Inuyasha Manga: 113 The Attack

Attack indeed. I've never seen so many people pushing through a line of holiday diseases at once. It's like someone dropped a biological weapon on my friends and family. I must have come in at the end of the ordeal, because I didn't get sick. I DID manage to get one of those annoying inflamed taste buds on the tip of my tongue, which is stinging like the Dickens, but considering the rash of laryngitis and flu going around, I came out of my vacation relatively unscathed.

And now that you know I spent the past couple of weeks holding my sleeve over my nose in fear I'd catch something, let's check in with Inuyasha and company, shall we?

Gee, how'd she guess?

Inuyasha confirms this, and the old woman says that she thought that was the case, all while Jinenji sits folded up in the hut next to them, FAR too big for the place. No wonder he'd rather be futzing around in the garden. She points out that Inuyasha's appearance is "half-transformed" though his face is pretty enough. Inuyasha doesn't look flattered in the slightest by the compliment, although that might be because Kagome doesn't leave room for him to do so before yanking on one of his ears and asking if they're what the old woman means by "half-transformed". And she was wondering why Inuyasha wasn't ECSTATIC to be alone with her in the last chapter.

While Inuyasha glares with annoyance at Kagome's grabbiness, the old woman says that half-youkai is a good guess where he's concerned. She refers to the folded and uncomfortable-looking Jinenji as a half-youkai as well, and cites it as the reason that the villagers treat them so badly. Kagome asks with a look of sympathy if Jinenji is being picked-on, but the old woman says it's more like attempted murder than bullying a lot of the time.

Jinenji apologizes to her for being the reason she's going through all this trouble, but her hard look softens when she looks at him and asks him what he's saying. She tells him he's done nothing wrong, and that his father was a wonderful and kind youkai. Inuyasha and Kagome lean in, eyes wide as the old woman begins to reminisce with her eyes closed about a time when she was about Kagome's age. Kagome points at herself like there's anyone ELSE the old woman could be referring to.

Anyway, the old woman launches into a flashback in which a much younger her is leaning on a hillside with an injured ankle. She's being approached by a glowing, light-haired dude carrying a staff, who is Jinenji's father, saving her.

What's this? An old lady getting all hot and bothered about an a romance in her youth? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

Kagome hunches, blushing at the brazen nature of the story. Inuyasha just wears a sweatdrop while he asks the old woman for some clarification on a particular detail: that means she's the human parent, right? She asks him what else he was thinking with a nasty glare, while Kagome thinks that she can't be a mountain witch, heart pounding and sweatdropping like crazy.

Outside, Jinenji stands stooped over the garden, still towering over Kagome and Inuyasha next to him like the giant he is. He plucks a plant and holds it out to his guests in the palm of his hands, saying that it's the antidote and is safe to drink if the leaves are boiled. Kagome looks at Jinenji with gratitude as she accepts the plant. Jinenji's mother tells them to get out of here now that they have what they came for, before they get caught up in the whole rotten mess.

Inuyasha and Kagome stand and stare. In the next panel, they're walking on the outskirts of the village, Kagome asking if he really thinks they should just leave Jinenji like that. Inuyasha asks Kagome what she means, and glares out of his periphery in her direction while she lays out the situation plainly - the villagers are all but convinced that Jinenji is eating people, but she thinks he's kind despite his size. Inuyasha scoffs, snapping that Jinenji is being taken advantage of by the villagers. Kagome utters a questioning noise, but Inuyasha doesn't have time to elaborate before they overhear someone saying that they've brought every spear and sword they have.

Yeah, turns out the old woman wasn't kidding about that whole attempted murder bit.

Kagome runs over to the villagers, demanding they hold on a moment. One of the villagers recognizes them from before, glowering at Kagome while she asks if they're planning on attacking Jinenji. The villager says that OF COURSE they are, because that's apparently what RATIONAL people do when they suspect their neighbor of being a bloodthirsty monster. Kagome protests that there's no evidence that Jinenji is killing anyone, but the villager shouts that it has to be him.

