InuYasha: Volume 56

by Rumiko Takahashi, 206 pages

The battle appears to be over, but the final card is still in play. The Shikon jewel is determined to cling to life and wreak chaos once again, but the future (and, technically, the past) rests on Kagome's shoulders. The well that connects her time to InuYasha's has vanished and, for a little while, she is in neither. What choice will she ultimately make? And will she be strong enough to see it through?

All done! My one grumble here in this final volume is that, after Kagome makes her climactic wish, the author pulls one of those "three years later..." deals and doesn't let you see the big emotional events in the interim. Other than that, though, I'm mostly satisfied with the way things turn out, which is good, considering how much time I've invested in getting there. After 56 volumes, I can finally say I've read the whole thing--woohoo! It was fun and I'm glad I stuck with it. Now I just have to get around to watching the rest of the animé series and movies. But no rush. :P

InuYasha: Volume 55

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

Naraku uses his powers of illusion and his awareness of the companions' motivations to isolate his enemies and cause them as much misery as possible, as their unhappiness only adds to his strength.

Naraku weakens, but he still seems pretty content with himself. What's he up to? And what did his puppet Byakuya just do to Kagome? There's just one volume left....

InuYasha: Volume 54

by Rumiko Takahashi, 184 pages

The final battle is in full swing as Naraku comes into his full power and draws the companions into his miasma-filled spider cloud. There he goes about possessing their minds and bodies and using them against one another, but he has never fully understood the power of bonds of affection and may find that to be his greatest weakness. Nevertheless, he still has Magatsuhi somewhat on his side, and that one's got his own reasons to squelch Kagome and friends.

Near cover-to-cover action, now, as Naraku keeps toying with his adversaries. What does he really want from the Shikon jewel, after all?

InuYasha: Volume 53

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

Magatsuhi and Naraku use each other to advance their own agendas and undermine the desperate efforts of InuYasha and his companions. The latter have come a long way and gained much power throughout their long struggles, but so have their enemies. How much more will they have to endure before they can permanently tip the scales to the good?

Ouch. With only three volumes remaining, the characters (and the reader) learn the hard way that even a moment's respite is a luxury they can ill afford. Ack! Miroku! Rin! Kohaku! *goes off to fret until she gets the next book*

InuYasha: Volume 52

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

Kagome has learned that some force is blocking her own spiritual powers--and has been since she was born. If she wants to help defeat Naraku, she'll have to figure out who or what is squelching her power and break free of their control. And she may have found the responsible party. When he first confronts them, Magatsuhi appears to be another proxy of Naraku's, but he is something else all together and really wants that last shard of the Shikon jewel...the one that's keeping Sango's little brother Kohaku alive.

Ooooh, nice revelation (and vindication) for Sesshomaru, here. He can still shoot dry, sarcastic barbs at his brother, but with more confidence and less insecurity. It will be interesting to see how InuYasha, who displayed some surprising maturity by largely getting over his competition with his brother volumes ago, deals with the new lay of the fraternal land. Perhaps the two of them will finally be able to come to terms.

InuYasha: Volume 51

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

Still stinging from the encounter with his late father's spiteful foe, Sesshomaru lets his wounded pride propel him forward into what he knows is one of Naraku's traps. But if it offers him the opportunity to finally prove to himself that he's better than his half-brother, it's a risk he's willing to take. Even if it ends with one or the other of them dead.

Sesshomaru, you fool. Even Totosai, who forged the sword you covet and the fragment of it that you carry, has been trying to tell you that you're making things more difficult than they need to be. But if this is the only way you're going to learn where things--and you--really stand, then so be it. Just don't get yourself killed in the process, 'kay? What would little Rin do without you?

InuYasha: Volume 50

by Rumiko Takahashi, 184 pages

A former opponent of their late father takes on Sesshomaru and InuYasha--only Sesshomaru tells his brother to butt out, as he lets the malicious demon fan the flames of his insecurity regarding his brother and their divided inheritance. What did their father mean by bequeathing Sesshomaru the sword Tenseiga instead of the seemingly more powerful Tetsusaiga that InuYasha wields? If Sesshomaru doesn't get a grip on his rivalry with his little brother and let his long-nurtured bitterness go, he may never fulfill his true potential--or grow strong enough to overcome their shared enemy, Naraku.

Oh, Sesshomaru! Think about the non-smitey powers of that sword at your side. InuYasha's may thrive on battling to protect life, but yours retrieves it from death's shores. Just look at little Rin and tell this reader that your daddy didn't love you as much as he did your half-brother. Silly boy.

