Inuyasha Manga: 199 Stone Flower

I did it guys, I changed the subtitle of the blog! I know this might not seem like a big thing to do, but I have been thinking of changing it for a while, since I've been sick of "Success isn't Always Quality" a long time; I didn't really feel like it described what I do here anymore. Sure, the blog started mostly as a tongue-in-cheek roast, with some semi-serious analysis attached to it because I wanted to give credit where credit was due, but nowadays... while by no means the roasting has stopped, nor the rigor of the analysis, the TONE had shifted to a subtle record of the articulation of my love for both the manga I cover here. The reason I've stuck with this project so alarmingly long is undoubtedly that under scrutiny, I've been able to pinpoint all the elements of these comics that made me love them in the first place, and articulate that love in a very personal way. That's why, the other day, when "A Diary of Dissection" popped into my head as a possibility while pondering changing the subtitle again, I just had to go with it.

And just in time for a few chapters that I've been really looking forward to covering. Another favorite mini-arc for its sheer cuteness.

Sango asks Kagome if she can sense anything at all and Kagome confirms as she pushes her bike with Shippou riding in the basket that she can't. Not even the strange looks she HAS to be getting from the locals over her strange contraption, I guess. Miroku says at any rate that they should split up to look for it on their own, waving while he's already on his way to fuck off by himself. Sango gives him a wide-eyed look, and asks if he means to pick up girls when he's off by himself. Miroku pauses, silent, and Sango's expression turns annoyed, Kagome looks at Miroku's back as well with curiosity. Miroku starts walking again at double speed, and Sango zooms after him, demanding to know what's with his attitude. Kagome ignores them and begins pushing her bike in the opposite direction again, suggesting to Inuyasha that they look this way. Inuyasha flatly agrees. Shippou just sits in the basket like a doll in a toy pram.

They don't get very far. Just to the bank beside the bridge in the panel above, where Kagome has laid down a blanket and her giant backpack with some snackage sitting on the corner. Inuyasha lounges on his back with his eyes closed next to her, and she turns her face up to the sun shining overhead, commenting with delight how nice the weather is. While cracks open a aluminum can and lifts it to take a drink, she wonders aloud where Shippou got to, Inuyasha shooting her a half-lidded glance and an unconcerned hum. He suggests that Shippou has gone off to play, which makes sense considering he's still a kid and all. Says the guy who had to be scolded for swinging around a dangerous weapon in childish celebration a few chapters ago.

It turns out that Shippou is taking a little stroll, licking a lollipop, something I haven't had in quite a while and now I kind of want one. Thanks for the craving Shippou. He says to himself that sometimes those two have to be left by themselves, like that's some sort of sage wisdom or something. He hops up on a big exposed root curving up and back down into the ground to sit with a yawn and stretch, and claims that he sure does take care of those kids. By disappearing sometimes and doing literally nothing. Man, there sure are some real delusions flying through the group today, aren't there?

He hears a shout nearby about some damn thief and looks over to see three little boys kicking a girl on all fours on the grass. One of the boys calls her Satsuki, and accuses her of taking a dried persimmon from his house. She insists that she didn't, but another boy tells her that she's a good-for-nothing and to shut up.

The first kid draws out the word "stupid", reminding her that her brother died a long time ago in the war. The third boy who hadn't said anything before claimed that his father was by this brother's side when he passed. Satsuki declares that her big brother ISN'T dead and launches herself on the first kid's shin, biting it. He cries out and when she's dislodged starts kicking her again with his now tooth-marked leg while the second one hits her with a stick, cursing her damn violence. Hmmm, decrying violence while committing it. Now where have I heard THAT hypocritical logic before?

The answer is LITERALLY everywhere now.

Effective. The boys all flee screaming from the monster, arms in the air, one of them tripping and falling on his face in the process. Satsuki is still sitting on the ground as she watches Shippou pop back into his little child form, scoffing that he beat them. Congrats, kid, you defeated a bunch of little shits who were clearly cowards anyway. Regardless, Shippou turns to address Satsuki and coolly declares she's safe now, playing the part of white knight well. After a small noise of amazement, she pats him on the head and thanks him, mistaking him for a tanuki. His annoyance automatically shows, offering the deadpan correction that he's a fox.

Satsuki pulls something from beneath her collar and offers him half for saving her. He reacts with confusion, so she clarifies that it's the persimmon she stole, and that it's very good munching on it as she stretches out her legs in the grass. Shippou is annoyed once more, thinking she was the one at fault after all. I just think she's neat. Satsuki beams at him between bites, observing that he's quite strong. His expression changes to astonishment, heart skipping a beat. It's adorable and my heart is melting.

Shippou haltingly strikes up a conversation, confirming her name, and asking where her parents are. Satsuki says she doesn't have parents, but one older brother, whom she gloats about straightaway. She says he's distinguished himself in battle, and when he becomes a samurai, he'll come to pick her up and presumably they'd go on adventures together like Wolf and Cub, or a brother/sister approximation thereof. Shippou meekly asks if those boys before were lying when they said her brother was dead.

... I just think she's neat.

She giggles and roots around under her collar with her hand, offering to show Shippou her treasure, one which will grant wishes if you pray with it. Shippou leans in to see as she pulls out a tiny sliver that looks an awful lot like a Shikon fragment. She says it is, anyway, and while explaining it's a shard of a treasure to youkai, girls out about how pretty it is. Shippou is once again floored by little Satsuki, or at least by being the one to find that rumored jewel fragment they wandered into the village to get.

Meanwhile, someone asks if Miroku is certain that there's a youkai haunting their house. Miroku says that they must exorcise this youkai as soon as possible with seriousness. He's walking along a veranda with an old man, whom he identifies as the village headman as he assures him there's no need for a reward. The old headman insists that he wants to get dinner and bedding prepared for everyone anyway. Not only is Sango still tailing Miroku at this point, but Kagome and Inuyasha have joined her, She and Inuyasha wearing their most exasperated expressions. Inuyasha asserts that Miroku's call for an exorcism is another downright lie, but Kagome shushes him, no doubt looking forward to bedding instead of a sleeping bag.

When they all enter a room, it begins to quake around them. Inuyasha looks up at the ceiling in mild confusion while Kagome cowers into his side, asking if this is an earthquake. Miroku stares at a wall, then slaps one of his paper charms on it.

All three of Miroku's trailing friends, so doubtful before, stare in amazement that there was actually a youkai to exorcise, and that it wasn't a lie. The headman gives them a slightly alarmed stare of his own, and now Miroku is the exasperated one, asking if they all mind.