But no, see, this HAS to be the retaliation of a mother and son who despise the villagers! It's the only explanation! Inuyasha calls them all bastards for picking on Jinenji, presumably so much that they realize that there would be a reason for retaliation in the first place. Regardless, they act stupid at the accusation. Kagome says Inuyasha's name, but he's not paying much attention, busy telling the villagers that whatever's going on they have to get the real culprit behind these killings.

The villagers ask if Inuyasha is saying he'll catch whoever is behind the murders. They aren't answered outright, because Kagome turns to Inuyasha and volunteers to return to Jinenji's field. Inuyasha says her name like a question, as she addresses the villagers again with the plea not to attack Jinenji before Inuyasha comes back from his sleuthing. She promises that Inuyasha will bust up the whole village if she's injured in an attack. Inuyasha blushes, looking indignantly at her for her assumption. She asks if he WOULDN'T run rampant at her injury, and he stutters that he MIGHT. All the while, the villagers whisper that this Inuyasha fellow seems a bit unreliable and wishy-washy.

The game is afoot, Toby!

I guess Sesshoumaru might better reflect the scale of Toby in this movie, but hey, he's not solving any mysteries right now. So fuck him.

Cut to Kagome standing off to the side while the old woman weeds some plants. It seems she understands that the villagers are out to get them, like always, so she's unimpressed with the news. Kagome is determined to help the old woman in any way she can until Jinenji's name is cleared, though. The old woman glares over her shoulder at Kagome for a moment, then tells Kagome she can do as she pleases.

So, Kagome kneels in the dirt next to Jinenji, asking if it's alright if she pulls out the weeds. Jinenji is taken aback, but it doesn't look like it's by the stupidity of the question. He tells her that it's fine, then goes back to weeding himself busily. Kagome is very conspicuous in staring at the scars running the length of his arm, wondering if they were made by the villagers. Thankfully, she's not SO rude as to ask this out loud, instead opting for the question as to whether or not Jinenji has ever thought about leaving this cruel place.

He says that it's nice there, though, because his father left him the land. Kagome is muted when she says she sees but Jinenji's heart is thumping wildly. He's floored by the fact that he's actually having a conversation for the first time since he was born, with a girl no less. Suddenly, Kagome's chill is broken when she shrieks, startling Jinenji. She stutters about an earth worm, which Jinenji looks at with a small sound of understanding. The old woman, on the other hand, is in disbelief that Kagome's afraid of an earth worm, but not Jinenji.

Yeah, that's pretty unbelievable. Seems to me that Kagome has no business being scared of ANYTHING after she blew away Naraku, but...

I bet you those BIRDS can managed to be cool with both Jinenji and the worms...

Meanwhile, unaware that Jinenji is beginning to get IDEAS about Kagome, Inuyasha has his nose to the ground in the forest. He shuffles around on his hands and knees, knowing that what he's looking for is around here somewhere. Finally, he lays his hand on a spot that that surprises him at first, being directly in the ground. He punches the spot, and the ground around it crumbles away so he slides down into a hidden hole.

From the light through the opening he made, Inuyasha can see a smattering of bones lying scattered on the cave floor, which he assumes is a youkai nest. A slight glow shines in front of him, and he squints at it with curious caution. It's some sort of nasty goop hanging from the back wall of the cave. He approaches and touches it, drawing away a sticky string of the stuff as he withdraws his hand. He concludes that they're eggs with alarm, and recently hatched at that. Looking around, Inuyasha realizes that there's no sign of the babies that must have come from the eggs, and he wonders if they'd been thrown out. He quickly understands that this is not the case, though.

Is it rampage time yet? Because I'm ready to rampage!