InuYasha: Volume 49

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

InuYasha defeats, albeit unwillingly, Naraku's supposedly emotionless proxy. But before she leaves this world, she imparts a secret to Kagome that could help them defeat the puppet master for good. Then, Sango and Miroku battle a bone-stealing demon and take on some serious damage in the process. Each more worried about the other than her-/himself, they independently vow to devote their lives to one another's protection. Now if somebody could just heal that sneaky illness-concealing monk, Sango could smack him upside the head and they'd be happy.

I love it when baddies overestimate their own awesomeness and underestimate the independence of their minions. But I love it even more when they realize their mistake and look all surprised and nervous, which I'm hoping will be soon, 'cause Naraku needs his final comeuppance, the creep.

InuYasha: Volume 48

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages
Sesshomaru learns to wield his inherited magical blade with a merciful heart while InuYasha and company fend off an emotion-consuming demon and then battle one of the presently discommoded Naraku's proxies.
When Sesshomaru's normally stony face suddenly starts revealing what he's feeling, you pay attention. Over the course of the series, creator Takahashi has here and there shown him making a sweetly irrational decision (almost always involving little Rin) which he unflinchingly explains away as perfectly rational, but she goes 40-some books before she lets something hit him so hard it makes him utterly forget himself. It makes for some effective (and affective) characterization.

InuYasha: Volume 47

by Rumiko Takahshi, 186

Kagome and the others fight to save Kikyo and stop Naraku from getting all the shards and poisoning their only hope to stop him. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru is looking for a certain someone to help him hone his inherited blade so he can take out Naraku, himself, if need be.

Ohnoes! Kagome and her companions temporarily derail Naraku's plan but suffer a significant loss in the process. And Sesshomaru, who at most normally manages to appear merely vaguely put out, here not only looks ever so slightly snarly in his focus, on the second-to-last page he looks downright shocked. =:-O And with good reason.

InuYasha: Volume 46

by Rumiko Takahashi, 184 pages

Naraku retrieves his heart in order to make the most of its all-too-human corruptibility. With it, he plays with the emotions of those who would stand in his way. Will Kagome be able to withstand the poisoning influence of Naraku's spider threads and save Kikyo? And how much longer will Miroku be able to hide the extent of his injuries from those he loves?

Ooh, creepy Naraku's got his heart back! Spidery goodness (well, evilness) once more! And yay! Sesshomaru, InuYasha's full-demon brother, makes an appearance after far too long an absence. He saves poor Kohaku but won't admit it wasn't just for his own convenience because he's too proud to confess to being a softy. Rin's influence, that. The little girl worships him and he can't bring himself to let her down. Sesshomaru's a cold, quiet spoken character who never changes his expression, and if you think he might possibly look or sound mad, then it's already too late for you (or whoever's on the receiving end of his super subtle ire). The day I can actually make out a furrow between his brows, I think I will jump out of my chair in excitement. I like InuYasha just fine, but his head would explode with jealousy if he knew how much cooler I think his brother is. Hee hee. :P

InuYasha: Volume 45

by Rumiko Takahashi, 184 pages

InuYasha and friends track down evil Naraku and Moryomaru, the demonic being protecting Naraku's heart (the only human, and therefore vulnerable, part of him), but are shocked to find the two fighting each other--and Moryomaru appears to be winning. When the companions realize Naraku's only getting stronger than ever, they throw themselves into a desperate attack while he's still in transition.

A lot of what's best in this volume (and the series as a whole) springs from the interconnected personal histories Takahashi has created for her characters throughout the books. Everybody has their own reasons to fight, but those reasons grow and change over time, and that gives the plot, and the characters, substance and depth, which are nice (and often hard) things to find in an action series.

InuYahsa: Volume 44

by Rumiko Takahashi, 186 pages

High school girl Kagome gets dragged down a well at her family's Shinto shrine and is transported back in time to ancient Japan. There she learns she's the reincarnation of a powerful priestess, frees a temperamental dog-eared boy pinned to a tree by an arrow (originally shot by the same priestess), and witnesses the shattering of a dangerously powerful magical jewel. Kagome teams up with the dog boy (a half-demon named InuYasha with a chip on his shoulder) and a handful of friends they meet along the way in order to recover all the scattered fragments of the Shikon jewel before they fall into the hands of evil-doers.

In this volume, InuYasha trains to master his demon sword Tetsusaiga's new powers as Naraku, creeptastic nemesis to all, schemes to get the jewel shards from good-hearted wolf-demon Koga's legs.

InuYasha is a sprawling historical fantasy with a little of everything, from silly slapstick to tragic drama. Twelve books from the end, and I'm not bored yet. Some volumes are more integral to the story and character progression than others, but they all have a role in the larger tale and manage not to feel like filler. Takahashi's artwork is cartoonish and her character designs are somewhat limited (switch out the hair and you might get another character), but her style quickly becomes part of the story's flavor and the characters' unique personalities make it impossible to mix them up. I look forward to seeing how this classic motley crew fulfills its quest to save the world.