Inuyasha Manga: 002 Inuyasha Revived

Well, yeah Inuyasha's revived. If he wasn't he would have to have been pinned to that tree all the way up until modern times. That would be a little weird, huh? Everyone just walking past this non-decomposing corpse nailed to this tree for generations, because he's just always been there and everyone just accepts it as a feature of the shrine or something. Of course, if that's the case, then it wouldn't be weird by definition. It would be perfectly normal. What IS normal anyway?

Oh boy, I best be getting on to the chapter before I start spouting Plato or some shit.

Sure you don't still have that keychain, Kagome? Maybe that's what Six-Arms McGee is talking about. Oh yeah, because Kagome is the worst at remembering things her grandfather says, she wouldn't be sure, would she?

Six-Arms McGee's gigantic centipede body whooshes upward, and Kagome is thrown forward onto her face. Why didn't Six-Arms just grab her if she's that fast? It whooshes over her again and she's forced to duck, throwing her arms over her head. Someone asks her what she's doing fighting such a weak centipede thing, and she looks up to see that she's landed right where she was before she was hog-tied and taken to the village. The boy she saw pinned to the tree is still there, but this time his eyes are open and he's smirking down at her.

Kagome is stunned that he's now able to talk when he didn't bother to wake up before to chat. What was the catalyst for him to wake up now as opposed to before when she was playing with his ears anyway? The only thing that's different is that she's being chased by Six-Arms McGee, who is strangely absent in her assault when Inuyasha tells Kagome to just kill Six-Arms like she killed him, calling her Kikyou in the process. If she were to "kill" Six-Arms McGee like you, Inuyasha, then Six-Arms wouldn't even be dead.

Kagome asks Inuyasha what he means by calling her Kikyou, because that's not her name. Priorities, Kagome, you can correct him and introduce yourself later. Inuyasha seems to agree with me, because he warns her that something's coming, and just as she looks up...

Those harpoons in the corner there embed themselves in Six-Arms McGee's side and the men who fired them yank back on the ropes attached. Kagome stares back at the scene with relief, muttering about how she's been saved.

Inuyasha scoffs and tells "Kikyou" that he's disappointed in her, and Kagome turns around to glare at him. She gets up and climbs to bring her glare to his level when she tells him that he's mistaking her for someone else. Can you blame him, Kagome? You've already been told that you resemble Kaede's sister, who is named Kikyou, and how is this fucker stuck to a tree supposed to know who you are anyhow?

Inuyasha scoffs again (he'll do that a lot) and says that no one else would smell so disgusting before trailing off. He gives her a few more sniffs, before realizing that she is NOT in fact Kikyou.

Oh snap, that was a sick burn. Especially taking into account Kaede's command that Kagome try to look more intelligent earlier.

A couple of village dudes get thrown to the base of the tree and Kagome is reminded how there are people who are having ACTUAL problems right now. In fact, she becomes one of those people in the next panel as Six-Arms McGee grabs her waist and tries to drag her off. Kagome reaches out to latch onto Inuyasha's hair to prevent herself from being carried away, and as she's grunting at Six-Arms to let HER go, Inuyasha whimpers that she should let HIM go.

Meanwhile, one of the villagers draws Kaede's attention to the fact that Inuyasha is awake. She's pretty freaked out by this, because apparently the seal he's under should have lasted forever, but here he is, chattering away.

Back at the tree, Six-Arms McGee says that Kagome's body is just an obstacle, so she decides to just gobble her up whole as her mouth expands and fangs sprout past her chin. SO COOL. While Kagome is concentrating on the fact that she's about to be eaten, Inuyasha is only interested in the words "Shikon no Tama".

Kagome demands that Six-Arms McGee stop creepily talking about eating her, and thrusts her palm in Six-Arms' face just like she did in the well. Six-Arms is thrust back by a blast of light, also like before, and ALL of her arms tear away from her this time. Kagome is mystified by this strange power she's exhibited twice now, as are the onlooking villagers.