Of course, the villagers were impatient and are approaching Jinenji and his mother's hut with torches. One of them asks the lead dickwad if they're going to kill Jinenji, and the lead dickwad confirms this, insisting that Jinenji is the only possible culprit. While they close in on the quiet hut, he asks how one can rely on a youkai brat anyway.

Must be weird to only JUST realize what attraction is like in the middle of adulthood. And toward a 15-year-old too.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Jinenji and his mother are such a cute little family. You really get the feeling that they're all each other has in the world. Jinenji is the first half-youkai we've seen since Inuyasha, and he's very interesting for how UNLIKE Inuyasha he is. Instead of developing this scoffing and prickly personality, he's taken the opposite route and hidden behind his mother's skirts. It makes me wonder if Inuyasha would have been in danger of the same retreating disposition if his mother had lived.

And speaking of living mothers, how about Jinenji's mom, eh? Speaking so frankly about a steamy love affair in her youth! Hot damn! The old women people usually put in stories are the prim and proper type, sometimes wise women, but basically sexless. They never mention old flames, never talk about love, act as if they've never even been attracted to anyone. I feel like it's the general "ew" feeling people jump to when thinking about old people having sex, but for me it's refreshing to see an old lady with a latent sexuality.

Gives me a sense of hope, so to speak.

I feel I'm way more stoked than I should be that Inuyasha is solving a mystery right now. The case didn't last as long as I would have liked, and it didn't have any red herrings or twists to it, but it's a mystery nonetheless. I'm a sucker for mysteries, or maybe just Sherlock Holmes references. Inuyasha dressed in the full stereotypical Sherlock Holmes getup, deerstalker cap and all, is running around in my head right now, but until I'm able to put it to paper, I suppose this will have to do:

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 171 The Fight of the Millennium!

Forgive me, Yu-Gi-Oh, but I don't think of your card game when I see that phrase in the title. I think boxing or some other martial art. I think professional athletes who trained physically for a test of human ability in front of an audience. I think an event that has the attention of the entire world. I CERTAINLY don't think of two boys, one of whom in only present through a remote-controlled body, playing cards together under a bridge where no one cares to hang out and watch.

Which is exactly what it looks like is going to happen, sorry to say. Seriously, how can the fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier be considered just the fight of the century, and THIS be considered the fight of the MILLENNIUM??

Yuugi recognizes Marik with anger and shock, but Marik isn't interested in Yuugi's feelings toward him in the slightest. He tells Yuugi to butt out, because he intends for this to be the final round of a 1,000-year battle. Yuugi looks alarmed, turning to the invisible Yami hanging out beside him. Yami looks his usual impassive self (murder grin, how I miss you...), arms crossed as he says that he can't avoid fate. Yuugi shouts at Yami to watch it, because Marik has Slifer the Sky Dragon, one of the god cards. It's difficult to tell which of them is tugging on one side of their shared jacket in the next panel, but I'm guessing it's Yami preparing to whip it off their shoulders in a dramatic way.

Two points! Woooooo! Do I get a "You're too Good at this Manga and it's Become Far too Predictable for You" medal?

Meanwhile, Marik is speeding closer on his motorcycle, thinking about how he's waited a thousand years for this moment. If that number isn't just hyperbole and he and Ishizu are ACTUALLY that old, you'd think he would have learned a bit of patience over that lengthy period. He at least should have learned in the last 100 years of that to not go screaming down the highway on a vehicle while not paying attention to the road unless you want to be splattered all over the fucking pavement.

Yami glares at the body in front of him, which stares blankly back through bulging eyes. He jokes that Marik's doll has seen better days, and it's not the most dignified of bearers for a god card. Marik explains that his doll used to be a mime that went crazy when he killed his parents, locking his consciousness away, and apparently all his emotions and expressions with it. To Marik, the empty vessel he occupies is an invaluable weapon. Or maybe just a taxi.

