History Manga / Inuyasha

The small-scale structure of the show is episodic, with many a MonsterOfTheWeek (usually literally). However, in addition to the romance angle between Manga/InuYasha and Kagome, there is an overarching plot about Kagome and her adventuring companions wandering pseudo-medieval-Japan in order to [[GottaCatchEmAll collect the pieces]] of the shattered [[MineralMacguffin Shikon no Tama/Jewel of Four Souls]], which eventually turns into a struggle against the BigBad of the show -- the evil incarnate that is Naraku, a human-turned-demon that seeks the Shikon Jewel in order to taint it and become a full-fledged demon with powers far beyond anything any demon has ever known, and whose plotting turns out to be behind just about all of every main character's miseries. Over the course of the series, Manga/InuYasha and company confront Naraku several times, but each time he gets away, gaining more shards of the Jewel -- and an extra power or two -- in the process.

The manga eventually reaches a resolution, but it takes its sweet time to do so, and consequently the anime was CutShort with no proper ending due in large part to actually catching up with the production of the manga (and thus running out of episodal stories to do). The remaining chapters of the manga that the anime didn't cover before its abrupt end were adapted into the 26-episode series ''Inuyasha: The Final Act'', which picks up where the original anime left off and tells the remainder of the manga's story through to its conclusion.

The overall structure of the show is episodic, with many a MonsterOfTheWeek (usually literally). However, in addition to the romance angle between Manga/InuYasha and Kagome, there is an overarching plot about Kagome and her adventuring companions wandering pseudo-medieval-Japan in order to [[GottaCatchEmAll collect the pieces]] of the shattered [[MineralMacguffin Shikon no Tama/Jewel of Four Souls]], which eventually turns into a struggle against the BigBad of the show -- the evil incarnate that is Naraku, a human-turned-demon that seeks the Shikon Jewel in order to taint it and become a full-fledged demon with powers far beyond anything any demon has ever known, and whose plotting turns out to be behind just about all of every main character's miseries. Over the course of the series, Manga/InuYasha and company confront Naraku several times, but each time he gets away, gaining more shards of the Jewel -- and an extra power or two -- in the process.

Naturally, StatusQuoIsGod (no matter how much it seems like things are building towards a resolution), and the anime was consequently CutShort with no proper ending, due in large part to the anime actually catching up with the production of the manga (and thus running out of episodal stories to do). The remaining chapters of the manga that the anime didn't cover before its abrupt end were adapted into the 26-episode series ''Inuyasha: The Final Act'', which picks up where the original anime left off and tells the remainder of the manga's story through to its conclusion.

In addition to the romance angle between Manga/InuYasha and Kagome, there is an overarching plot about Kagome and her adventuring companions wandering pseudo-medieval-Japan in order to [[GottaCatchEmAll collect the pieces]] of the shattered [[MineralMacguffin Shikon no Tama/Jewel of Four Souls]], but the overall structure of the show is very much episodic.

There is also the plot thread concerning the evil incarnate that is Naraku, a human-turned-demon that seeks the Shikon Jewel in order to taint it and become a full-fledged demon with powers far beyond anything any demon has ever known. Over the course of the series, Manga/InuYasha and company confront Naraku several times, but each time he gets away, gaining more shards of the Jewel - and an extra power or two - in the process.

Typical Japanese teenage [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary Middle School Student]], Kagome, granddaughter of a Shinto priest, has the ability to climb down into an ancient well on the grounds of her grandfather's shrine and, in doing so, TimeTravel to [[TheTimeOfMyths allegedly-feudal-Japan]], except for the fact that demons, goblins, vengeful ghosts, malevolent wizard-priests, short-tempered twelve-foot-tall ogres, and [[{{Youkai}} all manner of other creepy-crawlies]][[hottip:* :significantly, this is one of the few Japanese fantasy anime that ''isn't'' set in a pseudo-medieval-European fantasy world; just about ''everything'' in it is based on Japanese myths and legends, and that alone makes it worth your time to look for]] are all over the place and you can barely swing your arms without hitting one of them. Another noteworthy difference from most anime is that almost all of the characters who are supposed to be Japanese humans are actually depicted with black hair. If you've seen just a bit of anime, you might recognize how unusual this is (other HairColors are much more common).

