(Note: Those looking for the actual end of Inuyasha manga review, go here.)

Back in late 2002, I got into the anime Inuyasha because I’d seen a few episodes on Cartoon Network (I was still watching anime in English in those days) and found myself pretty interested in the show. Unfortunately, they ended with episode 36 and didn’t launch a re-run. So, I borrowed a copy of all the episodes through 36 AND discovered that in Japan, they were up to the 80’s in episode count. Wow! Naturally, I had to acquire those as well, and continued to do so until the anime ended in Japan.

When the anime ended in September 2004, it was clear that Takahashi-sensei was going to keep writing the manga for a while. So I started reading the current manga from Japan to keep with the story. By mid-2005, I found that I grew weary of the manga and just stopped reading it. But recently, I have found myself curious, so I’ll be going back to where I start and start reading again. So you can look forward to chapter reviews of that to be added to the blog.

During the time that I was keeping current with the Japanese release of the anime series, many fans, mostly younger fans, were always asking, “When is the show going to end?” Back in late 2003, I wrote an answer on Usenet. Since the manga is still ongoing, I figured I’d share the love of my original 2003 post since it still works for telling how the series will finally end.

How Inuyasha Will End

After years of traveling together, Sesshoumaru-sama suddenly discovers himself attracted to the now grown teenaged Rin after she emerges from an onsen one evening. Angry with himself for this weakness he cursed his father for, he plans to part ways with Rin. However, he is unable to do so and thus learns why his father fell in love with Inuyasha’s mother. Coming to this understanding, Sesshoumaru decides that a human as honorable and faithful as Rin has been is an acceptable wife for a youkai of his status. As such, he takes Rin to be his wife. They never stay in one place for long and as was their custom, the constantly journey across Japan.

Jaken still remained in Sesshoumaru’s service and he also served Rin-sama as well. After Rin gives birth to twins (a boy and a girl), Jaken is given the task of being their nurse-maid. This job he takes gladly and with a great deal of pride since they have bestowed such trust on him. Jaken would meet his end when Shippou and his kitsune gang attack the twins. He dies defending the children who do manage to escape to freedom. His body is never found and thus Sesshoumaru was unable to bring him back to life. Sesshoumaru and Rin have both vowed to kill every fox youkai in Japan.

Despite losing the Shikon no Tama shards in his legs, Kouga manages to keep their power since he had them for so many years. As such, he is still as fast as the wind. Though still in love with Kagome, he accepted his fate that she and he could never be. As such, he decides to keep his promise to Ayame from so many years ago and marry her. Along with Ginta, Hakkaku, and two beautiful female wolf youkai Ayame provides for them, they form a new wolf youkai pack where Kouga’s original tribe resided.

Shippou-chan became Shippou-sama after he parted ways with Inuyasha and company. His many years of witnessing brutal and bloody fights, grand manly posturing, & extreme insulting with cussing influenced him to do the same despite Kagome’s attempts to shield the lad. After winning a life-or-death struggle with an extremely powerful agent of Naraku in which Shippou killed the beast, Shippou learned to tap into the vast kitsune powers even he did not know he had. As such, the adult Shippou went to form a large pack of vicious fox youkai which terrorize the land. His reputation grew as he managed to fight Inuyasha to a draw in one-on-one combat. After slaying Jaken, Shippou learned the hard way that there are some lines you shouldn’t cross. Despite being the supreme illusionist in the world, Shippou (along with his wife, the young thunder sister) spent the rest of his life on the run from Sesshoumaru-sama and his clan.

As expected, Sango agreed to bear Miroku’s children and thus the couple got married immediately after their adventures were over. With the now-alive and free Kohaku, the trio returned to Sango’s village to rebuild the place and to start a new life along with Hachiemon, the raccoon youkai in Miroku’s service. Unfortunately the happy days for Sango and Miroku were short lived. A few weeks after they began to rebuild, Kohaku accidentally set off an old trap left by Naraku. He was killed and this caused Sango to snap mentally. She no longer recognized her husband except for very brief moments from time to time. Otherwise she appeared to live in the past, appearing to talk to former members of the village as if they were alive and with her.

