@jakotsuto and @freewilllife I hope you don't mind if I reply to your comments here in one shot because some of your points will lead me to touch the same topics. Anyway, first let me say that any thought I express is not cast in stone, in fact in the last months my idea of Kikyō, both as person and as character, changed at least THREE TIMES, so it is not only possible that my vision can (more or less) change again, but I'm afraid that sometimes, as I'm still processing things, my posts come out not always (or not completely) well focused (and this should also explain why it took me THIS LONG to write the present post); secondly, please, keep in mind that here I'll talk mainly referring to the manga, as it is the version I remember better at the moment, but hopefully someday I'll write an analysis about the anime adaptation too; thirdly, before proceeding with the big stuff, I want to address just those few things raised by freewilllife which won't require much thinking on my part.
• Yes, the Inugang acknowledges that Kikyō is not the same person she once was when they first met her, yes, they mourn her death, but this 1) has nothing to do with what I meant, because what I meant, what I mean is that you can like a character without trying to make them look "more likeable", because some characters, in fact, lose all their appeal and their significance if you do that, 2) doesn't necessarily mean that her redemption arc was perfectly handled by the author. PERSONALLY I don't think of Kikyō as "poorly written" (I saw somebody write this and as wrong as it sounds to me, that's a matter of taste), and, just to be clear, I really like her, but I don't think she is Takahashi's most successful/complete character either. Her most ambitious, fascinating experiment? Sure, but most succesful? Well, perhaps she could be considered such, depending on what one thinks is successful about her character (we'll discuss this later on).
• I simply used the word "sin" as a synonym for "crime" but alright, I'll give you that, not my best semantic choice.
• Sorry sorry sorry, I'm not questioning your knowledge of Inuyasha, it's just that every time my eyes read "merily compassion"/"just compassion"/etc I see red.
• Her moments during the Mount Hakurei arc are dear to me (that dialogue between she and Saint Hakushin in chapters 271-272 = episode 120 is my second or third favorite scene of the whole manga/anime) and I think that until then her development was really well done, I don't even mind that we don't get to see when it is exactly that she starts to change, on the contrary it actually makes her more intriguing, like an ineffable creature, something you can never fully grasp, but after that point... Mmmmh. I don't know. I have a feeling that things slowly collapse in on themselves.
• It's not that I don't like talking to her fans, it's just SAD that her fans (trolls obviously excluded), for all their intelligence, often are really blind. So. If the character they claim to love, as it turns out, actually is a character that only exists in their head as an idealization, what's the point? None of my business, sure, it's the fandom baby, this is how things goes, I know, but, like I said, I can't help but live this as a loss.
Having said this... LET'S START.
Why do people have a problem with murder only when it's Kikyō to commit it?
Why do fans have a problem admitting Kikyō's crimes?
These two questions, as jakotsuto pointed out, are intertwined:
Putting aside the part about the knife scene (that's a talk for another time as it's an anime-only scene) the thing is: fans are not comfortable with the idea of speaking frankly of Kikyō's darkness because the hate around her gets them defensive as apparently she is the only character who is not allowed to be dubious, to hate, to kill.
Is it because she's a woman? Is it because she is the "always-in-the-way ex"?
It is certainly true that people tend to be particularly cruel to her, to a self-righteous point. Like, once I had to explain why exactly accept her role as guardian of the Shikon no Tama wasn't just a "free choice" (💢), and that no, it wasn't an "act of hubris" either (💢🤬).
This is to say that I know what are you talking about, guys, I won't deny it, because it's undeniable and I hate this as much as you do, frustrated and misogynist haters are always there (and let's not forget that misogyny influences people on a subconscious level, far more difficult to discern than hurling open insults is), but it's not just this.
Yes, no one gives two shits about (for example) Kōga's misdeeds and crimes, true, but this has less to do with his being a man than with his insubstantiality. Kōga almost is nothing more than a draft, the shadow of a character. GOODNESS, NO ONE TAKES HIM SERIOUSLY (except part of his fans, yes, but I can't even bother to consider them, as well as I won't deign to consider Kikyō toxic fans). Kikyō, on the contrary, is anything but "insubstantial". And she is neither just a background figure nor a comic relief. She's taken seriously by the narrative and thus we read her that way.
