InuYasha

[crushrose]

actually yeah I have it programed right now on ep so it can last but I still stay up

and watch it then watch it again the next day Incase i missed anything

[doxiedachsie]

Rites of Passage & Significant Milestones

In case anybody has noticed that the age of a person starting on a significant change-point in their life is almost always mentioned, there is a reason for this in fairy tales. In fairy & folk tales, events usually happen to protagonists at an age corresponding to a significant milestone in their life, an age associated with a Rite Of Passage into a new life stage.

We still honor these dates: sweet sixteen in Anglo-Saxon cultures (15 in Hispanic cultures), 18, 21, etc. There are rites such as christening / baptism to mark new births. Marriage was often associated with 21. Drinking: 18 or 21, depending on the state (even our legal system gets involved). Draft into armed services: 18. Retirement. Confirmation at 11-12. They are markers of growth & of significant life changes.

For example, Kohaku gets initiated into the world of adult demon slayers because he is 11. Earlier cultures had younger transition dates. Life span was shorter then, too.

Kagome's adventure starts on her 15th birthday. Not a coincidence. Look at other fairy tales.

Sleeping Beauty's spell is enacted on her 16th birthday & lasts for 100 years. Same for Snow White, more or less. The spells are broken by True Love's First Kiss. Sound familiar? Inuyasha was awakened from his spell by Kagome on her 15th birthday, after the spell had lasted 50 years. Takahashi has mixed up the elements, but they are present here. Don't think that the element of True Love is not involved at this point. Takahashi has reversed the roles, but that is just part of her talent. She is not just rehashing the old themes, but using them to tell a whole new story.

Kagome's age is significant. Because she has turned 15, she is a woman, and no longer a child. She even bathes alone, no longer communally with the family. Her initiation into adulthood is marked by the "activation" of the Shikon jewel. Demons can sense it now. Her time in childhood was marked by innocence, a condition that probably neutralized the jewel. Now that she is an adult, the only protection she has is her ability to purify the jewel; & that, in folklore, would have been associated with her condition of chastity. Recall that Kikyo's power was associated with her lack of involvement with men & that it weakened as she fell in love with Inuyasha.

Here, we are getting a different message & a different perspective. Kagome's power seems to strengthen as she falls deeper in love. It seems that her bond with Inuyasha creates a force that is more powerful than the sum of their individual powers alone. An interesting concept that is tied to the idea that their destiny is with each other.

It also ties in with the implications made that Inuyasha, too, is developmentally a 15-year-old. In feudal Japan, he would be a man, able to marry, fight as a soldier, etc. But he still would be at the crossover point and retain childish elements. In the case of this tale, the reason shown is his lack of education in everything because he grew up alone. But that would be part of the mark of the Hero. He is different from ordinary folk. That is part of his destiny, which was hidden until now.

Many folk tales start with a broken family. One or both parents is absent. The hero is raised without their influence. That holds true here.

Inuyasha's destiny is becoming manifest in his inheritance of Tessaiga, his increase in power, and in his collection of companions to help him on his journey. It even shows in the enchanted rosary he wears. Kagome is bonded to him in all this. She shares the God Tree with him. She shares Tessaiga because she was the only one to remove it from its storage and because it was his desire to protect her that activated its power. She shares the rosary. She shares the Well. She even shares the sacred arrow that held him for 50 years.

Inuyasha has even made a journey to the Land of the Dead, twice so far. The first time Kikyo sent him alone & Kagome brought him back. The second time Kagome accompanied him to retrieve his inheritance. Only heroes can make that journey. Interestingly enough, Sesshomaru went there, too. This would imply that there is more to Sesshomaru than has been revealed so far.

