Inuyasha Manga: 343 Fiancée

Because I'm a US American, I'm a bit ignorant in general as to accents over symbols and letters, as well as adding them to my otherwise plain type. But since I'm learning French, and more about how the spelling/syntax/grammar works, it REALLY bothered me not having the accent over the first "e" in that title. Like many things, my education should have TAUGHT ME how to add those, but also like many things, I had to take a detour to teach myself. Granted, it's a pretty easy process, so it wasn't exactly difficult to figure out, but it's the principle of the thing, you know? It's just another example of how US American education is inadequate at ALL LEVELS, and people here are left out in the cold when it comes to interacting with the rest of the world in so many ways. The most infuriating part? It's by a 50-70-year-old design. 

You think this aristocratic derp knows another language? One or two dialects of Chinese, maybe?

Kagura affirms his repetition of the subject she wishes to discuss with him, and suggests that he HAS to have noticed that no matter how many times Naraku's body is smashed, shredded, and destroyed, he won't die. The brat Hakudoushi is exactly the same. She doesn't mention that SHE also possesses this quality, but I assume that's why she's so sure the lack of a heart leads to effective immortality. Kagura says as much, that this is all because Naraku's heart has been hidden in a safe place away from his body. 

She asks if Sesshoumaru thinks so, while Jaken warns him at his back that this whole visit might very well be a trap. Kagura seems confused by this characterization of her intentions, so Jaken reminds her that he knows SHE'S an offspring of Naraku herself, and asks how they can POSSIBLY trust a single thing she says. It's not a TERRIBLE argument.

After a haughty pause, Kagura scoffs and reaches beneath her collar for something, saying that it's up to them whether they believe her or not, but it would be within their interests to take the crystal she offers from her bosom. Jaken asks what it is, and she tells him it's crystalized youki.

It's a reflection of the world I live in that my instinct would be suspicion that this mysterious object handed to me might just be a spy tool meant to steal all my data. 

At last, Sesshoumaru speaks for himself, accusing Kagura of wanting to USE him. She doesn't deny this, instead asserting that killing Naraku would be impossible without someone with his strength and skill, and there's NO ONE to compare to him in these qualities. The focus is on little Rin here, who looks quite amazed by this overt praise of her guardian. Jaken looks less in wonder and more nervous, sweating over what he judges to be an attempt to praise Sesshoumaru to death. 

Kagura kneels down to leave the crystal in the grass between them, since Sesshoumaru makes no move to take it, or ANY move, really. She says the rest is up to him, and then gusts upward on her feather, bidding him goodbye. Both Sesshoumaru and Jaken glare up at her retreating vehicle, the latter mumbling about "that woman" - no doubt he's relieved to see her gone. He approaches and scoffs over the youki crystal, inquiring what Sesshoumaru wants them to do with it. Jaken turns at the sound of Sesshoumaru's boots on the grass, finding he's wandering off again, and asks after him. Sesshoumaru absently says he'll leave the decision to him, because apparently he just can't be bothered.

Even so small a delegation makes Jaken sweat nervously again, wondering aloud what he should do. Rin kneels in the grass next to him and suggests he should take it, advice he repeats in question. Rin explains that it didn't look like Kagura was trying to FOOL Sesshoumaru at all.

Awww, weird themed malevolent spirits in love...

Rin's reason for believing this essentially boils down to the fact that Kagura's praise of Sesshoumaru seemed really genuine to her, but Jaken is exasperated by her simple and naive point of view. Don't worry, Rin, I agree with you. SessKagu shippers gotta stick together!

Never thought you'd read that coming from ME, did you? ;)

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru is lost in contemplations of this youki-erasing protection stone. Probably wishing HE had it so fuckers would just leave him alone and stop trying to get him to fight their battles for them. Heaven forbid he USE all that copious power he has for anything. 

Narrow sky transition panel to Inuyasha's group, Inuyasha and Kagome heading the procession by some distance while Miroku and Sango bring up the rear, the former of the back pair letting out a long sigh. Kagome mutters to Inuyasha that Miroku is still depressed, and Inuyasha asks if it's about that youki crystal he lost to Hakudoushi and his massive science experiment. As if in answer, Miroku opines that it really is all his fault, but Sango assures him there was no avoiding it, and she's just really glad he wasn't injured. He says her name, looking at her earnestly. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

Come on, guys, unsolicited petting is just how Miroku cheers himself up. 

Ugh, I can't even type that without it leaving a bad taste in my mouth...

Yet another narrow sky transition panel brings us to three men on the bank of a body of water, one of them approaching a small shrine. The two hanging back ask "Danna-sama" if he's sure they won't face retribution for what they're about to do, and he answers that he's sure THIS time it will be fine. Always a bad sign when you're doing something that drew bad consequences before AGAIN. He holds up an ofuda he says he got from a high-ranking priest, and seems to think this new tool will make the difference. 

Danna-sama sticks it over the door, pleading with whatever spirit that occupies it to be calm. Rather than peace, the little piece of paper crackles with branching electricity, and the area starts to rumble and shake, hard enough for the men to topple, shrieking. Close by, Miroku looks around, asking if the trembling they're feeling is an earthquake, but Kagome trails in a statement that it's something MORE than that. Miroku picks up what she's putting down, declaring there's youki he's also sensing here. Sango and he rush forward to meet whatever challenge this might be. 

They find the men keeling before the little shrine, begging a "Nushi-sama" to please forgive them. There remains only a burn mark left where the ofuda was stuck before. Miroku runs up and inquires as to what happened here, observing that they've been suffering from strange events, and their band of heroes could help if they wanted. Danna-sama turns and says Miroku's name, recognizing him, which seems to take Miroku aback. 

Oh, Kagome looks PISSED. You'd think SHE was the one engaged to Miroku and not Sango.

Cut to a mansion that is a little more modest than some others we've seen in this comic - but still a mansion. Presumably it's Danna-sama who calls for a feast for Miroku's return; the next panel shows just the Inuyasha gang sitting around an indoor firepit, Sango positioned intimately close to Miroku's side despite the implication of more of his promiscuous antics. Kagome asks what the situation is, and Miroku hesitates to say, appearing somewhat unsure himself. Sango suggests he doesn't remember, Inuyasha scoffing that there are too many possibilities for him to narrow it down. 

