![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Inuyasha: The Final Act | 15 - True Heir
*fans self* Hot damn! Now that's how you do fanservice :D
First of all, I must gush - this was some *fabulous* art direction. Sesshoumaru, in particular, was drawn absolutely gorgeous throughout the entire episode - LOL, is it wrong of me to see all the bannering possibilities with caps from this episode? Because that certainly filled me with a good amount of fangirl squee, hehe.
I loved it all, though - the final cut to get the brothers out of the meidou was...awe-inspiring. That bit of animation more than makes up for some of the lackluster scenes we've had so far. All of the action was great here, though - it's great to finally see some nice battle scenes again! And given that these two pretty much duked it out over the swords, the action had to live up to the highest standards.
So basically Naraku gives Byakuya a shard of Kanna's mirror demon to give to Sesshoumaru, in hopes that the elder brother will use it in order to steal Tessaiga's powers and kill Inuyasha in the process. The fact that Sesshoumaru sees the trap before he walks into it? Is something I really like about him. He isn't just some mere pawn that Naraku can play with; he has his own agenda, and it just so happens to coincide with Naraku's plan. But the fact that he sees the trap for what it is is what ultimately allows him to step in and save Inuyasha's life at the end.
This episode stirs bittersweet feelings in me, because I can't help but feel for Sess just a little bit. This is his most humbling moment, when he has to give up everything - including, almost, his life - and its like the culmination of his world crumbling around him. That has to be a bitter pill for him to swallow, knowing that, even if he's going to force Inuyasha to take his powers and ultimate technique away from him, he's still going to end up without it. Only his honor and pride forced him to take this route, and I suppose he did come out of it with a bit more respect for Inuyasha in the end. I say that, because he had to be impressed that Inuyasha was willing to cut his own "demonic vortex" (aka, his life force), which proved that he trusted Tessiaga to not fail him. It was only when Naraku took control of Tenseiga that Sesshoumaru stepped in again, reclaiming the sword to break it across its brother-incarnation and release the technique he'd worked so hard to perfect.
In some ways, this was Sesshoumaru coming full circle, just as much as it was Inuyasha. At least Inuyasha had the decency to be humble and a little resentful that he carried the burden of Sesshoumaru's sword while in the meidou, and he recognized that it was only Tenseiga's light that ultimately saved their asses in the end. You get the feeling that he doesn't hate Sesshoumaru nearly as much as Sesshoumaru hates him, which is also a little bittersweet. Good thing there's something of a reconciliation coming, eh?
And Totosai was good enough to end the episode on a good note, hinting that, now that Sesshoumaru has let go of his attachment to his father's heirloom swords, he is "one step away" from gaining his own....too bad its going to take some seriously wounded pride and a thirst for revenge for Bakusaiga to ultimately manifest itself...but boy do I look forward to that episode! :D
For some strange reason, watching these arcs puts me in mind of my S/K fics...it reinforces the idea that I'm doing the right thing in Fleeting, now that I've had Sesshoumaru face his father's ultimate plan and how it appears to be crafted to do nothing more than smite him (but hmm...things aren't always what they seem!), but seeing these scenes of sacrifice and vulnerability rub the Allegiance muse the right way as well. This is the side of him I enjoy exploring in the canon context, especially after he's given time - and, at times, forced - to reflect on his actions, reactions, behaviors, triumphs, and mistakes. One wonders just what he regrets in his life (or at least I do - but then, he's my favorite character so perhaps that's no surprise :P), and this particular arc of the manga just gives me bits and pieces of ideas - thoughts - feelings. *sigh* I love it!
Next up: the Hitomiko arc with Kagome (LOL, no wonder I'm thinking about Sess/Kag :P), which looks to be a good one!
First of all, I must gush - this was some *fabulous* art direction. Sesshoumaru, in particular, was drawn absolutely gorgeous throughout the entire episode - LOL, is it wrong of me to see all the bannering possibilities with caps from this episode? Because that certainly filled me with a good amount of fangirl squee, hehe.
