Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 40
半妖の夜叉姫 弐の章 16
Hanyou no Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi episode 40

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Inuyasha and company see Kirinmaru make his threat to destroy all of them. As such, he has the others enter the stomach of his father’s corpse. Inuyasha has Tessaiga planted in the throne. He then encourages Towa to summon Sesshoumaru’s sword Tenseiga to herself, since she had been able to use its broken form. Outside, Sesshoumaru senses Tenseiga being called and he releases the sword. Kirinmaru is startled by this turn of events.

Towa is able to summon the sword within the Black Pearl and it plants itself next to Tessaiga. The spirit of Touga blasts Kirinmaru to parts unknown, far away from Sesshoumaru. As such, Jaken and Rin take Sesshoumaru within the Tree of Ages for safety. Meanwhile, Towa is unable to pull Tenseiga from the throne. Setsuna and Moroha assist her and it finally comes out, meaning they can escape.

Elsewhere, Shippo and Takechiyo arrive in the village of the youkai slayers. They explain to Sango and her daughters Gyokuto and Kin’u the situation. Sango has her daughters find Kohaku and Hisui while she goes to get Miroku. With that, Shippo and Takechiyo depart for the cave, which marks the exit from the Black Pearl.

Within the Black Pearl, Towa uses Tenseiga to form the land bridge to get to the gates of this netherworld. After they exit and are greeted by Shippo and Takechiyo, Inuyasha agrees to give Moroha possession of the Black Pearl, which she keeps in her grandmother’s red rouge. Shippo is then forced to transport the lot of them to the Bone Eaters Well.

Setsuna and Towa Setsuna enter the Tree of Ages. Towa uses the Zanseiken to absorb the youki surrounding her father. Sesshoumaru warns her to stop, lest she die. While Towa absorbs the energy, she too becomes afflicted and collapses.

Thoughts/Review:

You know, when this series first started, it was just average fare. But lately, this series have become “must see” viewing for me. And Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 40 continues to show what good writing and fanservice done right can do.

Tempering Mary Sue

The biggest flaw in this series is the desire of the writers to make Towa a Mary Sue character. And one can see the fruits of that desire in Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 40. It is only Towa who can get the group out of the Black Pearl. Why? Because only Towa can summon Tenseiga from her father. It is only Towa who can save Sesshoumaru, thanks to her flute-sword.

However, the writers seem more aware of this Mary Sue trap they’ve created. As such, Towa wasn’t able to Mary Sue Tenseiga from the throne, once it embedded itself there. Instead, the writers went for “nakama” power. Only through the power of all three girls could the sword be removed. But as the secondary master of Tenseiga, Towa still had to get them out. However, it wasn’t done in a Mary Sue fashion as the sword lead the way.

Next was Towa using Zanseiken to save her father. It started off as a Mary Sue moment to be sure. However, the writers threw in a twist so that Towa may not have helped Sesshoumaru that much, and in the process, damaged herself. We’ll see where the writers take this, but I liked the move.

Another Family Reunion

How could I neglect that Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 40 finally had Sesshoumaru’s family get together. However, unlike Moroha’s casual and relaxed reunion with her parents, Inuyasha and Kagome, Towa and Setsuna had a different situation. In fact, as the twins started talking to their mom, I was thinking, “Do we really have time for this?” And then Jaken basically uttered those same words, which made me laugh out loud. Seriously, kudos to the writers for being self-aware there.

That aside, I’m sure we’ll get a proper reunion of this family by the end of this season. And hopefully it will be sweet.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I’ve been lollygagging, so let me wrap up my review with some final thoughts.

• Sango hasn’t had much of a presence in the series to date. As such, it was nice seeing her more involved in this episode. And clearly, the writers are going for the full Inuyasha reunion by the time the season ends.
• Speaking of Sango, she’s created a new weapon — the Black Hiraikotsu. (I think the term used by Sango may have been a bit more descriptive, but I don’t have time to verify.)
• I’m glad Moroha has the Black Pearl. Now she has a relic from both her grandparent’s on her father’s side.
• And speaking of Moroha, I loved the moment where she didn’t follow Setsuna and Towa into the Tree of Ages to allow them private time with their parents. This move even touched Inuyasha and Kagome.

In the end, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 40 continues a long streak of the writers just knocking things out of the park. The fanservice is awesome, yet fits perfectly within the story so that even if you’ve not watched/read Inuyasha, you understand what’s going on. The series has become “must see TV” for me, and I love it.