IY Ch 470: The Return
Cover page. "I absolutely will not let you die." Already got to me. Just the cover page, and I'm already tearful. Le sigh.
So Sesshomaru goes to save Rin from the Master of Hell, and in a move reminiscent of Inuyasha cutting off his arm, Sesshomaru hacks the Master's arm off. I think this is symbolic in a way. At the beginning of the series, Sesshomaru was a "bad guy," trying to kill Kagome and Inuyasha. Now the Master of Hell has killed Rin, and it's Sesshomaru's turn to slash a limb. Look at how much Sesshomaru's grown over the course of the series. It's a very gradual transformation done over a LONG period of time. And I think Sesshomaru is completely in character this chapter, the natural progession of all his gradual character development.
Then Sesshomaru tells Rin to wake up, and she doesn't, and his face darkens. So sad. He's just there, holding her with Tenseiga in hand, silent.
Meanwhile, Sessmom and Jaken provide the one comical moment in the chapter, and I adored it. Once again, Sessmom calls him "Little youkai," but this time, Jaken's eyes narrow grumpily, and he repeats once again, "I am Jaken, but..." and then he adds, "I get the feeling you're not remembering that". XD Oh man, I love it so much. Sessmom + Jaken = LOVE. :D
Ok, now for the first time, we see Sessmom sobering up. She usually has a snarky smile on her face, or an overdramatic pout. This time, she actually seems genuinely concerned. She asks if the girl had been revived once before. Jaken says yes. Then she looks down, her eyes a bit watery, and tells him Tenseiga can only be used on a person once.
This explains why in a previous chapter, Sessmom was smiling when she said, "That girl will die." It's not that she wanted Rin to die, it's just that she was sitting on a big secret of knowing all along that Sess could bring her back, happy ending, blah blah. Now she realizes that Rin will be dead for good, and her son will be very hurt, and she doesn't want that. I don't think she ever truly thought things would turn out bad for Sesshomaru in this test, and now that they are, her snark is gone for now.
I loved the line from an earlier chapter where Sesshomaru said, "This arm is for brandishing a sword," or "This arm is only meant to hold a sword." I thought it was interesting foreshadowing, that Sesshomaru would end up holding Rin instead of his sword. And its execution on page was heart-stopping. Sesshomaru realizes that Rin can't be saved, and Tenseiga drops from his hand. His precious sword, the heirloom from his father that was so meaningful to him that even when he hated the sword, he still wore it at his hip, he still couldn't just toss it aside--and now he drops it like it were nothing. I don't think Sesshomaru has EVER been so careless with Tenseiga. Before this he'd probably hold onto that thing like it were his life. The image of Rin's little hand dangling over Sesshomaru's as he drops the sword--very sad and powerful.
We see Tenseiga drop in the ground. Kohaku is noticeably surprised. But Sesshomaru's oblivious. He drops to one knee, face darkened, holding Rin, and repeats, 'She can't be saved?!" He looks kinda shell-shocked to me, vacant-eyed. And now he's just holding Rin in his arm, more properly. It reminded me of the way one might hold a baby. He's kind of cradling her in his arm.
Then comes the most powerful inner-monologue we've seen from Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru has a major realization/moment of character development. He's fully put someone else's life ahead of his own personal gain. 'What's the point of it now? Tenseiga... Just for something like this...,' "Rin..." 'I let you die.'
One thing I noticed. When Rin was in his arm, the look on her face (mostly the shape of her mouth) is slightly less frowny than before when she was taken by the Master. I thought this was a sweet, simple, but meaningful touch. She looks a little bit more at peace in his arm.
Ok, biggest moment ever: Sesshomaru gains a new facial expression (??!!). When he thinks, 'To obtain this in exchange for Rin's life... It means nothing!!' his face does something we've only really see Inuyasha do (as Sehwa pointed out). This hair covers his eyes, his face is in shadow, and he's biting his lower lip with a fang, all anguished.
Apparently new facial expressions awaken Tenseiga, because at this point, the sword starts going all glowy-shiny on us. This gets Kohaku's attention. Sesshomaru seems kinda oblivious at first. He's just holding Rin silently. He couldn't care less about Tenseiga right now.
But when the mountain of corpses starts sliding, Sesshomaru looks up. Soon, Sesshomaru, Rin, and Tenseiga are surrounding by corpses reaching for the sword.