Criticizing Marik for using his Millennium Item to brainwash people, Yami vows not to let him get away with it. Okay, two things: a. Marik's account didn't contain any kind of information that should lead anyone to believe he brainwashed this mime guy, just that the mime guy happened to be a convenient container that emptied itself long ago. b. I don't think You have ANY room to advocate against brainwashing people with Millennium Items, Yami. What do you think all of your little punishments with the puzzle have BEEN, exactly? Little hypocrite.

Marik launches into a long speech about how human minds are even more fragile than their bodies, susceptible what is read or watched and to being eaten up by their own imaginations. Some people think they even hear "God" (his quotes), and when his "charisma" and "dominance" (MY quotes) just happens to coincide with that image of god they have, they're really easy to control. Oh, gag me with a spoon...

Anyway, the power to dominate other peoples' minds, thoughts and memories is that of the Millennium Rod. Upon hearing this, Yami's face is... pretty much the same. Marik warns Yami that if he loses, the doll will kill him, as it is programmed to do. He claims that the doll will pursue Yami to the ends of the earth until he dies, not stopping until it catches him. The evil chuckle Marik gives him prompts Yami to smirk instead of be afraid. Yami has no doubt that the doll can catch him; it's just whether or not it can BEAT Yami that's the question here.

Marik is convinced he can, but he gives no reason as to why he thinks that. He just reiterates the plan to kill Yami, and then go steal Kaiba's god card too. Such a sophisticated plot. While he keeps booking it down that road on his bike, Marik fantasizes about the three cards giving him that coveted "king" title, freeing him from his thousand-year curse. He's real excited to be free finally.

 

Marik calls the start of the duel from his puppet's mouth and we're ready to get this show on the road. To make it all the more expedient, he also declares that he'll take the first turn and draw first and the doll does as he instructs. As if he gives a crap, Marik asks if Yami is ready. Yami glares.

 

The doll slaps a card face down on his Duel Disk and per Marik's grinning eagerness, summons Humanoid Slime in attack, which is just what it says on the tin. It's only got 800 points on it, and this makes Yami suspicious right away that Marik is playing it for anything but defense. Yami thinks that the move is some kind of trap, a good estimate given that face down card. And the fact that Marik is ending his turn so soon.

 

Yami declares his turn has come, quite unnecessarily, and proceeds to draw a card. As he adds what looks to be Gazelle to his hand, he peers over it and at the Slime. He knows he can't attack on this turn, buuuuuuuut he's willing to play a trap for a trap. He also plays a face down card, as well as Gazelle (2 for 2! I'm on a roll!) and with that his turn is done.

 

So Marik begins the trash-talk. He deliberates over whether Yami is being cautious or cowardly, for his lack of attack, and warns Yami that he won't be able to win like that. Again, Yami just glares. Sorry bud, you might have goaded Jonouchi into an attack with that bullshit, but Yami is just a TAD more conscientious than that. Marik tells Yami to at LEAST not eat it before he gets to see Slifer the Sky Dragon, chuckling. Then he announces his turn and has his doll draw a card for him.

 

Woah, what the crap is this nightmare eldritch creature?? Is that an eye where it's tongue is supposed to be? What are those pincers doing?? In all my life, I've never seen such a horrendous -

Wait, what was that about a spell card?

It's polymerization! That's right, because when you have a tricked-out tapeworm, your first instinct should be to mix it with another creature altogether! What is that unlucky monster? Yami looks on in shock to see a new creature formed.

Yup. That sure is... a thing.

Yami's more concerned with the fact that it has 2200 attack points, and how Marik managed to make that much more powerful a monster on just his second turn. He closes his gaping mouth with a personal reassurance that a polymerized monster can't attack on the turn its summoned. Marik wastes no time in questioning that assumption, though, which makes Yami nearly shit his pants judging by how wide his eye goes in the next panel.

Marik points out the face down card that Yami clearly thought was a trap and reveals that it wasn't a trap at all. Yami's back expresses surprise through exclamation point before Marik turns over the card, which turns out to be "Quick Attack", another card that is pretty self-explanatory. Yami sweats knowing that the unholy fusion of worm and slime is now quick enough to attack him right now. Well shit.

