Inuyasha Manga: 288 Community of Oni-Women

Sounds badass. I'm picturing a cozy little micro-society out in the wilds where ladies hang out together, gather and cook delicious food, do all those cool creative necessary things like sewing and weaving and gardening and make it all artsy, providing moral support and work together for the good of the community... all while drinking the blood of their enemies from skulls. I'd inquire about an application, but I also think perhaps I'd be on the menu if I ever approached, so it might not be worth the risk.

Damn Inuyasha, you just stampeded straight for that chapter title, didn't you? No warm-up or anything!

Seems they've met an old man with a basket on his back in the middle of a forest path, who says it's no lie, he saw it himself. He must be savvy to the fact that this group is a little wary of rumors from strangers these days, to be insisting that he's not lying like that. He goes on to say that he went into the woods to find some herbs and got lost, and while wandering around, he came across a valley. The valley must have been flooded or contained a river or something, because we get a view of his memory of the place and there's some water, but he doesn't mention it. He recalls a group of only women carrying something between them onto a rock overcropping the water, and they were laughing about something before throwing their parcel into the river he hadn't indicated before. He had a curious peek at the parcel rolled up in a grass mat as it floated by, and was horrified by what he saw.

Siiiiiiick. In multiple senses of the word. 

The old guy shivers and says it certainly wasn't the work of humans, and Miroku responds generically. After when I assume the old man skedaddled, they're still talking about a possible community of oni-women as they proceed through the woods. Presumably it's Miroku who says he can't feel a lot of evil energy in the area, though, despite how the panel is all landscape. The next one shows Inuyasha asking Kagome if she senses any Shikon shards. She says she senses nothing, but Sango says that they should be checking out every single suspicious place, looking over her shoulder at Miroku for confirmation. He agrees, adding that they need to take any remaining Shikon fragments before Naraku does. Kagome affirms this much as well, thinking on their objective to prevent Naraku from completing and polluting the whole Shikon no Tama.  

Elsewhere in the rustling forest, a samurai in armor is using his katana as a crutch to limp his way through the shallow water, panting. Freshly wounded from some battle or whatever is my guess. He sees a woman leaning a bucket into the water just at its edge, and he calls to her, asking if there's a village nearby. She gapes blankly at him and observes that he's injured, and by the next panel, we get a view of the hut he's been led to, where someone is asking for confirmation that he's escaping from a war. The samurai gives her an affirmative, but he's stuck on one simple fact. 

At the very least there should be some other deserters for something hanging out in here.

The woman he's sitting across from, the headwoman I presume, flatly tells him that there are indeed no men in this village because they all died in wars. The young woman who brought him to the village before, identifiable by the beauty mark near the left corner of her mouth, hovers in the background with her tray, expressionless. The samurai doesn't say anything to call out the bullshit he's hearing, despite thinking it still AWFULLY suspicious that he's also not seeing any children or older folks.

In any case, after nightfall, he's shown lying sprawled on his back on the floor of some building, snoring. When he opens his eyes in confusion, hums and sits up, asking if he fell asleep, it's implied that perhaps the drink he was offered upon arriving there might have been drugged. He looks around and further questions the place he passed out, identifying it as a small temple. Next to him, he notices an altar with offerings on it, sitting underneath a scroll on the wall with what looks to be a religious painting of a woman on it. It's easy for him to notice in the dark that the painting is glowing, and he shuffles over on his knees to investigate it, poking a finger at it. Anyone who's seen a horror film, or even read THIS very comic up until this point, knows before he draws his finger away with a creepy goo stringing between it and the painting that this guy has made a fatal mistake. 

Maybe dying in that war he ran away from would have granted him a... LESS fucked-up death. That's one hell of a maybe, though. 

Elsewhere, Miroku looks around in alarm. Inuyasha is carrying Kagome on his back as he runs along in a big hurry when he asks Miroku about the evil energy he felt. Miroku confirms this while they rush through the forest undergrowth, definitely off the beaten path, saying it was only for an instant but clearly not something he could ignore. They burst out of the edge of the forest into a rocky area surrounding a gentle river. It appears to be daytime, so perhaps it WASN'T night when the samurai got skinned? Sure seemed to be at the time though. Weird.

Inuyasha and company meander over the large rocks to examine the place, Sango suggesting it's the valley from the old man's story. Miroku agrees that it very well could be. Shippou is the first to spot something from where he clings to Kagome's shoulder, which spooks him quite a bit since it's floating down the river much the same as, again, in the old man's story. Kagome makes a hesitant noise, looking at Shippou in worry as he trembles and points out whatever is coming down the river, and cradles the poor kid while asking if whoever it is is dead. Inuyasha has waded into the water to approach the floating figure, humming at a limp young man he pulls from the river by its shirt collar. Thankfully, he appears to have all his skin. 

He seems to take being manhandled pretty well. Or, at least, doesn't care so much in the next panel, much more preoccupied with the depression over his fiancee being missing and so far being unable to find her. Hanging his head, he sits opposite to Inuyasha and company with a campfire between them and introduces himself as Shinosuke. He was forced to march out for battle a mere THREE DAYS before he was supposed to get married, and after war horror and grievous injuries, wasn't able to return to his village until TWO YEARS later. When he was finally able to limp back in with a cane and his arm in a sling, his home was burned out and abandoned, leaving no trace of his fiancee Wakana.

Kagome and Sango look on him with MAJOR pity, the former uttering a single ineffective word at the sadness of it all. Shinosuke relays his rock-bottom moment, where he was at his wit's end, not knowing if Wakana was alive or dead, when he heard a curious rumor about a woman-only community. Miroku and Inuyasha perk up at this SECOND reference to a female-exclusive village, though differing in a pretty major detail. But they don't say anything about it, no doubt not wanting to worry the poor guy even more.

Shinosuke says that this community is supposedly for women who have lost their husbands and children in wars, and he's heard they cooperate to live, which is... you know, implied by the word "community". He concludes with his grasping at the possibility that Wakana went to live there, and Miroku provides a gentle affirmation that he's heard him. Meanwhile, Kagome leans toward Sango and whispers behind her hand (which is placed on the side of her mouth between her and Sango, so I'm not sure what that's doing to wrangle the sound away from their guest), asking if she thinks this rumor has anything to do with the other rumor about the oni-women. Sango reckons so, since they're both concerning a community of only women. 

Miroku assures Shinosuke that they'll accompany him to the community of women, and Shinosuke is cool with this, but says that they have to FIND the place first. Inuyasha is casting a sly look over his shoulder when he tells them that it looks like the community has come to find THEM. Up on the top of the slope leading into the valley, a couple of women carrying baskets on their backs stare down at the group with curiosity. 

In the next panel, we're back outside the hut in the forest that the samurai found himself at not long ago, the headwoman confirming that this is indeed a community for women who have lost their relatives in war, and it's a meager living. 

Notice someone missing? 

Shinosuke does. He looks bitterly disappointed as he haltingly says he sees. Kagome sadly reiterates that Wakana isn't here, and Sango utters how unfortunate this is. Miroku asks Shinosuke on his way out of the hut what he's going to do now, and Shinosuke replies that he's going to search for her some more. He insists there's no way he can give up, since the only girl he wants to spend his life with is Wakana. Adorable and so sad. This just sparks more commentary from our ladies, Kagome remarking upon how committed the guy is and Sango admitting how jealous she is. Kagome's expression brightens like a lightbulb has been turned on in her mind and looks over at Sango in askance. Looking harried, Sango tells Kagome not to read too much into that. 

