inuyashaographer

[inuyashaographer]

Hey guys been a long time and just wanted to make an update.

Life has been busy, I've been keeping myself busy, my family has had a few health scares this year which has kept me largely offline for extended periods of time, add in the addition of my profession and it's been really hard to update and talk about all the things I want to talk about.

I'd really love to get back to doing updates on this, but time has been an issue, the other issue has been thinking about where I left off and exactly how much has been changed in the series up to that point.

I'm not saying stuff wasn't changed, but the biggest changes happened earlier in the series and about to the point I am they either were superficial ones, or in cases with The Final Act, which cut a lot of manga content, I kind of slowed down a lot because I felt like the bulk of what was important to discuss came about earlier in the series where more drastic changes were made.

At that time I kept talking myself out of things I wanted to do, kept making changes to my posts, updating them which only further pushed me behind. I have an idea of how to address this and will be doing so in the future. Things have slowed down for me enough to do so, I'm doing better health-wise, doing better mentally, and I think I've gotten better at condensing this stuff down to make it easier on myself.

I just wanted to get on and say thanks to everyone whose followed me throughout the years and put up with my life issues and procrastination, haven't given up on this project, but I needed time to focus on me and mine, to improve my headspace and to make sure everyone around me is healthy and happy. Looking forward to reporting more stuff in the future, but for now, stay safe, have a happy holiday, and stay classy.

[inuyashaographer]

Kagome and Inuyasha: How to Raise a Fox Demon

Shippo is a very misunderstood character, he’s often seen as the brat of the group, that causes more trouble than anything, he’s always antagonizing Inuyasha, picking fights, making comments just to get a rise out of Inuyasha.

When in reality, they have a lot in common with one another, Shippo like Inuyasha, lost his parents at a pivotal point in time, a time that could impact his future.

In comes Kagome. Kagome is to Shippo, what Izayoi is to Inuyasha. She bridges the gap to Shippo having a similar life to Inuyasha.

Now that’s not a complete 1-to-1 comparison, Shippo has the advantage of being a full-demon, so it’s very likely he doesn’t grow up being alone and ostracized, but whether he grows up to be good, is another question entirely, or the more important question, if he grows up at all, which is perhaps the biggest risk of him being alone at such a young age.

One of Shippo’s best traits is his honorability, another aspect he shares with Inuyasha. When he gets a little too headstrong for his own good and tries to face off against Manten, it’s Kagome that steps up and protects him. However when the time comes for him to return the favor, he tries to warn her about the blast that Manten is about to fire, but runs right past Kagome, Kagome takes the brunt of the hit, which ends up blocking Shippo, Kagome is knocked out as Shippo hides off in the bushes. When Manten decides to run off with Kagome, Shippo is left there to deal with his guilt.

Shippo: “She protected me, and I abandoned her… I'm a coward.”

Realizing his actions and realizing that he alone can’t deal with them, he runs off to ask for Inuyasha’s help, he has to do whatever he can to help save Kagome, because she saved him, he now feels indebted to her

However when Shippo finds Inuyasha, Inuyasha seems less than willing to not only save Kagome, but to help him at all, and tells Shippo to beg for his help.

With some urging by Myoga, Shippo is confused when he does so, only to find that not only is Inuyasha telling him to stop begging, but is already ready to go with Kagome’s bike in hand. He doesn’t realize that Inuyasha was always going to save Kagome, and the truth is it was never about Shippo begging. Inuyasha simply wanted proof that Shippo was serious and wasn’t going to betray him, the moment Inuyasha realized this, he told Shippo to stand up.

During the fight with The Thunder Brothers, Shippo proves not only that he can be an ally, but through the battle Kagome and Shippo support one another in their battle against Manten. Which allows Shippo to repay his debt to Kagome.

When all is said and done, Shippo remains with the group, but has a much stronger connection to Kagome due to the fact that she kept him safe, but also because he finds her fun to be around, she’s the motherly figure in his life.

The anime seems to depict their relationship as brother/brother when it comes to Inuyasha and Shippo, but in manga it’s more along the lines of step-father/son.

Shippo early on does see that Inuyasha himself is an honorable person, but isn’t necessarily sold on him being the father figure in his life, we see over the course of the series that changes. Though he’s often annoyed by Inuyasha’s antics, he does see that Inuyasha himself is strong, dependable, honorable, courageous and protective of his friends, attributes that can be applied to Kagome as well. Where Kagome is more kind on her approach and wanting to see Shippo grow and succeed, Inuyasha is a lot more gruff, he wants Shippo to succeed, but knows there’s value in the adversity (something that Kagome and Inuyasha instill into Jinenji as well), there has to be that balance, of kindness and toughness in the world they are in. You have to know when it’s best to fight, to make the decision of when you should fight and you shouldn’t fight.

Throughout the story, Shippo grows, he might not be the toughness, he might even be a coward sometimes, but when the moment calls he'll try his best to keep the people he cares for safe. We meet the young fox demon that causes trouble and becomes a trickster, to him growing more resourceful, protective and courageous, to going to school wanting to become the best demon he can be the protect the people around him.

[inuyashaographer]

Question & Answer #131

Q: I remember that you brought up that you wished Kagome had more interaction with say Koga for instance to illicit more jealousy from Inuyasha, why do you think Rumiko didn’t do that?

A: Yes, I don’t recall when I actually said this, but I’m positive that I did, it might have been after Mt. Hakurei. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have more of them in there, but at the same time I don’t think it would have changed very much either.

Kagome’s romantic feelings for Koga is the same as Inuyasha’s bond with Kikyo in that their largely crafted by Inuyasha and Kagome.

Inuyasha looks at a couple of situations that could easily be explained by simply talking with Kagome (I let him live because they saved my life. I stopped a fight between the two of you because you’re injured and could potentially be on the verge of death), and assumes that outright Kagome has feelings for Koga.

Likewise, the bulk of Inuyasha and Kikyo’s bond is entirely made up by Kagome, and Inuyasha not being the most vocal person. Kagome tried to fill in the large blank that makes up Inuyasha and Kikyo’s bond, but when she really thinks about it (or is confronted with it on Mt. Azusa), that bond isn’t really what Kagome thought it was.