Because a villain has just GOT to rub it in, Marik starts talking himself up as a brave soul who never fears his opponent's cards or waits until he's reasonably sure he has the upper hand before attacking. Except you DID, Marik. You waited until your monster was fused before you attacked, so clearly you've got a reasonable expectation that this will go well for you now rather than it did when it was just your slime on the table. I guess he's talking exclusively about face down cards, though, because he brings up that unlike Yami the coward, he's not made overly cautious by one on the opposing side. Yami is, once more, shocked and speechless.

The Slime Drake lunges for Gazelle the moment it's ordered to do so, but wait, is that the iconic smirk that no one's poker face should be good enough to hide so well up until this very moment on Yami's face? Why, yes it is! And Marik is now the one wearing the shocked expression. Yami explains that he knew from the moment the slime was summoned that it would be used in a fusion with another monster, because with this kind of trick one can summon a high-level monster without wasting a turn. Turns out he is also a card encyclopedia just like Sugoroku. Like grandfather-like possessed grandson... I guess.

Marik marvels in horror at the fact that Yami had realized he would polymerize, and Yami says OF COURSE he did, because the universe revolves around him. Okay, I added that last part on there. Anyway, Yami reveals his face down card.

Sorry Marik, sometimes marriages just don't work out. But don't worry, I'm sure both slime daddy and dragon mommy still love you!

Yami shouts at Gazelle to get at 'em while the two are separated, so it launches itself at the opposing side and stomps right on that slime. Marik's life points go down to 3300, and Yami asks him what's next, because he's probably already planned that out. Yami is confident that he's already planned for the move beyond that, though. I doubt he's planned for Marik to be weirdly PLEASED with this notion, though.

Yeah, who are you trying to convince with that creepy smile? Yourself or the audience?

My money's on both.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? My first complaint is that it wasn't particularly visually interesting, despite the overlays of Marik on his motorcycle. It's weird that these panels reminding me that Marik is multitasking like a boss without crashing and dying aren't so much interesting as they are just... BUSY. Like too much is going on just to give the illusion of real movement forward with the plot. Which shouldn't be necessary because this IS the match between Yami and the bad guy that is the culmination of Millennia of resentment and rage, right?

No, this is just filler for Yami so he can earn more puzzle cards and get that much closer to the finals where he's REALLY going to face Marik. Again, KT is trying to keep us in suspense by continually restating that Marik is hot on Yami's trail. I would much prefer for him to continue being a face in the shadows until the actual match between him and Yami, with Yami fighting with stronger and stronger Rare Hunters until that point. This feels like a premature encounter with the boss character in a video game. There's no buildup, just the pull of a party-popper in front of your empty birthday party.

And I really shouldn't NEED to reiterate how annoyed I am with Yami's record of infallibility, but what the hell, once more with feeling. I am really sick to death of Yami's surprise becoming a smirk at impossible speeds every time it looks like he might have been bested. Especially when he really WAS here. Marik was RIGHT that he was being overly cautious and refused to attack until he KNEW that the face down card he saw wasn't a trap. If Yami was so sure that the face down card wasn't a trap, he could have simply attacked the slime without the hesitation he showed. As it stands, he actually cost himself time and effort when he could have just nipped the problem in the bud on his first turn. Why didn't KT have him do this? Because he needs to look clever by going to the edge of fucking up and pulling a cute trick out of his ass at the last second.

But Yami needs to ACTUALLY fuck up in a way that's difficult to reverse in order for me to give a shit. There needs to be a struggle. If there's no real disturbance in Yami's game, then I start nodding off. The thing is, this has happened before, but to the extent that it has taken up entire CHAPTERS with him just worrying and fretting. KT can't seem to strike a balance between some conflicting self-doubt resulting from honest mistakes and a few competent and thoughtful moves, at least not since Jonouchi's arc in Duelist Kingdom. A character either has to be infallible and occasionally overcome with crippling uncertainty for a chapter or two, or incompetent and impulsive while being overconfident.

