Introduction to Inuyasha

Inuyasha is a manga and anime series created by Japanese manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, the best selling female comic artist of all time, who is also responsible for such works as Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and Maison Ikkoku. The anime first aired in Japan in 2000, and in August of 2002, it was first shown on American television, on the Adult Swim portion of the Cartoon Network. The series is extremely popular in both Japan and the United States.

While the television series is over in Japan, there are still plenty of episodes that have not been officially translated into English yet, making them new to American viewers. The manga however, has no immediate plans of stopping, and is still going strong in Japan. There are also talks of even more movies.

How the story begins

Hundreds of years ago , a priestess named Kikyo guarded a very powerful jewel called the Shikon no Tama (Jewel of Four Souls). The Shikon Jewel granted its possessor incredible power and as its protector, Kikyo never hesitated to destroy any demon, or human, that attempted to take it. However, she fell in love with the half-demon Inuyasha. They eventually were deceived by Naraku (a very powerful demon), who tricked them into fighting each other. Kikyo shot an arrow at Inuyasha, binding him to a tree in eternal sleep. Kikyo was also mortally wounded, and she took the Shikon Jewel with her in death.

Now in modern day Japan, a young girl named Kagome gets pulled into the magical old well at her family's shrine by a demon who senses the jewel in her body. As it turns out, Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo. Passing through the well, she finds herself in feudal Japan, where she meets Inuyasha. She frees him from the tree so that he might protect her from the demon chasing her. In the struggle, the jewel is ripped from Kagome's body, but the demon is quickly destroyed by Inuyasha..

Inuyasha first believes that Kagome is actually Kikyo, but is convinced otherwise when the truth is revealed by Kaede (Kikyo's younger sister - now much older). Several demons come after The Shikon and it eventually gets broken, shattered into hundreds of pieces that are spread across the land. Inuyasha and Kagome (who is realizing her powers as the reincarnation of the priestess) join forces to search for the shards, to keep them from the hands of the demons. They meet up with several others along their way who join them in their quest, and they also gain some very powerful friends, as well as enemies - including Naraku, Inuyasha's (full demon) brother Sesshoumaru, and many others.

If you would like to learn more about the series, feel free to take a look around the rest of the site. You can also get a lot of information from the fans in the forum.