luxken27 | Inuyasha: The Final Act | 16

I'd heard that this episode changed some things around from the original story, so I went ahead and read the corresponding chapters before viewing it...and let's just say, I agree with everyone who calls this ultra lame.

For the most part, this episode did follow the manga chapters that inspired it, but there were a few key differences, which I believe ultimately changed the emotional intensity of the story, if not outright damaged it. Important revelations were just flung off like they didn't matter early on, and there was this entire backstory tacked on that made no sense and misdirected viewers away from the point of the episode. Why the animators felt the need to do this, I'll never know - this arc stands up quite well on its own!

There's a lot of emphasis placed on "why Kagome was named Kagome", which...WTF? Who the hell cares? Was this just an excuse to inject a childrens' game/nursery rhyme? Kagome's name doesn't have any great meaning in the context of the manga story; its not tied to her power in any meaningful way, in spite of what is suggested here. I really hate that they drew this line and tried to parallel Hitomiko's background to it. It takes away some of the punch that comes when Kagome is ultimately told her true power has been sealed, probably from birth, by making it so freaking obvious from the second scene.

Besides that, what was with the change in Hitomiko telling her that "her power was released as she released the arrow", instead of kinda coldly mocking her by saying her power (as opposed to the power of the bow) was nonexistent, and therefore must be sealed? That's the only way she can make the logical jump to it being Kikyo who sealed her power, if it somehow meant using the bow suppressed her own - otherwise, it's obvious that it's not Kikyo, but the Jewel itself, which is the thrust of the all-important "Right Wish" chapter that should follow this one in the events of canon.

Its very disappointing that these changes were made, because if they'd just stuck to the script of the manga chapters, everything would've been far more powerful. Skip the extraneous stuff and get to the heart of the matter (though I am a bit tired of Naraku's false choice decisions; it's almost a trope at this point). The impact is there, I promise - and it foreshadows well the end of the final battle, when it is Kagome, not Inuyasha, who ultimately destroys Naraku.

Hmm...I guess this episode angered/frustrated me more than I realized...but yeah. Gonna haveta slap a big fat FAIL on this one. It's one of those instances where you feel like they have to try to mess things up this badly, you know what I mean? *shakes head*

Up next - ooh, looks like the Bakusaiga episode is coming faster than I thought! Hmm, again with the dampening of emotion...one of the things that makes this particular arc so great is that Sess had multiple run-ins with Magatsuhi before figuring out how to defeat him. Damn, way to go all pear-shaped on us at the eleventh hour, anime! :-/

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Totally agree. The ONE thing I liked about this episode is that it is the first time Kagome faced all sorts of danger without screaming "Inuyasha!!" every five seconds (or even once). Instead, he was at the bottom of the stairs yelling for her, and she was using her own power to handle the danger. Woot woot!

Which is ironic, because this is pretty much the point in the story when she totally loses her spine, when she realises her true power has been sealed. *shakes head* It was nice to see her have to figure this one out for herself, though - the idea that Inuyasha couldn't save her is another piece of great foreshadowing for the end of the story.

The backstory was just stupid. Hitomiko was trying to hint that she could fire through her to hit Naraku, the Kagome Kagome game is not necessary. The shot where the arrow disappears foreshadows what happened in the final battle.

Part of the problem Kagome has is that she still feels inferior to Kikyou. When she hears that she was sealed at birth she assumes that Kikyou sealed her.

Hitomoko fed Kagome's fears by mocking her power despite what fanon says IY has never questions her power after she hit the crow. To be told that the bow has power and she does not makes her wonder if Kikyou put her power in the bow. The fallacy is that Kikyou never touched the bow. Her power went into the light in the Jewel.

What the Right Wish shows us is that the Jewel has been making Kagome forget all the stories her grandfather told her and sealed her at birth to prevent her from using her full powers. Around thing we find out is that Kikyou made a wish to end the fighting which the Jewel granted by killing her which effectively ended the fighting. I like that Kaede is one that figures out that that the Jewel not Kikyou sealed her power.

The show was very kickass for Kagome and shows both the purity and strength of her heart when faced with adversity. The others just stand around. I surprised that the SK did not take not of Kagome's strength in their comments. They all want to see Bakusaiga because they actually like Sesshouamru more than Kagome.

The show was very kickass for Kagome and shows both the purity and strength of her heart when faced with adversity. The others just stand around. I surprised that the SK did not take not of Kagome's strength in their comments. They all want to see Bakusaiga because they actually like Sesshouamru more than Kagome.

Well of course they do! Their version of him, at least :P

These episodes, switching back and forth between Sesshoumaru and Kagome, have been scratching my Allegiance muse the right way in the best possible way, that's for sure. Mmm, I can't wait for the next piece of that story to gel in my mind, I miss working on it already...

I was initially shocked at what they were doing, but then the link between the nursery rhyme and the vision that Kagome with her sealed powers really is the bird in the cage for now, grew on me. I liked it a lot, and the game became quite creepy in a very Naraku-style fashion as a result. I did like that.

But then they went and allowed Mum to see the Shikon no Tama's light on the day Kagome was born, and introduced kids noticing something otherworldly about her and her ability to sense the identity and location of people she couldn't see and being creeped out by that, and it ruined one of the most important aspects of Kagome - that only she and Kikyou could see the jewel's light and that Kagome was an ordinary girl with an ordinary life who ends up sacrificing Kikyou's dream life for the life Kikyou had desperately wanted to escape.

I found this episode very mixed as a result. I also didn't like how the canon material was sacrificed and rushed to make room for the filler material. The most important part of the arc - Kagome's ability to feel compassion for her opponent even at the most horrible moment of their confrontation (she's dangling in hell and all she can think about is Hitomiko's pain), and how that empathy and compassion can guide Hitomiko back to salvation - is utterly ignored. In fact, it's skipped over completely as if unimportant. It's not unimportant. Kagome's compassion for the victims of Naraku is the central core of her personality and true power.

I didn't hate the episode, but it did disappoint me. And... well, the Bakusaiga episode has disappointed me, too, but I posted my thoughts on my Livejournal, as it's a long post.

I agree with you that it feels like the anime is beginning to fail at the eleventh hour. Grr.

I'm not yet ready for Bakusaiga, so I'm going to hold off watching it (I feel like I have to gird my emotions), but the fact that you made a post about it has me curious. I really hate how suddenly they're jerking around the timeline again, when the story is at its most poignant and emotionally impacting.

Wait till you see Bakusaiga. They slapped the beginning of Two Worlds onto it. I did like Episode 17 and I am a canon disciple.

Alrighty. I finally watched this episode, and I totally agree. The name bit was just effing confusing, and I'm sitting there thinking, "Um, I must have a bad memory, or this didn't exist in the manga." Ha. Glad I'm not going crazy.

And the false choice thing! Argh! At this point, he just needs to shut it. If he had, maybe Kagome wouldn't have figured it out, eh? I keep thinking of "The Incredibles" when Syndrome says, "You sly dog! You got me monologuing!" Only, minus the parody vibe. :P

But anyway - you need to see the Bakusaiga episode. Rushed in comparison to the manga? Definitely. But *pretty*. And Jaken FTW. I might love him too much to be entirely unbiased about it, but whatever. Worth. It.

Inuyasha: The Final Act | 16 - Hitomiko's Barrier

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