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Inuyasha: The Final Act | 4 - Dragon Scaled Tessaiga
This is the part of the manga that I mostly skipped, so I have no idea how accurate things are. Either way, this was a rather enjoyable episode, for my fellow swordophiles. And, for fans of Byakuya - he makes his debut!
The episode opens with another demonstration by Sesshoumaru of his new meidou zangetsuha technique, with the caveat that he has not yet mastered it, because he can only form cresent moons. When the technique has fully matured, he will be able to unleash perfect moons with with to dispatch his enemy to the underworld. This was a nice tie back to the last episode, but considering the rest of the content here...completely irrelevant o.O
The next scene cuts to Inuyasha and Totosai discussing the Dakki sword Inuyasha found/broke in the last episode. Totosai tells Inuyasha that the blade was made with a scale from Ryujin, and that if the attack hadn't failed, Inuyasha would've lost, for sure. This isn't *the* Dakki sword, merely a pale imitation, to which Inuyasha is shocked ~ after all, it sucked up most of Tessaiga's youki! And so, we're set to learn all about this new technique that he must conquer, the dragon scaled incarnation.
This episode also contains an arc with Koga, fighting alongside young comrades, Kai and Shinta. These two storylines are intertwined with each other, which actually made me go a little WTF. Byakuya appears out of nowhere and offers Kai a shard, in exchange for protecting his younger brother from a youkai that's attacking them. Kai is sent to find & steal Koga's shards, but this is definitely a moment where, if you are coming to this cold, you're like, "who the hell is this and why does he have shards to give away?!" instead of realizing its ~*~ Byakuya ~*~ LOL. And he isn't named until the end of the episode, which I also found rather jarring. I dunno - I just think if you were an anime-only fan coming into this, you'd be way confused.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and crew have happened upon the human swordsmith Toshu, who has been forging the Dakki blades. Unfortunately, Ryujin finds him at the same time, so they are battling when Inuyasha intercedes, capturing Ryujin's attention for the moment. Inuyasha realizes this new foe is the one who can steal youki, and they battle for supremacy, with the Inutachi providing color commentary the whole time. It was compelling stuff, if you enjoy swordplay and the dynamics between a master and his blade, but otherwise - snore city :-/ And it didn't help that they kept cutting back and forth between Inuyasha and Koga, either. Definite whiplash, on that front.
So eventually, Inuyasha bests Ryujin, but there's Toshu, ready with his "real" Dakki to suck up Ryujin's demonic energy. Toshu turns on his savior, possessed by Dakki, which desires Tessaiga's power. This is where it's most powerful, as we see Inuyasha and Tessaiga pushed to their limits, and Inuyasha declares that as long as he's still alive, so is his blade, for they are one in the same...Tessaiga protects Inuyasha with a swirling wind, not wishing to engage the Dakki, but when the blades clash, it is Toshu who is sacrificed, for the Dakki did not wish to break. Tessaiga takes the Dakki's power, now having the dragon-scaled technique...and they look up to see Ginta and Hakkaku huffing and puffing straight past them.
Since the Inutachi can't mind its own business, apparently, they follow after, coming upon Koga, Kai, Byakuya, and the kidnapped Shinta ~ who was taken by Mouyoumaru in disguise. Koga has been captured by the disgusting shapeshifter, who is in need of the shards in Koga's legs, and Inuyasha intervenes, unable to live with the idea of Koga's blood on his hands (as it was the stolen adamant barrage which ensnares him). They battle with Mouyoumaru, reopening the wound Sesshoumaru caused when taunted about Kagura's death, and eventually the power of their combined attacks makes him turn tail and leave. Inuyasha has been using his newly-acquired dragon-scaled technique, which heats up to the point of pain as it steals demonic energy, and he's eventually knocked out cold...which leads the rest of the group to Byakuya, who finally gets around to introducing himself. I prefer his title Byakuya of the Mirage (as opposed to 'Dreams' in the subs here) because it's a better fit to his later appearances. At any rate, he leaves, quite in the manner of Kagura, whipping out his little origami swan before taking flight, noting that he was merely there to observe the fight.