A young woman slides open the door to their room eagerly, announcing herself by calling to Miroku and saying she's been waiting for him for some time. Miroku drops his fist into his open palm in a gesture of pinpointing a specific memory, and in no time he's on his feet and grasping the young woman's hands in his, calling her Shima and complimenting her on how beautiful she's become. All she can do is express how glad she is that he's finally here. 

The awkward sauce is POTENT in this panel.

Sango hovers behind him with a fuming aura, and while Miroku mutters to calm down, she flatly lies that it's fine - it's just something that happened in the past, after all. Danna-sama confirms this from where he and his wife kneel in the doorway, and he begins the story of this past event with both of them having given up hope. 

Flashback! Danna-sama and wife are sitting by Shima's futon, worried gazes fixed on their daughter lying in it. He says that Shima had always had a weak body since infancy, to the point where there was hardly a day when she could so much as lift her head from her pillow. Miroku was passing through one day, though, 2 years before, and he showed some sympathy for the sickly girl. He gave them some herbs for a tea that he instructed Shima to drink every day. Her father comments on how they got what was expected from "top-grade" herbs, which suggests there was some heavy expense involved in getting them. He and his wife DO say they worked well, though, a medicine so effective that Shima sits upright in fairly GLITTERING health at this moment. Still, Sango and Inuyasha are glaring in exasperation, both sharing the thought that Miroku grifted them. 

Kagome leans into the conversation, suggesting that THIS is when Miroku and Shima became friends, but Miroku denies this, backed up by Shima saying that he left very shortly after handing over the herbs for the medicine. Miroku draws attention to the corroboration, insisting he did NO wrong. But of course, then Shima recalls Miroku asking of her what he asks ALL pretty young women who come into his life, however briefly: he asks her to bear his child when she gets better. It's a proposition she heartily agrees to. 

At least she doesn't look fucking ELEVEN in the flashbacks.

This dude is NEVER going to escape his slut era. 

Inuyasha is visibly annoyed, complaining that this conversation is pointless. Kagome insists that it's not, but Inuyasha indicates that he's MUCH more invested in the strange earthquake that happened earlier that LED them here in the first place. This reminds Miroku to ask about the shake-up at the shrine, ignoring the lump on his head from the tap to the head he received above from Sango. 

Before he receives an answer, dust is shaken from the ceiling by another earthquake, causing Kagome to topple a little and cry out about the new tremors. Shima has flung herself into Miroku's embrace out of her fear, while he sweats about ALSO being scared, but for entirely different reasons; Sango's mood has worsened at the sight of Shima hugging Miroku, aura and face dark with simmering rage. 

Danna-sama and wife once again bow to Miroku on the threshold of the room, begging him to save them, and suddenly dropping the info that Shima is set to become a youkai's bride at this point. He questions this claim in confusion, so Danna-sama finally explains that the shrine by the water is for Nushi-sama of the lake, who is quite insistent that Shima become his bride. Shima pulls away from Miroku enough to inform him that she TOLD Nushi-sama she was already engaged, but he didn't believe her. Miroku chuckles nervously, trailing in his new question of whether HE was the fiancé she was talking about, so Sango pipes up and barks that it's OBVIOUSLY him. 

Shima brightly says that since Miroku has returned, having NOT forgotten his promise to her, her horrible fate has been averted. She's convinced this is a happy day for her, despite the sour expression of Sango and the less-than-thrilled face on Miroku. Girl, read the ROOM. 

Regardless, Miroku vows that he will NOT let Shima go to a youkai, and Danna-sama is in joyous disbelief that Miroku will help them as Miroku soberly tells them to leave the matter to him. Danna-sama stands up and declares they'll get the wedding ceremony ready right away, having fundamentally misunderstood WHAT Miroku intends to do to solve the matter, to his shocked dismay. Inuyasha wonders aloud what about wiping out the youkai, and Shippou chirrups from Kagome's shoulder that Shima's parents are DEDICATED to the idea of her having Miroku's child. Ew, kid. 

All these promises are really becoming a problem, huh?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I think I blocked out or rushed over the plethora of relationship drama in this section of the comic the other times I read it, because I've largely forgotten this plotline. Having Sango and Miroku start to fight immediately after a tentative truce between Inuyasha and Kagome is a little much for someone like me. I'm a little prone to hyperbole, so my brain immediately started complaining that this was like a personal hell when Shima started fawning over Miroku. 

I'll admit it's a little of an overstatement though. This is the first issue that Miroku and Sango have had since Miroku essentially promised to settle down with her once all this Naraku business is over - a promise he's bolstered with his lack of overt flirtatious behavior toward other women since he made it. So I think this is an interesting way for his nasty habits to catch up to him in the now, even though he's seemingly dedicated to building a life with Sango down the road. He's been so careless with his propositions to girls in the past, it's really no wonder that some of them might take that more seriously than he meant them to, especially someone in Shima's position, who is facing a marriage she REALLY doesn't want otherwise. 

It's not clear yet why this "Nushi-sama" is so intent on marrying Shima despite her attempts to dissuade him, but it is seeming like a more serious situation than it first appears. A similar situation happened before, with Koharu experiencing an attempted assault and viewing the returned Miroku as a possible savior. It sadly highlights once again the fundamental issue young girls and women face not just in the time period depicted, but right here and now: "no" is not respected. Koharu needed to beat the shit out of her assailant to get him to stop, and he pursued her to seek revenge afterward, so Koharu was not going to escape unless rescued by another man. Shima is depending on another man saving her from a marriage with a creature she is not remotely interested in, not feeling free to refuse marriage in her own right. This is a common refrain throughout history to this day, female autonomy being denied over and over, and needing the authority of a man to make it legitimate. 

Part of what made Miroku's past behavior so problematic is that he didn't take this fundamental fact seriously, just having fun, and not sparing a thought for what situation the girls he propositioned were enduring and whether THEY were viewing it in the same way. In a context where a good majority of the women he's flirting with are either WORKING or in precarious situations that require his commitment to escape, he's actively contributing to their anxiety around how to navigate their love and sex lives. 

Isn't it remarkable that there's a whole class of modern society that believes women are BETTER OFF in this kind of dynamic???

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 043 To The Reachable - And Beyond!!

