Inuyasha
Inuyasha | |
Genre | Action; Sengoku era supernatural fiction |
---|---|
Created by | Rumiko Takahashi |
Manga | |
Written by | Rumiko Takahashi |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Anime | |
Directed by | Masashi Ikeda (episodes 1 to 44) Yasunao Aoki (44 onwards) |
Studio | Sunrise |
Feature movies | |
InuYasha (犬夜叉), full title InuYasha, a Feudal Fairy Tale (戦国お伽草子–犬夜叉, Sengoku Otogi Zōshi InuYasha) (also romanized as Inuyasha), is a Japanese manga series that was later adapted into anime. Written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi, the story centers around a time-traveling middle school student, a half-demon, a lecherous monk, a young fox demon, a demon slayer, and a nekomata during the Sengoku period who seek to restore the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama) and to keep it out of the hands of the evil Naraku. This series also displays the hardships and chaos in that Japanese era.
The manga was adapted into a 167 episode anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda (episodes 1 to 44) and Yasunao Aoki (44 onwards) and produced by Sunrise. The anime first aired on Yomiuri TV in Japan from 16 October 2000 to 13 September 2004. The television run of the anime ceased without a conclusion to the story. As of October 2007, the manga is still being released in Japan.
In 2002, the manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen title of the year.
Plot overview
The story begins in Feudal Japan with InuYasha, a hanyo stealing the Shikon no Tama, a jewel that can increase anyone's powers enormously, from a village. He does not get far before Kikyo, the young miko of the village, shoots InuYasha with a sacred arrow, sealing him forever to Goshinboku, a tree in the nearby forest. Mortally wounded, Kikyo tells her younger sister, Kaede, to burn the jewel with her body to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
In modern Tokyo, a junior high-school girl named Kagome Higurashi is on her way to school. She stops in the well house of her family's Shinto shrine to retrieve her cat, Buyo, when a centipede demon bursts forth and pulls her into the Sengoku period of Japan.
Not knowing where she is, Kagome wanders around a forest near the well. She spots Goshinboku off in the distance and proceeds towards it. When she reaches the tree, she finds InuYasha, who is still sealed with an arrow to the tree, asleep. Villagers seize her and take her to the old miko, Kaede. Recognizing that Kagome is the re-incarnation of her sister Kikyo, Kaede tells the story of Kikyo and InuYasha.
The centipede attacks again, and Kagome is forced to release InuYasha to kill it. After defeating the centipede, in order to prevent InuYasha from taking the Jewel of Four Souls, Kaede casts magical prayer beads around InuYasha's neck so Kagome can subdue him.
Then the jewel attracts more demons. In a battle against a carrion crow demon, the jewel is shattered into numerous shards.
Kagome and InuYasha set out to collect the shards and restore the Jewel of Four Souls. Along the way they befriend Shippo, a fox demon, Miroku, a cursed monk, and Sango, a demon-slayer whose brother was tricked into slaughtering the rest of their village. The group often encounters: InuYasha's older half-brother, Sesshomaru; Naraku who tricked Kikyo and InuYasha into turning against each other; Kikyo who was brought back from the grave with part of Kagome's soul; and a wolf demon, Koga, who is in love with Kagome and wants to make her "his woman".
Characters
- Kagome Higurashi (日暮 かごめ, Higurashi Kagome) Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Moneca Stori (English)
- Kagome is a 15 year-old 9th grade student. She is the reincarnation of Kikyo, a miko who died 50 years before the time Kagome first emerges from the Bone Eater's Well in the Sengoku Jidai. Because of this Kagome has powerful spiritual powers herself and can even sense the Shikon no Tama. Kagome can be extremely sweet, but can also become very dangerous when provoked. InuYasha wears a special bead necklace which only responds to Kagome's command: when she yells "Sit!".[1] At this, InuYasha is thrown to the ground. The necklace was placed upon him by Kaede because he was threatening to kill Kagome if she did not give the jewel to him. [2]
- InuYasha (犬夜叉) Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese); Richard Ian Cox (English)
- InuYasha is a hanyō, the product of an inu-yōkai (犬妖怪, dog demon) and a human. He wields the Tessaiga,[3] a supernatural sword made from one of his deceased father's fangs. This sword, when properly wielded, can destroy one hundred demons with a single swing. InuYasha can quickly recover from injuries which would be fatal for any average human, because of his demonic heritage. On the night of the new moon each month, InuYasha will change into a normal human with black hair, brown eyes, and loses his yokai power during this time. InuYasha was bound to Goshinboku by Kikyo's arrow for fifty years until Kagome freed him.