I also believe that I said that because I generally like those moments where Inuyasha is sort of out taken out of his element. Like when Kagome jokes that she loves Miroku and Inuyasha has an existential crisis, Mt. Hakurei has a similar instance when he hears Kagome say she hates him. Inuyasha is so taken aback by it because he never believed that he would ever hear Kagome say that to him, he realized how bad he messed up.

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #130

I’ll preface this post by saying I don’t really like talking about Yashahime. It brings out a lot of negativity in me which comes across in the post. I do acknolwedge that, as well as acknowledge it’s not a subject I can escape really, people are going to ask and I’m going to be happy enough to answer them.

Q: What’s your opinion of the command being used in Yashahime?

A: I hate it.

Those that follow me know I'm a proponent of the commands use in the original series, well in the manga... those that also follow me will know how much I dislike Sunrise's bastardization of the command.

Takahashi used the command in the manga as a means to guide Inuyasha away from the bad habits he'd picked up during life on his own. His impulsive nature that often leads to the destruction of other's property, saying something insensitive, or just being dishonest with Kagome.

The idea always was that Kagome uses the command to prevent Inuyasha from defaulting to what he knows, pushing people away. Destroying people's property, even if meaning well pushes people away from him, causes people to distrust him. The way he talks is off-putting to many who wouldn't want to associate with him, or might not trust him because of it.

Inuyasha acts like a bandit, Kagome wants people to view him as the hero that she knows that he is.

The moments when he lies to Kagome (which admittedly are few and far between, but are generally well meaning), go right back to him pushing people away. Takahashi makes it clear his intentions aren't malicious, he does however default back to what he knows and has learned, that bad habit of not letting people in.

Now the counter argument I've always heard to the command is, why doesn't Kagome simply talk to him about these things? Kagome is so good at communicating with him, why does she need the beads at all?

To which I respond, Kagome is a great communicator, and very often can get through to Inuyasha... Inuyasha however is stubborn, likes to win, and for the better part of the series, doesn't like to admit to any fault. Multiple fights only come to an end because of Kagome, because Kagome isn't out to actually win arguments but to make a point, when Inuyasha seems to get that point, Kagome then makes the move to reconcile. Inuyasha rarely if ever truly relents, unless he realizes how badly he messed up.

The beauty of the command itself, in the manga, is it's not destructive. It's very easy for something like this to completely alter someone’s personality, change them into a totally different person, painted by the brush of the person that has control of the command itself. That isn't the case at all here. Kagome likes Inuyasha the way he is, but he needs to work on his social interaction with others, Kagome wants people to see the person she sees when they’re alone.

The Inuyasha we see at the end of the series is still the cocky and brash person that he ever was, in battle he still flings out insults, he still carries himself with that same confidence that he always does, he's the exact same person.It's just now, he's isn't trying to push people away, he's not as impulsive, he's put thought into others around him, he's secure in his power, he knows what he is capable of, and no longer uses fear and intimidation. 

The command disappears at the end of the series, it's purpose finished and by the end of the series it's completely forgotten about.

*Sigh* And then there is Yashahime.

The main theme of the original anime when it came to the command... was regression.

In order often to get the command used, it required Inuyasha to do things he'd not done since the beginning of the series, or that were completely out-of-character for him.

That theme continues with Yashahime. From Inuyasha stupidly swinging his sword around like an amatuer swordsman, to Kagome misconstrueding Inuyasha's attempt to console Sesshomaru's daughters.

Both require the characters not to have grown a bit over the course of their time together, Inuyasha regressed back to being a reckless idiot, and Kagome went from refusing to use the command when Sango called for it, because she knew Inuyasha so well in that the need for it wasn't justified, to totally misreading Inuyasha's intentions at the time.

At it’s core, the command in the original is timeless and essential to the development of Kagome and Inuyasha.

The command in Yashahime, is nostalgia for nostalgia's sake, lazy, it's there as a detriment rather than development, it's outdated and being sold well past it's expiration date, it comes at the detriment of the characters we know and love.

[inuyashaographer]

Q: What do you think of the groups interaction with Kikyo in chapter 248? It's really off putting she was on the verge of dying!

A: I'm assuming when she's passed out in the barrier?

Well, to start out, I don't think Kikyo dying was on the table in this scene. If Kikyo were actually at risk of dying I feel like there would have been a lot more urgency to the situation, I don't think Takahashi had that in mind.

From what I gathered about the scene, Kikyo would simply never wake up, and moving her away from the barrier would allow her to wake up again.

As for Kagome, it's not a perfect scene for her but it's not meant to be one either. Kagome puts her own feelings aside as she's the one that points out the way to wake Kikyo up, it's also her that states that Inuyasha should be the one to move her, because she knows how Inuyasha is feeling in that moment.

Now does she like that their together? Of course not, but this is an example of Kagome handling things internally, she's not attempting to make a scene out of the situation, she states clearly what should be done, she ensures that it's Inuyasha that brings Kikyo to where she needs to go to, and then deals with the rest of the situation personally.

Now some might call that being petty having these kinds of thoughts while she watches Inuyasha and Kikyo walk away, but even when she thinks "I don't like to see them like this though" she was still the one that suggested it be Inuyasha.

Which brings me to the alternative.

What would have happened if Kagome had said nothing? What if Kagome had not said that she needed to be moved, what if she merely thought about it and left everything else to everyone else. What if when Miroku offered she'd continued to say nothing and it was Miroku that had moved her? That would have gone 10 times worse and actually would be a detriment to Kagome's character.

That's what this scene is really meant to convey, Kagome doesn't have to like the decisions she makes, and her thoughts prove that her thoughts aren't entirely selfless, she's not a perfect person, but she tries her best to make the decision that benefits others even if it might hurt her in the process. Her actions and words count way more here than her thoughts. Kagome later would save Kikyo with the same practice in mind, she might not be pleased with how Kikyo tends to treat her, but regardless Kagome will go out of her way to ensure Kikyo comes out of a situation alive, without any doubt in her heart, but a conflict of emotions.