Now this part is very important. Sesshomaru has a very sad look on his face as he regards the corpses. 'The scent of death... these people are the same as Rin.' This is important because for the first time, he's looking at random, anonymous dead people and comparing them to someone he cares about. And he has a particularly sad, pained expression when he realizes his compassion for people he doesn't even have any connection to. 'They wish to be saved, huh?'
And Sesshomaru reaches for glowy!Tenseiga and everything goes all Scrubbing Bubbles on the corpses. This is the first time Sesshomaru saved someone that A) he didn't know personally or B) Tenseiga "told" him to save. It's not about him and what actions would benefit him the most. It's just plain and simple unjustifiable compassion. And that's what he was lacking until that. That is the power to awaken Tenseiga.
So the sword not only purifies the corpses, it opens a huge hole in the Meidou so that Sesshomaru (holding Rin) and Kohaku can return to the living world. Note that the Meidou Zangetsuha is still not yet a complete circle. So it looks like he still has a ways to go to master the sword. But it is much bigger than it was before, so Sesshomaru has grown and learned a lot. To wield Tenseiga one needs a kind heart, and with this issue his heart has grown.
I like the fact that Takahashi kind of inexplicably got around him having to swing Tenseiga. "No, Rin must stay in his arm! I know! Tenseiga can just magically work without being swung! Problem solved, and makes for great imagery!"
So when Sesshomaru comes out of the Meidou, he still has a hurt look on his face. He's clutching Rin to him like she were a baby or a stuffed animal. ;) And her head is nestled in mokomoko-sama so that his deadly Fangirl-B-Gone armor doesn't spike her in the face.
Jaken's surprised, happy, and tearful to see Sesshomaru return. But I wonder if we will get any moment next chapter where he's sad about Rin's death. I know he was concerned when Sessmom first told him that Rin was as good as dead. But I likes me my Jaken + Rin, so I hope for a little moment, even if I suppose it's not terribly necessary to the plot.
As for Sessmom, she says, "So you've returned..." very calmly and without any sense of snark on her face. It appears that there's more to be done and more to be discussed. This is why when the chapter ended, I didn't really feel like there wasn't hope that Rin could be brought back. It's still possible, though I guess we'll find out next week for sure.
If Rin comes back, I'll be happy because she's one of my favorite characters and I love her interaction with the Sess-tachi. But I've got to imagine that if she were to come back again, things would be different. This was the first time Sesshomaru couldn't protect her. She used to feel safe with him. Would she feel that way anymore, or would she just be happy to be with him again?
And this may be an unpopular opinion, so if you don't like it, pay it no mind. ;) But now, after seeing this chapter, part of me almost wants Rin to stay dead. I know, I know, don't shoot me or send in the dogs, ok? It's just, there are several reasons for her staying dead. For one thing, it teaches Sesshomaru to value fragile life and know that he's not all-powerful and he can lose the ones he loves. Part of me is interested in seeing Sesshomaru deal with Rin's death more. How would that change him and the way he goes about battling Naraku? Would he use Tenseiga on strangers more often? Would he become a bit more like the Inugami and go out of his way to help people that he comes across? (I know what you're thinking, Heaven forbid he becomes more like them, right? ;)) But I would just like to see what kind of effect it would have on him. Would he become closer to Kohaku, or would he shut down and become more stoic? Stuff like that.
Also, if Rin were dead permanently, it kind of takes care of things if Sesshomaru ends up dying later in the series, which I believe he will. A powerful demon like him and there's no sign of him existing in the modern era. If he really is dead by that time, then there better be a good reason, and the logical thing to me is that he would die in a battle with Naraku if anything. But anyway, if Sesshomaru were to die in the series, then that would be too sad and heart-breaking for Rin. She'd be alone again, and I don't know if she'd even want to stay with anyone else at that point. It wouldn't be fair to do that to a little kid. So if Rin stays dead, it solves that problem (if Sesshomaru is indeed to die).
Also, and I don't know if this is Takahashi's intention or not, it takes care of what would happen if Rin stayed with him and grew up. There'd either be a parting of the ways, or who knows what, and this kind of takes care of that question of what the heck would happen when Rin grows up. Perhaps Takahashi wants to keep Rin a child forever in the minds of fans. That's what we'd remember her as, and there'd be no questions as to what would happen later.
