InuYasha

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This article is about the manga and anime series. For the title character, see InuYasha.

InuYasha

戦国お伽草子ー犬夜叉 (Sengoku Otogi Zōshi Inuyasha)
Genre	Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Shōnen
Manga
Authored by	Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher	Shogakukan _{Other publishers:} VIZ Media Editora JBC Kana Egmont Kustannus Glénat Egmont Elex Media Komputindo Editorial Vid Aruts Hayeladim
Serialized in	Weekly Shonen Sunday
Original run	1996 – 2007?
No. of volumes	49 with 484 chapters (currently)
TV anime
Directed by	Masashi Ikeda (eps 1 to 44) Yasunao Aoki (44 onwards)
Studio	Sunrise
Network	Animax, Nippon TV _{Other networks:} Animax Cartoon Network/Adult Swim YTV Arutz Hayladim MTV Cartoon Network ABC , 7 ABS-CBN , Hero TV MY3TB Champ TV Tooniverse A+, RTL Klub Indosiar RTL II NTV7
Original run	October 16, 2000 – September 13, 2004 (Hiatus)
No. of episodes	167
Feature Movies
InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island

InuYasha (犬夜叉, InuYasha^?), full title InuYasha, A Feudal Fairy Tale (戦国お伽草子ー犬夜叉, Sengoku Otogi Zōshi InuYasha^?), is a popular Japanese shōnen adventure romantic comedy manga created by Rumiko Takahashi. The story tells of the adventures of Kagome Higurashi, who can travel back in time through a mysterious well, and the half-demon, InuYasha, along with their companions Miroku (a lecherous monk who accompanies Inuyasha to defeat the demon lord Naraku, to rid himself of the black hole in his hand), Sango (a demon slayer wanting revenge on Naraku for the death of her brother and village) and Shippo (an orphan fox demon). The whole group travels together, seeking to kill Naraku as revenge and gather all the shards of the sacred jewel (Shikon no Tama, which was broken accidentally by Kagome) to keep them out of the hands of demons. It was adapted into an 167 episode anime series produced by Sunrise which first aired on Nippon TV in Japan from 16 October 2000 to 13 September 2004. The television run of the anime ceased without a conclusion to the story. The manga is still being released in Japan as of today.

The series is named after the main character, InuYasha. The name "InuYasha" literally means " dog demon". Inu (犬) is a Japanese word meaning "dog". Yasha (夜叉) is a Buddhism-related word meaning demon or demon warrior. ^[1]

[edit] Plot

Main article: Plot of InuYasha

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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 bursts from the well and grabs her. The demon claims that Kagome possesses the Jewel of the Four Souls (四魂の玉 Shikon no Tama) and attempts to seize it. When the demon is driven off, the very confused Kagome emerges in the Sengoku period of Japan. Kagome wanders into a colossal forest looking for landmarks that she may recognize. She spots the Sacred Tree off in the distance and proceeds to run towards it, where she finds Inuyasha, who is still sealed with an arrow to the tree. He is asleep. Villagers seize her and take her to a nearby village where she meets an old miko (Shinto shrine maiden) by the name of Kaede, who recognizes that Kagome is almost a mirror likeness for Kikyo (Kikyou), her elder sister (and powerful shrine maiden) who had died at the age of 17 and had her body burned with the Jewel of the Four Souls, taking it with her into the afterlife. Kaede relates the story of how, 50 years earlier, a han'yō 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, pinning him into an enchanted sleep against a tree and thus retrieving the Jewel before she finally died. It is later shown that Inuyasha had a relationship with the priestess Kikyo and it was not him that tried to steal the jewel but Naraku, an evil character bent on destroying Kikyo, Inuyasha, and many other people. Inuyasha must fight his half brother Sesshomaru because he wants to kill Inuyasha for their father's sword, Tessaiga. Soon after, Sesshomaru realizes that Tessaiga is unattainable, and adopts Rin, a young girl.

