Just Another Reader

So there's a few manga series I'm planning on reading through. For now I'm going to try review two volumes at once, to cut down on the amount of manga reviews, since I assume it's not for everyone, and also to give me a bit more to talk about.

I've never read any Inuyasha. I did watch the series when it was airing on Adult Swim. I liked the series, but I began to get a bit bored with the filler and I didn't know where the story was going. I did get back into it at one point since they had an excellent villain arc at one point but then stopped. I had also found out at that point that the manga was ongoing and the anime just stopped with a non-ending ending. Since then, the manga finished and they had a 26-episode series to blow through the rest of the manga. I figure, I'll read the manga, maybe watch a few episodes here and there, and watch the final series.

In the meantime, there are 56 manga volumes. 

These two volumes comprise the first seven episodes of the series and it was pretty familiar. The only difference is the manga has a lot more nudity and violence than the anime. I don't think the anime was sanitized for the US as others have been (Sailor Moon), but I'm going to try watch an episode to compare.

The review did get a bit long since it is the beginning and I wanted to summarize what happens, it'll be behind a link.

Inuyasha starts with a hanyou (half-demon) named Inuyahsa stealing a gem called the Shikon no Tama in Feudal Japan. With it he claims he can become a full demon. The gem's keeper, Kikyo, manages to stick him to a tree with an arrow and retrieve the gem. But she's been injured and will die. She asks her younger sister Kaede to burn the gem with her body as it is too dangerous. 

The series then jumps to 1997, where Kagome, who resembles Kikyo, is about to turn 15. She lives on a shrine with her mother, eccentric grandfather, and younger brother. Oh and a cat, which is currently missing. Her brother thinks the cat in the dry well which has been boarded up in the shrine, which he had been hearing sounds from. When she finds the cat, which was there, a demon breaks out of the well and drags her into it. S

Kagome manages to get the demon to leave her alone with some mysterious blast, but when she climbs out of the well, she finds herself in Feudal Japan, 50 years after the events in the beginning. She runs across the tree where Inuyasha has been sleeping for 50 years and with the demon pursuing her, frees him when he says he will help. The demon rips the gem from Kagome, which has apparently been just sitting in her. Kaede, who is now an old woman, theorizes that Kagome is the reincarnation of her sister.

After helping kill the demon, Inuyasha predictably turns on Kagome and tries to go after her and the gem. Kaede manages to get a necklace called the Beads of Subjugation on him and tells Kagome to say a word to control them. Kagome, inspired by Inuyasha's dog ears, chooses "Osuwari" which was translated as "Sit boy" in the US anime.

The necklace causes Inyasha to be slammed to the ground whenever Kagome speaks the word and she can basically control him. 

Word of the gem's reappearance spreads and they are soon attacked by a crow demon. The demon manages to get the gem and while trying to get it back Kagome tries to channel Kikyo's archery skills and manages to destroy the demon, but she also hits the gem which causes it to break into numerous pieces. While the gem can give someone an insane amount of power, the shards can also cause trouble. And so the stage is set. 

Kagome is tasked with collecting all the gems with the help of a reluctant Inuyasha. And so begins the series.

They are soon attacked by Yura of the Demon Hair who can manipulate and kill people with insanely long strands of invisible hair, who manages to steal the shard that they have collected and Kagome pushed back into the well that she traveled through to begin with. She wakes up back in her time. Not sure what to think, she goes back to her normal life.

Inuyasha realizes he needs her help since he can't see the strands, and Kagome's tie to Kikyo may allow her to, jumps into the well and discovers he can travel to her time. He brings her back and Yura lies in wait.

It is actually a great battle between Yura and Inuyasha as Kagome starts to figure out how to help and fight. She figures out where Yura gets her powers and destroys it. At one point she does almost get killed, but Inuyasha had given her his jacket which is described as better than armor. He gets more injured because of it, leading to a funny scene later when she is trying to check his wounds. He doesn't want her to which leads to her trying to undress him when Kaede walks by with a bunch of children. Kaede is happy to see that they are getting along better.

The final story in these volumes introduces Sesshomaru, who is one of my favorite characters in the series. He is Inuyasha's older brother. However, he is a full demon. Inuyasha's mother was human. Sesshomaru hates humans and looks down on his brother for his inferior blood. Sesshomaru has been looking for the grave of their shared father since there is supposed to be a great sword, Tessaiga there. He figures out that Inuyasha has a gem with the entrance to the grave in his eye (here's a difference in the violence, in the anime he manages to draw the gem out with some sort of power, in the manga, Inuyasha's eye is injured, but at least he heals fast). 

Inuyasha and Kagome travel after Sesshomaru and Jaken (Sesshomaru's toady servant who seems a bit too obsessed with him) into the grave. Sesshomaru finds the sword, but he finds he cannot even grasp it. Inuyasha tries and while he can grab it, he can't pull it out. Sesshomaru decides while he's there and can't take the sword, at least he can finally kill his brother. Kagome, who has been having a hilarious fight with Jaken, goes to Inuyasha's aid, absentmindedly grabbing the sword as she goes. And she pull it out. "Oops"

Sesshomaru, now annoyed, tries to kill Kagome, but the sword protects her. He then transforms into his full demon form and goes after Inuyasha. Kagome gives Inuyasha the sword and he tries to attack Sesshomaru, but the sword is rather pathetic looking and won't cut anything. Inuyasha ends up pledging that he will protect Kagome, since things don't really seem to be going their way. The sword starts to react and transforms, allowing Inuyasha to actually attack his brother with it and slices off his arm. Sesshomaru retreats.

Later they figure out via a former servant of the father that the sword was created to defend Inuyasha's human mother. Since Sesshomaru is a demon, he was not able to even touch the sword. Inuyasha can hold it, but his demon nature did not allow him to pull the sword out of its spot. Kagome, being human, could move the sword. Inuyasha could not unless the full power of tessaiga until he was going to use it to protect Kagome. Thus tying them together again.

Okay, that was a bit long and I will not do a lengthy summary again. But all these chapters are important to the overall storyline and I would find it hard to talk about without mentioning these events.

The anime that I am familiar with is very true to the manga. Other than the violence/nudity, it is pretty accurate. Though I haven't watched it for a long time. 

Inuyasha is a fun series and I'm excited to see how the manga progresses. The anime slowed down too often for me and I lost interest. Since there is no filler, I should like the manga more. I have a while to go before I get into new storylines, but I have forgotten a lot of what did happen so I will enjoy the journey :)