- Miroku (弥勒) Voiced by: Kōji Tsujitani (Japanese); Kirby Morrow (English)
- A Buddhist "hōshi" (low-ranking, itinerant monk), Miroku traveled the countryside performing services such as exorcisms and yōkai exterminations to earn his living. He suffers from a hereditary curse originally inflicted upon his grandfather Miyatsu (also a Buddhist monk) by Naraku. The curse created a hole in his hand that became a kazaana (風洞, air void or "wind tunnel") which sucks in anything not nailed down, regardless of mass. However, absorbing poisons harms him, a fact Naraku takes advantage of by creating highly poisonous insects whose presence prevents Miroku from using his kazāna on Naraku or his allies. Miroku uses the kazāna as a powerful weapon against yōkai, but if the curse is not broken (by defeating Naraku), it will grow too large to control and consume Miroku himself. Miroku is a talented con artist who does not hesitate to invent fictitious supernatural menaces which he can then offer to combat in return for food and shelter, and he has a distinct weakness for pretty single women. He makes a point of asking every attractive woman he meets if she will bear his child, and he habitually strokes the buttocks of attractive women. He eventually proposes to Sango, though this does little to curb his flirtations with other women.
- Sango (珊瑚) Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese); Kelly Sheridan (English)
- A "yōkai taijiya" (demon slayer) who hails from a village of professional yōkai slayers. Sango wields the Hiraikotsu, a massive boomerang made of yōkai bones, in addition to a broad repertoire of tools and tricks for battling yōkai. Sango seeks revenge against Naraku for the death of her family and her entire village. In addition, Sango seeks to rescue her brother Kohaku from Naraku's influence and somehow save his life, even though Kohaku's life is tied to the jewel shard embedded in his back. She also eventually falls for Miroku. Although everyone but InuYasha noticed, she never wanted to admit it. Her interest was manifested by hitting Miroku when he flirted with other single women.
- Shippo (七宝, Shippō) Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe (Japanese); Jillian Michaels (actress) (English)
- A young orphan kitsune whose father was killed by the Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten, and the first character in the story to join InuYasha and Kagome in their travels as a group. Shippo can shapeshift, but his forms are temporary, often incomplete and ineffective, and he is usually given away by his tail. His other noteworthy abilities illusionary tricks with toys like his giant spinning top attack, using his race's notable fox fire magic, and making things like leaves or himself multiply. He tends to be naively observant and often makes pointed and cheeky comments directed towards InuYasha, earning him a retaliatory bonk on the head for his unsolicited "advice".
- Kirara (雲母) Voiced by: Tarako Isono
- Sango's faithful nekomata; Kirara [4] has cream-colored fur, with black ears, two black stripes on each of her two bushy tails near the tip, and black-tipped paws. Kirara can change between two forms, a ferocious yōkai the size of a lion with the ability to fly, and a cute little kitten. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo often use Kirara's flying ability as transportation in order to keep up with InuYasha.
Media
Manga
The manga was serialized in Japan in the weekly publication Shonen Sunday by Shogakukan, with the first installment issued on 13 November 1996. Every 180 pages, usually ten chapters, the issues are collected in bound tankōbon. The latest chapter (published on 28 November 2007) is chapter 532, Inside Naraku's Body. The end notes of the most recent chapters seem to indicate that the manga has reached its climax, and will soon have a conclusion.