[edit] Characters

Main article: InuYasha characters

Main article: InuYasha yōkai list

The plot focuses mainly on Kagome and InuYasha and their expanding group of friends, mainly Miroku, Shippo, Sango and Kirara (pronounced Kilala) as they seek the sacred jewel shards. The television show will occasionally skip over to the lives of the antagonists, minor characters or modern-day people as a way of setting up a plot, or clarifying a point. Flashbacks are occasionally used to the same effect. Shippo is a young fox demon who occasionally squabbles with Inuyasha, which tends to end with a bonk on the head and a "Sit!" on Kagome's part. Miroku is a rather lecherous monk armed with spell scrolls and his trusty spiritual staff, as well as his "Kazaana (Wind Tunnel)", an other-dimensional black hole embedded into his right palm. He is also quite the ladies man in the manga and anime. Sango is the very sensible demon exterminator with a giant boomerang-like weapon (Hiraikotsu) and her cat-demon companion (Kirara) who, usually on Sango's command, transforms from innocent kitten to a formidable flaming feline. The main antagonist is the supremely evil demon Naraku.

[edit] Terminology

Han'yō - commonly translated as "half-demon". They are products of a union between a supernatural being (commonly a yōkai) and a human, and are often considered as an outcast in the human society.
Obake - ghosts, goblins and monsters from Japanese folklore, including spirits of the human dead.
Yōkai - belongs to a class of obake and generally has a sort of spiritual or supernatural power. Some possess part animal and part human features.
Taiyōkai (Daiyōkai) - an especially strong and powerful yōkai. Literally "great yōkai".
Taijiya - yōkai exterminator.
Kitsune - fox yōkai from Japanese folklore known by their magic tricks.
Hōshi - Buddhist monk.
Miko - although commonly translated as "priestess", miko are actually young female attendants at Shinto shrines.
Shakujo - Buddhist staff.
O-fuda - translated as "sacred sutras" or "spell scrolls". Papers which hold special powers and are used against yōkai.
Tanuki - raccoon dogs from Japanese folklore.
Nekomata - A cat older than ten years is said to receive magical powers and two tails.
Sengoku Jidai - Sengoku period, feudal Japan.
Goshinboku - Time tree. For example: the one Inuyasha was sealed to.
Shibugarasu - demon crows
Shōki - demonic miasma

[edit] Manga

The manga was serialized in Japan in the weekly publication Shonen Sunday by Shogakukan, with the first installment issued on November 13, 1996. Chapter 485 was published December 5, 2006 with the series still ongoing.^[2] Every 180 pages, usually ten chapters, the issues are collected in bound tankōbon. Volume 45, collecting chapters 439 through 448, was published in May 2006.^[3] Volume 47 has been collected recently, with 48 in sight as the chapters needed to compile 49 are on the verge of completion. The manga is expected to end with 50 volumes and 500 chapters.

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 27 was published in October 2006.

[edit] Anime

[edit] Episode guide

Main article: List of InuYasha episodes

[edit] Popularity

InuYasha is wildly popular in Japan. Also, according to Google, InuYasha was the most searched for term on their search engine in Canada in April 2004. InuYasha was also the 3rd most popular searched for term in Canada in all of 2003.^{[citation needed]}

Leaping onto American TV's in August of 2002, InuYasha made its debut in Cartoon Network's Saturday Adult Swim Block. American fans loved it and the show's rapid rise in popularity quickly pushed it to air four nights a week. Leading the pack of anime heavyweights such as Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Lupin the 3rd, InuYasha is one of the most popular programs on cable among 12-17 year olds.

According to VIZ, the release of the feature film, InuYasha: Affections Touching Across Time on DVD has sold over 30,000 units to-date and has occupied the number one spot on Nielsen Videoscan’s Anime Rankings for three consecutive weeks. As a series overall, more than 800,000 DVDs of the InuYasha series have been sold since March 2003.

On the literary side, InuYasha graphic novels also continue to show strong sales numbers. The recently released Volume 19 of the InuYasha manga series has been ranked Number 3 on Nielsen Bookscan’s Graphic Novel Top 50 List for the week ending October 3, and Volume 1 is at Number 18 in its 77th straight week on top, confirming a growing interest among new fans. [1]

[edit] Production broadcast history

The InuYasha anime series spanned 167 episodes, and was broadcast across Japan by the anime television network, Animax, who have also aired the series across its English-language network in South Asia (being the first network to fully broadcast the series in the English language) and also across its networks in East Asia, and Nippon Television. The series ended on September 13, 2004.

InuYasha was first broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in August 2002. The series later premiered on Canadian television screens, where it is currently airing on YTV (YTV aired the finale on December 1, 2006 and restarting from the beginning on December 8, 2006 ).

InuYasha is now also shown on Cartoon Network's Latin American incarnation, Cartoon Network LA. In Latin America, it is shown dubbed in Spanish and in Portuguese (Brazil or with SAP in other countries). Cartoon Network LA can be seen in many countries south of the United States, as well as some cruise ships in the Caribbean. It is unknown if the last 7 episodes will air dubbed in the region.