As the Inutachi revive Inuyasha, Byakuya meets with Naraku to give his report, like a good little incarnation. Naraku takes great pleasure in the idea that Tessaiga might destroy Inuyasha, if it causes him so much pain to swing it (and in swinging it), and seems not to care very much if Inuyasha manages to off Mouyoumaru before his sword destroys him, which I found odd - but, again, not being familiar with this particular portion of the manga *shrug*
Overall, this episode was about as boring as the multichapter arc its based on ;) though, as I said, I did find the growing relationship between Inuyasha and Tessaiga compelling. That he sees it as an extension of himself instead of an heirloom from his father is quite telling. It feels like they're setting up the whole Tessaiga and Tenseiga stuff a little bit, which is nice. The battle sequences themselves were okay, though not as impressive as some of the other action-packed efforts.
I was REALLY ANNOYED by the fact that Miroku and Sango were relegated to in-house narrators here; I can see why the Mir/San fans were so frustrated for the duration of this arc during the manga. There's nothing for them to do except give play by play, and it feels like a total waste of character face time. Blah. Boring!
The setup for the next episode at the end was nice, though, as we're left to wonder if Inuyasha will be able to find a way to control dragon-scaled Tessaiga's youki-stealing ability. Its definitely a twist on the whole power upgrades thing, as this one seems to be working against him as much as for him. Eh, we'll see.
Next episode previews: we move backwards on the timeline again to pick up the Kinka and Ginka arc; Sesshoumaru battles the freshly-re-wounded Mouyoumaru, and Inuyasha visits "the great holy demon spirit" (according to the subs) to learn how to master the new Tessaiga.
The episode opens with another demonstration by Sesshoumaru of his new meidou zangetsuha technique, with the caveat that he has not yet mastered it, because he can only form cresent moons. When the technique has fully matured, he will be able to unleash perfect moons with with to dispatch his enemy to the underworld. This was a nice tie back to the last episode, but considering the rest of the content here...completely irrelevant o.O
The next scene cuts to Inuyasha and Totosai discussing the Dakki sword Inuyasha found/broke in the last episode. Totosai tells Inuyasha that the blade was made with a scale from Ryujin, and that if the attack hadn't failed, Inuyasha would've lost, for sure. This isn't *the* Dakki sword, merely a pale imitation, to which Inuyasha is shocked ~ after all, it sucked up most of Tessaiga's youki! And so, we're set to learn all about this new technique that he must conquer, the dragon scaled incarnation.
This episode also contains an arc with Koga, fighting alongside young comrades, Kai and Shinta. These two storylines are intertwined with each other, which actually made me go a little WTF. Byakuya appears out of nowhere and offers Kai a shard, in exchange for protecting his younger brother from a youkai that's attacking them. Kai is sent to find & steal Koga's shards, but this is definitely a moment where, if you are coming to this cold, you're like, "who the hell is this and why does he have shards to give away?!" instead of realizing its ~*~ Byakuya ~*~ LOL. And he isn't named until the end of the episode, which I also found rather jarring. I dunno - I just think if you were an anime-only fan coming into this, you'd be way confused.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and crew have happened upon the human swordsmith Toshu, who has been forging the Dakki blades. Unfortunately, Ryujin finds him at the same time, so they are battling when Inuyasha intercedes, capturing Ryujin's attention for the moment. Inuyasha realizes this new foe is the one who can steal youki, and they battle for supremacy, with the Inutachi providing color commentary the whole time. It was compelling stuff, if you enjoy swordplay and the dynamics between a master and his blade, but otherwise - snore city :-/ And it didn't help that they kept cutting back and forth between Inuyasha and Koga, either. Definite whiplash, on that front.
