InuYasha

Un article de Vev.

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Modèle:Otheruses4

Modèle:Contains Japanese text Modèle:Infobox animanga/Header Modèle:Infobox animanga/Manga Modèle:Infobox animanga/Anime Modèle:Infobox animanga/Other Modèle:Infobox animanga/Footer Modèle:Nihongo, full title Modèle:Nihongo (also romanized as Inuyasha), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. The story centers around a time-traveling middle school student, a half-demon, a lecherous monk, a young fox demon, a demon slayer, and a nekomata during the Sengoku period who seek to find all the fragments of the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama) and to keep them out of the hands of evil doers, especially Naraku.

The manga was adapted into a 167 episode anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda (episodes 1 to 44) and Yasunao Aoki (44 onwards) and produced by Sunrise. The anime first aired on Yomiuri TV in Japan from 16 October 2000 to 13 September 2004. The television run of the anime ceased without a conclusion to the story. As of December 2007, the manga is still being released in Japan.

In 2002, the manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen title of the year.

[modifier]

Synopsis

Image:ShikonNoTama.jpg

The Jewel of Four Souls

The story begins in Feudal Japan with InuYasha, a hanyo stealing the Jewel of Four Souls, a jewel that can increase anyone's powers enormously, from a village. He does not get far before Kikyo, the young miko of the village, shoots InuYasha with a sacred arrow which seals him indefinitely to Goshinboku, a sacred tree in the nearby forest. Mortally wounded, Kikyo tells her younger sister, Kaede, to burn the jewel with her body to prevent it from falling into the hands of evil.

In modern Tokyo, a junior high-school girl named Kagome Higurashi is on her way to school. She stops in the well house of her family's Shinto shrine to retrieve her cat, Buyo, when a centipede demon emerges from the well and pulls her into the Sengoku period of Japan.

Not knowing where she is, Kagome wanders around a forest near the well. She spots Goshinboku off in the distance and proceeds towards it. When she reaches the tree, she finds InuYasha, who is still sealed with an arrow to the tree in an enchanted sleep. Villagers seize her and take her to the old priestess, Kaede. Recognizing that Kagome is the re-incarnation of her sister Kikyo, Kaede tells the story of Kikyo and InuYasha.

The centipede attacks again, and Kagome is forced to release InuYasha from his enchantment to kill it. After he defeats the centipede, InuYasha tries to take the Jewel of Four Souls from Kagome. To prevent that and save Kagome's life, Kaede casts magical prayer beads around InuYasha's neck so that Kagome can subdue him.

The jewel attracts more demons, and in a battle against a carrion crow demon, the jewel is shattered into numerous shards spread across Japan.

Kagome and InuYasha set out to collect the shards and restore the Jewel of Four Souls. Along the way they befriend Shippo, a fox demon, Miroku, a cursed monk, and Sango, a demon-slayer whose brother was possessed and forced to slaughter the rest of their village. The group encounters many friends and foes during the adventure including: InuYasha's older half-brother Sesshomaru, Kikyo who was resurrected with part of Kagome's soul, Naraku who tricked Kikyo and InuYasha into turning against each other, and a wolf demon named Koga who is in love with Kagome and constantly bickers with InuYasha.

[modifier]

Characters

Main article: List of InuYasha characters
Modèle:Nihongo Modèle:Anime voices: Kagome is a 15 year-old 9th grade student. She is the reincarnation of Kikyo, a miko who died 50 years before the time Kagome first emerges from the Bone Eater's Well in the Sengoku Jidai. Because of this Kagome has powerful spiritual powers herself and can even sense the Shikon no Tama. Kagome can be extremely sweet, but can also become very dangerous when provoked. InuYasha wears a special bead necklace which only responds to Kagome's command: when she yells "Osuwari!", which translates to "Sit!". In the dub version, "Sit Boy!" is used. At this, InuYasha is thrown to the ground. Kaede placed the necklace upon him because he was threatening to kill Kagome if she did not give the jewel to him. <ref>Episode 2</ref>

Modèle:Nihongo Modèle:Anime voices: InuYasha is a hanyō, the product of an Modèle:Nihongo and a human. He wields the Tessaiga, a supernatural sword made from one of his deceased father's fangs. This sword, when properly wielded, can destroy one hundred demons with a single swing. InuYasha can quickly recover from injuries that would be fatal for any average human, because of his demonic heritage. On the night of the new moon each month, InuYasha will change into a normal human with black hair, brown eyes, and loses his yokai power during this time. InuYasha was bound to Goshinboku by Kikyo's arrow for fifty years until Kagome freed him.