I'm not sure how you're supposed to reach beyond the "reachable", especially since that group seems to be increasingly smaller every day. We're whittling down the ones who CAN be persuaded away from supporting complete authoritarianism every day, but no matter how many find their limits with my country's current horror show with brand new spectacles of insanity, there remains a core to the madness. A knot of true believers who will not be convinced that their shit god-king can do any wrong whatsoever. Under the many layers of rationalizers and what-abouters that are being cleared away, we see the reality of a cult that will drink that Kool-Aid until their final agonizing breath. 

I just hope that there are ENOUGH "reachable" that we can avoid 20 years of occupation and violence this time. 

Ugh, your analogies are as thin as a certain garbage dictator's skin. 

Iwamoto walks into the room with his entourage of other possessed peeps, a speech bubble denoting confusion over his head, since it appears empty. He advances toward a cabinet in the corner, however, given there's a bit of cloth sticking out between its doors and no doubt it's an ideal place to hide. Iwamoto laughs that he knows where Keiko is hiding, identifying the aforementioned cloth in the doors as Keiko's scarf. She's missing her scarf in the next panel, sweating along with Botan next to her, who can't help but gulp. Keiko grips something over her shoulder - hopefully a weapon. 

For some reason Iwamoto mockingly pretends he doesn't know where Keiko is, even though he just SAID he did? You gotta decide how you're gonna play this BEFORE you open your dumb mouth, dude. He sees a bunch of brooms stood up in the corner next to the cabinet and grabs one, along with another of his horrible companions. Iwamoto apparently intends to IMPALE the poor girls with it, because he says that "students on a skewer" is a tasty dish. 

I'm equal parts disturbed and annoyed. It's weird that such a graphic threat is so... lame. 

... Warm, maybe. Unless you're planning on baking them.

The scarf falls out from between the damaged doors, as well as a lot of other debris, but obviously Keiko isn't attached to it. It surprises the shit out of Iwamoto that the cabinet's empty for some reason. I mean, she's supposed to be a star student, and a real quick study, dude. How do you NOT expect her to fool your dumb ass?

While he puzzles over them not being where he expected them to be, Keiko and Botan come charging out from behind a curtain that the window instead, holding aloft their own brooms to swing. 

Girls bringing the PAIN!

For the first time, Suzaku EMOTES. He expresses his angry disbelief over Iwamoto getting whacked in the back of the head with a broom handle. Clearly, he was too busy smarming to Yusuke to be paying close attention to the situation on the screen. Suzaku loses his cool, at least SOME of it, and squeezes his wine glass until it shatters. He complains about the plan unraveling to to those useless, no-good zombies. I don't know what else you can reasonably EXPECT from zombies, but thems the breaks. 

Still being shocked continuously, this WHOLE TIME, Yusuke gapes at the again fleeing girls on the screen at first, then starts chuckling. Suzaku glares over his shoulder at Yusuke, who lets out a yell of agony as another, stronger stream of electricity joins the ones on either side of him. The main Suzaku is the one who blasted him, snapping at Yusuke that NO ONE laughs at him, and reminds him that his life is in the hands shocking the shit out of him right now. 

That doesn't sound TOO different from your original plan, honestly. Who gives a shit who dies first in the long run anyway? 

Yusuke is getting too fried to function mentally again as he screams, thinking he's fading, but he does hear a voice and wonders what it is. It turns out to be a memory, a flashback to Genkai yelling at him while he was balanced on a sharp spindle by a single finger. OOH, was that actually a setup?? Genkai criticizes him for tiring ALREADY, saying that this is NOTHING. Yusuke stutters that it's easy for her to say, but I don't know why he's under THAT impression, given Genkai is balancing on a spike herself, by a toe by the looks of things, but in a completely relaxed cross-legged manner, clearly practiced and not just talking the talk at ALL. She says what she is telling him is also TRUE, claiming that just when the struggle seems hopeless, that's when it really begins. She isn't just whistling Dixie. 

Yusuke insists that he's used up, though, his aura GONE. He haltingly says that at this rate, he's done, his finger basically touching the spike at this point without the comfortable cushion of energy between. Yusuke is convinced he's gonna die. It's not like it would be the first time, lol.

Genkai says that OF COURSE he's going to die, and that's the whole point. He yells in disbelief, telling her that's CRAZY, but she informs him that they're not training to reach his limits, but to surpass them entirely. They're harnessing the inner strength that lies beyond brute force, and facing what happens when one fails to do so. Genkai says sports use similar methods, with a greater emphasis on safety, though the basics are the same. She urges Yusuke to focus, telling him it's the only way to train his body and transcend what he BELIEVES is possible for it. With a cruel smirk, she predicts he'll off himself before mastering it, considering what a sniveling little WIMP he turned out to be. Harsh.

Yusuke grimaces at this insult, wondering why he has to put up with this garbage. He's blown-out from the battle with Rando, and his whole vacation has been spent training to the brink of death, completely shot. He's had about enough, from the looks of things. 

She's so UNCONCERNED. Without moving at all, she points out that Yusuke had strength left in him after all, but it's reflexive, and is about to add something about what he'd never be able to do in this state when Yusuke shouts at her to shut up again. He says he's had it with this, and is doing one more exercise, then going home, his forefinger glowing. I guess he knows which exercise he's going for here, telling Genkai to eat it. 

Genkai just smiles, saying that Yusuke's brain is all fogged up with rage, a mental state that isn't good for firing a Reigun. At last, she darts away from her relaxed sitting position, visible as nothing more than a blur. 

Despite Yusuke's swagger at the beginning of this arc, I have a funny feeling he's not even CLOSE to completing training with Genkai. Just a hunch.

Yusuke basically splinters the wooden floor when he hits it and bounces right off again. When he's landed on his back, senseless, Genkai strolls up to him and continues her lecture. She says that even the undisciplined mind can tap potent power when it's seized by rage, but the more Yusuke concentrates with genuine will, the more power he can summon. She emphasizes emptying his mind, honing it to a single point, and believing. She then repeats a series of buzzwords to stick in his head though he's passed out, something the panel labels as "Sleep Learning". 

All her insistence on focus, concentration, harmonizing, and unification must have stuck with him after all, because back in the present, he's repeating the need for him to believe and hone his mind internally. Suzaku declares that it's about time for him to die, but Yusuke mentally rejects the notion that he should die again in a place and situation like this one. He balls his hand into a resolute fist and tells himself he's not going to die by THIS jerk. The very thought of getting offed by someone so lame is embarrassing. 