I don't know what he expects, given his propensity to fake his craft for material benefit. You really don't have much room to be pissy here, Miroku.

From outside comes a shout at Inuyasha regarding BIG NEWS, and Inuyasha and Kagome turn to the in question. Shippou leaps into Kagome's arms calling to her, and as she catches him, asks how he knew where they were. He explains that he just figured the biggest house in the area was the best place to profit from an exorcism, causing Kagome to just grin awkwardly and Miroku to look further put-upon behind them.

Shippou redirects the topic to what he came to tell them, which is that there in fact IS a Shikon shard here. Kagome and Sango make noises of disbelief, but Shippou brought along Satsuki, who stands in the garden, uncomfortably silent. Kagome prompts the headman to spill on who this girl is, and the headman confirms Satsuki's name. Stepping up to her, Kagome leans down and asks to see the fragment, that little snitch Shippou by her side. Satsuki hesitates, lips sealed at first, then asking in haughty defiance if they intend to take it from her. Inuyasha says that they'll take it if it's real, but Kagome quickly tells him to sit. While Inuyasha eats dirt, Kagome gets more on Satsuki's level in a squat and assures her she just wants to see it. This is when Shippou finally realizes that if his buddies take Satsuki's Shikon shard, she'll never get her wish.

To be fair, Shippou, even if she gets something from wishing on a real Shikon shard, she probz won't be getting what she really wants. Horrifying zombie brother wanting to eat her brains instead or something.

You still a little snitch, though.

After a moment, Satsuki turns for a hasty retreat, saying that they've seen enough of her shard and she's going now. Kagome stands and waves, wishing her well, causing Shippou some confusion. The old headman calls after Satsuki, asking if she's going to come back. She says no, because her big brother will be home soon before disappearing down the road. Shippou has latched onto Kagome's arm to ask hesitantly if the shard was a fake, and Kagome gives a simple confirmation while Sango turns to tell him that what Satsuki had was actually a stone flower. What the fuck is that? Kagome suggests that Sango means "quartz" as if Sango is supposed to know what that funny modern-esque word is. Sango ignores the over-her-head term and says it's a stone you can dig up pretty much anywhere in the mountains, and it's no Shikon fragment. Somehow, Shippou does not look at all comforted by the knowledge that Satsuki's shard is fake.

Later on, after dark judging by the flickering fire in an oil pan, someone says Satsuki is a rather pitiful child.

I still think she's neat.

We're treated to a scene of Satsuki cradling her fake Shikon shard in her hands as she's walking down a hill, while the headman says to Inuyasha and company that he's offered to take care of her, but she insists on continuing to live in the hut she and her brother lived together. Our main characters are forgotten for a moment while Satsuki keeps descending the hill, attention fixed on the little sliver of "jewel" in her hands. In the tall grass to her left, a lizard-like creature, observes her creepily. He identifies himself as the creature that was forced from the headman's place earlier, and he's pretty sure he can use this girl. If she doesn't bite his leg off first, because she's just that fierce.

Still later, Shippou can't seem to stop thinking that Satsuki's brother would return to her alive if she prayed with the REAL Shikon fragments. Again, Shippou, I don't think you realize the monkey's-paw-like ironic twist that comes with the use of this fucking jewel. As he lays awake on Kagome's futon next her while she and the rest of his companions slumber away (Inuyasha propped in a corner with Tessaiga standing between his knees as usual), Shippou is actively convincing himself to "borrow" Kagome's shards for a bit. She dreams of the angles on polygons while he shifts and shuffles, taking the little vial of shards, which must have been replaced after the other one shattered, from who knows where on her. It looks like he might have gotten it from around her neck, but there doesn't appear to be a chain?

Anyway, just as soon as Shippou gets his tiny mitts on those fragments, he's lifted into the air by the fluffy tail. Inuyasha dangles him, looking a combination of annoyed and tired, and greets him with a short hi. Shippou insists his thievery is to help someone, but Inuyasha isn't buying it, accusing him of not thinking straight. He proceeds to lecture Shippou on how he knows the danger of these little shards, and it's not anything a human should ever use. He causes Shippou a turn when he asks just why the kid is helping that girl from before anyway.

Miroku has now popped up from the other side of a short decorative screen separating him from the girls and suggests that Shippou's fallen for Satsuki. He doesn't blame the little guy, since he noticed that she was pretty cute too, and he's super lucky Sango's not awake to wallop him one for the creeptastic comment. Inuyasha raps on Shippou's little irritated forehead with his knuckles, saying such a reason for his actions is pathetic. Shippou snaps back that it doesn't matter if he's in love with Satsuki, because Inuyasha has no right to call HIM pathetic when he can't stop drifting between Kagome and Kikyou. This earns him an off-panel wallop, and we next see him lying dazed with a giant lump on his head, Inuyasha demanding he go the fuck to sleep from a lounging position facing the corner.

Somehow, Kagome is STILL asleep through the racket. Her maths dreams are apparently just THAT enthralling.

In the morning, Shippou makes his somber way down the same hill Satsuki did previously, thinking he should at least say goodbye to her. He wonders if Satsuki intends to keep praying on the fake fragments forever. He stops to sigh dramatically, complaining aloud that he can't tell her the truth about her fake shard.

At this very moment, Satsuki runs up the path toward him, waving her arm jubilantly above her head to him. He greets her in a somewhat subdued matter, and when she cries with joy that her wish was granted and her brother came home, Shippou makes a noise of confused shock.

The funny thing is, her wishing on a real shard probably would have had an indistinguishable result.

So what did I think of this chapter overall? As bad as RT did by me in the previous arc with how bland and boring Tsubaki was, she turned the who thing around with little Satsuki. This girl is a DELIGHT to see on the page; so vibrant and full of personality. Her sassy attitude and willingness to stand up for herself is in perfect concert with how she's confirmed to be something of a little pest. And yet, you can't help but feel a little broken-hearted at how poorly she's handling the reality of her brother's death, outright denying it to be true fiercely. It really is no wonder that Shippou finds her fascinating; she's got layers of complexity right off the bat, and her uniqueness is palpable. A free spirit for sure, enchanting from the first moment she appears. She's probably my favorite, and I'm not sure if it's because she really IS that awesome, or if having to read several chapters of Tsubaki to get to this point starved me for an actually cool character. Either way, she's just too fun.