In the United States the English version is published by Viz Media. The artwork is flipped to conform to the American standard of reading left to right. Volume 1 was published in March 1998, with either two or three new volumes following each year. At present, the series has stepped up to a quarterly release basis. Volume 30 was published on 10 July 2007, and volume 31 on 9 October 2007. Volume 32 is expected to be in stores on 8 January 2008. Viz is still several years away from catching up to the number of volumes in Japan.
The manga won the 2002 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen title of the year.
The anime ended at the equivalent of the 36th manga volume, chapter 356.
Anime
The InuYasha anime series spanned 167 episodes. It was broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network Animax, which also aired the series on its English-language network in South Asia and on its networks in East Asia, Yomiuri TV and Nippon Television. The series ended its television run in Japan on September 13, 2004.
The anime is licensed in North America by Viz and ShoPro Entertainment, with dubbing done by the The Ocean Group. It was first broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on August 31, 2002 in dubbed form. In the United States, the final episode of InuYasha aired on October 27, 2006. It is now in rotation, with one episode airing Tuesday through Sunday at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time (repeated at 5:30 a.m.).
The series premiered in Canada on YTV on September 5, 2003. YTV's Bionix programming block aired the final episode on December 1, 2006. Reruns continued to air in the Bionix block until October 12, 2007.
InuYasha has also been dubbed in Mandarin Chinese and aired on Xing Kong, a Taiwanese TV Channel. It has also been dubbed in Bahasa Melayu for ntv7. The show airs every Friday at 7:30 p.m.
In Latin America, InuYasha is shown on Cartoon Network LA, dubbed in Spanish and in Portuguese (Brazil or with SAP in other countries). At one point in Latin America, new episodes of InuYasha were airing twice a day, 5 times a week, with reruns airing Saturday night - 5 episodes in two hours. Due to this faster schedule, the series finished a complete run faster in Latin America than in the United States. The final episode aired in December 2006, with reruns continuing to air.
DVD releases
On April 16 2007, the first 12 InuYasha episodes were released on DVD in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the first four seasons have been released as Season box sets and as individual disks.
Season | Episodes | Discs | Features | DVD release date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 - 27 | 5 |
|
7 September 2004 |
2 | 28 - 54 | 5 |
|
8 November 2005 |
3 | 55 - 81 | 5 |
|
12 September 2006 |
4 | 82 - 99 | 4 |
|
4 September 2007 |
Season | Episodes | Discs | Features | DVD release date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1a | 1 - 12 | 2 |
|
16 April 2007 |
Movies
Four movies, which exist separate from the anime plot, have been released. The first movie, InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time was released on 16 December 2001, in Japan with InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island being the last movie to be released; on 23 December 2004, in Japan. The fourth movie was released three months after the series finale of InuYasha in Japan. As of September 2007, there have been no plans for a fifth movie.
Four theatrical releases of the series have appeared so far:
Movie | Premiere date |
---|---|
InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time (映画犬夜叉 時代を越える想い, Eiga Inuyasha: Jidai o Koeru Omoi)
|
Japan: 16 December 2001 |
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)
|
Japan: 21 December 2002
U.S.: 28 December 2004 |
InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler (映画犬夜叉 天下覇道の剣, Eiga Inuyasha: Tenka Hadō no Ken)
|
Japan: 20 December 2003
U.S.: 6 September 2005 |
InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island (映画犬夜叉 紅蓮の蓬莱島, Eiga Inuyasha: Guren no Hōraijima)
|
Japan: 23 December 2004 |
Music
- "Change the world"
- Opening for episodes: 1 - 34
- Lyrics by Rie Matsumoto, music by Miki Watanabe and arranged by Keiichi Ueno
- Performed by V6
- "I Am"
- Opening for episodes: 35 - 64
- Lyrics by hitomi, music by Masato Kitano and arranged by Zentaro Watanabe
- Performed by Hitomi
- "Owari nai Yume" (終わりない夢 Unending Dream)
- Opening for episodes: 65 - 95
- Lyrics by Nanase Aikawa, music by Hiroshi Shibazaki and arranged by Kaname
- Performed by Nanase Aikawa
- "Grip!"
