Inuyasha: A Love Triangle for the Ages!

Christian Ashley: 00:01:15

What would you wish for on the Chicon Jewel? We're gonna be asking this question and a lot more on today's episode of Systemic Ecology. We are the Priests of the Geeks.

I'm your host, Christian Ashley, joined of course by the greatest co host not named, TJ Pang. How's it going, Pang?

Liz Clyde: 00:01:29

It's going well. How are you doing?

Christian Ashley: 00:01:31

It's a good day. I got that ad recording done for the show. I had the hardest time getting that done. I flubbed it so many times. But it's done. It's gonna be out there.

You can hear it in all its glory. So how are you doing? I know you just got that new job. You're feeling a little better.

Liz Clyde: 00:01:46

I know. I'm recording from my office today. And I'm so sad because I had so much fun. If this goes on YouTube, I had so much fun.

Anime posters and trinkets and whatnot and it's. I'm just in a bare room right now, so. Yep. Getting ready to start a new job in a couple weeks. Exciting.

Christian Ashley: 00:02:02

Excellent. Oh, yeah. So what have you been geeking out on recently?

Liz Clyde: 00:02:07

Okay. I just started watching it. What? What am I watching? So, okay, it's not anime.

And I kind of hate that I have been geeking out on an anime, but I can't think of it right at this moment. It's called the Heart of Dixie. It's on Prime Video. It's an Alabama romance type deal. Big er, New York doctor goes to a small town. Will she find love?

You know she will.

Christian Ashley: 00:02:29

What? Unprecedented.

Liz Clyde: 00:02:31

Crazy. Is the guy already engaged right now? Yes.

Christian Ashley: 00:02:34

Oh, love triangle too.

Liz Clyde: 00:02:36

Oh, it's like more like a love Pentagon. I know.

Christian Ashley: 00:02:42

Actually kind of apropos for what we're discussing today too.

Liz Clyde: 00:02:46

Sure.

Christian Ashley: 00:02:46

Okay. Yeah, yeah. Me. In preparation for something Joe and I are going to be doing on Friday Night Frights.

I have just started the hellier series, which is basically taking the story of the Hobsonville goblins that was a reported UFO alien sighting in the 50s, and then seeing if they were maybe still around today. And it's been fun so far. Definitely some out there takes. But you know what? I'm used to that being in the paranormal world.

So moving on from there, if you haven't figured out by the intro question, we're discussing Inuyasha.

Now, Peng, I know this is an anime that's very near and dear to your heart, so why don't you go and tell the good people what Inuyasha is and what it's about?

Liz Clyde: 00:03:30

classify as the first anime.: 2000

Christian Ashley: 00:03:37

since I think it was: 2003

Liz Clyde: 00:03:41

2003. So I was 12, which makes even more sense. So this was my first, I would say like actual anime. It wasn't Digimon, it wasn't Pokemon.

You know, I mean like technically the debate of when you first started watching anime.

But this was like I would say my first anime that can't be confused as a Saturday morning cartoon because it came on Adult swim at like 11 o' clock at night and I had to stay up for it. I would actually record it as well with a vhs. I know I just dated myself.

So pretty much the backstory of Inuasha is this is in the feudal era of Japan. So a modern day Tokyo girl called Kagome who is the granddaughter of the of the shrine attendant. She falls into a well and gets plundered back.

Plundered. Plunged back in time where she meets this half demon, Inuasha.

And we pretty much learn what the Shikan Jewel is, which is a very powerful jewel that you can do almost anything with. And it breaks. And the whole show is them trying to find the remnants of the Shikan Jewel to put back together.

And there's a lot of drama, there's a lot of fighting. There is a love triangle. And there is someone who I lovingly refer to. Her name is Kikiyo, but we will all call her Kiki Ho. Okay. That is her name. So.

Yes.

Christian Ashley: 00:04:59

Spoilers for a question I'm to ask later on. Interesting.

Liz Clyde: 00:05:02

Oh, there you go. I'm already jumping ahead, but that's pretty much it.

Christian Ashley: 00:05:05

ere right, by the way. It was: 2000

Liz Clyde: 00:05:12

I got the date wrong.

Christian Ashley: 00:05:13

The point is, you were right about the anime. It actually started manga wise in 96.

Liz Clyde: 00:05:20

Wow. I did not know that. I forget there's manga involved sometimes.

Christian Ashley: 00:05:24

Yes. And this is by a very prolific manga artist. One of the greatest mangaka of all time in some people's lists. And I'd definitely put her up there.

Rumiko Takahashi. And she's done a ton of series, many of which have gotten anime adaptations.

Got Urusei Yatsura, maison ikoku ranma, 1/2 rinne, and of course Inuyasha. There's plenty more that she's done. This woman has devoted her life to creating manga. And for the most part I'm. I'M on her side.

She's done a really good job on a lot of stuff. But this is one of. I think this is more like her middle work around the way. And like Penga said, it's taking place in the field role of Japan.

That's anywhere from like the: 1470

Specifically it's kind of hard to date exactly when this happens because not really too many historical figures are mentioned as far as like placing when this would happen. But yeah, we have a girl, Kagome like you said, who is modern girl flung into the past.

She works as a miko at her ancestral shrine and is this thing that connects her to the past. You know this. Well, that brings her there and she meets Inuyasha. They have a very bickering relationship. That's a Takahashi feature.