We want to talk of Miroku? Oh, he is a mess, he can be the worst, but I don't think I've ever met a person in this fandom not abudantly critical of his behaviour, like, seriously, not one of his fans will try to make him pass for a saint just because of this or that. And the story treats him accordingly, without discounts. He himself is far from proud of the person he is (and I'm pretty sure he says so at some point? Any Miroku fan out there listening who will dispel the doubts?).
Moreover Kikyō is a character that, unlike guys such as Sesshōmaru and (partially?) Kōga, does know what it's like to care, she knows kindness, she has kindness inside of her, that's why her coldness (in killing, in speaking) is much, much more striking than theirs. That she knows very well the value of human life and yet shows no hesitation in taking it (as she is and is not human, is and is not a miko)... Of course is unsettling. Now. The function of her character certainly is to make you feel that way, because through her you see how easy can be to fall, see that no matter whether you're human or demon, darkness can touch you, to the point that even cultivating purity doesn't make you invulnerable to the insidious traps of evil, and this is good stuff, narratively speaking, I mean, REALLY good, no problem with it, so much so in fact that if you dislike her character for this, if you want her to be something different, that's a you problem and you'd better read some other book.
Also, if I'm being completely honest, I think she is awfully pleasant to look at when she's about to commit something really, deeply wrong, especially when she is aware of how really, deeply wrong is that, I can't help myself, so I hope you understand that it's not that the problem is my sensitivity/morality.
Here you go: how are we supposed to read her redemption arc? What was Takahashi's goal with Kikyō? What is Kikyō's redemption about?
The answers to these questions are not so obvious, and without definitive, reliable answers we can't even begin to answer the most important one: was the author able to achieve her goal with Kikyō? In other words: is Kikyō's arc consistent?
This is the point, for me. This is what we need to talk about.
Let's take Sesshōmaru again as term of reference. His arc revolves around learning to feel, to value life in its "lowest" forms and to let go of all the conflicts with his late father. Takahashi's plan for him wasn't a 360-degree change of mentality. Respect? Yes. Compassion? Yes. But to mingle with other people? Well, in part yes, it's inevitable since he always comes back to visit Rin in Kaede's village, and certainly this is quite the change for his standards. To ask for forgiveness? Nope. It would be insincere if he tried to, he did what he did because such was the way for him, Sesshōmaru knows this, and if one could mention one quality he has is his being true to himself, which gives him a "certain" honesty. He never tries to be someone he is not. And yet he comes to acknowledge Inuyasha's value, though in his own way, that is not brotherly, rather, I'd say, "warriorly", through the only tongue he speaks, the one of the sword (chapter 502, Proof; Final Act, episode 15, True Heir). To me it's clear how we have to read Sesshōmaru and so I'm able to tell that is arc is consistent. He is NOT perfect in his development, I can easily count 2 or 3 points that, with that little bit of extra attention, would have really made him shine, but the fact is that I'm perfectly able to say what is it about him which would have required more and what couldn't have been done better, because I have a key to read him, with Kikyō instead... well, not exactly. I can't say I know a key able to explain her character as a whole, from the beginning to the end. This probably means that my previous statement about her being less consistent, as character, than Sesshōmaru... was premature, so let's put this on hold for now.
At any rate, what one can affirm with certainty is that Kikyō is a character ten times more difficult to write than Sesshōmaru is (that's why I said she's probably Takahashi's most ambitious experiment) and with good reason: apart from all those complex themes she carries on, there's the fact that, while Sesshōmaru has the luxury to be mostly unrelated to what happens on a strictly plotline level, to the point that you can think of his presence as a solo performance, Kikyō is inextricably connected to almost everything. Even when she is not onstage she's still there. Through the relationships she has with other characters (namely, Inuyasha, Naraku and Kagome). Through the effects of her own actions.
So, all things considered, even in case we should find that not everything about her writing went smooth, that would still be understandable.
But if it's just that I'm not that good at reading Kikyō, then, please, help me! (Oh, I'm so serious right now, you have no idea).
What troubles me the most is that I used to think I knew which was her turning point, but I'm not so sure anymore. For one, I can't make sense of "At last... I have become that ordinary woman" (chapter 465, The Lights). How? When?
Even before this, there's to discuss her "salvation".