- Opening for episodes: 96 - 127
- Lyrics by Kaori Mochida, music by Kazuhiro Kara and arranged by Hal
- Performed by Every Little Thing
- "One Day, One Dream"
- Opening for episodes: 128 - 157
- Lyrics by Hideyuki Kohata, music by Kei Yoshikawa and arranged by Chokkaku
- Performed by Tackey & Tsubasa
- "Angelus" (アンジェラス)
- Opening for episodes: 158 - 167
- Lyrics by Bounceback, music by Bulge and arranged by Yasuaki Maejima
- Performed by Hitomi Shimatani
- "My will"
- Ending for episodes: 1 - 20, and 167
- Lyrics by Mai Matsumuro, music by Yasho Ohtani, arranged by Keisuke Kikuchi and chorus arrangement by Yas Kitajima
- Performed by dream
- "Fukai mori" (深い森 Deep Forest)
- Ending for episodes: 21 - 41
- Lyrics by D-A-I, music by D-A-I, and arranged by D-A-I and Seiji Kameda
- Performed by Do As Infinity
- "Dearest"
- Ending for episodes: 42 - 60
- Lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki, music by CREA (Ayumi Hamasaki) + D-A-I and arranged by Naoto Suzuki
- Performed by Ayumi Hamasaki
- "Every Heart" (ミンナノキモチ - Minnano Kimochi)
- Ending for episodes: 61 - 85
- Lyrics by Natsumi Watanabe, music by Bounceback and arranged by H-wonder
- Performed by BoA
- "Shinjitsu no Uta" (真実の詩 Song of Truth)
- Ending for episodes: 86 - 108
- Lyrics by D-A-I, music by D-A-I, and arranged by D-A-I and Seiji Kameda
- Performed by Do As Infinity
- "Itazura na Kiss" (イタズラな Kiss - Mischievous Kiss)
- Ending for episodes: 109 - 127
- Lyrics by Misono, music by 北野正人, and arranged by 五十嵐充 and Day After Tomorrow
- Performed by Day After Tomorrow
- "Come"
- Ending for episodes: 128 - 147
- Lyrics by Kask/Mansson/Cunnah and music by Kask/Mansson/Cunnah
- Japanese lyrics by Yuriko Mori and arranged by Cobra Endo
- Performed by Namie Amuro
- "Change the world"
- Special ending for episode: 148
- Lyrics by Rie Matsumoto, music by Miki Watanabe and arranged by Keiichi Ueno
- Performed by V6
- "Brand new world"
- Ending for episodes: 149 - 166
- Lyrics by Mizue, music by Ōyagihirō and arranged by 家原正樹
- Performed by V6
- "No more words"
- From InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
- Lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki, music by CREA and Do As Infinity, and arranged by Naoto Suzuki and Tasuku
- Performed by Ayumi Hamasaki
- "Yura Yura" (ゆらゆら Rock)
- From InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
- Lyrics by Kaori Mochida, music by Kunio Tako and arranged by Yasuo Otani, Masafumi Nakao and Ichiro Ito
- Performed by Every Little Thing
- "Ai no Uta" (愛の歌 Song of Love)
- Insert song from InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
- Lyrics by Kaori Mochida, music by Kunio Tako and arranged by Akira Murata
- Performed by Every Little Thing
- "Four Seasons"
- From InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler
- Lyrics by JUSME, music by MONK and arranged by MONK
- Performed by Namie Amuro
- "Rakuen" (楽園 Paradise)
- From InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island
- Lyrics by Ryo Owatari, music by Do As Infinity and arranged by Do As Infinity and Seiji Kameda
- Performed by Do As Infinity
Games
InuYasha has been adapted into a mobile game – released for Java and Brew handsets on 21 June 2005, [5] a trading card game – an English-language original Trading card game first released on 20 October 2004, created by Score Entertainment, and the following video game console games:
Title | Console | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale | PlayStation | 9 April 2003 (North America) |
Japanese title: Inuyasha: Sengoku Otogi Kassen (戦国お伽草子–犬夜叉) |
InuYasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask | PlayStation 2 | 1 November 2004 (North America) | Japanese title: Inuyasha: Juso no Kamen (犬夜叉 呪詛の仮面) |