So eventually, Inuyasha bests Ryujin, but there's Toshu, ready with his "real" Dakki to suck up Ryujin's demonic energy. Toshu turns on his savior, possessed by Dakki, which desires Tessaiga's power. This is where it's most powerful, as we see Inuyasha and Tessaiga pushed to their limits, and Inuyasha declares that as long as he's still alive, so is his blade, for they are one in the same...Tessaiga protects Inuyasha with a swirling wind, not wishing to engage the Dakki, but when the blades clash, it is Toshu who is sacrificed, for the Dakki did not wish to break. Tessaiga takes the Dakki's power, now having the dragon-scaled technique...and they look up to see Ginta and Hakkaku huffing and puffing straight past them.
Since the Inutachi can't mind its own business, apparently, they follow after, coming upon Koga, Kai, Byakuya, and the kidnapped Shinta ~ who was taken by Mouyoumaru in disguise. Koga has been captured by the disgusting shapeshifter, who is in need of the shards in Koga's legs, and Inuyasha intervenes, unable to live with the idea of Koga's blood on his hands (as it was the stolen adamant barrage which ensnares him). They battle with Mouyoumaru, reopening the wound Sesshoumaru caused when taunted about Kagura's death, and eventually the power of their combined attacks makes him turn tail and leave. Inuyasha has been using his newly-acquired dragon-scaled technique, which heats up to the point of pain as it steals demonic energy, and he's eventually knocked out cold...which leads the rest of the group to Byakuya, who finally gets around to introducing himself. I prefer his title Byakuya of the Mirage (as opposed to 'Dreams' in the subs here) because it's a better fit to his later appearances. At any rate, he leaves, quite in the manner of Kagura, whipping out his little origami swan before taking flight, noting that he was merely there to observe the fight.
As the Inutachi revive Inuyasha, Byakuya meets with Naraku to give his report, like a good little incarnation. Naraku takes great pleasure in the idea that Tessaiga might destroy Inuyasha, if it causes him so much pain to swing it (and in swinging it), and seems not to care very much if Inuyasha manages to off Mouyoumaru before his sword destroys him, which I found odd - but, again, not being familiar with this particular portion of the manga *shrug*
Overall, this episode was about as boring as the multichapter arc its based on ;) though, as I said, I did find the growing relationship between Inuyasha and Tessaiga compelling. That he sees it as an extension of himself instead of an heirloom from his father is quite telling. It feels like they're setting up the whole Tessaiga and Tenseiga stuff a little bit, which is nice. The battle sequences themselves were okay, though not as impressive as some of the other action-packed efforts.
I was REALLY ANNOYED by the fact that Miroku and Sango were relegated to in-house narrators here; I can see why the Mir/San fans were so frustrated for the duration of this arc during the manga. There's nothing for them to do except give play by play, and it feels like a total waste of character face time. Blah. Boring!
The setup for the next episode at the end was nice, though, as we're left to wonder if Inuyasha will be able to find a way to control dragon-scaled Tessaiga's youki-stealing ability. Its definitely a twist on the whole power upgrades thing, as this one seems to be working against him as much as for him. Eh, we'll see.
Next episode previews: we move backwards on the timeline again to pick up the Kinka and Ginka arc; Sesshoumaru battles the freshly-re-wounded Mouyoumaru, and Inuyasha visits "the great holy demon spirit" (according to the subs) to learn how to master the new Tessaiga.
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I am not sure why they included Ginka and Tinka. As far as I can see it adds nothing. I was surprised to see them add Yoursei-Taisei to next weeks show except that it will teach us about Youketsu.
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I'm turning into something of a sword fan(atic), so that angle on this episode I did find interesting. It was great to see Inuyasha interacting with Tessaiga in this way - and, I think down the road when they get into the whole Tessaiga vs Tenseiga and father's ultimate plans and all that, this setup will help support that nicely.
It was just seeing so many characters relegated to the sidelines here that rankled my nerves.
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Well, what's the point of having an ensemble cast if they're not going to do anything half the time? Maybe that's why so much fanfic features multiplayer battles.
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The gang is there to provide support and advice and wisdom and rahrah and because group membership is another important Japanese cultural thingie...and cause RT uses them as narrators. But InuYasha is absolutely the hero who does most of the important combat. Kinda like the peach boy story.