That's why I feel this scene speaks to more Kagome's maturity in the situation. Her thoughts aren't perfect in the scene, but there are thoughs, their her emotions and she tries to keep them in check and to her self. I point to the scene in the Wellhouse where Kagome said that she wished Kikyo was gone... and yet, each and everytime that she could Kagome made sure that Kikyo was safe in the best possible way she could. We're not perfect people on the inside, but dealing with those emotions internally makes for maturity. and going against her emotions only adds onto that.

Guess you could argue that it's kind of a wash on Kagome's character, it makes her look neither good or bad, but honestly, I think it actually makes Kagome come out better, especially in the long run. There are many bad turns this scene could have actually taken, but frankly, Kagome probably handled the situation the best way that she could.

So where do Miroku and Sango come in?

Well honestly, Sango is mostly just there in the scene, she doesn't entirely get what is going on, so she winds up asking the wrong question at the wrong time.

Now Miroku, is there to attempt to cushion the blow. Miroku actually understands what is happening, and in a pretty compassionate move he actually attempts to get involved in the situation because he knows that Kagome is putting Inuyasha's feelings before her own. Miroku attempts to make the offer to move Kikyo in order to make things easier on her, but instead Kagome shoots that down and says it should be Inuyasha to carry her. Miroku's response in the end "Kagome is so kind hearted I'm in awe." Isn't meant to be praise towards Kagome, but meant more as a exasperated response after he clearly tried to get involved and she rebuffed him from doing so.

Now keep in mind, what follows is Kagome attempting to put distance between Inuyasha and herself to give her time to process her thoughts. Once again Kagome tries to deal with her emotions internally, it's only when Inuyasha continues to push her that she loses her temper and explodes on him. This entire sequence and the one that follows it SHOULD have ended with Kagome allowed to process her thoughts to herself and move on from them. However in this scene she has Miroku and Sango talking about the situation outloud, and then later has Inuyasha attempting to clear air that she clearly didn't want to talk about at the time. She never gets her time to cool down and process her emotions, because everyone around her wants to talk about them.

[inuyashaographer]

You want to know what else I dislike? Summaries.

I HATE writing out summaries, and often find myself trying to brute force my way through them. I have zero fun in writing them, but convinced myself that they were actually worth the time, and that if I didn't do them I was being lazy. I won't deal with the scans in anyway either, posting them just doesn't feel right to me at all.

I just have so much more fun answering questions or writing about the content itself. I did them under the assumption that it would make things a bit easier to follow, or that it would be easier to make note of the changes, but honestly... there are much easier ways to do this. The people reading what I put down likely already have the manga in one of it's numerous forms anyway, so I am likely just putting more work on myself and not having near the amount of fun I probably should be.

So yeah, I'm done with those pesky things, will probably repost a lot of my older Manga vs. Anime stuff without them and in a different format.

[inuyashaographer]

Q: How do you deal with the more negative aspects of the fandom it's actually really hard for me to do and I'm actually looking for some advice on how to handle it? You take on some controversial topics so I figured I would ask you. How do you do it?

A: Truth be told, it's not easy. I actually feel like I contribute to that negativity honestly, when you tackle controversial things that tends to happen, that's probably the thing that has me posting less and less. I used to think it was procrastinating on my part, but truth be told sometimes I feel like I do more harm than good to the InuYasha community.

Honestly, being perfectly frank, I hate the fandom itself. When I first got into the series, I actually tried my hand at one of the more larger communities and it was absolutely chaos, if not for meeting the right people I probably would have completely dropped out of the fandom and never looked back. It's with those people that I built a much smaller community of friends, I didn't have to agree with them about everything, but I knew that when I spoke with them they would hear what I had to say and I would listen to what they had to say.

That's the stigma, the Inuyasha fandom is often viewed as a very chaotic fandom, flame wars, negativity, irrationality and anger. Unfortunately, that's actually kind of true, you hang around the fandom enough and unfortunately that's a lot of what you see, how bad the fandom is/was is still a running joke.

There's a reason when people ask questions to me that I offer them the option to do so under anonymity, and I also understand completely when taking on certain subjects, people won't like and reblog because those subjects can bring on that ire and honestly I don't feel like people should have to deal with all that when I am the one doing the posting.

That all being said, I hate the fandom itself, but there are some pretty awesome people in it, I wouldn't have stuck around as long as I have if there weren't, gravitate over to them, get to know them, get to understand there opinions, find people willing to both hear your opinions while making sure you're willing to hear them out as well.

As for me, well I'll keep doing what I am doing, I don't fear any of that hate I get, but what I do fear is that instead of making the community a better place, I'm probably adding to the overall issue in some ways. Deep down though, I talk about these things because I’m asked about them or want to, I can’t really stop someone that dislikes what I post, I can only try to be neutral and fair, and hope that rationality prevails and frankly, these topics should be talked about and discussed. I respect those that don’t want to be apart of them for justified reasons, but I guess I don’t mind walking through the fire?

I want to thank you for this question... I've not been in the right headspace and I've actually thought about posting about all this. 

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #129

Another question by @cruncylotusroot

Q: Hello it's me again, I am watching anime final act episode 22 - when Inu turn to full demon why he is remembering the past with Kikyo? I thought he's move on when she die 2nd time, was that Naraku's doing? I doubt it is because that only come to Inu thought without Naraku saying anything. May I know your thought on this one please.

Hello again.

So this is one of those yes and no, kind of answers. These are actually Inuyasha's thoughts but they're being coerced and manipulated out of him at the same time. They are real, but they’re being amplified.

Naraku tells them this not long after they arrive.

The Shikon Jewel desires your souls, the rage that fills your heart, the hate and despair. The jewel wants the darkest parts of your heart.

Now let’s look at what Inuyasha is thinking during the scene that you mentioned.

Kikyo... I didn't know...we both fell into Naraku's trap he set us up to hate each other and then... you chased after me... followed me into death.

