Inuyasha
InuYasha (Japanese: 犬夜叉, inu "dog" + yasha "female demon" from Japanese yasha, derived from masculine Sanskrit yaksha) is a manga and anime series by Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and others).
The full title is Sengoku o-togi zōshi InuYasha (戦国お伽草子ー犬夜叉), which roughly translates to InuYasha, A Feudal Fairy Tale.
About the Title
There is a long-standing debate about the proper English spelling of "InuYasha", the title character's name. Some spell it "InuYasha", some "Inuyasha", some "Inu Yasha", and some "Inu-Yasha". As Japanese does not use spacing or capitalization, there is no "correct" spelling (Wikipedia itself went with 'Inuyasha' for quite some time before changing to 'InuYasha').
Both Cartoon Network, the US anime licensee, and Viz Communications, the publisher of the manga and producer of the anime for the U.S. market, use "InuYasha" (Viz formerly used "Inu-Yasha" in the title but switched to the current "InuYasha"; Viz still uses the spelling "Inu-Yasha" in the text of the graphic novels). The issue of ambiguous capitalization and spacing also occurred on protest signs during the Vietnam War - protestors would use any one of "Vietnam", "Viet Nam", and "VietNam". Both stand as shining examples of the difficulties that romanization can cause.
See also: InuYasha media information
Overview
InuYasha is a shōnen action/adventure romantic comedy, with elements from the horror genre. The story starts in Tokyo, Japan with a junior high-school girl named Kagome Higurashi, who on her way to school heads to the covered well on the family property (which happens to be a Shinto shrine). She does this to retrieve her cat, Buyo, from the well, since her brother was afraid to go inside. When she approaches the well a strange woman/centipede demon bursts from the well and grabs her. The demon claims that Kagome possesses the Jewel of Four Souls (四魂の玉 Shikon no Tama) and attempts to seize it when the demon is driven off and the very confused Kagome emerges in the Sengoku period of Japan. Kagome wanders and meets an old priestess by the name of Kaede, who claims that Kagome is the spitting image of Kikyō, her elder sister (and powerful priestess) who had died and had her body burned with the Jewel of Four Souls, taking it with her into the afterlife. Kaede relates the story of how, 50 years earlier, a hanyō named InuYasha had tried to steal the Jewel from Kikyō, mortally wounding her in the process, but Kikyō had managed to strike him with a magical arrow, sending him into suspended animation and thus retrieving the Jewel before she finally died.
It turns out that Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyō, and that she does possess the Jewel of Four Souls, embedded in her flesh. When the centipede demon rips it from her flesh and swallows it, granting the demon a great boost in power, Kagome is forced to awaken InuYasha so he can defeat her.
Soon after they recover the Jewel, it is lost again, and Kagome accidentally shatters it as she tries to recover it. The pieces scatter far and wide, and the series tells of Kagome and InuYasha's exploits as they search for the shards of the Jewel. As they search, they meet new people who join them on their quest for various personal reasons. Throughout the story Kagome and InuYasha come closer to having deep feelings for each other, though the romance remains a side plot for most of the story.
Explanation of time travel
Call modern time 'X', the feudal era 'Y', and 50 years before Y 'Z'. At Z, Kikyō died after sealing InuYasha to the tree, where he went into suspended animation, and she was cremated with the jewel. At Y, the well (which exists in both ancient and modern times) drops Kagome, the 20th/21st century incarnation of Kikyō, off from the future. Here, everyone has gotten older but otherwise not much has happened. X is the 'modern' end of the well's worm hole through time.
Z-Y--------X | | | | | Kagome is sucked into the well by a Demon | Kagome comes out of the well and frees InuYasha Kikyō seals InuYasha to the tree and dies, her body is cremated. scale: one hyphen is approximately fifty years
Release information
Manga
The manga was serialized in Japan in the weekly publication Shonen Sunday by Shogakukan, with the first installment issued on 13 Nov 1996. Chapter 378 was published 22 September 2004 with the series still ongoing. Every 180 pages, usually ten chapters, the issues are collected in bound tankōbon. Volume 37, collecting chapters 359 through 368, was published in September 2004.
In the United States the English version is published by Viz Communications. The artwork is flipped to conform to the American standard of reading left to right. Volume 1 was published in March 1998, with either two or three new volumes following each year. Volume 17 was published in April 2004.
