I don't know how to tell you this, guys, but... That old adage saying that if only Onigumo/Naraku hadn't gotten in the way, Inuyasha and Kikyō would have had their own happy ending... well... is entirely false. Naraku if anything is the instrument that led to their shared tragedy, he is the one who set the trap for the two lovers, he physically (and mortally) wounded Kikyō, making so that she and Inuyasha hated each other in order to taint the Shikon no Tama. Naraku did this, but he is not the real cause, because even if Naraku had been out of the equation, the problem would still be there. Because the problem is the Shikon no Tama. That same Shikon no Tama that made Inuyasha and Kikyō meet is the reason of their impossible future. The irony behind it is painfully bitter.
Without Naraku, Inuyasha would make his wish to become human and that would not end well (that is, unless Kikyō had a last-minute reprieve and stopped him), because the Jewel doesn't grant your wish, the Jewel uses your own wish against you at its advantage. Besides, the Shikon no Tama is the catalyst of all the burdens weighing on Kikyō. It's the symbol of what makes her prisoner. Until the Jewel won't be vanquished, she can't be a woman. Meaning that she can't be free, she can't be happy. I think this was her main concern, her fixed idea. No, I don't think that she just "used" Inuyasha, that she didn't care of him and only saw him as something convenient to her. Her feelings are sincere, I just know it, I can feel it and no one will ever convince me otherwise, but I also feel that Kikyō was so disperate to be seen (to be freed) that she didn't really stop to think whether it was right or not to suggest/ask Inuyasha to sacrifice a part of his identity.
So. You see. There's no escaping the tragedy.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm suggesting that Naraku isn't a cruel monster, the actions I mentioned before are of his own doing and thinking, he isn't just the Jewel's puppet, forced to do what a higher power wants, he does what he does motivated by reasons which are wholly his own. To be clear: he is nothing like Kohaku nor like Kagura. Sure, in the grand scheme of things he turns out to be a pawn (yes, he, so proud of calling his person "creator of himself", he, who looks down on those so weak and pathetic to think of themselves as "victim of circumstance", in the end is nothing but a pawn himself, an instrument, that's why Naraku is a powerful tragic figure* too, no less than Kikyō), but his cruelty caused no short amount of pain.
*Friendly reminder, just in case: by calling Naraku "powerful tragic figure" I'm in no way implying/allowing any "oooh poor Naraku" shit, I said "tragic", tragic in the same way we call "tragic" characters such as Macbeth or Count Ugolino. "Tragic" is not a word that defines how good or evil a character is, I hope we all know this.
inuyasha, kagome and jealousy: why their feelings were justified
disclaimer: I'm aware there's a debate about whether or not inukag was officially, canonically dating during the series and that the answers tend to change according to the source material embasing them (manga or anime), but despite using manga panels to write this, I did it purely out of practicality and have no intentions of opening this particular can of worms right now. The point I'll be trying to make for @inukag-week's bickering prompt is that their feelings were valid regardless.
Inuyasha and Kagome get criticized a lot for the jealousy they feel of each other.
People seem to think that Kagome is not entitled to that sentiment because she chose to stay by his side knowing what it entailed and, more often than not, was the one telling him to go see Kikyo, so it's not fair of her to resent him when he actually does.
On the other hand, they claim that precisely because Inuyasha goes to see Kikyo, it's hypocritical of him to get mad at the fact that Koga is constantly showing just how much romantically invested he is on Kagome, as he has no ground to stand on.
Their feelings, however, are completely justified and no other scene proves that better than this manga interaction Sunrise mercilessly cut out:
Inuyasha is once again jealous of Kagome and Koga's proximity and he lets his frustrations out in no uncertain terms, but then Kagome makes a good point: what righ has he to be upset about it when he is also close to Kikyo? It's exactly why he gets flak in the first place. And his answer to that question is very interesting:
She may think Inuyasha is diverting, but he's really not. That's the briliance of this exchange: they are both right and they are both wrong on their assumptions.
Of course that, from Kagome's perspective, Koga putting his arms around her is not that big of a deal. They have no history whatsoever and she made it clear since day one that she wasn't interested. If he still wants to shoot his shot, it's all she can do to lay a friend and ally down gently.