...Kikyo I swear to protect you this time. I will never let Naraku hurt you again!

... and then... I failed her again.

Which is then followed by Kagome showing up.

I will always be by your side.

Kagome... I swear I'll give my life to protect you... this time I won't...

The smell of Kagome’s blood from the cut on her arm that he gave her before he pushed her away and his memory of her brings him back to reality again at least for a moment...

So this has been brought up a few times before.

The reason he pushes Kagome away during Royokan is because he believes that he cannot protect her.

He finds himself constantly asking why she stays with him, or apologizing to her when she gets hurt, like he does after the confrontation with Tsubaki.

He’s already failed to keep Kikyo safe once before, he now doubts in his ability to keep Kagome safe. Then Kikyo dies again... and he blames himself again and considers himself a failure only further amplifying his fears of failure... then he snaps back to reality when he sees Kagome and she says “I will always be by your side.”

This line is a very big deal for Inuyasha, because it assures him that Kagome will always be there for him and believe in him when he doubts himself.

Royakan

Inuyasha: Why did you...

Kagome: I couldn’t help it! I wanted to see you!

Inuyasha: She wanted to see... Me?

The Talk at the Well

Kagome: Can I stay at your side?

Inuyasha: You... want to stay?

Tsubaki

Inuyasha: I’m sorry Kagome... that you’re always stuck with me.

Kagome: It’s okay... it’s by choice that I’m with

He was allowing himself to wallow in self-pity, until he saw Kagome and she reminded him. If you don’t do something, you’ll lose me. He snaps back to reality because her words give him hope and determination, the ability to break out of that darkness that was engulfing him.

And then comes Naraku...

Naraku: Don’t you remember? I suppose not, you haven’t been yourself as of late. 

Inuyasha: Naraku what did you do to Kagome?!

Naraku: How poignant. Don’t you remember ripping apart the woman you love?

Inuyasha: I... What?!

Naraku: You’ve done it again.

Inuyasha; Not only did you fail to your woman, but Kagome like Kikyo became a blood sacrifice to your weakness.

Inuyasha: Shut up! I killed Kagome?!

Naraku: Inuyasha... allow me to liberate you from your greatest weakness. Forget it all... forget Kagome and your human heart. Know the pure joy of kill, that is what the jewel desires for you.”

So Inuyasha manages to find that hope in order to pull himself up and back to normal, and the moment Naraku sees that he rips it away from him.

Actually using the fact that Kikyo died and that Inuyasha failed again, against him. And when Inuyasha attempts to deny that? Naraku points to the blood on his fingers, and though they were from a minor cut he pushes the idea that Inuyasha instead killed Kagome. It’s with that hope ripped away from him, he’s able to get Inuyasha to succumb to his demon side once again.

So not only did Naraku know about it, he did it because “this is what the jewel desires of you.”

The real kicker of the situation? Kagome was never in any real danger, because she wasn’t going to die, the jewel already had a plan to use Kagome to replace Midoriko, that’s why Naraku pushes the idea for Kagome to kill Inuyasha. Not only would it get rid of Inuyasha it would corrupt her and even possibly, the jewel could have been offered to save him. That’s what makes the situation all the more vindictive on Naraku’s part.

Kagome: In that moment, Inuyasha pushed me away. He helped me escape before he completely lost control.

Naturally any attempt to make Kagome doubt him falls flat on it’s face.

However when this plan falls through, he uses Inuyasha to confront his brother because as Kagome figures out.

Kagome (to Sesshomaru): If you fight your brother, you’ll be falling right into Naraku’s trap.

Because the negativity or the possible death of the other would naturally be what the “jewel desires of them,”

Naturally of course, they do this, Sesshomaru is stubborn and Magatsuhi has possessed Inuyasha’s body, so a fight is going to happen one way or the other. At the start of the fight Inuyasha ends up dropping Tessaiga, which Kagome rushes over to grab in order to use to turn him back to normal.

So while the two brothers continue to clash Kagome is climbing around on the sideline, using Naraku’s body to work her way around, she almost falls at first before stabbing the sword into Naraku’s body to keep herself pinned up. (Small side-note, I love how closely Sesshomaru is keeping an eye on her, he actually turns his attention away from Inuyasha during the stalemate.) However when Naraku forms his body and pushes Kagome off she begins to fall as she calls out to Inuyasha.

Naraku’s words from earlier begin to run through his head, you hurt Kagome, you killed Kagome, you failed Kagome... all that despair and negativity before her voice brings him back. Red-eyed demon, while being possessed by Magatsuhi, he suddenly opens his eyes when he realizes...

Inuyasha: Kagome is alive!

Inuyasha turns not only his attention away from the fight with Sesshomaru, but fights off Magatsuhi to rush over and catch Kagome.

Kagome: Inuyasha...? You saved me? You recognize me?

Inuyasha: I heard your voice.

And it’s with that, we come full circle from Kikyo to Kaou.

All these situations lulled him into feelings of despair and sadness. Kikyo used that sadness and negativity to lull him into a spell to kill him, Kaou did the very same to him during a time where his emotions were at their peak right after Kikyo’s death. Here the combination of corruption, despair, sadness and his own demon blood worked against him.

“I heard your voice.” That says it all.

***

There is one more thing that I want to tackle.

“I thought he's move on when she die 2nd time, was that Naraku's doing?“

So I addressed the fact that he has trouble moving on because he lost a friend and believes that it was his failure twice. There is a lot of guilt there being packed on-top of him.

He isn’t moving on from that until Naraku is dead. Even though Kikyo is gone, he still has to avenge her death.

The Epilogue actually had a really good line when Inuyasha finds out that the situation involves Kikyo, he bluntly responds with:

Inuyasha: That has nothing to do with me.

Because it doubles as a “This happened before Kikyo even met me.” and “That part of my life is over.” because at this point in time, all that’s in the past, he has a life with Kagome now.

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #128: The cruncylotusroot Edition

Okay, a lot of questions came in from @cruncylotusroot, many of which I answered, but conisdering they gave me so many questions, I thought I’d just consolidate and answer them in all one post.

