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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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, 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.
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