Plus, it doesn't hurt that Koga's interest on her is such an ego boost...
Or that it turns the tables on Inuyasha to make him feel insecure and worried for a change.
Or that, in a twisted way, it actually reassures her of the feelings he tries so hard to be nonchalant about.
It might be a little petty of her, but how any of that even compares to Inuyasha kissing Kikyo? To Inuyasha meeting her alone even though she did terrible things to the two of them? To everyone constantly talking about how he still has feelings for her?
Surely he must know, after everything they've been through, that it can't compare, that he is the one Kagome is in love with. And since he does know, how dare he ever doubt her?
And of course that, from Inuyasha's point of view, Koga putting his arms around her is a huge deal. She complains about how every time he sees Kikyo they "float off into their own little world" but the truth is that except for the kiss she laid on him and the goodbye one they shared when she passed away for good — none of which had romantic conotations —, his interactions with Kikyo were pretty sterile, especially if juxtaposed with Kagome's interactions with Koga.
Kikyo is dead and isn't romantically interested in Inuyasha, nor is he romantically interested in her, but Koga certainly is into Kagome. Just because it isn't reciprocal yet, doesn't mean it hasn't potential to be.
Koga is the one regularly inserting himself into her personal space and she lets him, even though he did terrible things to the two of them. And so how can he be sure she doesn't like it? And how exactly is that different from the dynamic they share? Was she, after all, just being nice with him too and nothing more?
Surely she must know, after everything they've been through, that he only leaves because he has a duty to fulfil, but that he will always come back to her, that she is the one whose shoulders he puts his arm around. And since she does know, how dare she ever doubt him?
It's a classic case of miscommunication, but one that actually makes total sense, because they're just two teenagers navigating through extremely complex feelings in the worst possible circumstances.
They don't have the bigger picture the audience has and even if they did, their judgement would still be clouded by their jealousy, which keeps they stuck into their own perspectives.
And what makes even hard for them to get over these feelings is that they don't come from a place of ownership at all, but rather from a place of insecurity.
That's why Koga and Kikyo make up for such formidable rivals for Inuyasha and Kagome: it's not about the competition — the audience knows there isn't really one —, it's about the insecurities they bring out of the pairing, because they were carefully designed to do just that.
From the very beginning Kagome was being compared to Kikyo for being her reincarnation. She starts the story already having to measure up to her in power and once Kikyo actually enters the scene, Kagome is also taken aback by her beauty and elegance, but more than that: she feels like she can't compete because Kikyo "died for Inuyasha." One day he might return the favor.
For his part, Inuyasha has Koga to deal with. A good looking, uncomplicated man who has taken a like to Kagome and has absolutely nothing holding him back from pursuing her, while he has nothing to offer but a difficult past, an unstable present and an uncertain future. One day she could grow tired of it all and realize that Koga could give her everything he couldn't and leave for good.
In conclusion, all that jealousy is rooted in insecurities and in the fear of losing each other, which are completely understandable and absolutely valid .
The differece, I think, is that the narrative lets Inuyasha express his feelings of jealousy directly towards Koga, from insults to actual physical fights, without grand repercutions, while Kagome is never allowed allowed a similar outlet
But that's a topic for another day.
Special thanks to @kitramune for helping me with the panels.
kagome saying “coming home shouldn’t be so lonely” when she came back to her world & then tearing up when she saw inuyasha. i will always think abt kagome being at home in inuyasha’s presence & inuyasha with kagome’s. kagome choosing to stay & inuyasha protecting her as the greatest response he could give to kagome's decision. there’s always something abt Love that’s interposed w circumstances that they have to constantly row around to meet each other in the middle. i want you to stay but mostly i want you safe even if that means being apart from you, even if i’ll lose you… i’ll stay even without the promise of safety because i want to be with you. i'll commit to you with my whole life to protect you! i love you, i love you, i love you
it's really all about respecting kagome's agency of deciding for herself and responding in kind... like i will meet you halfway, hold your hand and we'll bear it all together.
i think halfway into writing this i thought about just cramming all my thoughts into a semi-coherent rant due to a combination of a.) lack of access to decent translations of the manga and b.) paranoia about over-analyzing scenes and coming off as delusional (i think by now it's probably too late to thwart that claim) buuut this headcanon in particular is near and dear to me so i want to try and get as in depth as possible.