Inuyasha and Miroku are having their own conversation on the community of women, the former asking the latter what he thinks. Miroku is silent at first, so Inuyasha glances around, asking if Miroku can feel any evil energy or something, because he can't find anything suspicious with his nose. When he looks back, he demands to know if Miroku is even listening to him, because Miroku has LATCHED onto some lady and is assuming how lonely she must be with just women around. Yeah, if women are such bad company, why are YOU always getting in their faces, dude? But the woman affirms his suggestion - the THIRST at least is pretty strong. 

A hand planted on the side of his head in exasperation, Inuyasha thinks there might not be any evil energy in this place after all.

And pure discomfort from everyone else.

Instead of acting on the murderous rage, Sango flatly asks if they shouldn't get going, given that this isn't the community of oni-women they've been looking for. But the headwoman, who presumably heard that little mention of a community of oni-women, suggests that they stay for the night, causing Sango and Kagome to turn and look at her in surprise. Lurking back there, all suspicious-like... The headwoman argues that it'll be getting dark soon, though she does add that they can't offer them a lot of amenities or anything. 

Miroku doesn't need any convincing whatsoever. He all but jumps to humbly accept the offer on behalf of their group, Sango's shout at him in protest going ignored. One of the village women calls for the ladies in the group to come with her, while the headwoman instructs the gentlemen to follow her. Sango's eyes are wide in shock at this and Kagome voices the question at them sleeping separately - that's never been a thing before, now that I think on it. 

An oil lamp is burning in a room, I suppose sometime later, where Miroku is telling Inuyasha that he's starting to think they maybe continued their journey after all. He's clearly trying to look reasonable and dignified, but the moment that Inuyasha points out HE'S the one who wanted to stay so bad and Shippou asks if Miroku's not satisfied hanging out with them boys, Miroku hangs his head and sighs. Shinosuke looks miserable the whole time, but I'm much more sympathetic to his REAL problem. 

Speaking of which, after a couple of panels showing the dark foreboding rustling tree canopy and a lone building on the edge of town, where our beauty-marked girl stares out the latticed windows of the sliding door anxiously. She says Shinosuke's name sorrowfully. A voice behind her suggests that she wants to return to her beloved man's side, calling her Wakana, no surprise there. It's also no surprise that the voice is coming from that glowing painting on the scroll, which assures her that she'll be able to see Shinosuke again soon, but it will be here in this room.

HOE DON'T DO IT.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It's a tad chopped up for my taste, but I don't think that could really be avoided. The gang to be informed of the rumors, the samurai needed to demonstrate how the ladies did things, and there needed to be another lad connected to the mystery too in a way that was sympathetic. Although RT MAY have been able to get away with not having the samurai part in there - the dramatic irony here isn't strictly necessary and it might have been just as cool to see another guy go into the forest dismissing the rumors early in this chapter and then have his corpse turn up in the next one. 

Then again, the fact that a samurai deserting a war only for his skin to end up youkai chow is a pretty poignant choice for a victim. This is after all the Warring States period, and for a story set in that backdrop, there has been surprisingly little in the way of examining what it's like for people having to participate in a perpetually warring society like that. Sure, there's the occasional explanation that such-and-such is an orphan because their parents died in a war, or this village was wiped out, but not a ton regarding the people who actively fight in these conflicts. The Shichinin-tai are the only exception I can think of, but they were in the thick of things because they were mercenaries and had a bit of bloodlust, not because they were conscripted against their wills. 

But here we have two guys in this story who were compelled to fight, and their lives were made much worse for the trouble. And the scene at the end of the chapter suggests pretty clearly that Wakana is ALSO being compelled in some way to commit violence, though in an indirect manner, against a loved one. There appears to be a theme developing about the various ways in which violence is perpetuated through unwilling subjects who just want to live their lives but must do the bidding of more nefarious entities. Which is a conversation I am totes ready for, let's do it!

No need to make too much about Miroku being a dipshit again, though. Just another day ending in "Y" as far as I'm concerned. I feel bad for Sango, having to be paired with such a weirdo, but, you know, it could be worse, I suppose. Could be paired with, like, KOUGA or something...

Inuyasha Manga: 287 Mimisenri

Summer is so UN-fun these days. I'm not one to pine for my childhood, and I'm of the unpopular opinion that being an adult is WAY better, but it's at times like this that I give a great deal of wistful thought to the days when I didn't have anything to do during the summer months and could just goof off. No school, no obligations, nothing but time and whatever nonsense exercise of the mind/body I could dream up to keep myself occupied. Now it seems to have done a 180 degree shift for me, and I'm working harder than ever on endless tasks that just keep cropping up. Job after job at work, practice at more and more skills I'm trying to pick up, garden work that gets more intense as the season wears on. By the end of the day I'm a useless lump on the sofa and I can barely move. 

I'm dreaming of the far-off autumn to keep myself sane at this point.

Nothing tougher than delivering this news, though, I'll warrant. At least I can't complain about that.

Kaede bids Inuyasha not to say more, reminding him (and herself) that her sister was forced to come back to this world originally. She still looks mighty sad, though - her head is less bowed in prayer than it is hanging in grief. In fact, Kaede adds that Kikyou's life was heaped with suffering even when she was actually alive, trailing in what I can only assume is the assessment that this might be for the best. As they say, whatever helps you sleep at night.

Inuyasha hangs his head sadly as well, opining about how he couldn't save Kikyou's soul, and that damn Naraku was involved in her second death as well. Kaede looks up at the sky to say that Kikyou's soul has vanished, that she's no longer suffering. It doesn't just... go back to Kagome? Would Kagome know if it did? Am I the only one asking these questions? Inuyasha starts to respond to Kaede, but she tells him that the fact that he sister is no longer suffering is the very reason that HE shouldn't suffer anymore either. 

Naraku is unnaturally talented at fucking up the hopes and plans of EVERYONE, isn't he?

We get a shot of some buildings in '90's Tokyo, where Kagome sits in a classroom like a normal kid, sighing over normal shit. She ruminates on how she was finally able to come back to her native time, but Inuyasha didn't tell her to hurry back like he usually does. She's still dwelling over how he apparently doesn't need her support after all while she's out at the upside-down version Micky-D's with her NORMAL friends. I wonder if I should call it Wickey-D's...

Kagome sighs some more, causing Headband to comment on how down she seems. 

I mean, understandable. He's grieving. You're all grieving. Maybe you should give him a minute to bounce back, I dunno.

Short Hair timidly asks if anything happened with that selfish, violent, two-timing guy she told them about, and Kagome answers distractedly that yeah, he was really nice. She sips from her soft drink through the straw, possibly to avoid answering any more questions. Short Hair and Headband respond with exasperation, by Wavy Hair smiles and says this is great, though this may be a bit of an uncomfortable tense assessment. Her grin looks a little fake. 

Narrow sky transition panel! We're back in the Sengoku era, outside Kaede's house, who must have just been told about the most recent incident, because she's asking for confirmation that Naraku was trying to make use of Kagome's eyes. The answer that comes back is an affirmative, to find the Shikon shards. Inside, they're sitting around the central fire in the floor, Inuyasha leaning on Tessaiga and looking distant, Sango polishing Hiraikotsu on the edge of the raised floorboards - it looks as though the main conversation is happening between Kaede and Miroku. Kaede probes further by suggesting that Naraku must not know the location of all the remaining fragments, and Miroku responds with another yes, and adding that Naraku's effort to go out of his way to kidnap Kagome means that there are still fragments that he's been completely unable to find. Not sure how that's not EXACTLY what Kaede said, but go off I guess.