** TheLeader: Kagome

** TagalongKid[=/=]TheChick: Shippo

** SixthRanger: [[spoiler:Kohaku in ''The Final Act'']]

** TheHero: Inuyasha (Type III [[TheLeader Leader]])
** TheLancer / TheChick: Kagome (Type II [[TheLeader Leader]])

** TagalongKid / TheChick: Shippo

** SixthRanger: [[spoiler: Kohaku in ''The Final Act'']]

Typical Japanese teenage [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary Middle School Student]], GenkiGirl Kagome, granddaughter of a Shinto priest, has the ability to climb down into an ancient well on the grounds of her grandfather's shrine and, in doing so, TimeTravel to [[TheTimeOfMyths allegedly-feudal-Japan]], except for the fact that demons, goblins, vengeful ghosts, malevolent wizard-priests, short-tempered twelve-foot-tall ogres, and [[{{Youkai}} all manner of other creepy-crawlies]][[hottip:* :significantly, this is one of the few Japanese fantasy anime that ''isn't'' set in a pseudo-medieval-European fantasy world; just about ''everything'' in it is based on Japanese myths and legends, and that alone makes it worth your time to look for]] are all over the place and you can barely swing your arms without hitting one of them. Another noteworthy difference from most anime is that almost all of the characters who are supposed to be Japanese humans are actually depicted with black hair. If you've seen just a bit of anime, you might recognize how unusual this is (other HairColors are much more common).

** TheLeader / TheChick: Kagome
** TheLancer: Inuyasha

** TheBigGuy: Sango
** TagalongKid: Shippo

''[[InuYasha InuYasha]]'' is an enormously popular {{anime}} based upon the similarly popular {{manga}} of the same name by RumikoTakahashi. Seven seasons totaling 167 episodes were made and shown on Japanese television, with the series ending in September 2004 in Japan. Creator/AdultSwim aired the final episode of a very decent English-language dub in October 2006, and the series continues to air in the very early Sunday morning slot, where it has been airing continuously since the series' end (the only other show to have run longer on Adult Swim is ''Anime/CowboyBebop''). Inu-Yasha and friends appear in the MassiveMultiplayerCrossover game, VideoGame/SundayVSMagazineShuuketsuChoujouDaikessen.

Kagome's arrival in the past is pivotal in that she is the one who releases InuYasha from his "death" by pulling the arrow from his chest. Her connection with his past love allows her to perform this otherwise impossible feat.

In addition to the romance angle between InuYasha and Kagome, there is an overarching plot about Kagome and her adventuring companions wandering pseudo-medieval-Japan in order to [[GottaCatchEmAll collect the pieces]] of the shattered [[MineralMacguffin Shikon no Tama/Jewel of Four Souls]], but the overall structure of the show is very much episodic.

There is also the plot thread concerning the evil incarnate that is Naraku, a human-turned-demon that seeks the Shikon Jewel in order to taint it and become a full-fledged demon with powers far beyond anything any demon has ever known. Over the course of the series, InuYasha and company confront Naraku several times, but each time he gets away, gaining more shards of the Jewel - and an extra power or two - in the process.

Viz has posted a licensed subtitled version of ''InuYasha'' online on [[http://www.hulu.com/inuyasha Hulu]]. For those who can't wait for the dub of ''The Final Act'', a sub for it is [[http://www.hulu.com/inuyasha-the-final-act also available.]]

!!''[[InuYasha InuYasha]]'' provides examples of:

* TheAbridgedSeries: There exists a series of parody [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sYtwgD_Pzw clips]] that were made before the abridged craze, and they are probably the most well-known for InuYasha.
** And there is an semi-official IY Abridged, done by [=ICanadianJutsuI=] and Scarlotte of YouTube and hosted on the former's channel (which is here [[http://www.youtube.com/user/lCanadianJutsul]]). It's quite funny and currently has 9 episodes. The guy who's doing it is on his ELEVENTH YT channel. Check it out!

