Ah, no problem, Muggle. I got that it was to me.

My little Kagome turns 3 on the 26th of this month. -_-;; You know, it’s actually interesting how much she acts like Kagome Higurashi. Especially with her temper. It’s also funny to watch the fansubs/and dub on CN because of her reaction to hearing her name on TV/the computer. She also managed to pick up some Japanese.

I know that their relationship has taken a turn to the lovin’ side as of late. I just can’t help but remember a few years back we had the osuwari to end all. And yeah, sometimes I feel like I’m reading Ranma 1/2, but that’s because Ryouga and Kouga…well, you know with these look-a-likes.   KagomeKagome(Quote)

not to sound impatient, but i was wondering when the chapter will be out this week?  curious one(Quote)

I know that one of the primary folks in the scanlation community is out sick this week, but I didn’t know if Starks relied on that person or if he (?) had an independent source.

I’m not impatient. I’m eager.   Shouki(Quote)

Hey, I just read the summary of chapter 488. My Sesshomaru’s back!!!!! And also it seems, is someone who looks…oh no! It’s the devil’s spawn back from the dead!!! Hakudoshi?!!  Irene Sharda(Quote)

I'm so lucky I had backed up my SQL database earlier today… I would've lost the last post if I hadn't… BTW, I've restored the comments.  Starks(Quote)

I think it's Byakuya in disguise. Who else would want to dress up like Hakudoshi. I mean, not only are they brothers, but Byakuya's supposed to be the ultimate illusionist, and also he can make his eyes leave their sockets, hence the eyeless look. But finally we're back on track!  Irene Sharda(Quote)

BTW, you guys might be all freaking out that the new enemy is wearing clothes similar to Hakudoushi's… That kind of clothing was not uncommon in feudal Japan.  Starks(Quote)

Starks, page 12 is missing ;_;  firebrand(Quote)

oh shit  Starks(Quote)

In response to 935, Starks, they rarely if ever (unless their twins or its directly meant) have two known characters dress the same in anime, manga, or any cartoon. That's why they wear the same outfits all the time. Kagura and Sango wear clothes that were popular at the time, but you only see the two of them wearing that particular outfit. It's so you can know and identify that it's that character in particular. Hakudoshi is the only one we see in the show with that white outfit and having the little "pom-pom" things in the front. There has to be some sort of significance to that, or RT could have drawn something comepletely different.  Irene Sharda(Quote)

(v2 released… 32 weeks without a v2 is pretty damn good…)

But Hakudoushi's outfit had multiple poms all over the sleeves.  Starks(Quote)

Yeah, I went back to check and saw the small differences in the sleeves, like the poms and the stitch pattern. However, this is only small and it's like how they changed Kagura's outfit in the beginning, or Sessho's change in flower patterns on his clothes. It's still too similar to have no implications.  Irene Sharda(Quote)

v2.1 released… This time, page 10 was missing.  Starks(Quote)

It would be very cool if that weird kid is Hakudoshi. Maybe he followed Sesshomaru out of hell? The clothes are slightly different though, and so I am kind of leaning towards it being a new character.  gogglehead(Quote)

I think it will be a new character… – but who cares, finally Sesshoumaru is back!!!^^"  Arvael(Quote)

lol
Is the v3 gona be the last one?  crystal_yuy(Quote)

When I read the last page I practiclly freaked out. I was like how could be asking what the ultimate answer is when a creepy guy is standing in front of sessy-sama, and how the hell did jaken come up with 42, is that really the ultimate or is he just lost in thought… Then I figured out it was a joke page and everything was better. One question though, when they were talking about the monk's resolution and stuff like that, did that mean that if Miroku hadn't takin the poison Sango's weapon and Sango would have died?  Inuyashagirl234(Quote)

Ok…lets have a show of hands, who nearly fell off their chair when they saw the "end" of the chapter?

I know I did. And laughed myself giddy.

Thank you Freelance-Manga!  Dolores H.(Quote)

>>947

Read this article…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Answer_to_Life%2C_the_Universe%2C_and_Everything  Starks(Quote)

Sango getting back Hiraikotsu was a downer. It's the same damn bone. I was hoping it'd be an upgrade or something.

The chapter was all right. Sango rehashed the same argument with Hiraikotsu, but they weren't moved at all. It's only when Miroku drank the poison that they respected him, and decided to help Sango. Would've been nice if they unlocked their true potential, or some other cliche like that, to give Sango a little boost. She's still all but useless against any serious baddies.