He's thinking on all the people counting on him at the moment, while Suzaku pulls back a crackling finger full of captured lightning, bidding him to die. Instead, Yusuke gives Suzaku a hearty "up yours" accompanied by his own crackling sound effect. 

Suzaku is in enraged disbelief yet again. This is just not his day. He demands to know how Yusuke could manage to summon enough aura to blast TWO of him like that, but Yusuke doesn't answer, instead bidding him not to worry because there's SO much more where that came from. The six Suzakus assemble once more, sparking and fizzing, with the stated intention of fulfilling Yusuke's apparent request for another collective round of the Lightning Shockwave. 

But Suzaku's finger is shorting, and he complains that HE wasted too much power holding Yusuke, needing to recharge. So you admit it? You were lying that your clones are entirely independent from you? 

Yusuke strikes a wide stance and pulls his fist back, surrounded with aura, and says it's too mad for Suzaku that he DOESN'T need a recharge. 

All the Suzakus are peppered with holes and fall backward, Murg calling out to him in horrified concern, and flying to hover over him. Yusuke falls to his knees, wobbling, muttering about surpassing himself until he falls forward in exhaustion. He haltingly complains about his weakened body not responding. 

He catches out of the corner of his eye something that shocks him and stops him worrying about himself dead. 

How does a Chipper Reaper BLEED???

Regardless of how it happened, Botan is so grievously injured that she's lost consciousness, and Keiko can't support her and she collapses onto her knees. Keiko dragged Yusuke's ass out of that fire, but she can't hold up Botan, dammit! The possessed Iwamoto points a mocking finger at them, admitting their cleverness in trying to outwit them, but saying they weren't quite clever ENOUGH. He tells them that there are DOZENS more insect zombies waiting outside, implying it's no use trying to escape out there again.

Yusuke is horrified by just how many of these possessed freaks are after JUST Keiko and Botan, and in the process recalls the whistle, that is lying on the floor at some distance. He crawls for it, reaching, insistent to himself that he has to destroy the damn thing fast. But a slippered and bangled foot comes stomping on his fingers, causing him to holler once more. He then growls in frustration up at his assailant.

This fucking guy.

Suzaku says this isn't over; though Yusuke ALMOST destroyed the entire troop of Suzakus with the powerful shotgun attack, Yusuke is STILL deficient, having missed one time too many. It doesn't look like he MISSED to me, from the panel above, but nevertheless, Suzaku persists. He kicks Yusuke, who rolls off with a yelp, and asserts that one of him is enough to finish Yusuke off - something that sounds awfully familiar. 

Yusuke pushes himself to his feet again, terminator that he is, and points out that Suzaku doesn't look too healthy himself, and they're well-matched now. Suzaku raises an arm, saying that Yusuke still doesn't understand. His hand glows, and a similar glowing orb rises out of the inert bodies of the other Suzakus lying around the chamber. Yusuke yells in indignation that Suzaku is drawing aura from his dead selves, the process of which is HEALING HIS WOUNDS. FUCK. 

Suzaku repeats what he told Yusuke before: that all of the Suzakus were real, and the one that remains standing can gather the aura of the others that have passed. I call hacks, but let's face it, this comic doesn't give a shit.

Stiiiiiiill not buying it. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I wasn't expecting that the memory Yusuke had at the beginning of the arc would turn out to be a hidden setup for the payoff here, and it's quite satisfying. It goes a ways to explaining how Yusuke can access his little bursts of energy, despite thinking he's spent moments before, and I appreciate the insight into Genkai's instruction on this point. To some extent, exercise of ANY kind requires pushing past known limits, whether it is a physical, mental, even spiritual effort. We all have some idea of what we THINK we can do, but until we probe past that conception of what's possible, it's always acting as a barrier to a true range of potential, imposed as much by ourselves as societal and cultural ideas of what is possible. It's hard to see the bars of that cage unless we get up close and test them, too. 

It's WAY more clear a concept than Suzaku's cute little infinite energy cheat. When he was complaining he didn't have enough energy to blast Yusuke with all his clones again, he said HE had wasted too much in holding Yusuke, which shouldn't have affected HIS particular aura if it was his two INDEPENDENT clones that were doing the holding, nor the other four who who standing back doing nothing at the time. But now, at the end of the chapter, he's right back to claiming that these guys are totally separate from him and that's why he can absorb all their energy back into himself and create a whole new set of clones. It seems awfully convenient that he's able to create all new clones out right off the bat, too, when he was drawing off DEAD doubles who shouldn't have been packed with enough energy to produce a fresh crop of LIVING ones too. Also, he said only ONE of him was sufficient to kill Yusuke now, so why did he feel the need to do this at all? Sus.

Also, I have an awful lot of questions about Botan and how she's manifesting in this world. I understand why she needs a physical body to do physical stuff and all that, but you'd think it would be a little hardier than this... Does Spirit World not have the ability to give her body more fortification like the demons seem to have? Did all her points go into spirit energy with none into decent built-in defense? Does she actually have all the same ORGANS and SYSTEMS that fragile-ass humans do???

Oversight. 

Inuyasha Manga: 342 Stolen Item

Make that plural. There are several items that disappear all the time around my house, and reappear in a couple of predictable corners at the back. No need for any detectives, since it's pretty obvious who the criminals are. The little creatures are always taking a fancy to wristbands, bracelets, pens, and lengths of string, which they carry off without so much as a second thought to where they actually belong. Then they gnaw and chew and scratch until the things are marred or destroyed outright in their misguided attempts to "play" with them. 

Look at these little monsters. Acting all innocent. But that's just the ones in MY house.

And ripping mine apart would be a bit of an overreaction. Not to mention quite upsetting.

Hakudoushi scoffs that Inuyasha's threat is only doable if he's able to use the full force of Tessaiga's power, a hard fact Inuyasha has no response to but a resentful glare. Kagome calls to him out of concern from the sidelines, Miroku also commenting on the worrisome situation of Inuyasha being almost swallowed up by the pieces of Mouryoumaru. Regardless of this and the sweat dripping at his temple, Inuyasha summons all the cockiness he can to yell at Mouryoumaru and his creator that they can just TRY to swallow him up, striking a solid wide stance with Tessaiga held out in front of him at the ready. 