* AlmightyMom: Sesshoumaru's mother is a plot device designed to help Sesshoumaru's CharacterDevelopment by achieving something almost no-one else in the manga managed to do - [[BreakTheHaughty putting him in his place]] in the most [[CruelToBeKind brutal]] [[LackOfEmpathy manner]] [[DeathIsCheap possible]].

* AmazonChaser: Sango is wanted by both Miroku and Kuranosuke because of her beauty ''and'' her strength.

** Moryomaru is just a bunch of dead youkai body parts animated by Haku. When Akago is inside of him, he provides the Kon.

* AndYourLittleDogToo: Naraku, who is behind almost everything bad that happens to, well, ''everyone''.

* AntiHero: Kikyo settles into the role after her resurrection, once the worst of her initial rage has subsided.
** Sesshomaru starts off as a villain, but subsequent CharacterDevelopment shifts him from there to AntiVillain and from there arguably to AntiHero; exactly where he falls tends to vary depending on your perspective.

** Yura of the Hair is actually a spirit born from a comb used to comb the hair of dead people. Destroying the comb destroys Yura.
** The cursed Noh Mask. It is a deadly artifact that once placed on the face, it absorbs/consumes the wearer.

** Kanna has her Mirror, which can steal the very soul of those she shows it to or, in some cases, absorb the power and devastating effect of a weapon and allow her to direct it back at the sender.
** The Naginata of Kenkon, aka the Naginata of Heaven and Earth, was fashioned from the corpses of 222 demons by the same demonic smith who made Tokijin.

** The Movies also introduce a few more, like Kaguya's mirror and the terrible Sou'unga: The Sword of Hell. Sou'unga can not only create the devastation of the dragon vortex, but it can possess its owner and force them to commit murder wherever and whenever possible.

* AssholeVictim[=/=]KickTheSonOfABitch: Inuyasha's SuperpoweredEvilSide killed several bandits in a brutal way.

* {{Badass}}: It is almost impossible to not be impressed by some of the characters' exploits in the story, such as Sesshomaru not flinching from having his arm ripped off, Kagome blasting Naraku till only his head remains just because he pissed her off, Naraku eating Moryoumaru from the inside out and later [[spoiler: dying with smarmy remarks and a smile at the end of the series]], Sango digging herself out of her own grave, Kagura slaying entire army of demon wolves with a couple of wind-blades, Inuyasha defeating the foe his father died fighting, Inuyasha being able to completely break the state of full-demon he became from losing Tessaiga and much more for every character.

* BadassNormal: Sango. She's completely human and the only protagonist who doesn't have any kind of supernatural or magical power, but she's able to throw around the huge boomerang as if it were a toy, and is just about as good of a fighter as Inuyasha himself.

* BattleAura: Demons and spiritually powerful humans have this.
** Sango, the only member of the group that doesn't have supernatural powers, also manifests one when she's really pissed off, usually at Miroku. It sends ''Inuyasha'' ducking for cover.

* [[BeastAndBeauty Beast and Beauty]]

* TheBlank: One of Naraku's incarnations starts off this way, until he starts stealing people's faces (leaving them faceless and dead).
** And of course, the Muonna that Sesshoumaru had impersonate Inu Yasha's mother looked like this under her illusion.

* BlessedWithSuck[=/=]CursedWithAwesome: Miroku. The Wind Tunnel in his right hand, a curse placed on his grandfather and passed down onto him, is basically a one-way dimensional gateway with the force of a minute black hole. Even the most powerful of demons seem to be unable to escape it if drawn inside -- witness the spirit of Kaguya, an entity stated to be truly immortal, being banished forever by being drawn inside the Wind Tunnel. However, Miroku can only control it by wrapping his hand in certain special beads, and as Naraku created it, he has also created a counter for it: a rapidly-breeding wasp-like creature called Saimyosho contain a poison that will cause Miroku intense pain and eventually death if he draws them in. Oh, and the Wind Tunnel, even if not used, is slowly growing ever larger, until the day when it consumes Miroku and everything around him in a fair-sized SphereOfDestruction, just as it has already devoured his father and grandfather.

