So, Sesshoumaru does get another sword, and he still got Tensaiga. Looks like the two of them did somewhat cooperate to get out of then Meidou.  Karin(Quote)

Looks like it could be a while till he gets the sword though. I hope he does a better job of protecting the final shard this time.  David(Quote)

Yay, i'm just happy Sesshoumaru is still in the picture! I've heard too many predictions about him leaving for good.  Sky(Quote)

Yeah it looks like he is sticking around till the end. As long as Kohaku follows him, he will be a key part of the story.  David(Quote)

I was so incredibly pissed as I read this. This is just another wasted opportunity by Rumiko.  Starks(Quote)

Sess remains!! That's great.  Anon(Quote)

I agree starks, this is very disappointing.  Tango(Quote)

there's no chapter this week right?how sure are we that this spoiler is real?  curious one(Quote)

I just want something to actually happen. I need progression…something? anything? I mean I realize these things need to happen in order to have progression…but, I feel tired from all this sword hoopla. Give me some meat, Rumiko!  Elise(Quote)

I imagine we will get something other then a sword arc beginning in chapter 505. Totosai's words seems like a preview of things to come, rather then set up for the next chapter. Also, Sesshoumaru will probably have to do some good deed before he gets the sword. He never gets upgraded like Inuyasha does. Inuyasha never earns it (except Dragon Scale) by fighting, but every upgrade arc for him is an action scene. Sesshoumaru is usually upgraded (except for Tokijin) after he shows compassion. Think saving Rin or avenging Kagura.  David(Quote)

Lol I like how this pretty much resolved nothing. I agree with Starks. >>
Sess remaining= more sword plots, more more more. I can't possibly see how that could be a good thing. I want him written out if anything because that means no more SWOOOORRRDSSSSS outside maybe one last upgrade for tessaiga (please no on that either). Please please do it Rumiko. Brave the fangirls. Or make Sesshoumaru's character more than just a sword if you insist on him staying.  
Also, thank you for resolving NOTHING with Kohaku. Outside Iy getting meidou, and having it basically forced upon him, the last fifteen chapters (outside 494) may as well have been pointless. Sango's upgrade was important, but she technically got that in the 480s.   Haro(Quote)

Haro:  That Kohaku point was the exact same thing I alluded to on another site.  After all of that, he still refuses to travel with his sister.  And she saved his sorry little butt from Naraku's grasp.  Just kill him already if it's that painful then shessh.  Oh I forgot, that should've been accomplished at chapter 498 but never happened.
 
And nothing was accomplished.  Inuyasha got a Meidou without expecting to get an upgrade.  Another dragged out plot. Let's see the light at the end of the tunnel for crying out loud.  The more she writes the more stuff she leaves unresolved.  The only positive I can see coming out of this is this sword crap is put to rest for a minute.  np(Quote)

Nothing should be resolved with Kohaku yet. His subplot is to important. My feeling is that the final arc and final battle will be over Kohaku's shard and his life. It is the most important sub plot left, everything hinges on preventing Naraku from getting his hands on it. No matter who possessed it that would be the case. But now you have the additional emotional resonance of a little boys life being tied it. So now everything is set up. Sesshoumaru has to prove he can protect Kohaku's jewel, and has to give the final proof that he has earned his own weapon. Inuyasha has (hopefully) completed the tesseiga. Sango is powerful enough to take part in the final battle. And Kohaku and Miroku's life hangs in the balance. Once Naraku builds a new body, I think the (long) final arc will begin.P.S.  Anyone else get the feeling that the healing power remained in tenseiga. Maybe that is Sess's inheritance, once he gets his own sword he can absorb the healing power.  David(Quote)

I don't care how long it will take her to finish, as long as the ending is satisfying.

I'm surprised you guys are talking aobut Kohaku, he is like the most annoying and boring character in the manga. I honestly wish he would just choke on something and die.  Sky(Quote)

P.P.S. If Kohaku joined Inuyasha's group he'd just end up being the Cousin Oliver of Inuyahsa. I like the character, but adding a new kid to the mix would just be terrible. Inuyasha's group has been set for a long long time. I'm glad it stays that way. The only way it could work is if it happens like it did with Koga. He joins for one arc, and it is just set up for a battle with Naraku.  David(Quote)

Well we don't know the full extent of the dialogues and expressions while Sess and inu were in hell, so maybe it will be more rewarding than the spoiler reveals…I hope.  By the way, Sess is ore than a sword…his growth for compassion is the drawing appeal for him.  Is relationship with rin, and now Kohaku, as well as of course Inuyasha.  We've only seen tokijin, and a tensaiga upgrade from Sess…how many is that compared to Inu's upgrades?…Not even close. 
I do agree, that if there is not some meaningful dialogue between inu and sess, it will be a dissapointing end for this arc.  As far as future arcs, there will only be one probably (I think….I hope that this is Inu's final upgrade,jeez)…Sess getting a sword drawn from his own power, which will probably play some role in the final battle.      Anon(Quote)

David: I didn't want shard resolution with Kohaku. I do not expect that until the final battle. I wanted some resolution between Kohaku and Sango. They didn't even talk. They just parted aways like nothing had happened. Kohaku traveling with the Inu-tachi would not have been such a bad thing. There should not be enough left length left in the series for him to upset the balance. Kouga didn't, and he was around for about thirty chapters. It, along with everything else that didn't happen, rendered this entire thing pointless.
…Kohaku is easily the most tragic character in the entire series (Kikyou & Sango ain't got nothing on him), and is a truly sweet, caring, and strong boy. I don't like that he's being avoidant towards Sango, but it's no worse than Miroku lying to her about his condition (what Miroku's doing is worse imho). I don't know how someone could hold such ill will towards him. I mean I know some of the rabid RinxSesshoumaru fans do but… >>   Haro(Quote)

David:  I agree Kohaku's subplot is probably the most important issue that needs to be resolved.  My main gripe is that after all of that, he still refuses to travel with his sister again, even after his life was put in danger because Sess was venting.  One would think he'd, or they'd for that matter, at least try to work things out, however there was very little dialogue between the two.  If the two intend to resume living together after they defeat Naraku, they have got to interact beforehand.  Nothing, and I mean absoultely nothing, was resolved between Kohaku and Sango while there was a big opportunity to.  That opportunity was for Kohaku to finally develop a backbone and decide to travel with Sango and her group again.
 
And yes I also believe the healing abilities have remained inside Tensaiga.  As I said before, thank goodness.  A healing Tessaiga….XD just weird.  Getting back to the swords, RT had her chance to put this issue to rest, but yet again we could see another sword arc regarding Sess in the upcoming future.  Not looking forward to another upgrade at all.  np(Quote)

Anon: Sess USED to be more than a sword/sword angst, but if you think about it- all of his development in the end is connected to those swords. Rin, Kagura, InuYasha, the list goes on. Every time he has appeared the last one hundred and twenty five chapters (outside the brief time he picked up Kohaku), has been sword related. Ever since around chapter 400, Sess has been the bringer of sword arcs. He shows up, and it's destined to happen.
IY may have had more upgrades. But IY could have had ten more upgrades throughout the series and he'd still be more than just a sword/sword issues. He's always there- so there's still a bajillion and one plots with him not related to tessaiga. Takahashi has chosen to utilize almost the entirity of Sess's appearances since Kagura's death to swords. That's why that's what he's become.   Haro(Quote)

I am looking forward to Sesshoumaru getting his own sword. It makes sense for him to stop relying on his father. The interaction of the siblings did not seem to suggest any sort of reconciliation. It seemed as early as then that RT was not going to reunite them yet. Personally, I think a big happy reunion would be better after the final battle, then before.I do like the Kohaku character. The whole sub plot about the siblings is my favorite in the Manga. My personal favorite character is Sango. I just feel that there story is so tragic, that saving the happy ending till the ending will make the resolution that much better. I do not think Kohaku will die (nor Miroku), and I do not want him to.While I believe the end of the Manga is in sight, I also believe that the final arc will be a long complicated one, akin to the  Moryoumaru arc.  David(Quote)

Sesshoumaru's development, whether sword related or not, is actually interesting. Inuyasha getting another thousand upgrades however, isn't. Anytime Sesshoumaru is on the scene you at least know that somethings going to happen, but when Inuyasha gets an upgrade, it's not nearly as good. Seriously, these upgrades actually downgrade Inuyasha as a character and make his battles so much more boring. Pretty soon, he'll be about his sword. >_>
Whatever happened to the reckless hanyo that had something to prove? Oh, yeah, he got a million upgrades and lost his fire. We really do need a balance here, otherwise Inuyasha will be "t00 uber 4 j00!"   Anonymous(Quote)

Anonymous: Did something happen here? Not really. Sesshoumaru showed up and nothing was resolved, same goes with his last few appearances. This whole lame meidou thing IY has now happened in a Sesshoumaru arc, did it not? This was really a Sess arc, not an IY one.
IY's sword upgrades were always about inner strength, tenacity, and proving himself- UNTIL dragon-scaled tessaiga. I hate the dragon-scaled tessaiga and am not thrilled about the meidou either, but this arc, which focused on Sesshoumaru, proved anything but interesting. All it did was raise more questions.
A balance would be IY being weakened somewhat and the Inu-tachi jumping in to strut their stuff. Having teh ub3r youkai brother on the scene just adds more testestorone overdosed RAWRSWORD vibes. As long as Sess is prevalant, the series focuses on swords, and it generally forces IY into it as well.   Haro(Quote)

Instead of parroting the whole "nothing was accomplished" like the many before me, I'll just go out and say it- what a freakin' waste of pages! Guh, I feel like nothing happened that made reading this arc worthwhile. x_xSince this chapter doesn't come out until next week, I'll have to wait two more weeks to get some half decent InuYasha fill.I can't even say I'm remotely happy, either. Seeing as how Sess will probably come back with a new sword and new sword-y issues. Bah.  Nana(Quote)

And there go my paragraphs, eaten by my poor ability to use this comment system or something. N00b help, anyone?  Nana(Quote)

Pressing enter twice after the last sentence in your paragraph should do the trick in starting the next paragraph.  I was having the same problem as well until I did that.  np(Quote)

Horrible. Sessho should have left the series already; I'm sick and tired of power ups.  And don't tell me Sessho will surpass his father this early?? Come on now.  The last thing Sessho needs is to be rewarded for his idiotic actions lately.  I always thought Sessho would take a long and hard time of deep meditation to finally come to grips with his failings so far, and only then have the pure will to surpass Inu-Papa.  But no, it looks like he's already on his way, apparently having learned nothing.  He consorted with Naraku without any consequences.  What bull.   Shouki(Quote)

1. I don't think Sess will have any future "swordy" issues…he gets his sword which will have no connection to Tessaiga. I don't see how he is going to envy tessaiga and have anymore disputes concerning swords with inuyasha.
2. He used Naraku to realize his father's true intentions and test Inu's worthiness…he didn't really join forces with Naraku, in fact he saved Inu's life when Naraku was about to deal the finishing blow.
3. Saying "nothing was accomplished" is untrue, it is just if you think anything worthwhile in your opinion happened. What did happen, was Sess finally accepts that Inu not only gets Tessaiga but he gets the mediou also and Sess has let go of his sword obsession (swords of his father anyway). I think that's pretty significant, but that's just me.
4. The power up issue. Inu's power ups are quite boring…the first few were good, but its always the same. The same "never say die" attitude, and struggle in battle and then another upgrade. Its repetitive I don't see what purpose it serves, it also detracts from Inu's character. I mean, I am a regular human if I could wield Tessaiga (and all its powers) I could destroy most yaoki too! It takes a lot away from the hanyou proving himself as a warrior. On the otherhand, if we look at Sess's few powerups, for example when he got the mediou and went to hell to save Rin it was the first time Sess outwardly showed his compassion to such an extent and how much he truly cares for Rin. His powerups always seem to serve a purpose.
4. I like Kohaku too…he is a good kid. However Sango wasn't wrong in saying those things to him, he was controlled by Naraku because he was weak willed. Kohaku joining up with the Inu gang would be really bad, all the awkward silences would detract from the rest of the Inu gang. Its better he travels on his own, or with someone else (like he did previously with Kikyo, or how he doing now with Sess's group)…and along the way bumps into Sango now and then slowly getting more comfortable, and after its all over (the final battle) then reuniting with Sango one on one.  Anon(Quote)

Hm, so they leave again?  (Please travel together…^-^) Anyway, it'll be good if Sesshy gets another his own weapon. I wonder what new technology Rumiko-sang will make.   Kaze, the Wind(Quote)

Black Tessaiga and Sesshy's new weapon are gonna be the last straw for a lot of people. It's seriously far too late in the story to be introducing new plot devices like this.

(p.s. kaze, it's -san, not -sang ^_^)  Starks(Quote)

Anon:  I agree with most of your points except the point you make about nothing being accomplished and the Kohaku point.
 
Just to tackle the "accomplished" point, honestly, that was very clear in 503 that Sess finally found his answer.  I'll put money on chapter 503 being more eventful than 504.  All you'll see in 504 is the brothers making a strategy in order to get out of the Meidou.  The groups rejoin and they go their separate ways, saying some words to each other.  That's what we are getting from the preview, so technically nothing has been accomplished in 504 except the brothers getting out of the Meidou alive. We also get yet another comment about Sess being almost at the point of owning his own sword.  That's yet another issue that isn't needed because it just complicates things.  Sess should've had his own sword made from a long time ago rather than it being now, after 500 chapters.
 
With Kohaku, he's ok but I HATE how he acts when he's around Sango.  He acts like someone who has no backbone and can't face up to what he did.  How is he supposed to get comfortable around her after the final battle (if he gets out alive) if he can't be around her now?  They had since he traveled with Kikyo and he STILL isn't comfortable with her yet.  Sorry I don't buy it and I still think he intends to die, which is another reason why he avoids her.  np(Quote)

Ah, I think we'll just have to wait for the next chapter to be released if we would like to give our opinion – again xDThough, this preview got a weight off my heart – Sesshoumaru remains as I (and lots of fans xD) hoped^^ Yay! (I didn't think Takahashi Rumiko would kill him off or sg, though the last chapter when he seemed to be trapped inside the Meidou, my determination wavered a bit :S)  Arvael(Quote)

NP and Anon: He's ELEVEN. Taking that into consideration, you still think he's spineless and weak? I will be honest. Kohaku is not weak. Sango was completely incorrect in her assertion. No, Naraku was not able to posess him because of his weak will. Yes, some people like Kagome might be able to break free of his posession (in the Tsubaki arc). Most people, even very strong people, would not be able to. Naraku's mind control spells are going to be far from wimpy. Kohaku was controlled because of his weak will? Well Sango was controlled to work for him early on without any mind control spells- twice. I love Sango, but I think if anything he could teach her a lesson in inner strength.  
 