I don't think it's Hakodoushi at the end. I know a lot of people thought it was him, but I think the differences in outfit are pretty clear. I could easily see it going the other way too, though.

Anyone willing to bet the FINAL BATTLE is going to take place in Hell? I think folks will realize, courtesy of Sesshy, that simply killing Naraku will merely send him to the world of the dead, where he could feasibly return. I think there's probably some rule that dying in the world of the dead = NO REALLY dead. So, Sesshy will probably "kill" everyone at some point to take them to the final battleground.

So any guesses what's missing from Tensaiga? or what the little demon kid is gonna trick Sesshy into thinking? It'd be pretty dull if child claims Sesshy has to kill Inu — we've been there and done that a dozen times already. And it can't be to sacrifice Rin (or Jaken I guess) b/c that basically just happened. Could it involve using a jewel shard? Sesshy disdains fake power-ups, so I doubt he'd fall for that. So, what could it possibly be that's missing?  Shouki(Quote)

YESZOMGWTFSESSHOUMARUISBACK!! *shot*

*ahem* I'm happy for Sango and Miroku. ^-^  Azula(Quote)

In answer to 950,

I think the eyeless kid with Hakudoshi-like clothes is Byakuya in disguise, but I definately sense Naraku all around the kid. I mean he wants Kohaku right? And he's with Sessho, so it makes sense to go after sessho-tachi. However, it could also be another totally new Naraku offspring, Byakuya's little brother or something. (Oh NOOO!)

Also, Naraku can die in our world if he has no power to substain him. Like Inutaisho died as well without having to go to Hell and do it. And he's MUCH more powerful than Naraku. Take all those upgrades and the shikon jewel shards away, and all that's left of Naraku is a pathetic hanyo who couldn't even stand up to Inuyasha.

And if that does work, Naraku's getting his name written in Death Note, and you can be sure it won't be of "cardiac arrest". Hehe…  Irene Sharda(Quote)

The quality was somewhat lacking this release. Step it up!  tall(Quote)

>>953 Tall, I know… Missing pages is bad enough. What else did you see as a problem? The more feedback I get, the more I can improve.

Also, general question to all my commenters and readers: Do you find it unfair that all 3 Inuyasha scanlators pressure and race each other to do their releases in under 2 hours? Should more time be allocating into making the releases perfect? How long would you be willing to wait for a release. Because as things stand right now, myself, Ris, and Urd-chan are practically forced to sit in front of our computers for 48 hours starting every Tuesday as we wait for the raw and translation so we can rush our releases out the door and we drop everything else that we should be doing whether it's coursework for college, shopping, socializing with friends
or even studying.  Starks(Quote)

Starks, I kinda understand with having to get out fanfiction chapters while trying to handle college life. I think the scanalations were fine, and I'm just thankful to be able to get these latest parts of the story without having to wait for the english ones to come to borders in 2 years, or having someone who can understand Japanese characters.

Keep up the good work!   Irene Sharda(Quote)

(Thank you Irene…) My logic is simple. What's the point of having all the glory of being #1 if I am sacrificing everything that is important to me in order to achieve it? Scanlations shouldn't be rushed as much as Freelance, MakiMaki, and AdInu are forced to. The schedule absolutely kills us and we all know it but we foolishly persist.

Do you guys want insane speed or high quality?  Starks(Quote)

I'm just glad you're doing the scanlation. The quality is good enough in my opinion, but I think it's somewhat physically impossibility for you to get the chapters like this quickly out.
I won't mind if I'd have to wait more for a day or two (???), I'm happy I can read the chapters and see the scanlation when it's done   Arvael(Quote)

I'm willing to wait however long is needed. Ever since I found this site (after Kuro/Ear Tweak stopped doing the scanalations because of getting too busy to do so), I much prefer you all to every one else (I won't even read Urd-chan's because of…uh, other things concerning her that have to do with the IY fandom).

It also seems that my comment to Muggle from the last post got stuck at the top of this post? Hope it doesn't confuse anyone.   KagomeKagome(Quote)

Now that I've had time to read that…still thinking, "Poor Miroku."

And as a Douglas Adams/Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fan, I definitely appreciate that last page. Did you also remember to bring your towel?   KagomeKagome(Quote)

Starks,
Take your time and make the scanlations as you like it. But don't go out with friends while we are frantically refreshing web pages to get the latest release.

BTW
Current typesetting looks ok for me. What more do you want to do? More artistic text could have negative effect on readability. Do you want to clean images from noise?