Message Edited by doxiedachsie on 02-21-2009 10:57 PM

[crushrose]

Spoiler Alert!

when Miroku promisses a young girl he would marry her she was 11 years old the episode

takes place 3 years later Kagome says to herself "wow things were a lot different back then"

this also happens almost in all the eps...highlight please

Message Edited by crushrose on 02-21-2009 08:03 PM

[doxiedachsie]

Yes and she would have been 14 at the time of her marriage.  **

[crushrose]

yup this happens through out the show a lot it's just another reason to pay attention more lolz

[doxiedachsie]

The Kagome-Inuyasha-Kikyo love triangle has now become a quadrangle.

By episode 20, Inuyasha is aware that he is caught between 2 women, Kagome & Kikyo.  But.  They're the same woman.  Or are they?  Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation.  But.  They're different.  Kagome has a totally different personality.  It's confusing for the poor guy.

What he is beginning to learn now is that Kikyo was caught between 2 men, Onigumo & himself.  She did not return Onigumo's love, if that's what it was; but she still allowed Inuyasha to become the object of Onigumo's jealousy.  That was a big mistake on her part.

Inuyasha was unaware of his "rival" and totally unprepared for the form of deadly conflict he would be thrust into because of this.

So, now we have 2 men after the same woman & 2 women in love with one of the men.

Inuyasha loves both women differently.  His love for Kikyo is colored at first with regret over her death and will soon be colored with guilt as well.  He sees himself as the cause of her death.  The intensity of the passion he felt for her will always be tempered by her real betrayal - the lie she told by keeping Onigumo's existence a secret.

Because Kikyo paid for her mistake with her life, Inuyasha will desire revenge and more.  He will do everything in his power to protect the woman he loves from sharing the same fate.  Moreover, that guilt will affect the decisions he makes from now on.

On Kikyo's side, her reactions to Kagome are more similar to Onigumo's.  She will try to destroy her rival, either directly, or indirectly by failing to aid her when she is in trouble.

Kagome is at the opposite end of the scale.  Partly because she comes from a time when more is known of psychology, she is aware of her negative feelings and accepts them as something that is normal & must be tolerated rather than as something that will dictate her actions or change her innermost personality.  Hence, she rejects them as wrong, but unavoidable & natural.  They are no reason for her to abandon her normal beliefs or behave differently.

Naraku, on the other hand, wastes no time setting Kikyo against Inuyasha.  He only desired Inuyasha's death, but did not bargain on Kikyo's dedication to keeping the Shikon jewel pure.  He is a master manipulator and uses his knowledge of personalities to create conflict.  His plans are meticulous and contain many backup scenarios to ensure their success.  Yet, he is constantly thwarted by the unexpected.  Kikyo chose to die rather than allow the jewel to fall into evil hands.  In the present, Inuyasha's determination & the Tessaiga thwart his plan to destroy the forest &, with it, Inuyasha's companions. 

He uses lies, trickery, & cunning to get others to do his dirty work.  In Western culture, these are the traits ascribed to Satan, the devil.  Here the true villian of the piece is finally revealed.  Inuyasha now has a goal: to avenge Kikyo's death by destroying Naraku and, in the process, collect all the jewel shards Kagome saw on him.

Interesting that "love" & jealousy are at the core of all that has happened so far.

[doxiedachsie]

Some things to note in this episode:

Kagome says she isn't interested in Inuyasha; but he is all she thinks about in school & on a date with Hojo. She is angry that he has not come for her. She is most concerned that he is too seriously injured, or even dead. This confirms that she is definitely in love with Inuyasha at this point.

When the battle starts in the feudal era and Shippo grabs the shard that Inuyasha dropped, it is early morning, a little past dawn. When Kagome senses the shard in the Well a short time later, it is early afternoon and she is late for her date with Hojo. There seems to be an unexplained offset in time that was never brought up before. Until now, it always seemed to be about the same time of day in both eras. (Possible blooper?)

We also see Inuyasha reaffirm that he will do anything to keep Kagome from getting involved in his dangerous battles. It is definite on his side also. He loves Kagome enough to give her up rather than put her in danger. He also abruptly abandons battle to run to her side.