All I'm asking for is just a little growth, alright? Just a little bit of conflict that inspires a character to change a bit. Is that too much to ask for at this point?

At least Marik is turning out to be something of an interesting person in his own right. He's got that superior attitude that you expect out of a villain, but he can actually back that shit up. It's clear that playing this game comes easily to him by how fast he is to execute a strategy, which is something I haven't seen from a villain thus far. Not even Pegasus, the creator of the game, was such a relaxed player when it came down to it. Marik just seems like the kind of person that everything just comes to, or the guy who always gets his way despite being the biggest dick imaginable. He even goes so far as to explain this away as some sort of resemblance to a god to a lot of the people he manipulates.

I think he may very well have the charisma he claims, because even I'm kind of endeared to him by his easy-going attitude. Just call me a Ghoul, I guess.



Inuyasha Manga: 112 Jinenji

Ah December. End of the Gregorian year and celebration time for just about everyone you can think of. Every which way there's a holiday coming at you, because what better time to make excuses for kicking back than when depression is setting in due to the cold and fewer daylight hours? At least for the northern hemisphere, anyway. Those to the south don't have to deal with that garbage until the opposite solstice.

Well, what's one more log on the fire? I'm stoked this blog has managed to keep going on for as long as it has. A year-and-a-half is much longer than I've kept up with any of my personal projects, and I've learned a lot about what is going on in the pleasure-centers of my brain when I'm reading my favorite manga. So I don't care what anyone says, I'm partying extra hard for the success this ongoing rant has been for me. Even if everything else is a mess, I still have Manga Snark!

As opposed to these two, who are inundated with pain. And guilt. Mostly guilt.

Sango recalls how Kirara writhed from her bite-full of Naraku's shoulder and the dose of poison that came with it, and thinks that said poison must not have passed through Kirara's system yet. Outside, someone is expressing shock over the term "antidote herbs", presumably because it's weird that there would be a specific antidote to Naraku's particular poison, let alone some herb somewhere. Kagome asks Myouga if they can use such an herb, Kirara will be cured, and the bouncing Myouga answers in the affirmative from Inuyasha's shoulder.

He settles down to warn Kagome that he heard the field in which these herbs grown is guarded by a youkai, so they could be difficult to get a hold of. Deliberation over this subject is skipped in favor of hovering over the hut Sango is in while she says that Inuyasha and the others went to get the antidote for Kirara's ailment. It turns out that Miroku told her this, and goes on to say that he stayed behind to protect her in her injured state, bidding her to put her mind at ease and to relax. When she stares with some apprehension at him, he smiles innocently and asks what it is that's bothering her. She turns away, keeping an eye on him from her periphery, and mumbles that she somehow feels in MORE danger with him there alone with her.

Miroku sighs and everyone laughs and laughs until we realize that this serious concern of women everywhere can no longer be a joke when we're being exposed to more and more horror stories every day of men taking advantage of women in just about every situation where they've promised to be respectful and professional.

I think I might cry.

Thankfully, Sango finds that she's facing young Shippou, who is staring pretty intently himself. He assures her that Kagome asked him to stay behind and make sure that Miroku didn't try anything. Miroku sighs even heavier now, while Sango's wide eyes fix on Shippou. It's a look that says, "How do these people think this tiny baby child can protect me from a dude whose sexual harassment we somehow continue to tolerate instead of smacking his horrible ass around?" Hell if I know.

Maybe Inuyasha is just waiting until the LEAST CONVENIENT TIME in order to seriously take Miroku to task?