Anyway, excellent chapter. One of the best emotional moments of the series. Had me crying a bit. Yeah, I cried, big deal, want to fight about it? ;)
So Sesshomaru goes to save Rin from the Master of Hell, and in a move reminiscent of Inuyasha cutting off his arm, Sesshomaru hacks the Master's arm off. I think this is symbolic in a way. At the beginning of the series, Sesshomaru was a "bad guy," trying to kill Kagome and Inuyasha. Now the Master of Hell has killed Rin, and it's Sesshomaru's turn to slash a limb. Look at how much Sesshomaru's grown over the course of the series. It's a very gradual transformation done over a LONG period of time. And I think Sesshomaru is completely in character this chapter, the natural progession of all his gradual character development.
Then Sesshomaru tells Rin to wake up, and she doesn't, and his face darkens. So sad. He's just there, holding her with Tenseiga in hand, silent.
Meanwhile, Sessmom and Jaken provide the one comical moment in the chapter, and I adored it. Once again, Sessmom calls him "Little youkai," but this time, Jaken's eyes narrow grumpily, and he repeats once again, "I am Jaken, but..." and then he adds, "I get the feeling you're not remembering that". XD Oh man, I love it so much. Sessmom + Jaken = LOVE. :D
Ok, now for the first time, we see Sessmom sobering up. She usually has a snarky smile on her face, or an overdramatic pout. This time, she actually seems genuinely concerned. She asks if the girl had been revived once before. Jaken says yes. Then she looks down, her eyes a bit watery, and tells him Tenseiga can only be used on a person once.
This explains why in a previous chapter, Sessmom was smiling when she said, "That girl will die." It's not that she wanted Rin to die, it's just that she was sitting on a big secret of knowing all along that Sess could bring her back, happy ending, blah blah. Now she realizes that Rin will be dead for good, and her son will be very hurt, and she doesn't want that. I don't think she ever truly thought things would turn out bad for Sesshomaru in this test, and now that they are, her snark is gone for now.
I loved the line from an earlier chapter where Sesshomaru said, "This arm is for brandishing a sword," or "This arm is only meant to hold a sword." I thought it was interesting foreshadowing, that Sesshomaru would end up holding Rin instead of his sword. And its execution on page was heart-stopping. Sesshomaru realizes that Rin can't be saved, and Tenseiga drops from his hand. His precious sword, the heirloom from his father that was so meaningful to him that even when he hated the sword, he still wore it at his hip, he still couldn't just toss it aside--and now he drops it like it were nothing. I don't think Sesshomaru has EVER been so careless with Tenseiga. Before this he'd probably hold onto that thing like it were his life. The image of Rin's little hand dangling over Sesshomaru's as he drops the sword--very sad and powerful.
We see Tenseiga drop in the ground. Kohaku is noticeably surprised. But Sesshomaru's oblivious. He drops to one knee, face darkened, holding Rin, and repeats, 'She can't be saved?!" He looks kinda shell-shocked to me, vacant-eyed. And now he's just holding Rin in his arm, more properly. It reminded me of the way one might hold a baby. He's kind of cradling her in his arm.
Then comes the most powerful inner-monologue we've seen from Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru has a major realization/moment of character development. He's fully put someone else's life ahead of his own personal gain. 'What's the point of it now? Tenseiga... Just for something like this...,' "Rin..." 'I let you die.'
One thing I noticed. When Rin was in his arm, the look on her face (mostly the shape of her mouth) is slightly less frowny than before when she was taken by the Master. I thought this was a sweet, simple, but meaningful touch. She looks a little bit more at peace in his arm.
Ok, biggest moment ever: Sesshomaru gains a new facial expression (??!!). When he thinks, 'To obtain this in exchange for Rin's life... It means nothing!!' his face does something we've only really see Inuyasha do (as Sehwa pointed out). This hair covers his eyes, his face is in shadow, and he's biting his lower lip with a fang, all anguished.
Apparently new facial expressions awaken Tenseiga, because at this point, the sword starts going all glowy-shiny on us. This gets Kohaku's attention. Sesshomaru seems kinda oblivious at first. He's just holding Rin silently. He couldn't care less about Tenseiga right now.
But when the mountain of corpses starts sliding, Sesshomaru looks up. Soon, Sesshomaru, Rin, and Tenseiga are surrounding by corpses reaching for the sword.