what is demisexuality?
in simple terms, demisexuality is when an individual doesn't experience primary attraction - that is, the sort of attraction based on immediate observable (often physical) characteristics - and instead only experiences secondary attraction first: the type of attraction that forms after the development of a deep emotional bond.
inuyasha and kikyo
this aforementioned term perfectly describes inuyasha and his relationships with the only women he's ever loved romantically. you could make the claim that his inability to feel primary attraction first stems from his trust issues and not inherent sexual orientation. and to that, i would disagree - he and kikyo develop an emotional bond despite an unspoken lack of trust, which may have improved had naraku not meddled in their lives. still, both find solace in each other's similarities, loneliness, and "outlier" status (though the similarities are in isolation only, if i'm being completely honest) and establish a connection that persists post-revival.
inuyasha eventually did start to feel primary attraction to kikyo during their time together - in the second chapter of the manga, when he compares kagome to her, he states that kikyo "looked pretty."
[source - viz. i haven't been in this fandom long, but what i've gathered is that there are a lot of mis-translations of this manga, even from viz. since i have yet to buy physical copies of the manga and don't have an account for the site, i'm going to be using fan-scans for the rest of these, which hopefully won't really affect what i'm trying to convey since i'll be looking at character expressions rather than dialogue for most of them.]
i'd also note the order in which he lists those traits: kikyo looked intelligent and pretty. her intelligent appearance is the first part of her he remembers, which i think underscores his priorities in this regard. he values things like intelligence and companionship - facets that come to light when developing secondary attraction towards someone - more than aspects of primary attraction.
inuyasha and kagome
as mentioned before, demisexuals don't feel physical attraction before establishing a tight emotional bond. the most blatant examples i could think of this were any instances in which inuyasha sees kagome nude and his difference in reaction - in particular, during the yura of the hair and togenkyo arcs, which are roughly seventy-three chapters apart. there are two new moons in that time, and from that we can say at least two months have passed.
chapter six: yura of the hair
kagome's bathing below him, and i'm sorry, but this expression literally screams "zero fucks given." he does not care in the slightest. not a blush. not a spot of red on his cheeks. not a sweatdrop. not a tee-hee. if i were to describe what he's feeling in this moment i would say "extreme ire." when she uses the sit command on him, it's on the assumption that he's "peeking," but kaede understands that it's actually because inuyasha is trying to steal a shard of the shikon jewel.
"huh?" - he sounds genuinely confused that she reached that conclusion, even though he was quite literally peering over the cliff's edge in what obviously has very perverse connotations. it's almost like he doesn't understand why kagome would think his actions come from a place of sexual attraction because that sort of thing just isn't on his mind at all, and he doesn't get why it would be in the first place.
another extremely blatant example can be see in miroku's introductory chapter: chapter 51, the delinquent priest:
do i even have to say anything. this scene also further emphasizes my previous point - before, the only reason he was there was to try and steal kagome's jewel shard. if his true intentions had been driven by primary attraction, this would have been an opportune moment to "peep." in his words, however, he just isn't interested. note that he could have said something along the lines of "i wouldn't do something like that" (which, if he was attracted to her in that way from the start, wouldn't have done anyway) but specifically i'm not interested. the primary attraction is not there in the slightest. at least, not until:
chapter eighty two: fateful night in togenkyo
the scene i'm talking about needs no introduction, but for context: kagome's half-freaking out after having woken up in a sake bath. inuyasha breaks down the door to come and rescue her, accidentally seeing her naked in the process. well, i'm sure his reaction won't be that dif-
...it's only one panel-
okay, two-
i think at this point it's fairly obvious that primary attraction has developed. besides the fact that he's spent three panels trying not to look like he's having a quasi allergic reaction, it's been approximately two months since they've met, and by now they've definitely formed the deep emotional bond required for him to begin feeling any primary attraction at all. in fact, the chapter where he tells kagome "there's no replacement for you" - that chapter, where he's vulnerable and honest and opening up to her, strengthening their bond further, (ch. 78, a tender smell) is directly before the togenkyo arc begins, and, thus, just before these scenes occur. these chapters have all been building up secondary attraction, and now that primary attraction is just starting to show up.