Kagome smiles, saying that it's been a while since it's just been the two of them. Inuyasha asks her if that's really the case, but the question seems more like conversational filler than genuine. Kagome nonetheless chirps a "yup" in response, and the discussion immediately plummets off a cliff. Inuyasha spaces out and Kagome rides in a short awkward silence. She assumes he doesn't sound happy and asks him what it is that he's so quiet about, only to be answered with a snore.

She looks back at him with shock at first, which dissolves into disappointment that Inuyasha didn't think they could have a nice conversation. When she looks back at him again, though, she's contemplative, thinking he must be tired given all the stress he was under in their last encounter with Naraku.

It's the risk you take when you fall asleep on a thin strip of grating on the back of a rattly vehicle.

Somewhere in the woods, a woman is huffing and puffing as she sprints away from something, and by the way she's twisting to look behind her, this isn't an innocent game of tag.

Yeah, definitely not tag.

Out of "nose"shot of this murder most foul, Inuyasha is now carrying Kagome's bike with a sour expression. Kagome asks him if he's still angry, reminding him that she's already apologized. Inuyasha barks an unconvincing lie about not being angry, which he's apparently done before. Kagome peers closely at Inuyasha, prompting him to ask what this is about, so she in turn asks if he's not happy being with her.

Inuyasha looks mystified by the question. Kagome walks past him as he asks what it is she's going on about, and she carefully answers that he seems upset about something, keeping to herself the thought that it inconveniently coincides with when they're alone together again. Inuyasha calls her a damn idiot, pointing out that his face has always been "like this", presumably claiming to have resting bitch face. Kagome remains silent hanging her head and supposing this is true.

Cut back to the woman in the woods, her corpse being covered by a woven mat by a couple of men as others look on. They say this is the third case of someone dying this way, with the BOWELS being chewed from the victim's body. I guess poop is nutritious to some creatures, so...

An old man suggests that maybe this was Jinenji's doing after all, and a middle-aged guy says it's obviously Jinenji, duh. The old man says that they won't forgive that monster for this thing they just decided he did with no evidence, and another, more timid guy asks what they'll do about it. He turns to a fourth man, trailing an uncertain statement about what might happen even if they attacked as a group, and the fourth agrees with the implication.

Kagome and Inuyasha sit peeking over a hiding place just over a little mound, Kagome stating that they seem to have some sort of problem. What gave it away? The horribly mutilated corpse of that woman? Inuyasha doesn't bother concealing himself any longer and walks right out to ask the villagers if this Jinenji dude is a youkai. There's an uncomfortable silence between him and the fidgeting villagers for a moment before they flinch away and ask who he is, assuming he's a youkai himself, which, you know, fair. Kagome hangs out behind him, striking me as oddly shy here, when she steps out and says that they came for those herbs Myouga mentioned.

They ask if their uninvited guests are referring to those herbs in Jinenji's garden, and all either of them have as an answer is Kagome's noise of uncertainty. The villagers nonetheless launch into an explanation of who Jinenji is, a guy who lives on the edge of the town with his mother. If they had an inn instead of an herb field I would be making so many Norman Bates jokes right now. Though the villagers admit that the herbs Jinenji and mother grow work well and they use them from time to time, they speculate that this new rash of murders suggest Jinenji has discovered a love for human flesh.

So now he's Hannibal Lecter? Man, this is getting complicated.

TOO complicated.

The villagers have taken Kagome and Inuyasha to view this complicated creature, convinced they'll find him just dreadful while they peek out from behind some trees. Inuyasha is unimpressed. Or tired. Or both. The villagers ask Kagome if Inuyasha will really be able to exterminate Jinenji for them, but Inuyasha reminds them that they're only there to take some herbs.

He climbs from their low ground hiding place and tells Kagome to stay put. While he's walking to Jinenji, Kagome picks up the whispers of uncertainty that Inuyasha is strong. Another whisperer doesn't care, because in a fight between youkai, whoever loses means a win for everyone else. Kagome looks back at them, somewhat floored by how little they seem to care that she hears them. It gives her a bad feeling. What feeling's that? That they might just be racist pricks?