FYI.
The i~goya forum allows email notification for bookmarked threads. If you also get raws by email you could probably set up something to notify you when they arrive (even to gsm/mobile phone if you have one).  sn0w(Quote)

Hm… I really don't see the point of everyone rushing to do the job. Quality is much better preferred than insanely high speed, but it's good if the worker is proficient and quick at the same time. I'm sure you're all that Starks, so don't worry and just take it easy. =D *shot*

This is random, but back then when I used to download all the manga chapters from Tokyo Toshokan, I always waited for Freelance Manga to release even if MakiMaki already had theirs up, first, simply because I liked how the chapter folder that was extracted from the .zip folder had just the chapter's name/number on it and not a bunch of crap like "[insert scanlation group]_Inuyasha_V?_Ch?". XDDD Yes, stupid reason, but ah well…@___@;;; So ya, it's not all about who's first and second. "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." =DDD

…….

Yaaa. Can't wait for the next chapitre! SESSHZOMG! *dies*  Azula(Quote)

I'm completely agree with Azula. Making a great job takes its time (I'm sorry, I'm still trying to improve my english). By the way… Does anybody have any idea what happen with MakiMaki website? My link doesn't work anymore. Does somebody know the correct address?  Goblin King(Quote)

I am 100% behind getting the scans out as quickly as possible. You can always go back at clean it up later, but I think the most important thing is to get the main plot points front and center. That's worth much more than the slightly higher quality w/ a longer delay.

Still, this is your site, your life, your hobby. Do whatever works best for you.

Tall: "step it up" is an extremely ungrateful tone to take, and if you don't apologize, at least be sure you don't show such a really juvenile level of disrespect and ungratefulness again.  Shouki(Quote)

Hi, it's the first time for me to write comments here.^^ Here is nice, too, Starks. You runs two site? this site and here(http://freelance-manga.freehostia.com/mediawiki-1.6.8/index.php?title=Main_Page)?
Anyway, I saw chapter 488 by you^^(I was dying for this for 2 weeks;) Thanks.

I know MakiMaki site, too. But did something happen to that site? I couldn't enter the site at all for about 2~3 weeks, either, like Goblin King.(I wondered if I was banned alone^^;;)
It seems that the chapter 488 by MakiMaki(or must I say Ris?) already released, however, I can't enter the site. There's just 'Can't find the page'….

Starks, or anyone who knows makimaki site(or Ris), don't you know something about this?

PS:If the sentences of my comment are a little weird, please understand it^^; I'm not Enlgish-user^^  Kaze, the Wind(Quote)

hot, thanks for this  s0beit(Quote)

Hey Kaze. I know you from MakiMaki as well, and yeah, I'm not able to access the site now either. The server Ris was on always sucked anyway from what I've read, so the only surprise is that it's been down for so very long.

My first time posting on here too! Hi everyone!  Lys(Quote)

>965
Shouki, I must agree with you.
Scanlation groups exist because we don't have access to the raws and we can't read Japanese.

Availability comes first, quality comes second.

What we have here is book example of competition in free market. We have same product delivered with different properties (time,quality) by competitors and we have many clients with different preferences.

If Starks wants to go high-quality, then he should at least try it. Then the 'market' can decide if the extra effort worths it.  sn0w(Quote)

Ah, Hi, Lys^^ I saw you, too. I wondered whether you were Ris or another person^^ but now I get it.

Then Ris' server was not so good as well…hm?
Anyway, a moment ago I could enter the MakiMaki site! Chaper 488 was not released yet.

To Starks
I don't know what happend to you perfectly, however, I think you DON'T have to be forced to do how about the scanlations at all. It's Yours, originally.
I'm very-deeply appreciate your scans, translations. As Ear-Tweak stopped doing on Inuyasha, I had no place to read new chapters. But now I have had a great time to read your scanlations and leave my comments. Even if Kuro starts to do again in Ear-Tweak(though it seems there is no possibility…), I'll come in places where I used to be, too.
Also, I guessed it would take such a long time to scanlate, and really takes long time. I must thank you again. But I suggest you having your time. I'm OK, don't mind if you are late or the scans are not high quality. Take your time, health, and so on.
There is NO good reason to complain about your scans. At least for me. If someone do like that severely, just ignore that kind of people.(Will he or she scanlate?) Don't be suffer from stress at all. Cheer up, Starks!!^^ And do as YOU want. It's Your Freedom.(Ah…except stop scanlating haha)

About chapter 488
My Lovely Sesshoumaru Now comes out!!♡(  Kaze, the Wind(Quote)

Ooooooops!! It seems that my comments were so long and were cut. Sorry, I'll write continuously.^^;;