several chapters later we have this iconic panel from 173:
this is such a look of awe, as though he's gazing up at a goddess. jaw dropped, eyes-wide, words trailing off awe. he's entranced. fully head-over-heels in love, feeling both primary and secondary attraction in regards to kagome, and this trend only continues throughout the entirety of the manga.
conclusion + extra thoughts
my belief in this headcanon comes from not just the evidence depicted above, but because i just related a ton reading those scenes. i found myself just nodding along (as someone who's demisexual themselves!) plus, since ace-spectrum representation is so rare, it's nice to see it reflected in a character whose story and relationships i love dearly.
(I had this sitting in my drafts for like 7 months so I'm finally giving it a prison break.)
I thought about what I felt Kagome gets out of her relationship with Inuyasha, since I think it's pretty clear what he gets out of the relationship with her...
Kagome is already sort of at a good place. She knows her worth, what's worth her time, and doesn't need a Man™ (or any person) to satisfy anything she "lacks"... we all know she was just vibin before slipping into the feudal era.
But compared to the other suitors in her life (Koga and Hojo)... Inuyasha doesn't quite treat her like a princess. Of course, he loves her and would do anything for her, but he doesn't exactly grovel at her feet either (I mean, he's tsundere max x5).
(This panel is pretty early on in Ch. 44, but basically summarizes their dynamic lol.)
Some people would prefer to be treated like a princess, but I don't think bad azz b*tch Kagome does. Inuyasha pushes back, fights her a little, he has a little pride, and Kagome is the same to him, but never to a point of no return, and they both trust each other to know they can handle criticism. They humble each other. Kagome seems to get a bit of satisfaction from that.
If she were with Koga or Hojo, I imagine it feels like a cat scratching at a smooth pole. It doesn't satisfy her. Whereas when she's with Inuyasha, it's like scratching... you know, at a scratch post. There's a right amount of resistance.
He's also a good guy, and that helps.
So it's not so much that Inuyasha fulfills an emotional need — he simply complements her personality. Meanwhile, he's not all fight; he's gentle in their moments alone later on, he keeps his promises, believes in her, reminds her of her worth when she's feeling insecure, and always shows up for her no matter what, which includes unsolicited visits to her house or room.
He's a kind person and also a protector of not just her, but everyone she cares about.
Kagome knows she is safe with him, just as Inuyasha knows he is safe with her.
Manga: capitoli 129-131 (volumi 7-8 della Wide Edition; volume 5 della VIZBIG Edition)
Anime: episodio 35 (09x02) min. 10:20-20:00
Dal manga sappiamo che l'intera sequenza che va dalla prima comparsa di Rin alla sua resurrezione si sviluppa nell'arco di diversi giorni. Tuttavia il tempo della storia è una cosa, il tempo del racconto un'altra. Per chi legge avviene tutto in una ventina di pagine. Per chi guarda l'anime sono dieci minuti. Ma quanto sono densi quei dieci minuti? Quanto sono pregne quelle pagine? In quel breve spazio vedi sgretolarsi cose che sembravano così certe nella loro indiscutibilità.
So che non ho neanche bisogno di presentarvi un contesto perché ne avrete ben vivide le immagini davanti a voi. Un demone con un braccio solo e una bambina muta.
Pensate. Sesshōmaru verosimilmente prima di quel preciso istante non sapeva neppure cosa fosse un sorriso. Un daiyōkai con la sua fiera reputazione di sicuro non è abituato a essere la causa (seppure involontaria) di una genuina manifestazione di gioia. Puoi decisamente sentire che qualcosa scricchiola dentro di lui. Decenni, secoli probabilmente, di abitudini mentali subiscono un contraccolpo. A quanto pare puoi affinare i tuoi sensi e affilare gli artigli fino a diventare realmente la perfezione nell'uccidere* ma resti lo stesso privo di difese davanti a un bambino che ti offre un affetto gratuito e incondizionato. Lusinghe, sfide, prove, sono un terreno conosciuto, un terreno su cui Sesshōmaru sa muoversi, ma ricevere qualcosa senza alcun merito da parte sua e senza un secondo fine dall'altra esula dalla sua comprensione. È spiazzante. Disarmante.