** Also very noticeable when the living Noh mask attacks Kagome; the body it has is the corpses of its previous victims mashed together into one fleshy lump.

* BreakTheCutie: Kohaku.

* BrokenHero: Miroku is a carefree, cheerful guy in spite (or maybe because) of having death looming over him his whole life.

* BuriedAlive: Sango, after being badly wounded and declared dead. [[{{Badass}} She]] [[RiseFromYourGrave clawed her way out.]]

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: After returning to her time after her first trip to the feudal era, Kagome assumes the whole experience was a dream and proceeds to forget about the whole thing....until Inuyasha barges into her house while her family is having dinner. It doesn't help that one of the bad guys (Yura of the Hair) seeking the Shikon Jewel tries to enter Kagome's time moments later.

* {{Canon Foreigner}}: Ayame (Koga's childhood love interest), and Akitoki Hojo (an ancestor of one Kagome's classmates) only appear in the anime.

* CockFight: Happens every time Inuyasha and Kouga meet.

* CrazyPrepared: Sango habitually carries a backup weapon, a hidden backup backup weapon, and a considerable assortment of poisons designed for use against demons.

* [[spoiler: DeathOfTheHypotenuse]]: [[spoiler: Kikyo.]]

* EldritchAbomination: While [[HalfHumanHybrid Naraku]] likes to consider himself one, [[spoiler: Magatsuhi,]] the composite youkai who killed Midoriko fits the bill.

** A female [[{{Youkai}} bone-youkai]] stole Sango's weapon to try and save her father.

* EverythingsWorseWithBees: The Saimyoushou, the poisonous insects Naraku uses.

* EvilPlan: Each villain has one but its Naraku's that drive the plot.

* EvilerThanThou: Moryomaru's a mean guy but he's just a thug compared to Naraku.

** Yakurou Dokusen offers a "medicine" to Miroku so he'll stop feeling pain everytime he sucks poison into his curse but it won't cure the shouki wounds that are killing him. He takes it.

* FinalBattle: The series' final battle takes place when the FiveManBand plus Sesshomaru's group go inside Naraku after he transforms into a giant, floating spider.

** TheLeader[=/=]TheChick: Kagome

* GatlingGood: Renkotsu battles Inuyasha with a giant gatling gun that seems to fire mortar rounds or cannon balls.

* HealingShiv: Sesshomaru's sword Tenseiga can revive the dead by cutting down the pallbearers of the afterlife as they come to collect the dead person's soul. However, as is eventually revealed under [[KillTheCutie tragic circumstances]], [[spoiler:people can be revived in this manner [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum only once]].]]

* HonorBeforeReason

* HurtingHero: Kikyo, Sango, Miroku is the [[BrokenHero cheerful]] kind, [[TheAtoner Kohaku]] after he regains his memories and Inuyasha after some CharacterDevelopment.

* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: InuYasha called Miroku a "fake lechering monk" once. His response? "I may be a lecher, but how ''dare'' you call me a fake!

* [[IfICantHaveYou If I Can't Have You]]: Naraku with Kikyou. [[spoiler: He tricks Kikyou and Inuyasha into betraying each other, in hopes that he might be able to whisk the girl away after she's killed her former lover, but to much of his dismay she decides to choose death. Then when she's resurrected, he tries to kill her over and over again until he finally succeeds. He even wanted her to die in his arms, hoping that Inuyasha would be too late.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Happens several times in the manga, bad guys impaling good guys, good guys impaling bad guys. Brothers impaling each other. One of the most dramatic occurances, however, takes place in the latter stages of the manga when [[spoiler: [[UltimateEvil Magatsuhi]] impales Sesshoumaru through the [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat heart]], bringing the entire cast to a shocked, disbelieving stand-still.]]

