Finished InuYasha!
. . . for real this time! Just watched the last episode of Final Act.
I'm pleased with the cheesy happy ending. Honestly, I'd have gone a step further and had the well stay open; that would allow Kagome and InuYasha to visit either world freely. (I'm guessing they'd live in the feudal era and visit the modern day.) Without it, I feel like Kagome's mom's acceptance of her permanently leaving to live five hundred years in the past - which, it's worth pointing out, Kagome's mom accepted on behalf of all of Kagome's family and friends in the modern era - seemed a little quick and easy. I'm just assuming that in the three years since the well had closed, it had become clear to Kagome's family how much she missed InuYasha.
(Also, I don't love the fact that they went around explicitly explaining how each character's plotline turned out, but I appreciate that it might be really hard to show, rather than tell, that for a bunch of different people in one episode.)
I liked that all the good guys survived. I was seriously worried about Kohaku for a moment, but I think that the fact that Kikyo used her light to save him rather than keep purifying his shard worked really well. I'd wondered whether there was a way for him to survive that wouldn't seem really contrived, and I didn't think this was.
Found it very interesting how, in the episode three from the end ("Naraku's Trap of Light," I think it's called), there's an example something like what I talked about that one time, when Naraku's all, "Sango, will you kill Rin - who you barely know, but she's an innocent kid - to save the person you're in love with?" and Sango, despite being a good character, TOTALLY GOES FOR IT. She's not happy about it - it's not like the also-awesome bit in the second-to-last episode:
Naraku: If you kill me, my giant poison-seeping corpse will crush the village.
InuYasha: Gasp!
Kagome: Gasp!
Miroku and Sango: Gasp!
Sesshomaru: Yeah, probably. *KA-SLICE*
("Sesshomaru gets it, but doesn't care!")
So beautifully in character! And I love how Naraku, whose eeevil plans - as Kagome points out - typically work because he knows he can count on good characters to care about each other, just misses the mark on Sesshy. It's not like there's no one at all he cares about, but a random village of humans? Whatevs.
BUT ANYWAY, my point is that Sango actually makes the choice and attacks, even with Rin in the way. And - though he might have felt otherwise if Rin had actually been hurt - even Sesshomaru doesn't seem especially inclined to blame her. I mean, after all, he probably would have sacrificed Miroku for Rin in a second.
I also heart Miroku/Sango, even though I do think they're a little bit of a couple of convenience. InuYasha and Kagome have, I think, a pretty well-established emotional arc through the show, while Miroku and Sango - well, they have great chemistry, so it works, but I think part of what makes them so easy to shove together is that they're both powerful good guys hanging out all the time. Plus, having them care extra hard about each other raises the plot tension, leading to situations like the aforementioned.
(Wasn't too crazy about the bit at the end, though, where Miroku's like, "Honey, I'm home from a day of demon-slaying. Done having my son yet?")
Kind of sad that Koga disappears halfway through Final Act. It was nice that, in the last episode, they threw in a resolution for him, but I kind of feel bad for that wolf demon girl. I remember her from one episode a long time ago, and unless she and Koga had some serious quality time since then, he's totally settling because he can't have Kagome.
I did find it funny in this season - not that this is that different from the other seasons - how I was sometimes on the edge of my seat, unable to predict what would happen BECAUSE THERE DON'T SEEM TO BE ANY LOGICAL RULES. In particular, the things that make the Shikon Jewel go light or dark don't seem terribly consistent. And people keep having powers and/or barriers that the viewer just has no reason to think they'd have. In a way, though, this works. You know, mostly, what the heroes can do - after all, you've been following their group - but you don't know what the bad guys can do any more than the heroes know. But yeah, there were still a few things. Like how, when Naraku is dying, Miroku can suddenly use the Wind Tunnel without consequences. The curse is weakening, he says, but apparently this affects the Wind Tunnel's damage on him without affecting its power. Naraku really needs to work on not cursing people with spectacular weapons.
So, wow! I started watching InuYasha in undergrad, at Ashton's suggestion. Bought, watched, and liked the first season, then restarted it in order to watch the entire series with Becky and Ashton. Had an awesome time. And now it's finished. Craziness!
I do have to say again that I'm pleased with the happy ending. I tend to feel that I can't fully develop my opinion of series of whatever kind until I know that there's a point of resolution - whether it's actually the end, or the end of a well-resolved season, or whatever - that I like. That's largely why I'm not currently pursuing the post-Season-Seven continuation of Buffy. Despite the deaths of some characters I like, I felt like Season Seven's finale provided a great resolution, and I'm happy to stick with that, for now at least.
