InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale

AUTHOR: Takahashi, Rumiko

ARTIST: Rumiko Takahashi (illustrator)

PUBLISHER: Shogakukan (Japanese); VIZ Media (English)

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 1996-2008

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 1997-2009 (English translation, 1998-2011)

Publication History

InuYasha, written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi, was featured in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday from November, 1996, to June, 2008. Tankobon volumes of the series were published by Shogakukan from 1997 to 2009. After initially trying to serialize the story in English, VIZ Media began publishing paperback versions in North America beginning in 1998. At first, the English-language versions were “flipped,” reading left-to-right; this practice was done halfway through the series. VIZ originally published the first-edition graphic novels with the subtitle “A Feudal Fairy Tale” but dropped it in the subsequent editions. In 2009, VIZ Media started reprinting the series in large collections called VIZBIG Editions, collecting previous volumes. The VIZBIG Editions featured larger pages than before to provide a closer look at both the Artistic details and the beautiful color artwork pages.

Plot

Kagome Higurashi is an average Japanese schoolgirl. She dismisses the legends surrounding her family’s Shinto shrine until her fifteenth birthday, when the legends take hold of her destiny. A demonic spirit pulls her inside the family well, and she is transported to the Sengoku period, a world full of demonic spirits. The spirit that pulled her through the well tries to remove the Shikon Jewel hidden within Kagome’s body. Kagome awakens the half demon InuYasha from his enchanted slumber in order to save her life. He triumphs, but the Shikon Jewel is shattered. Both Kagome and InuYasha learn that Kagome is the reincarnation of the miko (priestess) Kikyo, who first guarded the jewel and sealed InuYasha in the enchanted slumber. The text reveals that Kikyo and InuYasha were in love, a love that was corrupted by the half demon Naraku’s quest for power.

Naraku is Kagome and InuYasha’s main foe, as he seeks to gather the jewel shards for his own power base. Naraku will use anyone he can as a pawn, even children. Kagome and InuYasha’s secondary foe is Inu-Yasha’s half brother Sesshomaru, a full-blooded demon who sees InuYasha as a family disgrace who must be eradicated. Sesshomaru and InuYasha find a common enemy in Naraku when the latter tries to manipulate Sesshomaru for his own purposes.

Along the way, Kikyo is partially resurrected from her old bones; however, whose side she is on is unclear. InuYasha struggles with his old love for Kikyo and his new love for Kagome, who feels that she cannot compete with her past self. A twisted love triangle forms, as the three struggle with their own tumultuous inner emotions.

Kagome uses the well as a doorway between the past and the present in order to complete the quest, while her grandfather tries to cover for her school absences with several ludicrous medical excuses that horrify her classmates. The series is a dark action story that combines the shonen (boy) and shojo (girl) genres to provide a world in which both subgenres interact; this type of subgenre pollination was popular in the 1990’s.

Volumes

• InuYasha, Volume 1 (1998). Collects issues 1-8. Kagome is transported five hundred years into the past and discovers she is the reincarnation of miko Kikyo. She awakens InuYasha during her fight with a demon. The Shikon Jewel shatters, beginning the main characters’ quest to recover all the shards before they fall into evil hands.

• InuYasha, Volume 2 (1998). Collects issues 9-18. InuYasha recovers his dead father’s sword, the Tetsusaiga, while battling his half brother, Sesshomaru.

• InuYasha, Volume 3 (1999). Collects issues 19-28. In the present, a cursed mask has Kagome calling for InuYasha’s aid. In the past, Shippo steals Kagome’s shards.

• InuYasha, Volume 4 (1999). Collects issues 29-38. The Tetsusaiga breaks during battle, breaking the only seal on InuYasha’s demon self. It has to be repaired before his demon half takes over his human half.

• InuYasha, Volume 5 (2000). Collects issues 39-48. The new moon strips InuYasha of his demonic powers, temporarily leaving him in human form. The ogress Urasue partially resurrects Kikyo through her ashes.