Kohaku is eleven years old and has been able to accept his possible death, been able to face down his actions and come to the firm conclusion that he WILL go against Naraku, and overall been emotionally solid. What Kohaku has done wrong is this- firstly, he allows himself to be easily influenced. Kikyou is a prime example of this. However, most people of that era would thoughtlessly trust a miko in the same manner. Secondly and most importantly, he avoids Sango. This is bad of him, and shows his one big emotional weakness. He can face what he's done himself, but he cannot face his sister because he fears upsetting her over his death. This is a childish mentality. When you do something wrong, you don't want to face your family. Of course the situation is more severe, but once again, he is eleven. Most of the time he acts a lot stronger than his age, so allow him this one major weakness. He's not weak-willed. He just has one soft spot. It will take them time to heal once Naraku is defeated, if he lives (he'd better). But time heals wounds and Kohaku is a strong willed enough character that he will survive and be able to live a normal happy life, Sango as well.  Haro(Quote)

You know what pisses me off… Sango and Kohaku have been standing next to each other for the entire battle and they haven't even made eye contact.  Starks(Quote)

Hmm, I'm actualy happy Sess wasn't written out. Say what you will about what RT is doing at the moment, but if anything it seems to me that Sessh's sword envy and desire for some sort of a powerful weapon have faded, even if Toutosai does hint at him getting another weapon towards the end.  I would like to think that he dosn't recive said weapon till around or within the final battle arc and that we get at least a couple of practicaly or completly Sessh free arcs follwoing this.  Cause i do agree with people on how other issues need to be touched upon that has nothing to do with a sword upgrade.  I'd peronaly love an Inuyasha/Kagome arc to follow this, or a long awaited Shippou upgrade arc.  I mean, seriously, if Shippou is gonna have anything to do with the final battle give him a chance to shine already.  Just my 2 cents.  Yin-Yang Heart(Quote)

Anonymous: Did something happen here? Not really. Sesshoumaru showed up and nothing was resolved, same goes with his last few appearances. This whole lame meidou thing IY has now happened in a Sesshoumaru arc, did it not? This was really a Sess arc, not an IY one.
What manga have you been reading? Not only has more about the whole tenseiga/tessaiga past been revealed, but the swords became one, and Sesshoumaru gets an upgrade. Something did happen, the sword issue was resolved, Sesshoumaru will no longer battle with Inuyasha over the swords. Something did happen whether you like it or not.
IY’s sword upgrades were always about inner strength, tenacity, and proving himself- UNTIL dragon-scaled tessaiga. I hate the dragon-scaled tessaiga and am not thrilled about the meidou either, but this arc, which focused on Sesshoumaru, proved anything but interesting. All it did was raise more questions.
None of Inuyasha's sword upgrades were interesting post backlash wave, they were only either because or for killing Naraku. Sugar coat it as much as you want, but he doesn't need ALL of those attacks, their just cheap plot devices. Sesshoumaru's arc has been more interesting than any of his past arcs (save losing Rin)
A balance would be IY being weakened somewhat and the Inu-tachi jumping in to strut their stuff. Having teh ub3r youkai brother on the scene just adds more testestorone overdosed RAWRSWORD vibes. As long as Sess is prevalant, the series focuses on swords, and it generally forces IY into it as well.
No, as long as Sesshoumaru is present, there is at least one interesting character that isn't one of the goody-two shoes protagonists, one character that acts on his own acord and causes tension. Face it, without Sesshoumaru, we'd just get "look for Naraku/Find him several chapters later/Battle/he escapes/upgrade" rinse, wash, and repeat. Sesshoumaru as a whole adds to the story, and for the record, his battle and upgrade were about more than a sword, its was about the acknowledgement that he sought from his father and never seemed to receive, and also about overcoming his hatred. Inuyasha has nothing on that, just another useless upgrade.  Anonymous(Quote)

Sess stays in = more likelyhood of Inupapa flashback (and we all want to see RT's version for the hell of it RIGHT? XD)
 
I'm gonna go on the flip side, ignore the fact that I don't like the sword arcs as much as the others and say I think this will be a cool chapter. The Sess-Inu collab was enough for me. Sess told him he needed to get out, Tenseiga did a deus ex machina and Inu got them out. After that, I agree that there should've been more resolution between Kohaku and Sango, but I think it was for the best that he went with Sesshomaru again. It's more strategic since Naraku now has two groups he has to target or be targeted by, and we know by now that Kohaku at least tries to think strategically since he avoids confronting his feelings/relationship with Sango.
 
I love the fact that Rin took Tenseiga – btw is it still broken or…? Rin tends to be very intuitive to what's the right thing to do, and she doesn't see why Tenseiga is any less important since it saved Sess (as well as herself). I also love the fact that it was Tenseiga that got Inu+Sess out, and the likelyhood is that it still has its healing powers. Remember we don't know, but Tenseiga could've shown the light in order to protect Sess as it has done in the past when he was in grave danger. I hope this is a sign that Tenseiga is still very much it's own sword that has become attached to Sess. It really seems to have a mind of its own these days. Anyway I'd like it if Sess got his own sword but Tenseiga was still meant in the wide scheme of things for him to keep as a memento.
 
I'm also curious to this "one more step" business – and I think, well I HOPE, that is what will really tie this sword plot into the shikon's, and it'll be to do with Kohaku. Tessaiga is now complete (isn't it?) so Inu doesn't have any other upgrade arcs forseeable. Sess getting a weapon isn't so much an upgrade as his closure story – it's the thing he wanted from the beginning, and he ends up getting it in a way he would never imagine. I'm glad he is still in the story – I still firmly believe for him to suddenly realise everything he's been being a douche about NOW is too much of a character leap. In this battle he merely let go of his attachment to his father's sword and quite possibly he has no reason to hate Inuyasha now (because Inuyasha now has zomg status in his eyes). His next arc should be about the developments that follow on from that – "I was wrong. What does that mean? What is the right thing to do?" and so on.
 
If I were to strip away everything annoying about Sesshomaru and amplify his good points, I would see a protector in him. Perhaps his role in the final battle is to protect Kohaku whilst Inu + co go kick some ass? It's hard to tell - because the emphasis and time RT has spent on this sword/inufamily plot (equal time to that of the Shikon's even) means that Sess is without doubt a main character in the series (as opposed to say, Kouga who is more a side-character) and I think because of this the resolution of Sess will no doubt play a larger part in the ending, whether we like it or not. D:  Soldat J(Quote)

I agree with you, Soldat J.  Plus, I'm thinking that Rin taking the sword with her is some kind of hidden symbolism.  I don't know.  could be.  And while we may have found this arc a pain in the ass to read, perhaps as the final battle draws closer we'll be able to look back and say it wasn't an utter waste of RT's time or ours, for those who loathed it.  Yin-Yang Heart(Quote)

What manga have you been reading? Not only has more about the whole tenseiga/tessaiga past been revealed, but the swords became one, and Sesshoumaru gets an upgrade. Something did happen, the sword issue was resolved, Sesshoumaru will no longer battle with Inuyasha over the swords. Something did happen whether you like it or not.
None of those were an issue before this recent arc. These were issues newly created for this arc. Nothing that was not 'new' for this arc was resolved. We already knew the history of tenseiga and tessaiga. It's just now that RT has decided to add all these convoluted details that seem to contradict her earlier backstory (no really, they do) and are unecessary. All RT did was add a bunch of questions and then answer them. She didn't answer any previous questions. Then she added some new questions and didn't answer them. Sesshoumaru will no longer fight InuYasha for the swords? He wasn't fighting for it beforehand. He only went back doing so after the Shishinki arc. Once again, creating new plots- not resolving old plots. Nothing happened in these chapters.
No, as long as Sesshoumaru is present, there is at least one interesting character that isn’t one of the goody-two shoes protagonists, one character that acts on his own acord and causes tension. Face it, without Sesshoumaru, we’d just get "look for Naraku/Find him several chapters later/Battle/he escapes/upgrade" rinse, wash, and repeat. Sesshoumaru as a whole adds to the story
No I don't think Sesshoumaru being in the story makes it so much more interesting and that I need to face that. It doesn't to me, but I respect it's your opinion that he does. However, there are a whole heck of a bunch of plots dealing with the main cast that aren't fight Naraku, rinse, wash repeat. In fact, I'd venture to say that a good half of the manga is plots not involving that. You can call them filler, I call them character development. Either way, the story would hardly be 'let's fight Naraku over and over' without him. Secondly, there are a lot of other side-characters. Sess isn't the only one keeping it from being just focused on the Inu-tachi. I enjoyed the conflict brought in by Kikyou, Kouga, Kagura, and now Kohaku. Sess is not speshuler than them.
 
and for the record, his battle and upgrade were about more than a sword, its was about the acknowledgement that he sought from his father and never seemed to receive, and also about overcoming his hatred. Inuyasha has nothing on that, just another useless upgrade.
This arc was not ABOUT InuYasha, so consequently he was not the one developed. IY doesn't even know wtf is going on. He was just hurtled into this, was attacked by his bro, got an upgrade- and came out still not having a single idea what just happened. You're right, he got a useless upgrade. But there's no character development to be had here for InuYasha, because there's nothing to develop. IY doesn't have daddy issues, he doesn't even have hatred towards family, and heck he's not even the one with an issue towards his brother. IY has issues, but those are not his issues. They're Sesshoumaru's. IY's issues aren't something that could be developed in a storyline like this. And all those acknowledgements? Connected to the swords. Of course.
 
None of Inuyasha’s sword upgrades were interesting post backlash wave, they were only either because or for killing Naraku. Sugar coat it as much as you want, but he doesn’t need ALL of those attacks, their just cheap plot devices. Sesshoumaru’s arc has been more interesting than any of his past arcs (save losing Rin)
If you mean this current arc has been more interesting, I think a lot of people will disagree with you. Since the Shishinki arc began, I've never seen so much continued dismay over the manga. Yes IY's upgrades are for killing Naraku. Isn't that…  good? I would think that Iy gaining power to defeat Naraku, and not just to have it- would be a very good trait to have.
Red tessaiga might have been for killing Naraku, but it was an emotional arc that did cause Inuyasha to grow greatly in compassion. Kongousouha (I love this attack xp) was awesome and was an extremely difficult battle for IY. I am NOT advocating IY's post kongousouha upgrades, so there's no umm sugarcoating (I'm not sure how I was 'sugarcoating' anyway) them from me. I think they suck, and are just another way to draw out the manga. But this Sesshoumaru plot is the same thing,  moreso because of what I said in the first paragraph.
NP is right. If Sesshoumaru had to get a sword, he should have gotten it forever ago. It's ridiculous to cram this all in now instead of the slow gradual and effective development she gave us for the characters before recently. This is just jarring.   Haro(Quote)

Anon: Also, Sesshoumaru got an upgrade from this arc? Did I miss something? No he didn't…  Haro(Quote)

OMFG NOT ANOTHER FUTURE SWORD PLOT!!!!!I like Sess and all, and I'm happy that it looks as if he'll be around a little longer…and I'm really happy that he's closer to matching his father in terms of power and all, but I'm getting mighty damn sick of these sword arcs already!  I just want to stab my friggin' eyes out with a spork!!Dammit, Rumiko!  What was the point??Nah, I see what the point was, but seriously, this is getting old.    KagomeKagome(Quote)

Haro:
1.  Sango attacked Inu because in her confused rage over everyone she ever cared about including her father being killed by her beloved younger brother she was led to believe that Inu was responsible.  Can you really blame her!!?  You think anyone would be in a rational patient state of mind when something so horrific and shocking has taken place?  In those times you are looking to who's responsible.  By the way I think Naraku chose to control Kohaku because he was weak, I doubt he could control strong willed (a lot more than Kagome) Sango or her father.
2.  Interesting side characters?!!  Let's see who's left.  (I loved Kikyo and Kagura too, but they are gone).  There's Naruku's one reincarnation who is a Kagura copycat, then there is Jaken and Rin who always travel with Sesshomaru and it would be pretty lame if they suddenly joined Inu's gang.  Finally there is Kohaku, and didn't Kohaku say after Naruku is destroyed then he could be with Sango or something along those lines?  It would be ridiculous for them to reunite now and he is far too weak to travel alone, so that leaves traveling with Sess and his future wife Rin.  Anyway you cut it, face it Sess needs to stay.
3.  Obviously you didn't and many others didn't care for this arc, but there are others that did as this forum shows.  There are many arcs I don't like (Inugang slaying nameless demon of the week) or the utterly pointless Kagome goes back to her own time to catch up with friends dodge here admirer, etc.  (these are the worst they just don't fit in at all).  Anyhow there is no way to prove "nothing happened" its all how you interpret the events (again showing the varying opinions on this contraversial arc).
4.  I think it was mentioned before, but I am not Anonymous.  So if addressing me, address points that I made.  Anon(Quote)

Hm, the new comment box is smooshing my words and paragraphs together?  KagomeKagome(Quote)

…and as much as I would love to rehash all of this same crap we just debated in the previous threads, it's just pointless.  Obviously, if you care more for Sess and his clan, you're not going to be fond of arcs that focus on Inuyasha upgrades or Kagome back in her time, and vice versa:  Sess and his uber-angst.  I think we could argue for damn near a year over who's pointless, who's cool, and whatnot.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Aight here's the premise:  I myself travel back in time to the feudal era, pimp out Kagome, Sango, and shippo…then get into a fist fight with sesshomaru and win….then me, miroku, Inuyasha, and naraku all go to a brothel to do important..ugh..research..haha
   Let's face it…there's more sexual tension in this comic than you can shake a stick at.  If naraku got laid once (possibly by kikyo) you think he would be plotting world domination?  I think not!  He'd be like…Kikyo!…gimme a sandwich!  Do it now!  Game over naraku…kukuku
   On a serious note this sword makings is a good thing.   Far too much waylaying us with bogus plot hijinx.  We, as fans, deserve some closure on this sword fiasco. 
True…we were gyped again as far as major plot developement goes…but hey I can't really complain…this is basically my dream come true this new sword shindig.  I'd like to know how sesshomaru got off the hook so easily….trying to kill his bro…he gives him a present and all is forgotten?!  I would pop that idiot in his eye he tried to pull that crap on me.  And where did good ol' tentacle eye and his daddy go?  they need a whuppins as well..me..till next time
Inuyasha for president baby!  Feyd(Quote)

Everyone knows that a good lay holds the key to the universe and the secret of life.   KagomeKagome(Quote)

Re:  4160, 4164, and 4168 (Haro and Shouki)I agree.  RT needs to just write Sesshoumaru out and start a new manga called "Sesshoumaru".  I'll reserve final judgment for when the chapter comes out, but I'm extremely disappointed that Sess' pride prevented him from hearing Totosai out and allowing questions to be answered.  (I know if I were Inu or the groups, I'd want to clear the air and wait for an explanation.)  Now we go into another arc about him, without any real advance to his character this time around, while we forget all about the real villain Naraku spinning in his demon dryer.  I never was in a hurry about the series ending until this happened.  I just hope RT pulls off a good one in the end.  I suppose I still have a little faith.Re: 4181"a long awaited Shippou upgrade arc"NO.  Just no.  Tiger(Quote)

Anon: 1- Who said I was faulting Sango? You don't need to defend her. You're right. I might have done the same thing, but I could also be controlled if Naraku put a mind control spell on me. I'm sorry, I just don't think the idea that Naraku's mind control spells work on the weak willed only makes any sense. Naraku is unfathomably powerful. The idea that his mind control spells aren't that tough and only work on wimpy is kind of out there I think.
ALSO- Sango did fall victim to a mind controll spell in the Kanon scroll arc with the village of women. No problem. She seriously didn't even fight it much. Are Naraku's mind controll spells weaker than random villain of the days? Of course not. (And I think the manga disagrees with you on the two girls, and I like Sango better that way- far more interesting.) Outside that one line of Sango's, there's not a single indication that Kohaku is 'weak willed.'
2- Sess and his future wife Rin? I don't care if you like the pairing, but is not going to happen and there's no indications but platonic right now. As for their only being a few remaining side-characters. You're right, but that's because she has been writing them out to make the cast smaller for when the final battle rolls around. Even if indeed Sess is the one who kept the manga from getting redundant (which I don't see how he is), him being written out here wouldn't matter if she would kick her butt in gear and write the damn final battle. No, Sess doesn't need to stay. Kohaku traveling with the Inu-tachi would be awkward at first, but ease up over time.
I also don't see how Byakuya is a Kagura clone. I think he's awesome.   Haro(Quote)

Amen to previous posts, and I said it in the last topic as well. If you don't like Sesshomaru, you're gonna be "omfg write him out already". If you're not that bothered and are here for the ride, you're gonna think differently. That's the exact thing about the character, RT has made it so you can hate him or be interested in him. Both opinions apply and neither one is wrong.
 