I loved it all, though - the final cut to get the brothers out of the meidou was...awe-inspiring. That bit of animation more than makes up for some of the lackluster scenes we've had so far. All of the action was great here, though - it's great to finally see some nice battle scenes again! And given that these two pretty much duked it out over the swords, the action had to live up to the highest standards.
So basically Naraku gives Byakuya a shard of Kanna's mirror demon to give to Sesshoumaru, in hopes that the elder brother will use it in order to steal Tessaiga's powers and kill Inuyasha in the process. The fact that Sesshoumaru sees the trap before he walks into it? Is something I really like about him. He isn't just some mere pawn that Naraku can play with; he has his own agenda, and it just so happens to coincide with Naraku's plan. But the fact that he sees the trap for what it is is what ultimately allows him to step in and save Inuyasha's life at the end.
This episode stirs bittersweet feelings in me, because I can't help but feel for Sess just a little bit. This is his most humbling moment, when he has to give up everything - including, almost, his life - and its like the culmination of his world crumbling around him. That has to be a bitter pill for him to swallow, knowing that, even if he's going to force Inuyasha to take his powers and ultimate technique away from him, he's still going to end up without it. Only his honor and pride forced him to take this route, and I suppose he did come out of it with a bit more respect for Inuyasha in the end. I say that, because he had to be impressed that Inuyasha was willing to cut his own "demonic vortex" (aka, his life force), which proved that he trusted Tessiaga to not fail him. It was only when Naraku took control of Tenseiga that Sesshoumaru stepped in again, reclaiming the sword to break it across its brother-incarnation and release the technique he'd worked so hard to perfect.
In some ways, this was Sesshoumaru coming full circle, just as much as it was Inuyasha. At least Inuyasha had the decency to be humble and a little resentful that he carried the burden of Sesshoumaru's sword while in the meidou, and he recognized that it was only Tenseiga's light that ultimately saved their asses in the end. You get the feeling that he doesn't hate Sesshoumaru nearly as much as Sesshoumaru hates him, which is also a little bittersweet. Good thing there's something of a reconciliation coming, eh?
And Totosai was good enough to end the episode on a good note, hinting that, now that Sesshoumaru has let go of his attachment to his father's heirloom swords, he is "one step away" from gaining his own....too bad its going to take some seriously wounded pride and a thirst for revenge for Bakusaiga to ultimately manifest itself...but boy do I look forward to that episode! :D
For some strange reason, watching these arcs puts me in mind of my S/K fics...it reinforces the idea that I'm doing the right thing in Fleeting, now that I've had Sesshoumaru face his father's ultimate plan and how it appears to be crafted to do nothing more than smite him (but hmm...things aren't always what they seem!), but seeing these scenes of sacrifice and vulnerability rub the Allegiance muse the right way as well. This is the side of him I enjoy exploring in the canon context, especially after he's given time - and, at times, forced - to reflect on his actions, reactions, behaviors, triumphs, and mistakes. One wonders just what he regrets in his life (or at least I do - but then, he's my favorite character so perhaps that's no surprise :P), and this particular arc of the manga just gives me bits and pieces of ideas - thoughts - feelings. *sigh* I love it!
Next up: the Hitomiko arc with Kagome (LOL, no wonder I'm thinking about Sess/Kag :P), which looks to be a good one!
no subject
There were also a couple moments that Rin obviously had little crises of faith in her beloved protector, which is interesting. And Jaken is just too cute, even if he is a curmudgeon. :D
no subject
Hehe, no Sess fan should have to wait with this episode! It's gold, just absolute gold in so many different ways :D Hehe, there's a reason this whole sword saga business in the early 500s is my favorite arc - I love watching his character grow and change. It's certainly a nice change of pace from the ever-constant and ultimately meaningless sword upgrades :P
no subject
You can't watch that episode and not have your heart hurt just a little for him. Gotta love how Kagome's always the over keen observer when it comes to him. ("Looks to me like he did it on purpose!") Funny how she always seems to understand Sesshomaru's motives better than Inuyasha's.
no subject
The animators know what side their bread is buttered on, it appears :P
Gotta love how Kagome's always the over keen observer when it comes to him. ("Looks to me like he did it on purpose!") Funny how she always seems to understand Sesshomaru's motives better than Inuyasha's.