This is probably the least surprising thing Inuyasha has ever done. Come on, Hakudoushi. 

Cut to little Kanna sitting on what looks like a set of stalagmites in a dark cave, cradling her mirror in her arms while the infant lays next to her with a dark orb sitting in its little hands. It glowers into the darkness, silently. However, there seems to be SOME kind of communication between it and Hakudoushi, because when we cut back to Hakudoushi, an exclamation point appears next to his impassive face, and he leaps off of Mouryoumaru between him at the incoming volley of diamond spears. Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou all gape in shock. 

Woooooow, what a BRAVE sacrifice. *eyeroll*

Despite how little it costs this heartless little bastard to get torn apart and congeal back together like a gelatinous mold, the peanut gallery seems quite shocked that Hakudoushi protected Mouryoumaru. Meanwhile, Inuyasha expresses alarm at the shredded flesh clinging to him loosening around his shoulders. It leaps off him and darts straight for Kagome, to the horror of Miroku and Kouga, whose reaction times are less than ideal in these circumstances. Inuyasha lurches toward Kagome as well, calling her name. 

But it turns out they were heading for a different target: Kouga, who leaps out of the way before they can slam into the ground where his jewel-enhanced ankles just were. Oh good, I was just wondering why the flesh strips were going for Kagome anyway. Kouga complains that Mouryoumaru's flesh is persistent in going after his Shikon shards. It's not like they're a couple of the ONLY ones left or anything. Wait...

Kagome aims an arrow at an oncoming swarm of flesh. 

You'd think after having to deal with shit like this for so long, they'd have come up with a viable strategy to counteract it by now. Oh, hang on, I forgot that RT wants us to believe it's all brand new or something.

Inuyasha calls her an idiot and shields her with his body while pushing her out of the way of the still advancing flesh strips. Kagome has a clear view over Inuyasha's shoulder, and no doubt is concerned HE'S going to get a blow in the back, but Miroku grunts and throws himself in between them and the onslaught, his staff raised to intercept it with a crackling energy. Another tendril of flesh slithers up from the ground and jabs him straight in the chest for his trouble.

That's gotta sting. Sango calls to Miroku and rushes to him, Inuyasha and Kagome asking if he's been stabbed through. I think you'd see a LOT of blood if that were the case, but I've also got the benefit of having read this comic before.

The flesh tendrils draw away from Miroku lying prone, and Hakudoushi's floating head chuckles darkly as all the scattered flesh flies back toward Mouryoumaru high in the sky. Kouga mumbles that the villains ran away, he and his underlings peering upward at where they had disappeared. Inuyasha and company are far more concerned with Miroku, all of them gathering around his fallen form and shouting his name for a response.

At first he just groans, but he soon sits up and assures them he's fine, since the tendril was soft when it struck him. Kagome asks WHY it would do that, which is a good question, considering that would have been a great opportunity to kill the pesky old priest. Miroku, however, asserts that their antagonist got them good, informing a shocked Inuyasha and Kagome that his crystal youki fragment was taken. Shitballs, Hakudoushi and Mouryoumaru KNEW about that???

Cut to the unnaturally jagged mouth of a cave.

This can't be the best environment in which to raise a baby.

Said baby holds the fuyouheki stone between its little hands quietly, eyes closed. Hakudoushi is still reconstituting himself, but he's reconstructed enough of his arm to hold out the youki crystal he stole to the infant, delivering it just like the little guy told him to, apparently. The baby silently opens his eyes, looking over at Hakudoushi, who is wordless as he looks down at the crystal until he notes that its youki color is disappearing. 

Kanna informs him that the crystal is a clue to finding that fuyouheki stone the infant is holding, making the youki of both vanish. After a pause, Hakudoushi draws the conclusion that Inuyasha and crew will no longer be able to chase the baby now that they've lost it. Yeah, it's not like there's a whole pile of those youki crystals just lying on the ground in the hills or anything. 

Back at the former site of battle, Kouga is wishing Kagome farewell, holding her hands in his as he expresses some worry about leaving her, though. Kagome gives him a forced smile, Inuyasha seething behind her about how LONG this goodbye is lasting. Finally, he gets impatient and takes a swipe at Kouga, who jumps out of the way in time to avoid a earth-shattering blow to the ground on which he stood. 

Kouga takes off in his typical whirlwind fashion, Kagome waving to his dust and Inuyasha crouched in sullen irritation. He looks up at her and tries to tell her what she shouldn't be doing, much like Kouga's lengthy hand-holding sessions, but Kagome cuts off his lecture by saying his name and he questions what she's stopping him to say. Red. Flag.

Swerve. I thought Inuyasha was about to get his face smashed into the ground again. From Miroku's shoulder, Shippou expresses some confusion that Kagome and Inuyasha aren't fighting right now, but Miroku shushes him, and Sango characterizes this as a "let sleeping dogs lie" kinda thing. No need to ENCOURAGE that bad blood, kiddo, GEEEEEEZ. 

Sango changes the subject with deliberate abruptness, saying this Mouryoumaru thing worries her. Miroku agrees, pointing out that Hakudoushi sacrificed his body to protect him. About as much of a sacrifice as going to the hair dresser for a light trim, in my opinion. But his assumption that Hakudoushi couldn't afford for Mouryoumaru to be destroyed is a fair one regardless. 

Meanwhile, a fully-restored Hakudoushi stands at the mouth of the jagged cave, announcing that he's leaving Mouryoumaru here, and Kanna can do whatever she wants with him. The infant peers up at the massive figure crouched next to him, and Kanna picks him up before addressing Mouryoumaru. 

"Wanna little snackie?" 

She tells Mouryoumaru that she'll give him a soul, but surely she's not referring to that of the baby? I don't know, this comic is weird. Mouryoumaru looks down at Kanna wordlessly, because, no doubt, he doesn't have opinions or a voice without a soul yet. 

Narrow sky transition panel to Sesshoumaru on a grassy overlook, gazing up at the sky, appearing contemplative. Probably had a fresh puff of something psychedelic. Jaken approaches from where the Two-Headed Dragon lays on the grass and asks what's up with his master, and Sesshoumaru briefly informs him that something is coming. Jaken barely makes a confused noise before a heavy wind knocks him off his feet. 

My girl Kagura has arrived, casually greeting Sesshoumaru with a single word. He remains stoic and silent, as always.