If you have to have a main couple, they're going to be tsundere for each other. And it just kind of happens across all of her works that way. This is a really fun show.

It's not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy watching it. And like you, my introduction was adult swim and I did not record it. I invincible teenager that I was.

I would wait until it aired, which was like five or six in the morning knowing I had to get up at. Yeah. At 9 o' clock to go to church on Sunday. And let's just say there were many Sundays where I was quite irritable.

And for some reason, because some reason. Maybe. Maybe two and a half, three hours of sleep. So yeah, it's a fun show. It was worth getting up and watching.

Like I don't think it was waste of time. It wasn't the most responsible use of my time, mind you. But it was fun.

Liz Clyde: 00:07:39

Sounds like it. I mean I had a good time. I always say Inu Russia was my first anime love. And that's a big deal to me.

Christian Ashley: 00:07:45

Yeah. I mean, how important would you say he is to you?

Liz Clyde: 00:07:48

I have him tattooed on my body. So I would say pretty dang important.

Christian Ashley: 00:07:54

Yep. So do you have a favorite character in the show?

Liz Clyde: 00:07:58

Favorite character. You know, this is gonna. I'm going to contradict myself.

Christian Ashley: 00:08:05

Oh boy.

Liz Clyde: 00:08:05

There's. There's a wolf demon called Koga. And I do like him. I like that he's what he stirs up. You know what I mean? He stirs up any Ross's jealousy.

So I would say Koga.

Christian Ashley: 00:08:16

Yeah, he's an Interesting one because you know, the starting off he makes a she makes him look like more of a villain. And then he becomes more heroic after time. You kind of wait. Didn't you murder like a bunch of people at the start?

But don't worry about it because he's going after Kagome now. He's one of the good guys. But yeah, he does bring out that bit of jealousy from Inuyasha.

And you know, this little bit of flirtation with Kagome too that she kind of reciprocates because at least he's being forward about it compared to someone else. So yeah, he's fun. Now me. Yeah, my favorite character is Sango. I loved her introduction in the show. As born in a group of Demon Slayers.

Which, you know, given that yokai are around here. Yokai of course being what we would typically called. You know. Okay, It's. It's very big difference in linguistics here.

It's English typically just says demon when talking about yokai because it's the closest appropriate term. But really a better term would be like the fair folk or something like that. Or fae or fairy.

And they're just different entities that all have these special abilities. And they're very spiritual, supernatural beings. But they're not like demon demons as we would look at in like scripture.

So she is fighting against bad yokai and his group and her family all gets massacred, of course, except for her brother. And there's a whole thing of him surviving that causes grief along the way. But I loved how strong willed she is.

I love the boomerang and I love Keelala. I'm not a dog or cat person, but. And I don't like getting up against fur.

But there's something about that cat that goes, okay, I'll make an exception for you.

Liz Clyde: 00:10:00

Yeah. I do like Kilala a lot. And then I'm surprised. I want to say Shippo, but like, Shippo is just kind of too annoying.

But he was kind of Kagome's kid in a way. They rescued him.

Christian Ashley: 00:10:11

Yeah, he's just bratty kid character sidekick.

Liz Clyde: 00:10:15

But he. He is cute.

Christian Ashley: 00:10:16

Oh yeah, There's a cuteness to him. There's also that annoying part where he just automatically takes Gum's side no matter what.

Liz Clyde: 00:10:23

I think that's why I like. I would want him to take my side no matter what.

Christian Ashley: 00:10:28

Yeah, he's fine. But how about least favorite Pang?

Liz Clyde: 00:10:33

Oh, Kiki Ho. Why did I even think.

Christian Ashley: 00:10:37

What is it about her that you would say you're not big on?

Liz Clyde: 00:10:41

Well, Number one, she needs to just stay dead. Stay dead. Kikyo. No one wants you here.

Christian Ashley: 00:10:46

Yeah.

Liz Clyde: 00:10:47

Does it? No. Because, I mean, I get it. She was brought back to life against her own will. And yes, she has some bitterness and hatred and blah blah, blah, blah.

But then when she finds out the whole truth, like, she's just being a hoe. Stop it. Like, you had an excuse your first, like, few episodes. But now you're just awful.

Christian Ashley: 00:11:02

All right. So time travel shenanigans in the current era where Kagome is at.

It's 50 years after the events where Inuyasha and Kikyo were kind of involved with one another. And it's the breaking of the Shikon Jewel there that has caused a rift between them. He wanted it to, like, because he's half yokai, half human.

And he wanted to become like full yokai. And he was going to wish on what the Jewel does. If you wish on it. You know, get your wish. And we'll find along the way how it gets corrupted.

And she was the protector of it. So originally he was just a scoundrel going after it. But then he kind of fell for.

But our main villain Naraku created animosity between them to the point where there's kind of a mutual kill between them. And Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo. And that's why she's connected as well and has spiritual abilities.

So Kikyo is brought back to life by Naraku to sow more discord as a she called Jewel has been broken. And yeah, she is not the best handled character, shall we say? So I'm with you there. And I'm also with you. Like, stay away from Inuyasha.

You had your chance and you blew it.

Liz Clyde: 00:12:14

Yeah.

Christian Ashley: 00:12:15

Yeah. He's with Kagome now. So. Yeah, that's a good one. I'm actually going to go for mine with Miroku. I.

