works out. I'm still trying to figure out if Hojo really got the clue that InuYasha was Kagome's boyfriend.

This leads me to the fifth aspect of life - InuYasha's foray into present day Japan with Kagome. There are so many fall on the floor moments when InuYasha shows up at her school and just sits outside the classroom window looking at her. Okay, for us romantic people we might think that sounds cute, but you have to remember that he he's half dog-demon, which means he has silver dog ears, sits like a dog, scratches himself like a dog and sniffs the ground like a dog to pick up people's scents. Kagome is 15 years old - talk about an utterly embarrassing situation. InuYasha has some very fun and interesting moments in the present, but he also has some dangerous ones too. Like when Kagome and her brother Sota are in danger from an ancient mask (that had a jewel shard embedded in it and survived into the future) and it's Sota's job to bring InuYasha to the present, but he doesn't know how.

The sixth aspect is sibling rivalry. The biggest problem in InuYasha's life, other than Naraku, is his brother, Sesshomaru. They have the same father but different mothers. Sesshomaru despises humans. My guess for this is that their father left Sesshomaru's mother for InuYasha's human mother, so Sesshomaru seems to have a lot of resentment for humans and InuYasha especially. The biggest part of their rivalry happens after Sesshomaru learns that their father leaves Tetsusaiga (a demon sword that can kill 100 demons in a single stroke) to InuYasha and Tenseiga (a demon sword that can save 100 lives in a single stroke) to Sesshomaru. The problem is, Sesshomaru is jealous because he can't wield his sword, while InuYasha can wield Tetsuseiga.

There are so many great moments but my favorite of InuYasha's adventures in the present has to be Season 6 Episodes 1 and 2. This is where Kagome has time to actually come home and spend time in school. However, it turns out that it's really a cultural festival going on and Kagome has to do all kinds of things from cooking food to singing in a choir to acting in a play. InuYasha doesn't need to worry about his appearance because many people are wearing odd costumes. This particular episode pays homage to many of the great anime that have gone before it by having people dressed as characters from anime like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and other shows. This pair of episodes is a very comical break between the very serious battle with the Band of Seven and the next terrible incarnation from their enemy Naraku. Much of the humor comes from InuYasha's annoyance with the whole thing and his jealousy over Hojo. The play at the end is super hilarious because InuYasha is so clueless that he has no idea that he is really participating in a play and Hojo is completely clueless to the fact that there really is a live demon (that just happens to look like a giant watermelon) on stage. I will not say any more than that because I don't want to ruin the best parts!

I will warn you, if you try to search for InuYasha images and information, you have to be careful because there are all kinds of fan fiction sites and images out there because not only has it been around for some time, but it is extremely popular! A lot of the sketches you'll find are not official images but pure fan fiction. There are a lot of talented artists out there, so it can be tricky because some of them look so authentic and if you aren't an aficionado, it can be damned hard to tell fan art from the real thing. However, I did find this particular fan art quite amusing because I'm almost sure this never really happened even though we'd like to think it did.