Modèle:Nihongo Modèle:Anime voices: A Buddhist "hōshi" (low-ranking, itinerant monk), Miroku traveled the countryside performing services such as exorcisms and yōkai exterminations to earn his living. He suffers from a hereditary curse originally inflicted upon his grandfather Miyatsu (also a Buddhist monk) by Naraku. The curse created a hole in his hand that became a Modèle:Nihongo which sucks in anything not nailed down, regardless of mass. However, absorbing poisons harms him, a fact Naraku takes advantage of by creating highly poisonous insects whose presence prevents Miroku from using his kazāna on Naraku or his allies. Miroku uses the kazāna as a powerful weapon against yōkai, but if the curse is not broken (by defeating Naraku), it will grow too large to control and consume Miroku himself. Miroku is a talented con artist who does not hesitate to invent fictitious supernatural menaces, which he can then offer to combat in return for food and shelter, and he has a distinct weakness for single women. He makes a point of asking every attractive woman he meets if she will bear his child, and he habitually strokes the buttocks of attractive women. He eventually proposes to Sango, though this does little to curb his flirtations with other women.

Modèle:Nihongo Modèle:Anime voices: A "yōkai taijiya" (demon slayer) who hails from a village of professional yōkai slayers. Sango wields the Hiraikotsu, a massive boomerang made of yōkai bones, in addition to a broad repertoire of tools and tricks for battling yōkai. Sango seeks revenge against Naraku for the death of her family and her entire village. In addition, Sango seeks to rescue her brother Kohaku from Naraku's influence and somehow save his life, even though Kohaku's life is tied to the jewel shard embedded in his back. She also eventually falls for Miroku. Although everyone but InuYasha noticed, she never wanted to admit it. Her interest was manifested by hitting Miroku when he flirted with other single women.

Modèle:Nihongo Modèle:Anime voices: A young orphan kitsune whose father was killed by the Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten, and the first character in the story to join InuYasha and Kagome in their travels as a group. Shippo can shape shift, but his forms are temporary, often incomplete and ineffective, and he is usually given away by his tail. His other noteworthy abilities illusionary tricks with toys like his giant spinning top attack, using his race's notable foxfire magic, and making things like leaves or himself multiply. He tends to be naively observant and often makes pointed and cheeky comments directed towards InuYasha, earning him a retaliatory bonk on the head for his unsolicited "advice".

Modèle:Nihongo Modèle:Anime voices: Sango's faithful nekomata; Kirara has cream-colored fur, with black ears, two black stripes on each of her two bushy tails near the tip, and black-tipped paws. Kirara can change between two forms, a ferocious yōkai the size of a lion with the ability to fly, and a cute little kitten. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo often use Kirara's flying ability as transportation in order to keep up with InuYasha. In the English dub, her name is pronounced "Kee-Lah-Lah"), because the Japanese language treats "r" and "l" as one phoneme.

[modifier]

Media

[modifier]

Manga

Modèle:See also The manga was serialized in Japan in the weekly publication Shonen Sunday by Shogakukan, with the first installment issued on 13 November 1996. Every 180 pages, usually ten chapters, the issues are collected in bound tankōbon. The latest chapter (published on 12 December 2007) is chapter 534, Arrow of Shouki. The endnotes of the most recent chapters seem to indicate that the manga has reached its climax, and will soon have a conclusion.

In the United States, the English version is published by Viz Media. The artwork is flipped to conform to the American standard of reading left to right. Volume 1 was published in March 1998, with either two or three new volumes following each year. At present, the series has stepped up to a quarterly release basis. Volume 30 was published on 10 July 2007, and volume 31 on 9 October 2007. Volume 32 is expected to be in stores on 8 January 2008. Viz is still several years away from catching up to the number of volumes in Japan.

The manga won the 2002 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen title of the year.

The anime ended at the equivalent of the 36th manga volume, chapter 356.

[modifier]

Anime

Modèle:See also The InuYasha anime series spanned 167 episodes. It was broadcast across Japan by the anime satellite television network Animax, which also aired the series on its English-language network in South Asia and on its networks in East Asia, Yomiuri TV and Nippon Television. The series ended its television run in Japan on September 13, 2004.

The anime is licensed in North America by Viz and ShoPro Entertainment, with dubbing done by the The Ocean Group. It was first broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on August 31, 2002 in dubbed form. In the United States, the final episode of InuYasha aired on October 27, 2006. It is now in rotation, with one episode airing Tuesday through Sunday at 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time (repeated at 5:30 a.m.).

The series premiered in Canada on YTV on September 5, 2003. YTV's Bionix programming block aired the final episode on December 1, 2006. Reruns continued to air in the Bionix block until October 12, 2007.