Liz Clyde: 00:12:24

You really don't love the people who love love?

Christian Ashley: 00:12:26

No, no, no, no. It's not that I don't love people who love love. I hate people who aggressively grab other women and molest them and grope them.

And it's played for comedy, which is also Takahashi stuff.

Liz Clyde: 00:12:38

It's a cursed hand. He has a cursed hand who happens to caress people's bottoms.

Christian Ashley: 00:12:43

Yes.

Liz Clyde: 00:12:43

I just like defending people because it makes you guys aggravated.

Christian Ashley: 00:12:47

I know, I know. But there's aspects of him I do love in the idea.

Like his family line was cursed by Naraku to have this Wind Tunnel is what it's translated to in English. There's special Buddhist wrappings around it to prevent it from always being active. But if it's let loose, it sucks anything into it.

So it's one of the most OP abilities in there. And of course that's when the insects get involved that nerf him and every other fight that happens in the rest of the series.

But the idea is it will eventually consume him from the inside out. And so he is obsessed with fathering a son who will then carry the legacy when he dies. So. So that they can get revenge on Naraku.

So that's a cool part of that. But then he goes too far and starts molesting and groping women. And Sango is the main target of his affections.

And yes, I do like them together eventually. But there's a part of me that goes this double standard here is not a lot of fun. I hate him. I hate that aspect of them.

Liz Clyde: 00:13:50

Makes that all right.

Christian Ashley: 00:13:51

So how about a favorite arc in the show?

Liz Clyde: 00:13:56

Favorite arc? I don't know. I like them all. I mean, it was only, I guess I would say inuasha movie 2 through the looking Glass. So not really an art, but.

I know, I know. I just like went a little nerd out. But that was when they kissed for the first time.

Christian Ashley: 00:14:16

So something that I'm pretty sure never actually happened in the manga proper. Now we know, of course with the sequel series that they do, you know, spoilers by the way, get together and have a daughter.

So we know it has to have happened. But like showing being shown on screen, you know, a kiss between the two. Yeah, that's what the shippers. We'll take what we can get.

Liz Clyde: 00:14:36

This is true. Yeah. I didn't know it didn't happen in the manga. Interesting.

Christian Ashley: 00:14:40

I'm fairly certain it doesn't at all. Yeah.

And that's one thing about this, is that there are huge differences sometimes between the manga and anime because this was being produced at the time when you didn't stop, you just kept going, you know, like One Piece is pretty much the only survivor of this era as far as anime is concerned, where if you catch up to the manga, you start doing filler arcs or filler episodes. And this was a huge. What's what I'm looking for here. A bane to this series because the filler is not that great.

And so it's got some people go, well, this happened here. But what didn't actually happen because it's filler. But as far as answering the question favorite arc, I love when.

Because this part of the series here is Inujasha has an older full Yokai brother named Sashomaru, and there's always been some rivalry between them. We'll get to that later on. And Sesshomaru has one of this covets the sword that Inuyasha has because he thinks it's rightfully his.

But there's another sword he finds that his dad made for him and it actually heals people. And this is a huge blow to him.

And I love the way that it makes him grow a little bit as well as into him taking care of Rin and showing a little more compassion to her.

So I don't know exactly what the arc is called, but like him learning more about who his dad was and what his dad prioritized and then becoming a little better of a character himself, better of a person. I really appreciate that.

Liz Clyde: 00:16:12

Makes sense. So in your. Ash's sword is called the Tech Saiga, which can slay a thousand demons at a time.

And then to show me sword is called the 10 Sega, which can heal a hundred people at a time. So pretty much as long as they're like freshly dead, he can see like pretty much the Grim Little Reaper gremlins and like slice them.

And then the people like would come back to life. Just fun fact, listeners. And Seth Shomaru is very attractive, in case you guys wanted him.

Christian Ashley: 00:16:40

I didn't have to hear you say that to know that was your opinion. Because it was the opinion of many an anime fangirl back in the day that he was number one.

Liz Clyde: 00:16:50

Yes. I mean, like, he is more attractive than Inuyasha. But like I said, Inuasha was my first love.

Christian Ashley: 00:16:56

Yes. Yes. All right. So as mentioned, Inuyasha does kind of have an arc around the idea that he himself is born of Yokai, Demon F and a human woman.

And he has the half demon, half human heritage. So how is this portrayed in the Chopang? And how does he grow throughout the series based on this idea as a premise? Because he wants to be full yokai.

Liz Clyde: 00:17:19

Well, it's your classic. I'm halfway into each world, so I actually belong nowhere.

And so a lot of animes or shows have shown this before, whether it's through race or through discrimination. So humans hated him, demons hated him. So he literally says in one aspect is, I had to make my own way into the. Into the path.

He had a human mother who loved him, and that was taken from him at a young age. So he's only known very little love in his life. So it was. It was shown, well, kind of just how people treated him.

And so you saw, you know, all the demons, like mock him, saying, what are you a half demon? Or I can't believe I was defeated by a half demon. And of course humans are, we all suck and we are narrow minded.

So humans couldn't see past their own nose that Inuasha was a kind half demon, because once again, there's nothing like that in the world. They run across one other half demon and he was like really ugly, but the sweetest guy ever. And the villagers hated him.

