This manga just loves to throw mouthfuls at me, like it's a food fight and I couldn't begin to tell what it is that's splattering over the side of my head. Thankfully, I have the wiki to guide me in what names mean, because guessing is pretty much out of the question, given how I've paused my relaxed study of Japanese. Those lessons were taking so much more time than the other languages that I'm studying, and it was cutting a large chunk out of my day. By contrast, French has become a blast to learn, and Spanish is just IMPORTANT to know at this point. My enthusiasm for Japanese has sadly lowered in comparison lately.
But maybe someday, in the far future, when I've got more free time or less of an urgent need to pick up other tongues, I'll get far enough to understand the construction of some of RT's character names.
This one, by the way, apparently means "Perfect Monster".
One COULD make the argument that it TAKES a perfect monster to MAKE a perfect monster.
Hakudoushi tells Kouga that he's an offspring of Naraku, as if anyone even ASKED, and Kouga suggests that it's been HIM making all these crude mish-mashed youkai the whole time. Chuckling, Hakudoushi says that he made all kinds as a test, and all this trial and error showed him that his creations' bodies moved better the closer their forms were to a human one. With his latest attempt behind him, he explains that a human form is most familiar to human haku. Makes so much sense, it's kind of a wonder you needed to experiment so often to come to that conclusion.
Suddenly, the little bastard orders his giant composite monster, referred to as "Mouryoumaru", to eat Kouga along with his jewel shards. Congratz to him for saying the chapter title so very early on, and I hope he chokes on his victory. Kouga glares sharply at Mouryoumaru, and at first it's not clear that Mouryoumaru intends to do more than the same.
I half expect him to start shouting "Victor" over and over.
Kouga lunges forward too, encouraging the giant to go ahead and TRY to eat him, enthusiastically. I assume he finds the idea ridiculous. After he kicks Mouryoumaru in the gut (and fails to notice that he doesn't appear to react AT ALL to the attack), Kouga mocks Hakudoushi by telling him not to cry when his precious new toy is broken. Hakudoushi just scoffs in response, and Kouga notices something odd happening as he continues to hang where he landed his kick.
How did you NOT pick up on that immediately, dude?
He acknowledges that he's being sucked in with horror, and takes a swipe with his fingers are Mouryoumaru's torso to fight back. He does shred it at first, but his wrist is enveloped in the shredded flesh as it knits back together, trapping his hand as well. His underlings are shocked that he got stuck in the process of trying to rip the monster's body, Mohawk exclaiming that it's like it's body is goo.
Kouga manages to reach the sword that is always at his side and actually USE the damn thing (for the first time, I believe!) to slice through the flesh holding his wrist, as well as the stuff holding his leg.
Now do what you do best, dude, and get the HELL OUT OF THERE.
The little balls of haku are briefly visible before the wound Kouga opened up in Mouryoumaru closes up, something that the underlings note accurately. Kouga mutters about how the wound is now healed, and the haku isn't escaping from it like the other youkai he fought earlier. Hakudoushi reiterates what he already said, that the haku is most familiar with THIS body shape.
Kouga tries to figure out what he can do to not attack carelessly and NOT get absorbed, but as he's contemplating this, Mouryoumaru lunges, shattering the ground under Kouga's feet and forcing him to jump out of the way. Yet another shocking revelation for the underlings, who are flabbergasted that the monster is solid enough to crust rocks now.
Mouryoumaru chases Kouga, much to his chagrin, causing him to question if he should get out of here since the odds don't look good. I refer you back to my sentence after the previous panel. He's distracted from his calculations by something glowing in front of him.
Those jagged lines are looking rather familiar... Hakudoushi recognizes it as Kaze no Kizu himself, in a kind of deadpan manner, as it tears toward a gaping Mouryoumaru. When the dust from the attack settles, the deep scars dug into the ground all lead back to Inuyasha, who asks Hakudoushi what the fuck he's planning this time. The picture of class and elegance as always, my boy.
