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is a Japanese [[manga]] series written and illustrated by [[Rumiko Takahashi]]. It was serialized in [[Shogakukan]]'s manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in 56 volumes. The series follows Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old middle school girl from [[modern-day|Heisei]] [[Tokyo]] who is transported to the [[Sengoku period]] after falling into a well in her family [[shrine|Shinto shrine]], where she meets the half-dog demon, half-human Inuyasha. After the sacred Shikon Jewel re-emerges from deep inside Kagome's body, she inadvertently shatters it into dozens of fragments that scatter across Japan. Inuyasha and Kagome set out to recover the Jewel's fragments, and through their quest, they are joined by the lecherous [[monk|Bhikkhu]] Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and the [[fox demon|Kitsune]] Shippō. Together, they journey to restore the Shikon Jewel before it falls into the hands of the evil half-demon Naraku.
In contrast to the typically comedic nature of much of Takahashi's previous works, Inuyasha explores darker and more serious subject matter, using the setting of the Sengoku period to display violent content while still retaining comedic elements. The manga was adapted into two anime television series by Sunrise. The first series ran for 167 episodes on Yomiuri TV, Nippon Television, and their affiliates from October 2000 to September 2004. The second series, , is a direct sequel that adapts the remainder of the manga and ran for 26 episodes from October 2009 to March 2010. Four feature films and an original video animation (OVA) have also been released. Other merchandise includes video games and a light novel. An anime-original sequel spin-off television series, titled , aired for two seasons from October 2020 to March 2022.
Viz Media licensed the manga, the two anime series, and movies for release in North America. Both Inuyasha and Inuyasha: The Final Act aired in the United States on Adult Swim (and later on its revived Toonami block) from 2002 to 2015.
By September 2020, Inuyasha had 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2002, the manga won the 47th Shogakukan Manga Award for the category.
Five hundred years later, Kagome Higurashi lives on the grounds of her family's Shinto shrine, with her mother, grandfather and younger brother. On her fifteenth birthday, Kagome is dragged into the enshrined Honekui no Ido by a centipede demon and sent back in time to the Sengoku period in 1546. The Shikon Jewel manifests from within the body of Kagome, who is Kikyo's reincarnation, and she desperately frees Inuyasha from the tree to kill the centipede demon. When Inuyasha threatens her, Kikyo's sister Kaede subdues him with a magatama necklace to keep him under control. Later, Kagome inadvertently shatters the Shikon Jewel into many shards with an arrow, and they scatter across Japan and into the possession of various demons and humans.
Inuyasha obtains his father's sword Tessaiga, which places him at odds with his older half-brother Sesshomaru, the wielder of Tenseiga. Inuyasha aids Kagome in collecting the shards and dealing with the threats they come across. On their journey, the presence of Naraku, a spider half-demon who was responsible for manipulating Inuyasha and Kikyo, comes to light. While pursuing Naraku, Inuyasha and Kagome recruit the young fox demon Shippō, the perverted Bhikkhu Miroku (whose hand was cursed by Naraku), and the demon slayer Sango and her two-tailed demon cat Kirara. Sango's clan was killed when they were tricked by Naraku, and her younger brother Kohaku fell under his control. Over time, Inuyasha enhances Tessaiga into stronger forms while defeating his enemies. His team is loosely allied with Sesshomaru, whom Naraku attempted to manipulate; the resurrected Kikyo, who plans to purify the Shikon Jewel if all shards are collected; and Kōga, the leader of a wolf demon tribe who seeks to avenge his comrades whom Naraku killed. As Inuyasha and his friends journey together, he and Kagome begin to fall in love with one another, which is complicated by Inuyasha's lingering feelings for Kikyo.
Desperately hunted by his enemies, Naraku temporarily removes his heart and wounds Kikyo. Kohaku, having been previously killed but later revived by Naraku and kept alive and under his control by a Shikon Jewel shard, eventually regains his free will and memories and attempts to escape Naraku's group. During that time, Sesshomaru settles his feud with Inuyasha to enable his brother to perfect Tessaiga to its optimal abilities. Kikyo sacrifices herself to give life to Kohaku, and Naraku collects all the shards to restore the Shikon Jewel. As he is slain by Inuyasha and his allies, Naraku reveals his true desire for Kikyo, despite his hatred towards her, and he uses his wish to trap himself and Kagome inside the Shikon Jewel before dying. Revealed to be sentient, the Shikon Jewel intends for Kagome to make a selfish wish so that she and Naraku will be trapped in an eternal conflict, thus prolonging the Jewel's existence. However, with Inuyasha by her side, Kagome wishes for the Shikon Jewel to disappear forever, allowing her to return to her time with the well sealed, and she and Inuyasha lose contact for three years.
In that time, the Sengoku period changes drastically: Sango and Miroku marry and have three children together, Kohaku continues his role as a demon slayer, and Shippō trains to make his demon magic stronger. Back in the present, Kagome graduates from high school and manages to get the Bone Eater's Well in her backyard to work again. She returns to the Sengoku period, where she reunites with Inuyasha, marries him, and continues to train with Kaede and become a top-level priestess.