Now, let's talk about how pissed Jaken is gonna be that Rin went and took tenseiga. Surely as primary henchman and secret hidden character that is his job!  Soldat J(Quote)

Haro-I worded it wrong, I meant Kohaku's future wife Rin…Sess and Rin would be disgusting!!   Also with Byakuya…let's see she…sorry he flies on an oragami bird (not much difference from Kagura flying on a feather), he looks physically almost identical to Kagura, and in the mirror monster arc she was noted as thinking Naraku's using of Kanna as cruel (she has an independent mind). 
Well Soldat J hit it on the head, it depends on if you like the character of Sesshomaru (or Jaken or Rin as they would have to be written out as well if you take out Sess) or not…an example for me is I was happy that Kouga was written out as I wasn't fond of his character, but a lot of people were upset with this, on the other hand I was angry when they killed off Kagura (finally gaining freedom only to die a painful death shortly afterwards). 
   Anon(Quote)

Anon: Ahaha okay. I don't see either happening (although I like Kohaku/Rin), but that one is definitely a lot more likely.
I actually thought Byakuya looked a lot more like Jakotsu. Like Jakotsu he's far more comedic and prone to wittiness. He's also a lot more laid back than any detachment before now. I think him questioning Naraku's intent doesn't mean he's like Kagura. Outside of the ones that are killed off quickly, literally every single one of Naraku's detachments has done so and then gone against him, whether blatantly or subtly. He does fly, but the origami/illusionary attacks are nothing like Kagura's. I think the origami crane as a means of flight is actually extremely creative.   Haro(Quote)

Shippo upgrade XD. Sex being the savior of this twisted IY universe XD but hey it can be true.
Haro:  Kohaku was very admirable trying to protect Rin against Naraku; a very brave boy in that respect.  But let's face it, Kohaku has no backbone around Sango.  Simple as that.  That's why he hardly talks to her and does his best to avoid her.  Being 11 shouldn't even be an excuse for the way he's acting towards her.  I understand, one makes a booboo, doesn't want to face their family, but that's only a temporary condition.  He's been doing it since he started traveling with Kikyo.  That's been a few months and counting.
 
And I disagree with you saying Kohaku could teach Sango something about inner strength.  Actually, it's the other way around.  Sango saw her father and comrades get annihilated by her own brother right in front of her.  Yet she doesn't dwell on it like Kohaku does, and it has had as much of an impact on her as it has had on Kohaku.  In many ways, chapter 498 or 499, really showed how much Sango has grown, and to me, has been her coming of age chapter.  It doesn't even matter if it was by Kohaku's own hands that this atrocity was commited.  Kohaku needs to realize that no matter what he does, it will not change what happened in the past.  He'll never forget, of course, but he needs to move on with his life.  The only way he could even attempt to move on is through more interaction with his sister.  His avoiding her is somewhat like avoiding what happened in the past, which isn't a good thing at all.  I understand Naraku has to be defeated, yada yada yada, but they haven't even shown an inkling of being comfortable around each other, even though they travel with separate parties.  Allow this one major weakness…I've put up with it long enough to comment on it and critique it.  I have no other choice but to since we have to put up with it again XD.
 
Anon:  Don't underestimate Kagome's strong-willingness.  She has overcome Naraku's mind control a few times and she did it damn well might I add.  She's probably the most strond willed character in the manga.  np(Quote)

One of the things about this arc, that bothers me a bit is that we only have so much time left in the manga. It is not like we have another hundred chapters left, RT  did make that much clear. With much left to develop in the main characters it worries me that some of the main issues will not be treated to the chapters they deserve. Sesshoumaru remaining in the manga wouldn't have bothered me if we had the time for it.  Really, I almost wouldn't have minded this chapter had she put it in instead of the two headed brother arc, that  was truely lame. I could have seen her make some type of connection between the both Inu and Sess with the brothers, if she had wanted to. I can see why Kohaku wouldn't want to travel with Sango, they really didn't "talk" as much as Sango lectured, Kohaku sat and took it. Kohaku hasn't  found a way to forgive himself. To me, it seems he is willing to take anything negative directed towards him as something he deserves. Sango is my favorite character, some of which is because of the issues she faces. One of them is shame, not just of Kohaku's failings ( in her point of view) but of her own as well.  I would have liked to see some type of dialog between them that would have at least started them down the path to understanding the struggles they have both been through.  I don't see this happening in one short chapter, at least I would have liked this type of a "subplot" occuring up until the final battle. Then I am not writting the manga.I seen this arc as a waste, not because I hate Sess that isn't the case, but because there wasn't any need for it . It doesn't add to the story, IMO. Tensaiga didn't have to be a part of Tessaiga, Inu didn't need any upgrades. As Haro said, RT  didn't  answer any questions, she just created some and then answered the current one's she created. A sort of short story within the main story. Why  complain about it, because we just don't have the time left for this, unless she changes her mind and decides to go the extra chapters I can see some of the other issues getting the short  end of the stick. Kohaku is just one issue, I want to see Kagome and Inu make some decisions as far as where they may end up, miroku and sango talking ……..etc.  sorrel(Quote)

NP: It's probably been only a month, perhaps a little less- since Kikyou died. Definitely not more. Sango has always had someone to talk to about her issues, has always had someone to comfort her. Kohaku- not so much. Even though he's had companions, they aren't really people he could talk to about his sister issues- that would give him sage advice and help him out. Unlike Sango, no one has given him the inspiring advice/treatment that the Inu-tachi has towards her- saving her from making the wrong decisions and helping her out. Sango almost killed herself and Kohaku, but with their help she overcame that. Sango came to not dwell on those issues (although she did until recently and still does at times) because she had friends and love to keep her afloat, something to live for.
Kohaku doesn't. The truth is that Kohaku has really fought this battle alone. He made the wrong decision, but one can't expect an eleven year old to always make the right one. Especially since he's had no one to talk about and tell him it's wrong.
And ITA on Kagome.   Haro(Quote)

OK — one detail.  There was no "the swords became one" — even though that is how it was lThere are still two physical swords.  It's highly unlikely that having been broken , Tenseiga is now nothing (think back to the first few seasons when Tessaiga was broken).  Is it likely that the "new" sword will be Tensaiga with Sess' power?  After all, the Tessaiga was affected by using IY fang . . .  
In addition, the Tetsaiga became black and created the exit from the meidou.  I thought it was a hole leading into hell, not a hole leading out.  The technique from Tenseiga was absorbed.  The Tenseiga was the light IY used to get both of the brothers out of the meidou.  Tenseiga is not gone completely, so the swords could not literally become one.  They could, however, become one in "thought" or "purpose." 
Perhaps Rumiko is not creating more questions/plots as much as she is recreating them from previous questions/plots. 
   A Fan(Quote)

Haro, it is hard to tell when Kikyou died, per the manga time line. But a month is a pretty good guess.  Forty chapters ago, it is a long time for us but oh such a short time for our manga friends. I do like the fact that RT doesn't exactly tie us to a time line, if you're going to write on the fly like she does it would have gotten pretty messy.  Such things take planning, keeping a time line in order and keeping it true to itself. Off topic warning: I am curious as to how many here write as a hobby, or intend on doing so, hope to do so, at a future date ??   sorrel(Quote)

A Fan: But none of these questions were in previous arcs. She is creating new questions based on old plots, yes. However, the old plots are old and have already been resolved/explained or she didn't resolve them. So she's just making new questions.
On your first two paragraphs though, I agree. This arc seemed full of plot holes to me. The Shishinki arc was like that too. A character said one thing, and it would be contradicted the very next chapter. It just imho, enforces that she's really writing blind/not thinking these things through. But I don't agree about them becoming one in though/purpose simply because outside defeating Naraku (and they go about it very different ways), the two wielders are never going to be on the same wavelength.   Haro(Quote)

A Fan: I personally think the healing power was left in tenseiga. When tesseiga absorbed the meidou it left the other power in tact. Once Sesshoumaru receives his own sword, he will shatter tenseiga and absorb its remaining powers. In other words his inheritance from his father will be the ability save a hundred souls in one sweep.  David(Quote)

Re: 4206I agree with this.  I have been frustrated since Miroku and Sango didn't talk after hirakotsu was fixed.  The closest we've gotten to any sharing of thought or feelings is when Inuyasha and Kagome had the almost-kiss.  We need some talking, explaining, and clearing of the air if this series is going to wrap up, but alas.  It's shounen, and dialogue doesn't seem to be a priority.  Let's just have another fight.    Tiger(Quote)

Wait, it's still not over? Damn, but there's no way now that RT is going to finish the series by year's end.
Maybe with Sessh exiting for a while we'll be able to get some Inu-Kagome or Sango-Miroku squishiness out of the way… maybe a little resolution but, you know, I'm not holding my breath on that part. But it's been too long since there was any decent squish in this series.  Mental_Butterfly(Quote)

I don't know about Rumiko not thinking things through.  Creating a question and answering it immediately in any story line is boring fpr the reader.  I enjoy wondering about why she might have done this or that.  Why did Rumiko choose to have an arc where Sess would become even more upset about the Tessaiga/Tenseiga thing?  What point would that serve in the plot?  I think her point may have been to move Sess towards a more brotherly attitude to IY . It wouldn't work to move it to best buds.  It also wouldn't work to have IY be saved over and over by Sess.  IY had to be the one to get them out of the meidou.  What's the point to that?  When Sess gets over the swords, will he work in conjunction with IY to defeat Naraku?  Is that all this is about? 
These questions are why I believe that these are old questions asked in a new way with almost new answers. 
The "one in thought/purpose" thing alludes to the swords, which already seem to sentient in some way, to continue to act as guides to the brothers.  Perhaps this guidance has been intended all along to bring them to the final battle together. 
As a matter of fact, this seems in line with the possibility that Sess will end up with the sword and IY will become human and return to the future with Kagome.  Maybe? 
   A Fan(Quote)

Sorrel: I don't think the timeline is so ambiguous. One thing it has definitely been is less than a year. I know that's hard to believe since we've been reading it for ten, but Kagome is still in the same grade (as are her friends, so it's not even as if she failed), and the amount of new moons (even adding in a few we might not have seen) is less. Although a battle takes us weeks to read, it's likely to only have lasted an hour or two in the actual timeline. Counting events and days, it really hasn't been near as long as you'd think. XD
 
Tentative Timeline:
Early July of 1996- Kagome's birthday. Kagome goes to sengoku jidai, IY is unsealed.
Mid to late July of 1996- First new moon- Spiderheads. Kikyou is resurrected, Naraku & Miroku appear. Everything starts happening.
Mid to late August of 1996- Second new moon- Peachman arc. Sango appears directly after.
Mid to late September of 1996- Third new moon- Kaijinbou arc. Bersek IY storyline as well as 'where we first met' storyline shortly after. Kagura and Kanna appear soon before new moon, Kouga as well.
Mid to late October of 1996- Fourth new moon- Kagura's betrayal arc. Tsubaki directly before, Musou directly after.
Between the fourth new moon and the fifth, there's about fifteen volumes. Just counting days and events, it's safe to assume we missed about one new moon. The Shichinin-tai arc actually took place only within a few days, so that's a good example of how much shorter it is for them than us.
Mid to late December of 1996- Fifth new moon. Mouryoumaru storyline. Ogre's rock a bit before, Kagura's death very soon after.
Mid to late January of 1997- Sixth new moon. Nikosen arc. Modern era trip right before, Ginka and Kinka right after.
Mid to late February of 1997- Seventh new moon- Bone youkai/hiraikotsu arc. Kikyou's death falls in early to mid February. The fall here is just right going by what's happening in the modern era. Any later and Kagome would be cringing over entrance exams, and in 494 Kagome's family is shown wearing winter clothes.


Sorrel: I'm a writer. I do plan to write professionally (although not as my entire career). I am an English major (you wouldn't know it considering my typo habit T_T), and I 'specialize' if anything in Children's Lit.   Haro(Quote)

A Fan: I don't want her to create questions and answer them right away. But by this point in the series, I'd prefer for her not to introduce any more ongoing conflicts. However, she didn't answer any old questions with this plot- hence my issue.
 
As a matter of fact, this seems in line with the possibility that Sess will end up with the sword and IY will become human and return to the future with Kagome.  Maybe? 
II will forgive every sword upgrade in the world for that ending, so I hope you're right. What I love about the idea of IY turning human is that he can't get more sword ugprades that way.  LOL. No, all joking aside I think the series should end with tessaiga becoming obselete. If Sess dumps his sword, IY should have to as well. It would be full circle development for him, and prove that his desire for power early on is gone completely. But the only way that can happen is him turning human, because he needs it to keep his blood in check in his hanyou form. And he's cuter that way anyhow. xp
 
   Haro(Quote)

I must respectfully disagree that it's all new questions . . .   They're the same questions.  Almost repetitively.  Of course, that does depend on your point of view. 
I like your twist on the ending.  However, I just don't see Sess dumping the sword.  It also seems so insulting to dump an heirloom.   This introduces the possibility that you are right though.  Perhaps all these swords really are is a tool to teach them what their father is no longer there to teach them.  Once the lessons have been learned, the swords will no longer be necessary.  A subplot like this would be right in line with Sess surpassing Inu/Sess father. 
   A Fan(Quote)

A Fan: By dumping the sword, I meant what just happened. Sess still has tenseiga, but likely it only has its healing ability now. I don't mean throwing the sword in the dumpster. In this chapter though, he in a sense did do that. He left it behind. Rin just happened to grab it.
I think both of Papa's swords will be rendered obselete before the end of the series, as Sesshoumaru's already has been. My guess is he'll keep the healing ability though, because there's no harm in him having it.    Haro(Quote)

Haro, you're forgetting Full Moons- they do count as well as Takahashi pays so much attention to details.  Lurker(Quote)

Lurker: I'm not sure what you mean? Full moons? You mean new moons? I counted those. That's the basis of the timeline. We pretty much never see the moon in the sky in the manga, so there's really no other way to judge.
Either way it's definitively been less than a year and February is about right considering events in the modern era.   Haro(Quote)

<b>Sorrel:</b>  I'm a writer, too, dabbling in many different fandoms besides anime/manga.  I'd like to be a professional, someday, in perhaps historical fanfare and psychological horror.And thanks for that timeline, Kel.  I'd been wondering about how long it's been for them.  I'd guessed a shorter amount, not counting for the missed new moon.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Oops…html not working now, it seems.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

I was wondering when Rin would have some say in this story arc…
It seems pretty reasonable to me that sango and Kohaku are still too upset to look at each other.  I don't really see Kohaku as a weak character, but maybe not one that's very good at showing his emotions.  He even had his own plan to defeat Naraku back when his heart was the baby, and that must have been hard to do.  He was able to pretend to still be controlled even when Sango was around.   The only thing that bothers me about Kohaku was that Kagura died protecting him.  She put her life in dager so he could live, but he hasn't thought about her at all since then.  He seems to be more upset about Kikyo's death, but Kikyo was dead anyway.
 