Movies
The series has also inspired three movies to date, InuYasha: Love that Transcends Time (時代を越える想い Toki o Koeru Omoi) and InuYasha: The Dream Castle in the Mirror (鏡の中の夢幻城 Kagami no Naka no Mugenjō) and the third, InuYasha: The Sword of World Conquest (天下覇道の剣 Tenka Hadō no Ken) has been released in Japan. A fourth theatrical release, InuYasha: The Crimson Island of Hōrai (紅蓮の蓬莱島, InuYasha: Guren no Hōraijima), has been announced for Christmas 2004.
Anime
InuYasha was first broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network. The series later came to Canadian television screens, where it is currently airing on YTV. In Japan, the series ended on September 13 2004 with episode 167. It is produced in Japan by Sunrise.
InuYasha is now also shown on Cartoon Network's Latin American incarnation, Cartoon Network LA. In Latin America, it is shown dubbed in Spanish. Cartoon Network LA can be seen in many countries south of the United States, as well as some cruise ships in the Caribbean.
Video Games
Additionally, three themed video games have been spawned: the fighting game InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale (for PlayStation), an RPG which will be released in North America in fall 2004, Both produced by Bandai, and the Sorrent company is creating InuYasha, a side scrolling action game for most cell phones, also available in fall 2004.
Popularity
Since its introduction on Cartoon Network, the ranks of InuYasha fans have swelled to the point where anime.com calls InuYasha a "cult" and its fans "rabid zealots". The show is so popular that although it has been taken off the air many times in its run (to make way for shows such as Kikaider, Big O, and FLCL) it has always been reinstated due to the demands of viewers. After a while, the people who write the bumpers for Adult Swim became sarcastic about this, and it became something of a running joke that they were on the side of the viewers, but were at the mercy of superior departments ("Suits"). As time progressed, the show was moved to increasingly late viewing hours. As of October 2002, it aired at 11:00 PM. As of March 2004, it aired at 12:30 AM. Presumably, the logic behind this is that the InuYasha fans will not mind staying up later, and other shows can be put between them and their goal.
Characters in the series that exist in the Sengoku period
Roughly by order of appearance:
- Kagome Higurashi - The female protagonist, a human from modern times.
- InuYasha - The male protagonist, a hanyō.
- Kaede - A miko and sister of Kikyō who protected the village in the fifty years after her sister's death. She was the first to recognize that Kagome was the reincarnation of her sister.
- Myōga - A flea who is a retainer of Inuyasha.
- Sesshōmaru - InuYasha's brother, a full yōkai, who also despises him. Currently he also hates Naraku after his plot of kidnapping Rin to force him to fight InuYasha.
- Jaken - A yōkai (kappa) who is a retainer of Sesshomaru.
- Shippō - A young fox (狐, kitsune) whose parents were killed by yōkai.
- Kikyō - The dead priestess (巫女, miko) who loved Inuyasha. She was brought back to (un)life by the ogress (鬼, oni) Urasue. Her unlife is almost ended at the hands of Naraku after Mt. Hakurei collapses, but she later appears as Hijiri-sama (聖様, 'Her Holyness') and is subsequently brought back to (un)life by Kagome.
- Shinidamachū - Kikyō's aids in collecting souls to sustain her body.
- Miroku - A Buddhist monk (法師, hōshi) who joins Kagome and Inuyasha.
- Hachi (八衛門, Hachiemon) - A congenial shape-shifting spirit who has befriended Miroku. In Hachi's default appearance, he resembles a tanuki (raccoon dog) jūjin.
- Naraku - An evil hanyō (half-demon) who despises Inuyasha. After his time at Mt. Hakurei, he became a full yōkai.
- Sango - A 'yōkai exterminator (退治屋, taijiya)' whose brother Kohaku is controlled by Naraku.
- Kohaku - Sango's little brother who is under the control of Naraku.
- Kirara - Sango's faithful cat-like yōkai.
- Kagura - A wind sorceress yōkai created as a detachment from Naraku who despises him but is forced to serve him as he holds her life in his hands.
- Kanna - A yōkai who looks like a little girl, but is a detachment from Naraku who has the power to steal souls in her mirror.
- Kōga - The leader of a wolf yōkai tribe that is convinced that Kagome loves him and fights with InuYasha for her affections. Also hates Naruku and Kagura after they kill off a lot of his wolf yokai comrades.