InuYasha has also been dubbed in Mandarin Chinese and aired on Xing Kong, a Taiwanese TV Channel. It was also been dubbed in Bahasa Melayu on NTV7 and currently on TV9.

In Latin America, InuYasha is shown on Cartoon Network LA, dubbed in Spanish and in Portuguese (Brazil or with SAP in other countries). At one point in Latin America, new episodes of InuYasha were airing twice a day, 5 times a week, with reruns airing Saturday night - 5 episodes in two hours. Due to this faster schedule, the series finished a complete run faster in Latin America than in the United States. The final episode aired in December 2006, with reruns continuing to air.

DVD releases Modèle:Expand On April 16 2007, the first 12 InuYasha episodes were released on DVD in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the first four seasons have been released as Season box sets and as individual disks.

DVD releases for Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
Season	Episodes	Discs	Features	DVD release date
1	1 - 27	5	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	7 September 2004
2	28 - 54	5	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	8 November 2005
3	55 - 81	5	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	12 September 2006
4	82 - 99	4	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	4 September 2007

DVD releases for Region 2 (UK)
Season	Episodes	Discs	Features	DVD release date
1a	1 - 12	2	Japanese and English audio options English subtitles	16 April 2007

[modifier]

Movies

Four movies, which exist separate from the anime plot, have been released. The first movie, InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time was released on 16 December 2001, in Japan with InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island being the last movie to be released on 23 December 2004, in Japan. The fourth movie was released three months after the series finale of InuYasha in Japan. As of September 2007, there have been no plans for a fifth movie.

Four theatrical releases of the series have appeared so far:

Movie	Premiere date
Modèle:Nihongo After mastering the ultimate attack of the Tessaiga, InuYasha continues his quest for the Shikon Jewel shards with Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku. This time, all of them will have to face Menomaru, a demonic enemy brought to life by a jewel shard.	Japan: 16 December 2001 U.S.: 7 September 2004

Modèle:Nihongo After defeating Naraku, InuYasha and his friends each return to their normal lives. However, their short period of peace is interrupted when a new enemy emerges - Kaguya, the ruler of the eternal night. Locked inside a mirror, Kaguya is prevented from bringing eternal darkness into the world. Also in the movie, InuYasha and Kagome share their true feelings for each other.	Japan: 21 December 2002 U.S.: 28 December 2004

Modèle:Nihongo At the time of InuYasha's birth, InuYasha's father fought with a human named Setsuna no Takemaru, who loved InuYasha's mother, Izayoi. Soon after, So'unga, the legendary sword that belonged to InuYasha’s father, was sealed away. Centuries later, So'unga is once again unleashed. However, the sword seeks to destroy the Earth and all life on it. InuYasha must join forces with his brother, Sesshomaru, and destroy this sword before it destroys the world.	Japan: 20 December 2003 U.S.: 6 September 2005

Modèle:Nihongo The reappearance of the mysterious island of Houraijima after 50 years brought the attack of the four gods, the Shitoushin. With their eyes set on the powers that protect and sustain the island, the Shitoushin must be defeated as InuYasha and his friends seek to help the children that are trapped on that island escape.	Japan: 23 December 2004 U.S.: 1 August 2006

[modifier]

Music

"Change the world"

Opening for episodes: 1 - 34
Lyrics by Rie Matsumoto, music by Miki Watanabe and arranged by Keiichi Ueno
Performed by V6

"I Am"

Opening for episodes: 35 - 64
Lyrics by hitomi, music by Masato Kitano and arranged by Zentaro Watanabe
Performed by Hitomi

"Owari nai Yume" (終わりない夢 Unending Dream)

Opening for episodes: 65 - 95
Lyrics by Nanase Aikawa, music by Hiroshi Shibazaki and arranged by Kaname
Performed by Nanase Aikawa

"Grip!"

Opening for episodes: 96 - 127
Lyrics by Kaori Mochida, music by Kazuhiro Kara and arranged by Hal
Performed by Every Little Thing

"One Day, One Dream"

Opening for episodes: 128 - 157
Lyrics by Hideyuki Kohata, music by Kei Yoshikawa and arranged by Chokkaku
Performed by Tackey & Tsubasa

"Angelus" (アンジェラス)

Opening for episodes: 158 - 167
Lyrics by Bounceback, music by Bulge and arranged by Yasuaki Maejima
Performed by Hitomi Shimatani

"My will"

Ending for episodes: 1 - 20, and 167
Lyrics by Mai Matsumuro, music by Yasho Ohtani, arranged by Keisuke Kikuchi and chorus arrangement by Yas Kitajima
Performed by dream

"Fukai mori" (深い森 Deep Forest)

Ending for episodes: 21 - 41
Lyrics by D-A-I, music by D-A-I, and arranged by D-A-I and Seiji Kameda
Performed by Do As Infinity