I hope to see a lot more of Sesshoumaru in the future even if it is just about the swords.  I'm not really the biggest fan of Inuyasha himself.  I'd rather have another miroku an sango arc unless inuyasha finally just gives in and kisses Kagome or something…  WindDemon(Quote)

Winddemon: It's possible Kohaku doesn't know that's why Kagura died. But that aside, Kagura's death did affect him. It was with that in mind that he left Sango behind to focus on Naraku. I agree with the first part though.
I still think Kagome needs an arc. Sango & Miroku have both gotten a lot of focus recently. :\
Heh, I love IY to bits. He's not usually the kind of character I generally fall in love with, but something about him endears me so greatly. He's so cute (although I don't find him attractive). I want to hug him and give him a noogie.    Haro(Quote)

I think the beginning of the timeline is incorrect.  Kagome's birthday was at the beginning of the school year, if I remember correctly.  Well, if that's correct, then her birthday is in April because that's when the Japanese school year begins.  April coincides with what I have read elsewhere as well.  Is there something you have read that makes you suspect that Kagome's birthday is in July?  Tiger(Quote)

IY's ok… He's cute and all but I just feel sometimes that he takes too long to "grow up."  I liked him better before when he wasn't so incredibly powerful, when he was more of the underdog hanyo type.  He was pretty cool then.
 
The thing I just find so weird is how in the begining of the series, when sesshoumaru ran his hand through his stomach, IY almost died, but after that he was able to be shishkabobbed so many times without such serious repurcusions, especially in the arc with musou.  Maybe it was Sesshy's poison? 
 
Don't get me wrong.  IY has his good sides.  My favorite character is still Kagura though (though that may have been obvious…)  I just want to see IY get together with Kagome, or even more of Kagome in general.  She hasn't really had much to do with the story lately and she is a pretty awesome character.  WindDemon(Quote)

Tiger: The official character book released by Takahashi said July. The beginning doesn't coincide with the beginning of the year, just her birthday. Also, for a while close to the beginning she wears her summer fuku.
Winddemon: I admit I find his immaturity likable, although not at the very beginning of the series. Back then he was just obnoxious. His childish/naive side is a huge part of what I like about him. But I agree that all of these upgrades 'dehumanize' him a bit, and that's one of the prime reasons I don't like them.
I'm a big Kagura fan as well. I do miss her. :\ ITA on Kagome.   Haro(Quote)

Also, yah it was the poison in that arc. Although really, IY didn't get so beat up in the Musou arc. I know the anime extended it and added more though, including some pretty wtf recoveries. I mean at one point he seems to get punched through the neck, but is like… okay in the next shot. Musou grazes him there in the manga, but it doesn't seem to do anything penetrating.  Haro(Quote)

So they're in winter in the feudal era and no kind of snow or even a sign of it o.O.  Wow…o.O  That's a pretty good timeline though. 
Btw I am still counting from the time that Kohaku started traveling with Kikyo, to when he began traveling with Sess.  That looks like it could be going on to two months.  I don't know if he started traveling with her before or after the Ginka & Kinka arc because I skipped a lot of those chapters in between being that they were DS Tessaiga upgrades.  But I'm inching towards him traveling with Kikyo a little before that arc.  np(Quote)

Sorry, I'm too tired right now to read through all the posts, so I may just be restating something.I don't think this ARC was pointless. It was necessary. However, I feel like the way Rumiko chose to END it was pointless and lead to nothing. It had the potential to bring about some changes and progression, but the way she chose to end this arc altogether made it a moot point.I just hope she finishes this series soon. I really feel she's lost the motivation to put effort into this story.  Akita(Quote)

I can sort of see the point of this arc.  Sess needs to get over the swords issue, he needs to stop relying on Daddy/hating on Daddy so much, he needs to get his own sword and rely on his own strength.  Yeah, character development for Sess, and really, I'm not trying to complain because I like him, and I think it's nice that we can get away from the sword-angst crap.  However, as it's been pointed out, this arc just raised a lot of questions and then answered them without resolving anything else.  How in the hell are we going to see this manga wrapped up in our lifetime if this keeps happening?  Yeah, that would leave a lot of chapters with stuff just sort of smooshed together, so things would get some sort of resolution, but in a ridiculously short amount of time.  I really don't want to see that happen.  That happened with the X-Men in the late '80s and throughout the '90s.  It sucks.I guess I'm the only one who isn't bothered about the Sango/Kohako relationship.  Yeah, they're still very distant, but I think it's normal.  Kohaku's still just a kid, after all, and he's ashamed that he let himself be manipulated into killing his family on his very first mission/chance to prove he's a man.  It's not unusual for him to be hesitant around his older sister because he's always looking for her approval and always fearful of her disappointment — I know this well as I'm the baby of my family.  Older siblings are almost like a second set of parents, in your mind, and they judge harshly (even if they actually don't, that's how you see things).  I see them behaving in this manner for quite some time yet because in Kohaku's mind what he did is incomprehensible and unforgivable, and he probably feels that Sango secretly despises him or perhaps should despise him because he feels this way about himself.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

And paragraphs still aren't working for me right now.  Just imagine a paragraph between "it sucks" and "I guess".  KagomeKagome(Quote)

is it just me or is anyone here just talking bad about this chapter?I'm going frantic about it, I loved the whole thing…o.o ah well, guess I'am weird after all, hehe.
Kohaku is defnetly going to be saved to the end of the manga, and RT wouldnt have gotten inu an upgrade without any reason now would she? plus I dont think its much his style to just open a hole in mid air and suck his enemies(nooooo he needs to whack someone on the head first ^.^) probably Naraku is going to get a way to handle sango's hiraikotsu and he'll need to use it to finish off naraku (although it'd probably take him a while to realise this.)
And how can you NOT see the development on Sesshoumaru? I mean compare this encounter with the very first one they had, would he EVEN get into hell?even if it was just for the sword!I mean in the beggining he didnt even care if it was Jaken or him that kild Inu, if he was dead it'd make him happy (personally I'd rather be hunted down that way then he the way he is hunting now aheh ^.^') but it shows the huge diference in the character. I dont actually see him much as a sword arch, becouse he doesnt really care about the sword, he just wanted to know why he got that specific one, so its more like a chichiue's will arc, (although not totally obvious becouse inu doesnt know much about it). There for the role of kohaku remaining with him, the fact that he didnt talk to sango is basically to create the feeling you get when you loose someone and start thinking: I should have stopped him, if I had he wouldnt die and blah blah blah. But that'll probably take a while cos I bet sango is still gona find out about mirouku and all. Since kagome noticed he didnt get pain when he sucked the miasma.
Ah well, this could all be a 10 week noob's predictions but thats what I think, I'm still liking the series and don't find them boring at all so…I'll keep my hopes up ^.^  Lyrica(Quote)

Argh, I typed "Kohako" up there.  Damn typo.<br>Uh, I didn't type up that whole post for it to look pretty.  I said that I see some development for Sess, and while I'm not hating on this arc, I'm not totally fond of it either.  It would've been nice if this arc had come earlier in the series and not when we're close to seeing it end.  Now would be a good time to wrap up other loose plots./wishes more people would actually read her posts instead of just glancing over them and then going on and on about how no one liked this and blah blah blah  KagomeKagome(Quote)

KagomeKagome and Lyrica,: Completely agree with you about everything. Besides the fact that I think it's to early for Sango and Kohaku to reconcile, I am glad Kohaku and Rin weren't broken apart. Rin has cared about Kohaku ever since she was kidnapped and it would be a shame to break them apart. Also it would diffuse the tension over Kohaku's jewel shard if he traveled with Sango. As long as he was around Kagome she could keep the jewel pure. While he is with Sesshoumaru he is more danger. At some point near the end, I see both groups merging, if briefly.  David(Quote)

OK, I am at a complete loss on making paragraphs in this new commenting system.  I have caught teh stoopid or something.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Yeah, I agree.  I think Rin needs someone around who's around her age.  What suffices as "playing" with Jaken has to get old.  (Besides then Rin can't catch the "Jaken fever" later and want to have toad-like kappa babies with him.  Or whatever.)  KagomeKagome(Quote)

this seems to be a never ending story, when you think a character is gonna get killed off, by some miraculous event he escapes it. I guess this is why i like this manga so much, full of surprises. I know how the rest of you guys feel, you htink that if she writes like this, then she'll give an ending like the shaman king, and that was really a crappy ending. We prolly have another like 50 chapters or even a 100, but come on who wants this manga to end? If  I had the choice I would prolong this forever. It'd be like a lifelong story.  Loafery(Quote)

Kagome-Kagome, I read your posts, in fact I read all the posts. I find your interests in writing are pretty diverse.      History to horror huh ?                                                                                                                                                  I would love to read some of your work, post a site perhaps where you have a flic ? (and a name that you post under).A mix between the two, I can see a story based on old legends and fairy tales. I have considered this route myself. Haro, children's lit is a underdeveloped area, IMO.                                                                                                         I still remember some of the books I read as a child, and how they impacted me. Even those without any undercurrents of a hidden lesson I still remember fondly.  But those are few enough. For the very young there are at least a few authors, and for the teens a few more but in-between is some sort of no man's land where writers seem to fear to tread. I am curious, do you have a age group that you want to target as an author ?   sorrel(Quote)

Untitled document Wow, I tried to seperate my paragraphs manually. It ended pretty ugly…..LOL.I think I'll skip trying that again in favor of them running together. <>Loafery, we don't have that many chapters left in the series, RT has already set a limit and determined that the end is near (sounds like doom is upon us like or not). A never-ending story line, that would be a great deal like american comics books. Many of them have no true endings, I perfer manga. In fact it is one of the draws for me about manga. Take into consideration though even when the manga is finished the story of Inuyasha is not over, not as long as there is money to made from it. Many authors write prolog stories to compliment a finished series, and there is always another movie just waiting to be made.   sorrel(Quote)

I have to say that I do want the manga to just end. I've been following it so long (about six years), that I'm getting a bit tired of waiting. I don't want her to rush an ending, don't get me wrong. I could take another forty chapters if she felt it necessary. However, I think there are plenty of plot ends to tie up (I suspect the battle with Naraku itself will be a good twenty chapters, as it will be complex and not just something taking place on a battlefield) without going into upgrade land, which imho, unecessarily prolongs it.

Sorrel: I've written both young adult/teen and young children. Most of the longer material I write falls in the young adult category. However, the one story I've completely finished is a picture book for young children. My friend did the illustrations. I'm probably going to clean it up and try to look for a publisher for it. I wasn't planning on it, but my prof at the time pulled me aside and told me she thought I should really try to do so. So, we'll see on that. But I definitely agree about always remembering the books you read as a child. There's one book I read (Millions of Cats) constantly as a child though that I was semi-traumatized by when I read as a grown up. When I was four I guess I didn't really realize that all the cats died but one, because they slaughtered each other. O.O;;;  Haro(Quote)

Well, here's my Fanfiction.net account: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/27009/

Various fandoms there. Ugh, my older stuff is quite horrendous though. Of course, everyone is their own worst critic, but seriously, it's all quite "ew". I like some of my short stories in "Himitsu" (although I can already point some grammatical errors out…damn me and my quick proofreading).

These days, I'm writing more Hey Arnold (American cartoon if you don't know of it) stuff: http://community.livejournal.com/ha_prompts/11301.html#cutid1 and http://community.livejournal.com/ha_prompts/11119.html#cutid1

Here's my original crap (and I do mean crap): http://www.fictionpress.com/u/27009/  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Haro is a wonderful writer and should DEFINITELY WORK ON GETTING SOMETHING PUBLISHED. *kicks her*  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Honestly, I'm getting this vibe that she's trying too hard to please every type of fan (which is why Sess is still around instead of bowing out), and heh, writers should know that there'll always be some out there whom they cannot satisfy.

Yeah…I don't think she's going to be able to wrap up all of these dangling plots into a neat, tidy little package. Something's going to get left out, sadly.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Im glad Sess is staying I really enjoy the character and Im really interested to see what happens with him and Rin in the end. I guess ive read too much fanfiction so im not sure if its gunna go father/daughter type ending and she gets with Kohaku or something, she might just straight up leave or if it will do some future flash thing so it shows everyone 20 years down the road "maybe with some wee little quarter breeds" running around Kagome's shrine and Sess, Rin have a romantic relationship who knows lately he doesnt seem to have much personality so that doesnt seem too likely but back in the Kagura days he displayed alot more character so it could make a comeback. Anyways aside from that rant..another sword upgrade arc there goes another 15 or 20 chapters atleast ugh.  D(Quote)

hwaaaaaahhh! ok. it was more like, hu-hu-hu-hu-hu… i cried when i read the part of sesshomaru & inuyasha coming out of the meidou. i'm so relieved & very glad that sesshomaru is still alive! i like his character a lot. i hope he gets to a point where he can resolve any resentment or angry towards inuyasha. i also want to know about his mother. i'd like to see her again in the future chapters. hey! i'm allowed to hope.  uchihayorokobu(Quote)

Tenseiga should've been destroyed. That sword is perhaps the only thing that guarantees that 90% of the important characters will survive the final battle. I don't want a guaranteed happy ending. Rumiko better do something about that damn sword!  Starks(Quote)

I cant imagine special manga about Sess… I dont think that Sess is too interesting to make own manga. In my opinion it will be very boring… (sorry fans of Sess but tell me some interesting way for it, Im fan of Sess too but this…)
As somebody told… I want the end of this manga… Im waiting long time for the resolution of all of this. Some chapters seem boring without tension that Im expecting… I thought that manga is about tension in stories to make story interesting and to make people to buy it… But this seems like making of something that take long end for making money (look fans will buy it gez…) :-/ I didnt expected it in IY…   soSad(Quote)

i have to say that i thought this arc was pointless because, like Haro said, it just created a bunch of questions and crap and then answered it, and then left some unanswered. For those of you who are saying that Sess needed this arc to get over sword angst, he DIDN'T HAVE ANY UNTIL THE SHISHINKI ARC, WHICH I PERSONALLY THINK OF AS THIS ARC FOR SOME WEIRD REASON. Why? because they were both sloppy, seemed to be made up on the spot and didn't solve any previous plots. RT should focus on tying up all the loose ends with grace that doesn't seemed rushed, but she wasted weeks of precious time to add pointless arcs. hopefull the last battle is coming soon, miroku/sango/kohaku issues will be resolved, and inukag/which time will she choose also be resolvced.

so far it looks like only tenseiga has healing powers, which i'm glad for cause, as i said before, if IY got them it would be "Jesus Christ Superstar" Inuyasha style!