About chapter 488
My Lovely Sesshoumaru Now comes out!!♡(  Kaze, the Wind(Quote)

Kyaaaaaa!!?? I can't catch the reason why cut again;; The keyboards are different from yours and some keys can't be recognized in this site?;;;;;; I really sorry…I have no intention to do like this….;;;;;
I wanted to write like this, I don't know it will happen again….(please…) It's ok if you(Starks) erase my weird comments..;;

About chapter 488
My Lovely Sesshoumaru Now comes out!!♡(hey, who is yours?) I think 'what tenseiga is lacking' is the ties of brotherhood with Inuyasha. and what simple, a little scary eyes he(she?)(someone in the last page) has;; Expecting next chapter 489!

And oh, I wrote some wrong words(970);; I'm sorry. I wrote them quickly and incorrectly.
Every time I write my comments, I tend to write them long…^^  Kaze, the Wind(Quote)

Brotherly love? Hm, that's definitely a good idea, but I wonder if that's really it. I mean, we just had Sesshy unlock most of the Midou b/c he realized his compassion towards a human, Rin. It sort of seems redundant to strengthen the Midou by feeling for Inu. Then again, it sort of makes sense b/c the Midou's "fuel" may be a compassionate soul, and Sesshy's bitterness towards Inu blocks his power.

I lean towards the idea that something completely different is needed, though, just b/c we've danced the "sympathy" dance before, and the Inu-Sesshy love-hate rel'p has been done before, with Sesshy finally making peace w/ Inu having the Tensaiga for his sake.

I'm also really looking forward to Sesshy.

And yeah, Maki-Maki seems to be back up, but, w/ all due respect to Rin, I find myself coming here more nowadays.  Shouki(Quote)

980, I think I'll be coming here from now on too. I don't know why, but I'm already beginning to like this place better. Call it a gut feeling.

Anyhow, about quality of scans (which I forgot to mention before), I really don't have a preference. I mean, I would like to have them out on Wednesdays, but to tell you the truth, to me, part of the experience of reading manga, as well as American comics, is seeing the pictures and not just reading the words. I'm leaning more toward more quality, but I'll let you decide.

Another thing I forgot to mention last time: my feelings on the chapter. Yes, yes, I'm happy because Sesshoumaru's back, lol. I don't know what to think about the person who confronts him at the end, seems a little too soon to tell in my opinion. Then again, I was never much good about making inferences on this story line. Takahashi and I have two minds that work VERY differently, lol!

I like to think that Sesshoumaru will somehow be prompted to work WITH Inuyasha, but that goes hand in hand with the used sympathy bag. However, we all know how Takahashi likes to use her old tricks over again….  Lys(Quote)

I also agree on the sympathy angle. Or maybe not sympathy, but at least something that will get rid of Sessho's horrible pride. This is what's been stopping him from fighting with Inu, and he needs to fight with him instead of against him. Together they'd be an unstoppable force.  Irene Sharda(Quote)

Irene, amen to that.

Ultimately, I'd like to see the brothers work side by side, even if somewhat grudgingly. The third movie worked its way into something of the sort, but…eh, yeah.

(Let it be said that I'm a strange sort who actually enjoyed the 3rd movie — for many reasons, but then again, I'm just not a picky person, really. The only movie that really makes me groan is the 4th one. XD )  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Hey, don't be ashamed KagomeKagome!

I loved the 3rd movie, it was my absolute favorite of all 4, since it has the most of my beloved Sessho!

Also, you get to see Inutaisho, which is reason enough to see it!
They ran a poll on tv.com, and it was found that more than 70 percent of the voters liked the 3rd one the best! So don't think you're strange or anything.

I loved especially how Sessho saved Inu at one point during the end, by pushing him out of the way of one of Sounga's blasts and taking the hit himself because Inu's hanyo body wouldn't be able to take it.

And look at how powerful they were when they fought together! In between bickering, and taunting, and hitting each other…
But hey, they'll get it together in the end!  Irene Sharda(Quote)

Ditto on what Irene said!

KagomeKagome, I know what you mean about the fourth movie. That one was a definite "ouch!" if you ask me. It just seemed like they were trying too hard, and the storyline came out of absolutely nowhere….

The only thing I thought was redeeming about that movie was the message about youkai and humans living together peacefully (if they can do it, you can too). Oh, and the fact that in the English dub, the war "god" that fought with Sesshoumaru had a voice that sounded extremely like Caboose from Red vs. Blue. That made me laugh so hard…. XD  Lys(Quote)