Plot dog demon
Jan. 13th, 2010 11:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteSo I've been watching Inuyasha: The Final Act on Shonen Sunday's website (yay for free subbed anime every week), and the most recent episode actually got me thinking about fandom meta and fic, considering nothing I ever expect actually happens in Inuyasha. Though, I never finished watching the MAIN series, so I can't say for sure how it (or the manga, for that matter) really ended.
Still. So the most recent episode focused more on Sesshomaru, which I think is quite awesome. He's come a long way as a character, and I really respect Takahashi for that. A lot of the time, her characters tend to be the same from series to series, and more often than not, stay the same by series end--they've maybe nudged a LITTLE in one "good" direction or another, but with the exception of Maison Ikkoku and that boxing series (Ten-Pound Gospel?), it seems like she likes to leave her endings --and therefore her characters-- ambiguous.
Now, Inuyasha's been going on a WHILE now and is pretty damn long. Not the longest, for sure, but longer than any of her previous works. You'd expect there to be more going on with the characters than new weapon techniques and UST.
And I got to thinking, here's me not knowing anything about how the original anime series ended--if it's like Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden, where you KNOW how the series will end, you just don't know how the characters will get there. I'm wondering if all of Sesshomaru's time with Rin (and now Kohaku!) will have changed his opinions on humans for the better. Sure, it sucks having to give up the sword you trained so long and hard with to your annoying younger brother, but I think Sesshomaru actually came around to realizing Inuyasha deserves the sword: he's good with it, and he's capable of destroying Naraku. He's not only got the emotional motivation, he's got the physical wherewithal. He's got the sword, the techniques, the support--these things Sesshomaru either wanted because he felt he deserved it more, or felt he DIDN'T need because, well, he's Sesshomaru. Big Daddy Dog Demon apparently knew this about the two brothers all along, which is why Inuyasha got Tetsuaiga and Sesshomaru got Tenseiga.
So I'm thinking: does Inuyasha's newly upgraded-and-fused Tetsuaiga also have Tenseiga's ability to heal/restore to life? Or is it just he can now do a full Meido Zangetsuha without any of the training Sesshomaru had to put into it? (No wonder why Sesshomaru was mad about the two swords wanting to be one again.) If it's the former, I'm betting he'll need to use it. At first, in this latest episode, I thought he'd have to use it on himself: commit suicide to live and keep fighting. Sounds crazy enough to be possible for the Inuyasha universe. Or, as Sesshomaru said in a previous episode, kill HIM in order to gain true mastery over the sword.
It's either that or one of the others. Obviously my first thought would be Kagome, because she's just so damn vulnerable, and what better way to get to Inuyasha (now that Kikyo's gone) by killing off Kagome? Of course, Miroku is also a possibility: the Wind Tunnel is still killing him slowly, even if he doesn't feel it. But if he was restored to life, would the Wind Tunnel be gone altogether, or smaller and miasma-free, or...?
And if the new Tetsuaiga can't do that, can the old Tenseiga still do it, even though Sesshomaru was already warned that neither Rin nor Kohaku can "come back" a second time? Technically, Rin's already used up her brought-back-to-life quota, and Kohaku's a zombie without the Shikon no Tama shard in his neck.
Speaking of which, just WHAT will the final wish be, if any? Will it seal away the well for good, heal Miroku, make Inuyasha a human, or something else entirely unexpected and discombobulating? Can only one person wish on it, and does it have to be a specific person (e.g. Kagome because she's the purest out of the bunch, what with Kikyo gone)?
All this fun stuff had me wondering: let's assume Kagome goes back to her time. Is stuck there, can't go back anymore. Inuyasha's only a half-demon--presumably he'd eventually die, long before a fully-fledged demon like Sesshomaru might. What if Sesshomaru kept living, but actually disguised himself as a human in Kagome's world? If she left without truly knowing what happened in the final battle (Does Naraku know WHEN she's from? I'm pretty sure he knows about the well, but for whatever reason, he can't travel through it like other demons did at the beginning of the series?), he'd be the only way she could find out, assuming the well was sealed.
If Sesshomaru were to wish on the Shikon no Tama, once upon a time, he would have wished for a sword stronger than Tetsuaiga, or maybe for his arm back, etc. But now he's finding his own way, establishing himself beyond his father's legacy (but still respecting it), and Totosai implied he'll even get his own sword soon--a non-"iga" sword of his own, suited just for him. So I get to thinking, he'd actually demonstrate "selflessness" and wish for Rin not to die, or the same for Kohaku.
It's starting to sound like a plot bunny (plot dog demon?) and worse, a Sesshomaru x Kagome fic (I say "worse" because I'm totally an Inuyasha x Kagome shipper, but I don't like the idea of either one of them having to make a drastic change for the other, and that's just the way the series has been set up from the beginning: no matter what, someone has to make a huge sacrifice), but the current Sesshomaru DOES have a certain allure about him that makes him so much cooler than he was at the beginning of the series. I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens to him and HIS "crew" as I am about Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo!