Awfully nice of Hakudoushi to keep Mouryoumaru in the barrier as well, since it's clear he would almost certainly have survived Kaze no Kizu.
Miroku is in a little shock over the human-esque youkai crouching next to Hakudoushi, and Sango mutters about knowing that the designs were getting much much more anthropomorphic. Kagome isn't quite so concerned with that as she is with where Kouga is, expressing some worry over his well-being. Kouga immediately shows himself, but surprises me with his first action NOT being massaging Kagome's hands, but whacking Inuyasha over the head and calling him an idiot. It's just the order of events that surprises me, not that he did this at all, mind you.
Inuyasha turns a frankly scary look on Kouga, commenting on his survival with displeasure, and Kouga grins about Inuyasha wanting to catch him in the crossfire. Kouga then goes straight for Kagome, holding her hands as she apologizes for Inuyasha's behavior. Both Kouga and Inuyasha tell her not to apologize, but Kouga's tone is tender, while Inuyasha is quite annoyed as he glares over his shoulder. He's still facing Mouryoumaru, though, and asks Kouga if the reason he's running from this new composite youkai is if it's more trouble than the others they faced earlier. Kouga returns to whack him over the head again, objecting to the characterization of what he was doing being "running scared".
But Kouga's underlings are more than happy to dish the deets: Two-Tone says the the monster's body can switch between hard and soft, and Mohawk says that even cutting its flesh with a sword doesn't hurt it. Kagome asks about this sword, and Kouga admits it's just something he took off a human for decoration, and he never thought he would have to USE the thing. Kouga is into AESTHETICS? The Kouga lore only SLIGHTLY deeper than a puddle now, go figure.
Inuyasha scoffs that Kouga shouldn't compare his wimpy sword with Tessaiga (he wasn't?), preparing for what he must consider the REAL fight.
This had BETTER work.
Hakudoushi just stares silently, and Mohawk mutters that the sword looks like a jewel as he and Two-Tone look on in wonder, Kouga displaying a more stoic expression. Inuyasha lets off an impressive volley of diamond spears with his shout of Kongousouha. A placid Hakudoushi responds by addressing Mouryoumaru, who remains silent, before the spears hit. They create a chaotic cloud of action as they meet their target, Inuyasha's team gaping in amazement at the spectacle.
But when the dust clears again, not even the remains of Hakudoushi and his monster are anywhere to be seen among the diamond spears sticking out of the scarred ground. Miroku questions whether the two are gone, Inuyasha more inclined to the interpretation that he blew them both to pieces. Lol, he wishes.
Ooooooh, cliffhanger!
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Did RT actually recently READ Frankenstein before this arc? I can't help but note how very similar the two massive, somewhat beautiful, enormously strong monsters built from the parts of others are to each other. Of course, Hakudoushi is no Victor Frankenstein, and made HIS monster specifically to maim and kill, not disturbed at all by the appearance or behavior of the thing.
Of course, I'm ALSO reminded of the OTHER massive human-shaped foe Kouga in particular fought in the Shichinin-tai arc: Kyoukotsu. I was wondering the whole time if that guy was really human, how he could be SO large and what his origin could possibly have been. We never got ANYTHING even resembling a backstory for him, and he died so fast it was pretty much moot by the time we started hearing those of the other band members. Given how oddly similar he is to Mouryoumaru in size and strength, though, this new arc is reviving my suspicions about the Shichinin-tai not being entirely human.
No surprise that the brand new technique Inuyasha got at the border between worlds would already be rendered obsolete. We're not even allowed to think for a MOMENT that Naraku might be defeated, the chapter ending with a refutation of Inuyasha's assumption he wasted the incarnations. Because this series hasn't quite been wrung dry yet. Not only has RT opened far more storylines than can be wrapped up nicely in this moment, but Inuyasha as a brand is still running strong and popular at this point. It's clear even at this fairly early stage that, despite Inuyasha collecting new attacks like Pokemon, NONE of them will be actually useful in the resolution of the plot.
Pull on your rubber boots, because we're in for a slog.
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