Jaken Rules XD  watu]p(Quote)

D: I certainly hope RT never shows a Sesshoumaru x Rin relationship outside of a father-daughter type. Raising your own wife is a bit too much like incest to me, a branch davidian moment…ugh.

I do think that Kagome x Inuyasha babies could be nothing if not adorable. (It has crossed my mind before, given that Inu-papa was so forsighted, that he may have considered the fact that youkai would disapear from the world. His only surviving bloodline would be in those that integrated into humanity).

Starks: So much for the two swords becoming one that we were led to believe per the dialog. RT should give the sword to Jaken, not only for safe keeping, he is the man. Besides I don't see his character going all soft and saving any ole yahoo that has gotten themselfs off'd.

KagomeKagome, I read some of your work. I like it. I do remember the show, my younger son watched it a number of years ago.
I do think though that your writting shows too much depth for the age group. It does have good charaters, at least from a writers point of view. Why am I being a critic about your work ?
You are a good writter. You do not have the reviews you should have given your ability…….because you are writing to a group that is too young to appreciate it.  sorrel(Quote)

And so passes another trite and dull chapter of Inuyasha!

;_;  Beans and Cornbread(Quote)

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that in 10 whole years of Inuyasha, the group only progressed 8 months? I'm kinda distressed…  Anonymous(Quote)

Sorrel:

Well, actually most Hey Arnold fans are in their 20s to 30s now, so they're around my age. The reason I don't get the same amount of reviews as everyone else is the same reason I don't in many fandoms (including the Inuyasha fandom) — I don't write much "fluff". Most fans want to read about Arnold and Helga getting together (or Inuyasha and Kagome getting together), so a lot steer away from stories that revolve around delving into characterizations. Eh, it doesn't matter to me. I've never really been about getting reviews. I just want someone to read my stuff and take away something from it.

LMAO at "raising your own wife"! That's what I think, too, but you'd be surprised at all of the Japanese doujinshi I've seen with Sess and Rin snogging each other. Some of these could at least have the decency of putting Rin at an older age instead of leaving her as a damn 8-year-old. XP  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Maybe you are, Anonymous. I don't know. The timeline doesn't bother me because I'm used to it. After twenty-some years of reading X-Men, the characters have only aged about three years. :-/  KagomeKagome(Quote)

KagomeKagome, I had no idea there were fans of that age group still interested in "Hey Arnold".
All I can say is WOW.
And why at that age would they be interested in "fluff" as you call it ?
I didn't read any more of the stories, those posted by other authors. Having no great interest in the characters I didn't afford myself the chance to get a feel for the writing age. It was simply a guess.
I would have never guessed anyone older then 14-15 though.
It isn't a matter of writing for "reviews" as much as a reflection of reaching a audience. Your writing does reflect ability, hopefully you will be writing for yourself someday soon. (With your own characters).  sorrel(Quote)

Yeah, the fans of the show grew up. Eh, sadly the show is no longer even on the regular Nickelodeon channel; you can barely catch it on the new Nicktoons channel.

As far as the fluff thing goes, I've noticed that no matter the age, fans (especially girls) tend to prefer romantic stories over anything else…or if they like drama, they still prefer there to be a happy ending, and I can't always write happy endings. Life just doesn't work out that way.   KagomeKagome(Quote)

Let's see, an interesting Sess manga concept, hmm…
Well I guess Sess surpassing his father (since it won't happen in Iy)through a long perilous journey of inner growth and strength. Of course you would keep Jaken for comedic purposes, and Rin to help propel the metamorphesis. There would also be cameos by the Inu gang.

Another interesting spinoff would star Jaken and Shippo. One day, Shippo overhears the Inugang talking about how they love shippo even though he doesn't do much. Shippo says "I'll show them!" and goes off on his own to become a warrior. He runs into Jaken, who has also left after being bopped on the head once too many times by Sess. They go off together and have many adventures.

Final idea for a spinoff. The saga of the great legendary Inupapa (who we are led to believe is many times stronger than either Inuyasha or Sesshomaru). We see how he became so powerful, and how he met Sess's mom and Inu's mom, his influence on Sess's upbringing and his relationship with him as well, the creation of the swords and of course his greatest battles.  Anon(Quote)

I knew Sessho would get something after all! It's only right. I hope he gains his confidance once again. But if tenseiga combined with tessaiga, where did this new tenseiga come from? And what step does Sessho have to take? Oh, all the questions!  Irene Sharda(Quote)

Anon: Those are great ideas for a spin off, even though I think even Shippo would tire of Jaken after a while.
I think the one with Inutaisho would be bittersweet and very romantic.  Irene Sharda(Quote)

Completely random: Looking at Inupapa's skeleton… he'd have been one fat dog in true form – a fat dog in armor… I now suspect the movie 3 designs >_> Imagine if RT's version of Inupapa was a fat guy with a huge sword hahaha.

sessmom: He has his er, *charm*…  Soldat J(Quote)

Irene Sharda, Tensaiga is not "new" it is the same old sword minus the meidou.The sword was not absorbed, in fact not much of anything happened. It did break, sounds a great deal like what happened to Tessaiga and it was repaired with Inu's fang. Goodness I hope I don't end up seeing the same kind of thing with Tensaiga…..RT could at least surprise us but I have my doubts on that.

Anon, yeah I could see a Sesshoumaru manga.

Sesshoumaru standing glaring off a cliff, just so his hair can be blown up by the aircurrent. Got to have that lift otherwise his hair just looks flat all day.
Sesshoumaru's entire dialog consists of one to two words spoken every ten chapters or so, hopefully at least one of them not being "die". But dang he would look good. Lmao.

Soldat, yeppers he sure ate a lot of youkai. Kind of icky if you think about it, considering how many bones were in his tummy when Inu and Sess fought over Tessaiga.

I would like to see a movie of Inu-papa and Izayoi.
How they met, of her life and death, and the begining of Inu's life alone in the world. Perhaps Inu's first meeting with his brother. I always imagined that the flashback showing Inu as a child running from youkai happened around the time of his mother's death. There is nothing to say it did, but it would make a good story IMO.  sorrel(Quote)

The thing I don't get about is what is meant by "surpassing your father"? If it means in terms of strength, didn't that already happen when Inuyasha killed Ryukotsusei? And since Sess is more powerful than Inu, wouldn't that then make him stronger than his father by default?  Anonymous(Quote)

Anonymous: I think when Inu "surpassed his father" it was more meant by "doing what his father couldn't", so finishing off Ryukotsusei. We don't know Inupapa's exact circumstances in that fight, he could've been severely handicapped or whatever.

When Totosai says for Sess to surpass his father, it's more to do with going beyond him. It's mainly about Sess coming out of his shadow (by obsessing over his legacy) and becoming his own person and by implication carrying on where his father left off.

So basically it's like the same phrase being used but because of the different contexts it means slightly different things. Imo anyway. To me surpassing someone takes many different forms.

I also like to think (PURE speculation) that Inupapa's "compassion" for humans, like Sess, was also something he learned (through Izayoi)- but it happened late in his life (after Sess had already grown). So the fact that Inupapa passed down these sorts of compassionate teachings to Sess gets him in a good position to perhaps do/explore things that Inupapa never got to fully appreciate, since Sess is a lot "younger". That sort of thing is also a form of "surpassing" your predecessor.  Soldat J(Quote)

sesshomaru is still alive! yehey!  yorokobu(Quote)

>>Sorrel
Well, Totosai did say last chapter that the two swords combined, so I was wondering where this tenseiga came from since its now supposed to be part of tessaiga. (remember tenseiga is a peice of tessaiga.)

And how did it get fixed if it broke? Even when Inuyasha broke his sword, he has to have Totosai fix it for some days. And also, if Totosai had to use Sessho's fang, it wouldn't give him the same problems it did for Inu since Sessho is a yokai and Inu was a hanyou.  Irene Sharda(Quote)

I think Totosai was referring to the powers the meidou returning to the tesseiga. When Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha clash swords, tenseiga never shattered. The mirror shards fell off, and tenseiga returned to it's normal form. It was not like when datsuki was absorbed.  David(Quote)

p.s. I do not think Totsai will use Sesshoumaru's fang as a bridge, as he did with Inuyasha's. As stated above, there is no sword to fix. Sesshoumaru will receive a sword that is wholly his own. If anything the healing power remains in tenseiga, and Sesshoumaru's will use his new sword to absorb the remaining power in it.  David(Quote)

Irene Sharda, that is what Totosai said. But the dialog was a bit misleading.
Rin picked up the two pieces of the sword and trotted after Sesshoumaru. (It was only broken into two pieces so it is not exactly unfixable).

David, I would rather see that then a repeat of using a fang to fix it. Who knows what RT will do though. At least that would be different.  sorrel(Quote)

Sorrel: Where did you see the tenseiga in two pieces? Just curios.  David(Quote)

It is in two pieces if you look at page 15.  np(Quote)

so did their fater plan for this to work out where in the end inuyasha got the tesiga (and tenseiga which is now part of tesiga) and sesshomaro got his own weapon or another sword. and all the proscess of seperating the two swords were to make sesshumaro fell compation then to allow him to use it as a weapon, then when he learns compation he gets his own weapon while at the same time inuyasha has tetseiga with out tenseiga as a part of it to learn how to handle the sword or as to learn something than give him more power when the swords merge as one and inuyasha takes power of both swords and sesshomaru gets his own weapon. just a theory, knowing remiko it will all come together and be reveiled later. on another side it looks like sesshomaru's sane again. i have a feeling that this paternal conflict is not yet resolved. by the way kikiyo sole will not go to the nether world your sole goes to the nether world and than is reancarnated. scince kikiyo was reserected when she had a living reancarnation the sole will probably combined into one again and kagome will get the remainder of her sole back. scince as far as we know of kagome didn't yet get the remainder of her sole than kikiyo maybe is still alive or dead but her sole is still wandering. and i agree with some one (earlyer descution cant remember who previous chapter befor the spoilers to this one)who said malace was keeping her here. i think he or she is right but i have a felling with kikiyo she has a bigger part in the overall sceam of things and destiney.  alexis(Quote)

Thanks NP, I hadn't noticed the tip of tenseiga flying off! I still hope that the reason Totosai suggests for Sesshoumaru to take the shards is that it contains the healing power. It would really be silly if Rin rescues it just to keep as a souvenir. It would be equally silly if Sesshoumaru's tooth is used to bind the sword, as has been suggested. We will see, but it probably will be some time till we know.  David(Quote)

the whole thing with the swords all comes down to this:
you have to remember that episode when sessoumaru sees the vision of his father and he asks "do you have something to protect?" his answer (sessoumaru) was "i, sessoumaru, have no need for such a thing".
inuyasha was able to harness tessiagas abilities by protecting kagome. sessoumaru told his father his path is that of a conqueror and he disired the sword as such. his father then asked him "so, will you take it from me then?" sessoumaru asked why iy got the tessiga and him the "worthless" tensaiga. thats when he asked do you have something to protect?
the whole thing is, up untill now sessoumaru didnt (besides rin/jaken) have anything to protect or really have the compasion to want to. Between then and now he has obviously developed and matured toward having the capacity to do such things. now kohaku follows sessoumaru with the LAST pure shikon jewel shard. sessoumaru now has something to protect. totosai's words are definitly a sign of what is to come. going by what his father said in that episode when he appeared to him, Sessoumaru is now worthy, even in his father's eyes, to wield the tessiaga. i look to see the tensega regain all the powers it was cast away from that tessaiga has. i bet he is no longer rejected by tessaiga as well.
you'll see   craig(Quote)

oh, and dont you guys remember waht happened when tessaiga broke in two? when totosai reforged it wtih inuyashas fang and he had to surpass his fathers strength and ended up unlocking the backlash wave in the process? we may c something familiar with the tensaiga  craig(Quote)

How many freaking sword arcs do they need?

I hadnt read anything since the Dragon Blade arc I catch up and I see MORE SWORD Arcs!

Between the upgrades and Narakus body shifting, Its starting to read a whole lot like DBZ.

I must defeat you, POWER UP, lets train POWER UP!, now I am Stronger POWER UP!

Well at least the lighthearted comedy is still in there, but it wouldnt surprise me if Miss Takahashi leaves a lot of Plots unresolved, like she did with Ranma and Urusei Yatsura.  Boag(Quote)

i have to disagree with the people that want Sesshoumaru out of the picture.

hes the best character in Inuyasha, and hes what keeps me reading the manga. And who cares if there will be more sword powerups, thats a good thing!
its better than watching inuyasha *almost* kill Naraku and then him getting away…

i want Sesshoumaru to become a great ruler like his father, and just have inuyasha go live in peice with Kagome in the present time.

btw, how reliable is this spoiler?  Nick(Quote)

Alexis: I think this has been reiterated about ten times in the last five posts on freelance-manga. The third movie is not in the manga, nor any of the filler episodes. Sess's behavior in it does not figure into RT's storyline. It really can't be used as reference for serious discussion of where RT is taking the character/story.

Also, Kikyou is dead. She's not wandering or still alive. She disintegrated. o.o; Her soul isn't wandering because the point of her death was that she was finally able to obtain a peaceful death. She was no longer a restless spirit.

Kagome didn't get her soul back either because RT forgot, or more likely- because it was just another way to stress the individuality of the two girls. Kagome does not need that part of her soul, and that piece of soul can go on and die peacefully. It's already extremely large (Kagome's soul), as explained in the Kanna arc. I highly doubt that bit of soul will ever return to Kagome.

KagomeKagome: Thank you for the compliment on my writing!   Haro(Quote)

Craig: That wasn't an episode; that was a movie, and so it's not canon.

Haro: I actually think Kagome did not get her Kikyo-soul back b/c Kikyo injected it in the Sacred Jewel to assist Midoriko's soul. That's why Naraku, after Kikyo's death, is suddenly unable to completely corrupt the Jewel — b/c the battle raging within it now has a powerful ally in the form of Kikyo's soul.

I believe Kagome did not fail to "heal" Kikyo when she shot her with the Super Bow all those chapters ago. I think Kikyo planned it all out, and that the Super Bow purified her soul, not her body. That's why she was so certain Naraku would be defeated, even as she knew she was about to die.  Shouki(Quote)

This chapter isn't as bad as people are making it seem. If Sess is actually telling Inu to escape it shows he cares for him and if Tenseiga is protecting them it still has something in it. I like Tenseiga so i hope RT doesn't leave it powerless. Sess can't dibe written out now if he did it would be too boring and i wouldn't waste my time reading the manga. Hope the sword issue is resolved!  MINA(Quote)

Haro: You're quite welcome.

