InuYasha (series)

InuYasha (Japanese: 犬夜叉, inu "dog" + yasha "spirit" from Japanese yasha, derived from masculine Sanskrit yaksha) is a long-running manga and anime series by Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½, 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.

Overview
InuYasha is a shōnen action adventure romantic comedy, with elements from the horror genre. The story begins 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 centipede demon (dubbed "Mistress Centipede") 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 she drives the demon off by an unknown and mysterious power, the very confused Kagome emerges in the Sengoku period of Japan. Kagome wanders and meets an old miko (Shinto priestess) by the name of Kaede, who claims that Kagome is the spitting image of Kikyo (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 hanyo named InuYasha had tried to steal the Jewel from Kikyo, mortally wounding her in the process, but Kikyo had managed to strike him with a magical arrow, sealing him to the Time Tree and into an enchanted and supposedly eternal sleep, retrieving the Jewel before she finally died.

It turns out that Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo, and that she does possess the Jewel of Four Souls, embedded inside her body. When the centipede demon rips it from her and swallows it, granting the demon a great boost in power, Kagome is forced to pull out the arrow and awaken InuYasha so he can defeat it.

Soon after they recover the Jewel, it is lost again, and Kagome accidentally shatters it into pieces as she tries to recover it. The pieces scatter far and wide, and the story tells of Kagome and InuYasha's adventures as they search for the shards of the Jewel. As they search, they meet new characters who either join them on their quest, or oppose them for various reasons. Throughout the story, Kagome and InuYasha come closer and develop feelings for each other, though the romance apparently remains as a side plot for most of the story.

Explanation of Time Travel
The modern time is 'X', a period in the Sengoku period (戦国時代 - Sengoku Jidai - Warring states period) is 'Y', and 50 years before period Y 'Z'. At Z, Kikyo dies after sealing InuYasha to the tree, where he goes into suspended animation, and she is cremated on a pyre with the jewel, according to her wishes. At Y, the well (which exists in both ancient and modern times) drops Kagome, the 20th/21st century incarnation of Kikyo, off from the future. Here, everyone has gotten older but otherwise not much has happened. X is the 'modern' end of the well's wormhole through time.



Animation Quality
Most people agree that the artwork in both the anime and manga versions of InuYasha is quite impressive, with Akemi's Anime World, Anime News Network, and many others praising that it is "excellent". However, some viewers, such as Derrick Tucker, from THEM Anime Reviews, complain that some action scenes are often reused and that sometimes a static image moved against a background is used as a substitute for animation. He concedes, however, that the costs of producing a long anime series like InuYasha often make such compromises unavoidable.

Media and release information
See InuYasha media and release information.

Title dispute
There is a long-standing debate about the proper English spelling of "InuYasha", the title character's name. Variant spellings include "InuYasha", "Inuyasha", "Inu Yasha", and "Inu-Yasha". Fans of the series often use "IY", especially on fansites, although it is considered to be more of an abbreviation than an actual name. Since Japanese does not use spacing or capitalization, there is no "correct" spelling.

Cartoon Network, the US anime licensee, and Viz Communications which published the English version of the manga and anime 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). This is an example of the disputes that often arise with romanization.

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. As of March 2009, it aired at 2:00 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. However, the show has proven to be a slightly more mainstream hit in other countries such as Canada, where it is one of the station's highest rated programs running on week nights at 8:30pm on YTV, and Latin America, where it runs on weekday afternoons.

There are many possible reasons for the popularity of the InuYasha series. A likely one is that it is eclectic, including elements from many different genres. At first, the series mainly appears to be action-oriented, and it does indeed have a significant amount of action, with at least one confrontation with an enemy in most episodes. However, it also includes a great deal of comedy (frequently slapstick), many monsters that add notes of the horror genre, and occasional romance. Another probable reason that InuYasha is so popular is that it is has rather sympathetic characters who are varied enough that most people can relate to at least one of them.

Characters
The names of some of the characters are in Western order (family name after given name) while others are in Japanese order (family name before given name). If the name is different in the English anime, the English anime name comes after the original Japanese name.

Kagome and InuYasha are the only ones that can travel between the two times through the Bone-Eaters Well.


 * Kagome Higurashi (日暮かごめ) &mdash; The female protagonist, a third year middle school student from modern times.
 * InuYasha (犬夜叉) &mdash; The male protagonist, a hanyō of dog demon origins.