Eppure, diciamoci la verità, negli ultimi tempi il mondo di Sesshōmaru è stato messo sottosopra piuttosto spesso. Una bambina con un dente mancante e un occhio pesto che sorride in questo modo accecante come un raggio di sole che ti schiaffeggia in pieno volto non può essere un fatto così straordinario paragonato alla sonora, umiliante batosta ricevuta dal suo fratello mezzosangue (capitolo 129.) Un'umiliazione che gli brucia in seno ancor più perché è perfettamente consapevole che se è ancora vivo è solo perché il cuore generoso di Inuyasha gli ha impedito di ucciderlo.
[Capitolo 131 =/= episodio 35]
Non c'è bisogno di dire che questa pietà riservatagli Sesshōmaru la disprezza con tutto se stesso: la pietà dopotutto rivela la debolezza tanto di chi la elargisce quanto di chi la riceve e giammai il nome di Sesshōmaru sarà trascinato così in basso da mescolarsi alla patetica turba dei deboli. Per un essere simile, un essere la cui dura, fredda corazza è stata forgiata dalla violenza, la vita non è un dono, vive solo chi merita di vivere.
Un aiuto? Un soccorso? Misericordia? Certamente no. Non per lui.
Nel mondo di Sesshōmaru, molto semplicemente, se commetti l'errore di sottovalutare il tuo avversario è la morte l'unico destino che ti attende, e quando poi sei vulnerabile, be'... sei finito, hai chiuso, quello che devi aspettarti è diventare la preda di qualche yōkai di terz'ordine senza onore pronto a farsi un nome sulla tua pelle, non l'oggetto delle cure di un cucciolo umano. Insomma l'animo orgoglioso di lui si trova a dibattersi in un frangente già di per sé molto, molto singolare.
Questo per quanto riguarda Sesshōmaru, ma... E Rin?
Assistere alla trasfigurazione del viso di questa bambina abusata e affamata che sorride qui, ora, per la prima volta dopo tanto tempo è qualcosa per cui non trovo un termine di paragone adeguato. È come accendere la luce e accorgerti solo allora di essere stato al buio. Quel sorriso ha il potere di scuoterti nell'intimo, ti investe con una forza tale che non è così immediato cogliere la profondità della desolazione che cela in sé. Eppure la triste verità è che quando Sesshōmaru si chiede "Cos'avrà da essere felice?" ha assolutamente ragione, tutto quello che ha fatto è stato solo chiederle come si fosse procurata i lividi che ha sul viso.
[Capitolo 130]
Ovviamente noi sappiamo che per gli standard di Sesshōmaru anche una domanda così semplice è inaudita, inconcepibile (i grandi occhi gialli a palla di Jaken sarebbero caduti dalle loro orbite se fosse stato presente) ma Rin no, lei sa solo che c'è un misterioso essere tra i boschi così "gentile" da mostrarle un po' di umano interesse. Il minimo. Però anche quel minimo per lei significa tutto. Ed è chiaro che nulla su questa terra potrà impedire al tuo cuore di esultare perché, Dio, se Rin è felice sei felice anche tu, ma... Anche se guardando le cose dal suo punto di vista finiamo per convincerci del contrario è bene osservare che Sesshōmaru non è affatto gentile, è brusco con lei, nel manga in un'occasione rovescia addirittura a terra senza tanti complimenti il cibo che Rin gli porta con un gesto altero e regale, come un principe schizzinoso.