Miroku stayed with Sango and took care of her for the rest of his life. He remained faithful to her until the end, spending the rest of his life in celibacy. Even when Momiji and Botan came to live in the village and offered themselves to our young Houshi-sama, he did not cave to temptation and indeed was not tempted, so deep was his love for his beloved Sango. Over the years, the village thrived and Miroku was the defacto leader of the people. Yet through all of this, he never once neglected Sango. In the end before her death, Sango’s sanity returned to her and the now elderly couple spent their final days together in peace and happiness.

Hachiemon married and had a family with another raccoon youkai. He spent his time assisting Miroku in any number of jobs, and eventually became a village elder. Ironically, the village that had once housed youkai hunters was now a village where good youkai and humans lived together peacefully, thanks to the hard work of Hachiemon.

As for Kikyo, she was slain for the umpteenth time and finally thought to be dead for good. As such, Inuyasha was able to give all of his love to Kagome and the two confessed their feelings for each other. However, Kagome wanted to return to the modern times and attend Toudai (Tokyo University). Inuyasha wanted to stay in the feudal era, but tried to live in Kagome’s world for her sake. He found life very tough, especially since carrying his sword openly was forbidden and he was looked upon by other Japanese as a very strange gaijin. Since he and Kagome still retained the ability to travel back and forth through time via the well, they would return to his time to visit old friends, especially to check up on Sango and Miroku. After being accepted into Toudai, Kagome began to work on degrees in history as well as archeology. As such, she had little free time and the couple began to drift apart. Inuyasha began to spend more time in the feudal era where he was most comfortable.

Late one evening, Inuyasha waited patiently for Kagome’s study group to finish their session. As he waited, a large group of thugs attempted to rob him. While he was able to easily hold off the thugs, one of them called in for reinforcements which quickly came upon the scene. Inuyasha soon found himself in a desperate struggle against well-trained members of the underground Tendo-dojo. Despite his promise to Kagome that he wouldn’t kill anyone in their time, he slew all of the thugs that fought him, including the ones attempting to flee. It was considered the worst crime in Japanese history which left investigators and even the yakuza very puzzled at what could have inflicted such damage on a human body.

Kagome knew who had killed the thugs and even though he tried to explain, she decided she couldn’t live with some sort of half-youkai killer. Very depressed and dejected, Inuyasha returned to his time and was very surprised to find a very much alive Kikyo waiting for him at the well. Deciding it must be fate, Inuyasha surrendered to his fate and Kikyo took him to the underworld to spend eternity.

For her part, Kagome ended up marrying Houjou-kun, the boy who always asked her out in school. While he always seemed like a good catch, the reality of the matter was that he turned out to be a horrible husband. While she had been willing to give up her career to be a housewife, she had not expected for Houjou to turn out the way he did. After the birth of their second child, Houjou was almost never home. While he did work a lot, he also spent a lot of free time (and money) in certain “establishments” geared toward men like him. His favorite place was “Tokimi-sama’s House of Catgirls”. When Houjou did come home, he wanted nothing to do with his family. Eventually, he stopped coming home completely.

Feeling very lonely and regretting her decision to break up with Inuyasha, Kagome returns for a final time to the feudal era. A chance meeting with Sesshoumaru and his family gives her the news of Inuyasha’s demise. Only her love for her children gave Kagome the strength to carry on and return to the present. She becomes a historian who writes books about the unknown parts of Japanese history concerning youkai and the like. While her work is generally scoffed at as being the stuff shounen anime series are made of, one man takes interest in her work. Eventually he is revealed to be a descendant of Kouga and Ayame. The two continue to research the past and eventually marry. Kagome tries to take her new husband back to the feudal era, but the well no longer allows passage. Despite this, the couple live a happy life and her children consider him their real father.

She will never forget Inuyasha nor her time in the feudal era. As such, she and her family live on the family shrine and for many generations to come tend the shrine grounds. This included an ancient tree where legend states that a hanyou once found himself sealed, only to be awakened by a maiden from another time — a maiden with the powers of a miko, powers which still keep that tree alive to this day.