It is interesting to see the half-demon Inuyasha's reaction to Kagome's concern. In episode 13, we saw human Inuyasha's reaction of surprise at her concern that led to a rather romantic moment between them. Here, as a half-demon, his initial reaction is surprise (again) and mental caring, but he covers up very quickly with anger & starts an argument. It seems that the pattern is set. Their arguments have become an extension of their caring for one another.

Also note how Inuyasha's strength multiplies as soon as he catches her scent. He downs Royakan with one punch when he could barely move before; and after his second blow to Royakan with that heavy tree, he shows no fatigue at all.

The indestructible robe of the fire-rat is the only article of Inuyasha's clothing that is damaged by Naraku's miasma. It totally dissolves while his plain linen shirt & "ordinary" pants are untouched. It can be presumed that Naraku has somehow miasma-proofed his own clothing, but Inuyasha's? No explanation is ever offered as to why this happens. PS: after the introduction & title card of the next episode, the robe is miraculously back.

There has presumably been a considerable gap in time between the end of episode 21 & the start of episode 22. Judging by how slowly Inuyasha was healing from his brother's poison wounds, at least 1-2 weeks have passed since the Royakan battle. Inuyasha bears no marks on his face any longer & the wound marks in his clothing have cleared up. It seems that Kagome had been in modern Japan for over a week before getting back, based on statements made by her & her grandfather, and Inuyasha's healing progressed little in that time.

A new ending theme is introduced with this episode. Here are a few freeze-frame items: Scott McNeil is credited with Koga's voice even though the character has yet to appear, and near the very end of the credits Sesshomaru touches his mokomoko fur WITH HIS LEFT HAND. However, when we see him flying a short time later, his left arm is missing.

Message Edited by doxiedachsie on 02-22-2009 03:43 PM

[crushrose]

What do you think Sesshomaru was thinking when he touches his Mokomoko does

he remember his father's uniform and tries to resemble himself to his father "The great dog demon"

As we know He really doesn't have that much feelings for other's, Yet this is a peek at things

to come....

Next episodes

23. Kagome's voice and Kikyo's kiss

24. Enter Sango, the Demon Slayer

[doxiedachsie]

The implication of the segment seems to be he is musing on his father's last battle and what that meant to him.

[doxiedachsie]

22 A Wicked Smile; Kikyo's Wandering Soul

Here we get to see Kikyo, who survived the fall off that mountain where Urasue revived her.  She is depicted as a kindhearted priestess who loves children and, in particular, has semi-adopted a young girl who is reminiscent of Kaede as a child. 

The arrival of a monk & his acolyte disturbs that tranquility.  The monk is convinced she is evil & tries to exorcise her.  This is where Kikyo makes a bad choice.  The monk drops a sutra scroll & asks her to pick it up.  She does, but instead of just handing it back, she gives him an energy jolt & erases the scroll.  That leads to a later confrontation that results in the monk's death and Kikyo's exposure so that she must leave the village.

Here, once again,  is an example of the character flaw that lead to her own death.  She is so smug about her powers that she believes she can conquer all with them. Her arrogance makes her underestimate her opponents.  Had she not revealed those powers to the monk, she could have continued on at the village. 

Fifty years earlier, her arrogance made her underestimate Onigumo.  Back then, she accepted a task (to purify the Shikon jewel) without thinking of the long term consequences.  She overestimated her own powers & then found out that the task she took on was more work than she was willing to accept. 

She decided to use the jewel for a selfish reason, so that she could become an ordinary woman & have the man she loved.  It was her arrogance that led her to that decision.  She thought that she could master the jewel because she was able to purify it.  Big mistake.  She thought her love for Inuyasha was strong enough to make a life together.  Wrong.  She made unjustifiable assumptions about the jewel & wound up paying the ultimate price.  By the time it was over, she did what she had to in order to salvage the situation - take the jewel out of this world.