Still. So the most recent episode focused more on Sesshomaru, which I think is quite awesome. He's come a long way as a character, and I really respect Takahashi for that. A lot of the time, her characters tend to be the same from series to series, and more often than not, stay the same by series end--they've maybe nudged a LITTLE in one "good" direction or another, but with the exception of Maison Ikkoku and that boxing series (Ten-Pound Gospel?), it seems like she likes to leave her endings --and therefore her characters-- ambiguous.
Now, Inuyasha's been going on a WHILE now and is pretty damn long. Not the longest, for sure, but longer than any of her previous works. You'd expect there to be more going on with the characters than new weapon techniques and UST.
And I got to thinking, here's me not knowing anything about how the original anime series ended--if it's like Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden, where you KNOW how the series will end, you just don't know how the characters will get there. I'm wondering if all of Sesshomaru's time with Rin (and now Kohaku!) will have changed his opinions on humans for the better. Sure, it sucks having to give up the sword you trained so long and hard with to your annoying younger brother, but I think Sesshomaru actually came around to realizing Inuyasha deserves the sword: he's good with it, and he's capable of destroying Naraku. He's not only got the emotional motivation, he's got the physical wherewithal. He's got the sword, the techniques, the support--these things Sesshomaru either wanted because he felt he deserved it more, or felt he DIDN'T need because, well, he's Sesshomaru. Big Daddy Dog Demon apparently knew this about the two brothers all along, which is why Inuyasha got Tetsuaiga and Sesshomaru got Tenseiga.
So I'm thinking: does Inuyasha's newly upgraded-and-fused Tetsuaiga also have Tenseiga's ability to heal/restore to life? Or is it just he can now do a full Meido Zangetsuha without any of the training Sesshomaru had to put into it? (No wonder why Sesshomaru was mad about the two swords wanting to be one again.) If it's the former, I'm betting he'll need to use it. At first, in this latest episode, I thought he'd have to use it on himself: commit suicide to live and keep fighting. Sounds crazy enough to be possible for the Inuyasha universe. Or, as Sesshomaru said in a previous episode, kill HIM in order to gain true mastery over the sword.
It's either that or one of the others. Obviously my first thought would be Kagome, because she's just so damn vulnerable, and what better way to get to Inuyasha (now that Kikyo's gone) by killing off Kagome? Of course, Miroku is also a possibility: the Wind Tunnel is still killing him slowly, even if he doesn't feel it. But if he was restored to life, would the Wind Tunnel be gone altogether, or smaller and miasma-free, or...?
And if the new Tetsuaiga can't do that, can the old Tenseiga still do it, even though Sesshomaru was already warned that neither Rin nor Kohaku can "come back" a second time? Technically, Rin's already used up her brought-back-to-life quota, and Kohaku's a zombie without the Shikon no Tama shard in his neck.
Speaking of which, just WHAT will the final wish be, if any? Will it seal away the well for good, heal Miroku, make Inuyasha a human, or something else entirely unexpected and discombobulating? Can only one person wish on it, and does it have to be a specific person (e.g. Kagome because she's the purest out of the bunch, what with Kikyo gone)?
All this fun stuff had me wondering: let's assume Kagome goes back to her time. Is stuck there, can't go back anymore. Inuyasha's only a half-demon--presumably he'd eventually die, long before a fully-fledged demon like Sesshomaru might. What if Sesshomaru kept living, but actually disguised himself as a human in Kagome's world? If she left without truly knowing what happened in the final battle (Does Naraku know WHEN she's from? I'm pretty sure he knows about the well, but for whatever reason, he can't travel through it like other demons did at the beginning of the series?), he'd be the only way she could find out, assuming the well was sealed.
If Sesshomaru were to wish on the Shikon no Tama, once upon a time, he would have wished for a sword stronger than Tetsuaiga, or maybe for his arm back, etc. But now he's finding his own way, establishing himself beyond his father's legacy (but still respecting it), and Totosai implied he'll even get his own sword soon--a non-"iga" sword of his own, suited just for him. So I get to thinking, he'd actually demonstrate "selflessness" and wish for Rin not to die, or the same for Kohaku.
It's starting to sound like a plot bunny (plot dog demon?) and worse, a Sesshomaru x Kagome fic (I say "worse" because I'm totally an Inuyasha x Kagome shipper, but I don't like the idea of either one of them having to make a drastic change for the other, and that's just the way the series has been set up from the beginning: no matter what, someone has to make a huge sacrifice), but the current Sesshomaru DOES have a certain allure about him that makes him so much cooler than he was at the beginning of the series. I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens to him and HIS "crew" as I am about Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo!
