© 2017 cintsalis confessions
Inuyasha Review
6/10 Rating
Let’s be clear, this is my rating for Inuyasha.
I don’t need a debate over it, and I’m not interested in being talked out of how I feel.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I gave it a 6.
Honestly, it sits closer to a 5.5, but I rounded up out of generosity.
From the beginning, Inuyasha himself was hard to like.
The way he treated Kagome when they first met, talking down to her, making her feel plain, self-conscious, that’s not “comic relief.”
If the joke is putting a girl down, then it’s not funny.
It just makes him unpleasant to watch.
The story really started to fall apart for me once Kikyo was brought back. I understand the narrative importance she plays a role in Kohaku’s survival and the overall plot, but her presence shifts everything into this constant emotional tug-of-war.
It turns into “Team Kikyo vs. Team Kagome,” and that love triangle becomes exhausting fast.
By the end, it wasn’t even engaging; it was just frustrating. I genuinely don’t know how I pushed through to the final episode.
Shippo is useful when he needs to be, but otherwise, he leans more irritating than charming.
Miroku had potential as comic relief, but his behavior crosses a line. It would’ve landed better if his humor stayed in his imagination instead of turning into constant physical groping.
Instead of funny, it just feels uncomfortable and repetitive.
Sango’s role feels narrowly tied to Kohaku. And while Kohaku ends up being significant, it almost overshadows other elements, including some of Naraku’s own incarnations.
Calling him a villain feels misplaced.
Wanting Tessaiga doesn’t automatically make him one. He operates on a completely different moral axis, but that doesn’t equal villainy.
As for Inuyasha and Kagome… if that’s supposed to be love, then all I hear is “Sit, boy.”
That dynamic never fully convinced me.
Now, when it comes to Kikyo and Kagome, this is where it gets complicated.
Inuyasha’s connection to Kikyo feels surface-level in a very specific way.
Yes, he loved her, but what did that love actually consist of?
Kikyo was already strong, independent, and capable. He admired that.
But beyond her strength and her role as a priestess, what did he truly know about her?
Their relationship feels rooted in sacrifice and expectation.
Kikyo wanted him to become human.
Inuyasha was willing to give up his demon side to be with her.
But is that love or is that compromise driven by loneliness and obligation?
And more importantly, where was the trust?
If their bond had been real, solid love, then Naraku’s deception shouldn’t have shattered it so completely.
Love doesn’t collapse that easily without trust. What they had was emotional, yes, but unstable.
To me, Inuyasha liked Kikyo.
Kikyo truly loved Inuyasha, but that love twisted into resentment after betrayal. That’s why it lingers so heavily.
So what makes Kikyo so irreplaceable to him?
Why does it feel like he’s still tied to her even after her death?
Why does he keep going back?
Meanwhile, Kagome offers something entirely different.
With her, Inuyasha experiences warmth, laughter, comfort, and emotional connection. She challenges him, supports him, and grows alongside him.
When Kagome nearly died during the Band of Seven arc, Inuyasha broke down because he couldn’t protect her.
It showed where his heart was in that moment.
But even then, his feelings never feel clean or resolved.
It’s not that he doesn’t love Kagome, it’s that he keeps circling back to Kikyo out of habit, guilt, and unresolved attachment.
And that’s what makes it frustrating to watch.
Kikyo isn’t a bad character.
The real issue is Inuyasha’s indecision.
He chooses Kikyo too many times for anyone to confidently say his feelings for Kagome are straightforward.
And yet… in a strange way, I do think he loves Kagome more.
Because what he had with Kikyo filled loneliness, but what he has with Kagome builds something real.
Still, the way it’s written makes everything feel tangled, inconsistent, and dragged out longer than it needed to be.
At some point, it stops being emotional depth and just becomes exhausting.
If you want to argue with that, go ahead, but this is where I stand.