Now this part is very important. Sesshomaru has a very sad look on his face as he regards the corpses. 'The scent of death... these people are the same as Rin.' This is important because for the first time, he's looking at random, anonymous dead people and comparing them to someone he cares about. And he has a particularly sad, pained expression when he realizes his compassion for people he doesn't even have any connection to. 'They wish to be saved, huh?'
And Sesshomaru reaches for glowy!Tenseiga and everything goes all Scrubbing Bubbles on the corpses. This is the first time Sesshomaru saved someone that A) he didn't know personally or B) Tenseiga "told" him to save. It's not about him and what actions would benefit him the most. It's just plain and simple unjustifiable compassion. And that's what he was lacking until that. That is the power to awaken Tenseiga.
So the sword not only purifies the corpses, it opens a huge hole in the Meidou so that Sesshomaru (holding Rin) and Kohaku can return to the living world. Note that the Meidou Zangetsuha is still not yet a complete circle. So it looks like he still has a ways to go to master the sword. But it is much bigger than it was before, so Sesshomaru has grown and learned a lot. To wield Tenseiga one needs a kind heart, and with this issue his heart has grown.
I like the fact that Takahashi kind of inexplicably got around him having to swing Tenseiga. "No, Rin must stay in his arm! I know! Tenseiga can just magically work without being swung! Problem solved, and makes for great imagery!"
So when Sesshomaru comes out of the Meidou, he still has a hurt look on his face. He's clutching Rin to him like she were a baby or a stuffed animal. ;) And her head is nestled in mokomoko-sama so that his deadly Fangirl-B-Gone armor doesn't spike her in the face.
Jaken's surprised, happy, and tearful to see Sesshomaru return. But I wonder if we will get any moment next chapter where he's sad about Rin's death. I know he was concerned when Sessmom first told him that Rin was as good as dead. But I likes me my Jaken + Rin, so I hope for a little moment, even if I suppose it's not terribly necessary to the plot.
As for Sessmom, she says, "So you've returned..." very calmly and without any sense of snark on her face. It appears that there's more to be done and more to be discussed. This is why when the chapter ended, I didn't really feel like there wasn't hope that Rin could be brought back. It's still possible, though I guess we'll find out next week for sure.
If Rin comes back, I'll be happy because she's one of my favorite characters and I love her interaction with the Sess-tachi. But I've got to imagine that if she were to come back again, things would be different. This was the first time Sesshomaru couldn't protect her. She used to feel safe with him. Would she feel that way anymore, or would she just be happy to be with him again?
And this may be an unpopular opinion, so if you don't like it, pay it no mind. ;) But now, after seeing this chapter, part of me almost wants Rin to stay dead. I know, I know, don't shoot me or send in the dogs, ok? It's just, there are several reasons for her staying dead. For one thing, it teaches Sesshomaru to value fragile life and know that he's not all-powerful and he can lose the ones he loves. Part of me is interested in seeing Sesshomaru deal with Rin's death more. How would that change him and the way he goes about battling Naraku? Would he use Tenseiga on strangers more often? Would he become a bit more like the Inugami and go out of his way to help people that he comes across? (I know what you're thinking, Heaven forbid he becomes more like them, right? ;)) But I would just like to see what kind of effect it would have on him. Would he become closer to Kohaku, or would he shut down and become more stoic? Stuff like that.
Also, if Rin were dead permanently, it kind of takes care of things if Sesshomaru ends up dying later in the series, which I believe he will. A powerful demon like him and there's no sign of him existing in the modern era. If he really is dead by that time, then there better be a good reason, and the logical thing to me is that he would die in a battle with Naraku if anything. But anyway, if Sesshomaru were to die in the series, then that would be too sad and heart-breaking for Rin. She'd be alone again, and I don't know if she'd even want to stay with anyone else at that point. It wouldn't be fair to do that to a little kid. So if Rin stays dead, it solves that problem (if Sesshomaru is indeed to die).
Also, and I don't know if this is Takahashi's intention or not, it takes care of what would happen if Rin stayed with him and grew up. There'd either be a parting of the ways, or who knows what, and this kind of takes care of that question of what the heck would happen when Rin grows up. Perhaps Takahashi wants to keep Rin a child forever in the minds of fans. That's what we'd remember her as, and there'd be no questions as to what would happen later.
Anyway, excellent chapter. One of the best emotional moments of the series. Had me crying a bit. Yeah, I cried, big deal, want to fight about it? ;)