Spoken like a true S/K fan! LOL.
I dunno - I find Sesshoumaru quite easy to read and/or understand, even if he doesn't actually state what he's going to do before he does it. I'd think anyone with eyes could see why he did what he did - its only those who allow their emotions to cloud their better judgment that can't understand the motives here. I just appreciate that there's more than one layer here, you know? Its a fairly sophisticated story to be aimed at teenagers...
no subject
between the brothers that their feelings for each other get squeezed out.
no subject
no subject
But the animation was excellent and this message rang out as clear as a bell. I was very happy.
I intensely disliked the Momo-projector, however. It was unnecessary and gimmicky - and because it then created the need for the watching characters to have lines, everything related to the watchers felt utterly forced.
From my point of view, what made it a horrible addition was because it detracted from what I felt was one of the most important moments in the arc.
Toutousai said that to gain a weapon of his own, Sesshoumaru had to cast aside both his hatred of Inuyasha and his obession with the swords. In the manga, during the meidou battle, that gives up both comes across very clearly. In anime, however, only the ending of the obsession comes across well.
In the end, Sesshoumaru warned Inuyasha that if he proved himself to be weak in this fight, Sesshoumaru would kill him and discard both swords, so we know this fight was never about Sesshoumaru gaining ownership of Tessaiga, it was whether Inuyasha should be allowed to own it. The anime made this clear as well.
It always struck me as important that in this arc, Sesshoumaru witnessed both Inuyasha's strength and his weakness - while cutting his own demonic energy, Inuyasha proved to Sesshoumaru just how strong Tessaiga made him. But after the battle, while unconscious from Naraku's shouki, Sesshoumaru also got to see just how weak Inuyasha was without Tessaiga. Therefore, not only did I think it was important to see Sesshoumaru give up the swords, but his reaction to Inuyasha's weakness was also vital as well.
Sesshoumaru had told Inuyasha that he'd kill him if he proved himself weak. By the end of the battle, Naraku's intervention proved the weakness of Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru didn't kill him - by then, he'd seen everything he needed to see: exactly why Inuyasha needed Tessaiga. The resulting behaviour - solemnly pulling out the spears, puzzling over Inuyasha's unconscious form and then making the decision to punch him awake before finally taking the "wise big brother" role and guiding Inuyasha towards having the confidence to try out his new sword (which I'm certain is the reason for Tenseiga reforging itself and guiding Tessaiga out of the meidou), is possibly one of the best Inuyasha/Sesshoumaru moments in the entire manga. It was the moment where Sesshoumaru threw away his hatred of Inuyasha.
This is the bit I don't think the anime handled so well - the emotion oozed off the manga panels, but it was rushed in the anime. What was a moment of quiet epiphany for Sesshoumaru in the anime was nothing more than a superficial (and somewhat rushed) punch in the anime. Worst of all - it wasn't private. There was something extremely poignant and intimate in the manga about the reader witnessing an act that no-one else could see - not even Inuyasha bore witness because he was unconscious. Unfortunately, everyone got to witness it in the anime, and what was a subtly powerful scene, just felt intruded upon in the anime.
So yes, I definitely hated the projector idea. I think it was a bad decision by the animators, and Sesshoumaru's reaction to Inuyasha's unconsciousness felt more rushed and superficial than it should have.
With that exception, however, I really enjoyed the episode. The sense of sadness at the end was very well done. Just the atmosphere surrounding Sesshoumaru as he glanced towards the sky, and in Inuyasha's worry - Sesshoumaru's on an unknown path, and his little brother's worried about it. Even Toutousai's confidence that Sesshoumaru was doing the right thing and (finally!) heading in the right direction didn't change the sense of how low Sesshoumaru must be feeling right now - and how low Inuyasha is feeling on his behalf.
I did like that ending. :)
no subject