In addition, I'm really like that Inuyasha and crew are running with the lack of a Shikon shard in the village and taking a nice little break from the search. No doubt Kagome in particular needs a little bit of a breather after the last few chapters she spent in constant agony. Inuyasha has seemed rather on the tired side throughout the whole chapter too, very low-energy. The whole vibe with them just exudes chill, which I think is fair - it's been a little while since the characters haven't been actively battling Naraku or some other nefarious force, and as a reader I'm exhausted too. I just didn't realize it until I got to kick back a little with this chapter.

And if I needed the break, no doubt RT was getting pretty tense before she got to put this one on paper.

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 257 Memories of Fate

That's what I'm afraid of. See, I have to do a SUMMER cleaning this year, because all this semi-quarantine time inside has necessitated this apartment be cleared and freshened again, as though we've just been snowed in for the last few months in the midst of a second winter. A strangely warm and sweaty winter. So, I'm having work extra hard to motivate myself to grab my broom, vacuum and dust rag, because the memory of what it was like is so very recent. I'm not someone who is enthusiastic about cleaning anyway, so I take a lot of convincing under normal circumstances, but the spiders in this apartment are especially stupid? I don't know if they expect to be friends, or if they think they can take me, but I've had quite a few of them fearlessly scuttle up to me in whatever attempt they're making, and I've reacted rashly. It's not that I hate spiders, and in fact I like them being in my home, since they get rid of all the really pesky insects that might otherwise try to muscle in on my territory. But I don't like to see them, and I especially don't like when they try to get close.

But alas, as long as I live here, I fear it is my fate to smack the little bastards with the weekly ads.

At least the my encounters with the spiders don't look like this. In the end, I can be thankful that none as big as me have turned up to grapple with me. No matter how equally-matched we could be, I would immediately pass out and lose that battle by default.

Yami calls out to Slifer, grinding his teeth with the uncomfortable knowledge that its attack points are the same as Obelisk's. Kaiba watches his god with a similar level of anxiety as it begins to smoke and steam. The arm Obelisk has shoved into Slifer's jaw begins to crack, to Kaiba's nervous disbelief. Shafts of light shine out of the cracks and Slifer's mouth around Obelisk's fist. Squinting up at the struggle, other!Marik silently describes this as a battle of wills between the opposing gods, and wonders if they will both perish. I guess it's not guaranteed that these monsters behave in the same way as the others in the game, given that they're GODS and all...

While the beams of light shoot out from every possible split in both Obelisk and Slifer, Yami looks on in amazement. They start to break apart all the more, unraveled by the point of light shining at where they had connected. Kaiba wonders what it is, if their powers are reacting to one another. It grows, consuming the forms of each god monster in an explosion of radiance, Kaiba and Yami both staring into it with terror. Retinal damage will ensue, no doubt.

If they're not literally incinerated by the holographic nuclear explosion of death, of course. The rules for how these holograms interact with physical space are still woefully unclear, so I'm not ruling it out.

The blast is so bright that it floods the windows of the blimp below, and throws into stark relief Honda, Anzu, and the unconscious Jonouchi at the one in the medical room. The doctor asks in a panic what the light is, and Anzu responds with another alarmed question; whether the whole tower blew up. She yells Yuugi's name at the blinding flash, and by contrast, Ishizu stares out Rishid's window with silent surprise.

Other!Marik gapes in disbelief over the utter chaos that was unleashed by the two gods colliding, while Mokuba screams to his brother in the midst of the explosion. The Millennium Rod stuck in the back of his belt catches other!Marik's attention somehow, must have put it on vibrate for the match if I had to guess, and he twists around to see it sporting similar shafts of light to the gods before they were ultimately consumed by a sphere of it. Not sure how we're able to see MORE light in the all-encompassing radiance here, but we'll go with it since there's really not any other way to get anything strange about it across.

Other!Marik pulls out the rod (not a euphemism) with some aggression, teeth clenched (not a euphemism!), noting that it's glowing again just like it did before. No time for a flashback like KT is used to; we just skip to other!Marik glaring into the eye on the rod, identifying the shafts of brilliance he can miraculously see in the midst of a greater brilliance as Seto Kaiba's memories.

Only a fraction of what Kaiba deserves for the shitty horror ride in Death-T, but hey, it's probably the best comeuppance he's gonna get, so I won't turn my nose up at it.

Kaiba and Yami find themselves floating in the air between a strange inverted pyramid poking down out of a rippling bank of clouds above and a smoking and roughed-up looking ancient Egyptian city set against a backdrop of a couple more right-side-up pyramids below. Eyes practically popping in panic, Kaiba wonders where the fuck he is. On Yami's forehead, the eye symbol on all the Millennium Items shines out from between his eyes, on one of which we get a nice close up before...

Well I wonder who these strange dudes shrouded in shadows are, they don't look familiar at allllllllll...

Ah, hell, I'll play along with this shadow game. Get it? Shadow game? Don't ask me why I'm like this. Anyway the TALL Egyptian dude below them says something about the High Priest of Darkness conquering heaven and earth with his evil power, all of the short one's divine right and Millennium Items counting for DICK against the power of darkness. The short one just glares while the tall one rambles on that he too is the short one's enemy, now and forever, with his rod and dragon. We get a better look at his face and would you believe it, he resembles Kaiba exactly! The modern Kaiba looks aghast down at the guy with his face while he continues by claiming to repeat himself - he again vows never to be on the short one's side, but his pride won't let him surrender to darkness either. He just REALLY wants to defeat the short one with his own hands, whose face is also rendered more clearly as the mirror of Yami's normally stern visage. At the moment, though, the modern one in the air looks horrified and a little sweaty.

Ancient!Kaiba asserts with confidence that his dragon, whose roar shakes the heavens by the way we can't forget to mention that little detail, will wipe out ancient!Yami's magician once and for all. Ancient!Yami looks unimpressed by this claim. Then those big-ass slabs of rock that I thought were just aesthetic tile decoration, giant coasters if you will, begin to rise onto their ends. They pop up behind both of our ancient boys, who wave aggressive gestures like usual, and yell DIAHA at each other, which is noted to be ancient Egyptian for "duel start". Is this diagetic? Can Yami and Kaiba understand their ancient counterparts up until and directly after this point? Or is this just the classic unwise use of foreign language that so many 14-year-olds sprinkle into their fanfictions?

The ancient boys both summon the pictures in the slabs behind them, ancient!Kaiba calling forth his dragon, and ancient!Yami demanding his magician to rise from the slab, even though the slab has already done half of that work already.

Speaking of work, Yami's brain is on hyperdrive, wondering if this scene is part of his lost memories. Kaiba is sweating up a STORM as he... floats in utter disbelief that his Blue Eyes White Dragon was what came out of his ancient Egyptian twin's fancy rock coaster. The images on the stone tablets behind the ancient doppelgangers are pretty okay approximations of what has come out of them, so I don't know why he's so shocked. Anyway, Yami looks like he's come to an epiphany.