- Rin - an orphan girl who follows Sesshomaru and Jaken. After Sesshomaru saves her life, she joins them permanently.
- Tōtōsai - A blacksmith that forged Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga.
- Goshinki - A telepathic yōkai detachment from Naraku who was slain by Inuyasha. His fangs were used to make Sesshomaru's sword, Tōkijin.
- Jūrōmaru and Kagerōmaru - Twin detachments of Naraku who hold no loyalty, but were used by Naraku to attack InuYasha and Koga. Both were slain.
- Tsubaki - A dark priestess (黒巫女, kuro miko) who made a deal with a yōkai to retain her youth. She attacked Kikyo steal the Shikon no Tama but had her curse reflected back at her. Naraku gave her his giant ball of Shikon shards so she would curse Kagome, but Kagome was eventually able to defeat it. Tsubaki then released an oni and used the Shikon no Tama to increase her power so she could defeat InuYasha's group but she was beaten. (The part of Tsubaki fusing with the oni doesn't occur in the manga) In the anime, the special "A Fateful Love Song Before We Met", Tsubaki is shown as originally being Kikyo's friend who placed a jinx that if Kikyo fell in love, she would lose her power as a miko; this is not in the manga.
- Musō - Reincarnation of Onigumo as a detachment from Naraku. Attempted to defeat Naraku and gain freedom but was reabsorbed.
- Ayame - The wolf yōkai who Kōga promised to marry when they grew up. Her clan later besieged by a mysterious zombie (from the Shichinintai). (not in the manga)
- Shichinintai (七人隊) - The seven dead assassins raised from the dead by Naraku's shikon jewel shards. Naraku raised them with Shikon shards so that he could distract Inuyasha's group long enough to take his new form.
- Akago - Naraku's minion and detachment in the form of a baby that can possess anyone with darkness in their heart when they hold him. He can talk and read people thoughts and is cut in half by a priest, which led to the creation of Hakudōshi from one half, and Akago as the other half.
- Entei - A yōba (yōkai horse) who serves only the most powerful yōkai.
- Hakudōshi - Created from Akago's body, he was Entei's master, and looks like a 10 year old kid. Like Naraku, his heart is not inside his body, so he can't die by just destructive force and he can regenerate injuries. Despite his regeneration, he ends his life after betraying Naraku inside Miroku's Kazaana.
- Kochō and Asuka - Kikyō's shikigami that summons Kagome when Kikyō needs to be purified of Naraku's shōki and act as messengers to InuYasha when Kikyō wants to speak to him. Both are powerful and capable of erecting barriers by themselves.
- Goryōmaru - A monk who had his arm eaten by a yōkai. He tries to kill Kagura and has his head cut off by Hakudōshi.
- Moryōmaru - Is actually Naraku's strongest minion, although he is technically working against him. Due to his telepathic powers, Kagura and Kohaku suspect he is Akago (and he is). He is a 30ft monster with human shape, and can shoot laser bolts from his arm. He was originally a soulless puppet creation of Hakudōshi made of yōkai life force (haku).
- Koharu a girl in the series that Miroku asked to bear his child.
List of all yōkai: Yōkai List
Characters in the series that exist in the modern era
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- Sōta Higurashi - Kagome's little brother, calls InuYasha "Inu no nii-chan", or "dog brother"
- Miss/Mrs. Higurashi - Her first name is a mystery; she is Kagome's mother. She is called "mama" in both the anime and manga. 'Higurashi' could be either her married name or her maiden name.
- Jii-chan (Grandpa) - His name is also a mystery. He is Kagome's grandfather.
- Buyo - Kagome's cat. He is white, with brown spots and is really fat. He attracted Kagome to the bone-eating well in the first episode, which set the series in motion. He doesn't like InuYasha, since he is a dog.
- Yuka, Eri and Ayumi - They are Kagome's three school friends. They are usually very nosy about Kagome's "boyfriend" and why she isn't interested in Hōjō.
- Hōjō (北条) - Kagome's classmate. He loves Kagome and does everything to date her. (He is a descendant of Akitoki Hōjō (who also liked Kagome) in the anime)
- Mask of Noh - A wodden mask yōkai who absorbed a shikon fragment in the beginning of the series. Caused a lot of trouble to Kagome's family, but it was defeated by InuYasha.
- Mayu (真由) - A ghost girl who tried to kill her younger brother. Kagome saved her from being sent to hell by the Tatarimokke.