* InfinityPlusOneSword: By the end of the series, Tessaiga can generate huge energy blasts, reflect incoming energy attacks, launch a spray of adamantine spikes, cut through energy barriers, siphon demonic energy, and CREATE DIMENSIONAL PORTALS TO THE UNDERWORLD.

* JerkAss[=/=]JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Koga.

* LuminescentBlush: Particularly Sango, but also Kagome and Inuyasha when things get a little too "romantic" between them.

** Near the end of the manga, it's implied that [[spoiler: the ''Shikon no Tama'', or rather, the aggregate demon inside it]] manipulated [[spoiler: ''Naraku'']] in a bid to free itself while perpetuating the {{Vicious Cycle}}. The last chapter implies that [[spoiler: the Shikon no Tama]] was the REAL {{Big Bad}} that Kagome was sent back in time to defeat.

* [[MenDontCry Men Don't Cry]]: Inuyasha says this to a crying Shippo when they think Kagome, Miroku and Sango have died. When it turns out they haven't, Inuyasha tries to hide his tears which Shippo is fast to point out.

* NeverTrustAHairTonic: Two demon brothers kidnap Kagome. She thinks they simply want to eat her, but it turns out one of them is severely balding and embarrassed about it, and he has heard you can get a hair growth potion by boiling down a human maiden. At hearing this, Kagome angrily insists they eat her instead.

* OpenMindedParent: Nobody in her family minds that Kagome is gone for days or weeks at a time adventuring in a past era full of {{Youkai}} and missing a lot of school to do it, or that she's falling for a guy who's only half human; on the contrary, they cheerfully make up excuses for her to explain her absences.

* {{Pointy Ears}}: Usually to help identify who the human-looking demons are. Not all of them have it but still...

* PowerAtAPrice: Sesshomaru's quest for power results in the loss of his arm and, later, the death of [[spoiler: Rin (again)]]. He achieves his true potential only thanks to this and the death of [[spoiler:Kagura]]; the latter moves him to feel compassion for others and the former forces him to understand the irreplaceable value of life and the role that fear and sorrow must play in a warrior's life.
* PowerDyesYourHair: Inuyasha's hair turns black when he turns human. Of course, the disappearance of his doggy ears is a much bigger marker.

* RopeBridge: Jaken and Rin are confronted by a villain in the middle of a rope bridge. In a subversion, the bridge breaks because Jaken's attempt to defend himself and Rin relies on fire which burns the ropes and breaks the bridge causing all three of them to plunge into the gorge below.

* SchizoTech: Ginkotsu from the Band of Seven, a cyborg/tank in Feudal Japan.

* ScrewYouElves: Inuyasha delivers a rather impressive one to Sesshomaru; after the latter spends two or three episodes going off on how humans and half-demons are worthless, Inu not only slices Sesshy's arm off, but he also mocks Sesshy on how a mere half-demon got to inherit the Tessaiga.

* ShipperOnDeck: Kagome, who tries to get Miroku and Sango together at times. Miroku, Sango and Shippo to InuYasha and Kagome. In Chapter 343 (animated in Episode 167), Rin is quite up-beat upon realising Kagura is in love with Sesshoumaru, to the extent where that realisation cures her fear of Kagura (earned as a result of Kagura having once kidnapped her on Naraku's orders).

* SlipknotPonytail: In the final battle, Sango's hair falls down when she and Kirara are bathed in Naraku's miasma and it eats away her hair tie.

* StoryBreakerPower: The Wind Tunnel, but thanks to FuelMeterOfPower and KryptoniteIsEverywhere, Miroku can't use it too much.

* SuperToughness: Yokai and Hanyou can take more damage than a human can.

* TakeOffYourClothes: When he sees Kagome dressed as a miko, Inuyasha soon asks her to take off the outfit. To which Kagome respond with a rock to the head and calling him a pervert. But Inuyasha doesn't want to see her naked (yet); it's just that with the priestess garb, she looks too much like Kikyo and that makes him uncomfortable.

* {{Tareme Eyes}}: Kagome, Shippo, Kohaku and Miroku. Everyone else is {{Tsurime Eyes}}.

