Inuyasha is a manga and anime about a doglike half-demon named Inuyasha who lives in Japanese medieval times. It's also about a girl named Kagome Higurashi who is from modern times (about 1996 to 1997, to be specific) who time travels to Inuyasha's time through a dry well called the Bone-Eater's Well at her family's shrine. As their adventures continue, they are joined by friends who make up their traveling group, which includes Shippou, Miroku, Sango and Kirara. Myouga occasionally comes along, but goes on his own information gatherings, and Kaede usual stays in her village. Also, new rivals, enemies and people with hidden agendas, whether good or evil, appear and pop-up in the storylines every once in awhile.
HOW THINGS GET STARTED...
It's the Sengoku Jidai period in Japan, which is about 500 years ago, give or take a few years. Inuyasha is seen for the first time, wrecking a village (Kikyou and Kaede's village) and screaming at its inhabinants as he carries a small, perfectly round, pinkish jewel on a necklace, which he seems to have stolen and destroyed the whole village for. He is happy that the jewel will give him the power to become a full demon. But he is soon stopped by the Miko (Shinto Priestess) named Kikyou, who pins him to a nearby tree with one of her arrows. The jewel, the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama), or also known as the Shikon Jewel, falls from Inuyasha's grasp, and Kikyou picks it up with sadness, regret and anger.
Kikyou is wounded with a extremely bloody gash in her right shoulder. Her little sister, a young girl named Kaede, comes to her and tells her she must let her wounds be tended to. Kikyou however tells Kaede that she won't live, and to take the jewel, which had been the cause of the destruction over its possession, and burn it with her remains.
Inuyasha is left, nailed to the tree....
Fast forward to 1996-1997ish, Tokyo, Japan. Kagome Higurashi lives at her family's very old Shinto Shrine with her mom, her brother named Souta, and grandpa (the whereabouts of her father are unknown). The Sunset Shrine is very ancient and has myths and legends to almost everything there, including a dry well and an ancient tree. Kagome has never tried to remember any of the legends her grandpa tells her, which also includes one about a jewel called the Shikon Jewel, but decides to try to remember them the day she turns 15.
Kagome is headed to school when she sees her little brother trying to get their pet cat, Buyo, out of the mini-shrine house. The shrine house contains a sealed, dry well called the Bone-Eater's Well, and Kagome goes in the shrine to retrieve Buyo, since Souta is too afraid to go in much further than the doorway. Kagome notices that the lid on the well is moving, but dismisses it to her imagination.
However, a half-woman, half-centipede woman shatters the lid and emerges from the well, grabbing Kagome and pulling her inside the well. Inside the well they fall through a dark void, and the centipede woman starts raving about how Kagome has the Shikon Jewel, because her flesh is returning to her skeletal lower half. She licks Kagome across the face and Kagome screams at her to let go of her, and some sort of mystic power comes from Kagome and blasts the centipede woman away, blowing off one of her 6 arms. The centipede woman disappears into the void, and Kagome floats until she softly lands on solid ground. Now she's wondering how this has happened, what's this stuff about a jewel, and how she managed to get the centipede woman off herself.
Kagome climbs out of the well, but is startled to see that there is no longer a shrine or even Tokyo. The well is out in the middle of a forest. Kagome just ignores this, and tries to find her way home. She spots the old god tree that is near her house, and knows that her home is always near this tree, since she has always used the tree as a landmarker since she was little to find her way home. But, she is startled when she reaches the tree....
On the tree is a strange looking boy, pinned to it with an old arrow. He's been there a long time, since there is forest foliage, old vines grown around him, and he's lifted several feet off the ground. It's Inuyasha.
Kagome tries talking to him, but he doesn't answer, and seems to be peacefully sleeping. Kagome goes up to him and notices that he doesn't have human ears, but dog ears. She suddenly has an urge to grab the ears and feel them, and soon does so. However, several arrows are suddenly shot at her, and several men ask her what she's doing in Inuyasha's forest. They tie her up and take her to their village.
Kagome is brought forth to the village leader, an old Shinto Priestess named...Kaede. Kaede says that Kagome looks exactly like her deceased older sister. It's been 50 years since the fight with Inuyasha and Kikyou's death. Kaede soon starts to suspect that Kagome is the reincarnation of her elder sister, Kikyou.
Kaede and Kagome don't have very long to debate if she is a reincarnation or not, because soon the centipede woman appears, destroying the village and killing livestock. The centipede woman spots Kagome and chases after her saying that she has the Shikon Jewel. Kaede is shocked at the demon yelling this, since she knew the jewel had been burned with her sister. Kagome doesn't know if she has the jewel with her or not, but doesn't think she does. She does know that the centipede woman is after her, and Kagome runs out of the village to get the centipede woman away from everyone else. She heads towards a glowing part of the forest, and Kaede is shocked to hear Kagome say that she can see the glow. No normal mortal is suppose to be able to see that part of the forest...and that is where Inuyasha is...and he has woke up....
