Inuyasha
Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in 56 volumes. The series follows Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old middle school girl from modern-day Tokyo who is transported to the Sengoku period after falling into a well in her family shrine, where she meets the half-dog demon, half-human Inuyasha. After the sacred Shikon Jewel re-emerges from deep inside Kagome's body, she inadvertently shatters it into dozens of fragments that scatter across Japan. Inuyasha and Kagome set out to recover the Jewel's fragments, and through their quest, they are joined by the lecherous monk Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and the fox demon Shippō. Together, they journey to restore the Shikon Jewel before it falls into the hands of the evil half-demon Naraku.
In contrast to the typically comedic nature of much of Takahashi's previous works, Inuyasha explores darker and more serious subject matter, using the setting of the Sengoku period to display violent content while still retaining comedic elements. The manga was adapted into two anime television series by Sunrise. The first series ran for 167 episodes on Yomiuri TV, Nippon Television, and their affiliates from October 2000 to September 2004. The second series, Inuyasha: The Final Act, is a direct sequel that adapts the remainder of the manga and ran for 26 episodes from October 2009 to March 2010. Four feature films and an original video animation have also been released. Other merchandise includes video games and a light novel. An anime-original sequel spin-off television series, titled Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, aired for two seasons from October 2020 to March 2022.
Viz Media licensed the manga, the two anime series, and movies for release in North America. Both Inuyasha and Inuyasha: The Final Act aired in the United States on Adult Swim from 2002 to 2015.
By September 2020, Inuyasha had 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2002, the manga won the 47th Shogakukan Manga Award for the category.
Plot
In 1496 Japan, humans and demons battle over the Shikon Jewel, which is said to grant any wish. Kikyo, the priestess who keeps the Shikon Jewel, is in love with the half-demon Inuyasha. However, they fall into a deceitful trap and betray each other. Inuyasha steals the Shikon Jewel, but the dying Kikyo pins Inuyasha to a tree with a sacred arrow. Per Kikyo's will, her body is cremated along with the Shikon Jewel, which disappeared from the era.Five hundred years later, Kagome Higurashi lives on the grounds of her family's Shinto shrine, with her mother, grandfather and younger brother. On her fifteenth birthday, Kagome is dragged into the enshrined Bone Eater's Well by a centipede demon and sent back in time to the Sengoku period in 1546. The Shikon Jewel manifests from within the body of Kagome, who is Kikyo's reincarnation, and she desperately frees Inuyasha from the tree to kill the centipede demon. When Inuyasha threatens her, Kikyo's sister Kaede subdues him with a magical bead necklace to keep him under control. Later, Kagome inadvertently shatters the Shikon Jewel into many shards with an arrow, and they scatter across Japan and into the possession of various demons and humans.
Inuyasha obtains his father's sword Tessaiga, which places him at odds with his older half-brother Sesshomaru, the wielder of Tenseiga. Inuyasha aids Kagome in collecting the shards and dealing with the threats they come across. On their journey, the presence of Naraku, a spider half-demon who was responsible for manipulating Inuyasha and Kikyo, comes to light. While pursuing Naraku, Inuyasha and Kagome recruit the young fox demon Shippō, the perverted monk Miroku, and the demon slayer Sango and her two-tailed demon cat Kirara. Sango's clan was killed when they were tricked by Naraku, and her younger brother Kohaku fell under his control. Over time, Inuyasha enhances Tessaiga into stronger forms while defeating his enemies. His team is loosely allied with Sesshomaru, whom Naraku attempted to manipulate; the resurrected Kikyo, who plans to purify the Shikon Jewel if all shards are collected; and Kōga, the leader of a wolf demon tribe who seeks to avenge his comrades whom Naraku killed. As Inuyasha and his friends journey together, he and Kagome begin to fall in love with one another, which is complicated by Inuyasha's lingering feelings for Kikyo.
Desperately hunted by his enemies, Naraku temporarily removes his heart and wounds Kikyo. Kohaku, having been previously killed but later revived by Naraku and kept alive and under his control by a Shikon Jewel shard, eventually regains his free will and memories and attempts to escape Naraku's group. During that time, Sesshomaru settles his feud with Inuyasha to enable his brother to perfect Tessaiga to its optimal abilities. Kikyo sacrifices herself to give life to Kohaku, and Naraku collects all the shards to restore the Shikon Jewel. As he is slain by Inuyasha and his allies, Naraku reveals his true desire for Kikyo, despite his hatred towards her, and he uses his wish to trap himself and Kagome inside the Shikon Jewel before dying. Revealed to be sentient, the Shikon Jewel intends for Kagome to make a selfish wish so that she and Naraku will be trapped in an eternal conflict, thus prolonging the Jewel's existence. However, with Inuyasha by her side, Kagome wishes for the Shikon Jewel to disappear forever, allowing her to return to her time with the well sealed, and she and Inuyasha lose contact for three years.
In that time, the Sengoku period changes drastically: Sango and Miroku marry and have three children together, Kohaku continues his role as a demon slayer, and Shippō trains to make his demon magic stronger. Back in the present, Kagome graduates from high school and manages to get the Bone Eater's Well in her backyard to work again. She returns to the Sengoku period, where she reunites with Inuyasha, marries him, and continues to train with Kaede and become a top-level priestess.
Development
Takahashi wrote Inuyasha after finishing her previous manga, Ranma ½. In contrast to her previous comedic works such as Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, and One-pound Gospel, she wanted to create a darker storyline that was thematically closer to her Mermaid Saga stories. To portray violent themes softly, the story was set in the Sengoku period, when wars were common. Takahashi did no notable research on the designs of samurai and castles because she considered such topics common knowledge. By June 2001, a clear ending to the series had not been established because Takahashi was still unsure about how to end the relationship between Inuyasha and Kagome. Furthermore, Takahashi said that she did not have an ending to the previous manga she wrote during the beginning, having figured them out as their serialization progressed.Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi, Inuyasha debuted in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996. Inuyasha finished after an 11-year and seven-month run in the magazine on June 18, 2008. Its 558 chapters were collected in 56 volumes by Shogakukan, released from April 18, 1997, to February 18, 2009. Shogakukan re-published the series in a 30-volume edition, released from January 18, 2013, to June 18, 2015. Takahashi published a special epilogue chapter, titled "Since Then", in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on February 6, 2013, as part of the "Heroes Come Back" anthology, which comprised short stories by manga artists to raise funds for recovery of the areas afflicted by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The chapter was later included in the last volume of the wide-ban edition of the manga in 2015, and was published again in Shōnen Sunday S on October 24, 2020.In North America, Inuyasha has been licensed for English language release by Viz Media, initially titled as Inu-Yasha. They began publishing the manga in April 1997 in an American comic book format, each issue containing two or three chapters from the original manga, and the last issue was released in February 2003, which covered up until the original Japanese 14th volume. Viz Media started publishing the series in a first trade-paperback edition, with 12 volumes published from July 6, 1998, to October 6, 2002. A second edition began with the 13th volume, released on April 9, 2003, and the first 12 volumes, following this edition, were reprinted as well. Up until the 37th volume, Viz Media published the series in left-to-right orientation, and with the release of the 38th volume on July 14, 2009, they published the remaining volumes in "unflipped" right-to-left page layout. Viz Media published the 56th and final volume of Inuyasha on January 11, 2011. In 2009, Viz Media began publishing the series in their 3-in-1 omnibus volume "VizBig" edition, with the original unflipped chapters. The 18 volumes were released from November 10, 2009, to February 11, 2014. On December 15, 2020, Viz released the 18 volumes digitally.