• InuYasha, Volume 6 (2000). Collects issues 49-58. Kagome attempts to recover her soul from the resurrected Kikyo. Miroku allies with Kagome and Inuyasha against their common enemy: Naraku.

• InuYasha, Volume 7 (2000). Collects issues 59-68. Sesshomaru accepts aid from Naraku before challenging InuYasha for the Tetsusaiga. Sesshomaru seeks to kill rather than serve Naraku.

• InuYasha, Volume 8 (2001). Collects issues 69-78. InuYasha defeats Royakan. Naraku admits his part in getting Kikyo and InuYasha to betray each other 500 years ago.

• InuYasha, Volume 9 (2001). Collects issues 79-88. The protagonists face off against Tokajin. They hear of Sango’s demon conquest and try to find her. Naraku manipulates her brother Kohaku and has the inhabitants of their village slaughtered.

• InuYasha, Volume 10 (2002). Collects issues 89-98. Naraku tries to use Sango to kill InuYasha by implanting a shard in her back. Sango discovers Naraku is responsible for the village slaughter and joins InuYasha and company against him.

• InuYasha, Volume 11 (2002). Collects issues 99-108. Naraku tries to separate Miroku from the others when he leaves to have Mushin repair his wind tunnel. Naraku resurrects Kohaku. Sango betrays InuYasha in an attempt to bargain with Naraku for Kohaku.

• InuYasha, Volume 12 (2002). Collects issues 109-118. Kagome destroys Naraku’s body, leaving only his head. Naraku is forced to find an alternative body. InuYasha and company fight to clear the name of a half demon wrongly accused of eating his fellow villagers.

• InuYasha, Volume 13 (2003). Collects issues 119-128. Naraku claims a new body before striking out at InuYasha and company. Kikyo gives Naraku the jewel shard. InuYasha’s right to wield the Tetsusaiga is questioned by its swordsmith, Toto-sai.

• InuYasha, Volume 14 (2003). Collects issues 129-138. InuYasha defeats Sesshomaru with a new Tetsusaiga attack called the Wind Scar. Rin nurses the wounded Sesshomaru. InuYasha faces off against Koga after he kidnaps Kagome.

• InuYasha, Volume 15 (2003). Collects issues 139-148. Kagome and InuYasha disagree about Koga’s actions. Kagome, InuYasha, and Koga battle Kagura. Miroku encounters a girl from his past.

• InuYasha, Volume 16 (2003). Collects issues 149-158. InuYasha and company battle Kanna, who tries to fit Kagome’s soul into a mirror. They discover that Naraku’s power to create detached parts of himself comes from possessing nearly all of the jewel shards.

• InuYasha, Volume 17 (2004). Collects issues 159-168. InuYasha is attacked during the new moon, when he is most vulnerable. Later, he is separated from the Tetsusaiga when Sesshomaru tests his full demon form.

• InuYasha, Volume 18 (2004). Collects issues 169-178. InuYasha engages in a gruesome battle with Kageromaru. Kagome struggles with her love for InuYasha and her feelings of inadequacy.

• InuYasha, Volume 19 (2004). Collects issues 179-188. InuYasha and company must defend an attack led by Kagura. There is a mole in their group whose task is to kill Kagome. Sesshomaru gains insight into InuYasha’s transformation. InuYasha seeks greater control over his full demon form in order to protect Kagome from himself.

• InuYasha, Volume 20 (2005). Collects issues 179-188. InuYasha faces off against Ryukotsusei. Naraku has nearly completed the jewel. He offers its power to Kikyo’s former rival, Tsubaki. She tries to make Kagome kill InuYasha.

• InuYasha, Volume 21 (2005). Collects issues 199-208. Shippo discovers an orphan girl, Satsuki, in possession of a jewel shard. Kagura tries to steal Koga’s shards. Miroku and Sango discover a princess who is stealing men’s youth. InuYasha battles Muso.