What an offer. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? As has become somewhat usual, sadly, I'm a little annoyed with how Inuyasha and company handled this battle. My disappointment comes mostly from how familiar this all seems to Naraku's general M.O., and how they haven't really come up with a viable strategy against it by now. The botched outcome of this, from Inuyasha getting covered in absorbing flesh to Kouga getting chased around the field to Miroku losing their youki crystal, might have worked earlier in the series, but being almost 350 chapters in, I expect to see them perform a bit more competently than this. Rather than this seeming like terrible misfortune, it strikes me as unsatisfying. 

I think it comes down to the fact that, rather than RT making Inuyasha and his team stronger and learning genuine lessons from their fights, she's begun to give Tessaiga simple upgrades. Maybe these are meant to make visible how Inuyasha himself is growing, but HE isn't really changing at all, and that's only part of the reason why it comes across as more cheap than anything. Inuyasha HIMSELF could be figuring out how to fight Naraku and his minions, but instead he's fighting with KAGOME about her behavior in regards to another guy. 

And while I appreciate that Kagome decided to do the pragmatic thing and cut off their argument at the end by just thanking Inuyasha for his prompt action at the end of the battle, it's also just a tad problematic. He really needs to learn that criticizing Kagome for appeasing Kouga isn't the answer to their relationship issues, and he's in no real position to put himself in the patronizing position of telling her how she handles this weirdo she barely has to interact with anyway. Granted, there are a LOT of problems with Kagome swinging from sullen rage to cute appeasement with ALL of the boys vying for her affection, and this is actually one of the points - how is Inuyasha SUPPOSED to understand that his little lectures don't help if she rewards him with dropping the subject every time he does something nice?

It's a setup for a very unhealthy dynamic, where Kagome nurses a quiet resentment, and Inuyasha starts pointing out Kagome's flaws whenever that resentment explodes out of her. A far cry from that surprisingly adult conversation they had ages ago about their genuine feelings about the situation between each of them and Kikyou. Can we go back to that, please? I really want to like these two as a couple, but there's some red flags growing to a worrying size here. 

Anyway, Sesshoumaru's back. I don't know why I'm always taken-aback by reminders that he EXISTS, but there he is. Existing. 

Happy 2026, friends!

YuYu Hakusho Manga: 042 Demonic Array of Darkness!!

First lightning, then darkness. We're running the gamut of all possible presence of light, aren't we? Next thing you know, someone's going to be fully simulating daylight. Frankly, the place could use a bit of sunlight, from what I've seen. It's freaking DISMAL there, so it's no wonder the demons want to have access to the human world so bad. Sure, I'll believe they want to eat humans, but there's probably at least a small part of that desire that's motivated by the want to absorb a little vitamin D. 

Unless the title just refers to Yusuke putting Suzaku's lights out the old-fashioned way. 

Yusuke does his rapid punch volley again, but Suzaku remarks with alarm that he's quite a bit faster this time. You'd think wearing shields on his fists might slow him down a little, but then again, I don't imagine aura produces air resistance. Yusuke smacks Suzaku's wrist, the one of the hand that holds the whistle, and Suzaku curses as it flips out of his grip. Immediately ceasing his assault, Yusuke dives for the falling whistle, but Suzaku is able to elbow him out of the way right in the FACE, snagging the instrument before Yusuke. 

The kid recovers quickly, pushing himself from the floor and demanding Suzaku give the whistle over. He swings his leg around to sweep a kick behind Suzaku's feet and unsteady him, then as he wobbles, Yusuke grabs the bulb of the whistle with the short branches extended out from it. But when Suzaku holds up his opposite hand glowing with a remnant of captured lighting, Yusuke hops backward again, alarmed at how close he was to getting his ass fried again.

Suzaku taunts Yusuke about how badly he wants the whistle, asking if Keiko is important to him or something. Uh, DUH, dude. Otherwise you wouldn't have chosen her as a target. Still, Yusuke insists it's none of Suzaku's business how he feels about Keiko, holding up his glowing fist again. 

After a page-and-a-half spread explaining the arc so far to any Johnny-Come-Latelys, Yusuke freezes with disbelief as he glimpses the massive screen behind Suzaku, featuring Botan and Keiko. It also shows what's close on their heels:

Yikes at the scissors and pencil. That would be PAINFUL.

Suzaku says he can tell by Yusuke's expression that the drama in Human World has reached the peak of drama, admitting that Yusuke's two friends have escaped his minions at the moment, but not for long. He invites Yusuke to continue their little scuffle, seeming to be pleased with how challenging the whole thing has been thus far to fend of the CHILD with one hand while keeping the whistle out of his reach. Murg offers again to hold the whistle, but again, Suzaku declines. He reasons that Yusuke would then attack Murg, and she'd be helpless in that situation. He's definitely in love with this bird, so he has NO ROOM to mock Yusuke for having a thing for Keiko. 

Oh come on, of COURSE he has another crazy move. OF COURSE he does.

Back at the school, Iwamoto's scissors are shown to make contact with something, pebbles of some sort flying. Keiko cringes and screams, her uniform sleeve torn and blood spurting from the tear as Iwamoto pries his jaw open to laugh raucously. Neither one of them are missing weird chunks, so I'm still confused over the first image, until Botan holds out a hand to Keiko and pulls her into an open door, leaving Iwamoto to stab at the wall again. Thank goodness it was just drywall.

Once the door is closed, Iwamoto slams his still bleeding fists on it repeatedly, yelling that Keiko is trapped and has nowhere to run. He asserts that she'll pay for hitting a teacher. My guy, you were going to murder her BEFORE she hit you, don't try and put this shit on HER behavior!

He's got his OWN problems, sadly. He's sweating it up as he looks at TWO Suzakus standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Then there's THREE, while one of them supposes that Yusuke will wonder which one of these is the REAL one. I'd guess it's the one holding the whistle, since IT doesn't seem to have been cloned along with Suzaku. Apparently, I'm WRONG. The second in the line disillusions both me and Yusuke from this line of thinking - he says that he's in fact splitting himself into SEVEN equally powerful bodies, the beauty of this technique being that ALL of the Suzakus are quite real. 

Ugh, ONE of him was already lame enough. 