"Dearest"

Ending for episodes: 42 - 60
Lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki, music by CREA (Ayumi Hamasaki) + D-A-I and arranged by Naoto Suzuki
Performed by Ayumi Hamasaki

"Every Heart" (ミンナノキモチ - Minnano Kimochi)

Ending for episodes: 61 - 85
Lyrics by Natsumi Watanabe, music by Bounceback and arranged by H-wonder
Performed by BoA

"Shinjitsu no Uta" (真実の詩 Song of Truth)

Ending for episodes: 86 - 108
Lyrics by D-A-I, music by D-A-I, and arranged by D-A-I and Seiji Kameda
Performed by Do As Infinity

"Itazura na Kiss" (イタズラな Kiss - Mischievous Kiss)

Ending for episodes: 109 - 127
Lyrics by Misono, music by 北野正人, and arranged by 五十嵐充 and Day After Tomorrow
Performed by Day After Tomorrow

"Come"

Ending for episodes: 128 - 147
Lyrics by Kask/Mansson/Cunnah and music by Kask/Mansson/Cunnah
Japanese lyrics by Yuriko Mori and arranged by Cobra Endo
Performed by Namie Amuro

"Change the world"

Special ending for episode: 148
Lyrics by Rie Matsumoto, music by Miki Watanabe and arranged by Keiichi Ueno
Performed by V6

"Brand new world"

Ending for episodes: 149 - 166
Lyrics by Mizue, music by Ōyagihirō and arranged by 家原正樹
Performed by V6

"No more words"

From InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
Lyrics by Ayumi Hamasaki, music by CREA and Do As Infinity, and arranged by Naoto Suzuki and Tasuku
Performed by Ayumi Hamasaki

"Yura Yura" (ゆらゆら Rock)

From InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
Lyrics by Kaori Mochida, music by Kunio Tako and arranged by Yasuo Otani, Masafumi Nakao and Ichiro Ito
Performed by Every Little Thing

"Ai no Uta" (愛の歌 Song of Love)

Insert song from InuYasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass
Lyrics by Kaori Mochida, music by Kunio Tako and arranged by Akira Murata
Performed by Every Little Thing

"Four Seasons"

From InuYasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler
Lyrics by JUSME, music by MONK and arranged by MONK
Performed by Namie Amuro

"Rakuen" (楽園 Paradise)

From InuYasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island
Lyrics by Ryo Owatari, music by Do As Infinity and arranged by Do As Infinity and Seiji Kameda
Performed by Do As Infinity

[modifier]

Games

InuYasha has been adapted into a mobile game – released for Java and Brew handsets on 21 June 2005, <ref>InuYasha mobile phone game</ref> a trading card game – an English-language original Trading card game first released on 20 October 2004, created by Score Entertainment, and the following video game console games:

Title	Console	Release date	Notes
InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale	PlayStation	9 April 2003 (North America)	Japanese title: InuYasha: Sengoku Otogi Kassen (戦国お伽草子–犬夜叉)
InuYasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask	PlayStation 2	1 November 2004 (North America)	Japanese title: InuYasha: Juso no Kamen (犬夜叉呪詛の仮面)
InuYasha: Feudal Combat	PlayStation 2	23 August 2005 (North America)	Japanese title: InuYasha: Ōgi-Ranbu (犬夜叉奥義乱舞)
InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel	Nintendo DS	23 January 2007 (North America)	English only.<ref>ign.com </ref>
Modèle:Nihongo	WonderSwan	2 November 2001 (Japan)	Japanese only.
Modèle:Nihongo	WonderSwan	27 July 2002 (Japan)	Japanese only.
Modèle:Nihongo	WonderSwan	16 November 2002 (Japan)	Japanese only.
Modèle:Nihongo	Game Boy Advance	23 January 2002 (Japan)	Japanese only.

[modifier]

Reception

Modèle:Update InuYasha made its debut in Cartoon Network's Saturday Adult Swim Block on August 31, 2002, first airing weekly then moving to having new episodes aired five nights a week. Though the show has now completed its first run, reruns are still aired in five nights per week.

According to Viz, the release of the feature film, InuYasha: Affections Touching Across Time on DVD has sold over 30,000 units to-date.^{[citation needed]}

The InuYasha graphic novels continue to show strong sales numbers. Volume 19 of the InuYasha manga series has been ranked Number 3 on Nielsen Bookscan’s Graphic Novel Top 50 List for the week ending 3 October 2004, and volume 1 is at Number 18 in its 77th straight week on top, confirming a growing interest among new fans.<ref>Anime Tourist: The Popularity of InuYasha, October 19, 2004</ref>

[modifier]