At one point [in Japan], new episodes of InuYasha were airing twice a day, 5 times a week, and reruns were being aired Saturday night - 5 episodes in two hours. This is why the series concluded much faster than in the United States. InuYasha is on rotation on the network, and the official site should be visited to see if the show is currently re-airing.

In the United States, the final episode of InuYasha aired on October 27, 2006. In Canada on YTV the final episode aired on December 1, 2006. The series is scheduled to begin its second run starting on January 1, 2007 (The second run meaning adult swim will start from episode 1 again and show 8 episodes a week, 2 on one day mon-thur)^[4]. The anime is licensed by in North America by Viz and ShoPro Entertainment, and the actual dubbing is done by the Ocean Group. InuYasha anime was dubbed in Mandarin and hosted on Xing Kong, a Tawainese TV Channel. InuYasha is also now aired in Singapore on Arts Central with viewers being able to select between Chinese or Japanese dialogue, thrice a week from Wednesdays to Fridays at 11 PM (Singapore time).

[edit] Eyecatches

No.	Description	Episodes
1	InuYasha's hand comes out and grabs the Shikon Jewel which dissolves into a red (into commercial break) then blue (out of commercial break) background of Japanese writing.	1-20
2	InuYasha's hand comes out and grabs the Shikon Jewel which dissolves into a green (into commercial break) then yellow (out of commercial break) background of Japanese writing.	21-56
3	InuYasha swings the Tessaiga and fades away to reveal a cherry blossom tree in front of a red full moon.	57-105
4	InuYasha and Kagome are back to back spinning clockwise vertically, they fade away replaced by multiple shards of the Shikon Jewel converging together in the center.	106-167

[edit] Movies

Four movies, which continued the anime plot, have been released. The first movie, InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time was released on December 16, 2001 in Japan with InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island being the last movie to be released; on December 23, 2004 in Japan. The fourth movie was released three months after the series finale of InuYasha in Japan.

Four theatrical releases of the series has appeared so far:

Cover	English Title	Japanese Title		Premiere date
Cover	English Title	Kanji	Romaji	Premiere date
	InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time	映画犬夜叉　時代を越える想い	Eiga Inuyasha: Toki o Koeru Omoi	JPN: December 16, 2001 US: September 7, 2004
	After mastering the ultimate attack of the Tessaiga, InuYasha continues his quest for the Shikon Jewel shards with Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku. This time, all of them will have to face Menomaru, a demonic enemy brought to life by a jewel shard.
	InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass	映画犬夜叉　鏡の中の夢幻城	Eiga Inuyasha: Kagami no Naka no Mugenjō	JPN: December 21, 2002 US: December 28, 2004
	After defeating Naraku, InuYasha and his friends each return to their lives. However, their short period of peace is interrupted when a new enemy emerges - Kaguya, the ruler of the eternal night. Locked inside a mirror, Kaguya is prevented from bringing eternal darkness into the world. Also in the movie, Inuyasha and Kagome share their true feelings for each other.
	InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler	映画犬夜叉　天下覇道の剣	Eiga Inuyasha: Tenka Hadō no Ken	JPN: December 20, 2003 US: September 6, 2005
	At the time of InuYasha's birth, InuYasha's father fought with a human named Setsuna no Takemaru, who loved InuYasha's mother, Izayoi. Soon after, Sou'unga, the legendary sword which belonged to InuYasha's father, was sealed away. Centuries later, Sou'unga is once again unleashed. However, the sword seeks to destroy the Earth and all life on it. Inuyasha must join forces with his brother, Sesshomaru, and destroy this sword before it destroys the world.
	InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island	映画犬夜叉　紅蓮の蓬莱島	Eiga Inuyasha: Guren no Hōraijima	JPN: December 23, 2004 US: August 1, 2006
	The reappearance of the mysterious island of Houraijima after 50 years brought the attack of the four gods, the Shitoushin. With their eyes set on the powers that protect and sustain the island, the Shitoushin must be defeated as Inuyasha and his friends seek to help the children that are trapped on that island escape.

