Inuyasha Kanketsu-hen Ep. 09
犬夜叉 完結編 Episode 09 Review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku take their leave of Inuyasha’s party with Kouga wanting Inuyasha to take care of Kagome. Elsewhere, Sesshoumaru’s party observe Sesshoumaru transform into his true daiyoukai form and meet another giant dog youkai in the sky. It is Sesshoumaru’s mother and she has a test for him, courtesy of his father. She summons a hound from the Meidou which then consumes Rin and Kohaku before returning to the netherworld. Sesshoumaru follows it and is able to rescue both kids, but Rin is dead. Sesshoumaru’s mother gives him a way home but he refuses in order to attempt to save Rin.

Even upon defeating the guarding, Rin does not come back to life, so Sesshoumaru is ready to sacrifice Tenseiga for Rin. This causes Tenseiga to power up and purify the dead in the Meidou. Using his Meidou Zangetsuha attack, Sesshoumaru returns with the body of Rin and Kohaku. Sesshoumaru’s mother returns Rin’s soul to her via the Meidou Stone and she’s alive again. She issues a warning to Kohaku as Tenseiga won’t bring him back if he dies. Kohaku decides to continue following Sesshoumaru as Inuyasha’s group sets out again.

Thoughts/Review:

I remember absolutely loving this story arc in the manga, though it feels somewhat rushed in the anime version. Not surprising really since there’s still so much material to get through before the series ends.

Regardless, it is neat seeing Sesshoumaru’s mother and learning a bit about where Sesshoumaru comes from. Of course this episode is mainly a Sesshoumaru growth chapter to mark how far he has come as a character. He truly cares for Rin and one could say he loves the little girl like a daughter. I remember how glad I was when in the end, Sesshoumaru’s mother brought Rin back from the dead. It would have been a pretty big bummer had Rin actually died.

I was just thinking of how Sesshoumaru rarely transformed into his true form during the course of the manga. I always wondered about why that was. Well, we got to see it here again, at least.

With the departure of Kouga’s gang, I want to say that they did not show up again in the manga (I could be mistaken though) after this point. If true, then it will be interesting to see if the anime writers do that as well, of if they bring Kouga back at the very end.

I’m glad they didn’t skip this story from the manga as the anime continues to skip stuff and press forward. I suppose they couldn’t skip it considering what happens down the road. I look forward to seeing that.