I'm pleased with the cheesy happy ending. Honestly, I'd have gone a step further and had the well stay open; that would allow Kagome and InuYasha to visit either world freely. (I'm guessing they'd live in the feudal era and visit the modern day.) Without it, I feel like Kagome's mom's acceptance of her permanently leaving to live five hundred years in the past - which, it's worth pointing out, Kagome's mom accepted on behalf of all of Kagome's family and friends in the modern era - seemed a little quick and easy. I'm just assuming that in the three years since the well had closed, it had become clear to Kagome's family how much she missed InuYasha.
(Also, I don't love the fact that they went around explicitly explaining how each character's plotline turned out, but I appreciate that it might be really hard to show, rather than tell, that for a bunch of different people in one episode.)
I liked that all the good guys survived. I was seriously worried about Kohaku for a moment, but I think that the fact that Kikyo used her light to save him rather than keep purifying his shard worked really well. I'd wondered whether there was a way for him to survive that wouldn't seem really contrived, and I didn't think this was.
Found it very interesting how, in the episode three from the end ("Naraku's Trap of Light," I think it's called), there's an example something like what I talked about that one time, when Naraku's all, "Sango, will you kill Rin - who you barely know, but she's an innocent kid - to save the person you're in love with?" and Sango, despite being a good character, TOTALLY GOES FOR IT. She's not happy about it - it's not like the also-awesome bit in the second-to-last episode:
Naraku: If you kill me, my giant poison-seeping corpse will crush the village.
InuYasha: Gasp!
Kagome: Gasp!
Miroku and Sango: Gasp!
Sesshomaru: Yeah, probably. *KA-SLICE*
("Sesshomaru gets it, but doesn't care!")
So beautifully in character! And I love how Naraku, whose eeevil plans - as Kagome points out - typically work because he knows he can count on good characters to care about each other, just misses the mark on Sesshy. It's not like there's no one at all he cares about, but a random village of humans? Whatevs.
BUT ANYWAY, my point is that Sango actually makes the choice and attacks, even with Rin in the way. And - though he might have felt otherwise if Rin had actually been hurt - even Sesshomaru doesn't seem especially inclined to blame her. I mean, after all, he probably would have sacrificed Miroku for Rin in a second.
I also heart Miroku/Sango, even though I do think they're a little bit of a couple of convenience. InuYasha and Kagome have, I think, a pretty well-established emotional arc through the show, while Miroku and Sango - well, they have great chemistry, so it works, but I think part of what makes them so easy to shove together is that they're both powerful good guys hanging out all the time. Plus, having them care extra hard about each other raises the plot tension, leading to situations like the aforementioned.
(Wasn't too crazy about the bit at the end, though, where Miroku's like, "Honey, I'm home from a day of demon-slaying. Done having my son yet?")
Kind of sad that Koga disappears halfway through Final Act. It was nice that, in the last episode, they threw in a resolution for him, but I kind of feel bad for that wolf demon girl. I remember her from one episode a long time ago, and unless she and Koga had some serious quality time since then, he's totally settling because he can't have Kagome.
I did find it funny in this season - not that this is that different from the other seasons - how I was sometimes on the edge of my seat, unable to predict what would happen BECAUSE THERE DON'T SEEM TO BE ANY LOGICAL RULES. In particular, the things that make the Shikon Jewel go light or dark don't seem terribly consistent. And people keep having powers and/or barriers that the viewer just has no reason to think they'd have. In a way, though, this works. You know, mostly, what the heroes can do - after all, you've been following their group - but you don't know what the bad guys can do any more than the heroes know. But yeah, there were still a few things. Like how, when Naraku is dying, Miroku can suddenly use the Wind Tunnel without consequences. The curse is weakening, he says, but apparently this affects the Wind Tunnel's damage on him without affecting its power. Naraku really needs to work on not cursing people with spectacular weapons.
So, wow! I started watching InuYasha in undergrad, at Ashton's suggestion. Bought, watched, and liked the first season, then restarted it in order to watch the entire series with Becky and Ashton. Had an awesome time. And now it's finished. Craziness!
I do have to say again that I'm pleased with the happy ending. I tend to feel that I can't fully develop my opinion of series of whatever kind until I know that there's a point of resolution - whether it's actually the end, or the end of a well-resolved season, or whatever - that I like. That's largely why I'm not currently pursuing the post-Season-Seven continuation of Buffy. Despite the deaths of some characters I like, I felt like Season Seven's finale provided a great resolution, and I'm happy to stick with that, for now at least.