But you can also see through his journey. People are starting to come around like, oh, there are good humans, there are good demons, stuff like that.

Christian Ashley: 00:18:35

Yeah, it's a classic example of, you know, being a child of two different worlds. Worlds that are constantly in conflict with each other.

And yeah, looking into the idea of assuming that yokai were real, imagine creating a society where you don't have their abilities, you don't have their toughness. But what humans do have are numbers and technology.

Even the technology at the time would be enough for them to not fight on equal footing, but enough to be able to establish what Japan was at that time is what they're positing. So yeah, that struggle we see in him because that's a huge part of his motivation is to get the jewel and become full yokai.

But there's also the human part of him that does legitimately fall for Kikyo at the beginning and then will eventually fall for Kokome later on that doesn't want to give up the human part of him.

And it even gets into, well, it's not like yokai are unable to love because of course his father did fall in love with a woman to, you know, make him in the first place. So I think it does a good job to show that not all yokai are just evil because they're yokai and not all humans are great because they're human.

And he sees both worlds and like you said, he's gotten the worst from both worlds.

But I think it actually helps him at the end of the day to empathize with others, even though he's not the best at it because he's a very rough, aggressive kind of guy, but he can actually see things that others wouldn't. And one thing I do really appreciate too is, you know, kind of an anti werewolf situation. I think it's.

Is it the full moon or the new moon where he becomes. Okay, yeah, he becomes full human one day out of every month. And there's some really good stories told around that.

Because obviously he doesn't have the same abilities because he's human now, and it forces him to confront this and to show his weakness in front of Kagome. Because it's shameful to him that he becomes full human here. He doesn't want to admit that that's possible.

Liz Clyde: 00:20:35

Yeah. I do like it when he became. When he becomes human.

I might have written a fan fiction or two back in the day of how he was incorporated into Gome's life and how he went to, like, you know, during those new moons nights. This was back in when fan fiction was peak. I wish fan fiction was peak again.

Christian Ashley: 00:20:53

Yeah, I don't know. It's been a while since I've been into the fandom there, watching what and reading what people are doing.

alent as it was in, like, the: 2000

Liz Clyde: 00:21:03

I feel like it's because you can now stream anime so easy. You don't wonder what if? Or like, I want. Like, you don't, like, think through the anime anymore. You just jump on to the next one. That's my opinion.

Christian Ashley: 00:21:16

Yeah.

Liz Clyde: 00:21:16

Yeah.

Christian Ashley: 00:21:17

I wonder what the real reason is, because I know people are still writing it because I see it every now and then, but it's just not the same.

Liz Clyde: 00:21:23

They do. Yeah, I still read fan fiction, but my favorite animes, now that they are older, they're not getting updated anymore because people are moving on.

Christian Ashley: 00:21:33

That's to be expected. Whatever the new hotness is, they'd be going after that instead. Okay, but now we're off track. Let's get back on track.

So our main villain for this series, for better or worse, is a guy known as Naraku Peng. Would you like to explain who Naraku is and how effective do you think that he is as a villain, in your opinion?

Liz Clyde: 00:21:52

Yeah, Naraku I appreciate. Because, I mean, very rarely does a villain stay the whole entire entirety of the show, right?

Like, usually it's like, oh, we defeated this person, and now we're chilling. And now a new person comes up. And now we're chilling. Now a new person comes up. Or like, there's like small little villains with. You know what I mean?

If that makes sense. But Naroku was, like, there the whole time because he was very el. Very smart. And so I think he was a great villain. He was.

He got foiled in, like, small battles. But, like, at the end, it seemed like he was always one step ahead in the war.

At least until, of course, like, being the villain he was eventually taken care of, but it was great. And even, like. But he. Even. He had a really great backstory because we discover. Should I say it. Should I say the spoiler?

Christian Ashley: 00:22:47

Yeah.

Liz Clyde: 00:22:48

We discovered that he was Halfman, too. And so that's why he's also seeking the big power of the. The.

Christian Ashley: 00:22:57

The Chican Jewel.

Liz Clyde: 00:23:00

Yep. So. So we find out that Naraku, he was also in love with Kiki Ho. Don't forget to say her name correctly.

He was also in love with Kikiho, but he was like a human on the brink of death. And so he wanted to be with her so bad, and he wanted power. He let demons consume his body, and through that, he ended up becoming a half demon.

Like, half human, half demon. Not in the sense that he was born, but like a Franken monster, being creative.

So his whole thing was like, trying to absorb powerful demons, you know, getting them to do his bidding. And, yeah, it was very, very interesting.

Christian Ashley: 00:23:37

Yeah. Because then they play this to where the human side, the demon side, are in conflict.

At the same time, he falls pretty much in lust with Kikyo, and it's not. I have problems with calling women hoes. Sorry.

Liz Clyde: 00:23:53

Okay, fine, whatever.

Christian Ashley: 00:23:55

But you can continue to do so and be a terrible woman.

Liz Clyde: 00:23:58

I will. Absolutely.

Christian Ashley: 00:24:00

But that rejection causes him to grow bitter and make pacts with demons and allow them to mess with his flesh. And to the point where he grows in power, seeks after the Shikon Jewel to obtain the ultimate power that he wants and lusts after.

And it also creates a person who shows up too many times in this show. As far as, oh, you've stopped me, but you haven't really stopped me, because I've got something else, and it gets annoying after a while.

