Happiness Bunny

Today, the final installment in the 558 chapter saga was posted to OneManga.

The manga, which began in 1996, is written and drawn by the Queen of manga, Rumiko Takahasi. Takahasi-sama is the creator of several classic(and long) manga series such as Urusei Yatsura(1978-87), Maison Ikkoku(1980-87), and Ranma 1/2(1987-96); all of which had long running anime series.

The series is the story of the title character, Inuyasha, who is the child of a human mother and an incredibly powerful dog demon. Despite being very powerful, Inuyasha is mocked by demons for being a mere half-demon, and shunned by most humans for his dog- like appearance, notably his ears and fangs. He lives during the warring states era in Japan(1467-1603).

The female lead is Kagome, a 15 year old from Tokyo whose family runs a shrine. One day while searching for her cat, she is pulled into an old well on the property. She ends up in the feudal era due to the power of the Jewel of Four Souls. This immensly powerful jewel had recently been destroyed in the feudal era when it's guardian had been cremated with it. Kagome is the reincarnation of the guardian, and the Jewel is 'reborn' inside her.

The main villian is Naraku, who sought the Jewel while still a human in the feudal era. Failing, he merges with a multitude of weak demons, becoming a half-demon himself. When Kagome arrives, he pursues the jewel once again. In an early battle, Kagome inadvertently causes the jewel to shatter into dozens of tiny shards, which disperse to the four winds. While not as strong as the complete jewel, a single shard will enhance a demon or human's powers markedly.

A race ensues to capture all the shards and re-create the jewel. Naraku avoids direct battles, using others to fight for him while he directs from the sidelines. He also contaminates jewel shards so that they cause anyone holding it to either become poisoned or extemely aggressive, depending on how it fits his plan.

Kagome has the ability to sense the jewel shards and also purify contaminated shards, as well as use of sacred arrows charged with spiritual energy, combined with Inuyasha's demon strength and powerful sword Tetsusaiga, allow them to keep up with the devious Naraku. Along the way, they befriend a young fox demon, Shippo, a perverted yet strong monk, Miroku, and the demon slayer, Sango. Much like a RPG, the five use their differing powers to defeat whatever obstacles befall them.

The manga is aimed at the young teen demographic, as is the anime. Though it does have more death than an American series for the same age range would have. For example, Naraku controls Sango's little brother Kohaku, forcing him to kill literally dozens of people while in a trance-like state, seemingly simply to torture Sango and piss off Inuyasha. As with any series this long, there is plenty of filler between major arcs. And yes, there is plenty repeated themes, not to mention episodes where the gang has Naraku down for the count, he retreats, and they LET him get away!

The series isn't one I'd really recommend-it's solid but really drawn out and somewhat predictable- I enjoyed the characters and the interaction between them quite a bit. My favorite character is Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's (full demon) older brother.

The final chapter is very solid, it's too bad the anime ended in 2004 without a true ending-it simply left off with the gang still searching for the jewel shards-much to the dissappointment of fans.

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