And with this revelation, the scene abruptly shifts back to the top of the tower in the center of the coliseum Kaiba constructed from light, which is visible again now that the giant ball of light seems to have dissipated from within it. The lads kneel, panting, as they regain their senses, reorienting themselves in a world where they are still playing a card game on top of a tower topped with a fake coliseum, I cannot stress this enough guys.

Other!Marik watches the wisps of virtual smoke disappearing into the atmosphere, all that's left of the gods who have decided to leave this earthly plane. Then he glares back down at the Millennium Rod like he's trying to wordlessly communicate the severe spanking it's going to get when they get home, by golly. He's figured out that it has somehow awakened Yami and Kaiba's memories, but hasn't quite worked out what it really DID, and he's clearly infuriated by this.

Kaiba and Yami have begun to stand again in the meantime, glowering at one another in barely disguised confusion. Kaiba wonders what that scene was that flashed through his head, pressing a palm to his forehead, probably quelling quite the headache. He closes his eyes to recall the image, and though he thinks it's a bit crazy, he knows it was Yami he was fighting in the vision. Yami stands across from him with an "why I never!" expression, as though he heard all of this. And for all I know, he did, since there never has been a fair distinction between thoughts and dialog in this comic to this very day.

Nah, Yami is just absolutely sure in his particular broody way that the vision was one of his memories. And there's one more thing he's sure of, while we're on the subject.

You guys sure have some patience. I would have forgotten all about this by... Oh yeah.

So what did I think of this chapter overall? The shared hallucinatory trip into Yami and Kaiba's parallel lives is very exciting. It's a nice diversion from the near nonstop card matches since the blimp, and is quite visually stunning in its stark use of dark, shadowy atmosphere. The deep shadows in particular are great at signifying the dogged pursuit of Yami and Kaiba's multi-lifetime association - their confrontation is like their shadow, always following, and put into stark relief the harsher the light on the similarity of their current situation (hence the gigantic explosion of light from the gods there). It's something they carry with them no matter how far back and forgotten, and they shape it with every action they take.

And there's something to be said for the teaser this is; this is really the first taste Yami has of getting the knowledge of his past that he entered this tournament, and it seems to be invigorating for him. It takes a little bit of processing, which is entirely understandable, but this is his first real indication that he's been on the right track this entire time, and gives him a little bit of a new drive to keep moving in the direction that produced it. I think this style of vision came quite LATE, and a couple of smaller ones earlier in the tournament might have given the path a bit more clarity, at least for us readers who might have enjoyed seeing him express a bit more doubt along the way for character development purposes. But it's understandable why this happened when it did, and why it was unlikely to have happened earlier, if not impossible, so I won't be too much of a stickler about it. Whether the effectiveness as an energizing experience is harmed or helped by putting it this late in the game is debatable, but it's certainly not INeffective. There's a real excitement at discovering that THIS is what he came here for, and the renewed, added purpose it gives him regardless.

Kaiba's reception of this vision is of course a bit more confused and alarmed, because even though it's happened to him before, he DIDN'T come here for this. Freaky visions were not part of his agenda, so the fact that this is happening AGAIN cannot be too comforting. I don't know how KT is going to depict Kaiba's recovery after this, since Kaiba also seems gain a little bit of vigor from the scene of him facing off against Yami with just as much fervor as always. There's a lot of interesting directions he could take this for Kaiba, so I'm really eager to see how the next chapter addresses their little journey into the past.

On the other hand, I have a couple of questions. How does other!Marik know that these are memories being transferred to Kaiba and Yami? Does he see them? Did he learn it in the course of becoming a tomb keeper heir? And is his possession of that damn rod the reason I had to endure his garbage for the past several chapters??? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Inuyasha Manga: 198 Curse-Counterstrike

I've been playing entirely too much The Sims 3 these past couple of weeks, and it doesn't take a genius neurologist to figure out why, so we'll just skip the armchair psychology. Instead, I'll drop one of my unpopular opinions about the game here: I'm quite fond of the World Adventures expansion pack. That's right, fight me. I think it's charming and breaks up some of the doldrums of regular gameplay in the same town over several generations. I won't ignore the frankly gross undertones of archaeological destruction in tomb-raiding, or the glitch-tastic problems it can cause, but all-in-all it DOES give my sims the ability to travel and interact with what passes for a different culture in a dinky life simulation game.

My normally mild enjoyment of the content of this pack has been tested over the past weekend, though, because I made the mistake of accepting an adventure in which the ultimate goal is to get your sim cursed by a mummy. It turns out that those suckers aren't always consistent in showing up, and when they do, the chance must be EXTREMELY low for them to give a sim the mummy's curse after beating the shit out of them and disappearing FOREVER. I tried five different tombs and seven different mummies, but nary a curse was caught.

That little virtual person had some Kagome-level moxy in her for sure, so I had to abandon the frustrating exercise entirely. Tsubaki might consider the same.

Just right-click on that "get cursed" adventure in the opportunities panel and get on with your life, Tsubaki. Seriously.

No, she's totally committed to this curse. Smirking, she says the curse continues, a fact that Sango appears all too aware of, with Kagome still collapsed in her lap. She stares speechlessly at Tsubaki, and Miroku glares. Kagome just lays there, the Shikon shards pulsing dark and evil in her neck. Sango turns her attention back to her and frets over her lack of recovery, questioning if she shouldn't be getting better since the shikigami was destroyed. Two possibilities - either Miroku was making bullshit assumptions and is full of it, or the shikigami isn't really dead. Its body, still hanging around Tsubaki's shoulders, is still giving off vague stirs of power, after all.

Tsubaki says with absolute certainty that Kagome will die, as will the rest of them, as the scaled pattern appears over her her right eye once more.

With that half-baked expression up there, he wasn't prepared for much of anything, let alone a gaggle of freaks popping out of Tsubaki's face like it was a reverse-Kazaana-clown-car.

I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have written that as a simile. Tsubaki's face clearly IS a reverse-Kazaana-clown-car.