So here goes.

"Hello I stumble across your analysis and kind of interesting. I just watching Inuyasha and reading the manga but a few things I couldn't understand. I will break down in few question and would like to know you thought on it. I could not understand why there is stake to throw around in manga and anime that Kikyo die following Inuyasha? Inuyasha is not dead, he is in fact being sealed and also Kikyo was pretty much wounded. So I don't really get the idea of Kikyo die following Inuyasha."

"What's your thought about Kikyo and Inuyasha mentioned and he owe Kikyo his life? Earlier in the Manga Inuyasha was saying that can't she rest in peace without him giving his life etc."

Okay I'll answer these two questions together.

Naraku was the one that pushed the idea of Kikyo following Inuyasha in death. While he was indeed there to see what happened, he was pretty out of earshot of what was happening. That and you generally have to factor in Naraku's jealousy approach, to him nobody does anything for a selfless reason.

And yes, we do indeed hear earlier in the series that Kikyo sealed Inuyasha away, she didn't have the power to kill him and that they were never meant to meet ever again.

It's actually amusing how it's one of the things that everyone takes at face value from him.

"Kikyo known as a powerful miko, if she wanted to free herself from duty before resurrection why she not wishes for shikon no tama to disappear instead of suggesting Inuyasha to turn himself human? She put the idea in Inu head it's appears that she did not know him well where Inu is showing throughout the series that he doesn't like in human form as he feel that is life is in danger."

Truth be told I don't think anyone ever thought of the idea of wishing it away, but at the same time we also know that the jewel tempts people. It “calls” to people, and when it gets into the hands of someone all that person usually desires is power.

Kikyo is one of the few able to avoid that temptation for herself. That said, her logic was a bit flawed as to Inuyasha's wish being selfless all around.

I'm not honestly a fan of how she coaxes him into it all things considered.

"One way or the other I feel sad for Kagome around the love triangle, i know kikyo present is necessary for Kagome development. If Inu is happy with Kikyo, I just wish Kagome to get better person for herself. What's your thought as why Inu not joing Kikyo during the quest and stick with Kagome? As Kikyo also could see the jewel just like how Kagome did. Iu want to protect Kikyo so much would not be better for him to travel with her instead?"

Kagome is him walking away from his past, while Kikyo is his past. When Inuyasha goes and meets Kikyo he's confronting his past.

He wants to be happy, but feels he can't be or he doesn't deserve to be. Honestly it's a pretty bad place for anyone to be in, hope and happiness is right in front of him, and Kagome is holding her hand out to him to grab so she can pull him away from the darkness, but that darkness is tugging back on him.

He cares for Kikyo, he wants to help her, but he's finally reached a point in his life, after years of abuse and rejection for most of his life that he can escape that, but now he feels trapped.

Situations like the Illusionary Death and Kaou, even when Kikyo tries to kill him) represent that point more than ever, all situations use Kikyo to drag him into darkness, and in both instances Kagome reaches out to him and pulls him back to the light.

"What's your thought about many comments posted on the internet that Inuyasha end up with Kagome by default because Kikyo's death?"

It's an odd thing to say though when you have one relationship (Kagome/Inuyasha) consistently on the forefront and developed on, and then you have a relationship (Kikyo/Inuyasha) built in the past and remaining pretty stagnant by comparison.

That or I'd point to Mt. Asuza where it was pretty explicitly stated Kagome learned more about Inuyasha than Kikyo ever did.

Honestly, I think for that to apply there would have to be even a chance that Inuyasha would die with Kikyo, and honestly I don't think that was going to happen.

"What's your thought of Kikyo plan to eliminate Naraku alone? I feel that plan has many flaws. She was saying that giving the jewel to Naraku will speed up the process, what different does it make to take the jewel to Naraku and combine with the one in Kagome possession instead? By doing so would that not also speed up the process too?"

I hate it, but I also realize that it was in heavy part for plot convenience as well. It was meant to toy around with the power structure, make Naraku more of a threat for Kagome, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, while bringing Kikyo up to the forefront.

In that way I actually understand it being around. As a plan? I dislike just about everything about the method that she took, but that all being said, the plan actually told us a lot about Kikyo's character. I'm pretty negative about it in general, but I can't help but like it because it gives us an interesting view into how Kikyo approached things, her agenda and characterization.

'Sorry to shower you with questions. Kikyo seems to be powerful but I have not find where she try to eliminate or kill Naraku by shooting the arrow or things like that. Was there an agenda behind it?"

Kikyo's powers can be debated, most of what carried her was her experience, but generally speaking she wasn't on the level of Naraku. She felt that helping Naraku with the jewel would actually keep her safe from him, when he turned around and attempted to actually kill her she had to find a way around that by using Onigumo.

She early on admits that Kagome is now a bigger threat to Naraku, after that she more or less did whatever she could to move her way up to make herself the primary threat. By all accounts, even her own, she couldn't do much of anything to Naraku.

"Inuyasha having rough childhood and struggle himself to survive. He deserve to be happy, it doesn't matter with who. Who do you think will be more happy with? Leading life as a human with Kikyo as be a# her is with Kagome? I notice he behaving differently around the 2 ladies, so I wonder which one is the real Inuyasha?"

If for no other reason, turning human would have been the death-kneel for any potential of a relationship.

Rumiko actually did this pretty brilliantly. She showed that being human for Inuyasha was one of the worst experiences of his life, he felt helpless. The she showed that him becoming a full demon could lead to an even worse experience in his life, again he felt helpless and now even fearful about the prospects. Staying the way he was, was the most obvious choice and really all he wanted was people to accept him, Kagome offered that, she then introduced them to others that did too.

"Kikyo said that she trust Inuyasha so much, but it seems to me that she doubt Inu capability and keep saying that he can't eliminate Naraku and she will be the only one could do it. I thought Inuyasha wounded Naraku in the castle when fighting with Sesshomaru.

