I liked this chapter because it had a good mix of humor(Inuyasha and Shippou getting drunk on the sake was hilarious XD) as well as suspense/drama(Sango having to battle Hiraikotsu’s youkai, and Yakurou Dokusen finding out about Miroku’s shouki wounds.) The great balance of humor, action, drama, and fantasy(as well as Takahashi-san’s occasional “weirdness” ^^) is what makes the Inuyasha series so appealing, and this chapter does a good job of showing that.
LOL, I sort of knew right away that those youkai were the ones that made up Hiraikotsu(when they said “Why did you poison us?” it was a dead giveaway =P) It just seems weird that Sango’s going to have to battle the youkai that her weapon is made out of. She must’ve killed those youkai before in order to use their bones to make Hiraikotsu(she is a youkai slayer after all.) Obviously she cares about her prized weapon, but it doesn’t seem like she should have any feelings for the youkai she had once killed in order to make the weapon(they’re not attacking her, so maybe they’ve developed some sort of respect for her after all this time, since she’s been using their powers so skillfully through Hiraikotsu.) Well, the next chapter will probably clear this all up and reveal more of the history of how Hiraikotsu was created.
And Miroku might actually be able to get his wounds healed? It would be cool if Sango got Hiraikotsu fixed and Miroku got his wounds healed around the same time(and both courtesy of Yakurou Dokusen no less.) That’s sort of where this chapter seems to be heading. Unfortunately there’s no new chapter next week. Chapter 487 won’t be released until December 27th, so we’ll have to hang on until after Xmas to see what happens =P
So since there won’t be any new chapter next week, I’ve decided to make this chapter review post longer and add in some of my speculation about upcoming events I think might/should happen in the Inuyasha series. First of all, here’s a list of the major loose ends I feel need to be resolved before we can get to any kind of ending for the series:
- Kohaku’s dilemma – this one’s pretty obvious. And unless Takahashi-san throws us a major twist, I can only see one way that Kohaku will ever be saved. We know that the jewel shard is going to be removed from his back one way or another. Most likely Naraku will take it when he feels like it, and even besides that, Kikyou intended to destroy/purify Naraku and the completed jewel together. It seems like the jewel must be completed in order to be totally destroyed, and Inuyasha’s group probably intend to destroy the jewel as well as Naraku. Either way, the Shikon Jewel will most likely become whole again, and this would obviously mean Kohaku’s death. So is there any hope for Sango’s unfortunate brother? I hear Sesshoumaru’s working wonders with Tenseiga these days…
- Final battle with Naraku – this one’s pretty obvious too. I mean, Naraku’s been the main villain for the entire course of the series and is responsible for pretty much all the conflicts in it. It would be disappointing if we didn’t get at least a bunch of chapters dedicated to the final showdown of “Naraku vs Inuyasha and others” XD All the times we think Naraku’s been beaten, he’s always come back to cause more conflict. So there’s gotta be one heck of an intense and long fight between him and the other characters in order for it to feel satisfying.
- Inuyasha and Kagome’s relationship – Miroku and Sango’s relationship was pretty much resolved a long time ago, and even now their relationship seems to have been getting a lot more attention these past few volumes than Inuyasha and Kagome’s. I thought we would have had at least some sort of resolution for their relationship after Kikyou died, but it really didn’t lead up to much. Seriously, they didn’t even talk or have a “special moment” or anything like they usually do when something emotional like that happens. There’s still time I guess…I don’t know what Takahashi-san has in store for the two main characters, but hopefully Inuyasha and Kagome’s ambivalent relationship will finally be resolved once and for all =)
- New powers(to defeat Naraku?) – by this I don’t mean Inuyasha getting yet another new ability for Tessaiga. But right now, I don’t think any of the characters have the strength to destroy Naraku(especially once he takes the final shard from Kohaku), Inuyasha included, but I don’t want to see another series of chapters of Inuyasha trying to get another new power for Tessaiga. We had way too much of that in volumes 41 through 45, and it really didn’t lead up to much of anything. What I’d like to see is one or more of the other characters get more powerful. Sure, Inuyasha will probably have the finishing blow in the final battle with Naraku, but it would be boring if he was the only one doing the fighting, like he’s been doing all this time.
