Amazon.com

Hearts and swords are the focus of the second season of Inu-Yasha, Rumiko Takahashi’s popular “feudal fairy tale.” Inu-Yasha’s icily elegant half-brother Sesshomaru discovers that the sword their demon father left him, the Tenseiga, is useless to him in battle. It doesn’t kill, but heals–an imaginative twist typical of Takahashi. Inu-Yasha has to learn to master his sword, the Tetsusaiga, that was forged from his father’s fang. When the monster Goshinki bites the Tetsusaiga in two, the addled smith Totosai reforges it, using a fang of Inu-Yasha’s to join the shards. Inu-Yasha must learn to wield the newly heavy sword that reflects his increased responsibility: his father is no longer protecting him, so he must use his own strength.

Inu-Yasha also faces two powerful internal struggles. He begins to question his desire to become a full demon after he transforms into a mindless killing machine. The Tetsusaiga keeps his demon-blood in check, and Inu-Yasha is grateful for its strength. But he has no exterior support in the battle within his heart: Does he love the resurrected Kikyo, whom he adored 50 years earlier, or Kagome, who has shared so many adventures and who loves him? These struggles demand more than the battles with the evil Naraku and his avatars.

The adventures, emotional crises, and ferocious battles are balanced against the friendship and slapstick comedy Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo provide. Through it all, Inu-Yasha remains the impulsive hot-head viewers love–whom only Kagome can keep in check. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity)

Fans of this popular series will also want to see The Art of Inu-Yasha by Rumiko Takahashi, which features original artwork, notes on minor characters, a glossary, and interviews with the principal Japanese voice actors, director Masashi Ikeda, character designer Yoshihito Hishinuma, and art direrctor Shigemi Ikeda.Takahashi also discusses the differences in the manga and the animated versions of two key sequences. –Charles Solomon

Product Description

Together with their friends Miroku, Shippo, Sango and Kirara, Inuyasha and Kagome continue their search for the shards of the Sacred Jewel. Their task, however, is not made any easier by Naraku who continually seems to be inventing newer and more dangerous ways to thwart them. Adventure and romance, demons and fantasy–come enter the world of INUYASHA in this second exciting season.

Amazon.com

Based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura, the Inu-Yasha TV series (2000) blends elements of Japanese folklore and familiar anime devices into a deftly imaginative blend of humor and adventure, an extremely entertaining series that never falls into cliche. Beginning the first season’s 27 episodes, Kagome Higurashi, a normal 15-year-old girl, falls down a dry well–and finds herself in the feudal past, 50 years after her ancestress Kikyo imprisoned the half-human/half-demon Inu-Yasha. As the reincarnation of Kikyo, Kagome possesses a magic jewel that greatly increases the power of demons. Kagome fetters Inu-Yasha with the help of her priestess-ancestor Kaede, and when the jewel is shattered Kagome and Inu-Yasha must ally to recapture the fragments.

The series really begins to hit its stride when Kagome and Inu-Yasha, while bickering, nevertheless prove an effective team against the demons they encounter in the Warring States netherworld. Two new characters create complications. Shippo, an orphan fox spirit, meets Kagome and Inu-Yasha in the Warring States period. A more conventional but potentially more dangerous addition is Hojo, a handsome upper classman at Kagome’s school, who’s concerned about her recent absences. His understated good manners contrast sharply with the prickly Inu-Yasha–just as Kagome is beginning to recognize his good points.

In the multi-part adventure that begins with “Kikyo’s Stolen Ashes,” the filmmakers presenting conflicting versions of the relationship between Kikyo and Inu-Yasha, and the intriguing plot twists typify Takahashi’s sophisticated story-telling. The tone darkens as the back story emerges: 50 years earlier, Kikyo tended Onigumo, a badly burned thief. As his desire for the Sacred Jewel–and Kikyo–grew, Onigumo summoned a horde of demons, whom he allowed to consume his flesh and soul. The evil creatures fused to form the terrible Naraku. Recognizing his feelings for Kagome, Inu-Yasha tries to protect her from Naraku by sending her back to her own time and blocking the passage between the ages. Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Shippo, and Miroku face a bizarre array of monsters and villains, including a forest demon who vomits hordes of monstrous, three-eyed wolves.

As the tapestry grows richer, Kagome and Myoga begin to explore the origins and nature of the Sacred Jewel that radiates power yet brings misfortune to everyone who approaches it. The source of the jewel turns out to be the demon-slayers’ village. Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and their friends learn how the Jewel was created long ago in a battle between hordes of monstrous demons and Midoriko, the greatest priestess of the age. But the Jewel is also a miniature battleground between good and evil: a metaphor for the world–and for Inu-Yasha’s heart, as he vacillates between selfishness and kindness. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity) –Charles Solomon

Product Description

Kagome Higurashi, an average ninth grader, gets pulled into an ancient well by a demon, bringing her 500 years in the past to the feudal era. There, she meets Inuyasha, a half-demon who seeks the Shikon Jewel to make himself a full-fledged demon. With Inuyasha and new friends, Kagome’s search for the Jewel of Four Souls begins…