I don't believe that Kikyo actually believed for a second that Inuyasha wasn't capable of doing it, the fact that she says it to his face is really discouraging, but I believe that was the idea. I full believe she understood that Inuyasha and Kagome could defeat Naraku, both came extremely close on numerous occasions, but think about that. Why try to discourage potential threats from going after Naraku?

Kikyo's plan actually had a two-fold effect, it made her more of a threat to Naraku, but it was equally making Naraku that much harder for Inuyasha, Kagome and Sesshomaru to take down. Her telling Inuyasha that she would be the one to defeat Naraku and he could not was an attempt to discourage him from even trying.

What is the one thing that Inuyasha can do to “repay his debt” without having to give up his life in the process? Killing Naraku and avenging the death of Kikyo. If he actually achieved that he wouldn't feel that he owed Kikyo.

[inuyashaographer]

Final Words on Yashahime

Not a lot of people are going to like this post, honestly accept that, it's definitely a polarizing topic but I have to be direct about this. I've been asked about this so many times that I have to put this down into certain terms that if people read this, they'll know exactly what my opinion on the subject is. I have no problem being direct, I've covered what some would call controversial stuff before, and let me tell you I got attacked for it, but it's never been the case of me feeling my opinion is superior to others, or that just because I believe it, just because I'm using information from a series I love and enjoy to put things into perspect that your opinions don't matter and I think that gets lost on some. So many people believe that talking about something they like in anything but a positive way is a personal attack on them. This comes from a person that has been an InuYasha fan for years, and has dealt with the stigma of the fanbase itself, had many times where I've told someone I was an InuYasha fan and they have tensed up a little bit and ready to back away before I tell them, I love the series if you don't that's cool, because I'll still go home, still love the anime (despite it's faults that bug me), the manga, the figures I have, the Nendoroids I own, because none of what others think about really effects me, I love what I love... and I dislike what I dislike.

Which brings me to the today's topic...

I'm going to say this directly: I will not be covering Yashahime, EVER.

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't exist. Now some will ask why... and honestly I can't offer anything new other than what has been said a thousand times.

Some will probably dispute those points, and that's fine because liking or disliking a show is a personal preference thing, just like I'll defend Inuyasha when people say things I disagree with, I'm sure people will say the same about Yashahime as well, if I say things they disagree about it. But it's not going to change my opinion, because if it doesn't FEEL like InuYasha to me, if it doesn't feel like the series, the characters I'm used to and love, then it's not InuYasha to me.

I wanted to love this series, I was actually one of the few defending it when it first came out, but I was pretty apprehensive about it, it's not like I haven't been throwing tomato's at Sunrise the past few years for dubious decisions that I felt disrupted the original series, nor how quickly they ran through The Final Act to say "Hey, we delivered the end of the series like we promised!", but I've also praised them for many things, from their animation, to their capturing of certain scenes, even some of their fillers episodes are actually pretty top-notch and add more to the characters themselves, without hurting elements of the story of the characters we know and love. I can say the same about Yashahime, there are a lot of ideas that I enjoyed, personally I think Moroha is actually a really well grounded character and a fun character to add into the lore, it's just how they went about things, things I loved in the original became mere plot-device, or in some cases disregarded entirely. There's no love, there is no affection, it feels cold, with only brief glimmers of brightness managing to come through, those brief glimmers I've already seen the fandom grab onto and make it there own.

It just sucks that it didn't do better... maybe I expect too much, but I expected more than what has been done, and being told "Wait until the second season." Hasn't helped me with that, the first season already did enough damage, honestly thinking back I wish they put the effort into a second season for The Final Act, but honestly, it felt like they didn't care then and they only care now because nostalgia is fully at play at the moment.

Sorry if you like it and wanted to see me write about it, but I can't, the very idea of doing it is actually a really depressing. I don't want to write about something negative without something positive to walk away with about it and I don't want to contribute to the negativity this series already has. This is just my last words on the matter. I'm done talking about it.

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #127

Q: What is your opinion on the end of the series. Did you like that Kagome stayed with Inuyasha in his time? Do you think the well is permanently closed? I would have liked to see what could happen with Inuyasha staying in Kagomes time.

A: Personally, I like the approach that Takahashi took with it. I actually think Inuyasha trying to adapt to the modern era actually would have been a lot of fun, doing something of a side-story of it would have actually been an idea I would have been for, the classic "fish out of water" story that we got to see glimpses of over the course of the series.

We got a nice chance to see Kagome adapting to her surroundings in the past, but this is one thing I think the anime tried to explore a whole lot more, most of my favorite filler episodes actually come from the modern era, and that's in large part because they don't try to go overboard with it too much too, to the point where he is just way too destructive for his own good.

I admit to giving Sunrise a lot of crap, but admit that scenarios like Inuyasha trying to bring Kagome her lunch, while going on an accidental hero spree, or Inuyasha going full "prince charming" during the cultural festival, Inuyasha (well kind of), pushing Sota to find the confidence to ask a girl out are actually done well, treated with respect and actually are pretty hilarious without making Inuyasha look like an idiot.

That's always something I hate that Sunrise tends to do, Inuyasha is not the only one, but he's the one that usually gets the "big dumb" moments, those moments done for the sole intent of getting someone mad at him (usually Kagome), because he does something so outlandishly stupid to the point where he should likely know better, in order to end up with a "SIT!" (which funny enough, Yashahime actually has this kind of moment...)

I think those moments make a lot more sense when placed into the future setting. the idea of Inuyasha destroying the Higurashi kitchen in order to kill a bug just makes more sense to me, than Inuyasha wildly swinging around his sword and unintentionally destroying things around him for instance.

In one he just looks like an idiot that swings his sword around, in the other he looks like someone trying to protect people around him from something they are scared of or view to be a danger, naturally it's very stupid of him to overreact like he does, but at the same time you can see where he's coming from when both Sota and Mama Higurashi are scared of it (as well as seeing Grandpa Higurashi actually trying to go after it himself), it's naturally he would assume it to be a threat, his instincts to draw his sword and kill is just commonplace to him.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic I would have liked to see something like it personally, even if it's a side-story or a "What If" kind of scenario seeing Inuyasha adapting to Kagome's world would actually have been amusing to see, especially from the moments we get to see over the course of the series, but to be fair, I think we got a lot of these instances already, many from Takahashi herself and a few very strong episodes from Sunrise.