Yet ANOTHER narrow sky transition panel! Barely a whole page later! A large swamp where a few wildlife skeletons are lying around is the new location. Something bursts from beneath the water, an odd, rounded, stone-like something.

Oh, Dumbo, you look even WORSE without the trunk, buddy.

A swirling cloud moving down toward the water surrounded by a smattering of giant wasps chuckles that this makes things a bit easier, and coalesces into Naraku's brand new torso, fragments of it still piecing together out of the air. He calls the the massive-eared resident Mimisenri, which gets him the chapter-vocalizing award for this one! Though, I feel like someone's name is an easier one to nab. Naraku says that Mimisenri here is one rumored to have ears that hear EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD. That sounds like a SPECIAL kind of hell, was he just trying to drown himself to stop the cacophony or WHAT??

Mimisenri grins, confirming this horrible truth about himself, and says he's also heard rumors about Naraku himself, asking if Naraku intends to absorb his ears into his body as well. Naraku assures him drily that he has no interest in his filthy body, as if his stinky miasma-ass can talk about filthy. He gets down to business, asking if Mimisenri has heard about where Shikon shards could be. Mimisenri implies he's thinking on it, and after a short pause says that per the rumors between youkai, Naraku already has most of them, asking if this is true. 

Naraku mutters that there's one more.

Check your calculations, Naraku - there's another one in a tree that is destined to be carved into a mask one day... But I suppose that's one you technically already have. 

TIME PARADOXES!

Cut to Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku hanging out at a fence under the night sky, doing a variety of uncomfortable-looking sitting on the fence, leaning forward on it, and standing a healthy distance from it, respectively. Miroku comments on how all the Shikon fragments have gone over to Naraku now. It's acknowledged that the only remaining ones are in Kouga's legs, Inuyasha glaring over his mention, and the one in Kohaku's neck, Sango's morose expression remaining mostly the same. Miroku says her name, because she'll need to give her input for that second one. After all, completing the Shikon no Tama means Kohaku's death, as the manga itself points out. 

Inuyasha tells Sango not to worry, that he'll never let Kohaku die, as though his will alone should be sufficient to keep the boy alive without the jewel. And he says that the people who will be collecting the rest of the Shikon fragments are them, and I'm not sure if he's avoiding addressing the issue of how they're going to save Kohaku, or mistakenly thinks this statement is somehow an answer to it. When Miroku addresses Inuyasha, he takes the conversation on an entirely different track, telling him that while it should hardly worth mentioning, but he has to take care of Kagome so she doesn't get kidnapped by Naraku again. Inuyasha scoffs and tosses his head haughtily, saying he already knows this. 

I hope you're at least planning on putting out a snare trap to catch Naraku by the ankle when he comes for the bait. That you don't have yet.

Back in Kagome's bedroom, she's sitting at her desk, staring off into space for an extended period. Then she unceremoniously headbutts the text and workbook spread out before her, groaning in frustration. She complains to herself that she can't concentrate on her homework at all, suggesting aloud that she should sleep instead of continuing to struggle. She stands and steps over to the window, looking out into the dark shrine grounds and brightly lit buildings beyond, completely devoid of Inuyasha. She haltingly says that he appears to NOT be coming, and sighs as she shuts the window. 

Woah! Snuck up on her, didn't he?

And he seems annoyed, asking what she's doing, and announcing that they're going back in a prickly kind of way. Kagome is still recoiled somewhat, staring with wide eyes at Inuyasha and asking in disbelief if she's seeing things. Inuyasha questions just WHAT she's babbling about, and Souta pops up to inform Kagome that Inuyasha actually came in through the actual entrance and hall today. Nice to know she's not just hallucinating Inuyasha or somehow missed him jumping in the window she was so intently gazing out of a moment before. 

Inuyasha seizes her wrist and pulls her toward the door so they can go, Kagome protesting that this is all rather sudden and requesting he hang on a sec. My girl, when has he EVER given you ample notice for coming to grab you? She adds that he never once told her to hurry back, letting the implication that she figured she could take her time hanging unsaid. Inuyasha twists to bark at her that if she's not over on the other side of the well, they can't look for Shikon shards. 

Clearly hurt, Kagome looks up at him in silence a moment, only to ask if that's really all. It's Inuyasha's turn to stare speechlessly, while Kagome looks away, eyes closed in haughty offense. She says unconvincingly that it's not really a problem, but in her mind she concludes that he's certainly gone back to normal. The next moment, Inuyasha is admitting defensively that he wanted to see her face, asking if she has a problem with that. She says she doesn't really, and Souta stands off to the side (the cat in his arms looking more like a rag doll than anything) thinking that this Inuyasha guy sure is selfish. Not the word I'd use, but accurate.

Back in the Sengoku Swamp (TM), where Mimisenri is mumbling about being able to hear something faintly, the Shikon fragment Naraku is looking for, presumably. He warns the Naraku still floating next to him that he won't be able to get at this shard easily, because this final one is in the boundary between this world and the next. 

How lucky for you it was JUST within the range of the guy who can hear everything in the world, lol.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I found the design for Mimisenri to be refreshingly creepy. The monster designs lately, including Naraku's new "improved" form, have been a bit lacking and less overtly unsettling than they were before. It's not quite up to the classic "wrongness" that Inuyasha had in the early days, but it is much better in that department. I love the lack of eyesight on him, but you can tell he has bulging eyes back behind the thin eyelids, and the fact that he's got this old shriveled diminutive body, combined with the massive skull to hold all those rumors. I like to think he's the mill behind all the youkai rumors flying around. Not sure why the ear LOBES are so much more massive than the ears themselves, though. It doesn't really work for the idea of a cone concentrating the sound into the ear itself, if that was the intention. And with lobes that big, I'd want to spruce up the design with a whole bunch more earrings made of bone and skulls and other cool shit, but that's just me.

I think all the jumping here and there between locations was a bit on the excessive side for this one. Sometimes I feel RT gets a bit carried away trying to cover several different points of view in the same time, and this was one of the times she couldn't quite pull it off in my opinion. It gave me a bit too much whiplash, and if it were me, I probably would have tried to condense down the discussion with Kaede about what happened to Kagome and the conversation outside about their next steps into one, as well as combine a couple of scenes with Kagome in the modern day, just to smooth out the more jarring transitions. 

But I really liked Inuyasha's talk with Kaede in the beginning - it felt appropriately somber and respectful of Kikyou, not just a throwaway, "hey sorry your sister's dead again". It acknowledged that maybe it's better for Kikyou that she's not caught up in this shit anymore and can rest again, while also being bummed about her being gone. Complicated situation, with a lot of contradictory feelings behind it, ones that the scene doesn't shy away from.

Yu-Gi-Oh Transcend Game: Part 2

Trepidation. My feelings going into this chapter are trepidation, all the way down. To be fair, I've been dealing with a series of physical ailments for the past month and a half, which has culminated in a frustrating bout of sciatica that keeps me up at night. I haven't been sleeping very well, and that CAN lead to a tad bit of paranoia about some of the most mundane things. BUT I do remember the horror tinge to the previous installment, that clearly wasn't MEANT to be horrifying, so I'm sort of dreading what other fucked-up shit is going to be in this one that is presented as innocuous. At the very least, I'm poised for some peak Kaiba cringe to come at some point, if nothing else.