In North America, Inuyasha has been licensed for English language release by Viz Media, initially titled as Inu-Yasha. They began publishing the manga in April 1997 in an American comic book format, each issue containing two or three chapters from the original manga, and the last issue was released in February 2003, which covered up until the original Japanese 14th volume. Viz Media started publishing the series in a first trade-paperback edition, with 12 volumes published from July 6, 1998, to October 6, 2002. A second edition began with the 13th volume, released on April 9, 2003, and the first 12 volumes, following this edition, were reprinted as well. Up until the 37th volume, Viz Media published the series in left-to-right orientation, and with the release of the 38th volume on July 14, 2009, they published the remaining volumes in "unflipped" right-to-left page layout. Viz Media published the 56th and final volume of Inuyasha on January 11, 2011. In 2009, Viz Media began publishing the series in their 3-in-1 omnibus volume "VizBig" edition, with the original unflipped chapters. The 18 volumes were released from November 10, 2009, to February 11, 2014. On December 15, 2020, Viz released the 18 volumes digitally.
The series is produced by Sunrise, and was directed by Teruo Sato for the first season and Masakazu Hishida for the second, with character design by Inuyasha author Rumiko Takahashi. Staff from the Inuyasha anime returned, with writer Katsuyuki Sumisawa, character designer Yoshihito Hishinuma, and composer Kaoru Wada. The cast includes Sara Matsumoto as Towa Higurashi, Mikako Komatsu as Setsuna, and Azusa Tadokoro as Moroha.
Viz Media announced the rights to digital streaming, EST, and home video release of the series for North and Latin American territories.
The first film, , was released in 2001. In the film, Inuyasha and his friends confront Menomaru, a demonic moth warrior brought to life by one of the shards.
In the second film, , released in 2002, the group seemingly kills Naraku for good and returns to their normal lives, only to encounter a new enemy named Kaguya, a character based on the literature The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
The third film, , was released in 2003. In it, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru forcefully work together to seal the evil Sō'unga, their father's third sword, when it is awakened from its sheath.
The fourth and final film, , was released in 2004. It follows Inuyasha and his friends protecting a group of half-demon children from four evil demons on an ancient mystical island.
On March 24, 2010, Avex released Inuyasha Besuto Songu Hisutorī, a best album that contains all the opening and ending theme songs used in the series. The album peaked at number 20 on the Oricon album chart and charted for seven weeks.
A single title, Inuyasha: Naraku's Trap! Invitation to the Forest of Illusion, was released for the Game Boy Advance on January 23, 2003, in Japan.
Inuyasha has been adapted into a mobile game released for Java and Brew handsets on June 21, 2005.
Two titles were released for the PlayStation: an RPG simply titled Inuyasha, and the fighting game , the latter of which was released in North America. For the PlayStation 2, the two released games were the RPG and the fighting game , which also received an English version. An English-only RPG, , was released for the Nintendo DS on January 23, 2007.
Inuyasha appeared in the crossover video game as a playable character.
Inuyasha's sword, Tessaiga, has appeared in Monster Hunter as a craftable weapon using items gained from a special event.
An English-language original collectible card game created by Score Entertainment was released on October 20, 2004.
In February 2017, it was announced that a stage play adaptation of Inuyasha would be performed at Tennozu Galaxy Theater in Tokyo from April 6–15 of the same year, featuring Yutaka Kyan from Golden Bomber as Inuyasha and Nogizaka46's Yumi Wakatsuki as Kagome.
By February 2010, Inuyasha had over 45 million copies in circulation. By September 2020, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation. Individual volumes from Inuyasha have been popular in Japan, taking high places in rankings listing sales. In North America, the manga volumes have appeared various times in The New York Times and Diamond Comic Distributors top selling lists. Moreover, Inuyasha was one of the most researched series in 2005 according to Lycos.
Reviewing volume two for Ex.org, Eri Izawa wrote that Inuyasha combines many of Rumiko Takahashi's best elements; "fast-paced action, interesting characters, deep doses of imaginative fantasy, a bit of horror, and those famous touches of Takahashi humor." She also praised the "undeniably intelligent and observant" Kagome as refreshing. Izawa described the faults of the series as subtle and minor, feeling that the action sometimes seems to drag a little and that some of the characters are too familiar to those from Takahashi's previous works. Rebecca Bundy began her review of volume 23 of Inuyasha for Anime News Network by claiming; "Twenty three volumes in and this series still packs a serious punch." She called its balance of action, conversation, and "reflection" perfect, and noted it had plenty of character development for the main cast, sans Koga. Bundy's sole complaint was that she felt the character designs had changed a modest amount since the beginning of the series. Even though they had not read Inuyasha since around volume six, Manga Life's Penny Kenny said they were able to jump right in with volume 52 thanks in part to the sense of familiarity provided by Takahashi "riffing on the same themes." Kenny stated that Takahashi's genius lies in her "endless improvisations on the standard elements" by adding new enemies and monsters, which forces the heroes to up their game and grow as individuals. The reviewer described the art as having little background detail, with Takahashi instead focusing on the characters and their actions. Kenny also noted that, like all of the manga artist's works, the drama is heightened by levity, with each character having their own style of humor.
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