Miroku strikes a defensive pose with his staff held out in front of him, remarking upon Tsubaki bringing more youkai to the party as though he were commenting on the weather. Inuyasha yells that they are impudent while he strikes one down with his claws. I guess he's taking that threat that Kagome dies if he draws Tessaiga VERY seriously. Sango orders the still transformed Kirara to stay beside Kagome while she runs to partake in battle, swinging Hiraikotsu through a drove of disposable red shirts youkai.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki has finally learned to FOCUS, and takes this moment while all of Kagome's friends are distracted by the horde she's unleashed upon them to smirk deliberately in Kagome's direction, where Kirara stands protectively over her. It looks like Miroku has a horrible epiphany as he stabs through a youkai with his staff; he hears the sound of rapid slithering through the grass. Miroku immediately identifies it as the shikigami, but is in disbelief. The snake's headless body is darting over the ground, a transformation happening on the stump where its fanged jaws used to be.

Jeebs over here like there's no gun in the men in black arsenal that can keep him down.

Inuyasha sees this while slicing through some pile of flesh midair, dumbfounded at first, then cursing about how the youkai were decoys. There is no WAY he could have reached that conclusion sooner, trust me. Tsubaki mocks him for realizing this too late, as her snake lunges over the final leg of its journey toward the seemingly incapacitated Kagome. I say "seemingly" because while Tsubaki is commanding her jerk snake to bit off Kagome's head before bringing the Shikon fragments back, and Inuyasha yells Kagome's name in his belated and ultimately too slow way in her direction, Kagome opens her eyes and recalls a little uncertainly that someone is trying to kill her.

What looks like a desperate swing of the only nearby stick-approximate weapon is apparently just what the doctor ordered.

Hey, look on the bright side. Now your eyeshadow can match!

Miroku and Inuyasha stare aghast at the Tsubaki, the latter in amazement that Kagome knocked back the shikigami. As Tsubaki topples over from the snake's redirected attack, she herself is flabbergasted that Kagome did a curse-counterstrike just like Kikyou did. And in the process won the distinct honor of saying the title of the chapter. At least she got something out of this utter failure of a curse attempt. When Tsubaki hits the floor, the Shikon no Tama rolls out of her grimy grip, now pristine in its glow; now purified, to her unending horror.

Miroku and Sango gape some more, remarking that the fragments have popped out of Kagome's neck of their own accord. Tsubaki grunts, snatching back up the Shikon no Tama, but acknowledging silently that the curse is broken now. A couple of her helper-youkai with strips of flesh hanging off them and exposed ribs and organs showing, whether from the earlier short battle with Inuyasha and company or for maximum creepy effect I don't know, fly over and lift her into the air much like Kikyou's shinidamachuu. That's a... weird parallel.

I'm the only one with the luxury to notice stuff like that, though, because all that really concerns Miroku at the moment is that Tsubaki is escaping, and he makes a fuss. At long last, Inuyasha curses as he pulls Tessaiga, yelling at that bitch Tsubaki to hold it while he unleashes an effortless Kaze no Kizu in her direction. I gotta admit, I'm grateful to the lackluster rush of the previous arc for the sole reason that if Inuyasha hadn't gotten the upgrade in it, this arc would have been a LOT longer. The temple is destroyed in the blast, and Inuyasha glares out over its collapsed roof to find Tsubaki nowhere in sight anymore. He pisses and moans that she got away. He seems to be back to normal at least.

In some remote secret castle somewhere, Naraku sits silently a moment as he watches the mirror little Kanna holds in her lap, before flatly stating that Tsubaki is useless. I headcanon that Kanna is holding back with all her might some sarcastic comment about how he's an excellent judge of character and power. I know I'm projecting, but she's a figurative blank slate, it's just too easy. Naraku explains away his poor choice of ally as an overestimation of how hard she'd work given her level of desire for the Shikon no Tama. Kagura lets out a small scoff on the other side of a sheer screen dividing the room, knowing Naraku had no intention of handing over the jewel regardless of results, a fact that probably didn't escape Tsubaki either, if we're being fair.

And that's about as fair as I'm willing to be to Tsubaki.

Tsubaki's shinidamachuu-adjacent youkai presumably manage to get a fair distance away from Inuyasha's crew before collapsing on the ground and falling apart, dissolving into the ground. Tsubaki comments that she must have overused them, then blames her opponents for all the youkai she brought (lent her by Naraku no doubt) being dead. Still trying to have her cake and eat it too I see. She observes the jewel still in her hand, however, looking pretty pleased that she can manage eternal youth and beauty without linking to a youkai now. The scale pattern over her right eye deepens and spreads again in that moment, a sensation that surprises her, because her eye gets really wide in addition to her exclamation point/question mark bubble.

... Or maybe her eye was just trying to accommodate the massive wasp.

Tsubaki gapes after the saimyoushou flying away with the Shikon no Tama, identifying it as Naraku's bug. Sprawled on the ground, she curses in a rather pathetic tantrum, and Kikyou watches from a convenient perch of rock outcrop nearby. She sure is conveniently in the right place to see the meltdown of an old enemy, considering this place the youkai dropped Tsubaki seems kind of random. She's not there to make good on her promise to kill Tsubaki for targeting Inuyasha, though. Instead she just observes the whole plot is over and Tsubaki lost, affirming that Tsubaki could never beat Kagome if unable to beat her as she turns away.

And I mean, I don't know what Tsubaki expected. She couldn't even approach the low-energy Kikyou in the past, so how she thought she could stand up to someone who put in a bit of EFFORT is beyond me.

Anyway, in the wake of this exhausting curse-mess, Sango comments that Kagome is rather worn out. They cross a creek on a low little bridge in a procession, Miroku leading Kagome riding piggyback on Inuyasha, and Sango atop Kirara bringing up the rear. Sango leans forward to examine Kagome's back and wonders out loud if she's gone to sleep. Maybe she COULD rest a bit if you would keep it the FUCK down, girl. Miroku answers that it's not surprising Kagome would be so exhausted, since she's been fighting the curse this whole time.

Then Inuyasha decides to make a random self-deprecating comment.

Is this in reference to anything that happened in the prior incident? Or is it just bullshit teenage insecurity manifesting at a strange moment? Who the fuck knows, since the chapter is done.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It really seemed to strengthen the parallels between Kagome and Kikyou, rather than create a divergence in how the two handled an issue like Tsubaki like I had thought would happen. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if RT wants to draw out a conflict in which Kagome continues to try to establish herself as a distinct individual, but Tsubaki's line about Kagome performing an identical counterstrike does kind of undercut how seriously we're meant to take her independence from Kikyou. There's also Kikyou's reassertion that Tsubaki can't beat Kagome if she can't beat her adds to this by the implication that Kagome is basically Kikyou, but MORE. In the end, both of these things end up reinforcing the default assumption most everyone familiar with Kikyou (but not with Kagome) makes upon meeting Kagome - Kikyou's reincarnation, therefore Kikyou at the core. Tsubaki's close-and-good-enough attitude should have been challenged more, in a way that made her realize she wasn't satisfied cursing a Kikyou in looks alone, and wanted to go after the real thing... But that's just one reader's opinion, and I can't help but feel I might be missing a little bit of context in the grand scheme, cultural or otherwise. No idea what it could be, but that's what I have potential commenters for.

