InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass

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InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
The American DVD Cover
Directed by	Toshiya Shinohara
Produced by	Michihiko Suwa
Written by	Rumiko Takahashi (based on the comics by)
Starring	Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese original), Richard Ian Cox (2004 dub)
Music by	Kaoru Wada
Distributed by	Sunrise, Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	2002
Running time	104 min.
Language	Japanese
IMDb profile

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^?) is the second of four movies in the InuYasha anime series. It was released in Japan on December 21st, 2002, and in the United States on December 28th, 2004. In this film, the character designs are virtually identical to the Rumiko Takahashi versions, from the original manga (rather than using the Yoshihito Hishinuma designs, from the TV anime).

In term of chronological appearance of characters, the appearance of certain characters credit it occurs before the appearance of Akitoki Hōjō in the anime.

1 Plot
2 Mythological references
3 Voice Cast
4 Cast and Credits
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Plot

The story begins after the defeat of Naraku by InuYasha, Kagome, and their friends. There is some initial doubt as to whether Naraku is truly dead until it is revealed that the cursed void in Miroku's right hand is gone and Kagura's heart is in her body again. The group disbands with InuYasha, Kagome and Shippō off to pursue the remaining shards of the Shikon no Tama.

Miroku returned to his master, and Sango returned to her village to search for Kohaku.

Kagome briefly returns to her time period to catch up in school and happens to be learning about the legend of Princess Kaguya. Kaguya was a maiden from the moon, found by a bamboo cutter in the forest. As suitors proposed to her, Kaguya presented to them impossible tasks before returning to the moon.

Kagura and Kan'na, the two surviving incarnations of Naraku, are somewhat restless now that Naraku is dead. They come across a mirror in a hidden shrine and awaken a maiden who declares herself Kaguya, Princess of the Heavens. In exchange for freeing her, Kaguya promises to give Kagura her true heart's desire, freedom. Kagura and Kan'na set out to recover five items that will free Kaguya from her mirror.

Kohaku has returned to Sango's village without any memory as to who he is. Miroku's master, Mushin, presents him with a task that is to be given to the surviving descendant who defeats Naraku. Miroku is to destroy a yōkai who threatens to cast the world into eternal night, at which the first sign of the yōkai's appearance for the first time in 50 years is a full moon shining for many nights.

Kagome returns to InuYasha's time and the two of them, along with Shippō, go to find the remaining shards of the jewel. InuYasha detects Naraku's presence and runs into Kagura instead. Kagura unleashes her most powerful attack, Dance of the Dragon and InuYasha sends it back to her using his Backlash Wave but is stopped by Kanna who uses her mirror to send the attack back at InuYasha. Kagura manages to rip the sleeve off of InuYasha's kimono. She and Kan'na are about to take their leave when InuYasha is about to finish them off. Kaguya makes her appearance and uses her ability to discern the dark desires of InuYasha's heart against him. Kagome manages to stop Kaguya from inflicting major damage to InuYasha and the demons leave, with Kaguya noting Kagome has a strange aura about her that does not agree with the flow of time.

InuYasha and company leave to pursue Kaguya and run into Akitoki Hōjō, the ancestor of Kagome's classmate, who is supposed to dispose a family heirloom (a hagoromo/celestial robe) into Mt Fuji. He joins them, partly because he has a bit of a crush on Kagome and partly because he is being blackmailed by Shippō for an earlier incident. Meanwhile, Kikyō investigates Naraku's death and has come across a slaughtered village where a dying girl gives her the Stone Bowl of Buddha.

Miroku (with his tanuki servant, Hachiemon) journeys to his grandfather's (given the name Miatsu) grave to find the yōkai he is supposed to destroy. He hears the local legend of the celestial maiden, Kaguya. Miroku's grandfather, who one of the most powerful priests in the series, which is evidenced by the fact that he was able to defeat Kaguya alone, sealed her away into a mirror and was unable to kill her due her beauty and his own lecherous ways. Kaguya's hagoromo was entrusted to a family that was also given specific instructions for disposing of the robe should Kaguya be freed. Kagura arrives in Sango's village and attacks Kohaku, taking off with the Swallow's Cowrie Shell that was in Kohaku's possession. After Kikyō surrenders the Stone Bowl of Buddha without a fight to Kagura, she and Kanna free Kaguya from her mirror. Kaguya goes to find her hagoromo and runs into InuYasha and Kagome. After pinning InuYasha to a tree, Kaguya takes off with the hagoromo and Kagome.

Kaguya, whose power has increased exponentially now that she has the hagoromo, prepares to freeze time into eternal night. InuYasha meets up with Miroku and Sango again and they prepare to rescue Kagome and stop Kaguya. InuYasha then reclaims his piece of the robe of the fire rat that Kaguya had stolen. It is then revealed that Kaguya was in fact a demon who absorbed the real Kaguya and taken on her beauty and power. As they battle Naraku reappears revealing that he had purposely faked his death in order to absorb Kaguya. However, Naraku during this point in the series was still a half demon and thus wasn't able to battle her on equal terms. Naraku then escapes with Kohaku, Kagura, and Kanna. Kagome then combines her power with that of Miroku as she lauches a piece of his staff in the form of an arrow and destroys Kaguya's mirror. InuYasha then manages to destroy Kaguya's physical form using his backlash wave (Bakuryuha). Kaguya shows up again in the form of as black cloud and attempts to absorb Kagome in an effort to gain a new body. In the end she is destroyed by Miroku's Kazana attack; fulfilling Miroku's grandfather's wish. In the end Akitoki Hōjō throws Kaguya's hagoromo into a volcano to stop any other beings from ever using its power.

Note: This is the only Inu Yasha film where Naraku, Kagura, and Kanna make an appearance, though Naraku's name is mentioned only once in the first movie.

[edit] Mythological references

The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass actually makes reference to two Japanese folktales.

The first concerns Princess Kaguya, the princess of the moon. Sent to Earth as a baby because of a celestial war, she was found and raised by a bamboo cutter and his wife. Her beauty attracted many suitors and she rejected them all by giving them impossible tasks to accomplish. In InuYasha, the five items that Kagura and Kanna must retrieve for Kaguya in order to release her from the Mirror of Life relate to the items Kaguya demanded her suitors retrieve to win her hand in marriage. When the war of the heavens end, she is forced to return to the moon. This myth was also the basis of the villainess in one of the Sailor Moon movies, although that version is far less faithful to the original story than the one used here.

The second tale concerns the legends of the tennyō (celestial maiden). Tennyō would come to earth and bathe in springs. A man would come across the maidens and steal the hagoromo (celestial robe) of one. The maiden without her robe could not return to heaven and was forced to marry the thief. Eventually, she recovered her robe and returned to heaven. This story actually is used many times in anime and manga and many versions of the tale have appeared around the world, including other parts of Asia and even as far as Scotland and Ireland.

[edit] Voice Cast

English logo of the movie used in Japan

[edit] Cast and Credits

Music: Kaoru Wada
Theme Song: "Yura Yura"; ゆらゆら (Rock); Lyrics by: Kaori Mochida; Composed by: Kunio Tako; Arranged by: Yasuo Otani, Masafumi Nakao, and Ichiro Ito; Performed by: Every Little Thing
Insertion Song: "Ai no Uta"; 愛の謳 (Song of Love); Lyrics by: Kaori Mochida; Composed by: Kunio Tako; Arranged by: Akira Murata; Performed by: Every Little Thing