InuYasha: Feudal Combat | PlayStation 2 | 23 August 2005 (North America) | Japanese title: Inuyasha: Ōgi-Ranbu (犬夜叉 奥義乱舞) |
InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel | Nintendo DS | 23 January 2007 (North America) | English only.[6] |
Inuyasha: Kagome no Sengoku Nikki (犬夜叉 ~かごめの戦国日記, InuYasha: Kagome's Warring States Diary) | WonderSwan | 2 November 2001 (Japan) | Japanese only. |
Inuyasha: Fūun Emaki (犬夜叉 風雲絵巻) | WonderSwan | 27 July 2002 (Japan) | Japanese only. |
Inuyasha: Kagome no Yume Nikki (犬夜叉 かごめの夢日記, InuYasha: Kagome's Dream Diary) | WonderSwan | 16 November 2002 (Japan) | Japanese only. |
Inuyasha: Naraku no Wana! Mayoi no Mori no Shōtaijō (犬夜叉~奈落の罠!迷いの森の招待状, InuYasha: Naraku's Trap! Invitation to the Forest of Illusion) | Game Boy Advance | 23 January 2003 (Japan) | Japanese only. |
Growth and popularity
InuYasha is fairly popular in the Canadian internet community. According to Google, InuYasha was the most searched for term on their search engine in Canada, in 2004. InuYasha was also the third most popular searched for term in Canada in all of 2003.[7][8]
Leaping onto American TVs on 31 August 2002, InuYasha made its debut in Cartoon Network's Saturday Adult Swim Block. The show's rapid rise in popularity quickly pushed it to air five nights a week. Although no new episodes are available since 2005, as of 2007, reruns are still aired in two back-to-back episodes five nights per week.
According to Viz, the release of the feature film, InuYasha: Affections Touching Across Time on DVD has sold over 30,000 units to-date and has occupied the number two spot on Nielsen Videoscan’s Anime Rankings for three consecutive weeks. As a series overall, more than 800,000 DVDs of the InuYasha series have been sold since March 2003.
On the literary side, InuYasha graphic novels also continue to show strong sales numbers. Volume 19 of the InuYasha manga series has been ranked Number 3 on Nielsen Bookscan’s Graphic Novel Top 50 List for the week ending 3 October 2004, and volume 1 is at Number 18 in its 77th straight week on top, confirming a growing interest among new fans.[9]
Notes and references
- ^ Note:Often "Sit, boy!" in the dub.
- ^ Episode 2
- ^ Note: it is incorrectly pronounced "Tetsaiga" and spelled "Tetsusaiga" in the English dub
- ^ Note:Also called Kilala (pronounced "Kee-Lah-Lah") in the English dub, but spelled Kirara, because the Japanese language treats "r" and "l" as one phoneme.
- ^ Inuyasha mobile phone game
- ^ ign.com
- ^ "Google Press Center: Zeitgeist". Google. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
- ^ "Google Press Center: 2003 Year-End Zeitgeist". Google. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
- ^ http://www.anime-tourist.com/article.php?sid=865
External links
Template:Contains Japanese text
- Viz's official InuYasha website
- Shonen Sunday's Official InuYasha manga website Template:Ja icon
- Sunrise's official InuYasha anime website Template:Ja icon
- Yomiuri Television's official InuYasha anime website Template:Ja icon
- Inu Yasha ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Manga series
- 1996 introductions
- 2000 television program debuts
- 2004 television program series endings
- Action anime and manga
- Anime films
- Anime of the 2000s
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- Japanese mythology in anime and manga
- Japanese television series
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- Sengoku-jidai
- Shōnen
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- Supernatural anime and manga
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- Winner of Shogakukan Manga Award (Shōnen)