Dog Demon with an Angel's Heart

InuYasha

Blurb

Suddenly finding herself in feudal Japan, schoolgirl Kagome teams up with half-demon Inuyasha to retrieve the scattered shards of a sacred jewel.

Main Characters

What we have in this story is the "traveling angel" plot. Like Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven, there is/are "angel/s" character/s going around solving Other People's Problems. 

In addition to InuYasha solving OPP, the collection of travelers are set on revenge on this one guy AND to collect shards of the four souls jewel... that was shattered by one of the main characters. It has a lot of good plot going on which creates a good enough series to keep me involved in the two seasons of the tv show.  

InuYasha

In the first five minutes you see InuYasha destroying a village and reaking havoc so obviously the antagonist,  right?

Not so much, it turns out. 

His story goes deeper than what the first 5 minutes lets on. 

I liked his introduction and how his backstory weaves into the series. But one thing I have to ask... what's up with the bare feet?

If you're interested more about the meaning of his name, I found this wonderful Fanon:
http://inu-fanon.tumblr.com/post/67102045516/the-meaning-of-yasha

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​Kagome Higurashi

​"You're wrong! That's not why Kagome was born! Kagome taught me how to smile, how to believe in people! Kagome was the reason I could make friends and rely on those friends! To shed tears for others, to understand true strength and kindness…They’re all things I learned from Kagome! Kagome was born to meet me! And I was born for her!"
―Inuyasha admitting Kagome's significance to him.

Kagome is InuYasha's conscious, and allows him an excuse to be a "good guy". She pulls out the distrust he had in humans and transforms him into a half-demon that can wield a sword that is only used (for the most part) in service of humans by the power of friendship.

Supporting Characters

Shippō

If you're going to have the Traveling Angel theme, you need travelers to go with that angel who travels... thus, Shippō joins Kagome & InuYasha when seeking revenge from the duo, the Thunder Brothers, who killed his demon father.

Being a half-demon himself, Shippō understands InuYasha and while they fight constantly, Shippō admits it's because they are very close.

​Miroku

Miroku is a priest whose grandfather was cursed by Naraku (the antagonist of the story). Miroku was passed his wind-tunnel palm when his grandfather died. Miroku now seeks revenge for his family. 

He is also the one who reveals to InuYasha that Naraku is the one responsible for his current misfortunes with humans.

The wind-tunnel curse is also a powerful weapon that Miroku uses to defeat demons. He has a good heart if not a bit flirtatious. Miroku seeks "companionship" through the series, often receiving trouble instead.

Sango

Fierce demon killer, Sango, joins the InuYasha team after Naraku convinces her he's responsible for the destruction of her village and the death of her family. 

She nearly succeeds in killing InuYasha even though she's not at her full strength, but in the end, InuYasha reveals that she's being tricked and used.

Once Naraku's deceit is discovered she teams up with the pack and helps hunt down Naraku. 

She seems to have luke-warm feelings for Miroku but doesn't want to get involved─probably for fear of getting distracted from her mission.

If you're wondering... Sango's weapon is called a Hiraikotsu ("Flying Return Bone").

Antagonists

There are many opponents and henchmen InuYasha and his crew come against but there are two main guys the pack goes after. 

Sesshomaru

InuYasha's older brother seems like a bored god wandering aimlessly for purpose. He thinks more power is a good goal to obtain but lacks passion and seems to roam the land in this listless desolation after his one attempt at obtaining the tessaiga (inuYasha's sword) is thwarted.

I feel pity for him. Which doesn't make him a great antagonist but still, maybe he'll gain purpose someday. 

Naraku

This guy has the will, ambition and a plan for his evil mission (unlike Sesshomaru) and he's powerful enough to do just about anything to collect all the shards of the shikon jewel. 

He wants the jewel to become as beautiful as possible which means that his pawns must use the shards for evil ends. Then he'll become the most powerful demon ever. 

At least he's got motivation and nearly every episode is about what he can throw at InuYasha and is pack to achieve his goal.

My Review

It was my guy who started watching InuYasha and got me interested in it. 

The first 15 minutes of the show I was at my desk trying to work. I noticed he'd been trying to satisfy his samurai craving but this was the first anime he started watching on Netflix. 

One thing I loved was the English dub was available. Anime is so much better when I don't have to read it. AND I love the voice actors that play the characters. Many times I don't like the voices and listen to the Japanese version and read the sub. 

So right off the bat & a smile from InuYasha, I was hooked. 

It's classic traveling Angel plot, collecting allies, barely defeating one foe in a surprisingly entertaining saga. 

​I'm on to Season 2 and it hasn't gone off the rails yet, so I have high hopes that this serial has closure. I'm looking forward to finding out. 

I Would Recommend this to Fans of:

Fantasy

Swords & Samurai's

Sesshomaru might be dispassionate about life, but he's still pretty to look at.