You know what, come to think of it, I know those feels VERY WELL now.

Inuyasha walks up to Jinenji with Tessaiga resting on his shoulder, asking the mystified monster if he's the people-eating monster everyone talks about. Before Jinenji forms a response, Inuyasha tells him to prepare to die, and Jinenji's eyes widen as he makes a prolonged shocked sound. Inuyasha takes this belated moment to realize that the guy he just threatened doesn't smell of human blood at all. Great job scaring the shit out of someone for no reason then. Douchebag.

A rock comes flying from where Inuyasha left Kagome with the villagers and hits Jinenji in the temple. Kagome tries to get the men to calm down, but they storm out into the field, demanding Jinenji prepare to die as well. Then they tell Inuyasha to kill Jinenji quickly, and Jinenji trembles and hisses in response to this. Inuyasha readies Tessaiga to take down the beast and...

Oh yeah, really loves the taste of human flesh, that one. Specifically his mother's teat. You can tell by how he runs off crying to her to save him. Inuyasha yells after Jinenji to wait just a damn minute and dashes forward. Jinenji hunches down like he's trying to hide behind a tiny figure carrying a big stick running out in front of him.

It's an old woman cursing those villages bastards whom she's told again and again to stop coming after their field. Inuyasha and Kagome stare wide-eyed at her, Inuyasha wondering if she's some sort of mountain witch. He's so shocked that he doesn't even react when the old lady literally BREAKS the thick stick (or LOG as it's better called) over his head, even though Kagome screams. The villagers are sure Inuyasha is done-for now, calling him weak.

They turn tail and run, promising to get someone for something, as Kagome calls after them to hold on. The villagers are already gone, though. After a pause, Inuyasha asks what's up with them. Instead of answering, the old woman immediately claims to not know what rubbish the villagers told Inuyasha.

So much for not knowing EXACTLY what the villagers told them.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? You know when you suddenly notice something you hate that you weren't aware of before, and then you start seeing it EVERYWHERE? That's how I feel about all of RT's cuts to and from certain nodes of action. The scenes where Inuyasha is bumped off the bike and where he and Kagome are arguing about his normal displeased expression could easily have been stitched together. And what's with cutting from Sango, to Myouga telling them about Jinenji's herbs with no deliberation, and back to Sango in bed again? It's so disjointed and messy, and it makes me upset because I know RT is BETTER than this. She is so much more talented at story-telling and formatting than she's letting on here, and I really hate how she's cutting and pasting scenes in between each other. I get that it was the easiest way to get those punchy jokes in, but there are other ways of getting those jokes across without giving me whiplash.

And this is around the time when I start to get burnt out on Miroku's little sexual harassment schtick too. It's not just current events, although that does multiply my annoyance with the character quite a bit, but it happens EVERY time I read through this manga. It gets the inner harpy feminist screaming about how this is just one more way of trivializing women's experiences when it comes to sexual harassment, telling them and the boys (I refuse to call them men if they refuse to act like it) who do it to them that it's all just a great big joke. It's not a BIG way, but I just find myself rolling my eyes when I remember that this is a comic aimed at boys, framing their creepy sexual "jokes" at women's expenses to be harmless fun without ANY repercussions at all. RT should KNOW better, since she's a lady herself. I suppose the only way to make a name for oneself in a male-dominated industry is to play by the boy's-club rules. Still...

The worst part is, I really WANT to be stoked for this arc. It brings Inuyasha's situation of being "between worlds" in his own way to the forefront by having another character's situation mirror his. It's a lovely example of how characters can reflect each other in stories, and what they can do differently given similar circumstances. Besides, Kagome is right that it gives just the two of them a bit more time together in a meaningful way so as to help them understand one another on a deeper level by the end.

But I'll be damned if I'm not annoyed by how this wonderful arc starts.