*Ahem*

An opinion I feel a bit more confident in, though, is that I would really have liked if Tsubaki's run-away move with the jewel had been somewhat intentional. She implied at the beginning of the arc that she didn't entirely believe that Naraku was willing to hand her the Shikon no Tama as payment for her curse on his most dangerous enemy after all. It would have been cool if she had planned a feigned failure in attempt to take flight with the jewel, because it would have given her some cunning. Obviously, Naraku's insurance policy of planting a saimyoushou in her to retrieve the Shikon no Tama would have worked just as well with this, and could even have been incorporated into a retreat to find the true Kikyou to actual revenge too. Tsubaki would be developed just a smidge more in the process, which certainly would have made her more bearable to read. As it stands, she was nothing but boring throughout her whole appearance. Probably why RT never bothered to bring her back, since she could have, given Tsubaki was left defeated but very much alive.

And I still have no clue what Inuyasha was on about in his apology for proximity to Kagome at the end of the chapter above. It's just out of place and perplexing. Perhaps he's blaming himself because he thinks Kagome was the target of the curse because of him and the attempt on HIS life earlier? Which is ludicrous for how obviously Kagome was being cursed for her resemblance and ties to Kikyou. But it's the only possibility I can see.

I don't exactly have the time to work out another hypothesis either, because the power company is shutting off service to my building shortly in order to fix an electrical box falling apart outside, so I'm running out of time to get my interweb shit done before I don't have access for a time. Later, friends!!

Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 256 God vs. God!

Fabulous! There's nothing I love better than a couple of gods having at it with one another, but not for the spectacle of the thing. Oh no, this is the one time I feel confident looking elsewhere while the overpowered jerkwads are otherwise occupied. Usually they're using their vast resources and influence to pick on us in the strata below, sometimes turning us against one another for their own benefit. But when they take swings laterally, we can focus on working together and getting things done while the powers that be are bickering.

I hope they keep fighting. Maybe continued spats will mean even MORE oil pipelines thwarted.

Have at it, guys. I'll just be over here, NOT organizing strikes and boycotts on Kaiba Corp products...

All this looks rather impressive up close, but down on the level of the blimp, parked at the foot of the tower, the cartoony-ness of it really stands out. Ishizu is standing at a porthole beside the still unconscious Rashid's bed, looking out at the war of the gods, the time of which has finally come, and strangely does NOT think of how ridiculous it looks. She just thinks on how it's all happening just as was foretold 3,000 years before, under the sign of the three hidden gods, which must have been referenced by that tablet she introduced to Yami and Kaiba, considering it makes an appearance in her memory. Ishizu is convinced that if Yami does not win this duel, his lost memories won't ever be restored, since the three god cards are required to open THAT door. That WOULD make things tense, if there were any doubt in my mind at this point that Yami is going to win.

Ishizu thinks the enemy standing in Yami's way is just a test of the gods, and even the evil that's overtaken her brother Marik. If you ever needed proof that the gods are serious fucking dicks, inflicting lifelong trauma and horror on a kid so some OTHER kid can get a lesson seems like some pretty final evidence. Because the edgiest edge to ever edge just HAS to make an appearance every chapter now, we're shown other!Marik chuckling at the scene from inside his wall at the top of the tower, anticipating finding out which god manages to win. Then we're back down in the blimp again, where Honda has paused fretting over what could still very well be his dead buddy by this point and gone to a nearby porthole as well, to demand everyone look at Yami's Slifer and Kaiba's Obelisk getting ready to show down. Ryuuji, Anzu and Shizuka all look up in alarm, the former expressing some disbelief. Anzu runs to the window, her constant worry now shifting to Yami.

Honda makes an exclamation, Anzu gives her remote encouragement, and I guess Honda decides that Jonouchi should get his dead-ass up and see this too? No, really, he goes over to the side of the cot, grabs a fistful of Jonouchi's shirt, and demands that he stop sleeping and start cheering for Yami. The denial is VERY deep. As Honda pulls the limp Jonouchi into a sitting position, Shizuka whimpers a request not to be so rough with him. Honda, of course, assures her with force that it's okay, and he wants Jonouchi to see this. The doctor, who is still sitting bedside monitoring the EKG, begins to protest, but Honda tells him to shut it, for his dead friend wants to see their other friend's duel. Anzu holds out her hands like SHE'S going to be the spotter, as Honda drags Jonouchi to the window.

It's a bizarre moment, folks.

And getting all the weirder.

Atop the tower, Yami glares up at the massive Obelisk, because it's impossible to tell the difference between valiantly standing one's ground and concentrating very hard on NOT shitting your pants. Kaiba is doing calculations - counting the two cards in Yami's hand and concluding again that this only gives Slifer 2000 attack points. However, he seems unsure about putting on his usual smug attitude about it.

Caution that is warranted, it seems. Yami says that the moment Obelisk was summoned, Slifer's special ability was activated. Kaiba recalls the name of said ability with a little sweatdrop: Summon Lightning Shot. It's a good thing they remembered, because I sure as hell didn't.

Better haul ass, then. Clock's a' ticking.

Kaiba acknowledges that for this one turn at least, his and Yami's gods are evenly matched and if they attack, they'll just kill each other. He's pretty certain Yami planned this; he knew Slifer's special power would weaken Obelisk, so he was just fine having two cards instead of three. But he COULD have had three if he hadn't played a card face down, and been capable of beating Obelisk with his own god. Kaiba knows that when Yami draws a card on his turn coming up, Slifer will have 3000 attack points, but by that point Obelisk will be back up to 4000 points because it can shake that special power of Slifer's. Which I think should be making him question all the more what that face down card could possibly be that Yami thought it was worth sacrificing a whole 1000 points of attack power that could have evened the playing field on a more permanent basis, given that Slifer ALSO could have had 4000 points by that point.