To expand on that last point, a lot of the other characters besides Inuyasha have the potential to get stronger too as far as fighting against Naraku and other youkai. Kouga got a new attack, but it wasn’t that big a deal since he was written out of the series not too long afterwards. I actually think Sesshoumaru is more powerful than Inuyasha, and he’s been working on that new attack for Tenseiga, so hopefully he’ll be able to work with that in future chapters. I really thought Kagome was going to get at least a little more powerful when she got the bow of Azusa…I mean, she went through all that trouble to get it, and the thing was supposed to be able to save Kikyou, and yet it didn’t, and now she has it and it’s not any different from other bows she’s used. I know Kagome’s not a fighter, but I still think it would be cool if her spiritual powers got at least a little stronger and she was able to do some fighting(with Inuyasha perhaps ^_^) especially if there is indeed going to be some kind of big showdown with Naraku. And if that’s the case, then everyone should be able to do their part. Originally I thought Kagura, Kikyou, Kouga were going to be part of this final battle, but I guess we can cross them off =P And in addition to Sesshoumaru and Kagome, Miroku and Sango also have potential to get stronger…this current arc might even lead to Sango’s Hiraikotsu becoming more powerful, and now that Miroku’s Kazana is getting more dangerous for him to use, he could definitely use another ability =P Again, I don’t mind Inuyasha getting most of the fighting in against Naraku, but I really think it would make the showdown way more gratifying if he combined his powers with the other characters =)
Ok, I think that’s all I’ve got to say for now, LOL. If you’ve got your own speculations or want to comment on mine, by all means, comment ^^ And I’ll be back with the next Inuyasha chapter review after Xmas sometime.
No, it can’t end with Naraku dying. Takahashi-san doesn’t have the habit of ending her series. It happened with Ranma1/2 and the Inuyasha animated series. I don’t think there will be a definative ending with this either.
Ranma 1/2 is the only other of Takahashi-san’s series’ besides Inuyasha that I’m familiar with, and although I haven’t finished the series, from what I’ve seen of it I know that it’s a lot different from Inuyasha, which is the main reason why I think Inuyasha’s ending might turn out differently. While Inuyasha is mostly an action/fantasy/shounen series, Ranma is pretty much just a comedy series. Compared to Inuyasha, Ranma is very episodic and there aren’t nearly as many complex subplots in it. Also, Ranma never seems to get very serious or intense…everything in it ends on a comical or light note. There’s also no main villain in Ranma either nor nearly as much dramatic conflict as in Inuyasha.
Of course I could be wrong, but compared to Ranma and Takahashi-san’s other romance/comedy series’, I just feel that Inuyasha should get more of an actual ending since there’s so many conflicts and loose ends to resolve in it. And Naraku, who’s been the main villain for the entire series, finally getting destroyed in the end seems at least a little realistic for a shounen series like Inuyasha.
Also, while Ranma may have suffered from a less than perfect ending, the Inuyasha anime series ending where it did was a decision made by the animation studio, Sunrise, because the anime had caught up with the manga. That ending had nothing to do with Takahashi-san.
No, wrong. Takahashi-san has other series. They’re all on the back of the comics you never read. I don’t know if they’ve been ended but, I got myself an opinion from a guy who quit all of Takahashi-san’s series because she never ends them.
I know she has other series, like Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, etc., I just meant that Inuyasha and Ranma are the only ones I’ve read. But you may be right, maybe Inuyasha, like the others, won’t have a proper ending. All I’m saying is that maybe it will be different because it’s different from her other series’, and it’s also become way more popular outside of Japan than her other series’ too, so that might influence how she ends it. Again, there’s good chance I could be wrong, but might as well hope for it =)
Takahashi ends her series, Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkouku have endings, Ranma 1/2 is her only work (that I’ve read) without an ending and the Inuyasha animated series is out of the “jurisdiction” of Takahashi.
Kohaku can’t be brought back to life with Tenseiga. Sesshomaru’s mother has told Kohaku and Rin that much a couple of chapters ago.
Yeah, you’re right, she does say that…I guess I forgot about that part. But still, I don’t see any other way to save Kohaku, unless we come across some other life-restoring thing besides Tenseiga. Perhaps Sesshoumaru could gain a new power for Tenseiga that will allow him to save Kohaku after all. I don’t know what Takahashi has in store for him, but it would really suck if he died in the end after all everyone(especially Sango) have gone through to save him from Naraku =P
well, i agree with that much, it would suck if Kohaku had no choice but to die, esp. after all that everyone has done for him, that would really suck, besides, i like Kohaku, he’s my fav. Demon Slayer. I just hate and i mean hate how they ended the Animated Series, that was really stupid, but who knows how the inuyasha story really ends, maybe after destroying Naraku, they have a new enemy they have to take care of, who knows….. sorry, just randomly brainstorming for ideas, my mind does it automatically for some odd reason.
nice…………….