• InuYasha, Volume 22 (2005). Collects issues 209-218. It is revealed that Muso is Naraku’s original human core, as he struggles to regain the memories of his former self, Onigumo. He tells InuYasha that Onigumo did not want Kikyo to die before Naraku recaptures him. InuYasha seeks to learn how to break barriers with the Tetsusaiga.

• InuYasha, Volume 23 (2005). Collects issues 219-229. Naraku’s blackmail attempt against Sesshomaru backfires. InuYasha attacks Naraku’s castle, inadvertently saving Sesshomaru’s life.

• InuYasha, Volume 24 (2006). Collects issues 229-238. InuYasha battles the ogres again before saving a village from monkeys. Koga encounters the Band of Seven.

• InuYasha, Volume 25 (2006). Collects issues 239-248. After a battle with Mukotsu, InuYasha struggles to find a safe place for Kagome, Sango, and Miroku to recover. InuYasha battles Ginkotsu and Renkotsu. Kikyo finds a member of the Band of Seven who is doing honorable work.

• InuYasha, Volume 26 (2006). Collects issues 249-258. Unlike InuYasha and company, Kikyo and her allies cannot enter Mount Hakurei. Inu-Yasha battles the Band of Seven before following Bankotsu to Hijiri Island.

• InuYasha, Volume 27 (2006). Collects issues 259-268. Koga kills Ginkotsu. Rin is once again held hostage in an attempt to hurt Sesshomaru.

• InuYasha, Volume 28 (2007). Collects issues 269-278. While in human form, InuYasha faces Jakotsu. They break the barrier protecting Naraku. Naraku acquires all the shards and finishes his transformation.

• InuYasha, Volume 29 (2007). Collects issues 279-288. InuYasha and Kikyo battle Naraku. Sesshomaru attempts to kill Naraku. Naraku removes his human heart.

• InuYasha, Volume 30 (2007). Collects issues 289-298. Miroku gets trapped in an enchanted shrine scroll, where a demon tries to kill him. Naraku’s infant is split into two people: Akago and Hakudoshi.

• InuYasha, Volume 31 (2007). Collects issues 299-308. InuYasha and company go to the gate of the afterlife.

• InuYasha, Volume 32 (2008). Collects issues 309-318. InuYasha and company help Kohaku defend the castle.

• InuYasha, Volume 33 (2008). Collects issues 319-328. InuYasha fights Hosenki. Naraku gets the last shard of the sacred jewel.

• InuYasha, Volume 34 (2008). Collects issues 329-338. Shippo is possessed by a nymph. Koga fights a demon made of corpses.

• InuYasha, Volume 35 (2008). Collects issues 339-348. InuYasha and company battle Hakudoshi and Moryomaru. Kagura gives Sesshomaru a tool to find Naraku’s heart.

• InuYasha, Volume 36 (2009). Collects issues 349-358. The group battle Goryomaru at the temple and then encounter a medicine man who supposedly has a potion to counteract all poisons.

• InuYasha, Volume 37 (2009). Collects issues 359-368. Kohaku chases Hitoukon, while Mouryoumaru seeks his jewel shard. Sesshomaru reveals a crystal that can detect demonic power.

• InuYasha, Volume 38 (2009). Collects issues 369-378. InuYasha and company fight Hakudoshi with aid from Naraku, who then kills Kagura for revealing the location of his heart, inside Moryomaru. Kikyo discovers that only the Shikon Jewel can defeat Naraku.

• InuYasha, Volume 39 (2009). Collects issues 379-388. Koga receives the claw weapon called the Goraishi. InuYasha battles Mujina, who holds a sword capable of absorbing demonic energy.

• InuYasha, Volume 40 (2009). Collects issues 389-398.

• InuYasha, Volume 41 (2009). Collects issues 399-408. InuYasha struggles with the Tetsusaiga. Mouryoumaru increases his power, causing Inu-Yasha and company to team up with Sesshomaru, Kikyo, and Kokahu.

