Konnichiwa! This is Shannon, and welcome to Anime Freak. Guess what? I’ve got another show for you: Inu Yasha. This show was written by the famous Rumiko Takahashi. It has comedy, action, excellent characters, and a little bit of romance. Inu Yasha was released in America around August 2002, so it’s a while into the series. But Adult Swim has this annoying habit of stopping a series just when it’s getting good and starting it all over again, so you'll be able to see the episodes you missed.

    Despite Inu Yasha's title, the show seems to be centered around Kagome. Here’s the main story:
    It starts out with a dog-like boy running out of a burning village carrying a jewel. He almost gets away with it when an extremely wounded priestess shoots him and pins him to a tree by a magical arrow. The boy uses his last breath to ask the woman why she did it, then he dies. A crowd of people gather around the priestess, and after handing the jewel to a young child, she fell over and died.

    The scene switches to a modern household in Japan. Kagome Higurashi, your normal High School girl, was hanging out with Grampa; who was trying to sell his Shikon no Tama keychains and trying to explain the story behind them. Tomorrow will be Kagome's 15 birthday. After feeding her early present, a bizarre fin thing, to her cat, she goes to sleep.
    The next day Kagome and her brother are walking to their schools when they hear a scratching sound coming from the Bone Eater's Well, part of the family's shrine. Her brother says the cat is trapped down there, so they go to check it out. Both of them are really freaked out as the sound gets louder. After an intense pulsation from the well, their cat walks in. The well is still making that scratching noise, so Kagome eases towards it. Suddenly, the well burst open and a monster comes up out of the well and drags Kagome back down with her. The monster demands for something, but Kagome breaks free and a strange pink glow from her hand wards off the monster and takes off one of its arms. Kagome then finds herself at the bottom of the well, and she tells herself that she must have bumped her head or something. She quickly changes her mind when she sees that dead arm next to her. Kagome climbs up out of the well, but she doesn't see the shrine. It's just a big forest. Well, the well turns out to be a time portal that takes her back to the feudal era of Japan, like 500+ years ago. Kagome starts looking around when she recognizes the huge tree that stood behind the shrine. Kagome runs to it, but stops when sees a bizarre-looking creature pinned to a tree by an arrow who appears to be asleep. This is Inuyasha. He has long, silver hair and fox ears. Other than that, Inuyasha looks human, but you'll later find out he's half demon. This is actually the same guy from the beginning. But enough about that, Kagome went up to Inuyasha and started messing with his ears, seeing if he would wake up. Just then, a group of villagers sees her with Inuyasha and starts shooting arrows at them. She is captured and taken away to a nearby village. There an elderly priestess throws dust on her, shouting for the demon to leave. Kagome explains that she is not a demon, then the elderly priestess asks her why then was she was with Inuyasha. Then she stops and takes a good look at Kagome, then she introduces herself as Kaede, and decides to trust her, because she look so familiar....
    While Kagome is settling down in the village, the monster that kidnapped her comes back and starts destroying stuff, looking for the Shikon Jewel. Kagome knows the monster is after her, so she runs and leads it away from the village. Then she realizes she can't outrun the monster, and screams for somebody to help her. At that moment, far away in the forest, Inuyasha wakes up and says, "I can smell it. The blood of the woman who killed me."
    Kagome runs to the spot where Inuyasha is, with the monster not far behind. Kagome trips and flies towards Inuyasha, landing at his feet. Inuyasha looks at her, calling her Kikyo, and starts ripping on her about how weak she is, and that she should kill the insect-like fiend like she did him. Kagome doesn't know what he's talking about and is trying to explain that she's not this... Kikyo person. Inuyasha then asks why she smells so much like her. He starts sniffing her and discovers that she is in fact not Kikyo. He tops it off by saying that Kikyo was cuter so it can't be her. All of the sudden (the suspense!) the monster comes out with the villagers and Kaede trailing behind. She grabs Kagome, who