Why are there crazy search lights pointing every which way around Kaiba's home? Is this another of those weird rich people things that I don't get?

Kaiba's seated in an elaborate rolling chair, at a big chunky work desk, bent over the top half of the egg-helmet with what looks like a soldering iron in one hand and a magnifying device mounted on an arm in the other. He narrates that he's cooped up in his home lab doing some final adjustments on the test model, and looks forward to the moment of completion. With a little smile, he plans on entering Duel Links himself when that happens and... ruling as its king. 

There it is, peak Kaiba cringe. First page. This bodes well.

Cut to some distance behind him, where a familiar little figure is shown from the back in her baggy dress and bangles, saying Kaiba CAN'T become king. After a panel showing Kaiba in some alarm at NOT being alone in his private lab, the little girl from the end of the previous installment adds dead straight "not EVER", just so we know how serious she is that Kaiba is NOT capable of becoming a king. Sorry buddy, you don't have the DIVINE RIGHT to rule a single thing.

Strangely, Kaiba is also smiling rather easily when he swivels in his chair, more lightly amused that someone is able to creep up behind him in there than upset. He's got composure HERE, but he can't hold onto his shit in less creepy situations? This boy... Anyway, the little girl chuckles, because there weren't quite ENOUGH indicators that she's a freaky ghost child. Why not comb her hair in front of her face while you're at it?

Kaiba recognizes her from the end of the last chapter just like we do, and says so, still wearing that "I'm humoring a little kid" smile. She bows her head and says she's the test subject whose duty it is to help shape his world - a duty I thought belonged to ALL of the test subjects, but that shows what I know. Kaiba has ditched the grin when he speaks again, asking seriously what she wants with him. She waves a hand, asking him not to make such a frightful face, and stating that she only came over to offer her thanks. He repeats this intention as a question, and she explains that Duel Links assembles the consciousness of duelists, a truly ground-breaking system that gives players a brand new field of battle. She then goes on to speculate about if an individual with superior consciousness that transcends human wisdom got mixed in there, only pausing to let Kaiba repeat "superior consciousness" in question too. Humble little thing, isn't she? 

Anyway, she says that in this dimension that's founded in disorder, high levels of consciousness gather and unite, and this allows access to ANOTHER unknown dimension. This is apparently a place that transcends the realm of the living, and she mutters about whether this is the netherworld or just a world of greater dimensions. It's mostly word salad, but you can tell where she's going with this. The girl claims to have heard the voice of someone SUPER DUPER important in the world of Duel Links, a person who no longer exists in THIS dimension, but is now a resident of the netherworld. 

This face is going to show up in my nightmares tonight, I just know it. 

The girl does not seem the least bit disturbed by this (despite being somewhat defensive about his "frightful" frown earlier), and suggests that he could totes sync up with this limited superior consciousness right now if he wanted. We just see his eyes in response, narrowed a bit this time, creepy grin thankfully out of frame. Right in front of his eyes, the little girl just up and vanishes. Kaiba bolts out of his chair, alarmed again that she disappeared. And she'd seemed so SOLID too!

Suddenly, Kaiba has to twist around again, because a monitor above the desk he was working at turns on to show Mokuba, yelling at him that they've got big trouble. Remotely, it appears Mokuba pulls up a hologram in a round projector somewhere in the room, panicking about some weird data they've never seen before coming up on the main branch lab's surveillance monitor, urging big brother to take a look for himself. Seto indeed peers at the globe that appears before him, trailing in an assessment about what it is, allowing Mokuba to fill in the blank with the statement that the Neurons signals are moving in an abnormal pattern. He says the test-subjects' neuro-signals are being drawn away by an unknown consciousness. An unknown consciousness that appears to be in space? The little data points and their connection lines are literally moving UPWARD off the globe, so I guess so. 

Wow, this one is even MORE horrifying! Wait, is he modeling the new murder grin? Is that what this is?

I changed my mind, I LOVE IT. I missed you, murder grin!

So he calls this thing he's been looking for "Project Neurons' final vision", and he's not making this sound any LESS ominous. He turns away from the monitor on which his brother is gaping at him, because he starts laughing like a fucking maniac. Also, he's making this weird pose/gesture as he's walking away toward some sort of open pod, his left elbow raised straight out and the corresponding fist over the center of his chest, his other hand over that - at first I thought he had done the classic "fist in palm" pose, but upon closer inspection, it doesn't look very similar. I don't know what he's doing here, it's weird. Everything he does is fucking strange. 

He sits in the pod, tapping buttons and lights, telling Mokuba that he's going to access Duel Links in response to his brother calling out to him in a panic. After he's done adjusting the settings, presumably, he lays back in the reclining position of the pod, which seems very closely tailored to his specific stick-like proportions. The door descends on him, sealing him in, and he yells, to no one in particular, here he goes, full speed ahead, etc. Of course, he's not ACTUALLY going anywhere, but from all the lights and shit I can safely assume that he's taking a virtual trip. 

He just immediately manifested himself in Duel Links in a Blue Eyes White Rocket so he could blow right on past the plebs. Shit, even in virtual space he's putting distance and metal plating between himself and everyone else. 

His test subjects, who are also apparently STILL in the Kaiba Corp labs LATE into the night (who is looking after these kids' physical needs???), point and gape at Kaiba's rocket, urging each other to look and calling it "Seto Kaiba-sama's Battleship". As he zooms up and out of range, he leaves behind a whole shit-ton of fanbrats begging him to duel with them, and some others pointing out how massive Kaiba's "consciousness" is and that they wouldn't even stand a chance at dueling him. Yeah, sure, it's his "consciousness" that's overinflated. So they set THAT aside and chatter about how he's ascending at breakneck speed, wondering where in the Duel World he could POSSIBLY be going. 

To hang out with the only kind of person he can stand. A dead one. 

He's got that murder grin on again as he's blasting off, a bunch of what look like the connection lines on a circuit board lit on the side of his face. He's thinking that by gathering the consciousness of Duel Links, the frequency will amplify infinitely. Oh shit, not this misuse of the concept of infinity again. I thought we were past that! Apparently that will evolve them into a superior consciousness, and that will ascend to a higher dimension beyond. More word salad, but with the added implication that he's USING the consciousness of his test subjects to catapult his stupid ass into the beyond. 

Clearly, the murder grin is aimed at himself. This becomes even more obvious when he appears on the OUTSIDE of this rocket ship, on the BEWD head if the lines of the logo/design insignia he's kneeling on and the perspective as he stares down the light burst he's advancing upon are any indication. As he glares and clenches his teeth at his presumed destination, the space chair from the previous chapter circles around his left, and he catches a glimpse of it out of his periphery, whipping around in alarm. 

The space chair approaches, the "woman" in the seat leaning forward to warn Kaiba that it's too dangerous for him to go on ahead. Kaiba scoffs, calling her Prana now, a slight translation inconsistency between this and the first part - it's an understandable one, but I wanted to point it out just in case there was some confusion, since from what I can tell, use of one or the other seem pretty evenly split between the "l" and "r". 

She says that the Duel Links he's created are part of a dangerous game, which was designed to gather the consciousness of neurons and access a higher dimension. Did Kaiba stumble his way into playing a very crucial role in heisting another dimension??? Prana continues to warn him that he's heading for a "world of evil" that transcends the boundaries of mortal man, which is ONE way to tell a guy he's going straight to Hell, lol. She asks if he's really prepared to set foot in such a place. 