Ooooh, that's gotta sting. As Kagome drops to the ground, reaching to grasp at her wound, a ball pops out of it in a trail of blood. The villagers note this, and Kaede immediately identifies the object as the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha stares at the jewel flying through the air, and it lands in the grass next to a groaning Kagome.

How did this thing defy all detection for 15 years? I mean, girl must have had x-rays or something done at least ONCE in her life before now. I refuse to believe that she's somehow walked around with this jewel in her body and not one doctor giving her a physical before wondered what that thing was.

Kagome has a look of disbelief on her face as well as she stares at the bloody jewel in front of her. She wonders if that really came from inside her while Six-Arms McGee declares that she knew all along Kagome was hiding the jewel in her body. Someone else states that the jewel belongs to him; Inuyasha, of course, tells an incredulous and perplexed Kagome to hand the Shikon no Tama over to him. Never mind that she's probably in a bit of pain and isn't in the best shape to just get up and give it to him.

Six-Arms McGee thinks she can help with part of that, at least. Her body sweeps Kagome up and coils around the Goshinboku, essentially tying Kagome to the tree on top of Inuyasha. I think she's trying to make some sort of gourmet demon/human wrap for when she makes a break for it with the jewel or something. Delicious.

And hilarious, because Six-Arms McGee recognizes Inuyasha. She had heard of a "hanyou" brat who was after the Shikon no Tama some time ago, and asks if he was that brat. Inuyasha doesn't look too happy with this description as he leans forward to glare at Six-Arms. Kagome looks up at Inuyasha and wonders just what the hell he is anyway.

Inuyasha grins and calls Six-Arms a bitch that he could beat easily when he's fighting for reals. He can fight seriously anytime he wants, guys, he just doesn't feel like it right now. Kagome calls his bluff, saying that he talks a big game, but is he really as strong as he wants everyone to believe? After a pause from Inuyasha, Six-Arms McGee mocks him by asking if he can even move with his power being sealed like it is. She encourages him to just sit back, relax, and watch her burn the world as she sticks out her Gene Simmons tongue once more, licking up that jawbreaker of a jewel. Inuyasha curses, eyes wide and staring while she licks up his precious. I KNOW, RIGHT? It's so GROSS!

Oh, he's not talking about her creepy tongue.

The villagers, just standing around watching the show at this point, unnecessarily narrate how Six-Arms McGee ate the jewel. One of them asks Kaede what Six-Arms will become, but all Kaede can say is that this can't be. All that she needs now is to be naked without her homework. This is a nightmare, right?

First, the arms that Kagome blew off before hover back to Six-Arms' body and reattach themselves to her, an action Kagome states in disbelief. If she pulls off a bug's legs, she expects that bug to remain forever crippled, I guess. A close-up on Six-Arms McGee's face shows that some sort of high-pitched sound is coming from her, and then...

WOAH! I don't think that beauty mask did you much good there, girl!

Six-Arms is delighted at how she's returned to full strength and Kagome is disturbed how Six-Arms can be HAPPY in that state. Typical teenager, thinking that having perfect skin and pendulous breasts is the only way to be happy. I guess she expected a reaction more like this:

No such luck, I'm afraid! Six-Arms McGee tightens her centipede body's grip on the tree, and Kagome groans from the pressure. She grunts that she's being strangled, but I'd say it's probably more like being CRUSHED. Inuyasha, who seems perfectly comfortable being in the center of this deadly hug, asks Kagome if she can pull the arrow out of his chest. Kagome seems confused as she looks back up at Inuyasha, but pulls her arm out of the grip of Six-Arms to reach for the arrow after a moment of consideration.

Kaede shouts at her NOT to pull it out, though, shouting that the arrow is the seal on Inuyasha's powers and he mustn't be freed. Kaede, I love your awesome cool eyepatch, but you and your village men aren't doing SHIT to help Kagome. Why SHOULDN'T she enlist the help of some other guy who says he can get rid of the threat, regardless of whether or not you like him?