[Capitolo 130]
Tuttavia il fatto è che questa bambina è chiaramente abituata a trattamenti ben peggiori per darsene pena. Sesshōmaru in altre parole è "gentile" solo perché non è crudele come gli uomini del villaggio, la cui crudeltà peraltro è figlia spregevole della miseria. È una realtà agghiacciante. La miseria non è una maestra di vita, la miseria, quella vera, genera solo mostri, la miseria è una catena di orrori, per cui uomini nella disperazione più totale regrediscono a un tale grado di abbrutimento da picchiare senza rimorso una piccola, esile creatura. Proprio qui sta il problema: subire abusi in modo reiterato è la porta d'ingresso spalancata su un abisso senza fondo, una spirale discendente in cui la violenza a poco a poco diventa la normalità e la capacità di riconoscerla come tale, di conseguenza, si affievolisce pericolosamente. È questa la condizione in cui vive Rin. Realizzare ciò apre gli occhi su quanto precaria sia tale condizione. No, anzi, non solo ti fa aprire gli occhi, te li fa proprio sbarrare dalla paura. Paura per lei. Per quello che le sarebbe potuto accadere se fosse capitata nelle mani di lupi suadenti persino più pericolosi di Sesshōmaru. Quanto può essere facile ingannare e manipolare una creatura disposta a dare così tanto per così poco? Rin sembra avere un sesto senso per ciò che è malvagio, è vero, ma quando arrivi a un punto per cui l'orrore ha ormai ingoiato tutte le tue lacrime e spento la tua voce è segno che stai già camminando su un filo di lana.
Com'è diverso il quadro adesso, non è vero? Viene legittimamente da chiedersi se la terribile luce che tale rivelazione getta su questo momento non ne offuschi la bellezza. Ma io direi di no. Prendere coscienza dell'orrore e dell'ingiustizia fa parte del viaggio che Rumiko Takahashi ha composto per noi e ora il nostro occhio è davvero in grado di misurare la REALE entità del miracolo avvenuto quel giorno nel cuore della foresta. La gentilezza di Rin, lei stessa peraltro una figlia della miseria, Sesshōmaru non la merita, è un dono, ma è proprio questo dono che inavvertitamente mette in moto qualcosa. Il miracolo allora non è uno, non è duplice, ma addirittura triplice. Primo: una bambina che non ha nulla, pur nella sua miseria, offre a un daiyōkai che non ha bisogno di niente e di nessuno più di quanto la sua piccola persona abbia (cibo, acqua, e un sorriso) e senza alcun dubbio infinitamente di più di quanto lui abbia mai chiesto. Secondo: l'animo dolce e innocente di lei, in un'epoca in cui possedere tali qualità può costare caro, le salverà la vita, in tutti i sensi possibili. E infine, terzo: ad essere smosso dall'innocenza di questa bambina è il cuore che più sembrava inamovibile.
[Manga, capitolo 131; anime, episodio 35]
Non è straordinario tutto ciò?
* Tra i significati che vengono attribuiti al nome "Sesshōmaru" abbiamo proprio "perfezione che uccide" o "perfetto assassino", ma anche "distruzione della vita", stando alla pagina Wiki che però non riporta una fonte diretta.
Fonte:
—Sesshōmaru[src] Sesshōmaru (殺（せっ）生（しょう）丸（まる）, "Destruction of Life") is a very powerful inu daiyōkai, feared throughout the Feudal Era. He
Altre informazioni sull'origine del nome si trovano nella scheda di Sesshōmaru del sito Rumic World.
Sesshoumaru noticed Rin getting attacked by wolves immediately in InuYasha Manga Chapter 130 -
In Chapter 131 - He even scared off the wolves.
In the anime version, the wolves and scene where Sesshoumaru scares them off were removed. But its still daytime in a shrowded forest. Based on the time of the attack: This means Rin was revived very shortly after her death.
In InuYasha Manga Chapter 126 and InuYasha Episode 143 - 3000 Leagues in Search of Father
Kanta says his Father's Head was cut off three days ago.
InuYasha Explains that demons don't die so easily which is why their bodies still move after their heads being cut off, and if Kanta's father's head was rejoined to the body, he can be resurrected. We know that by the time they caught up with the body, it died entirely.
Sesshoumaru became the one to resurrect him with Tessaiga immediately after the body died.
This is a key piece of information in regards to Tenseiga - It depends on whose being resurrected rather than the sword itself.
In Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon Episode 25 -
Toutousai says that he would be able to repair the broken Tenseiga in order to revive Setsuna in three days, Jaken says by three days it would be too late.
That Setsuna needs to be revived within the next hour - The same amount of time frame when Sesshoumaru revived Rin.
This is because Setsuna is a half-demon and can't survive the same amount of time the way a demons body can, even without its head.