Kaiba repeats her question back at her, asking in turn if she's really asking if he's AFRAID. He then declares that anyone who stands in his way will be eliminated, and she's the only one who needs to be PREPARED here. Dude, she's just trying to offer you a way out of certain suicide, okay? Prana stands, saying that if he can defeat HER, HOLDER OF SUPERIOR CONSCIOUSNESS, she'll let him pass, but if he can't beat her, then he'll die. Did I mention how humble she is? In any case, Kaiba is gonna die either way, so what does any of this even matter? 

Kaiba scoffs again, expressing how interesting he finds this challenge, speaking to how ridiculously BORING he is. 

Because it's essential we have a duel SOMEWHERE in this, even if it's a farce that makes no difference whatsoever. 

Prana again summons Meteor Directional World Device, Duja, with 8800 pulse attack points, precisely like when she went up against the little baby dragon pirates or whatevz. She clearly doesn't think Kaiba is any more capable than his child test subjects, and if I were him, I MIGHT be insulted. But he ain't got time for that, apparently, because all he does is announce his turn, summoning the obvious - Blue Eyes White Dragon. Shit, I forgot my Frank Sinatra joke doesn't work anymore. What's a female version of Frank Sinatra? Marilyn Monroe? Ella Fitzgerald? Peggy Lee? 

Oh fuck me, this is impossible. 

The way Prana says the name of the Blue Eyes, you can tell she's got mad respect, but she notes with an internal chuckle that it only has 3000 pulse points, and Duja totally trumps it in attack power. She declares the battle phase of play. 

That's a mean right hook. And the Blue Eyes White Dragon has quite a glass jaw, because in the next panel it's crumbling away while Kaiba braces against the shockwaves of the attack. He's using the arm on which his Duel Disk is, the other curled out behind him, which I guess confirms that there's no danger of it "breaking" as a mechanic of the virtual world. Prana says her opponent is "pulverized" and I wonder if she knows what that word means, really. Superior consciousness beyond regular human wisdom, everyone!

But Kaiba lifts his head, smiling, seeming a lot more confident than a guy whose monster got "pulverized" has any right to be. He smarms that if he were to give Prana any criticism on her dueling, it would be that she puts in no consideration, whatever that means. She seems to have cottoned onto the indication that she's fallen for some sort of trap, as Kaiba drawls on, speculating that it might be because she's a child and she should learn to control her consciousness better. Isn't this EXACTLY what I was saying in the previous chapter's analysis??? That expecting babies to be able to do this is... you know what, never mind.

Prana notices that the pulse points on the NOT pulverized, in fact completely recovered, Blue Eyes White Dragon are actively going up, at 5900 and counting at a single glance. With one of her large child-like eyes visible through her helmet and widened considerably, Prana realizes that Kaiba controlled his own thought frequency to raise the BEWD's attack power. I mean, isn't that what YOU'VE been doing? More important question: does this concept actually MEAN anything, or are you two talking out of your asses?

Cool?

Prana's life points hit zero and her exterior facade begins to crumble off her. The little girl inside pouts that she really liked the style of that avatar too. Her taste is questionable, but there's not a single one of us that DIDN'T have shitty taste as kids, so she gets a pass. Kaiba said he knew it was her, no points for managing to pick up on the obvious, but he says playtime is over. Prana says haltingly that she went through the effort of trying to stop him, but there's no turning back now if he really wants to go to his demise. Kaiba says he's well aware, but really all he's thinking about is facing "HIM" again, to deliver the final blow on the deceased king, as he turns his attention back to the bright light ahead. Prana stands to the side, smiling back at him and saying they're almost there, as though she DIDN'T make their destination out to be a land of evil and horror just a little while ago. 

They speed toward the light, and Kaiba holds out his hand with the Blue Eyes White Dragon card held firmly in his grasp, bidding the faithful dragon to come along with him on his journey into oblivion. Just as in the first few panels of the previous installment, Kaiba waxes poetic about illuminating the infinite darkness over there if that's where he's headed, which makes a tad more sense now that it's in context that he's talking about DEATH itself. The actual LIGHT he's hurtling towards seems to shape itself into Atem's form, head inclined, and this form is reflected in Kaiba's BULGING eyes. 

Meanwhile, the Immaculate Facial Hair Guy shouts about Kaiba-sama as he hunches in front of a computer screen. Mokuba turns to him, asking what's wrong, and Immaculate Facial Hair Guy whirls around to panic at Mokuba about how it's too dangerous for the elder Kaiba, his brainwaves are ascending at a rate above human limits, and at this rate Seto Kaiba's life is in danger. Wait, I thought the "ascending" brain waves were just a few minutes ago a data anomaly that you'd never seen before, and now all of a sudden Kaiba's R&D department is the fucking EXPERT on how fast human brain waves should be going up? How does THAT track?

Express rocket to Hell, right there.

Oh, you know you're on a bad path when your moral support nopes the fuck out of there. Kisara is like, "Nah son, I'm out."

Mokuba pulls down a big knife/guillotine switch, broken safety glass surrounding it, yelling that he's tolerating NO MORE of his brother's elaborate un-aliving. Kids, don't try this at home without the proper safety wear - there's a reason there's a big-ass "DANGER" label on this switch. The power in the lab and in the giant room where all those test subjects are sitting goes dark, and they take of their helmets, looking around in confusion. Mokuba is still hanging off the handle of the switch, his eyes squeezed shut, teeth clenched, thinking at Seto that he can't handle anymore, that he'll die. 

The good news is that Mokuba managed to flip the switch in time to save his brother, and the bad news is it looks like the elder Kaiba is literally getting the shock of his life. His torso is raised right off the reclining pod, muscles seizing and jaw grinding, the tendons standing out in his neck. His eyes are bulging again too. When the fit subsides, he hunches over in his seat, sweating and panting. He raises a palm to his forehead and asks himself if that was a hallucination. As he stumbles out of the pod, he decides that it's not, and chuckles a little. 

Well, at least you believe SOMETHING. 

Cut to a set of stairs leading down from the larger city area filled with tall buildings to a park if the swing set in the corner of the panel is any indication. The Prana little girl is sitting on a little round seat with a book open on her lap, people wandering around her, going about their leisure time. A boy clutching the string of a clown balloon approaches her, asking her what she's reading. She indicates the book and asks if it's what he means, and, uh, yeah, I'd imagine so, since that's the only thing around that he COULD be referring to. Superior consciousness, everybody!

The boy accidentally let's go of the string, and his clown balloon starts to float up and out of his reach, both kiddos gaping at it. A woman pushing a stroller with a toddler in it ahead of him, presumably his mother, scolds him for doing EXACTLY what she told him not to, and let go of that fucking balloon. Kid probably BEGGED her for it too, lol. Long-suffering parents, poor folks. The boy grunts in frustration as he tries to jump for the rapidly retreating string. 

The Prana girl has lost interest in the boy and his balloon troubles bending her head over her book again. Someone off-panel says that "Sera" was awfully close to something. A tall guy in a long vest-like getup over a shirt with rolled sleeves, cuffs on his wrists, and SEVERE bedhead at the back and longer locks of hair on the sides of his head just behind his ears has retrieved the boy's balloon and kindly hands it to him. The Prana girl immediately patronizingly calls the kid such a good boy, then offers him the book he was so interested in, since she's finished with it. How fucking SICK would it be if it were the final volume of the original Yu-Gi-Oh? That's too meta for me not to headcanon. In reality, we have no idea what this book is, it's probably not important. The boy thanks the both of them, and the Prana girl stands in front of the tall guy, waving at the boy as he leaves with a weird chuckle.

