Episode 1
- Sango showing that motherhood hasn't made her any less of a badass.
- Kagome using just a single arrow to purify the remains of the Ne No Kubi. Even Kaede notes how much her power had grown beyond Kikyo's.
Episode 2
- Setsuna pretty much had Mistress Three-Eyes beat with her Cyclone attack. The only reason the latter got away was because of Moroha's interference.
- Towa finally letting loose against the thugs, jumping over their leader and disabling the one holding her family hostage.
Episode 3
- Faced with a broken sword after trying to slash Mistress Three-Eyes, Towa subconsciously summons a Laser Blade that she then uses to impale Mistress Three-Eyes.
- Towa fighting Setsuna to a stand-still. Granted, she was under the control of the Hitokon. But it still shows how much demonic power she has.
- To note, Towa manages to nullify Setsuna's Senpuujin, which almost killed Mistress Three-Eyes an episode back. The reaction on both Setsuna and Moroha's faces says it all.
- Setsuna easily knocking Towa and the rest of the Higurashi's out using her Moon of the Resting Moth attack, showing how she could have ended the fight at any time had she wanted.
Episode 4
- Towa, who up until then hasn't really had training in using her demon powers (she just discovered them a few days ago, and when she was using them, she was under mind control from the Hitokon), not only manages to summon an impressive battle aura, but is able to shoot out a dragon-shaped Sword Beam (similar to her father's Souryuha) that one-shots the Ne No Kubi.
Episode 5
- Moroha proves to be just as much of an effective fighter as her dad and shows off her powers from both parents and her grandfather. She hides purification salt IN HER MOUTH and uses to force back Tokotsu's son, and then proceeds to use her special rouge to awaken her demon blood and almost singlehandedly take down both of them, even doing so with her father's Iron Reaver and Blades of Blood attacks. The only thing that stops her from finishing Tokotsu himself is that she is not able use her powers for very long before it forces her to sleep and recharge for a day.
Episode 6
- When told that she'll have to kill the monk Juan to get to the cat demon, Towa decides to Take a Third Option, activating her rainbow pearl and figuring out how to absorb the cat demon's demonic energy instead, saving Juan in the process.
Episode 7
- In a moment that gives more insight into what happened when Towa was captured in Episode 1, the latter finds the real body of Fubuki, the demon ice bear who's mist form Moroha and Setsuna are fighting some distance away. She then fights it while also alerting the other two to its presence, all while tied up, using only her newfound ability to generate demon energy "claws." Then, when Moroha takes her shot at Fubuki's real body, a still tied up Towa uses her demon claws to maneuver Fubuki in a way to get hit by the shot.
Episode 8
- Towa awakening her powers after Kyuki knocks Setsuna out. While she may only be a half-demon, she's still Sesshomaru's daughter and it shows, as she uses a Sōryūha (a half-assed one at that, according to Riku) to totally floor Kyuki (who at that point had been dominating the fight), separating the latter from her rainbow pearl.
- Prior to that, there's the plan that Towa and Moroha came up with to recharge the former's yoki. First, by getting Kyuki to attack Towa so she could recharge a little bit, then once that allowed her to power up her sword, using that to directly absorb more energy from Kyuki's own rainbow pearl while it was exposed when the latter was gloating.
Episode 9
- The armor Konton made from Meioju's shell has had it's yoki drained already, so Towa can't use her trick of absorbing the energy... so she gives it energy instead, awakening the turtle yokai's spirit, who helps her and his son get revenge on his murderer.
Episode 10
- Ginka and Setsuna working together to defeat Joka.
Episode 11
- Setsuna incorporating the purifying herbs into her Cyclone attack to purify Drifting Pond, allowing Towa to destroy Venom Serpent.
Episode 12
- Towa regaining her powers after the sun rises again and defeating Nikosen, saving her sister and cousin in the process.
Episode 13
- Miroku is back. During the fight with Totetsu, who's Vacuum Mouth powers mirror Miroku's now-defunct wind tunnel, the latter shows that he's learned a thing or two from Naraku by using the former's ability against him, forcing him to suck in poison.
- The heroes try to use Totetsu's Vacuum Mouth against him, only for him to reveal that he can expel air out of his mouth as well.
- Setsuna tricks Totetsu into biting her arm, revealing that she inherited her father's poisonous blood. This causes Totestu so much pain he's forced to flee.
Episode 15
- The Great Dog Demon and Kirinmaru first met when they teamed up to destroy a shard of a Comet of Doom. What little we see of the act is suitably epic.
