Inuyasha (character)


Inuyasha is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of Rumiko Takahashi's manga series Inuyasha and its anime adaptation.

Biography

Inuyasha is a hybrid of human and Inugami a type of dog yōkai who first appears sealed to a tree in the feudal world. When a girl named Kagome Higurashi is being chased by a yōkai, Inuyasha convinces her to free him so that he might eliminate the enemy. Despite initially distrusting Kagome, Inuyasha joins forces with her to search for the shards of the Jewel of Four Souls, the Shikon Jewel, which increase a yōkai's powers. Although Inuyasha first aims to become a full demon using the Jewel, as the story progresses he develops strong bonds with the comrades who aid him.

Concept and creation

Inuyasha is stylized by Takahashi as an anti-hero or tsundere. According to interviews with the author, the style for Inuyasha's clothing was based on "priest's garb" of Japan's Warring States period.

Characteristics

Inuyasha's appearance is a mixture of his dog demon father and human mother: he has his father's long silver hair, yellow eyes, and claws, but does not exhibit facial markings in his half-breed form, or pointed humanoid ears, instead he has a unique pair of furry silver Akita dog ears on top his head. As a dog demon, Inuyasha has claws he uses to fight with, utilized mainly in his Sankon Tessō attack. Although a half-breed, a hanyō, Inuyasha's strong demon heritage inherited from his father affords him supernatural physical attributes and resilience; he possesses raw strength as well as speed and reflexes considerably superior to that of all lower-level and the majority of middle or even higher-level yōkai. His physical prowess combined with willpower and swordsmanship allows him to challenge even the stronger higher-level yōkai. His durability and regenerative abilities are similar to those of yōkai and allow him to endure severe pain and recover quickly from wounds as well as extending his lifespan by hundreds of years. The disadvantage of his demon blood is that it overtakes his human soul in near-death situations, making him stronger but also causing him to turn into a mindless killing machine. Although the usual way to reverse the transformation is to give Inuyasha Tetsusaiga and wait for him to calm down, Kagome's purifying abilities have also been shown to clear Inuyasha's mind when she touches him.
Due to his half-breed blood, Inuyasha temporarily loses all his demon traits and powers on the night of a new moon, effectively becoming completely human. Early in the series, Inuyasha acquires Tetsusaiga, a powerful sword made from a fang of his father that can absorb demonic powers and energy. This proves to be useful to keep Inuyasha from falling victim to demonic nature turning him into a berserker. Over the course of the series, Inuyasha develops Tetsusaiga's signature Wind Scar, Backlash Wave and Adamant Barrage techniques. Eventually, Inuyasha gains a new ability in Meidou Zangetsuha that Sesshomaru prepared for him as part of their father's design.

Background

Born to a dog-demon father and a human mother, Inuyasha is a dog demon/human hybrid who initially wanted to use the enormous power of the Shikon Jewel to become a full-fledged demon. Inuyasha lived with his mother Izayoi when he was a child. After his father died saving Inuyasha and Izayoi, the two lived together; however, the circumstances of Inuyasha's youth and any details of how long his mother was alive for or what happened to her is never revealed, but he was shown to have had an isolated childhood, shunned by humans for his demon blood. After the death of his mother when he was a child, Inuyasha grew up isolated and alone, having to deal with demons' and humans' hatred toward him and hardship.
Inuyasha met and fell in love with the priestess Kikyo, who was tasked with protecting the Shikon no Tama, a powerful jewel that could grant a wish and that Inuyasha believed could make him a full demon. Through interacting with Kikyo, who was also living a lonely and isolated life, Inuyasha relinquished his dream of being a full demon and instead he and Kikyo planned for him to use the Shikon Jewel to become a human so that he could live with her. However, the jealous Naraku, who lusted after Kikyo and the jewel, manipulated them into believing they had been betrayed by one another. Before Kikyo died, she shot Inuyasha with a sealing arrow that bound him to the Sacred Tree. Inuyasha remained there for 50 years, until Kagome Higurashi pulled out the arrow, breaking the seal. When the Shikon Jewel, which had previously been embedded in Kagome's body, is shattered into fragments that scatter across feudal Japan, Inuyasha and Kagome travel together to retrieve the shards with Inuyasha once again seeking it to turn into a full-fledged demon. While Inuyasha initially sees Kagome as merely a tool with which to retrieve the shards of the jewel, Inuyasha and Kagome grow closer over time and he begins to fall in love with her. Others such as the fox demon Shippo and the rambunctious monk Miroku as well as Sango the demon slayer, later join the duo in their quest. Inuyasha eventually discovers that the events surrounding Kikyo's death were a result of Naraku tricking him and Kikyo, forcing them to turn against each other. Inuyasha's quest changes over time from looking for the Shikon Jewel shards to trying to defeat Naraku. In the end, after three years of Naraku's death, he reunited with Kagome after Bone-Eater's well was connected and married her.

Reception

Inuyasha has been popular within Japanese fans. In the Newtype magazine from August 2001, he was voted as the second best male character losing to Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. In 2002, Inuyasha won the Animage Anime Grand Prix for Best Male Character. In the next year, he was third behind Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala both from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. He was sixth in the following poll.
Critical reception has also been positive. John Sinnott from DVD Talk noted how examined was Inuyasha including his heritage and use of his sword that could create a big impact. In a review of the second manga volume, Megan Lavey from Mania Beyond Entertainment commented that the character's development was depicted for the first time as the story began to explore why Inuyasha is often angry and has difficulty trusting others. Inuyasha and Kagome were praised by Mania writer Chris Beveridge for how well they act together in contrast to the leads of Ranma 1/2. Writing later for the Fandom Post, Beveridge explained how it was fun seeing Inuyasha in the modern world and the impact it has on Kagome. Similarly, Holly Ellingwood from Active Anime particularly enjoyed the comedy that occurs when Inuyasha visits the modern world following Kagome. Despite noting how several characters had similar faces, Anime News Network's Zac Bertschy noted that Inuyasha stood out thanks to his clothes.
Derrick L. Tucker of THEM Anime Reviews praised the characterization of Inuyasha and other main characters, identifying it as a key reason why story elements such as the love triangle between Inuyasha, Kikyo and Kagome are able to evoke significant audience emotional response. In her book Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, scholar Susan Jolliffe Napier analysed how certain lessons in the series relate to Inuyasha's representation of masculinity. Academic Caroline Ruddell analysed use of movement in the anime. In combat scenes Inuyasha is often slowed or frozen, against the moving background, to foreground his emotional and physical vulnerability. Close-up shots of his face and head place further focus on these aspects and on the character, particularly his facial expressions, while wide shots showing his whole body are used to depict his strength. Together, the techniques show the different facets of his hybrid nature. IGN's D. F. Smith praised the voice acting of Richard Cox as "he does a fine job getting the character's rough-edged, angry mode of speech across, even without being able to stick "yarou" at the end of every sentence."