then grabs Inuyasha's bang thingies. Finally Kagome raises a hand and the same pink glow from the well pushes the monster away and blows off a few more arms. Then Inuyasha senses the Shikon Jewel somewhere nearby. Kaede screams to watch out and that Mistress Centipede is still coming for her. (In case you didn't get that, Mistress Centipede is the monster that kidnapped Kagome and is now trying to kill her) Mistress Centipede flings her into the air and cuts into her side, revealing a small jewel. As Kagome is flying through the air, she realizes that this is the Shikon no Tama. But how'd it get inside her body? Mistress Centipede grabs Kagome again and hurls her against Inuyasha. Then she starts mocking Inuyasha because she can smell the human in him. She then wraps her body around them, pinning them both to the tree. Then she laps up the jewel and transforms. Inuyasha calmly asks Kagome if she can take out the arrow pierced through his chest. Ignoring the pleads of Kaede, Kagome reaches up and grabs the arrow, destroying its mystical power. Inuyasha then begins to pulsate, and Mistress Centipede squeezes them even tighter. Inuyasha easily breaks loose, then kills her. Kagome is *amazed*. Then Kaede asks her where the jewel is, and somehow she is somehow able to locate the jewel in one of Mistress Centipede's chunks.Kaede removes it and hands it to Kagome. Inuyasha starts laughing all creepy like, then he threatens to kill Kagome unless she gives him the jewel. Kagome starts running, and Inuyasha just barely misses her head. Kagome keeps running until she gets to a bridge, then she trips and Inuyasha grabs the jewel. Then Kaede appears with the villagers from behind a ledge and used her magic to put a necklace around Inuyasha that controls his spirit (makes him fall on his face, actually ^_^) when Kagome says "The Word". Kaede tells Kagome to make something up, so Kagome shouts out, "Sit, boy!" and Inuyasha falls through the bridge and floats down the river. He appears later that night at the village. With Inuyasha under control, they can talk about stuff. Inuyasha asks what happened to Kikyo. You see, Inuyasha and Kikyo were in love. They had this whole plan to make Inuyasha a human with the power of the jewel so they could be together, but this didn't work. You will later find out that Naraku had something to do with this. Anyway, upon mention of Kikyo, Kaede tells him that she was her sister. Kaede then tells Inuyasha that Kikyo died 50 years ago, the day she shto Inuyasha. Then she tells them the details: After Inuyasha was shot and right before Kikyo died blah blah blah, she ordered Kaede to burn the jewel with her body, so no one would ever see its evil power again. Kaede then reminds them that Kagome had the jewel inside her body, and she has a striking resemblance to Kikyo and has the same spiritual powers, plus, Inuyasha could pick up her scent within her. All this means that Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo.
    The next day, Inuyasha tries to steal the jewel from Kagome. Then a group of theives tries to steal the jewel from her. Somehow, a carrion crow gets hold of the jewel, and Kagome, with her "mad archery skill", shot right through the crow and hit the jewel. The jewel splits into many shards and flies everywhere with streams of light. If just one of the hundreds upon thousands of pieces falls into the wrong hands, let's just say that many unpleasent things will happen. Kaede tells Inuyasha that the only way to recover the shards is to work with Kagome; because Kagome is the only one who can see and sense the fragments, and only Inuyasha can defeat whoever possesses them. (Other people also join their brigade at different times in the story: Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Kouga, Myouga, and Kirara). That is the LAST thing Inuyasha wants to do, but he needs that jewel.

    So what's the big deal? you ask youself. Watch the show and see. You will learn the ways of Inu Yasha.

     O fabjous day, callo callay! It’s that special time of day! A show rating! The excitement is killing you. I’ve asked a completely random person to rate this show on a scale of 1 to 10. I haven’t bribed this person in any way. And the number is… 9.9! Comments: "Beware the romantic episodes!" This person over-exagerates the series' romance. It's not disturbing or mushy. But this is probably the only reason it got a 9.  Character voted most popular: Inuyasha.

    Well, that about wraps up Anime Freak for today. We hope you enjoyed it. I sure enjoyed it. Next show: Ranma 1/2. Sayonara!