- As Sesshomaru is flying away with his newborn twin daughters in tow, Zero has sent Joka after the babies who then demands that he hands them over and tries to make a quick grab at them. His response? With one arm Sesshomaru holds his babies closely, with the other, cuts off both of Joka’s arms and then steals her rainbow pearls for his daughters.
- Faced with the wrath of someone whose combat power rivals that of his mighty father, how does Sesshomaru act? He gets to show his strategic side by avoiding a direct confrontation that he is not sure he could win and instead manages to trick him into letting him save Inuyasha and Kagome by pretending to be on his side and then promptly sealing them away. He even manages to get Kirinmaru to be willing to let them be released by having Jaken state that Inuyasha's Meido Zangetsuha will be necessary in the future.
Episode 18
- A villainous moment for Kirinmaru, he shows exactly why he is on par with the so-called strongest demon in the west Inu No Taisho by completely demolishing the half-demon princesses in combat. Any attack they try, he NoSells and dodges with nonchalance. Without even using any special skills or abilities, he uses powerful blasts of demonic energy and slashes of demonic energy.
- Moroha activates her Beniyasha form that has previously stomped Tokotsu and his son.... And yet Kirinmaru just comments that she has gotten '''slightly" stronger and then knocks her out with a slash of demonic energy. That's right. Not even power on the level of Inuyasha is much of a threat to him. Sesshomaru was right not to have his younger brother fight Kirinmaru.
- When Kirinmaru has had enough, how does he end his fight with Setsuna? He once again Flash Steps but this time also manages to hit her while dodging and then proceeds to bombard her with Sword Beams while only showing a glimpse of his special skill.
- Towa, the most powerful of the trio, fights Kirinmaru by herself and though she is obviously no match, she manages to injure him. He even admits she showed strength worthy of being Sesshomaru's daughter and his rival's granddaughter.
- When Kirinmaru is about to finish off the girls, Sesshomaru comes in to save his daughters and their subsequent fight goes to show and make it clear that they truly are the strongest demons alive these days.
- When they clashed swords, their physical strength is such that it releases shockwaves that could cause the sea to rise up. Kirinmaru at one point slams his sword so hard that it cracks the floor after Sesshomaru dodges it.
- As the fight continues, thunder strikes and clouds begins to cover the area. Being such powerful demon beast kings, their clash could affect the sky and earth themselves. One of the thunder strikes ends up knocking out Towa and Moroha for hours!!
- Oh? And Kirinmaru doesn't back down because he's afraid of Sesshomaru like most of those who fought Sesshomaru are. He outright fought him to a stalemate and made it clear he would have been fine with fighting to the finish, meaning he still has plenty of cards to bring to bear had the fight continued. After so long, the mighty Sesshomaru has finally met his match.
- For Sesshomaru's part, this fight also goes to show that while he is not unrivaled as the strongest demon around, he has still become the strongest demon by being able to match someone who is considered his father's equal. Having been repeatedly stated in the previous series that his father was much stronger than he is, it shows how far Sesshomaru has come around.
Episode 20
- Shiori has been using her barrier powers to make a Hidden Elf Village for half-demon children to safely grow up in during the Time Skip, and her abilities are strong that most demons that go after the village just give up and leave eventually or get fended off by the children who could fight like Setsuna. The only reason the moth demon that attacked could pose a threat was because he knew when she'd become fully human during a solar eclipse, and arrived at a time to exploit that.
- When Setsuna first awakens her demon blood, while she does go berserk, she completely shreds a moth demon that she was struggling against earlier.
Episode 24
- Kirinmaru stopping his sister from using the Rainbow Pearls to regain her demonic powers with nothing but a single hand as he renders her control over the Pearls nullified and scatters them across the land, putting a temporary stop to her plans.
- Kirinmaru once again gets to win once more against the half-demon princesses even after he gets injured, getting to show exactly why he is the ruler of the eastern lands by showing off feats that none of his subordinates were able to achieve against the girls. As villainous and sad as it is when Setsuna dies, the girls also get to put up a much better show this time around.
- When Riku stabs Kirinmaru in the midsection, which he does as it's the only way Towa and Zero could have a chance against him, all that it does is make him grunt in annoyance before he casually walks down the stairs... With the sword impaled on his person, before he casually removes the sword from him without even gesturing. He then proceeds to make a Badass Boast about how he had been holding back the entire time the first time they fought and them fighting him in his injured state would only lead to him taking them seriously.
- The girls also get a moment of awesome by boldly talking him down and make it clear they aren't afraid of him. That's right; Even after having lost to him before one-sidedly, Towa, Moroha, and Setsuna still aren't afraid to face him. It actually earns them a complimenting challenge from Kirinmaru.