As for me, I like that Takahashi took the approach she did, I just think it's unfortunate that it seems to be a permanent situation of Kagome never getting to see her family again. Other than that, it fits into Kagome's character growth, she goes to school, finishes school, and essentially moves out of the house and with someone that she falls in love with.

Some might say she didn't pursue a career... but... I'd argue otherwise. Kagome already built a legacy for herself, being a hero that essentially saved the world from total destruction and while taking up the teachings of a priestess (something I'm sure Grandpa Higurashi would be more than proud of, and would have actively pushed for Kagome to become at one point or another anyway, especially when he was already more than prepared to put Sota into priesthood. Haha.)

Now truth be told I like to think, Kagome could go and see her family if she really wanted to do so in the future, I like to think it's not just a one-and-done kind of situation, considering she was able to make the well open in order to go back to see Inuyasha, I would imagine she could likely do the same to go and see her family. That is of course up for debate though... I can't confirm or deny it to be the case, since it could go either way.

[inuyashaographer]

“Do you consider Yashahime canon?”

Have been asked this question a few times, guess I should address it, though I think I addressed in the past.

I probably won’t be covering it on this blog and I made a seperate blog for it... though I’m not sure I would be covering it, too many things about the series give me a headache.

That being said, no, I don’t consider it canon personally. That’s just my view of it, some people might, but for me, while it does capture some of the charm from the original series, there are too many glaring inconsistencies for me. Now seeing as what I do with this series, that’s probably more a thing of me talking about the series, addressing certain subjects, so when I find myself learning of certain things my brain defaults to “Wait a minute... that doesn’t fit into the original series... that doesn’t fit into what I already know.” So maybe it’s just different for me, I can like and appreciate seeing the characters again and getting introduced to the new characters, but I honestly think the creative minds in the Inuyasha community as a whole can do a lot better with these character than Yashahime is doing right now, but hey, that’s just me?

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #126

Q: What is the deal with impure Man who loved Midoriko & created the Dragon Yokai: is Onigumo's his reincarnation, why didn't the resulting Yokai become a Hanyo like Naraku is it related to the man seemingly being assimilated against will in Sango's story, and was the man's spirit not in the resulting Jewel?

A: This is a great question.

There isn't any relation between the two of them, just similar circumstances.

Naraku became a half-demon because Onigumo was still alive when his body was taken over, the man that loved Midoriko was killed and then taken over by the demons. 

The biggest difference between the two I believe also comes down to the fact that Naraku was born from lesser-demons, where the man that loved Midoriko was taken a combination of demons that were said to be capable of rivaling Midoriko in power.

As for if the soul is in the jewel, I'd say no. The demon in the Jewel compared Naraku on an entirely different level (at least with Onigumo around), it manipulates, destroys and believes everything is inferior, it feels no remorse or mercy, much as Naraku does after he is able to remove Onigumo. There is no humanity in the demon in the jewel, where Naraku struggles with Onigumuo’s humanity for majority of the series and it hinders him.

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #125

Question from @starfirrreee

Q: Ok. So I literally made an account to ask you this question. I’m not sure if it’s been answered before but I’ve always struggled with wondering WHY InuYasha kissed Kikyo the first time (not when she’s dying)? I think there is some love there still but then where does that leave InuYasha’s feelings toward Kagome?

A: Yeah I've answered this question before, I usually don't like to repeat, but seeing as you made the account to ask the question, I feel it's only right that I give you a direct answer on this. Thank you for doing so, hope to see you around.

There is no denying that there are feelings for Kikyo, anyone that tries to dispute them is a fool. It's obvious and they are there.

Now the first kiss, I'll tell you this I have a big issue with the first kiss.

So to set the ground work. Inuyasha rushes off alone when he finds out Kikyo is close by, as he is rushing there the two things on his mind are. 1. How can I save you? 2. Is the only way to save you, to give you my life?

He doesn't want to die in order to reach that result, but wants to save her, so he's trying to think of a way to achieve both. He's going to try and appease her, because that's what he believes will help her, that's what he believes will save her soul.

Needless to say Inuyasha's a little vulnerable here... and he can easily be taken advantage of... which Kikyo does...

She first appeals to him about there time together, before she leans in to kiss him, Inuyasha is taken aback by the action, he isn't entirely sure how he should respond to the action, at the same time he's not going to go out of his way to resist her either, if his mind is on appeasing her soul. That being said, it's not all about appeasing her soul, there are still emotions there, and for him the events that happened between him and Kikyo happened only a few months ago (to him anyway), and naturally there are still emotions there from that time, and talking with her, having those things brought up to him and having her leaning in and kissing him, it lulls him into a sense of security that allows Kikyo to go in for the kill.

I really hate this scene... not to be confused with me hating the character, I love the character, but everything from manipulating him, to taking advantage of his vulnerabilities (especially because she knows about them), to using a kiss, as she tells him that she wished that she could have done it while they were alive together, in order to put him under a spell and to just outright try and kill him, is just wrong. And she knows full what she is doing the entire time, she tells him that he is better off dead with her, than having to live a life unable to forget about her, showing her hubris in full display.

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #124

Q: You're outspoken about your dislike for the command used in the anime which would you say is the worst in your opinion of the commands use in the anime?

A: I'm going to cheat a little... There are options, the worst thing about the command for me in the anime, the thing that actually settled me into the idea that Sunrise didn't understand the command itself, was Kikyo's trigger word for it.

Now I know, Kikyo's use of the beads and the trigger word for the command are completely filler, it's from a filler episode that largely retcons everything about Kikyo and Inuyasha's time together ("The Tragic Love Song of Destiny" for those wondering). So no excuses right? We agree this is all Sunrise's handiwork?

"Beloved."

A word to express deep emotional love for someone, a word reserved for people that you love deeply. A word that the anime actually liked to use a whole lot now that I think about it? Would trigger the command. That's just cold and demeaning.