Shouki: Why do I keep reading that as "Super Bowl"? Hehe, I kept getting this idea of the final battle being played in an arena after I read that.

Actually, I must admit that I'm a little confused as to where that piece of soul went. I had thought that, as you mentioned, she had done something not unlike Midoriko, but I'm not really sure if that's the case. As was also mentioned, it could have just passed on to further stress the independence of personalities. Or yeah, (which is probably the actual case, knowing our luck) Rumiko just forgot about returning the soul.

And why, oh WHY do people still bring up the 3rd movie after all that's been said about that movie? It boggles the mind!  KagomeKagome(Quote)

KagomeKagome: Omg I read it as superbowl as well.

Shouki: I'm not sure if she had it planned, but I imagine the idea that she may have to use Kagome's bow for something else was at the back of her mind. You're absolutely right that the bow purified her soul and not her body (this seems to have been outright stated in canon).  Haro(Quote)

lol… she is gonna write a full 600 episodes anyway… why is everyone whining about the sword upgrade?? you know what is most annoying of the whole story? naraku and his re-aranging his whole bloody body crap! Hmm sess getting is own weapons means its from his OWN strength. Inu's sword is a legacy of his dad, means its his DAD's power combined with Inu. Sess would be totally different.. something that is his own. I think its very interesting how the plot about legacy is put down. wanna complain… complain about boring naraku… ass that killed kagura and kikyo! science damn him!  ethan(Quote)

Have to agree with Ethan about Naraku. He has gotten a lot less interesting since Mt. Hakurei. Before that he was much more insecure. You could see the fear and uncertainty that drove his character. His insecurities were part of what made him so interesting, a villain who never feels certain of his own ability. The scenes he had with Kikyou early on were incredible. Their first meeting after she was reanimated and when she hands him Kagome's jewel shards are still some of my favorite scenes. Since Mt. Hakurei we have seen a lot less of his personality. Now he is just a super villain, only showing up to reek havoc. I think that the Band of Seven and Hakudoushi made better villains since then.

On the other hand the body changing hasn't bothered me to much. It's consistent with what Kikyou said about having to purify his soul rather then destroy his body. RT does need to find a new method of ending battles though. Naraku turning into a miasma tornado and flying away has gotten a bit tired at this point.  David(Quote)

RE: Comment by Haro

May 3, 2007 @ 3:03 am
Alexis: I think this has been reiterated about ten times in the last five posts on freelance-manga. The third movie is not in the manga, nor any of the filler episodes. Sess’s behavior in it does not figure into RT’s storyline. It really can’t be used as reference for serious discussion of where RT is taking the character/story.

Also, Kikyou is dead. She’s not wandering or still alive. She disintegrated. o.o; Her soul isn’t wandering because the point of her death was that she was finally able to obtain a peaceful death. She was no longer a restless spirit.

Kagome didn’t get her soul back either because RT forgot, or more likely- because it was just another way to stress the individuality of the two girls. Kagome does not need that part of her soul, and that piece of soul can go on and die peacefully. It’s already extremely large (Kagome’s soul), as explained in the Kanna arc. I highly doubt that bit of soul will ever return to Kagome.

Haro- i never used or whent back to the 3rd movie scene or even discused or brought it up. i actually agree with you that that is not a referance because it did not appear in the manga that was craig see quote below

Comment by craig
May 3, 2007 @ 12:17 am
the whole thing with the swords all comes down to this:
you have to remember that episode when sessoumaru sees the vision of his father and he asks “do you have something to protect?” his answer (sessoumaru) was “i, sessoumaru, have no need for such a thing”.
inuyasha was able to harness tessiagas abilities by protecting kagome. sessoumaru told his father his path is that of a conqueror and he disired the sword as such. his father then asked him “so, will you take it from me then?” sessoumaru asked why iy got the tessiga and him the “worthless” tensaiga. thats when he asked do you have something to protect?
the whole thing is, up untill now sessoumaru didnt (besides rin/jaken) have anything to protect or really have the compasion to want to. Between then and now he has obviously developed and matured toward having the capacity to do such things. now kohaku follows sessoumaru with the LAST pure shikon jewel shard. sessoumaru now has something to protect. totosai’s words are definitly a sign of what is to come. going by what his father said in that episode when he appeared to him, Sessoumaru is now worthy, even in his father’s eyes, to wield the tessiaga. i look to see the tensega regain all the powers it was cast away from that tessaiga has. i bet he is no longer rejected by tessaiga as well.
you’ll see

however i was the one who did post the comment about kikiyo death or wether her sole was wandering so you wernt compleatley off.  alexis(Quote)

RE: craige

the whole thing is, up untill now sessoumaru didnt (besides rin/jaken) have anything to protect or really have the compasion to want to. Between then and now he has obviously developed and matured toward having the capacity to do such things. now kohaku follows sessoumaru with the LAST pure shikon jewel shard.

i think the reason sesshumaro lets kohaku follow him around is as some kinda respect or favor to kagura. she did die because she protected kohaku (she would ve dead adventually but it was Mouryoumaru who sead that she would of lived longer if she did not protect kohaku earlyer in the manga)and maybe he feels the need to make shure her sacrofice was not for nothing or that "her death wasn't in vain". or to now protect him because she no longer can. i think in some ways he feels indebted to her because he never did care about the sacred jewl.  alexis(Quote)

No explanation was given for why Sesshoumaru allows Kohaku to follow him. He just followed, and Sesshoumaru did not protest (Jaken did though). He may be protecting him for Kagura's sake, but more likely for Rin's. Rin has cared about Kohaku ever since he was her jailer, and would probably protest if Sesshoumaru abandoned him. Kohaku chose to stay with Sesshoumaru after the Sessmom arc, because he feels Sesshoumaru is teh only one capable of killing Naraku (we know that's not true, but not Kohaku) Besides, Sesshoumaru isn't such a monster as to abandon a child.  David(Quote)

Alexis: I apologize, I got the two posts mixed up. *bows profusely*  Haro(Quote)

Well, Sesshoumaru is an intelligent demon, perhaps he has some understanding or idea about the Kohaku-Naraku relationship, in regards to the jewel shard. He knows that Naraku is after Kohaku, and I don't think that he'd personally give Naraku the pleasure of getting what he wants. I think its more out of a sense of duty, than compassion. He, Sesshoumaru is out to destroy Naraku, who needs the shard from Kohaku, so of course he'd keep Kohaku by his side, who could also act as a lure to Naraku.

Didn't he encounter the boy before, when Rin was abducted? Or was that anime-only? My memory fails me. :p  Karin(Quote)

It is in the manga, Sesshoumaru's first encounter with Kohaku, right after thier fight with Naraku.

Since Rin could not have been aware of the fact that Kohaku was in danger at that time it seems unlikely that Sesshoumaru saved his life just for Rin's sake. Kagura's death is a possible answer. Though not because of debt, Sesshoumaru did not indebt himself or make a promise to Kagura. He simply stated that he would decide if her death was in vain.

Alexis, Since it is not a relationship that has been explored in anyway, it is difficult to determine just what Sesshoumaru feels towards Kohaku. We shall have to wait and see.  sorrel(Quote)

Rumiko needs to get to the point. Fast. Yes there are a lot of other Manga that do go on for years, like Sazan Eyes etc; however, the characters in that series actually get older, change, develop. It feels like maybe a year has passed in the manga IF THAT. I don't remember mention of Kagome going up a grade level (well how could she) or anyone having a birthday. If Rumiko considers that her original fanbase is ten years OLDER, and that a hell of a lot happens in ten years, and that the characters in her series, have -well- not even made it to first base. No really I am not crude. I just want her to move the plot forward, right now I feel like I am walking around in maze in the dark.  scruffy-sama(Quote)

heh scruffy-sama, you make a good point.
seriously 10 years and not even a year has passed in the manga! lol

but if you think about it, what can Rumiko do now?

if she starts to speed up the manga, then its going to be weird since the manga has been going super slow for 10 years.

but i agree that she needs to move the plot foward, she needs to add something interesting cuz its getting kindoff dull.  Nick(Quote)

I agree, the characters really do need a change. Maybe a change in clothing; seriously, Kagome chould find something way more comfortable and casual, you'd think that she'd change her outfit to jeans and boots or something, maybe even a priestess outfit. I'm pretty sure that the miniskirt, bare legs, and blouse just don't cut it in the wilderness, especially when its cold. Speaking of cold, how come the seasons don't seem to change, it'd be nice to have a little Inuyasha winter fun. XD

I'd at least pull my hair back into a ponytail, like Sango, to keep it out of the way; and Inuyasha should do something about those dirty nails and messy hair, people will think he's a little scamp if he doesn't do something. Maybe he could use Sesshoumaru's shampoo. :p

All joking aside, I do agree, had Rumiko switched things up and added somethings new into the mix rather than relying on the same plot devices over and over again, Inuyasha could still thrive on, and Rumiko probably wouldn't have wanted to end things. If you keep things fresh for yourself and the readers, then it really does open new doors.  Karin(Quote)

Kagome used to wear different clothes once in a while, at first. RT must have gotten tired of changing it, and decided to focus on the story rather then wardrobe. RT doesn't "have to" end the story, she wants to. She has been doing it for long enough, and apparently wants to work on different things instead. Ten years is a long time to drag out story.  sorrel(Quote)

I know that she wants to, what I'm saying is that part of the reason why she wants to do so and move on is because she's gotten a bit bored with it. Perhaps if she had added more to the story, she would have let it continue further because there's be more to explore rather than the same "rinse-wash-and-repeat." She wouldn't have to drag it out, had she done more or newer things.

And as far as wardrobe goes, I was partly joking (hence the smilie) but you have to admit that it's make more sense to change into something more suited for the era. As far as Kagome's wardrobe goes, none of those changes were suited for the fuedal era, I'm not talking about wearing the latest fashions, just getting tid of the uniform. Yeesh, that was just an example of changes, its been ten years you know a lot should have changed whether they were minor or major changes. Also, just for the record, changing something as simple as hair or clothing can go a long way and keep things fresher than you think.  Karin(Quote)

When will the manga come out, im want to read it >   bla bla bla(Quote)

May 9 (Wed.) in Japan. That's Tuesday our time.  David(Quote)

Karin: …No one else has changed clothes? Kag at least wears other ones when she's in her era/changes her hair.  Haro(Quote)

Sango has two outfits. Naraku has had a number of different outfits, even before Mt. Hakurei.  David(Quote)

The clothes thing is bothersome. What about doing the laundry? Are the Inu gang, Sess gang, pretty much every character in this manga ever cleaning their clothes, or are they just wearing the same outfit day in and day out. Perhaps they have dozens of identical outfits!? No wonder Inu and Sess can smell their enemies, with such a stank body odor, who couldn't?  Anon(Quote)

David: Sango has a casual outfit and a battle outfit, but she doesn't change those at all through the series. I would assume she wears the taijiya outfit underneath her normal one. Naraku has just a couple outfits, but he's also posing as a lord. He would have to. The Inu-tachi, Sess, Kikyou, etc never change clothes. Kagura is the only one who gets new clothes, because her kimono are outright destroyed more than once.

Anon: They'd clean their clothes with water and in their special situation, possibly soap from Kagome's era. When they're off road, in a stream or pail of water. I don't think the fact that RT never shows us this (what would be the point?) means that they don't. We scarcely see them eating, but obviously they eat. They all would have some kind of traditional undergarment (Kagome's been shown in pajamas in the past), that would allow them to not be naked when they washed clothes at night. People didn't have eight different outfits back then. Often they only had one or two. This isn't unusual.

Kagome wearing a fuku is either:

a- Because RT is too lazy to do otherwise.
b- As a symbol of Kagome's individuality and as a constant tie to her original time period.

I would be really peeved with RT if she put Kagome in a miko outfit, or even in any kind of clothing from sengoku jidai.  Haro(Quote)

Lol we're talking about how often characters change their clothes XD. Isn't this common in most anime and manga though, the fact the characters wear the same thing alomst everytime you see them.

And Sango doesn't always wear her armor underneath her casual wear. She probably has some of her gadgets like her hidden wrist weapon underneath, but even that's not always there. In the anime, it's always there though.  np(Quote)

In the anime, it’s always there though.

NP: Not really. In the anime she actually is seen changing into it. In the first movie she goes behind a tree and puts it on when they meet up with Ruri and Hari.

And you're right about fiction. People always wear the same clothes. It seems even more so in 'adventure' manga/anime. However, it's just as common in American cartoons. I remember this episode of Doug (I used to watch that show all the time when I was little), where he opened up his closet and it was full of about thirty copies of the outfit he wears all the time. That's all that was in there. XD  Haro(Quote)

lol Haro, Doug was an awsome cartoon i remember that episode.

and Karin, you said "Rumiko probably wouldn’t have wanted to end things"

so she has said that she wanted to end inuyasha?
so is there any idea on how much more chapters are left?
from the looks of it, i don't see it ending soon since naraku still has some detachments, and Sesshoumaru still has his sword problems..  Nick(Quote)

Nick: I watched Doug so often. Greatness.

She hasn't said that she wants to end it. They might have been referring to the fact that some things seem to be tying up, or this comment. Because imho it's the closest we have to her saying she is going to end it. This is from late July of last year, so around right after Kikyou's death.

Interviewer – About the end of the series?
Takahashi – Though I can see it roughly, "the most important part" still remains invisible.

Interviewer – It means that we can enjoy the series still for a time?
Takahashi – I feel like some more time. Because in addition that the current progress has not yet been ready for the finale, I have not yet been able to make up my mind what each character will be at the end of the series.  Haro(Quote)

Jesus H. Christ, Rin his future WIFE? MAN, some of you guys are CRAZY! Can anyone say:

"Hello, I'm Chris Hansen. You're on Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator. So, do you like courting little girls?"

I'd say Sesshoumaru is more of a surrogate father figure, or at the very least like an older brother.  Beans and Cornbread(Quote)

I just noticed something in chapter 502 on page 9. When Inuyasha was sent into the meidou he wouldn't have been able to survive had Sesshoumaru not made the mistake of throwing Tenseiga into the meidou. If you look closely, when Tenseiga entered the meidou it began to resognate with Tessaiga and Tessaiga gained its dragon-scale form back, allowing Inuyasha to erode the meidou with his own youketsu. So, really, had it not been for Sesshoumaru's carelessness, Inuyasha would have not been able to return or overpower the meidou. If you look at it from that perspective, Sesshoumaru indirectly saved Inuyasha's life.

