Inuyasha Manga: 156 Youkai Blood

Some experimentation has provided evidence against all of us being descendants of youkai during one of my outings yesterday. Goshinki asserted that youkai derive a great pleasure from tearing people apart, but I don't even sort-of like making my local deli-worker's job a tad harder by asking for biodegradable packaging for the cheese I buy. If there is a small smidgen of youkai blood in me, it was all spent on grumbling about how grocery chains should be infuriated by paying out the ass for the LIE that the literal trash they buy, styrofoam and cling wrap, is somehow contributing to public health and safety. I didn't inflict my boiling attitude on anyone but myself, though, so it may not count.

Oh well, I guess we can't all be raging assholes monsters, huh?

Goshinki bragged about how his teeth are a bit stronger than a dog's, but he seems to have the same inclination to chew on important, expensive things.

He lunges fast at Inuyasha again, who barely has more time for anything but shock before he's knocked back by a powerful blow to the chest from Goshinki, blood splattering everywhere. Kagome calls Inuyasha's name in distress as the rest of her friends gape at the scene in horror. Inuyasha lands in the dirt, Tessaiga flying from his hand and rattling to the ground a ways away, transforming back into its rusted blunt form. Inuyasha's eyes have once again become blank, though they are still open wide. He has been thoroughly fucked for the second time in a very short period of time.

Goshinki chuckles some more, this time over how Inuyasha's mind has gone all white at this point. He wonders aloud if this is just despair at losing Tessaiga, or if he's just straight-up dead. It's a fair assumption, to be honest, the way Inuyasha is laying face-down in a pool of his own puddle of blood and dirt. This scene is a repeat of when Sesshoumaru showed up the second time, but Goshinki doesn't look like he's going to back off like Sesshoumaru did. Why should he? Tessaiga isn't much of a threat at this point.

Kagome bolts for Inuyasha, screaming his name with tears in her eyes, though Miroku warns her to get back. Too late, since Goshinki has got speed on his side.

Even though this blow to Miroku is identical to the one Inuyasha caught, Miroku isn't bleeding out, probably because he didn't already have a severe injury from the previous battle. He does look to have been knocked out, though, as Shippou and Sango rush to his side and call out to him. Kagome twists to stare over her shoulder at him and her friends while Goshinki advertises his thoughts about sucking up the enemy in his Kazaana, even if it kills him. The Saimyoushou hover behind Goshinki as backup, even if it doesn't seem to be necessary anymore. Goshinki bids Miroku not to be in such a hurry to die. He looks over at Kagome, staring back at him open-mouthed, and announces that he's planning on eating all of them one-by-one anyway.

Meanwhile, the kids that DIDN'T run away yet kneel next to Inuyasha, the boy leaning down to ask him quietly if he's dead. Inuyasha doesn't answer, but the sound effects indicate a stir of power, so... no? He's taking his sweet time intercepting Goshinki, though, who is bearing down on Kagome, declaring her first to be eaten. All she can do in her frozen state is think Inuyasha's name, but Goshinki begins to chastise her for thinking about a guy who's already bitten the dust.

BEGINS, but doesn't finish, because he's distracted by something it looks like he didn't count on, looking around behind him. It seems he's picked back up on Inuyasha's mind, and a confusing emotion: joy. This is followed by Inuyasha himself hurtling through the air toward Goshinki, face shadowed.

Is Inuyasha's penchant for cutting off arms because he likes to issue a message not to underestimate him to enemies before out-and-out killing them, or is it just another indication of how poor his aim is?

As the ogre's arm falls to the ground, Inuyasha's face remains shadowed and obscured. He asks Goshinki what the matter is with him, another stir of power issuing from him. Kagome stares, sweating and staring, because her first good look at Inuyasha after his comeback is... a little unsettling.

That little boy gives bitchin' makeovers.

Miroku has come to, leaning up with Sango and Shippou, who says Inuyasha's name tentatively, all gaping at Inuyasha's new look. Kagome thinks that it makes him appear like a real, honest-to-goodness youkai, and her heart skips a beat, but not in the good way. In the "I'm going to shit my pants" way. Big distinction.

Goshinki complains that he just doesn't get why this transformation even happened. You'd think a guy who just got his arm chopped off might be asking fewer questions and doing more screaming, but hey, I'm always down for a little Monty-Python-esque absurdity.

Inuyasha scoffs, admitting there's no way for him to know why it happened either. He advises Goshinki not to worry too much about it, and spend his energy instead on prayers. Inuyasha declares he's going to send Goshinki safely to hell. Minus, the arm, I guess. I would argue that missing body parts do not constitute a safe delivery, but accidents happen sometimes.

Especially when your aim is fucking terrible.

Goshinki is spending a lot of time trying to puzzle out Inuyasha's change of mind to match his change of face. Inuyasha's attitude has done a complete 180 degree turn, no longer having any trace of sadness or fear, or even anger. Joy is all Goshinki can detect, at Inuyasha's anticipated murder of him. Goshinki curses this damn hanyou,but Inuyasha lunges forward again, flexing his lengthened claws and beginning a characterization of the youkai blood flowing through his veins. As opposed to the stuff that leaked out onto the ground before, mind.

What? Not going to bring it back around to how a dog's blood must be better than an ogre's? Not going to go for the obvious insult that Goshinki just HANDED you earlier? You disappoint me.

My disappointment MIGHT be misplaced, though.

... Well he has acquired some serious eye-liner game, I'll give him that.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It smacks of RT kind of writing herself into a corner and wiggling out of it. This is another solution similar to Kagome's "big soul" in the last arc, wherein an innate specialness is the only thing that managed to get the gang out of trouble. On the edge of complete destruction, Inuyasha pulls a power from inside and uses it to turn things around from the brink. Again, we don't exactly get a "victory" vibe from this ending to Goshinki, though he is far more thoroughly defeated than Naraku was last time. Inuyasha's transformation has evoked a sense of nervousness, like he's become someone, or someTHING, else altogether, and it's kind of disturbing.

But it also differs from Kagome's pull-through in the previous arc in these same ways. The size of Kagome's soul isn't really explored to my memory, it's just taken as a given, which makes it seem a tad lazy as a fixer in the past two instances. Inuyasha's transformations are not only given attention and explanation, but become something of an unsustainable solution every time he uses it, not to mention just plain scary after a couple of times. This ending and the feeling of uneasiness and wrongness with the situation is an indication that RT is not willing to use this as a fixer in the future. It's already presenting itself as a problem, the strength coming with a drawback, which Kagome's does not have, so it doesn't feel as cheap.

Not that Kagome's large soul has a $1 price tag on it, or anything, since it still didn't win the day. But it also didn't create any lasting effects on Kagome's character. Inuyasha's struggles really start to multiply from here, and he doesn't get this one for free. By the last panel you can see the transformation comes at a larger price, though we're not exactly sure what it is yet.

And we're not sure if there's a money-back guarantee like with Kagome's either.