And I'm going to. I just happen to think about this. Contrast him with the villain who kind of in similar ways, does the same thing.

And that's like a Xanatos from Gargoyles. I don't know if you've watched the show or not, but his whole thing is the Xanatos gambit. It's like, yeah, you beat me.

But I also had this larger plan out there, but there was something about him that's just more conniving and better than Naraku. Naraku is just, like, smug in the wrong way, and Xanatos was smug in the right way. I don't really know how to.

I'd have to actually think that through, because I just literally thought about it. But he just comes across as a person. It doesn't matter what you do These other plan. And it gets annoying.

Every villain is connected to him in some way, shape or form that there's no one out there. I mean, I don't say there's no one out there, but for the most part, if anyone comes up against a group, it's because he sent them that way.

And then he creates different, like, incarnations of himself, the baby and Kagura and all that other mess. And there's interesting things that happen as a result of that. But he overstays his welcome with me.

And it is very satisfying when we eventually get to his end. And what does the wish Kukame makes? Just that he never existed or something like that.

Making a pure wish on a Shikon Jewel because it means that everything he built up for was for nothing. And he is nothing. And I was like, okay, I'm satisfied with that ending. But I would have felt better if. I don't know.

It's another staple of Takahashi's writing. And she keeps going.

Liz Clyde: 00:26:02

You wish for the Sheikahn Jewel to disappear forever.

Christian Ashley: 00:26:05

Okay. Yeah. Which was one of the things. We'll talk about wishes in a bit. And what this show kind of says on that.

But the idea being making a pure wish instead of a selfish one. And that's something he himself could never do because he's an inherently selfish person and he's effective at his job.

But it grates on me after a while.

Liz Clyde: 00:26:29

That makes sense. I hated Kagura because she was trying.

Christian Ashley: 00:26:34

To get with Sashomaru. You couldn't have.

Liz Clyde: 00:26:36

She was just annoying. And so, I mean, some people count to show me as a villain, but he was just a annoyed brother wanting the inheritance. It was more about inherit.

It was more about inheritance for him. Not because he actually hated Inuasha. He just.

Christian Ashley: 00:26:50

Yeah, it's a personal family grudge.

Liz Clyde: 00:26:54

All right.

Christian Ashley: 00:26:55

So as previously discussed, a major part of the show is the love triangle between Kagome, Inuyasha and Kikyo. So Pang.

I don't know how anyone could ever think that they would know how you would answer this, but I want to hear what your thoughts are on this and how it's done in the show.

Liz Clyde: 00:27:10

I mean, it was a valid love triangle because Inuyasha didn't want to admit his feelings for anyone. I mean, they showed the backstory of how he ended up falling in love with Kiki. And Kiki Ho fell in love with him.

And they were tricked by Naraku thinking they betrayed each other. Right. And so they were mad. But then they understood it was all a trick.

And so Inuashi just, you know, couldn't, you know, let go of his feelings and Kiki Ho was manipulator and a home wrecker and blah blah blah. But what Inuasha didn't understand, even though he realized his feelings for Kikiho, he didn't realize his feelings for Kagome quite yet anyway.

And then once he did, Kagome has the complex because she is technically Kikiho's reincarnation 2.0 better. That's why Kiki Ho needs to stay dead. But yeah, so. But her and Inuash.

Kagome and Inuashira both do step in to really like talk about their feelings or to acknowledge it. So yeah, it was done. Well, it wasn't until like Kagome couldn't go like be with him that they realized how much they loved each other and stuff.

Christian Ashley: 00:28:19

So I just want to get this straight. So in Elizabeth Pangeling and Clyde's mind, a homewrecker is worse than a serial molester. I just want that. Put that on there in the record. Yes.

Liz Clyde: 00:28:34

Because she was manipulative and vindictive. Maruku just had a cursed hand and like to tell women how great their bottoms were through physical touch.

Christian Ashley: 00:28:43

Yeah. I'm sure every guy else there wants to have that cursed hand and get away with it.

Liz Clyde: 00:28:48

Yeah. Once again. But yeah, it is what it is.

Christian Ashley: 00:28:51

Yeah, yeah. Say that as parole hearing. It is what it is, Judge. Anyways, answer what you've said. Yeah, I'm with you.

Like, it serves its purpose and it goes on for far too long because people can't commit. And that's a staple of the time it was written.

Romances even written by women weren't really brought to the point of resolution because there was always that big fear that if they ever actually got together, it would kill the chemistry somehow. Which I think is more self report on how bad your writing would be after that than it is with anything so.

And Shonen Manga as far as written by men were way worse, don't get me wrong. But yet it's fine. He had feelings from his time before 50 years ago. Then you have Kagome here.

And there are two different personalities between Kikyo and her reincarnation and Kagome. But there's enough of a difference for it to be fun at the start.

But it really grates on me after times like just commit, just say something to end this madness. And it eventually does happen. But once again, this is a series that went on for hundreds of chapters, so it takes Its sweet time to get it done now.

Kind of going along with that. Common criticism thrown against the show is its portrayal of its female characters. Like, what are your thoughts on this?

Especially since this is written and drawn by a female mangaka.

Liz Clyde: 00:30:23

So how I feel about the female characters.