- Just as Towa is about to get cut down by Kirinmaru, Setsuna saves her by launching her Senpuujin and then goes straight on with using her Muretachi No Tsubame. Her teamwork with Towa has clearly improved a lot.
- Kirinmaru easily blocks the Muretachi No Tsubame with a single swing of his sword, whereas Riku needed to block them all with his sword. Riku was right to catch him by surprise and then avoid directly confronting him.
- Moroha uses her newly empowered Crimson Dragon Wave and Backlash Crimson Dragon Wave that would have beaten Zero had Riku not saved her, and Kirinmaru responds by deflecting the former with a barrier and outright bowling through Moroha's red dragon with his Bakusaisoha. This pretty much confirms why Zero, despite being furious and disowning him, chose to avoid a direct confrontation with him, which could also signify her earlier desire to never see him again as being a wish to avoid fighting him knowing fully well she'll lose.
- When Moroha uses her Tenku No Yabusuma, summoning several sacred arrows at once, Kirinmaru just comments on how her powers had been hampered by her reliance on the Pearl.... Before he then casually blocks them all with a demonic barrier and then launches a tornado that sends Moroha straight to Kirara.
- Afterwards, Kirinmaru proceeds to show just how strong he is by casually man-handling Towa and Setsuna in close-combat and giving the fatal blow to Setsuna: Not only does he put Towa entirely on the ropes in a sword lock, he catches Setsuna's weapon with two fingers and then flicks those fingers with so much force as to send her down flat on her back. He then NoSells Towa's increasing power seeing Setsuna in danger and then flings her back.
- When Towa manages to catch Kirinmaru off-guard and stab him in the same place Riku stabbed him, Kirinmaru, despite clearly hurting, still has it in him to boast that he was simply off-guard and even as she intensified the demonic energy of her sword, he just grits his teeth even as blood came out of his mouth. Afterwards, he manages to blast her off and still block Setsuna in time.
- Setsuna, despite dying, manages to replicate her sister's feat of injuring Kirinmaru by using her Blood Blade to break his barrier. It even throws Kirinmaru briefly off.... Before he gets pissed and proceeds to cut through her weapon and also strike clean through her chest.
- Afterwards, Towa and Moroha go all out to avenge Setsuna, the latter having her grandfather’s spirit seemingly come to her aid as a Battle Aura, and the sword said spirit uses? none other than Sō'unga! Towa meanwhile manifests a demonic dog-like aura as she transforms into her own Super Mode. Then they launched large dragon projections that far exceeded their previous usage of the techniques. Towa actually manages to manifest two dragons on her Soryuha. Kirinmaru even acknowledges how she had exceeded her father's technique by naming it the Souto No Soryuha and how Moroha's Koryuha had grown to where it only obeys her will. Those attacks even managed to cause a massive explosion and Kirinmaru couldn't repel the attack despite blocking it, which shows just how much latent demonic power they have.
- Kirinmaru shows just how much of a Determinator he is by simply telling them to give their worst and then responding by going into his own demonic form and manifesting two shields on his hands. Despite their small size compared to his previous barriers, it holds the titanic attacks at bay. He even has it in him to compliment them before deciding to take the attack after realizing he couldn't cancel them and coming out only worse for the wear and still having the mouth to admit they injured him more than expected.
- It only gets more awesome there as the landscape shifts into a galactical-like realm and Towa and Moroha once again activates the Battle Aura they have, this time having the projections surround and attack with them. They still lost, but they managed to give Kirinmaru a hell of a fight and even briefly drive him into the corner by forcing him to dodge their attacks as a single slash of Moroha's avatar sword cuts down one of the "planets" with ease and actually pushes Kirinmaru back for a while.
- In Kirinmaru's side, he shows his Blood Knight tendencies by grinning and stating that he's been looking for a fight like this for so long before he then skillfully dodges all of their attacks and even when cornered, he remains calm and counters them, showing all his talk about heart, mind, and strength is no bull and he makes use of his experience and skill just as much as he uses his power. His finishing attack on Towa? A black hole of demonic energy that plows through her gigantic dog aura and once again overpowers her ability to absorb yoki, knocking her out. He then summarily takes down Moroha with a single slash. Afterwards, while the girls can barely walk and has to crawl while lamenting their defeat and Setsuna's death, Kirinmaru is still pretty fine and able to fly away on his own.
- To make it more awesome on the girls side, Kirinmaru actually compares his fight with them with his fight with the Great Dog Demon.
Episode 25
- Setsuna, despite just being newly resurrected, doesn't lose a beat and immediately cuts down all the demons summoned by the forging of her new naginata with a single strike.