Yusuke is horrified at the sheer number of this guy, as Suzaku says that six of him will more than suffice to take down this child. I feel like if you need more than one of you to defeat a CHILD, it's probably a skill issue, honestly. He impresses upon Yusuke that this isn't a cheap illusion - every single one of these Suzakus has independent with their own will. However, at least the two of these we see in the next panel are in sync when they pull back their glowing fingers to prepare to attack, and say that they're more than happy to coordinate. 

Yusuke faces six identical Suzaku clones all suspended in the air as they charge up their electric assault, and can't help but utter a slow regretful trailing statement about it. He braces himself regardless, legs tented in a defensive posture and fists still sparking with aura. 

Times 6. Coming straight at Yusuke. Who can do nothing but stand and grind his teeth in horrible anticipation. 

One of the attacks glances off his shielded fist, another couple he dodges, and as another comes at him, he recognizes that he can't possibly avoid them all. Then he's speared straight through the shoulder, coughing up blood. He falls back in agony, Suzaku drawling about how his lightning blows could crack diamonds, and it's impressive Yusuke dodged five of them, but one is plenty to kill him. I mean, he took ONE before, and that didn't do the trick. Your memory taking a vacation, my guy?

Suzaku walks past what he's very stupidly assuming is a corpse, muttering that he's going to take care of Yusuke's companions now, and all of them will make a fine meal for the rotten scamps he's no doubt promised them to. He suddenly stops though, when he perceives Yusuke staggering to his feet again and demanding the whistle. AGAIN. Suzaku twists around, grinning a pleased little smile. 

Running out of ideas?

Yusuke has collapsed back onto the floor again, panting, while Suzaku insists that he just doesn't see how someone else's life could be THAT important. Never mind that he understands it ENOUGH to use the threat on Keiko's life against Yusuke. He says he's all the more eager to watch this Keiko girl die, but isn't really SHOWING a greater excitement at the prospect. He's just as bland as he ever was. 

Suzaku demands Yusuke get up.

Very elaborate offer for Yusuke, yeah yeah yeah. Ummmm... Are you resting your arms on LITERAL BONERS????

Unambiguous heads of penises with actual ribbed shafts???

Suzaku, dude, why are your PROPS more interesting than you?

Okay, I'll try to move past it. Held up on his knees by two of the clone Suzakus, Yusuke smokes and sizzles, but promises to kill Suzaku in half a delirium. Suzaku narrows his empty eyes, complaining about how disrespectful Yusuke's attitude is, and claims fear and humility must be his posture in his communications with the great Suzaku of the penis chair. One Suzaku yanks Yusuke's head back, and Yusuke lets out a grunt before he's fried on either side with electricity again by the Suzakus restraining him. 

As Yusuke screams in agony, the Suzaku in the erection seat drawls that the shock treatment is meant to get Yusuke's undivided attention. Honestly, I think it's the only thing that could DISTRACT me from the chair's double-membered arms. Suzaku instructs Yusuke to look upon Keiko on the screen, but his uninterrupted screaming makes me think he's not really able to focus. Regardless, Suzaku poetically describes the girls cornered in the classroom watching the splintering door as the curtain rising on the final act of the untenable position he's constructed for them, and they can only despair now. He estimates the door won't last a minute, raising a wine glass from the spindle table next to him. Thankfully, the liquid in the glass is a darker shade, so I'm not inclined to make an assumption about where those contents came from. 

Suzaku demands that Yusuke watch every second of Keiko being torn to pieces. She and Botan look with anxiety toward the the door, the angle of the screen focused full on their faces. Yusuke's head is held up so that, despite his continual electrocution, he can keep his wide eyes on Keiko. Suzaku claims Yusuke is a lucky man, being both the audience and protagonist for such a stirring tragedy. The tragedy being, of course, that Suzaku didn't use his abundance of creepy resources to just make demon porn. Imagine being scarred in your youth by stumbling across the internet classic "Two Cocks One Chair". 

Yusuke wonders if this is how it all ends, his brain already struggling to articulate his inability to think as electricity courses through it and the rest of his body. 

At least Suzaku has an excuse for getting so much pleasure out of this. Ordering what he misread as a "GAMER chair" on AliExpress really paid off in the end, didn't it?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I don't believe for one second that all of Suzaku's clones are independent individuals separate from him. Not only does this sound exactly like what someone would say if they DID throw out a cheap illusion to fool you, but it seems EXTREMELY risky to just create clones of yourself to accomplish a specific task like this. When one is in a leadership/dictatorship position like Suzaku is, there's already a number of rivals jockeying for your role and trying to pull off coups every five seconds - why would you want SEVERAL someones who look, act, and THINK exactly like yourself in existence who can anticipate your every thought before you have it and supplant you at a moment's notice without any fanfare? Getting rid of them after this little chore would be super difficult for exactly the same reason. I just don't see this technique being worth pulling out even for a long-term complicated plan, let alone for getting rid of a human kid, UNLESS it really is just an illusion and Suzaku lied. 

Then again, Suzaku doesn't seem to have the capability of being truly CONCERNED about anything, really. His expressions of shock are so brief and mild that you'd think he really were just watching a B-grade horror film rather than fighting to get access to a high-resource area. There's something very removed, remote about his reactions to Yusuke being stronger and more resilient than he anticipated that is almost... suspicious. Perhaps, if it's true that indeed his clones are independent of him, is he perhaps ALSO a clone? Maybe of a whole line of Suzaku clones created over centuries? What if that's the reason that he's acting like none of this is affecting him directly, because his identity is completely derived from an original that is so remote as to be a whim? 

Also:

... Yeah. 

Anyway, hope everyone had a good holiday if they celebrated, and hope you got as much of a kick out of that chair's armrests as I did!

Inuyasha Manga: 341 Pieces

One of these days, if I can carve out enough time, I intend to go through a closet that has been accumulating junk pretty much since we moved into this house. There are vinyl figures, old clothes that are no longer worn, gifts that we never ended up using, and knick-knacks whose origins we don't even really remember. It's frustrating how, no matter how mindful I am about my consumption levels, I always seem to accumulate a ton of junk in the course of regular life. It doesn't help that I have a slight tendency to hold on to items I think MAYBE might be useful one day. You know, if I am in a very specific situation or want to do a specific kind of project. It's wholly irrational, since there's barely enough time to clean these days, let alone take on new little crafts with pieces of garbage I hold onto in the hope they'll be creatively satisfying. 