I know, just the mere fact that she's able to resist the fury burning her insides and then, bit by bit, vanquish it, it's a testament to her strong will and heart, like, I challenge ANYONE to do as much (!) and what's even more astounding is that, despite her harsh situation, she even does for Saint Hakushin what no one was able to do for her (not entirely true: see what manga Inuyasha says and does in chapter 49, Hatred Unspent, which wasn't enough to heal her soul just because it was too soon as she'd been just revived by Urasue).
But... Did she ever call into question her own actions? As I recall, perhaps the only real moment is in chapter 409, Divergence (Final Act, episode 5, The Great Holy Demon Spirit's Test) when she is considering the dilemma of Kohaku's sacrifice. As for the rest... She never had to face consequences (with one exception we'll discuss later). She must be aware of the harm she caused: as soon her judgement begins to clear up, she is more than capable to see it, she's far too intelligent to not to, but she never lets anyone be in the position to question her.
The reason is simple: she can't afford to hesitate. She has a mission and she can't be swayed. She's convinced she is the only one who can defeat Naraku, that that is her purpose, that's why she came back to life. This thought alone sustains her. It's an illusion of control and she can't escape it. Because if you can't move on, if you have no place, when you see no sense in your existence, you need to cling to any illusion within reach.
She needed to finish the work her past self, being only human, was not strong enough for.
To this, you may also add the fact that, running out of time, maybe she really thought that there wasn't another way to get rid of Naraku and of the Jewel, maybe she even thought that since Inuyasha and the others weren't willing to get their hands dirty for the greater good, she (as already "tainted") could sacrifice what remained of her soul to eternal damnation. There's the issue though that Kikyō doesn't seem to be conscious of the fact that to use Kohaku's shard will likely come at the cost of her own soul (?). She just acts expecting others to follow her plan as the only sensible thing to do, so I'm not sure this was Takahashi's intention (and that's a pity, it would have been an interesting narrative choice).
My guess is that probably readers/watchers have a hard time walking in her shoes because she never breaks, she never falters (save for her very first moments following her resurrection). Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kagura, Sesshōmaru (!), all of them at some point are brought to their knees. And not just physically. Kikyō's mind instead, even with her body pushed to its limits, remains set on her objective. I don't know. She's like a crusader. THIS is what makes her scary. This is what makes her difficult to empathize with to the masses. Even more than killing in cold blood. And it's not like I have a sick desire to see her break down in tears like that creepy motherfucker Onigumo, hell no, but sometimes in allowing yourself to be vulnerable, to admit that you can't do everything by yourself there is less weakness and more wisdom than there is in pressing forward with blind obstinacy. I mean, just imagine Kikyō accept that there's no need to be wonderwoman, that you can let others finish the work, that it doesn't matter if you failed, for what you did is enough. And thus return to the dead. Can you picture Naraku's face if she had did it at the end of Mount Hakurei arc? Lol, going through all that trouble to remove his human heart and have the chance to prove himself he feels absolutely nothing... only to find that Kikyō has crossed over, peacefully, unharmed, at her own terms, forever out of his reach. That would have been enough to make him fume.
This would have truly made her that ordinary woman she wanted to be, if you ask me.
What seemingly prevents Kikyō from taking this path is her main weakness: she is alone. Solitude has always been her condition. Meaning that where other characters (Inuyasha, Miroku, first examples to come to mind) are allowed to heal, to grow, to know other perspectives, to do better thanks to this strange thing called "the power of togetherness", Kikyō knows no such luxury. Hell, even that bastard of Sesshōmaru has people, even Kōga. The only character to have it tougher is Kagura, born into literal slavery and come to know kindness for the very first time in her life just before dying.
In life, Kikyō experienced isolation because she had to be above human fragility.
Now, this new Kikyō, walking undead among the living, tries to carve a place for herself in this or that village, but the fact that she needs to feed on young women's souls to sustain her clay body will always be a barrier, an obstacle, something simply too impossible to forgive.
Even less good would come from staying with the Inugang. For her, as well as for Inuyasha (or for Kagome, for that matter).
People sometimes say that this, her being alone, was Kikyō's price to pay. Well, in a way it is, but, after all, being around other people is even more of a "punishment", because she's always reminded of her otherness, of her "stillness". Given these circumstances, the isolation is a form of healing. It's as if she was quarantined, because she's as harmful to the living as the living are harmful to her.
There are creatures she can talk to though. Creatures she can talk to on a more equal level: unfortunates with split souls. From them she seems to learn and such encounters always bring some inexplicable peace for both parties.