Not surprising, you can't even eliminate your fucking cowlicks.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I had to start with looking up the word "Prana", since the name this Sera girl has chosen for her Duel Links alias seemed to have a fair amount of significance. From what I can gather, from a MINIMAL amount of research, to be fair, is that it is a Sanskrit word for "breath" and refers to the Hindu version of the cross-cultural concept of a "life energy" that inhabits all things. It's one of five "Vayus" that are specific breaths that are related to different parts of the body and systems in that body, exercises that can bring a sort of active meditative high. "Prana" is the main one, and the one from which all the others are derived, originating or located in the head, lungs, and heart. Kind of a related concept to chakras, although where I am in the West, this complex idea has been watered down pretty significantly and miscommunicated a lot to white women in yoga gear, so I very much doubt I have even an inkling about what "Prana" really means in its cultural context. The way many of the sources I've read put it, it's kind of similar to chi, or a "subtle body", an energetic self, if you will. 

As far as how this relates to the content of the chapter, I can only make a very WEAK connection to it regarding its "location" in the head, leading to a calm mind, among other things. Getting a handle on one's Prana could be interpreted as in connection to "higher consciousness", it is after all a spiritual idea. But other than that, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of levels of reality, different dimensions and such, like the chapter is leaning heavily on. Just the idea tied to another separate one that control of one's consciousness in tandem with a collectively raising consciousness can lead to access to other dimensions. Kaiba's consciousness was described as huge by the test subjects in Duel Links, and he implies that he's able to control his consciousness better than Sera while he's lecturing her, but I have no idea WHY. Hell, I don't even know what that MEANS. How does Kaiba, or ANYONE, train their consciousness? Was Kaiba able to do some sort of mental exercise in order to beef it up for the game, or is he just naturally a bigger, badder consciousness because he's such an "enlightened genius"? Without meaningful definitions and a proper explanation of these concepts of "superior consciousness", "ascending consciousness", or "consciousness" in general, it all amounts to vague nonsense. 

I'm struck by all the visual representations of "ascension" as LITERALLY going up. It's clear that the characters and the audience wouldn't have any reason to believe something weird is happening with the collective conscious of Duel Links if there weren't some sort of pattern you could SEE and could link to the concept of "rising". This is after all a visual medium, and there's only so many ways you can SHOW an audience what's happening with INVISIBLE concepts. But this is really the only part of the whole that gets this treatment, almost as if a general collective trend of a consciousness in this game rising to other dimensions or realities was the HUB of the content of this story, and the spokes that fan out from it that are supposed to follow from or explain this aren't constructed from anything but smoke. Reading some of the lines above gives me pause because I get the impression that I'm supposed to THINK there's something profound being said, something about the incorporeal base of reality and the ability of human consciousness to look behind the curtain and see so many other worlds that our awareness could perceive under certain stimuli, but at a second glance, it's just a trick that's meant to superficially make the main character look clever. Ironically, a good majority of the dialog in this chapter in particular is missing the substance necessary to make the mechanics of what Duel Links, Kaiba, and the chapter itself is trying to pull off comprehensible. It doesn't just not do a good job of explaining the HOWS, but deliberately AVOIDS doing it entirely at every turn, because the idea behind this wasn't really thought out in any way other than a brief foray into a pop understanding of half-remembered esoteric spirituality and what I have to assume is a large dose of mangled quantum physics.

And I've got to say, even if I grant that there could be a bit of translation fuckery, and the dialog could make much more sense than I'm seeing in this particular version, I have trouble buying that Spaz-Boy up there has THIS much of a grasp on HIS consciousness. He's a wacky motherfucker for this whole two-part fiasco, singularly focused on dueling a DEAD KING. Doesn't seem particularly "enlightened" to me. In fact, it seems to me that his character has kind of regressed since we last saw him. I know that there's a split among fans on this point, some saying Kaiba needs closure since he wasn't there for the ceremonial duel so this makes sense for his character, and some saying that his character took a step backward to get back to this level of insane obsession with dueling Atem. I understand the former point of view - Kaiba had a relationship with Atem too, largely adversarial, but intimate in a way. I can see why someone in his position might feel a range of upset and hurt by the disappearance without a goodbye of not just a rival, but someone he felt so connected to. The relationship was so interestingly complicated that it seems a little odd that he would just shrug after going to pick up Yuugi and gang from the desert to find that Atem was gone into the light. 

But THIS, Transcend Game, doesn't ADDRESS that, in my perspective. In fact, it reduces Kaiba's motivations to defeating the king so he can be crowned instead. This is diametrically opposed to the conclusion he came to while he was preparing to destroy Alcatraz Island back at the end of Battle City - there's a reason it's named after a prison. He realized that he was holding onto grudges and anger that was keeping him from moving forward, primarily against his stepfather, but it manifested in his matches against Atem as a desperate need to be the best, the duel king.  His and Atem's conversation during their last duel articulated why this wasn't conducive to reaching for a future he wanted, and Atem spells out for him IMMEDIATELY after the duel that Kaiba's opponent wasn't even HIM, it was Kaiba's uncontrollable, obsessive hatred. Let's not forget it was the attitude of his stepfather ingrained in him since he was adopted that really kept him gunning for winning every duel over the course of the series; the attitude that losing was the same as death. It was why he felt like losing against Atem was killing him every time, and he couldn't move on UNTIL he took back the life stolen from him. But Atem helps him to realize that it was all a lie, implanted by Gozaburo's mental colonization, creating the inner demons that he was ACTUALLY struggling against the entire time. After the end of Yuugi's duel with Marik, he remembers that he had dreams and ambitions before Gozaburo, and he could still pursue them, because he's actually STILL ALIVE. All he had to do was decide to shift his focus. And he did. 

Kaiba's character arc, in my mind, was about letting the fuck go. About not embodying the very criticism he gave to Atem about being a creature of the past, unable to move ahead because he's stuck on whatever happened back in the day. Kaiba's obsession with winning against Atem was presented as unambiguously unproductive, stunting, and futile, and he acknowledges at the end that he has other, better things to do with his time. Transcend Game walks all that back, yanks him back into the abyss of endlessly dwelling on defeating a dead guy. It's depressing. No wonder he wants to die so badly.

I think the Blue Eyes White Dragon dissolving there toward the end is a pretty big indication that Kaiba's direction is going backwards. I joked about Kisara noping out, but it does bear a HIGH resemblance to the other times she has refused to carry out attacks, disappearing from the field because she doesn't think her participation is right or good. It's always on the cusp of "victory" right? Kaiba would have "won" the first time if BEWD hadn't disappeared at a critical moment in his first appearance. The Conical Hat Weirdo would have "won" if it hadn't disappeared before the end of the turn. Priest Seto would have "won" if it hadn't disappeared, while Kisara appeared before him to insist he can't be consumed by shadows. In all of these matches, technically the wielders of BEWD lost the battle, but it was for the wider benefit of everyone involved. Except Conical Hat Weirdo, of course, fuck that guy. The point is that there's circumstances in which a technical win actually makes things worse, and the Blue Eyes White Dragon has been crucial in putting a stop to that shit. KT seemed to be admitting here that not only were Kaiba's actions self-destructive, they were also a regressive pattern of behavior that even his fave monster has to call the fuck out. But hey, when you're compelled to write a prologue and movie about characters that were SUPPOSED to have moved on with their lives a long time ago because the owners of your work have noticed that it's gotten really popular again and the they wanna cash in...