* [[ThatDidntHappen That Didn't Happen]]: Sango goes into complete denial after declaring that she prefers to die with Miroku than leave him and save herself: "Did I say something? What did I say?"

* TimeTravelRomance: Between Kagome and Inuyasha.

* TookALevelInBadass: Kagome ''does'' manage to catch up and become a true ActionGirl. She also develops from barely being able to fire a bow to making shots that are borderline impossible for trained archers in the real world.

* {{Tsurime Eyes}}: See {{Tareme Eyes}}.

* UglyGuyHotWife: An extremely rare inversion that is ''not'' PlayedForLaughs with Manten's and Hiten's parents.

* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Two of them, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, but Inuyasha is a subversion.

* WouldHitAGirl: Inuyasha impaled Yura through her chest with his hand, Kouga hit Kagura in the face and Miroku punched Sango (and other girls) to free her from a youkai in her stomach possesing her.

* DropWhatYouAreDoing: PlayedForLaughs. When Kagome asks Sango, who's cleaning Hiraikotsu, if she's in love with Miroku (more like states it), Sango drops the weapon in shock and breaks the floor.

* HotAmazon: Sango is wanted by both Miroku and Kuranosuke because of her beauty ''and'' her strength. Definitely Kagura's main appeal.

* BrokenBird: Kagura, Kikyou.

* TheOtherDarrin: In the [[VizMedia Viz]]/[[TheOceanGroup Ocean Group]] English dub of Inuyasha: The Final Act, Kagome and Sesshomaru were recast from Moneca Stori and David Kaye, respectively, to Kira Tozer and Michael Daingerfield.

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: A number of these, including The Band of Seven, and Kanna and Kagura, sometimes with Kohaku, Hakud?shi, and / or Akago.

* TakeOffYourClothes: When he sees Kagome dressed as a miko, Inuyasha soon asks her to take off the outfit. To which Kagome respond with a rock to the head and calling him a pervert. But Inuyasha doesn't want to see her naked (yet); it's just that with the priestess garb, she looks too much like Kiky? and that makes him uncomfortable.

** DoubleStandard is on Inuyasha's part. Kagome has made no promises to Kouga, has made it clear that she loves only Inuyasha and even Kouga acknowledges this. Unlike Kagome,Inuyasha has not made his choice clear to either of the two women. Inuyasha made promises to Kagome, reassured her about his feelings for her everytime she questioned him about it, suggesting his feelings for Kikyou are because of his guilt over her death(Manga chapter, ''Gentle Smell.'') This has happened at least three times. So Kagome is very obviously not flirting with Kouga and Inuyasha has no right to be jealous. The Manga even pokes fun at Inuyasha's hypocrisy.(''Inuyasha Chapter 339'')

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: A number of these, including The Band of Seven, and Kanna and Kagura, sometimes with Kohaku, Hakudōshi, and / or Akago.

* TakeOffYourClothes: When he sees Kagome dressed as a miko, Inuyasha soon asks her to take off the outfit. To which Kagome respond with a rock to the head and calling him a pervert. But Inuyasha doesn't want to see her naked (yet); it's just that with the priestess garb, she looks too much like Kikyō and that makes him uncomfortable.

* [[DudeShesLikeInAComa Dude, She's Like, In A Coma!]]: Ironically, Sango kissed Miroku while he was unconscious.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Princess Abi joins Naraku to save her dying mother.

* EvilEvolves: Naraku. Oh, Naraku.

* {{Expy}}: Mostly of [[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]. RumikoTakahashi herself admitted that the [[PortmanteauCoupleName InuKag]] romance was supposed to be the [[OfficialCouple Ranma/Akane]] romance as it should have been written. Sango resembles Ukyo Kuonji in terms of design and Miroku looks a lot like Shinnosuke (and like the young [[DirtyOldMan Luckyosai]], Happosai's "old friend"). Also, Myoga resembles manga-Happosai in looks though not personality. And if you look at it the right way, Koga/Ryoga Hibiki.
** Bonus points for the fact that Ranma and Inuyasha share voice actors in BOTH Japanese and English (Kappei Yamaguchi and Richard Ian Cox, though only for the latter half of Ranma in Dick's case), and Kelly Sheridan is the English voice for both Ukyo and Sango. Further, David Kaye voices both Soun and Sesshomaru, and Paul Dobson voiced both Happosai and Myoga.