- Tatarimokke - A big, yellow, round yōkai that plays a flute to guide children's souls to heaven or to hell.
Cameo appearances
- Shin'ichi Kudo and
- Ran Mori of Detective Conan/Case Closed make a cameo appearance in episode 128; Detective Conan is published in Shonen Sunday along with InuYasha
Special items and attacks
- InuYasha
- Kotodama - A magical collar made by Keade; to subjugate InuYasha when Kagome says "osuwari" (sit).
- Fire rat cloak - InuYasha's kimono. It's more resistant than some armor, and doesn't burn of fire.
- Sankontessō - InuYasha's basic attack, he slashes opponent with his claws. Known in America as Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, or just Iron Reaver.
- Hijinkessō - InuYasha's special attack. He creates blood razors to cut his enemies. Known in the English anime as Blades of Blood.
- Tetsusaiga - InuYasha's sword, made from one of his father's fangs. Also known as Tessaiga (since in Japanese, the つ kana can also indicate double consonant). Tetsusaiga has actually 3 attacks:
- Wind Scar (風の傷, Kaze no Kizu): Special attack that can kill 100 yōkai with one strike. InuYasha learned it by himself while fighting Sesshōmaru, but it was first used to save Miroku from yōkai.
- Backlash Wave (爆流破, Bakuryūha): Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack, caused by the overpowering and merging of an opponent's energy with a Kaze no Kizu to create a massive backlash against the opponent. Inuyasha discovered this ability while fighting Ryukossei, a giant dragon yokai who even Inuyasha's father was unable to defeat.
- Diamond Spear Blast - (金剛槍破, Kongōsōha) This power was given to InuYasha by Hōsenki to defeat Naraku in the boundary between this world and the next.
- Tetsusaiga has also 4 forms:
- Rusty Tetsusaiga - Tetsusaiga's basic form. It has no special power at all. Inuyasha can't transform it into any of its other forms when he is in his human form.
- Big Tetsusaiga - When InuYasha needed to save humans, Rusty Tetsusaiga grew up and got some furry thing on it's cable. Very easy to wield practically light as a feather. First used against Sesshomaru it wasn't until the following battle against the yokai Tsukumo no Gama that Inuyasha learned how to control Big Tetsusaiga's transformation. After it was repaired though when it was broken by Goshinki for a short time it was too heavy to wield. When InuYasha defeated Ryukossei he not only did he gain the ability to able to use the Wind Scar (Kaze No Kizu) whenever he wants, Big Tetsusaiga became light as a feather again.
- Red Tetsusaiga - When InuYasha saved Shiori from her grandfather, she gave him an orb that gave Tetsusaiga power to break any yōkai barrier. Naraku eventually is able to create a barrier that cannot be shattered by this after his stay at Mount Hakurei.
- Diamond Tetsusaiga - By killing Hōsenki, InuYasha got the ability of turning Tetsusaiga into diamond in order to use Kongōsōha. It is able to bypass Naraku's stronger barriers as well.
- Kagome Higurashi
- Hama no Ya (破魔の矢, Purifying Arrow) - Kagome's and Kikyō's weapon. They concentrates holy powers on their arrows and is shot at yōkai to destroy them. Kagome almost destroyed Naraku in his powerful form (after Hakurei) by using an arrow Kikyo had mixed with Onigumo's burial soil.
- Shikon no Tama (四魂の玉, Jewel of Four Souls) - The Jewel that started the whole adventure.
- Sango
- Hiraikotsu - A huge boomerang used by Sango as a weapon. It is made from yokai bones.
- Shippō
- Kitsunebi - Shippō's fox fire, used to burn (really) weak enemies and create illusions.
- Miroku
- Kazaana - Translated to English as Air Rip or Wind Tunnel, Kazaana is a powerful vortex in Miroku's right hand which sucks everything in the vicinity into itself. It is a curse given to Miroku's grandfather by Naraku, and eventually it will grow to consume him, as it did Miroku's father. This attack's weakness is Naraku's poisonous Saimyōsho, which, when sucked in, poison the attacker, also Miroku won't use it if it will endanger innocent lives.
- Sesshōmaru
- Fur - No one knows if that furry thing Sesshōmaru carries on his shoulder is his tail or an accessory. Jaken likes to sleep on it.
