Fun and Games

Introduction

InuYasha (Japanese: inu "dog" + yasha "demon" from Japanese yasha, derived from masculine Sanskrit yaksha) is a long-running manga and anime series by Rumiko Takahashi (creator of Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and others). It is an anime popular in Japan and also popular in North America, especially in countries such as the US, Canada, and Mexico. The full title is Sengoku o-togi zo­shi InuYasha which roughly translates to InuYasha, A Feudal Fairy Tale. Overview The Japanese & English InuYasha logos InuYasha is a sho­nen action adventure romantic comedy, with elements from the horror genre. 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 (dubbed "Mistress Centipede") bursts from the well and grabs her. The demon claims that Kagome possesses the Jewel of Four Souls ( Shikon no Tama), and attempts to seize it. When she drives the demon off by an unknown and mysterious power, the very confused Kagome emerges in the Sengoku period of Japan. Kagome wanders and meets an old miko (Shinto priestess) by the name of Kaede, who claims that Kagome is the spitting image of Kikyo (Kiky¨­), her elder sister (and powerful priestess) who had died and had her body burned with the Jewel of Four Souls, taking it with her into the afterlife. Kaede relates the story of how, 50 years earlier, a hanyo, also a half demon, 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, sealing him to the Time Tree and into an enchanted and supposedly eternal sleep, retrieving the Jewel before she finally died. It turns out that Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo, and that she does possess the Jewel of Four Souls, embedded inside her body. When the centipede demon rips it from her and swallows it, granting the demon a great boost in power, Kagome is forced to pull out the arrow and awaken InuYasha so he can defeat it. Soon after they recover the Jewel, it is lost again, and Kagome accidentally shatters it into pieces as she tries to recover it. The pieces scatter far and wide, and the story tells of Kagome and InuYasha's adventures as they search for the shards of the Jewel. As they search, they meet new characters who either join them on their quest, or oppose them for various reasons. Throughout the story, Kagome and InuYasha come closer and develop feelings for each other, though the romance remains as a side plot for most of the story. Explanation of time travel The Jewel of Four Souls. The modern time is 'X', a period in the Sengoku period ( - Sengoku Jidai - Warring states period) is 'Y', and 50 years before period Y is period 'Z'. At Z, Kikyo dies after sealing InuYasha to the tree, where he goes into suspended animation, and she is cremated on a pyre with the jewel, according to her wishes. At Y, the well (which exists in both ancient and modern times) drops Kagome, the 20th/21st century incarnation of Kikyo, off from the future. Here, everyone has gotten older but otherwise not much has happened. X is the 'modern' end of the well's wormhole through time. Credits Site (c) Amaru Kyojiro Design and Layout (c) Skin Deep Brushes (c) Aethereality InuYasha (c) Rumiko Takahashi