I almost got going into a deep litcrit analysis. Gads. You tempt me into the meta and critical realms too much, woman!
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LOL, I'm not going to stop you! :P Stuff like this, you don't realize just how wide the cultural gaps are.
I get the whole "bonding with your weapon" idea, and agree that its very important for the story (and even found the Inuyasha introspection on said subject to be compelling), but it just rankles me that all these vibrant characters have been reduced to cheerleaders, standing on the sidelines. Maybe because all of this has been crammed into one episode? And there's been little to no attention paid to the myriad of side stories, beyond the hero and the anti-hero bonding with their weapons? It just feels...heavy-handed, I suppose.
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Every one of the cast is involved in that transformation, growing themselves some in the process, until he is the perfect counterpoint to Naraku...and it's only then that Naraku can be destroyed. But RT uses them as tools to further her story. We care about them, like them, get intrigued with them, but it is his story, of how he grows into the man who can be the one that Kagome needs to destroy the jewel.
Anyway, in my litcrit mind, this is how the story works on the macro level.
It really does have some similarities to the Peach Boy story...In the story, the Peach Boy does rescue the princess the oni have taken captive with a bunch of characters he's picked up along the way, who bicker and fight and the group has to learn how to function together...but it's the Peach Boy who defeats the Oni King, frees the princess, but doesn't get the girl in the end...and InuYasha does.
Your mileage on analysis may very...I'm into motif and trope comparison...and the stories of the hero's journey into adulthood (ala Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces) is one of my favorite patterns...
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You know, I've always laughed and said it should be called "Kagome." ^_^ I think it's more her story. It starts with her and ends with her thoughts about being with Inuyasha and I'd say most of it is told through her eyes. Of course, most of her focus is on her love: Inuyasha. But it's about a modern-day schoolgirl thrown into a magical past and her adventures with a magical boy whom she transforms by her love and acceptance and helps him to become the man he should be, but never could be without her. It is her indomitable spirit and courage in the face of unimaginable challenges which gathers the others together and keeps them going. It was her destiny to destroy the jewel and defeat Naraku. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were all focused on revenge and avenging loved ones slain by Naraku. Kagome was the only one tied to the jewel. And she was the one who made the critical decision in the end to give up her life in her world to follow her heart. I really think it's her story. *ducks and runs for cover* ^_~ Heeheehee!
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BWAH!
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And thanks for the comments about the analysis! I don't indulge often, but it's kind of fun to put these type of words down into text once in awhile...
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As for Inu and his sword, interesting how playing with it, er I mean dueling, is eclipsing even his interest in Kagome at this juncture. She shrieked "Inuyasha!" at least three times in this episode, but I didn't hear a single "Kagome!"
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True. As I said, maybe it was just the presentation of the material in this episode that bothered me. Even though the sword upgrades dragged on for frickin' ever in the manga, there was also enough time spent with the side characters, as to make it compelling to care about their stories. As it is, the new anime has skipped and/or completely butchered some arcs that featured Miroku and Sango, the crisis with Kohaku's shard and Kikyo's reasons for going after Naraku. So it feels really cheap to have all these people sitting on the sidelines if they get little to no play in the story...if that makes any sense.
I understand and appreciate this is Inuyasha's story (the manga is named for him, after all, LOL). I suppose the AU-ness of the anime is starting to rankle on my nerves a little bit :P
Plus, this whole conversation really goes to show how much perception can be colored by those characters we fangirl the hardest, or identify with the most. Perhaps the Inuyasha fans are more satisfied with the presentation of the truncated story, moreso than Mir/San or Sess or even Naraku's minion fans :P
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Actually, I think that's one of the main reasons fanfiction is necessary. Period. I don't think manga/anime would be as popular as it is without doujinshi and fanfics.
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And now look at me..LOL....
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Pfft. I'm gonna go hibernate under a rock for the next couple of weeks, kthnxbai.