INU-YASHA: AFFECTIONS TOUCHING ACROSS TIME (2001)

 






PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical*


I've already provided a summary of the INU-YASHA manga series in this post, chronicling how the titular half-demon joins with modern-day high-school girl Kagome Higruashi to track down magical jewel shards during Japan's feudal era. Since no one's likely to ever watch any of the anime movies without first becoming familiar into some version of the episodic series, I won't repeat what I wrote earlier, though I'll add that early in the series the demon-boy and the modern girl are joined in their quest by three other questers: the priest Miroku, the demon-slayer Sango, and demon-kid Shippo (who supplies much of the comedy relief). The first movie, AFFECTIONS for short, also works in such semi-regular characters as Inu-Yasha's brother Sesshomaru and the undead priestess Kikyo. The latter supplies a romantic threat to the prickly boy-girl interactions of Kagoma and her "demon lover."

The villain of AFFECTIONS is new though: a Mongolian moth-demon named Menomaru. This new foe and his henchwomen kidnap Kagome and brainwash Sango's pet Kirara as part of a plan to steal Inu-Yasha's magic sword. Long ago, Inu-Yasha's demon-father (deceased during the series) sealed the father of Menomaru into a crypt, and by using the sword, the evildoer manages to channel the elder demon's power into himself. 

Menomaru succeeds in his goal and throws Inu-Yasha for a loss. In addition to keeping Kirara in thrall, the demon also works a similar bewitchment on Kagome, and for good measure he unleashes a plague of insects on helpless villagers. 

 Kagome, given demon-powers by her puppeteer, attacks Inu-Yasha and pins him to a tree with her enchanted arrows-- a version of the same tree where Kagome's ancestor Kikyo consigned Inu-Yasha to a temporary death. And although the trauma of "killing" her romantic interest breaks the spell over Kagome, her guilt seemingly summons Kikyo herself, and the undead priestess commands Kagome to return to her own era.  The script does not say so, but I think this is possible because her actions while under the moth-demon's control make her want to retreat from the trauma of killing Inu-Yasha, even though she should suspect that his death may not be permanent.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru, whose sword Menomaru also sought to steal, seeks to join the fight, though mostly to avenge himself on the moth-demon for the latter's attack. Miroku and Sango have separate fights with Menomaru's two henchwomen, with Sango's struggle being more  tempestuous because her opponent uses her beloved Kirara against her. Like Kagone, Kirara breaks free from the spell by an act of loving will.

The Big Bad, though, is still at large, and neither Sango nor Miroku can stop him. The ancient world's only hope is if Kagome can overcome her reticence and once more bridge the gap between her time-frame and that of the dog-demon. To make Menomaru reprehensible on a personal level, he's also a demon-snob, who sneers at the romantic interaction of the time-crossed lovers-who-aren't-technically-together. Inu-Yasha duplicate the deed of his sire by vanquishing Menomaru. Sesshomaru doesn't end up affecting the story at all, so it's possible the writer only included him as a touchstone, to keep the character "in the loop" for future movies.

AFFECTIONS, an original script rather than an adaptation of a Takahashi story, mentions a detail that I never saw mentioned in any English translations of the manga. I knew that the tree on the modern-day Higurashi property was the same as the one whereon Inu-Yasha temporarily "dies" in feudal times, and that when Kagome falls through the well on the same property, she's able to revive Inu-Yasha from his imprisonment. But I didn't know that the wood used to make the walls of the well came FROM the sacred tree that has remained in the same place over the centuries. This detail goes a long way toward explaining why the well has supernatural properties of its own. 

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