But no, he thinks the next turn is his chance, and ends his turn by playing a face down card of his own. Is this comic still trying to convince me that he's some kind of amazing strategic thinker? Yami at least has logic enough to immediately wondering what the face down card just played is, fretting over if it's a spell card or the trap Life Shaver again. He doesn't dwell, though, and draws a new card, announcing that Slifer's attack power increases. Kaiba boasts that this is just fine by him, because Obelisk's attack power is back to 4000 at the moment too. Yami wonders if he should attack this turn, or if he should worry about a trap, because he doesn't have any cards that can save him if this goes south and Kaiba lowers Slifer's attack points on him. Assuming that Yami's strategy has a card that INCREASES Slifer's points, because otherwise all of this speculating would be moot anyway. 

While Yami devotes more consideration to the face down card, Kaiba has a dorky laugh in his head and tells Yami that his god is no match for Obelisk. Then he pulls an ultra serious face and declares that those who fear cannot command god. That's right, that alarm bell in your head that tells you when to be cautious and helps you not get hurt? It makes you WEAK! WEAK I tell you! Being reckless and out of control is the only way to command the power of a god! After all, when has temperance ever proven to be a more effective strategy than swinging blindly??

Yami ends his turn, not to be goaded by Kaiba. Kaiba scoffs, announces his turn and draws a card. Gritting his teeth, he asks Yami if he's ready, and Yami just glares back at him. He thrusts out a hand and shouts at Yami to feel his god's iron hammer, which is definitely NOT a euphemism, and orders Obelisk to attack.

It looks for all the world like Obelisk has Slifer beat; its fist has punched all the way through the sky dragon's neck. So it really has me scratching my head when Yami down below chooses the entirely too-late moment to reveal his face down card, Pot of Greed, which allows him to draw two cards. Kaiba looks on in lock-jawed horror as Yami draws his cards, just like the card allows. While Obelisk's fist remains firmly in Slifer's mouth and neck, Yami states triumphantly that Slifer now has 5000 attack points and calls out an attack, Thunder Force. Kaiba sweats, eyes wide and beady.

Obelisk screams, Slifer's blast starting to engulf its punching arm and its face beyond. Though one of them is large enough to take up 1.5 pages, this is a scant two panels, and in that span, Kaiba has recovered from his apparent alarm. He chuckles, and tells that fool Yami that he set a trap: Life Shaver. Yami knows that even if it was only face down for a single turn, that's enough to take away all of his advantage, a single card.

How does a perfectly matched brawl usually end in this game? I knew these gods wouldn't last long.

So what did I think of this chapter overall? The visuals were pretty great; most every panel gave you a sense of epic content, even if the content itself was pretty predictable. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - ultimately, despite Kaiba's impressions, the fight of these two rivals is not about who's god card is the strongest, or even really about the god cards at all. They kind of have to be discarded in order for the heart of the matter is revealed. The god cards and their summoning are impressive, but in the end they're just flashy distractions, obscuring the real core of the rivalry between the characters.

Kaiba is completely taken in by their power and strength, to the point of ignoring possible pitfalls, in an almost deliberate way. His comment that one must have no fear to command a god is a kind of admission that he views the power of the god cards as absolute to the point of a REFUSAL to recognize any possible threat. NOTHING can threaten Obelisk in his eyes, because it's the biggest, baddest thing out there, and to worry about it is foolish and wasteful.

But in his appropriately religious faith in his god card and what it will do for him in this moment, this one match, is a failure to understand the true pattern behind his losses in the past. Clearly, he thinks if he has enough raw power, he can beat Yami, but as I mentioned above, that's a very shallow interpretation of their rivalry. It hasn't occurred to him yet that more power, whether in his economic ability to create elaborate tournaments that favor him or in his ability to gather and summon the most awesome monsters in the game, isn't going to afford him any advantage unless he understands WHY he and Yami have to fight like this.

Since we're not AT the part where both he and Yami have to confront their underlying relationship with one another yet, I suppose I found this chapter a tad on the boring side. I was more interested in plowing through it to get to that more meaningful confrontation in the future.

Though the WHOLE chapter didn't strike me as the spectacular scenery on the way to a family reunion. There was a lot of raw emotion in how Honda insisted on dragging Jonouchi over to the window to have a distant look at Yami's fight. The denial that Jonouchi isn't there is real, and even though Honda and company ends up being right in thinking Jonouchi will recover (and we know it), it still breaks your heart a little to see his friends stick so stubbornly to the insistence that they can just snap him out of death.

Even if it takes you a bit out of those hardcore feels when you see the doctor is still there, long after he first declared there to be no hope, monitoring the EKG for NO REASON? Like, why is he still hanging out? I guess the implication is that he's trying to see if that anomaly on the screen comes back, but you'd think he would have shrugged it off after the first few seconds of not seeing it again and leave. So have there been more blips that we as the audience didn't see that kept him sitting there watching? If that's the case, wouldn't he stop thinking of it as an anomaly and start looking for ways to revive the poor boy?

Who knows? He just needs to be there for the reveal that Jonouchi is in fact alive so he can be astonished.

Inuyasha Manga: 197 Shikigami

You know you're an adult when your three-day weekend is filled with plans to do chores. Can't just fill all my free time with writing and crafting and all that other witchery like some ancient Greek noble, because it turns out that free time isn't free, and when it is, you're usually too exhausted from daily obligations to do anything productive with it. Better than having a host of slaves who do all of your adulting for you while you lie around coming up with shitty nonsensical ideas, though. SOMEBODY always has to do the real work, whether it's cooking dinner, or MAKING dinner of the mistress's enemies while she inflicts agonizing curses on people who resemble her former rival.

At least it gets a good meal out of this arrangement, even if I think menial chores might be more dignified. But I suppose those big clumsy paws wouldn't have the dexterity needed to pull off most housework.

Probably would have been better off with the birdlike talons it had in the last chapter.

Inuyasha curses this damn small-fry, and thinks that if Kagome's life wasn't in Tsubaki's hands, he could kill it with one blow. Kagome leans on Sango, sweating and grimacing as the Shikon shards in her neck pulse with evil energy, and Sango asks in alarm if she's in pain. Apparently the prior clues were not enough. Miroku deduces that Tsubaki must be intending to kill Kagome after she's taken care of Inuyasha, so Sango asks him if there's not any way to break the curse, since he's so smart and observant after all.

As a matter of fact, Miroku DOES seem to have an idea. He recalls Kagome saying she'd been bitten by something before she collapsed, which he asserts must be the dark miko's shikigami. The snake coiled around Tsubaki's shoulders struck him as the shikigami, a medium for the curse, so he lunges forward, reaching under his collar. Sango calls out to him in concern, but he's focused on killing that snake. Miroku throws his paper charms straight out at it from a distance, and Tsubaki recognizes the slips as exorcism ofuda with a scowl.

And he makes fun of Inuyasha for being impulsive and rash.