Christian Ashley: 00:30:26

They say Kagome, for instance, she's far too hot headed for her own good. She punishes Inuyasha for everything that he does. And not everything, but you know what I mean?

And Sango not being strong enough to stand up to Moroku and his advances. And I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting about off the top of my head. What do you think?

Liz Clyde: 00:30:50

All right. Well, number one, Sangu actually liked Miroku and enjoyed it and she would beat him. So she did stand up.

Just saying, I just like to defend the people. But I. I thought Miroku was funny. He made me laugh. But also, I think I can defend Miroku.

And we've joked about Sanji because I'm like, this is just cartoons. Like, we will teach our kids not to touch women in real life. Like, right?

Christian Ashley: 00:31:16

There's a difference between fictional and real.

Liz Clyde: 00:31:18

Correct. But I feel like it was done well because there are hot headed women. Like, we're not the type to just like blush and take it.

Kagome was very aggravated with Inuashu and Inuashu was a jerk. So it's good that she was hot headed. You know what I mean? Like, you needed it for Inuasha. But I mean, I think it was done well.

I appreciate there was no. There was no overly done. And it could be because it was drawn by a woman. But some women, you know, they make the best hentai as well.

If you think about it, there was no. I did not that I know. I'm just saying, like, women can do anything. Truly. I don't now it sounds like I'm lying, but I don't care.

But that wasn't like overly don't do.

Christian Ashley: 00:32:01

Anything for Sam talking about hentai. Oh, no, whatever.

Liz Clyde: 00:32:05

rawing, because it was in the: 2000

I mean, you did have their bath scenes every once in a while. So you saw the curbs and like them covering themselves with a towel. But I feel like it was done very tasteful.

Where a man might have made the demons a little bit more sexual and, you know, alluring versus the way she drew them.

Christian Ashley: 00:32:35

Yeah, there's definitely some fan service in a series, but for the most part, it's pretty tasteful. And I think that does help being written. Drawn by a woman, but.

Liz Clyde: 00:32:44

Dang it.

Christian Ashley: 00:32:45

Pain. I had something else I was gonna say. Yeah, I think to an extent, I agree with some of the criticism.

Not 100%, because I think they're way better characters than that. Like, Kagome does great at my nerves every now and then that she'll just use the set boy command on Inuyasha like the flip of a hat, rather than.

He's actually earned it. And yeah, there are times he's absolutely earned it because he's a huge jerk. Especially at the start of the series. And yeah, I mean, he did try.

Liz Clyde: 00:33:14

To kill her when they first met. In her defense.

Christian Ashley: 00:33:17

Yes. But then it becomes a running gag to the point.

Like anything that he does that could be misconstrued in any way possible, she just uses the command even if he's done nothing wrong. And I think that plays into the unfair sex trope and that it's okay if a woman does it because the man deserves to be punished regardless.

That grates me a little bit. But I don't think it's like breaking for the series to have it at all. It doesn't make me hate Kagome in any way.

And Sango, of course, needs to stand up for herself. And yet she does fall for Morocco, like, legitimately. And he falls for her legitimately.

But there's some conversations that needed to be had before that that don't really get addressed outside of. Well, I like it. And there's some unfortunate implications from something like that of ending up with an abuser.

And yes, Miroku's not portrayed in the way that other real life abusers would be. Let me get that straight. But it does. What kind of message are we sending to the girls reading this that they need from their man? No, please.

But at the end of the day, like, they get along really well with each other. Like, there's some frictionary now and then. You know, you travel with someone for so long, of course it's going to happen.

But there's no, like, oh, you're going after him. Yeah. None of this bratty teenage girl kind of fighting between them that would, like, be done for the sake of. This is what women do.

They just fight with each other. Because women hate women. No, they actually. They're friends. They get along. It's fine. Like, Kikyo is probably a worse offender in many regards.

Of she's become too revenge driven to actually see straight. But I think that has less to do with her being a woman and more like what happened to her, her character. So.

Liz Clyde: 00:34:55

Yeah, all right, good point, good points.

Christian Ashley: 00:34:58

So you brought. We brought up Sasamu earlier in his rivalry within Yuyasha.

So how do you feel about the rivalry we get between the two of them and how does it end up?

Liz Clyde: 00:35:07

Ultimately, I like it because, I mean, at the end of the day, he actually like, trains inuashus in some ways and like, helps him like with a few breakthroughs.

Do you wonder if like Isha Shomaru is really all bad or if he's just like an annoyed older brother because the younger one got what he wanted, but he also, you know, he helps him out a little bit. I can't remember exactly how they ended. I know they ended on fine terms. They didn't like become brotherly loves.

But when, as you mentioned before, when he started like doting on a human girl, he kind of softened a little bit because he could see that not all humans are pathetic. So it was a good character change for him too.

Christian Ashley: 00:35:47

Yeah, I'm with you there.

Liz Clyde: 00:35:49

And it's.

Christian Ashley: 00:35:49

The contrast between the two is like, when you look at them, like, objectively, Shomaru is obviously more competent and talented than Inuyashu. He's a little more feral and kind of just gets things done by the seat of his pants at times.

Not say he never plans for anything, but like, there's one who's calm and collected, the other is just a bit more impetuous and rude and abrasive. And the contrast between them is really fun.