• InuYasha, Volume 42 (2009). Collects issues 409-418. Totosai gives the Tensaiga the ability to travel between the living and the dead. InuYasha is attacked by Nikosen while in his vulnerable human form. Mouryoumaru learns of two brothers whose blood would strengthen his defenses.

• InuYasha, Volume 43 (2009). Collects issues 419-428. InuYasha thwarts Mouryoumaru’s plans by absorbing one of the brothers. Tetsusaiga later fails InuYasha in a battle.

• InuYasha, Volume 44 (2010). Collects issues 429-438. Koga must save two clan members from a Byakuya’s youkai who wants Koga’s shards.

• InuYasha, Volume 45 (2010). Collects issues 439-448. Mouromaru absorbs Naraku, allowing Naraku to reclaim his heart. Miroku tries to capture Naraku’s heart at the expense of his own life.

• InuYasha, Volume 46 (2010). Collects issues 449-458. InuYasha, Kagome, and Kikyo get ensnared in Naraku’s spider webs. Kagome quests to Mount Azusa for an arrow that will save Kikyo.

• InuYasha, Volume 47 (2010). Collects issues 459-468. Naraku uses his spider webs to put the Shikon Jewel into Kikyo’s body, causing the jewel to be purified when Kagome saves her with the arrow. Naraku reclaims the jewel, killing Kikyo. A hellhound is released from Sesshomaru’s father’s Meidou stone.

• InuYasha, Volume 48 (2010). Collects issues 469-478. Rin is retrieved from the underworld. InuYasha’s demon blood takes control as he battles Kanna.

• InuYasha, Volume 49 (2010). Collects issues 479-488. InuYasha destroys the Tetsusaiga copy. InuYasha and company aid Miroku and Sango in a battle against a bone-seeking youkai.

• InuYasha, Volume 50 (2010). Collects issues 489-498. InuYasha and Sesshomaru fight Shishinki in order to retrieve the Meidou Zangetsuha power. Sango battles Naraku for Kohaku’s shard, while InuYasha battles Byakuya.

• InuYasha, Volume 51 (2010). Collects issues 499-508. Sesshomaru attempts to take the Meidou Zangetsuha power from the Tetsusaiga. InuYasha and company track down a Naraku spider web.

• InuYasha, Volume 52 (2010). Collects issues 509-518. Kagome escapes Hitomiko while Naraku unleashes the dark spirit of the Shikon Jewel in the form of Magatsuhi.

• InuYasha, Volume 53 (2010). Collects issues 519-528. InuYasha and Kagome return from present-day Tokyo to find their friends have fallen victim to Magatsuhi.

• InuYasha, Volume 54 (2010). Collects issues 529-538. Naraku attempts to absorb the Shikon Jewel while InuYasha and company try to stop him.

• InuYasha, Volume 55 (2010). Collects issues 539-548. InuYasha and Sesshomaru continue to attack Naraku.

• InuYasha, Volume 56 (2011). Collects issues 549-558. The final battle over the Shikon Jewel. This volume summarizes the three years after the final battle.

Characters

• Kagome, a protagonist, is a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl skilled in archery. She is the reincarnation of Kikyo, guardian of the Shikon Jewel, and a love interest of InuYasha.

• InuYasha, a protagonist, is half-demon, half-human with a dog-man appearance. He is hot-tempered and deadly with the Tetsusaiga sword. He joins Kagome in reclaiming the Shikon Jewel and defeating Naraku.

• Kikyo, a protagonist, is originally the miko charged with the task of protecting the Shikon Jewel. She is resurrected and must consume the souls of dead women in order to keep her physical form.

• Shippo, a protagonist, is a young orphan fox demon who joins Kagome and InuYasha. He can shape-shift but usually takes the form of a boy with a foxtail. True to Japanese folklore, his powers relate to him being a trickster.