That was her one main character flaw.  That was her tragedy.  She was so good & benevolent in every other way that she should have been able to prevent the tragedy; but that single flaw in her character made it inevitable.

She still blames Inuyasha at this point for betraying her and wishing her death; but she did notice that when she challenged him with desiring her death again he looked so sad and stopped urging her to return to Kagome. She thinks it's because he fears her vengeance.  She will have to learn differently now that everyone else knows it was Naraku's fault.

[doxiedachsie]

In episode 22, we also get a look at Inuyasha's true character.  The boy has principles.  He gets upset that they are enjoying a sumptuous meal because of Miroku's lies.  He feels that they did not properly earn it.

He is also somewhat reserved.  When Kagome leans on him because she is afraid, he gets embarrassed & upset.  (Well, he really likes her a lot, but is trying to be a gentleman & keep his distance.)

He is still playing the hard nosed demon, but winds up being the one who helps everyone.

Kagome calls him a saint in this episode more than once.

[crushrose]

---

doxiedachsie wrote:
In episode 22, we also get a look at Inuyasha's true character.  The boy has principles.  He gets upset that they are enjoying a sumptuous meal because of Miroku's lies.  He feels that they did not properly earn it.

He is also somewhat reserved.  When Kagome leans on him because she is afraid, he gets embarrassed & upset.  (Well, he really likes her a lot, but is trying to be a gentleman & keep his distance.)

He is still playing the hard nosed demon, but winds up being the one who helps everyone.

Kagome calls him a saint in this episode more than once.

---

lol that is true he is a saint in a way

[doxiedachsie]

And let's not forget that beautiful slo-mo in episode 21 where Kagome is at the top of the well watching Inuyasha land from shoving the tree down Royakan's throat.  He drifts down slowly and, after he lands, she first walks, then runs to him.  Romantic squish all the way, even their argument.

[crushrose]

yup and remember that is the InuYasha that we know said that Kikyo looked cuter lol

[doxiedachsie]

---

crushrose wrote:
yup and remember that is the InuYasha that we know said that Kikyo looked cuter lol

---

The same way he said he hated Kagome's scent...     and we all know that was a lie.

[doxiedachsie]

I'm still wondering if the shot of Sesshomaru's left hand in the closing credits was a blooper.  In the very next shot, he is flying on a cloud & his empty left sleeve is flapping in the wind.

[crushrose]

hey you know what your right i'll check up on that

and yeah Kagome's sent does change if you know what i mean lol

[doxiedachsie]

There's also something else.  Those double voices as Naraku bragged about how he tricked Inuyasha & Kikyo were really creepy.

[crushrose]

oh yeah they still give me shivvers

[crushrose]

can't wait till the other eps show

[crushrose]

I was watching the replay on my vsr "Naraku's true Identity revealed" when Naraku was

telling the story on how he made InuYasha and Kikyo despise one another I noticed a snake

in a tree and then falling into the river what do you think that meant, was that a metaphore

for saying Naraku did that as being a snake as we know Naraku means "hell" and Unigumo

means "demon spider" so that ain't a sing of his name..

[doxiedachsie]

I always wondered about the snake. I remember my first impression was "Garden of Eden". But that wasn't Japanese. I still wonder if it might be a christian reference, though, because so many religions in Japan have merged and borrowed elements from one another.

ChatMan has studied some of this & might know more.  But his PC is broken right now.   (See his post excerpt at the top of this page.)

Message Edited by doxiedachsie on 02-23-2009 08:06 PM

[crushrose]

Yeah that's true, but there has to be some meaning behind it..Only with further

information we will find some answerers..

[doxiedachsie]

Like ChatMan said, Takahashi liked to throw in mythological references & the serpent tempting the lovers in Eden would be an apt description of Naraku with Kikyo & Inuyasha.

[crushrose]

Hey Mat did make a good point there, Also I observed the ending theme from the

Saturday line up and yeah it does look like a bloober....