And as they go across the series, seeing them gaining appreciation for each other, like outright saying, you know, I love you brother, because that they're just a product of their time. And they're not going to admit that feeling out loud. But they do eventually gain a respect and love and affection for each other.

And it comes connects them to their dad, who at this point in the series has died, if I remember correctly. And you know, the father that they never really knew, the father that they thought they knew. That's a lot of fun.

And of course the two swords being used between them to compare and contrast one another, that's a ton of fun.

And ultimately it ends really well in that Sesshomaru gives up a lot of his pride knowing that that this isn't his story, this is his brother's story. So he aids and abets him rather than making it all about himself, which is what he would have done at the beginning of the series.

Liz Clyde: 00:37:07

And he's hot.

Christian Ashley: 00:37:09

And yeah, he is drawn rather handsomely.

Liz Clyde: 00:37:12

Yes, he really is. I do love looking at him.

Christian Ashley: 00:37:15

He was a common number one around the anime fandom of that time. I remember seeing a lot of those.

Liz Clyde: 00:37:21

s pretty much the gojo of the: 2000

Christian Ashley: 00:37:34

You know what, that's pretty up. Yeah, we kind of brought up a little bit earlier.

But to continue on with the idea that the idea of wishes itself being inherently selfish is a bit of a constant theme in the show. Does this idea work for you? And how does this get shown?

Liz Clyde: 00:37:50

Yes, yes, yes. But even when you wish, it's because it's something that you want. So are you being selfish in a non selfish way?

Like I want world peace, but what is that going to do for the economy? You can't just give everything away. I'm just kidding. Yeah. Nah. But I mean I feel to have a selfless wish is kind of almost impossible.

Like if I wish for the blessings of my family members. Yes, that's self bliss. But also it's a little selfish on my part because I don't want to take care of them when they get old.

Of course I want them to be blessed now.

Christian Ashley: 00:38:26

And of course you gave the wish to people, you know.

Liz Clyde: 00:38:29

Correct. Like I don't think I would waste a wish like help these people. I don't know at all. You know, that's just not your go to.

So even in the show, Kikome wish for the Saicon Jewel to have never been, you know, made. And so because of that, all those souls. But like so all those souls in the Jewel was released. And so he lost a lot of his power.

But I'm like for it to never exist, it got created for a purpose. So now you're like taking away, you know, a power. Like you could have like healed the sick.

You could have done this, you could have done that, you know. So was it not existing at all? Does that really just benefit you?

Because now you don't have the headache of hunting for the Sake Khan Jewel when you could have benefited world peace or like sickness or something. I don't know. I don't think a self bliss. I think there's always going to be a cause and effect with whatever you do.

And there could potentially be selfish and negative thing with everything.

Christian Ashley: 00:39:27

Yeah. Well, we could start with our main character, Inuyasha. His wish is to become full yokai.

And there's something about that saying, I hate what I look like. I hate who I am. And rather than loving what has been given to you, how you've been created, you decide to make that all about who you are.

And to the point where you reject yourself. And that rejection is selfish because you're looking at flaws only you can see versus the beauty that is actually there.

And being that child of two worlds, I'm sure there's plenty of people out there born from mixed racial relationships who feel that way. But that's patently untrue. That they're unworthy, that. That they're not as beautiful as everyone else.

That there's somehow some kind of mutt who doesn't deserve anything. They should just be one or the other. It's like, no, no. You're a product of that union.

And he eventually comes to the point where he gives up that wish because he's learned to accept those parts of who he is. And of course, Naraku, One of his wishes was for Kikyo to love him back.

Liz Clyde: 00:40:34

And.

Christian Ashley: 00:40:34

And that is inherently selfish because she has already said no. So you're creating a reality where you're overriding the will of someone else.

And that's one of the worst crimes I can think of, is forcing someone to act in a way that they wouldn't.

And it takes Kagome figuring out that everyone who's ever tried to use this stupid thing has always had it turned against him because it has become corrupted over time from being infested, I think, with some yokai and bad wishes and stuff like that. It's been a while since I've read and watched through this. I can't remember everything, but she realizes, oh well.

The only way to truly get rid of this thing is to make a selfless wish, one that benefits everyone. And it's best for it not to be there for an araku to be gone. So I think there's something poignant to be said there.

It's like, what would you wish for? Is it just for self? Is that inherently a selfish thing to do? Or is there some way better way of doing it?

Liz Clyde: 00:41:29

I would wish for myself to be a billionaire, and I would do a lot of money with good with that. Money for nonprofits and the church and missions and stuff like that. But I would also do a lot of good for myself. So 100% selfish.

Christian Ashley: 00:41:42

I've previously mentioned my wishes as well, but they're behind paid content. So if you want to hear that.

Liz Clyde: 00:41:49

You can go that way. Oh, was that our bonus question that I didn't read ahead and I gave my bonus?

Christian Ashley: 00:41:56

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Liz Clyde: 00:41:58

Okay, good.

Christian Ashley: 00:41:59

I would have said something before you did anything. You get all scot free this time for not preparing.

Liz Clyde: 00:42:06

Yeah, you're right. You're right. But I'm saying I could choose another wish. I'll. I'll say something even more off pocket than I already have in the bonus content.

Christian Ashley: 00:42:16

You don't know how selfish I am. I have so many selfish wishes to make.