I do love Tessaiga and all, but Inuyasha's reliance on it, has definitely gotten annoying. I mean seriously, how many attacks does Inuyasha himself have? Two, but Tessaiga pretty much gets everything else. By adding so much to just one sword, Rumiko has definitely taken away from Inuyasha. Now it just appears as though he's only strong because of Tessaiga, as opposed to himself. As far as being a hanyo goes, Inuyasha's only proved that you're strong if you have all the right toys.  Catfish(Quote)

Yeah…even if it wasn't uncommon for an older guy to marry a really young girl during those times (it still happens in different cultures today), the whole "raising your own wife" thing raises the "ew" factor to damn near maximum.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

It's just so easy to call Sesshoumaru a pedo…  Starks(Quote)

You've got to have a twisted mind to think of these things. Gross.  David(Quote)

Well, I was blessed — or cursed, however you want to look at it — with a very twisted mind and a sense of humor to match. Just my luck.

I've also seen way too many Sess x Rin doujinshi, too. Not even bleach could erase those images from my head.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

I believe it. That's why I avoid fan fiction (and art for that matter).  David(Quote)

I think that Toutousai meant that the swords are going to "share powers"… I mean, each one will have the abilities of both.  Fap(Quote)

Fap, that would not be possible. Tessaiga has already taken back all of it's abilities, and the MZ on top of that.
How could Tenseiga have Tessaiga's abilities ?
Not to mention the only reason that Tenseiga was able to copy/steal Tessaiga's abilities was because of the fragment of Kanna's mirror. Which shattered, and been removed. There is no indication that Tenseiga has any abilities, outside of healing…..hopefully it still retains this quality.

Catfish, I disagree that Sesshoumaru was being careless. It was intentional. He tossed it into the meidou because he thought Inu had died. As he said before the fight began if Inu lost he would destroy both swords.  sorrel(Quote)

I am assuming that Totosai was referring to the meidou returning to tesseiga, nothing more, nothing less. As I have said I am assuming the healing power remains in tenseiga, and will be Sesshounaru's inheritance. I fail to so what the point of Rin saving the shards would be otherwise. RT could throw a curveball at us though.  David(Quote)

Haro (4359), thanks for clearing that up for me.

and to the people saying sess is going to marry rin, i don't think he will… but its not like hes doing anything to her now.
if anything happens between them, it will be in like 10 years when shes older.

in the anime theres that episode where rin says she'll stay together forever with Sesshomaru (i'm not sure if its in the manga), and i believe jaken says something about sesshomaru living way longer than Rin or something.
basically, rin's whole life is like nothing to sesshomaru since hes already centuries old.

but if you guys call sesshomaru a pedo, then what about inuyasha? Kagomes like 14 and hes like 50 years old haha   Nick(Quote)

Nick: She's fifteen. He spent the entire time sealed on a tree, so those years don't count. There was no conscious/subconscious thought and certainly no aging/bodily functions/breathing/etc. In a sense he was basically dead. It would be like someone being cryogenically frozen or something. IY and Kag are mentally the same age, and imho are physically the same as well. I believe Iy was born sixty-five years before the start of the series, fifty of which were spent 'dead.'

I don't like the 'forever' thing and yes it's only in the anime. Rin will grow up and eventually desire human companionship of which Sesshoumaru cannot provide. She will never forget him, and may still see him, but once she's older she will part ways with him. It would be extremely cruel any other way imho. Rin needs stable human companionship once she's older, just like anyone else. I'm sure she'll want to fall in love and live a more ordinary life. This, not the pedophilia vibes, is my prime issue with Sess/Rin. She will not be a child forever.  Haro(Quote)

I think Rumiko has just demonstrated to us that Inuyasha is worthy of the title of a useless hanyou. I mean, take a look at all his upgrades. They have all been about the sword he carries, the Tessaiga. Not once has he shown that he actually has matured or grown in order to gain an upgrade, unlike say Sesshoumaru. In fact, most of the time from the 'kaze no kizu' to the red tessaiga he hasn't done anything at all.

The only reason why Inuyasha triumphs over most of his enemies in my opinion is because of that stupid sword. If he were to lose it he would lose all face value. Naraku would probably have killed him already if he didn't have the Tessaiga.  May(Quote)

May: That would mean that every character in the series is useless. Kagome couldn't do anythind without her bow, Sango without Hiraikotsu and so on…  NINA(Quote)

May:

In fact, most of the time from the ‘kaze no kizu’ to the red tessaiga he hasn’t done anything at all.

Nina is right. Every character needs their weapon. Holding it against IY is unfair.

That aside- no character growth? Was just given his attacks? Please look again. First off, Sess has had only one upgrade that he had to do 'something' to get, so you can't judge him. IY wouldn't have gotten the sword in the first place were it not for a desire to protect (growth!!). Kaze no kizu was a hard battle, and he rightfully gained the attack through it. Mostly though, the reason IY got kaze no kizu was because of his compassion- for Miroku AND Sesshoumaru (more growth). IY got bakuyruuha because he was able to overcome his youkai side through his own pure will power alone, and surpass his father by killing the youkai who had killed him. That's nothing? It's a huge accomplishment! And yes, it did require character growth to get there. IY got red tessaiga because he defeated a whole village of evil bats who were not only trying to murder the villagers, but also an innocent little girl. He was able to put saving the lives of others before power in that arc with no problem (growth). He got kongousouha after a very difficult battle in which once again he had to prove his compassion and pure will.

Sorry no, until meidou, IY was not 'given' any of his attacks. Even ds-tessaiga, as much as I dislike it, was gained as a result of a difficult battle and took A LOT of work to master it. He went through a ton of pain and a lot of big mental tests. Most of the time IY didn't have to do anything? Try once, this arc. And even here it's not as if he stood there and it was just handed to him. He fought hard, as his own brother, was once again trying to kill him.  Haro(Quote)

Inuyasha even earned the meidou. He had to fight without any offensive powers. He was sucked into a meidou. His youki started overwhelming the meidou. The whole point of this arc was Sesshoumaru looking for proof that Inuyahsa was the true successor to the sword, and the fact that he turned over the meidou meant Inuyahsa earned it.

I agree with Haro about Rin leaving Sesshoumaru. At some point all children grow up and leave home. Why should Rin be any different. Sesshoumaru is (for all purposes) her adoptive father. At some point Rin will be an adult and want a life of her own. That doesn't mean she will never see Sess and Jaken again.  David(Quote)

Catfish: The point of Inuyasha receiving the tesseiga IS because he is a hanyou. Without it his place in the world would have been lower then his fathers and his brother. While he is not weak without it, at best he would have been as strong as a mid level youkai. With it he is as strong as his daiyoukai brother. Tesseiga was never meant to signal personal or emotional growth in Inuyasha. It was only meant for physical prowess. It was not supposed to have the same role as tenseiga. The weak brother got the sword of strength, the strong brother gained the sword of healing. Inuyasha's emotional growth is tied to Kagome and Kagome alone. At the begining of the manag, Kikyou appears before Kaede and comments that Kagome has healed the wounds of Inuyashas heart. Tesseiga was not meant to make Inuyahsa a better person, just a stronger one.  David(Quote)

David, I agree with you completely. Kagome was indeed the person who helped Inuyasha grow emotionally. Inuyasha always had a soft side, but without her, he'd still act cold. And that's character growth right there.  NINA(Quote)

I agree completely with David.

Catfish, in response to Sess "carelessly" throwing his sword away….the reason he did that was because he saw that Tessaiga was taking back all of its attacks. Sess saw that and thought "oh well if you are taking all of the attacks you mastered, just try and take the attack I mastered." He did not carelessly throw his sword into the Meidou. That basically was the end of his test. Inuyasha passed all of the other components by getting his attacks back. The last component was seeing if Inuyasha could really absorb the meidou, hence why after he threw the Meidou at him, he threw the sword away.  np(Quote)

Catfish: IY IS too weak without tessaiga to be a serious threat. Hold that against him? Not fair. He can't go beyond the physical strength that is inherently possible for him. He can't magically manifest poison from his claws or something if it isn't inherently there. He's NOT a sword. He can't pimp himself up. And worthless? If you think IY's worth is measured by how much physical strength he has, or heck, anyone's worth- I'm sorry, but it's not.

So let's see Sango fight an influential battle without hiraikotu, Miroku without kazaana, etc. Yeah so Sess could fight without his sword. He's a taiyoukai. You can't expect that same strength from a hanyou, and it is not because he's worthless. It's because he can't go beyond what's physically possible for him.

IY's character growth has been enormous and staggering. Yes it isn't all tied to the sword. A huge majority of it isn't. But to say it isn't happening is turning a blind eye to the entire series outside just the sword plot, which takes away about ninety percent of it. This is just me, but I'm glad all his development is not connected to an inanimate object. It's nice that it's connected to an actual person. And as Nina and David both implied, IY wouldn't be the IY he is now or even close to without Kagome.

And personally? I'd rather have a pimped out sword than a pimped out diamond studded/dragon scaled InuYasha. xp  Haro(Quote)

Catfish: I don't understand how Sango having other weapons matters. So IY would be more 'worthy' if he had a bunch of other weapons? I don't understand this. You want a variety of other weapons? I'd prefer not to be honest, that's just more fighting upgrade focus.

It just doesn't matter if IY learns all the fighting skills in the world, he can't surpass what physical strength is possible for him.  Haro(Quote)

Tesseiga is not suppose to be a crutch to Inuyasha. Like it or not he is a "lowly" hanyou. He was doomed to a low station in life. While he was strong, he was not strong enough to deal with demons like Naraku or Sesshoumaru. Tesseiga was his fathers way of changing that, to pass his full power onto his son. Also, since his own fang was added as a bridge, he has combined his own power to his fathers. That's why it was so heavy when he first got it back. He had to learn to master his own strength, and believe in himself.  David(Quote)

p.s. how could he upgrade his claws and fangs? Sesshouamru has his venom claws, but he was born with those. Inuyasha was not, and only "magic" would allow him to get them. The point is that tesseiga has helped Inuyasha rise above his position in life. Because his fang in it, it is just as much his as his fathers.  David(Quote)

Yeah, I suppose I'm going to be flamed, but so be it. I really abhor this type of thinking.

So Inuyasha is nothing more than a worthless halfbreed? Yes, the sword amplifies his strength, but he's not a worthless peon without it. He still has some tricks up his sleeve.

I'm sorry, but if you think he's "worthless" just for having what some would deem "less than desirable genetics" through no fault of his own, then how do you feel about minorities and human "halfbreeds"? I'm really curious as I'm a "halfbreed," myself. I suppose my despicable mixed genes makes me "worthless," too.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Perhaps instead of focusing on sword issues, the upgrades should start being on InuYasha. He has come a long way in a maturity sense. Perhaps his power matures and he can wield it safely. I think that would be a good way to fix the whole sword obsession.  ultrin_valuk(Quote)

No, actually, I changed my mind. What is needed is some relationship growth between InuYasha and Kagome. That would be great.  ultrin_valuk(Quote)

Catfish: Still, your reasoning doesn't work for me. Every other character has physical weapons. A character like Sango has nothing without physical weapons, so why should IY gain an upgrade to his body? Additionally, Sango hardly ever uses those. Also, tessaiga is several weapons in one- in that it has many attacks that do different things. Without Hiraikotsu and Kazaana, Miroku & Sango are not powerful enough to even scratch a higher level youkai. Sango and Miroku didn't gain their weapons through some extraordinary circumstance, so I don't see at all how they are different from tessaiga. Wouldn't their 'arsenal' of extra weapons be equivalent to the attacks IY already had with his claws? Even then, even if he thinks of some new way to swipe his claws or something, it isn't going to make him notably more powerful and certainly not powerful enough to deal with a higher level youkai. The only reason his youketsu was that large, was because he wasn't hanyou at the time- he was something like 3/4 youkai. There is NOTHING in IY's hanyou form that would possibly make him a match for a high level youkai. He can't will himself to gain some power he just doesn't have. He already has two attacks with his claws. Just like Sango's lesser weapons, he doesn't use them much because of their lack of impact.

And his teeth? Wtf. Eww. o.o;

Maybe IY hasn't had 'training' to be a warrior because in the end he's not meant to be one. Has IY ever expressed any interest in fighting for a living, like the taijiya. Not at all. There's a good chance that once Naraku is defeated, he will put his sword down. Iy fights because of necessity, nothing else. I agree that it would be interesting to see IY actually learn to be a refined fighter, but it's really not necessary for the direction of the story. Plus, his recklessness is part of his appeal. Save that for fanfic.

And KagomeKagome: In total agreement. IY is worthless because he's not strong enough to do damage in his normal form, is imho, almost offensive given the connatations. Once again physical strength does not equate to worth. I'm not a lesser person because my genetics didn't dicate me to be a bodybuilder.  Haro(Quote)

I used "lowly" in quotes for a purpose. The tone of these posts has been that tesseiga is somehow holding back Inuyasha and proof that he is "worthless". I have been trying to refute that this is true. The whole point is that while he initially was under his fathers protection (wind scar), tesseiga has come to be an extension of his own strength. Also, he is not supposed to be strong the way Sesshoumaru is strong. He is not a daiyoukai, born with natural strength. His father was though, and wanted to make sure his younger son had some means of rising to that station.

The underlying theme of tesseiga, and the manga as a whole, is finding your own inner strength, the ability to rely on yourself. The shikon no tama represents the same thing. Inuyasha is not a commentary on race. I don't know as that is an issue that would resonate with the readers in Japan the way it does here.

If any of my posts have offended anyone, I wish to apologize. They were not intended to offend, and not intended to be taken outside of the context of the manga.  David(Quote)

Catfish: As I said more than once, actually it does have to do with his genetics. IY CANNOT go beyond what is possible for him as a person. As David said, you're born with 'magical attacks.' IY doesn't have them, simple as that. You expect him to be able to fight Naraku, escape the meidou, etc? It doesn't matter how much physical training he has, because of his genetics he wouldn't have near the strength to do that. I think that even in fiction, it's a sad mindset to have to judge someone's worth by how strong they are physically. That's Sesshoumaru's problem. I don't understand this reasoning that he should be able to fight great enemies without his weapon, especially since other characters' weapons are apparently okay.

P.S.- IY is not stupid. At all. He is far more intelligent and perceptive than fans give him credit for.  Haro(Quote)

Catfish, that is essentially what you said. No, I don't need to "get over myself". You need to get a grip. I really didn't take that much offense to what you posted; I was just trying to make you see your ridiculous comments from another point of view, but it's obvious that you'll never be able to see things any differently when you have your head shoved so far up your ass.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Instead of giving Inuyasha a lot of lip for being "lowly" at least give him some props for mastering all the attacks he's mastered. That alone takes a lot of strength and mastery of a sword. Inuyasha is a great swordsman, you have to admit.

I, at one time, didn't like the fact that Inuyasha was gaining the Meidou, especially after what Totousai said about him being put in a low lot in life due to demons like Sess. It made him seem weak, which I didn't think at all because he had managed to fend well for himself. Now I've come to accept that he's gained the Meidou.

And I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about Sess "carelessly" throwing his sword toward the Meidou because I'm still not convinced about your argument.  np(Quote)

Wow. You know, as I was saying to a friend, I'd almost swear that you are almighty Sesshoumaru, himself, with your talk about "worthless hanyou". Seriously, I was just poking fun, and you've taken this to some sort of RAWR I M BETTAH THAN U HISSSSS!!!!1! level.