Anyway, this two-parter was a downer on the whole. While the new murder grin is something I can feel excited about (I'm holding onto this interpretation for dear life because otherwise I feel like it's genuinely terrifying), the "duel" that Kaiba and Sera/Prana fought here wasn't much of a duel at all despite the impressive visuals, and I feel BAD for Kaiba. I don't wanna feel bad for HIM. He's a dickbag. Granted, I was joking pretty heavily about his potential death, but that's only because I'm currently reading The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett right now, and I was imagining the scene with Twoflower teaching the four horsemen of the apocalypse bridge, except with Kaiba and Duel Monsters/Magic and Wizards. Tell me that wouldn't be entertaining. I'll call you a liar.

So, Dark Side of Dimensions is next, folks! I don't know when the post for that one is going to be on the blog. There's something specific that I want to do with the movie, but getting together the proper... resources might be challenging. I can't say more than that, I really want it to be a surprise! It might be mid-August before I can get it up, maybe a bit later, I'll let you know. Until then, the Inuyasha reviews SHOULD continue. It depends on how busy things get for me in the upcoming month because it's been somewhat chaotic at the moment. We'll see!

Inuyasha Manga: 286 Discarded Heart

Sometimes I wish I could discard mine these days. Then I wouldn't have to suffer the heartbreak of hearing about every little injustice and wanton act of destruction in the news day after day, with no relief. How do the politicians do it? Do they go through an elaborate rearrangement process like Naraku, or do they have the benefit of being born without a conscience at all? I'm always in utter amazement when I see them walking around as if their policies aren't ACTIVELY hurting their constituents and their environment, and there's a part of me that can't help but be a little envious. 

Where can I get that level of absolute emotional numbness and dissociation from the suffering of the world at large, dammit????

"Oh don't worry, she's just conked from boredom. For some reason, everyone thinks my endless drawling about how nasty and hateful men are is really tiresome." - Shnooky, probably

He actually says that he rummaged around in her soul a bit is all, super casual-like. He adds that the speck of darkness he found in there was all thanks to Inuyasha being unable to give up on Kikyou. Passing the responsibility for your manipulation onto other people? Shnooky sure is a chip off the old block. He says that it's a shame, and asserts that if he'd just had a moment longer, Kagome's soul would have broken.  Really? Because from where I was sitting, Kagome looked to be pretty effectively refuting all your shitty little attempts at controlling her. 

But Inuyasha only just showed up and can't really call out this lie, so he gets defensive instead and growls a question about what it is Shnooky even WANTS here. At this moment, Miroku and Sango ride in on Kirara, calling out to Inuyasha. Shippou, who came in with them, immediately appears at Kagome's side and cries her name, alarmed that she's out cold and asking if she's okay. Miroku identifies Kagura and Kanna in a somewhat accusatory manner, and Kagura responds with a drawl that they survived. She does not seem surprised, because why WOULD she be? She's fought them way too many times to underestimate them like Shnooky has. 

Speaking of, Shnooky asks them smugly how many people they killed at the castle, Miroku and Sango looking disturbed by the infant, wondering if this was the one that roused the castle folk into a murderous frenzy. Miroku responds after a moment that it's too bad for Shnooky, because he doesn't kill without good reason. Or if the opponent is a youkai. Those are fair game. To be fair, maybe Miroku's not giving a more accurate or nuanced response because he's more busy trying to work out the puzzle of this baby's form. 

I guess it's LESS creepy, but "perfected" is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?

Though hesitantly, Miroku does accuse Shnooky of being Naraku's human heart. Shnooky asks him why he thinks so, and Miroku claims that Naraku's objective in hiding at Mt. Hakurei was very likely to create a stronger body and to lose his human heart. He recalls Naraku saying that he severed the human part of him that was attached to Kikyou so that he could get rid of Kikyou for good. I don't remember him saying that, but cool story Miroku. 

Head inclined, trembling, Inuyasha asks if this brat is the human heart that yearns for Kikyou. He snaps his head up to express his rejection of the idea, citing the disgusting way the kid plays with peoples' emotions as to why the idea has to be wrong. 

... Pardon?

Shnooky talks about how he can see deeply into peoples' hearts, where any human has hidden personal suffering, regrets or hatred. But he goes on to say that if there's any emotion he DIDN'T inherit from Daddy Naraku, it was just the one: the suffering of yearning for Kikyou. So, he's speculating that he might be the PHYSICAL human heart of Naraku, but he still doesn't have any feelings for Kikyou lurking around in there? I don't know, it's hard to make heads or tails of this nonsense. 

We get a couple of significant shots of Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango looking serious as they listen, while Shnooky asks where they think those feelings really ended up. Then he immediately assigns them to the sea of creepy flesh-lumps Miroku and Sango found before. Miroku silently repeats the assertion that the lumps of flesh are the discarded heart, but as a question, as though he doesn't quite buy it. Shnooky then says that this is why he's incapable of suffering or regret, because the flesh-lumps take all that shit for him, I guess. 

Inuyasha growls the conclusion that Shnooky just distorted Naraku's twisted heart even MORE, calling him a "monster of the heart". I'm glad HE'S getting something out of this, because it's like WORD SALAD to me. Inuyasha draws Tessaiga as he declares he has no more questions, and advises Shnooky to say his prayers. 

To no one's surprise, a bubble appears around Shnooky, Kagura and Kanna, which bends Inuyasha's attack around it. Well, Kagura is a LITTLE surprised the brat can put up a barrier, wondering just how "sophisticated" he is. If that's the word you really want to use.

A track of Kaze no Kizu flows into the bubble barrier, sending ripples through it, and Inuyasha is shocked that the attack appears to be absorbing. Uh-oh, we've seen this before, and it's not a good sign that Inuyasha seems to have already forgotten. The barrier glows and power starts shooting back out of it. Miroku yells at everyone to take cover.

At least they're not in a rubbery youkai stomach that will bounce it back at them forever this time. Little blessings.

The whole temple is ripped apart by Kaze no Kizu, which is probably not too far off from how things would go if it had struck its target anyway. Luckily, all our protags are out of there, and Inuyasha looks over his shoulder to find that Kagura, Kanna and Shnooky are hovering over the hillside wreckage in their protective bubble. He just gapes, cursing about how Kaze no Kizu was returned. Clearly there's no point in taking another shot.

Shnooky chuckles from Kagura's arms, telling Inuyasha not to think this is over though, because he's planning on a comeback... sometime. Inuyasha yells at the little bastard to shut up, beginning to threaten repercussions the next time Shnooky comes for Kagome. Shnooky giggles again, telling Inuyasha that's not it, and Kagome is the only one left in the world that can see the Shikon fragments. Don't know how that's in contrast to what Inuyasha was saying, because he seems to be admitting outright that he's going to be trying to use Kagome again. Miroku asks for clarification as he and Sango stare up in alarm, because everything this kid says needs sorting out, for sure. Shnooky taunts them with the statement that there's only a few shards left of the Shikon no Tama. 

Dude, no matter what, Naraku's going to find some way to submerge that jewel in pure asshole vibes. He doesn't need Kagome's help for that.