Characters from both eras are listed roughly by their order of appearance:

Characters from the Sengoku period

 * Kikyo (桔梗 Kikyō) — The dead priestess (巫女, miko) who loved InuYasha. She was brought back to (un)life by the ogress (鬼, oni) Urasue.
 * Kaede (楓) — A miko and sister of Kikyo who protected the village in the fifty years after her sister's death. She is the first to recognize Kagome as the reincarnation of her sister.
 * Myoga (冥加 Myōga) — A flea who was the Great Dog Demon's servant
 * Sesshomaru (殺生丸 Sesshōmaru) — InuYasha's older half-brother who thinks highly of himself. He usually appears very calm and in control.
 * Jaken — A demon (kappa) who is the stooge of Sesshomaru, a comical character. He willingly became Sesshomaru's servant after the dog demon unintentionally saved his life.


 * Shippo (七宝 Shippō) — A 7-year old fox demon(狐, kitsune) whose father were killed by the Thunder Brothers.
 * Midoriko — A miko of great spiritual power from many centuries before the Sengoku period. Her soul was locked in battle with a demon's soul inside the Shikon Jewel.
 * Shinidamachu (死魂虫 Shinidamachū) — Kikyo's lesser demons that collect souls to sustain her (un)life.
 * Miroku (弥勒) — A Buddhist priest (法師, hōshi) who has a very deadly Wind Tunnel in his right hand. Often acts "lecherous" but has a special romantic interest in Sango.
 * Hachi (八衛門, Hachiemon) — A congenial shape-shifting spirit. Hachi's natural appearance resembles a raccoon dog jūjin. He is Miroku's servant.
 * Naraku (奈落) — The main antagonist, an extremely evil half demon of complex origins from a bandit named Onigumo. Naraku deceives everyone to get what he wants, and after hiding in Mount Hakurei, he becomes stronger.
 * Sango (珊瑚) — Arguably the most skilled demon exterminator in the series.
 * Kohaku (琥珀) — Sango's younger brother who is under the control of Naraku but eventually regains his memory.
 * Kirara (雲母) / Kilala — Sango's faithful two-tailed demon feline.
 * Kagura (神楽) — A wind sorceress, created as a detachment from Naraku. Kagura secretly plotted to kill Naraku, only to be killed by him through trickery.
 * Kanna (神無) — The first detachment of Naraku, she is a demon who appears to be a pale little girl with white hair and clothing. She has the power to steal souls with her mirror.
 * Koga (鋼牙 Kōga) — The young leader of a wolf demon tribe. Tracking down Naraku for the killing of nearly all his comrades.
 * Ayame — A female wolf demon princess whom Koga promised to marry when he rescued her from certain death when she was young. Ayame only appears in the anime.
 * Rin (りん) — An orphan girl who was revived by Sesshomaru and tags along with him and Jaken.
 * Totosai (刀々斎 Tōtōsai) — An elderly blacksmith who forged the Tessaiga and the Tenseiga.
 * Goshinki — A telepathic detachment from Naraku who was slain by InuYasha in his Demon form, after breaking the Tessaiga with his teeth. His fangs were used to make Sesshomaru's second sword, the Tōkijin.
 * Juromaru (Jūrōmaru) and Kageromaru (Kagerōmaru) — Twin detachments of Naraku who hold no loyalty, but were used by Naraku to attack InuYasha and Kōga. Both were slain soon after they were released.
 * Tsubaki — A dark priestess (黒巫女, kuro miko) who made a deal with a demon to retain her youth and beauty after her plan to attack Kikyo in an attempt to steal the Shikon Jewel recoiled. She met her end when Naraku lured her to do his biddings with the almost complete Shikon Jewel.
 * Muso (Musō) —An incarnation of Naraku which was created when Naraku got rid of his heart. He originally had no face or name, so he stole the a monk, Muso's face, as well as his name. He was Onigumo's soul that had been trapped within Naraku for fifty years. He regained his memory of Kikyo but was re-absorbed in an attempt to defeat Naraku.
 * Shichinintai (七人隊) — The seven dead assassins raised from the dead by Naraku using Shikon Jewel shards. Naraku used them as obstacles to distract his enemy from finding him until he completes his transformation.
 * Akago — Naraku's minion and detachment in the form of a baby that can possess anyone with darkness in their heart. He can talk, reads people thoughts and is later cut in half by a priest, which led to the creation of Hakudoshi from one half, and Akago as the other half.
 * Entei — A yōba (yōkai horse) who serves only the most powerful demon.
 * Hakudoshi (Hakudōshi) — Created from Akago's body, he was Entei's master, and looks like a 10-yea-old child. Like Naraku, his heart is not inside his body, so he is able to endlessly regenerate himself.
 * Kocho (Kochō) and Asuka — Kikyo's shikigami that summons Kagome when Kikyo needs to be purified of Naraku's shōki and act as messengers to InuYasha when Kikyo wants to speak to him. Both are powerful and capable of erecting barriers by themselves.
 * Goryomaru (御霊丸 Goryōmaru) — A monk who had his arm devoured by a demon. He tries to kill Kagura and has his head cut off by Hakudoshi.
 * Moryomaru (魍魎丸 Moryōmaru) — Is actually Naraku's strongest minion, although he is technically working against him. Due to his telepathic powers, Kagura and Kohaku correctly suspect he is Akago. He is a 30-foot monster with human shape, and can shoot blasts of yōki energy from his arm. He was originally a soulless puppet creation of Hakudoshi made of demon life force (haku).
 * Koharu — A 14-year-old girl who was saved by Miroku when she was 11 years old, and has a crush on Miroku since then.
 * Mujina — A male badger demon in disguise as a child who uses Shippō, attempting to get the power of Tessaiga. It uses a prototype Datsuki in order to do this, and the blade was so weak that Inuyasha shattered it in one swing of his Tessaiga. This prototype Datsuki eventually lead the InuYasha gang to Toshu.
 * Toshu (Tōshū) — A swordsmith who forged the Dakki, a blade that could absorb yōki. He and his sword are eventually destroyed by InuYasha.
 * Jinenji - Is a kind-hearted half-demon who has suffered many tragedies in his life.