* FeelNoPain: Yakurou Dokusen offers a "medicine" to Miroku so he'll stop feeling pain everytime he sucks poison into his curse but it won't cure the shouki wounds that are killing him. He takes it.

%% FetishFuel was moved to the YMMV tab. please don't add it back here.

* FirstNameBasis: Inuyasha starts to call Kagome by name after defeating Yura. Miroku jumps directly to first name basis with no honorifics with Sango, the only woman he addresses in such a fashion.

* FiveManBand

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A brilliantly blatant yet easy-to-miss example occurs when Naraku manipulates Sango into stealing Tessaiga for him. He is able to hold it and briefly uses it against her. Amids the ensuing drama, the audience isn't likely to remember that said sword was suppossed to have a demon-repelling barrier around it that should've left a full demon like Naraku with some ugly burns on his hand... this is explained when we learn that Naraku isn't a full demon at all...

* TheFourGods: a QuirkyMinibossSquad in one of the late filler arcs (first half of the anime's sixth season) is a squad of four Demon Ninjas based on them; Byakko of the Snow (Byakko the White Tiger), Genbu of the Darkness (Genbu the Black Turtle), Seiryuu of the Moon (Seiryuu the Azure Dragon), and Suzaku of the Flower (Suzaku the Vermillion Phoenix).

* FamilyThemeNaming: The three named characters from the demon slayers' village -- Sango, her younger brother Kohaku, and their pet Kirara -- all have names referring to semi-precious stones (coral, amber and mica, respectively). Additionally, Kikyou and her younger sister Kaede both have names that begin with K and refer to plants (bellflower and maple).

** DoubleStandard is on Inuyasha's part. Kagome has made no promises to Kouga, has made it clear that she loves only Inuyasha and even Kouga acknowledges this. Unlike Kagome,Inuyasha has not made his choice clear to either of the two women. Inuyasha made promises to Kagome, reassured her about his feelings for her everytime she questioned him about it, suggesting his feelings for Kikyou are because of his guilt over her death(Manga chapter, ''Gentle Smell.'') This has happened at least three times. So Kagome is very obviously not flirting with Kouga and Inuyasha has no right to be jealous. The Manga even pokes fun at Inuyasha's hypocrisy.

** This Troper is sick of dumb people mentioning this all the time. The difference is that Inuyasha has made promises to Kagome, he did not get out of the relationship even when Kagome gave him the chance to back out. There IS a relationship between them. There is no relationship between Kagome and Kouga, Kagome has made it clear to him that she only loves Inuyasha. Even he knows this. The Double Standard here in on Inuyasha's part. The Manga even makes a joke out of it.

%% DracoInLeatherPants was moved to the YMMV tab. please don't add it back here.

* {{Badass}}: It is almost impossible to not be impressed by some of the characters' exploits in the story, such as Sesshomaru not flinching from having his arm ripped off, Naraku eating Moryoumaru from the inside out and later [[spoiler: dying with smarmy remarks and a smile at the end of the series]], Sango digging herself out of her own grave, Kagura slaying entire army of demon wolves with a couple of wind-blades, Inuyasha defeating the foe his father died fighting, Inuyasha being able to completely break the state of full-demon he became from losing Tessaiga and much more for every character.

* FireForgedFriends: The main group was formed because all the members (except Shippo) share a common goal, and at first they were hostile to each other. Inuyasha and Kagome are forced to work together to find the Shikon shards, they let Miroku join after learning they share a common enemy and Sango joins for the same reason. They warm up to each other and end up being [[{{Nakama}} best friends]] since they don't really have anyone else.

* {{Nakama}}: Our FiveManBand.