InuYasha Wide Edition 27 - Tenseiga
https://www.tumblr.com/officialinuyasha/682161326105264128/inuyasha-wide-edition-27-translation-tenseiga
"those who died a long time ago can’t be revived, even if the Guardian of the Underworld is defeated."
inukag was born to be shipped by me and I was born to ship inukag as well
For ages now I've been meaning to write about the reasons why I ship Inukag as fervently as I do and @inukag-week felt like the perfect opportunity to indulge myself, so here we go.
I want to start with how aesthetically pleasing they are. From their perfect size difference to the complimentary color scheme of their outfits plus contrasting hair and eye colors, Inuyasha and Kagome just look absolutely good together.
Their character design makes it clear from the get go that they're visually a great match. The association is so strong that the audience becomes unable to picture one without the other, as if they're two halves of the same item. Different, yet unequivocally a team, a pair.
Decades ago, they already had that classic quality to them and I bet they'd never get out of style even decades from now. And the rich lore that surrounds the pairing only adds to that aesthetic: the well, the tree, the beads, the robe, the sword, all of it enhances how iconic they are. Even something as ordinary as star gazing becomes uniquelly theirs.
Futhermore, I just absolutely love the entire concept of it. The subvertion of the fairy tale archetype, the idea of a love that transcends time, of soulmates who actually work on building their bond. Loving each other was both inevitable and a choice they made every single day.
Inuyasha and Kagome were just two teenagers from different worlds — literally and figurativelly — discovering together what love was. This made their relationship very compelling, because the excange between them is insanely substancial.
And their overall dynamic is so wholesome. There was a push and pull, a give and take, that made it fluid rather than static. Every single milestone felt organic and kept the audience thirsting for the next one.
Nothing felt forced or rushed. The slow burn was competently written to showcase their relationship being build on a very strong foundation, consistent in intimacy, mutual trust and acceptance — recurring themes for them and for the story — and so the stages of their bond had such a natural pace, it highlighted how genuine and healthy it was.
Consequently, there are so many aspects of their connection to explore. There's a never ending room for angst and for light hearted moments and you can adopt a more mature perspective or go for comical instead: they manage to be versatile without being generic and to embod the best clichés in fiction without becoming one themselves.
It's hard to think of a trope they couldn't pull off or an alternate universe that doesn't work for them. It gives the fandom plenty of freedom to be creative and to have the best time with it.
Plus, their chemistry was off charts. The romantic tension bleed through every single interaction. Their passion is so strong you could feel it even in scenes that had nothing to do with romance. And they didn't even need to kiss to achieve that level of synchrony.
They were also compatible. Inuyasha and Kagome balance each other quite nicely. Even in a relationship, they still keep their individualities and remain interesting both as characters and as a ship.
The very thing that dooms most pairings — opposite personalities — is precisely what keeps them together. Inuyasha and Kagome are completely different from each other, but they're actually extremely similar where it actually matters: their morals and goals.
And they longer they stay together, challenging one another, growing through trials and tribulations, inadvertently learning what each other's needs are and fulfilling them, easing each other's sorrows, covering each other's backs, saving each other's lives in every possible way, learning each other and learning with one another, the more their dichotomy turns into a duality, because they gain a more nuanced perspective of themselves, of each other and of the world.
It's a level of understanding, closeness and respect incredibly difficult to match. And for Inuyasha and Kagome, no one else even came close.
Another thing is that they're not just complementary to each other, but to the story itself. Their romance enhaces the overall plot. It has a structural placement in the wider narrative, strengthening its core themes and fulfilling the characters individual arcs, ultimately resulting in a more compelling journey.
So many romances are disposable to their own story, but Inukag was detrimental to theirs. Inuyasha and Kagome's interactions served as pivotal points of their respective arcs. Taking only the narrative into consideration, their relationship holds a lot of weight and greatly influenced everyone around it and it tied everything together.
That's why their happy ending felt so satisfying: it feels earned because everything went full cycle. All of that symbolism, all of those parallels paid off. Anything different from what we got would simply lack narrative and thematic cohesion.
And even if they didn't end up together, they could never be circumstancial. There was a real reason why they met, a reason why the fell in love and why they had ever lasting impacts on each other's lives regardless. It wasn't just love for love's sake.
This is what makes them, in my opinion, an epic ship.
BONUS: their soundtrack is lit and their quotes are simply legendary.