A List of all yōkai: InuYasha Yokai List

Characters from the modern era

 * Sota Higurashi (日暮草太 Higurashi Sōta) — Kagome's younger brother, often refers to InuYasha as "Inu no nii-chan", or "dog brother".
 * Mrs. Higurashi — Kagome's mother. She is called "mama" in both the anime and manga.
 * Grandpa (Jii-chan) — His name is also a mystery. He is Kagome's grandfather.
 * Buyo — Kagome's cat. His coloring is white with brown spots, and he is unusually fat. He attracted Kagome to the bone-eating well in the first episode, which set the series in motion. InuYasha and Buyo tolerate each other, even though InuYasha often harasses Buyo.
 * Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi — Kagome's three friends from school. They are usually very nosy about Kagome's "boyfriend" and why she isn't interested in Hojo.
 * Hojo (北条 Hōjō) — Kagome's classmate who is constantly worried about her health. He loves Kagome and does everything to date her. He is a descendant of Akitoki Hojo (Hōjō Akitoki), who also liked Kagome in the anime.
 * Mask of Noh — "Flesh-eating mask" in the anime. It is a mask demon that takes human body for support and kills the host. Destroyed by InuYasha.
 * Mayu (真由) — A girl who died in a fire and returns as a spirit, trying to kill her younger brother because she felt betrayed. Kagome appeased her and saved her from being sent to hell by the Tatarimokke.
 * Tatarimokke — A gentle yellow round yōkai that plays a flute to guide children's souls to heaven or to hell, depending on their actions after death.

Cameo appearances
Jimmy Kudo (Shin'ichi Kudo) and Rachel Moore (Ran Mori) of Case Closed (Detective Conan) make a cameo appearance in episode 128. Detective Conan is published in Shonen Sunday along with InuYasha.

Special items and attacks
See InuYasha special items and attacks.

Seiyū/Voice actors
See InuYasha voice actors.

Distributors
Sunrise Ltd. and Columbia TriStar Television own the copyrights.

Glossary

 * Yōkai 妖怪 - Japanese word for demons or monsters of supernatural origins, literally means "supernatural being".
 * Han'yō 半妖 - a being that is the offspring of a demon and a human, thus half-demon and half-human. InuYasha is a han'yō, and there are a few other han'yō that appear in the series.
 * Miko 巫女 - Japanese word for "shrine maiden", usually translated as priestess.
 * Inu 犬 - Kanji for canines, basically a "dog".
 * Jewel of Four Souls 四魂の玉 - Shikon no Tama - 奇御魂 - 智 Intellect, 荒御霊 - 勇 Courage, 和御魂 - 親 Virtue, and 幸魂 - 愛 Love. It is often called the "Shikon Jewel" in English versions of the anime and manga, however "Jewel of Four Souls" is occasionally used as well.
 * Sengoku Jidai 戦国時代 - warring states era of Japan.
 * Yōki 妖気 - The source of the power of yōkai. Lit. translated as "Strange Gas", but the actual meaning is closer to, and usually translated as, "demonic aura".
 * Jyaki 邪気 - The source of yōki. Lit. translated as "Evil Gas"