Episode 27-28
- We finally see Toga's first fight with a young Kirinmaru. It turns out even at this state Kirinmaru has already defeated countless enemies over the globe.... But Toga proved himself to be on another level and delivers a Curb Stomp Cushion fight as he cuts off Kirinmaru's antler and just as Kirinmaru pushes him back, Toga responds by cutting off his arm and brings Kirinmaru to his knees! This was the first and only time Kirinmaru had lost and demonstrates exactly why Toga is still considered the strongest demon even compared to the present Kirinmaru.
- Not only does he win, but he does so with a natural calm and ease that shows off incredible seasoned fighting skills and experience that makes Kirinmaru's afromentioned experience look more like a raging warrior.
Episode 40
Episode 41
- Moroha getting to fight Kirinmaru alongside her parents as if she has done so her whole life, and using her new bow given to her by her parents she's able to let loose a sacred arrow so strong it forces Kirinmaru to dodge rather than try and block it, to his immense shock.
- Also this line from Inuyasha when Moroha leaves the fight to head off back to the future with Towa and Setsuna, especially considering the fact that Kirinmaru powerwise is on a similar level as Toga.
Inuyasha: (to
Kirinmaru with total confidence) "I won't let you lay a finger on my daughter."
- That said, the whole fight is very obviously only lasting because Kirinmaru is in a rage and is lapsing on his usually staunch fighting prowess. Even then, he still proves to be far too powerful for Inuyasha and Kagome, demonstrating just how right Sesshomaru was not to let just the two of them fight him and it was more out of acknowledgment that they would die if they take him on than concern of the couple defeating Kirinmaru and Zero. The Wind Scar? He casually destroys it with brute strength. The Adamant Barrage that has broken barriers and combined with Kagome's arrow? He blocks it just by spinning his sword. The Backlash Wave? Kirinmaru only has to slash with crescent energy and it's cancelled. And when attacked by Inuyasha, Kagome, and Moroha simultaneously.... He overpowers their attack by releasing an enormous amount of his yoki.... Without Bakuseiken! Just through sheer raw power alone, he can unleash an attack that would have killed them had Tessaiga's sheath not saved them.
- That's not to mention how the fight ended. While Inuyasha is clearly persistent and is surprisingly able to fight him blade-to-blade, it's obvious he would have been killed several times over had Kirinmaru not been blinded by his rage. When he has had enough, he easily tosses Inuyasha aside and simply teleports away when Kagome tries to hit him with an arrow.
Episode 46-47
- Although it wasn't exactly the fullest extent of what we could have seen had both been at their primes, seeing Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru fight to the finish makes for easily the single greatest duel-like fight in the series as the two greatest demonic warriors in existence unleash everything they can use against each other, reminding exactly why these two are truly considered at an entirely different league than all other characters. No longer just simply using swordsmanship, they use their demonic energy freely. Without a doubt, the creators must have spent a decent amount in ensuring the fight was delivered in a climatic way after they previously only fight with brute strength and skill.
- Sesshomaru's eyes repeatedly glowing as he skillfully deflects Kirinmaru's demonic energy attacks. Displaying just how far he's come, even faced with someone capable of seriously challenging him, he treats the entire battle with full confidence and composure even in the face of Kirinmaru's overwhelming attacks. Yes, he did have to put in real effort, but the stylish way with which he fights back against Kirinmaru strongly resembles his father.
- Made even more impressive by how Sesshomaru asks Rin and Jaken to stay rather than having them flee. He knew the fight would be dangerous, yet he still fought confidently believing in his strength to protect them. And unlike Kirinmaru, he keeps a staunch watch over them even while fighting so when he tries to attack them instead, he just stops him in a So Last Season way, even mocking him for believing himself the strongest yet using such methods!
Both
Badass Boast and
"The Reason You Suck" Speech to the finest.... And it only gets better as Sesshomaru bluntly points out unlike their previous fights, Kirinmaru is no longer his equal because he's emotionally conflicted. Rather than attempting to best him with raw strength as he could with Kirinmaru now weakened, he instead strategically breaks down Kirinmaru so as to end their fight sooner. Simple and effective. Displays just how far he's come both as a fighter and as a person.
- Kirinmaru doesn't shy away either. He may have been exhausted after fighting for hours and was emotionally conflicted, but he still gives Sesshomaru an incredible fight, cementing his status as a Worthy Opponent even to Sesshomaru. Had their fight continued without Sesshomaru using logic, he would have surely been able to damage his rival's elder son and given him a prolonged fight.
- And finally their final clash. A magnificent coalscing of their demonic energies into multiple layers of demonic energy that shattered the ground. Bonus for both Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru, the former for unleashing his full demonic aura for a prolonged period of time and the latter for putting up a decent struggle despite his inevitable defeat.