Inuyasha asks if Kaede is half-asleep, or if she just wants to be eaten by Six-Arms McGee. He says that if Six-Arms completely digests the power of the Shikon no Tama, there will be no stopping it, over a backlit vision of Six-Arms flexing through her grotesque transformation. Inuyasha looks down at Kagome and asks her if she's prepared to die right there with him.

Well hell no! Kagome doesn't know most of what's happening, but she does know that she wants to live. Also, that dying with this jerk-ass is probably not the best way to die anyway. She reaches up and grips the arrow, intending to revive those sealed Inuyasha powers. A light emanates from the arrow, and a mysterious wind that blows back Inuyasha's bangs. Squeezing the arrow apparently causes it to just vanish, which surprises Kaede and the villagers. Kagome basically played Six-Arms McGee's part, but with the arrow instead of people.

That is... quite the face you're making there, dude.

He jumps in front of Six-Arms, hunched on all fours. Six-Arms McGee curses him and calls him a brat, but Inuyasha just tells her to GET SOME.

Man, what was she made of? Meatloaf that had been put in a sink to sit in a bath of water all day? Nasty. These blobby bits of flesh that he tore apart rain all around him as he lands perfectly on his feet, grinning. Kagome is sitting on the ground behind him, hiding her agape mouth with a demure hand. She's impressed with how strong he is.

Just sayin'. It doesn't last long, though, because Six-Arms McGee's skull is still twitching and Kagome notices this with a flinch and comment of disbelief. Keade asks her if she sees a part that's glowing, because the Shikon no Tama should be there. As Kagome is looking, Kaede goes on to say that if they don't remove the jewel, Six-Arms will reconstitute herself and attack again. Kagome thinks she MUST be joking, but as the pieces of the monster twitch even harder, Kagome knows Kaede is dead serious. She identifies a lump of flesh some ways away that's glowing and points it out to Kaede. They kneel next to it to pull the jewel out and the flesh surrounding it evaporates, as well as all the flesh around Six-Arms McGee's bones.

Kagome stares at the jewel in her palm, muttering about how it makes youkai stronger. Off-panel, Inuyasha says it's a useless thing to a human.

He wants to finish that burglary Kikyou interrupted all those years ago. The draw of this bling is strong.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It was MOSTLY paced well, though there were a few points in which Inuyasha and Kagome were talking and the centipede monster COULD have attacked. I know that these two characters are the mains, and what they're saying is important and all, but it's conspicuous when even a villain who has NO REASON to care is pausing to let them finish a sentence.

I'm also not crazy about the fact that the Shikon no Tama was in Kagome's body and had to be ripped out. As I said above, it's just not possible that no one would have noticed that she had this strange foreign object lodged in her abdomen for FIFTEEN WHOLE YEARS. Yes, I realize this was proof that she's Kikyou's reincarnation, but it has very clumsy implications. It's not just the fact that no doctor noticed this, but also that demons should have been chasing Kagome around for her whole life if this was the case. It gives me the impression that the jewel just appeared on that fifteenth birthday arbitrarily, which just makes me ask more questions. I would have preferred being in doubt that she was Kikyou reborn a bit longer in order for a more plausible set-up with the jewel to take the scene.

For example, off the top of my head, instead of Kagome's grandfather mass-producing fake Shikon no Tamas for the shrine, maybe it appeared the same day she was born and he's showing it to her. Maybe he's been purifying it himself for some time, because that's just what he does as a priest, and he's aware of the demonic activity around it. Maybe Kagome took it because she thought it would be a nice thing to wear on her birthday and she doesn't believe all the mumbo-jumbo that her grandfather spouts.

That would make her seem a tad petty and selfish, but most teenagers are, and it would give her a nice flaw to work through in the rest of the story. But that's just how I would have done it. Whatevz.