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 Flag of Japan 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 21, 2002 (between episodes 95 & 96), and in the United States on December 28, 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.

Contents

[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. Kagome, Sango, and Shippo relax in a hot spring. Akitoki Hojo shows up, who is quite confused as to how he can get to Mt. Fugi. He notices the three bathing, but is caught by Miroku. Sango only notices Miroku and tosses a huge boulder on him. Inuyasha hears the sound and comes running, Tessiaga drawn. But Kagome, who is deathly afraid that her crush will see her naked, orders the pervert to "Sit", who promptly falls on poor shippo. As Akitoki crawls away, contemplating his luck, inuyasha and kagome are once again in a fierce debate. 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 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. 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. 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 to 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, Kagome fires an arrow to kill Kaguya, but she absorbs it and fires it at InuYasha. Kagome then jumps in front of the arrow and Akitoki throws the hagoromo/celestial robe in between the arrow and Kagome but Kagome gets hit by her own arrow in order to save Inyasha. Inuyasha thinks kagome is dead and threatens Kaguya.Then Kaguya takes Kagome and tells Inyasha to follow if he desires.

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.Kaguya tries to turn Inuyasha into a full demon but his voice woke kagome up and then she tries to stop the transformation by hugging him, saying " I love you as a half demon, Inuyasha"! But it doesnt work completly, so this is when kagome kisses inuyasha. Shippo becomes embarrassed and hides. Kaguya orders inuyasha to kill kagome. During their embrace, kagome mentally asks inuyasha, "Inuyasha, you want to be with me, don't you"? While she thinks this, a tear rolls down kagome's cheek. It works, as inuyasha and kagome kiss, kaguya's mirror cracks, returning inuyasha to his half demon form. Inuyasha tells kagome in a hug, that he will remain as a half demon for her. 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 a 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. After the credits, Miroku gets slapped by Sango for trying to kiss her. Miroku's excuse is that Kagome and Inuyasha were being intimite. Inuyasha and Kagome both turn deep shades of crimson upon hearing this. 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] Trivia

  • This movie marks the first cameo appearance of a character from another Rumiko Takahashi anime outside of InuYasha. Cherry, the monk from Urusei Yatsura, makes an appearance as a statue.
  • The drawing style of this movie, just like other two movies (Affections Touching Across Time and The Swords Of An Honourable Ruler), shows different drawing style from the normal anime drawing style.

[edit] Cast and Credits

[edit] English Cast

English logo of the movie used in Japan
English logo of the movie used in Japan

[edit] 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

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  InuYasha
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General:

Anime episodes • Manga chapters • Characters • Minor characters • Yōkai • Songs • Rumiko Takahashi • Voice actors
Movies:

Affections Touching Across Time • The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass • Swords of an Honorable Ruler • Fire on the Mystic Island
Games:

Feudal Combat • The Secret of the Cursed Mask • Secret of the Divine Jewel
Locations:

Bone Eater's Well • Higurashi Shrine • Mount Hakurei • WcDonald's
Items & Weapons:

So'unga • Tenseiga • Tessaiga • Hiraikotsu • Jewel of Four Souls • Fuyōheki • Tōkijin • InuYasha the Movie 2 Items
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