[edit] DVD releases

Season	Episodes	Discs	Features	DVD release date
Season	Episodes	Discs	Features	Region 1	Region 2/4
1	1 - 27	5	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	US/CAN: 7 September 2004	AUS: 12 May 2006
1	1 - 12	3	English audio	----	UK: 22 January 2007
2	28 - 54	5	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	US/CAN: 8 November 2005	AUS: 8 November 2006
3	55 - 81	5	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	US/CAN: 12 September 2006	----

[edit] Theme songs

Main article: List of songs from InuYasha

[edit] Video games

[edit] Games in Japanese

Japanese Title		English Title	Release date	Console
Romaji	Kanji	English Title	Release date	Console
Inuyasha: Kagome no Sengoku Nikki	犬夜叉～かごめの戦国日記	InuYasha: Kagome's Warring States Diary	November 2, 2001	WonderSwan
Inuyasha: Sengoku Otogi Kassen	犬夜叉	InuYasha	December 27, 2001	PlayStation
Inuyasha: Fūun Emaki	犬夜叉風雲絵巻	----	July 27, 2002	WonderSwan
Inuyasha: Kagome no Yume Nikki	犬夜叉かごめの夢日記	InuYasha: Kagome's Dream Diary	November 16, 2002	WonderSwan
Inuyasha: Naraku no Wana! Mayoi no Mori no Shōtaijō	犬夜叉～奈落の罠！迷いの森の招待状	InuYasha: Naraku's Trap! Invitation to the Forest of Illusion	January 23, 2003	Game Boy Advance
Inuyasha: Juso no Kamen	犬夜叉呪詛の仮面	InuYasha: The Cursed Mask	March 18, 2004	PlayStation 2
Inuyasha: Ōgi-Ranbu	犬夜叉奥義乱舞	InuYasha: Feudal Combat	June 16, 2005	PlayStation 2

[edit] Games in English

Title	Console	Release date	Notes
InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale	PlayStation	April 9, 2003	English version of Inuyasha: Sengoku Otogi Kassen
InuYasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask	PlayStation 2	November 1, 2004	English version of Inuyasha: Juso no Kamen
InuYasha: The Mobile Game	Java and Brew handsets	June 21, 2005	Inuyasha mobile phone game
InuYasha: Feudal Combat	PlayStation 2	August 23, 2005	English version of Inuyasha: Ōgi-Ranbu
InuYasha: Trading Card Game	Trading Card Game	October 20, 2004	English version of Japanese Inuyasha TCG
InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel	Nintendo DS	February, 2007	According to Nintendo, this game is in development

[edit] Name dispute

There is a long-standing debate about the proper English spelling of the title character's name, an example of the type of dispute that often happens as a result of romanization. Variant spellings include "InuYasha", "Inuyasha", "Inu-Yasha", "Inu-yasha", "Inu Yasha", and "Inu yasha". Fans of the series often use "IY" (or simply, "Inu"), especially on fansites, although it is usually considered to be more of an abbreviation than an actual name. Official licensors use varying spellings, so they provide little guidance in this area; the two most popular versions are "Inuyasha" and the VIZ CamelCase version (InuYasha).

[edit] Critical reception

The Jewel of the Four Souls.

Critics are found to agree that the artwork in both the anime and manga versions of InuYasha is quite impressive^[5], such as Anime News Network praising it as "excellent".^[6] 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.^[7] Others have observed that the story engages in frivolous use of recurring plot devices such as "barriers" and flashbacks. The story is also accused of running too long with many irrelevant characters, storylines, and battles with no substantial character development involved. Many believe such irrelevant battles and storylines to be filler. The anime is also criticized for abruptly ending mid-story after 167 episodes without conclusion to Naraku's fate or Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship.

[edit] Trivia

The protagonists, InuYasha and Kagome, kiss only once, in the second movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass.
InuYasha is one of few anime characters to go barefoot outside of a martial arts themed story.

[edit] References

^ *Infoseek Japanese dictionary entry for 夜叉/Yasha -- "an Indian term which was imported with Buddhism through China into Japan.(Sanskrit, Yaksa)) of Indian origins, a demon which harms people. In Buddhism it is a type of ancient Indian demon that have converted to Buddhism and serve as protectors of Bishamonten, one of the Shitennō."
^ Inuyasha - Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi - English translations of the manga
^ Inuyasha volume 45 (Japanese)
^ Adult Swim Schedule. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
^ Animonster (2003-03-13). Reader Review: Inuyasha TV Series. Akemi's Anime World. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.
^ Harris, Alexander. Preview: Inu-Yasha. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.
^ Tucker, Derrick L.. Inuyasha. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.