- Tenseiga - Sesshōmaru's sword. Rather than killing 100 people, like Tetsusaiga's Wind Scar, it can resurrect 100 people. It cannot kill people or demons at all, but it can severely harm creatures related to the afterlife. Sesshōmaru resurrected Rin with it when she was murdered by Kōga's wolves.
- Tōkijin - Sword forged from Goshinki's fang. It possesses a strong yōkai and the sword was forged from the very teeth that broke Tetsusaiga.
- Jaken
- Two-headed staff - Sesshōmaru gave this useful staff to Jaken when they first met. One of the heads is an old man and the other is a young woman. It can blast fire at enemies.
- Kikyō
- Hama no Ya (破魔の矢, Purifying Arrow) - Same as above with Kagome.
- Fūin no Ya (封印の矢) - Arrow of sealing. She used this arrow to seal InuYasha to Goshinboku after Naraku tricked her into believing they had betrayed each other.
- Shinidamachū (死魂虫) - Soul collector insects used to collect the souls needed to help Kikyo sustain her life.
- Shikigami - Kikyō can fashion shikigami to serve her. One was a partial image of herself as Hijiri-sama that she used to attract the attention of InuYasha and help him defeat Abihime's birds. She also created 2 servant shikigami, Kochō and Asuka, who led Kagome to her to help purify Naraku's Shōki and continue to help her by acting as messengers.
- Naraku
- Shōki (沼気, Miasma) - Naraku's special poison gas.
- Kugutsu (傀儡, Demon Puppetry) - Naraku makes a clone of himself to attack his enemies by distance. A small wooden doll with a strand of Naraku's hair lies at the center of the puppet and when destroyed, the clone is destroyed. A similar wooden doll is kept with the real Naraku and controls the puppet.
- Mimicry - This ability does not have an official name. Naraku copies someone's body and voice, becoming an exact copy of that person. He used this ability to breed hate between Kikyo and InuYasha and to curse Miroku's grandfather with the Kazaana.
- Kagura-Kagura uses a special fan to summon her wind attacks they are
- Dance of Blades (fūjin no mai, 風刃の舞) - Fires off multiple spinning blades made of wind.
- Dance of the Dead (shikabane no mai, 屍の舞) - Brings the dead back to life under Kagura's control.
- Dance of the Dragon (ryūja no mai, 竜蛇の舞) - Creates many small tornadoes.
- Kagura also has a feather that can increase in size and is used as transportation
- Kanna
- Magical Mirror - Kanna has a special mirror which has two abilities. The first allows her to steal someone's soul and keep it inside her mirror. The second is to reflect an enemy's attack back at them, whether physical or with energy. When her mirror is broken by one of Kagome Higurashi's arrows, the souls it held were returned to their bodies.
| Character | Japanese | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| InuYasha | Kappei Yamaguchi | Richard Ian Cox | Enzo Fortuny |
| Sesshōmaru | Ken Narita | David Kaye | Alfredo Basurto |
| Kikyō | Noriko Hidaka | Willow Johnson | Georgina Sanchez |
| Kagome Higurashi | Satsuki Yukino | Moneca Stori | Ana Lobo |
| Miroku | Kōji Tsujitani | Kirby Morrow | Gabriel Gama |
| Sango | Houko Kuwashima | Kelly Sheridan | Liliana Barba |
| Shippō | Kumiko Watanabe | Jillian Michaels | Laura Torres |
| Naraku | Toshiyuki Morikawa | Paul Dobson | Armando Coria |
| Kōga | Taiki Matsuno | Scott McNeil | |
| Myōga | Kenichi Ogata | Paul Dobson | |
| Rin | Mamiko Noto | Brenna O'Brien | |
| Kohaku | Akiko Yajima | Alex Doduk | Eduardo Garza |
| Kagura | Izumi Ohgami | Janyse Jaud | |
| Kaede | Naoko Kyoda | Pam Hyatt | Angela Villanueva (?) |
| Hōjō | Yuuji Ueda | Matt Smith | |
| Jaken | Yuichi Nagashima | Don Brown | Daniel Abundis |
| Kanna | Yukana | Janyse Jaud | |
| Kagome's Grandfather | Cesar Arias | ||
| Nobunaga | Jose Antonio Macias | ||
| Kagome's Mother | Asako Dodo | Cathy Weseluck | Romy Mendoza |
| Sota Higurashi | Akiko Nakagawa | Saffron Henderson | Uraz Huerta |
Spanish voice actor lists are borrowed from Anime News Network.