Inuyasha is still trapped on the tree, but is awaken and talking, and he yells at Kagome, calling her Kikyou, asking her why she's being such a weakling against Mistress Centipede. Kagome yells at him that she's not Kikyou. Inuyasha yells that she smells of the woman who "killed" him, but finally he sees that she's not Kikyou, in a very insulting manner. Mistress Centipede tries to get Kagome, and just manages to her more of her arms blown of by Kagome. But Mistress Centipede finally grabs hold of Kagome and bites her side open. Out of Kagome's wound, a small, round jewel emerges. It's the Shikon Jewel.
Inuyasha yells that the jewel is his, and he wants it. Mistress Centipede wraps her body around the god tree and smashes Kagome up against Inuyasha. Mistress Centipede swallows the jewel and its power makes her wounds heal and her arms to reattach to her body. She then starts to become uglier as the jewel starts to get absorbed by her body.
Inuyasha asks if Kagome can pull out the arrow, but Kaede who has arrived in the forest tells Kagome to not release Inuyasha. Inuyasha yells that they'll all die if Mistress Centipede absorbs the jewel completely. Kagome doesn't want to die, and so she pulls out the arrow, thinking in her mind for Inuyasha to live again.
Inuyasha blasts the vines off himself and destroys Mistress Centipede with one swipe of his claws. Kagome takes the jewel out of the corpse, but now Inuyasha wants the jewel...he isn't a hero!
Inuyasha tells Kagome to give him the jewel, or he'll kill her. Kagome dodges Inuyasha's blows, but meanwhile, Kaede pulls out a necklace of prayer beads out of her kimono. The prayer beads end up around Inuyasha's neck, and Kaede tells Kagome to subdue Inuyasha by yelling out a spell. Kagome starts to panic since she doesn't know any spells. Inuyasha tries to attack her again, and in her desperation, Kagome yells "Sit!" (She yells "Osuwari", a Japanese sit command used only for dogs). The prayer beads pull down and slam Inuyasha into the ground, and he can't move for a few seconds, much to his surprise. Kaede tells Inuyasha that no matter how much strength he has, he won't be able to remove the beads. He tries to attack Kaede and Kagome, but Kagome yells out "sit" again, and Inuyasha is subdued.
Back in the village, Kaede tends to Kagome's wound, and Kagome asks Inuyasha why he wants the jewel, since he's aleady so strong. Kaede tells Kagome that Inuyasha is only a half-demon, which makes Inuyasha angry. Inuyasha wants to know how Kaede knows so much about him, and he tell him that she's the little sister of Kikyou, and she's an old woman because it's been 50 years since he had been trapped. Inuyasha snorts at how boring mortals are and how they age so easily, saying that Kikyou must be even more withered than Kaede. Kaede tells Inuyasha that Kikyou is dead, dying the same day she trapped him. Inuyasha seems to actually be a little disturbed by this...but he snorts and says he's glad that she's dead. Kaede tells Inuyasha not to rejoice yet...since it seems that Kagome's appearance and mystic abilities may mean she is Kikyou's reincarnation. Kaede tells Kagome that she was born to protect the Shikon Jewel, and its now in her possession.
Later, Inuyasha is sitting in a tree, and can't believe that Kagome could be Kikyou's reincarnation. Kagome comes to him and asks him to come down and eat with her (since the villagers gave her offerings since they think she's Kikyou's reincarnation). Kagome really doesn't like how Inuyasha hates her, and tries to reaffirm the fact that she isn't Kikyou, Inuyasha's old enemy, but she's someone entirely different named Kagome. Inuyasha says he doesn't care who she is, especially when he'll have the chance to get the jewel. Kagome reminds him about the prayer beads and accidently says sit, slamming him again. Inuyasha continues to dislike Kagome.
Kagome is trying to sleep, but the only thing on her mind is how to get home. Inuyasha is outside, and he scares off a crow demon that is after the jewel.
To wrap things up, the crow demon swallows the jewel when it gets it the next day, and when Kagome shoots it with a bow and arrow (which she had never done before), the crow is destroyed, but the jewel is also shattered. Every fragment of the jewel can be almost as powerful as the whole jewel itself, and has the power to make an evil being's desire a reality. Kaede tells Kagome that she must collect the shards (Kagome agrees to because she feels responsible for shattering it, and knows that more and more people will die if she doesn't get the shards back) Kaede also tells Inuyasha that he must help her, since there is no one else to help her, and it seems fate has made it so. Inuyasha never agrees to, but Kagome can detect the shards, so they end up working together. Kagome feels he needs to fix what she broke, and Inuyasha wants the chance to steal shards. Kagome gets home, but soon returns when another demon, Yura of the Hair, steals the one shard Kagome had retrieved. Now Kagome and Inuyasha work relunctantly together to recollect the jewel...and they soon start to grow close, as Kagome starts to melt Inuyasha's heart, and he learns to trust her...but all the twists of the story doesn't end there....