• Sango, a protagonist, is an adolescent demon slayer from a prominent slaying family. Naraku convinces her to attack InuYasha after her family is killed by a demon. She joins InuYasha and company after she realizes Naraku was using her.

• Kohaku, a protagonist and Sango’s younger brother, is controlled by Naraku. When freed from Naraku’s control, he initially joins Kikyo.

• Kirara, a protagonist, is a demon-cat serving Sango and can adjust her size to Sango’s needs.

• Miroku, a protagonist, is a lecherous Buddhist monk who has a cursed wind tunnel on his hand that will consume anything when unbound. He allies with InuYasha.

• Sesshomaru, a protagonist, is InuYasha’s half brother and a full-blooded demon. He hates Inu-Yasha for his mixed blood and for inheriting the Tetsusaiga.

• Rin, a protagonist, is an orphan girl who becomes attached to Sesshomaru after he saves her life.

• Jaken, a protagonist, is a green demon who masters the Staff of Two Heads and serves Sesshomaru.

• Koga, a protagonist, is a leader of the eastern yokai-wolf tribe who has shards of the Shikon Jewel embedded in his limbs. He initially fights InuYasha but later becomes his ally.

• Ah-Un, a protagonist, is a two-headed dragon demon who serves Sesshomaru. He frequently transports Sesshomaru.

• Kaede, a protagonist, is Kikyo’s surviving younger sister who advises InuYasha and company as she continues to protect her village from demons.

• Myoga, a protagonist, is a flea demon who advises InuYasha and serves as an informant. He guards the Tetsusaiga until InuYasha claims it.

• Totosai, a protagonist, is the blacksmith who forged the Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga.

• Naraku, an antagonist, is the demon who drives the plot in his quest to gain the full power of the Shikon Jewel. He is a human who forged himself with demons.

• Kanna, an antagonist, is the first detachment of Naraku and takes the form of a young girl in white. She can conceal her demon energy and possesses a soul-stealing mirror.

• Kagura, an antagonist, is the second detachment of Naraku and despises Naraku for his control over her.

• Muso, an antagonist, is the faceless sixth detachment of Naraku.

• The Infant, an antagonist, is the seventh detachment of Naraku.

• Hakudoshi, an antagonist, is the eighth detachment of Naraku who places Naraku’s heart within Moryomaru. He turns against Naraku.

• Byakuya, an antagonist, is Naraku’s final detachment and spies on Inu-Yasha and Moryomaru.

• Tsubaki, an antagonist, is a dark priestess from Kikyo’s time. She has retained her youth and beauty by communing with demons. Naraku uses her against Kagome and InuYasha.

• The Band of Seven, antagonists, are mercenaries resurrected by Naraku for their deadly skills.

• Moryomaru, an antagonist, is a demonic golem created by Hakudoshi to hold Naraku’s heart. He absorbs demonic energy and seeks the Jewel shards for his own purposes.

Artistic Style

Takahashi incorporates the Artistic styles typical of both the shojo and shonen manga genres. As is typical of the shojo genre, she uses full-body illustrations of female characters that exceed panel boundaries. She also uses frame-by-frame shots of faces with expressive eyes in order to show emotion and the psychologically complex relationships between characters. Head shots of either Kagome and InuYasha or Kikyo and InuYasha are paralleled on the same page to convey the tense and often unspoken feelings between them.

Action sequences are typical of those found within the shonen genre, in which vertical lines are used to indicate motion, full-page or two-panels-per-page shots of important moments within the fight, and sequence-by-sequence frames of fighting action. Nature backgrounds are intensely realistic, while characters are not, which is conventional of manga style. Onomatopoeia is used throughout the series both to incorporate sounds and indicate movement, and, during action scenes, to indicate the power behind an action. Jagged thought bubbles indicate yelling or dialogue with intense emotion. Takahashi successfully blends the unique Artistic styles of two definitive genres to create a visually complex narrative that captivates audiences of both genders.