And this is exactly why one would think that after the events following the destruction of Mount Hakurei and her fatal confrontation with Naraku, she would gain a new vision of things. Instead she survives the whole ordeal, but keeps going on sticking to her plan. As if nothing happened. As if Naraku hadn't just proven to be much more cunning than expected in his schemes. As if Saint Hakushin had not been enough of a lesson.
Honestly. What's the point in letting her live longer if she remains the same? Alright, I know, THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT with Kikyō, but... please, by then the reader has perfectly understood it, and, besides, if she really really can't learn anything at all then the story is destined to never end and that simply can't be (unless you want to write an open ending but we know this is not the case).
So. If we have to work with what we have, here another tip: saved by Kagome's purifying powers, Kikyō, instead of Inuyasha (chapter 315, The Scent of the Nest), could have sent for the girl, and for two very good reasons at that: 1) Kagome is the one the older miko had a message (and a "gift") for on that occasion, right? Right! 2) A face-to-face with Kagome would have given their previous exchange (chapter 309, The Choice) soooooo much more weight, as in "I did not thank you back then because I couldn't bring myself to do it and because as miko that was your duty, but now I'm not holding back anymore and I recognize your value". And then... Well... she could just train her. I mean, really, properly training her. There would be no need to make Kikyō "nicer" to Kagome and I wouldn't like that either. Too easy. She could still be her aloof self AND try to do her best with her. Like: "This is your lesson, now make yourself scarce and remember to exercise at least one hour a day" (and maybe internally she'll be making a quiet "huff" that could almost sound like laughing? Like... Relief? Because she didn't even know she could do this "trust someone else" thing? Because when you teach someone your arts you learn something new both about yourself and about your art? Jeez, so much material there).
My opinion is that after her more reflective arc, she needed a more active one. Where she could put into practice that strange form of peace she absorbed through her past interactions with other characters, culminating with the warmth she feels in her chest after Kagome's intervention.
But... Who am I to say? Perhaps it's just that this wasn't how Takahashi felt about her character. Perhaps if Kikyō is like this, so impossibly unyielding, inflexible, to a self-destructive point (not only "self", actually), well... it's because so it is how Kikyō was supposed to be. Alright. Got it. But then you (not "you" as in "you two guys", rather as in "all her fans") can't come and talk to me of how kind Kikyō is. Because this Kikyō, THIS, the clay doll, not the one from her previous life, is forced to leave kindness behind. If anything, you should mourn the impossibility for her to be kind. You should accept that what little kindness she can allow herself to gift, as shadow of the miko she once was, is not her way to make up for her mistakes, that's just an attempt to save what little can be saved, because she knows she has blood (and souls) on her hands, but, in spite of this, is incapable to do otherwise.
She is often called "hero of her own story/life" and in part she is, because her violent side is not something she could have overcome without a strong will, even with all the external inputs she got. Her obstinacy though, her obsession, her "blindness", that is, that inability to see other options... That's something she couldn't figure out alone. If she came out of it, it's only thanks to the Inugang (see chapters 444-449 = The Final Act, episode 6, The End of Mōryōmaru). In the end, I think that her choice to save Miroku, as she was moved by having seen him sacrifice his life for Kohaku's sake, was taken knowing very well that absorbing the miasma would have weakened her already strained body significantly, preventing the fulfillment of her mission, so, yes, this is a very, VERY important moment, signaling that crucial change in her heart and in her mind that we were waiting for. Also, Kikyō's choice, as Sango says in page 2 of chapter 465, The Lights (The Final Act, episode 8, Among the Twinkling Stars, min 18.12), was made for Sango's sake, too, so that we could read this as a way for Kikyō to spare the girl the pain of going through her same tragedy AND as compensation/atonement for what she had thought to do of Kohaku.
So, what shall we do with all this? What do we get out of it? That maybe a big amount of the disappointment haters have actually has to do more with the stretching of Kikyō's arc, which aggravates the repetitiveness the story by then had mired in. There's also to say that maybe what haters hate, more than the actual character, is the idolatry reserved by fans to a false image of Kikyō, that is not the one written by Takahashi, for she will always be depicted as the hero of the story when in fact she is an anti-hero (if anything, as I said, she is the hero of her story, at least in part), as the goddess and saviour the Inugang should kiss the ground she walks on, but if her soul was saved is thanks to them. This false Kikyō somehow overshadowed (and overlapped with) the true Kikyō, so that it's not always so easy to understand which is the one people refer to, whether they do it with love or hate.