Kikyou is soon resurrected by an ogress, when Kagome's soul is stolen and put into a doll made of Kikyou's gravesoil and bones, and something is revealed about Kikyou and Inuyasha. Kikyou and Inuyasha were in love, 50 years ago. The day that Kikyou died and Inuyasha was trapped was the day that Inuyasha and Kikyou were planning to use the jewel to make Inuyasha become human...so she would no longer have to guard the jewel...and so he could live together with Kikyou....
How they ended up trying to kill each other is a long story. At that time 50 years ago, Kikyou was sheltering a crippled and burned human bandit named Onigumo. He wanted to see Kikyou's heart to become corrupted since she was so pure. Kikyou had the jewel in her possession because she was purifying it, and Onigumo desired Kikyou and wished to see her filled with anger, and the jewel to become evil....
Onigumo let a horde of demons eat him and his soul, and the demons soon became one...and a new demon was borned named Naraku.
Naraku disguised himself as Inuyasha and wounded Kikyou, taking the jewel from her. He could have taken the jewel then, but he returned it to the village on purpose. While Kikyou was trying to get back to the village, he disguised himself as Kikyou and shot several arrows at Inuyasha, yelling at him to die. Inuyasha felt that he and the love he felt had been betrayed, so he went to the village to take the jewel and wreck havoc...and that is when Kikyou finally reached the village and pinned him to the tree with her spell contained arrow. She thought she had been betrayed.
Naraku wanted Kikyou to hate Inuyasha and to wish that she would be the only one to survive, so then the jewel would grant this desire and become evil, and then the jewel and Kikyou would be corrupted like he wanted. He would then take the jewel and kill Kikyou...but however, instead of saving herself, Kikyou chose to die...to follow after Inuyasha in death....
Now the journey to collect the jewel is now also a hunt to find Naraku and to destroy him, before gets all the shards and uses them for evil, and to avenge Kikyou and many others who he has hurt with his evil.
Inuyasha and Kagome are soon joined by Shippou because his father was killed by demons boosted by Shikon Shards. However, Miroku and Sango (and also Kirara) have joined the group to hunt down and kill Naraku because their lives have been destroyed by him.
Kikyou has been resurrected, and even though she seemed to have died peacefully and died because she didn't want to live without Inuyasha, she is now a demoness of hatred, determined to kill Inuyasha, since she is grieved that he lived and she didn't, because she wanted to be with him, together in life or death, even if he didn't betray her...yet in a twisted way she still loves Inuyasha...and she can't decide if she wants to kill him or not.
Inuyasha wants to destroy Naraku before he destroys more lives, and to avenge Kikyou.... Now he isn't so sure he wants to become a full demon, since what would he do afterward? It doesn't seem it would bring him peace or the ability to forget Kikyou...and maybe he would no longer be himself...and may even kill Kagome if he did become full-demon.... He and Kagome have been falling in love...and now its hard for them to stay together because Kikyou is now "alive" again.
Of course, Inuyasha tries to never admit he loves Kagome, and Kagome is the same way, but after a long time, both of them and all their friends know that the two are together in love. But, now what will Inuyasha do? The part of Kikyou's soul that is still in the body made of her bones doesn't want to return to Kagome. Kikyou said if she returned back to Kagome's body, it will be like she died again, because she'll no longer be who she was.... Inuyasha doesn't know if he should love Kikyou still and keep only her in his heart, or try to let Kagome be his love. Kagome has admitted to herself that she loves Inuyasha, and she will remain by his side no matter what, even if Inuyasha chooses to die with Kikyou. Kikyou wants Inuyasha to be hers, and wants him to be with her always, even if it means together in death and hell, but Kagome wants Inuyasha to live and to be happy, even if it's not with herself....
It's a wild adventure, with many characters and stories! How will it resolve? Will Kikyou ever find peace or return to Kagome's body? Will Miroku and Sango ever hook-up, too? What will happen to Kohaku? Will Sesshoumaru not be as evil as he seems? What will Sesshoumaru finally do with Rin? When it's all over, will Kagome and Inuyasha live in the same time period, in the past or the present, and what about their friends? Will they still be able to time travel? Will Inuyasha become human or a full demon, or remain a half-demon as he is now...? Will Inuyasha ever choose between Kikyou adn Kagome indefintely and choose either to die with Kikyou as she wants, or to live with Kagome? Will Inuyasha and Kagome ever kiss and admit their love to each other? What will they do with the Shikon Jewel, since he causes nothing but evil? And how will they be able to destory Naraku...?