Themes

InuYasha is immersed in spiritual themes. It combines Shinto and Buddhist philosophies in a way that mirrors the blending of these spiritualities within Japanese culture. In her construction of demons within the text, Takahashi draws on Shinto constructions of spirit lore in regards to spirits’ diversity and power levels. Kikyo’s reincarnation as Kagome draws on both Buddhist and Shinto beliefs of reincarnation for the purpose of furthering good. The main female protagonists, Kagome and Kikyo, are Shinto mikos. The theme of good versus evil is also built on Shinto and Buddhist ideologies, as Kagome and Kikyo are Shinto priestesses who fight to keep the demonic evil from consuming the world.

True love that transcends time is another theme. For example, Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo, Inu-Yasha’s love. He falls in love with Kagome because he feels the continuing connection between them. He loves both Kagome and the resurrected Kikyo because they are of the same soul.

Impact

Takahashi is praised for her ability to combine shonen and shojo genres to create an action-packed adventure story that also focuses on relationships, incorporating fierce female protagonist to create an overall story that is accessible to both genders. Her use of Buddhist and Shinto philosophies and her combination of past and present settings connects readers with Japan’s spiritual roots and, thus, is an example of how the art form can reappropriate classic Japanese legends for modern readers. Takahashi’s beautiful fairy tale crosses time lines and transcends genres as she blends action, adventure, comedy, romance, and fantasy into a vast series.

Films

InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time. Directed by Toshiya Shinohara. Sunrise, 2001. This film adaptation stars Kappei Yamaguchi (Richard Ian Cox in the English version) as InuYasha and Satsuki Yukino (Moneca Stori in the English version) as Kagome. The son of a fallen demon defeated by InuYasha’s father has come for revenge.

InuYasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass. Directed by Toshiya Shinohara. Shogakukan Production/Sunrise, 2002. This film adaptation stars Yamaguchi as InuYasha and Yukino as Kagome. Cox and Stori return in the English versions. Naraku fakes his death in order to try to absorb Kaguya as the remaining protagonists set to reclaim the Jewel shards, while the antagonists seek to free Kaguya from her mirror prison.

InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler. Directed by Toshiya Shinohara. Kyoto Animation/Nippon Television Network Corporation/Shogakukan Production, 2003. Yamaguchi and Cox voice InuYasha; Yukino and Stori voice Kagome. The sword So’unga, the third and strongest sword of InuYasha’s father, tries to possess InuYasha.

InuYasha the Movie 4: Fire of the Mystic Island. Directed by Toshiya Shinohara. Kyoto Animation/Shogakukan Production/Sunrise, 2004. Kappei Yamaguchi and Yukino (and Cox and Stori) return to voice the main characters. A demonic child, Ai, escapes the Horai Island. InuYasha and company go to the island to investigate the strange happenings.

Television Series

InuYasha. Directed by Megumi Yamamoto, Naoya Aoki, and Yasunao Aoki. Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation/Sunrise 2000-2004. Cox and Stori provide English voices for InuYasha and Kagome. The series covers only a portion of the graphic novels. It caught up to the manga production twice, the first time resulting in filler episodes; the second time it caught up, the anime was halted.

Further Reading

Takahashi, Rumiko. Ranma 1/2 (1987-1996).

Watase, Yu. Alice 19th (2001-2003).

Watsuki, Nobuhiro. Rurouni Kenshin (1994-1999).

Bibliography

Allison, Brent. “Interviews with Adolescent Animé Fans.” In The Japanification of Children’s Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki, edited by Mark I. West. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2009.

Bryce, Mio, and Jason Davis. “An Overview of Manga Genres.” In Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives, edited by Toni Johnson-Woods. New York: Continuum, 2010.

Orbaugh, Sharalyn. “Busty Battlin’ Babes: The Evolution of the Shojo in the 1990s Visual Culture.” In Gender and Power in the Japanese Visual Field, edited by Joshua S. Mostow, Norman Bryson, and Maribeth Graybill. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003.