If the pile of junk grows high enough, I might even have to worry about something similar to this. 

Won't look NEARLY as cool as that, though. 

Chuckling, Hakudoushi asks why Inuyasha and company down below are so shocked, since they know that he made Mouryoumaru from various youkai parts. He says adding parts for flying was pretty trivial. Mouryoumaru's branching tentacle limb still embedded in the ground where it punched in front of him, Inuyasha asks who Hakudoushi thinks is so shocked. The tentacle limb whips up and around, jabbing at Inuyasha, who asserts that Mouryoumaru just flew to dodge, and there's no way he can stand up to Kongousouha. 

Without finding some way to prevent him dodging again, you're kinda just wasting your energy, aren't you?

Kouga's underlings are amazed regardless because of how that tentacle limb was blown away, but Kouga points out that it was JUST the arm that was destroyed with a scoff. Miroku and Sango look up, the former questioning if the main body escaped. Indeed, it still hovers up in the air, if not a bit higher. In a rage, Inuyasha demands the bastard get his ass back down there, as if he'll descend to die at the deployment of a firm tone. 

A clump of spheres starts growing out from behind Mouryoumaru, then plummet to the ground. Miroku identifies it as haku in disbelief, both he and Inuyasha gaping up at the spectacle. The spheres splat over the ground along with strips of discarded flesh, and Miroku warns Inuyasha to be careful of all the pieces of arm that were embedded in the haku, Inuyasha scoffing that this is just a waste of time. As the tentacle limb reforms around the haku and jabs toward him, he declares he'll blow it away every time. 

Cool. Still only targeting one part of it. And Inuyasha still thinks the OTHER guys are the suckers too. At least until THIS happens:

Let's face it, he really should have figured this would happen. Yet he expresses disbelief when looking at the tentacle digits sticking out of the wound in his arm. Kouga's underlings shout that smashing the arm won't work, looking up at the shredded flesh regrouping around the balls of haku midair. Once it coalesces enough, it launches at Kouga this time, who leaps out of the way handily. But he does note bitterly that the target is still his Shikon fragments, judging by the aim of the tentacles for his ankles, presumably. 

Inuyasha is alarmed by this statement, as though he JUST remembered the Shikon shards were still being hunted by Hakudoushi and Mouryoumaru's boss. He's not really shining intellectually today, is he? As he's shrugging off the remaining strips of tentacle draped over his back, he's even MORE alarmed that these haku-enabled tentacles are snaking along the ground toward Kagome now. He calls her name and lunges forward to save her.

Kouga yells at Inuyasha over his shoulder that he better not get near Kagome when he still has the tentacles on him. Maybe he should keep clear of EVERYONE until he finds where he left his brain and shoves it back into his head. Because he doesn't seem to have clocked that he even still has Mouryoumaru's flesh riding on him, feeling around for it curled over his shoulder, much like Sesshoumaru's fluffy accessory. 

His fingers sink into the flesh, and Kouga's underlings observe this, telling him entirely too late that he mustn't touch Mouryoumaru's skin, a trap he won't get out of if he gets caught. Inuyasha's ALREADY got Mouryoumaru's flesh knitting over his hand, and barks at the underlings to speak up sooner next time. Kagome gapes over at him in horror, watching him yank his hand back with a curse. 

Got no time when you're dodging slime. 

Sango reiterates what the underlings have already discovered: the body of Mouryoumaru hardens and softens depending on if it's attacking or defending. As the pieces of flesh coalesce in the air again, Miroku rips the sealing beads off his right hand and declares he can at least reduce the amount that's available for the assault. Way to take some responsibility for controlling the amount of creepy wandering tentacles, Miroku! Maybe one day you'll realize you can do that with your own hands too. 

Hakudoushi pouts and swears a little at Mouryoumaru's flesh being sucked into the Kazaana, but he sends out the EXACT countermeasure to this that you presume he would. The Saimyoushou come buzzing in from behind Mouryoumaru (or perhaps from inside him, since they appear out of nowhere otherwise), and Shippou performs a similar appearing act on Miroku's shoulder, warning him that their venom poses a risk while Sango identifies the insects with distress. As if Miroku's not already echoing Hakudoushi's curse and wrapping his hand back in the beads. 

Inuyasha acknowledges that the clouds of flesh hovering around are BARELY lessened, but he still figures it's a little better at least. Still, he's uneasy, no doubt because Kouga is still leaping here and there with Kagome in his arms, trying to outrun the attacks of the tentacles. Kagome says SHE needs to do something about the remaining flesh around them, telling Kouga to put her down. He responds with disbelief at the request, and Inuyasha is no less floored by it, gaping in her direction while she explains that the repeated physical attacks against this youkai aren't doing the trick. Kouga asks if she means her arrows can work instead, and she affirms this. 

So Kouga does one final leap out of the way, sets her down like she asked, and she nocks an arrow quickly.

Sango looks impressed, announcing Kagome did it, and Kouga's underlings gush about how Kouga and Kagome are in perfect sync. This ticks off Inuyasha, who knocks them over both their heads in quick succession. Kagome rushes forward, calling Inuyasha's name, but he yells at her not to come near him, a plea Two-Tone echoes as he holds her back by her arm, Mohawk pointing out that some of Mouryoumaru's flesh is still attached to Inuyasha's shoulder. 

Mouryoumaru and Hakudoushi are still up in the air, carefree as can be, no doubt.

More likely to just get scattered around again. 

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Mouryoumaru LOOKS cool, but by no means was this chapter engaging. The characters act like the soft flesh that absorbs turning hard to attack is somehow NOVEL, but we've seen this ALL before. Naraku has been pulling this exact thing for AGES now, and it's a little disingenuous to present it as some new set of powers no one's ever seen before. Even detaching parts of his limbs and attacking independently from his main body is very much familiar ground by now. 

This is probably the most blatant indication I've seen YET that RT ran out of ideas and is doing some heavy recycling. It wouldn't have to be a terrible thing - after all, Hakudoushi is an offspring of Naraku, and since Hakudoushi is familiar at least with his own form and function, it would make sense that he would model his creation after that particular example. But there's no attempt at that simple explanation and instead the chapter is trying to convince us that it's a brand new thing that is completely shocking. 

Just a strange direction to take, honestly.