So congrats. I was bored before, but I'm having a bit of jollies now thanks to you. You're definitely a different sort of rabid Sesshoumaru fangirl/boi!

(By the way, this shouldn't be taken as OMG U HATE SESSHY because I like Sesshoumaru. However, your whole "Inuyasha is weak" argument was lame and on some levels, borderline racist to the point that if hanyou did exist, I'd fear for their safety. Let's agree to disagree, vehemently. Sieg heil!)  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Oopsie, I made a mistake! I suppose I was to cower like a little girl over in the corner after reading your really strongly worded post!

Silly me! I'll go to my corner now while someone calls the WAHmbulance. XD  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Inuyasha wasn't "weak" before tesseiga. He had his iron reaver claws and blades of blood. He has continues to use both attacks when tesseiga is not needed. At the same time he was not Sesshoumaru or Inu no Taishu. Inu no Taishou knew that Inuyasha would face prejudice from both demons and humans and did not want that for his son. He knew that Inuyasha couldn't "upgrade" himself. So he left him tesseiga. That's it. So instead of seeking evil, defiled power through the shikon (like Naraku), Inuyasha can wield tesseiga.  David(Quote)

"Way to phail" — Nice English there, pal.

Uh, no. I didn't take offense. I hang around a lot of different websites that make our little fun discussion look like elementary school playground antics. I've developed my sarcastic sense of humor from them, so no, I didn't take you seriously. I just did a little trolling (yes, I admit it), and you took the bait.

And no, I'm not your typical "Inu/Kag fangirl," thanks, but I'm so glad that it's apparently a horrible thing to be. I'm more of an "Inuyasha/Tessaiga fangirl".

Ah, I'm done. I have other things I need to do, and I'm pretty sure that this discussion will still be going on when I come back later anyway.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Yikes there are flames about this place…must.aviod.

Lose his Tessaiga and get his ass handed to him?

Last time I remember Inuyasha losing his Tessaiga, Inuyasha went berserk and killed a number of humans, and eradicated that moth demon in the process. He didn't get his ass handed to him. He did learn his lesson that he needs Tessaiga in order to prevent him from losing his sense of self, which he apparently did at the time.

The point: Inuyasha doesn't have the Tessaiga because he is weak, but to contain the youkai blood that he has inside of him.  np(Quote)

Catfish: Wtf, Kagome/InuYasha isn't an issue in this conversation. I like how defending IY equates to mindless Kagome/InuYasha fangirl. Outside saying Kagome has been important to his development (which is canon), and you constantly bringing up her battle prowess compared to IY, has she even been brought up? And besides, clearly being a big fan of the main relationship in the series makes you brainless! Seriously.

You haven’t grasped any of my reasoning and you misused all of my examples. Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and even shippou outside of their main weapons have other things to rely on, other skills that they have, a variety.

I didn't miss your point at all. I said that while those characters have other attacks, they are scarcely used. IY has other attacks as well- sankon tessou and hijin kessou, also scarcely used. You're ignoring them and saying IY only has tessaiga. How is IY any different from them? He has one weapon he mostly relies on, because the other ones aren't quite tough enough. Yes, he generally only uses tessaiga. However, just like Sango and Miroku's 'other' attacks, which they hardly use, his other ones are not powerful enough for the 'big battlefield,' thus he doesn't use them. IY being not human is not relevant here. He can't make something from nothing. "It's fiction so she COULD write it happening" is not good reasoning.

This is shounen and Inuyasha has a giant sword: HE’S MEANT TO BE A WARRIOR. Inuyasha loves to fight, he can’t just sit still.

When has InuYasha ever expressed a great deal of excitement over fighting? Never. He's never displayed a love of the battlefield. And him getting stir-crazy doesn't mean he's happy fighting. Only in the anime does he ever get bored and go fight. It means he likes to be active, which is completely normal for some people. He doesn't need to fight. He just wants to move. Notice that when he is put to work at the shrine, he chills out and is just fine. He checks on Kagome, but that's just his worry and impatience to see her. He's not going because he's like 'wow, I want to go kick some ass. Kagome, cone home.'
This being a shounen title doesn't mean InuYasha 'loves to fight.' There are plenty of titles where that is not the case. Ranma is a warrior, by choice and by attitude. He loves to fight, it's a thrill for him. InuYasha does it as a necessity, and to defeat Naraku in this special situation. He is not a true warrior. Also Naruto is voluntarily a ninja. He took up the position by choice, and so of course for that character it's all about training. IY is very different. He was thrown into this bizarre situation, he didn't seek it out. Training arcs are boring and generally fall into cliche anyway. I'm glad IY doesn't have them.

Catfish, looking at your later comments, you're being wanker. I don't want to get any further into this because I don't want to join your ranks.  Haro(Quote)

okay I see what Catfish is talking about when she/he says that Inuyasha is weak w/o his sword.
However Inuyasha uses his inner strength to weild his sword. Without the power he has, he couldn't weild Tessaiga. And everytime Inuyasha gains a new attack he gains more inner power. Inuyasha has gained and contuines to gather inner strength, and he uses Tessaiga to show it.  annoymous(Quote)

Catfish… Okay so Inuyasha is half-bread-? Wow, I never knew. For being half grain, I would think he's doing quite well. Does that make Sesshoumaru whole wheat?  LOLish(Quote)

Well, this has gotten rather nasty, hasn't it ?
Is Inuyasha worthless ?
It is a matter of opinion, not a matter of fact.
Stating an opinion as if were some sort of universal fact does tend to lead to arguments. Arguments that don't have to take the low road however.

Haro, KagomeKagome, for what it worth I have found your opinions worthwhile, even if I do not always agree with them. To each their own.  sorrel(Quote)

Wth is with all these weird anonymous comments? o.o  Haro(Quote)

Whoever Anonymous is: You're posts are getting irritating. Somebody save this site.  David(Quote)

David: I hope Starks can delete commnets or is able to log IPs. This is weird.  Haro(Quote)

Agreed Haro. It's slowing the whole site down.  David(Quote)

We witnessed everything today haven't we….first a flame war, now this.  np(Quote)

This is what happens when RT takes a week off; everybody gets cranky. Fandom needs a fix!  David(Quote)

Simply amazing that we're being flooded with spam with our names attached on the very same day we have this lovely discussion. How quaint.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

No, I would imagine it's not.

Not much we can do but let whomever is doing it run their course. I've been an admin in enough fandoms to know that the person is just looking for attention and to irritate the hell out of us, and if we keep feeding them, they'll just stick around.

Too bad Starks isn't around. I wonder if he can IP-ban them.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Haha, yay!!

(We can post images??)  KagomeKagome(Quote)

I didn't post that image. I don't know who posted that image. I don't know why they used my name   David(Quote)

Well, damn. Because honestly, this idiot needs to be told that message.

I am reminded of this Penny Arcade comic: http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2004/20040319h.jpg .

It definitely applies here.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

This spammer is pathetic.  David(Quote)

Wow, I didn't know I could speak and write in Greek.  Haro(Quote)

See now thats just mean.  David(Quote)

Haha! Now that's just classic. At least I could get "THE" correct in the subject line, asshat.

Are you going to stop soon? I need to go to bed.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

It's getting late. maybe the spammers mommy will put them to bed soon.  David(Quote)

If only we could be that lucky.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Yay, they've broken out the hentai now.

Wow, Starks is sure going to love finding all of this on here tomorrow.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

I sure hope he can block IPs, for his own sanity (I'd flip if I woke up to this junk. Poor Starks) much more than ours. I know it's harder to do so on some set ups.  Haro(Quote)

I think I know exactly why this happened…

Early this week, I expanded the amount of tags that allowed to be posted in comments.  Starks(Quote)

Yeah, especially if they don't have a static IP.

Well, I'm off to bed to get the kids up in the morning for school. Here's hoping that there isn't 100+ posts of hentai and cat macros on here tomorrow.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

LOL…yeah David I agree. I am judging and it is pretty perverted. The nice thing about blocking an IP is that no matter what email they try to change to thier addy is still blocked.
Sheesh, some ppl's kids.
Perhaps starks may wish to consider locking out names used on the site against any copycats. (If the email doesn't match, the comment can not be posted).  sorrel(Quote)

You know, there's a reason why this site allows you to lock-in and register your posting name.

http://freelance.110mb.com/wp-login.php?action=register

I find it even more appalling that the IP addressed of the spammer is the same as that of a regular commenter on this site.  Starks(Quote)

I agree with locking out names because I have experienced that another site until the webmaster did something about it. And it's happening here yet again.  np(Quote)

If you guys want, I can look into forcing all users to register their name on this site before they are allowed to post.  Starks(Quote)

Starks, I think that is a good idea.
It is a shame to have to go to such lengths, but I have seen a log-in type of system work before on spammers, pretenders.
On another site, not the same kind of site (not manga) it became necessary and worked well.
Most ppl simply remained "logged-in" but it did prevent anyone else from using the same name, even if that poster had left for long periods of time.
This time it was very evident that ppl were not posting this junk, however that may not always be the case.  sorrel(Quote)

Catfish, if you can read this (I know you can).

I respect your earlier comments on this site but I'd like to know what made you so upset and angry that you felt it necessary to deface this site. Perhaps we can work this out like men and not have to resort to such childish tactics.

If I or anyone else on this site did anything to annoy you, please make it known to me. If you wish to contact me, be my guest.  Starks(Quote)

That's a great idea Starks. If this is what it takes to keep spammers out, it's well worth it. This is a great site, and I am glad it will stay that way!  DaviDK(Quote)

Knowing my reputation on the net, I probably in one way or another deserved this.

Yet, I am fully committed to pursuing a peaceful resolution to the problem.  Starks(Quote)

Starks: Requiring registration is a great idea. *registers* I hope that decreases incidents such as this. I'm very sorry about what happened tonight. :\  haro(Quote)

You've made your point… What more do you want from me?  Starks(Quote)

This is a vendetta someone must have against you, I can't say who, but at this point the only thing they want it revenge. Either start repenting (as you were so willing to do earlier) or take your medicine like a man.  Anon(Quote)

Starks,I am deeply sorry that you're going through this.  Regardless of whatever the hell you've supposedly done, you don't deserve the outlandish treatment you're getting.  Website wars?  I mean, wtf.  Apparently, some damn idiot got it through their head that "TEH INTERWEBZ R SRS BIZNEZZ".  I apologize if I had anything to do with this.  I admit that I was having fun turning the tables on Catfish to show how utterly retarded they sounded with their narrow-minded comments, but after a while, it was obvious that they were trolling.  I'd guessed that our little love-spat had something to do with this when the spam started raining in.  I didn't think it would go that far, honestly.This is your website.  If you feel it necessary to do certain things to keep idiotic things like this from happening, then I'm behind you.  As I mentioned, I used to be an admin, and I know how tiring this can be.I also apologize for the following statement to the perp:  You, sir or ma'am, are a complete fuckwad for attacking this man's site where all he does is bring us scanalations of that which we desire to read, and I hope you and whatever hellspawn you manage to bring into this world die in a raging fire, thanks.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

In respect to Starks, he did all he could to keep this situation from escalating any further and preventing a truly abominable attack on his site that was going to come. He acted with the utmost perspicaciousness and maturity in this matter and out of respect for his cooperation all that could prevent what was happening to going any further was done. I utterly despise how you continue to goad an already sensitive circumstance with your blatant ignorance and disrespect for the seriousness of this matter (in regards to Starks pursuer). The internet is "serious business" to some and it must have some value to Starks as well, since he was willing to do all he could to prevent any further harm from coming to a website that he put so much hard work into. Yet you continue to goad his enemies by posting random, pathetic, and useless flamebait, while not knowing if the situation has truly passed. You're ignorant of all the variables involved that occurred in this situation – from past wrongings to mistreatment of other users. Yes, this should not have happened, but even Starks admits to the fact that he had it coming, perhaps you should talk what you know instead of automatically assuming that you have an opinion in a matter that you help start, Miss KagomeKagome. Had you not been trolling that day, and given Catfish a reason to began with the attack, then this attack could have occured maybe a week or month from now (with chances of being prevented). It was inevitable that it should happen, but you helped to get things going. Everything from the petty arguing to the flaming was planned to happen, it was just a matter of which idiot would take the bait and help to get things going. Also, my little benighted one, since you obviously have no way of knowing this, there was more than one party involved, different IPs were being used as well as different users who could and still may be common posters on this site. Anyone bright enough to notice the change in mannerisms during this discussion might have forseen the impending flamewar and stopped adding wood to the fire immediately. Whoever was behind this attack had something against Starks and sought the help of a group they deemed appropiate for the matter, whether you agree or not, your opinion is useless, uncalled for, and might lead to more conflict. If you have any respect for Starks and his desire to protect his site you will shut up and keep your childish name-calling to yourself.
If the internet weren't so serious then webmasters wouldn't spend large amounts of time building and maintaining their website, businesses wouldn't use it for financial venture, adminastators and moderators would allow users to run wild on their forums, and safety precausions to protect others for harm wouldn't be implemented. The internet is worth billions of dollars in investments alone.   Anon(Quote)

OK, then fine.  I apologize.  I still think that Catfish or who the fuck ever is still a dumb twat for what they said and did, but as I said before, let's agree to disagree and put this behind us.  I'm not causing more grief for Starks.  If you have a problem with me, take it up with me, personally; not someone completely innocent.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Multiple IP addresses?

Don't make me laugh… All I saw throughout the entire attack was a single IP address, 24.129.38.228

Scrap, Catfish, Anon, the spammer… YOU ALL SHARE THAT SAME DAMN IP ADDRESS!

The whole story makes sense now. You had your ass handed to you during the conversation on May 6th. You were pissed because your entire argument was refuted over and over again. It gives me plenty of probable cause to suspect that this entire attack on my site was your idea.

  Starks(Quote)

Yeah, it is over.  Really, you prove yourself to be the one without intelligence if the internet is all that serious of a place.  Yes, I AM A COMPLETE IDIOT for taking their racist bait; I admit now that I never should have done that.You misunderstand my comments.  I'm not trying to cause more harm to Starks, so this will be my last post about this.  However, I will say now that I'll be damned if I let you get away with talking to me the way you do.  I'm not some little fucking emo girl who's going to go to the corner and slit her wrists just because you used a few curse words and some OMG SRSLY STRONG THREATS.  You can go fuck yourself/selves, if you have enough brain cells within you to manage that.Now, go ahead and have the last word because you know you can't live without doing it.   KagomeKagome(Quote)

There's a reason why fighting on the Internet is the functional equivalent of pissing in an ocean of piss…  Starks(Quote)

Yeah, if I could, I bring out the old "Arguing on the internet is like winning the Special Olympics" macro for me.  KagomeKagome(Quote)

Wow, I almost feel sad. I missed so much wank on so many levels. RinSess pedo wank, Kagome Kikyo wank, sword wank, hanyou wank and spam wank? Damn. 

 Ah IY fandom…. just when you think the wank well has ran dry.

Even when the manga sucks, characterizations are destroyed, canon is stepped on; the fandom always entertains.

  Lightsky(Quote)