There's another topic: the matter with the Shinidamachu. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I know that some people feel like something is wrong with Inuyasha & co just letting it be as if devouring other souls, on Kikyō's part, was no big deal and that Takahashi would not bring that up any further so that Kikyō could look "not so bad". I really don't know, but I doubt Takahashi would consider her readers so stupid? Anyway, one thing is true: imagine you've got the Inugang examine what it tells about them as people the fact that they're okay with Kikyō doing something as wrong as collecting souls to "live". This would be interesting. Although I have to highlight that in chapter 76, The Smell of Death, (episode 23, Kagome's Voice and Kikyō's Kiss) is Kikyō herself to raise the subject, still to have a more sober reflection from Inuyasha (who on that first occasion had other priorities), would not be bad.
I think that a lot of things about Kikyō and how the other characters feel about her could have been deepened much more if not for the fact that that stupid jealousy thing was often more important for Takahashi, faking a love triangle where never was one just to create tension was too often more important (💩). Ugh... I love Rumiko Takahashi, she's a damn genious, but sometimes... Just sometimes...
And here comes the worst.
I can accept almost everything if I really have to, I don't even ask for a proper talk between Kikyō and Kagome because somehow they still came to an understanding (I would have wanted more, for the sake of both characters' growth, as already explained, and for the sake of my own heart aching for kagkik, but still... alright). Inuyasha is an entirely different matter though. Guys, Kikyō manipulated the shit out of him at will, she actively (and then more passively) fueled his guilt, to the point that he thought he had to give her his life - read: die (chapter 153, Kikyō's Plan and chapter 172, Onigumo's Heart). This is abuse. Quite literally. And I don't even think Inuyasha ever realized it, because this is how abuse works, especially when the abuser is a person you love and whose death and current helpless state you feel responsible for.
Yes. I know. I know what is the context behind. Kikyō is a prisoner. Upon her resurrection she was enslaved to her blind rage, to her obsession for Inuyasha, a sick version of her past feelings. The tragic irony is not lost on me: can you imagine what the old Kikyō would have thought of this version of herself? A version so terribly similar in its wickedness to the foe responsible of her death? Exactly.
All her character in fact is a stratificaton of different levels of tragic irony and this is amazing, but...
That she was not able to acknowledge out loud (or even just internally) what she did to him... IS unforgivable. This thing that you are kind to random people, but don't give a damn about the person you love only makes you hypocrite and implies that said person means absolutely nothing to you (so much for "love"). And what's worse is that this wasn't Takahashi's intention, she wasn't trying to write her as an hypocrite, as a flawed human, "imperfect", yes, even in death because death doesn't make you wiser, because death is just death... No, the general impression with Kikyō's last chapters rather is that Takahashi really wanted to make her look like the perfect, immaculate martyr, that she (the author) simply forgot that Kikyō, other than victim, is a victimizer (and tens other things), and, in doing so, loosing sight of that inner conflict which underlies this character, a conflict so impactful and beautiful in its bitter taste, but apparently destined to never be fully addressed, just left behind as if it had never existed in the first place.
Sure, you could argue that Takahashi's point was that it was too late for Kikyō and Inuyasha to untangle the knot of guilt, love-slash-idealization-of-a-feeling-not-lived, sorrow, and abuse, that all of this was woven together to a point of no return so that there could be no real release. If that's the case, well, fine, it makes sense, I guess (?), but then I hope you understand what this means: their relationship did more harm than good to them, and to Inuyasha especially. A hard pill for sure, because, damn, what is more tragic than two good people who, coming into contact in bad circumstances, only manage to hurt each other. When you think that one of the two literally is a healer it stings even more.
But then again, if your point is "it's too late, it's always been too late for everything", goodness, at least you should allow me to see that Kikyō is aware of this and feels miserable about it, because now that she finally is free of whatever it was that before couldn't let her say it out loud, now she has no strenght left to. This wasn't something the author could afford to sweep under the carpet.
In the end I think that my opinion of Kikyō's arc remains unresolved, though, even so, I love her, for she still is the most powerful symbol of that liminal space between human and non-human/beyond-human.