Inuyasha asks Shnooky if he's fucking STUPID, thinking Kagome would ever work for the likes of Naraku, and Shnooky scoffs, claiming that there are a number of ways he could crack that girl as long as Inuyasha can't forget about Kikyou. 

Inuyasha just gapes, sweatdropping a bit. The barrier and those inside it zoom off into the sky, and Inuyasha internally curses, considering the unconscious Kagome in his arms. He silently apologizes for going off on his own again, thankfully NOT adding an apology for giving a shit about Kikyou. I think I'd lose it if he did that.

Elsewhere, Kagura has conjured one of her feathers and the infant-team is currently riding on THAT instead of flying around in the bubble barrier. 

He's just pissy that he doesn't get to retire early like he planned. Should have invested in that diversified portfolio instead of putting all his eggs in one basket! XD

Narrow sky transition panel, with a little tree-covered hillside for flavor! Miroku is kneeling at the side of a stream, with Shippou and Sango standing next to him, looking over their shoulders. As he fills a water bottle with the stream water, Shippou asks if Kagome will be alright, commenting that she's still sleeping. Miroku assures him that Inuyasha is with her, and leaves it at that. It's a comforting non-answer.

Inuyasha is sitting next to her like the loyal pup he is, saying her name softly as she lays there in a patch of grass. As if in response, she opens her eyes with a light groan, and Inuyasha says she's awake, possibly in relief, although his nervous sweatdrop lingers. Kagome looks up at him, a somewhat lengthy silence stretching between them, until she says at last with a smile that she remembers now that he came to save her after all. Rather than sighing in relief that she recalls the rescue over the pain of him not being there, he acknowledges his eventual coming to help, but immediately apologizes too. He's beginning to blame the whole ordeal on him not being there, but Kagome assures him it's okay while she sits up. 

Well what do you want her to do? Rub your nose in it like you made a peepee on the rug or something??

That's actually an enormously funny picture...

Inuyasha regard the tired and sad-looking Kagome with the "knowledge" that if he had taken just a little longer to get there, he'd have lost Kagome too. It doesn't occur to him that he just has Shnooky's word on that, though. Kagome suggests flatly that if he hears another clue about Kikyou, he'll run off again anyway. Inuyasha insists he won't leave her side again, but Kagome out-and-out calls him a liar. Shit, girl, tell me how you REALLY feel.

Inuyasha sweatdrops again, stumbles over his words, and starts to say that he's not lying, and Kagome cuts him off, repeating that he's a guy who would leave. She asks just how long she thinks she's known him for - which, I should remind my dear readers is LESS THAN A YEAR canonically. Just to put her "wise and seasoned" expectations of him into perspective. Kagome admits that when it inevitably happens that he hears some whisper about Kikyou and leaves, she'll get understandably miffed, and that much is obvious to her. Inuyasha can say nothing at this point than her name again, resigned. 

And really, how angry can you get at a guy who's THIS oblivious to his own tendencies?

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I don't think there's much in the way I can really glean about what's going on with Naraku from the conversation with Shnooky at the beginning. This is partly because he is straight-up LYING about a couple of things, things the audience knows much better about. Kagome was on the edge of breaking OUT of his little mind game when Inuyasha burst into the room, not breaking DOWN. Her taking responsibility for her own emotions and working them out means she's LESS likely to be broken by these tricks in the future too, so Shnooky's ominous statement that he'll come back to do the job properly next time is just a bald-faced falsehood. Since these things are all rhetoric to induce some nervousness and paranoia in Inuyasha, it's difficult to take the rest of what he's saying about where and what the human heart of Naraku is at face value too. Everything he's saying could be fully made up, especially if it trips up the enemy or puts them on the wrong track. All disinformation is good disinformation when it comes from Naraku or his underlings.

And let's face it, it's all the more likely to be disinformation considering how nonsensical it is. Shnooky rambles for several panels about how he COULD be the physical human heart, then turns around and says that he doesn't have longing for Kikyou? So am I supposed to conclude from this that Naraku didn't separate Onigumo's whole heart from him, but the specific emotions that was keeping him from killing Kikyou? How did THAT work? And why does Shnooky talk as though he's speculating about whether he's the heart, then concretely tells Miroku that the flesh-lumps are actually where the heart/longing for Kikyou is? It's all very muddled and confusing, not particularly clear, which would make some sense if it were all a lie made up on the spot to confuse Inuyasha and crew. 

There's also a possibility that RT herself didn't quite know where she was going with all this yet and tried to muddle her way through a conversation she wasn't particularly sure about either. She clearly didn't bother to check whether Naraku actually said the things Miroku said he did before writing this chapter - I DID check, by the way, going back to where Naraku talked their ears off in Mt. Hakurei, and he didn't say a single fucking thing about his motivations for getting rid of his human heart or even the fact that he did that at all. All he said was a bunch of stuff about how foolish humans and Inuyasha & company are, told them about how Kaze no Kizu was caught in the flow of his youki, and buzzed off with a few THOUGHTS about going to confront Kikyou. Even if those little hints were out loud, there's no possible way Miroku could have gotten the whole story from them. This is another example of RT giving her characters knowledge they SHOULDN'T have because she's misremembering, doesn't care, expediency, etc. 

In any case, where this chapter actually does fairly well and is memorable is the very end, where Inuyasha and Kagome have a chance to talk about what happened. At last, the emotional buildup from the past few chapters regarding the tension between Inuyasha and Kagome over Kikyou gets a lot of the nuance left out of the rest of the arc. I love what's not said here - Inuyasha is sweating and nervous the whole time, indicating a level of discomfort with both what he did that put Kagome in danger, and the act of putting it all out there. But he leaps into taking responsibility anyway, refusing to take Kagome's light regard of the situation and run with it. He chooses to do the hard thing and face that he rushed off at a rumor WAY too easily and that ultimately hurt Kagome. His apology and promise not to commit the same mistake CLEARLY was not easy, but he doesn't balk at the emotional challenge, and he tries to do right by Kagome. 

If it is not crystal clear by this point why Kagome really likes Inuyasha, you're not paying much attention. The way he immediately and honestly makes the effort to own up to and make up for his mistakes ALONE makes him prime fantasy boyfriend material. Girls, get you a boy who is willing to do THIS. 

And Kagome's honest dialog here seemed a continuation of her revelations while in Shnooky's clutches. There is an acceptance of how Inuyasha is going to react when he hears about Kikyou, how she will react to THAT, and how overall natural this is on the whole because she loves Inuyasha. She doesn't make any promises not to be angry, in fact acknowledges that she WILL be, and that's just going to have to be the way it is. While it may seem a little harsh, I do appreciate that she calls out Inuyasha on his lie never to go after news of Kikyou again, because part of her acceptance of her reality of being in love with Inuyasha is also accepting that he still and will always on some level care about Kikyou. There's no getting around that. It comes with the implication that she knows Inuyasha's feelings about Kikyou and his inability to give up hope that she might still be around is also COMPLETELY NATURAL. So, though she can't help feeling angry and hurt about him going off at the news of the other girl, she also on some level understands that Inuyasha can't help himself either. 

Despite them being dumb teenagers, Inuyasha and Kagome's discussion here is REMARKABLE in its relative maturity. It acknowledges both of their feelings without dismissing either one, and is able to come to the conclusion that they will be able to get through it when the situation arises again. A lot of ADULT couples need therapy when shit like this comes up, but two fifteen-year-old dipshits were able to work it out. I'm impressed.