And that's the thing I hate about the anime version of the command it always comes across demeaning, they may give Kagome a reason to use it from time to time, but most of the time it's at the expense of Inuyasha and just to get a laugh off, it complete dilutes the reason for the command being around and what Takahashi wanted to achieve with it around. Yes, the context of the command being called "Sit" is part of the joke, but it's there for little more reason than Kagome happened to see the dog ears on Inuyasha's head before she said the word, it's just word association.

While there are many things before that that I could argue against it's use in the anime, it's that moment that really tells me that Sunrise probably didn't really get what Takahashi was trying to do with the command, that they didn't understand it's use and why it was there and thought it was meant to be use for comedy or other means, outside of development.

But if I had to pick one... this is actually kind of hard, there are canon ones that they changed around, and then there are a bunch that they added themselves... well since the above portion is from something they did themselves... I'll go with a canon one, I'm going to focus on the shift of context for this one.

Because while there are commands they added into scenes, there are ones that completely hurt the scenes. For me, post-Togenkyo.

There are commands that I could do without completely, but only because they replaced other scenes that were there, this one hurts the context of the scene entirely.

Pretty sure I don't have to explain it (if you know the series you know what happens, otherwise why are you reading this? Eh, scratch that maybe you find it entertaining even not knowing much about Inuyasha), but generally the scenes involves the "death" of Inuyasha, everyone believes that Inuyasha has died, which causes Kagome to practically breakdown when she realizes that he is alive, she runs over to him and hugs him, in the manga Inuyasha tries to calm her down, in the anime they get into a fight about whether Kagome is crying or not, which ends in a sit (and the episodes end). Maybe it happening at the end of the episode makes it worse for me, because that's the last thing you hear before the credits, but I probably wouldn't have liked it if it was in the middle of the episode, it completely ruins the moment.

More Reading: The “SIT” Command - Irony, Reason, Purpose and Misconceptions

[inuyashaographer]

Answerbox #123

A question from opalkittyuniverse.

Q: I'm really glad you're feeling okay, I was kinda worried to see you were missing for a while. It's a real treat reading you posts, I always find out something new, that I never thought about before. I have another question if you don't mind: What do you think, how long did Inuyasha and Kikyo know each other before the betrayal? The anime makes it seem like months pass by, but it doesn't make sense when you think how little they trusted and really knew each other.

A: Thank you, I am doing much better. This is a tough one, because a few factors could alter things around a bit. I'll try to use the info we have to make an accurate window.

Yeah, going by the season shift that we see in the anime they were probably together the bare minimum probably 6-7 months, possibly even longer, which is far too long.

According to what  Kikyo's mentions: "His face has grown... much gentler. The Inuyasha I knew had insolent eyes. Eyes that would trust no one..."

So either Kikyo made little to no progress in a half a year, or the time was much shorter, based just on this line, I'd probably put the time-frame down to a month (which I think is a bit more likely) or two.

I feel that would give time for a few factors.

Time for Kikyo's powers to decrease (according to Naraku: "Because her mystic powers grew weaker by the day until they could no longer protect a wounded man against the local demons.")

Depending on when Onigumo comes into the picture which I think was fairly early. It also ties into the claim Naraku makes. Kaede also sees Onigumo days before he would become Naraku, and I would imagine Kikyo would have been a little careful on tipping anyone off about Onigumo's presence including Kaede

*Tsubaki to come into the picture and to attack her before being counter-cursed.

Of course it could also be a much shorter amount of time, depending on how drastically Kikyo's powers were falling daily, because that could change the time-frame a fair bit, but when Onigumo comes around that could change things as well and even extend them a fair bit, Tsubaki would be probably around the middle point of all of this in either case. I do think two months is just enough time for everything to happen, while also being a fair amount of time for little changes happening to Inuyasha's personality.

I know some people will argue about Inuyasha's change in personality over his first month with Kagome (which would be what happened up until Spider-Heads at the very most (likely could have been less than that, but based on the New Moon, I think it was a month at the most, at least) probably lowers the time-frame because Inuyasha should have made more progress, but I'll disagree with that, simply because Kagome was more open (and Inuyasha had even LESS reason to trust someone else after what happened with Kikyo), I feel that actually reinforces that Inuyasha and Kikyo were around one another for a month, but for one reason or another, progress in their relationship was never made.

In short, I say a month or two. Could be less than a month, could be more than a month, but I don't think it passes two months.

[inuyashaographer]

Anserbox #122

Q: So what causes Kagome to flip Inuyasha's attitude from sad to happy/angry so easily?

A: Teasing and challenging him. and to an extent (especially as the series goes on), flirting with him, but if you want to be technical, anytime that she is teasing him, she is flirting with him, that might not be something she intentionally does in the beginning, but overtime it does become a thing.

Inuyasha doesn't entirely know how to react to someone like Kagome. Kagome is a very "hot" personality. She challenges him on a consistent basis, and he loves it, it's why the things she says get a reaction from him. Same thing with her teasing him, when she picks up on those little things about him, she'll playfully tease him on those things and he'll react with a blush or anger if it's something that he thought he was hiding well.

Earlier on Kagome is very good at picking up on those things she can tease him on and she knows will get a reaction from him, though there are instances where she even realizes that her teasing has gone too far, (such as when she states that she is in "love with Miroku" or later when says that she is "tired" and Inuyasha makes what she said for meaning she was "tired of him" which is more of an accidental one than anything else), those instances she's teasing him to get a reaction from him because of the way he's acting. After the encounter with Kikyo, long before that, when they are walking away together with Inuyasha in a funk, Kagome teases and tricks him into look her in the eyes, something he was avoiding to do. These instances were more messing around with him, than flirting, but prove how well she's gotten to learn about Inuyasha, and what would become her essentially flirting with him.

There's a playfulness, fun and flirtiness that he enjoys and brings out a better side of him, it motivates him, it annoys him a little too, but at the end of the day he likes it, it amuses him, and it's one of the things that gravitates him to Kagome.