Liz Clyde: 00:42:19

Dude. I will talk about an illegal thing I would do if I got a wish in the bonus content. Wow. You're welcome. But that's later.

Christian Ashley: 00:42:29

So our final main question before we go to our bonus question that we'll introduce to the audience. Is the show and the manga too long for its own good, as some critics have said?

Liz Clyde: 00:42:43

I don't think so. I feel like people who think things are too long just have issues with commitment, that's all.

Now, if we're talking about the sequel to Inuasha, I feel like we would have been fine without it. But that's a whole nother story.

Christian Ashley: 00:42:56

Not a Yashahime fan.

Liz Clyde: 00:42:58

I just had to wait until it was finished airing so I can binge it because it wasn't worth waiting the week to week. I think it is finished now.

Christian Ashley: 00:43:04

Yeah, it is.

Liz Clyde: 00:43:06

Yeah. Even then, it didn't go all the way up to the manga, but another story.

Christian Ashley: 00:43:10

Yeah. In the original run of the anime, there were I think 167 episodes, which.

And a very rare thing, it actually got canceled, which normally that doesn't happen for an anime that continues to run as long as it did.

But part of that was that people were just getting upset with the filler that was being introduced there, and nothing seemed to be progressing at all. And I think it was a victim of the filler versus everything. So a lot of people, their introduction to it is the anime.

And when you have 160 some episodes and not a lot of things are proceeding because you're not. You don't want to get caught up to the manga as you're writing and you need the right filler episodes. Yeah, of course you're gonna feel that way.

But having actually read the manga post that well, the same criticisms are being thrown against that. And eventually it would get a sequel in, you know, well to its original run in the final act.

That would condense a lot of things in like 24 or so episodes. Maybe it's more than that. I have to look it up again. So you got an ending in the anime, but it was a lot faster than how the manga proceeded.

So yeah, I think at the same time, I don't think Takahashi had a plan for everything that she was gonna do.

And it's very self evident and how things just kind of happen and then she moves on to the next thing and things happen, she moves on in the next thing. So that can get very grating, especially if you're putting all your time and effort into reading this or watching it. Yeah, I get it.

But so like I said, I think it's a victim of the filler episodes making people think that it's what actually happened. And it's also a guilt of the author herself that she kept going because, hey, this was making money. So I can't really falter for that.

So on the manga side of things, but I prefer my stories to know exactly where they're going to go or if you don't know that, to at least be entertaining the entire time along the way. And this was not always the best at that. But it's still a fun show. It's still worthy of your attention.

All right, anything else you'd like to discuss before we wrap things up?

Liz Clyde: 00:45:12

Nope. Nope. I think it's a great show.

And so if you haven't watched it, you might not like it because of all the new and so much faster paced anime out there. But just know this is one of the pillars of anime. In my humble opinion, my humble correct opinion, it's a pillar.

Christian Ashley: 00:45:28

Why don't you go ahead and rate it for me out of 10?

Liz Clyde: 00:45:31

See, that's hard because I'm biased. Since it was my first anime, I'm going to give it a nine, even if it doesn't deserve a nine.

Christian Ashley: 00:45:36

Well, you know, it's your ranking. You can do whatever you want.

Liz Clyde: 00:45:38

It is my ranking. Yes. I mean, there's other animes out there that I would re watch again right now.

And I can't say I would rewatch this now, but back in the day I rewatched it like a lot.

Christian Ashley: 00:45:50

Oh yeah, well, re ran a lot on Adult Swim. Yeah, there's ungodly hours. But you know what? It was still entertaining and fun. It's not the deepest series in the world.

It's not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination. It's not going to be anywhere near my top 100. But it's a seven out of 10. It's fine. It's inoffensive for the most part.

There's Some interesting story beats that are brought up here in the relationship between yokai and human. Inner sibling rivalry, inner party rivalry and grudges. It's fun. You can't go wrong with skipping the filler and watching that.

And I'm sure there's a website out there that would tell you, here's the episode you need to watch or just read the manga. It'd go a lot faster. So Fang, we are going to be doing a bonus question today and it's not what you thought it was. We're going to ask.

Liz Clyde: 00:46:37

I don't have to talk about being illegal.

Christian Ashley: 00:46:39

Then who would we have liked to see? Get more focus on as a character.

Liz Clyde: 00:46:45

Oh, I got you.

Christian Ashley: 00:46:46

So be thinking about that before we head that way. So guys, actually before that, recommendations you.

Liz Clyde: 00:46:51

Have for the audience recommendation, I started watching the Wallflower or Wildflower Blooms with Dignity on Netflix. I can't think of the actual like English name, but I read the manga. It was fantastic. Fantastic. And it now has an anime, so you should go watch that.

Some romance. Fluffy Fluff.

Christian Ashley: 00:47:09

Okay, so when I moved from seminary, one of the boxes I had of my books just disappeared. We have no clue where it ended up at. And as a result I lost all of my Halo books.

But I was going through a thrift store the other day and I found them all for like 50 cents a piece. So I'm going to recommend the Halo novels because there's a lot of good stuff written there that you just don't find in the games.

So guys, thank you for all you do. Please get a chance to a five star review in your podcasting platform of choice.

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So Ethan Overcash, Austin Nance, Amber Riley and Jonathan Augustine, you guys are the best. But remember, we are all the chosen people. A geekdom of priests.