Tsubaki scoffs as she lifts a big bell sleeve to intercept the paper charm and reduce it to burning ash before it can reach her snake, telling them that it's useless and her curse cannot be broken with a self-satisfied smirk. Inuyasha has to push Miroku out of the way as a gigantic paw comes crashing toward them, driving a trench into the ground where they were just standing. A gigantic disappointing PAW instead of a cool bird talon. Sorry, I don't think I'm going to get over this.

Holding up the corrupted Shikon no Tama like it's an hors d'oeuvre at a fancy party, Tsubaki tells those fools that they're ensuring that Kagome's suffering will be drawn out. Oh, shifting the blame for one's horrible actions and pretending that better treatment depends upon their caving to unreasonable demands is such a power move, expertly done... until she squeezes her fingers closed over the jewel and admits that she does indeed have the option to just kill Kagome sooner rather than later. Inconsistent ownership of power is inconsistent.

Or perhaps she's just grasping at a level of control she knows deep down she doesn't really have. An arrow flies toward her and embeds itself in the stair just slightly behind her and to the right.

Man is Tsubaki LUCKY that arrow didn't land - she should ask her good buddy Naraku how one of those things feels when it actually hits you.

Inuyasha looks back at Kagome, shouting her name in concern as she groans in pain. Tsubaki asks how she can still be moving, simply LIVID that Kagome has any energy at all to fight back right now. Kagome draws another arrow, and retorts by questioning the strength of Tsubaki's powers of concentration. Haltingly, of course, considering the effort involved. Tsubaki returns to her mild annoyed glare at Kagome, concluding that this little recovery of defiance came in the split second when she was distracted by Miroku's paper charm, and admitting that it was no lie that Kagome is Kikyou's reincarnation. But she smirks again and says that if Kagome were the REAL Kikyou, that arrow would have hit her, so Kagome seems to her a pale shadow of her former incarnation.

Kagome's hackles are raised now, glaring daggers at Tsubaki and practically spitting in anger as she begins her rebuttal.

"And 'Kagome' has unfortunately picked up a bit of her boyfriend's bad aim!!"

Tsubaki yells at Kagome that she's speeding up her own demise, holding out the blackened jewel.

Shit, no wonder Kagome was so disturbed by that initial bite next to the well; that thing took a TON of blood!

Kagome collapses on her face in the grass, Sango yelling her name and reaching out an impotent and hovering hand. Inuyasha rushes toward her and sweeps her out of the way just as that giant dog/fox/not-bird thing slams its paw where she was just laying on the ground, forcing Sango to leap out of its way as well. As he carries her, Inuyasha calls Kagome's name again, in a panic on seeing her limp form in his arms. He's convinced that if things keep going the way they are, Kagome won't be able to stand this much more.

Well, it KIND OF looks like a talon again. I guess.

Inuyasha gets right in Kagome's face and asks desperately if she can hold on for just a little longer. After a short pause, she says yes, shards in her neck still glowing in dark malice. Inuyasha still hesitates to stare down at her in worry, but turns to face the advancing youkai, promising silently that he definitely won't let her be killed. He tells that wimpy dog/fox to get lost and tears through it with his claws alone, giving it the good ol' Sankon Tessou that breaks all its fangs and rips it all to shreds. The ground-up youkai flesh rains down upon Miroku and Sango as they regard Inuyasha with gapes and worried calls as he makes a bee-line for Tsubaki.

With an exclamation that this is it, Inuyasha swipes down with his already bloodied claws at Tsubaki, taking the head off of her creepy horned snake. Tsubaki stares wide-eyed at the headless snake, and Miroku praises Inuyasha's good work as he rushes toward the fallen snake's head with his staff at the ready. He stabs the end right in between the horns on the snake's head, and the thing sizzles like a sinister little delicacy in a pan. I'm actually not hungry, I don't know where that simile came from.

Inuyasha tells Tsubaki to give it up, still crouched and claws curled post-attack. Tsubaki gives him a LOOK in silence for a moment.

Of COURSE this disaster of a sub-plot refuses to be wrapped up easily. I shouldn't have let Miroku's position as the educated one with smart solutions give me hope that this mess is coming to a close. What was I thinking?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Despite my salty comment preceding analysis, I was actually semi-PLEASED with this one. Finally, I'm able to see a kernel of meaningful narrative here that's not clouded with a bunch of contrived circumstance; the overarching point is Kagome being a distinct person from Kikyou, even as she's being tangled in Kikyou's prior issues and relationships. This situation emerges from an old enemy of Kikyou's targeting Kagome for nothing more than the spiritual association, but this is just a microcosm for Kagome's struggle over most of the story thus far.

Periodically up until this point, Kagome has been mistaken for Kikyou, been thrust into her old role, engaged with Kikyou's ex-lover in increasingly romantic ways, and every step of the way, there has been an undercurrent of expectation pertaining to her identity. Even when Kikyou is thrust back into the world and a direct contrast between her personality and Kagome's can be made, there are still characters who will bend over backwards to see them as the same. Tsubaki, for the sake of her burning hatred of Kikyou and desire to defeat her, is determined to merge the two individuals, regardless of the fact that she literally just ENCOUNTERED the actual Kikyou and didn't exactly defeat her this time either. In fact, that's the point. It suits her to cast Kagome as a weaker Kikyou so that she can get her revenge and win without nearly the effort or risk involved with confronting the real Kikyou. Just as it suits the purposes of everyone else who has seen Kagome as Kikyou-approximate up until now.

Kagome's struggle to get out from under Kikyou's shadow becomes a bit more defined in a literal fight to establish her identity here, instead of a vague background radiation in her life on the feudal side of the well. Before this point, Kagome seems to lead a mostly charmed existence, and her issues don't really extend past a tendency toward jealousy for Kikyou and falling ever behind in school. But this arc does manage to clarify Kagome's overarching problem; the drive to define herself outside the narrow perimeters set for her in this world, a problem 99% of the teenagers reading the series should be able to identify with right away. It's actually a fantastic metaphor for the adolescent finding themselves and striving for a way to express their unique perspective.

To be clear, my prior criticisms of this arc stand. While I'm impressed with the message emerging, part of that positive impression is the fact that it came out of such utter chaos and confusion. I mean, the point was so buried under convenient contrivances and forced positioning of the characters (I'm still scratching my head over the total absence of Inuyasha putting up a fight to be part of going to kill the baddie) that I'm surprised the whole point managed to come out at all.

And don't get me started again on the switch from talons to paws on that dog-thing. I LIKED the chicken feet, dammit.