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Kagome Higurashi lives in a residential Shinto shrine alongside her mother, her younger brother, Sota, and her grandfather. Her grandfather in particular never passes up the chance to tell tales of demons, an ancient well, and a mystical jewel. Of course hearing the same myths for years on end gets tiresome, and Kagome's gotten to the point where she tunes them out completely.

Perhaps she should've paid better attention, for on her fifteenth birthday, Kagome is dragged down her home's ancient well by a centipede woman who demands Kagome hand over the Shikon Jewel, a sacred gem that can grant both wishes and tremendous power to any who possess it. While the jewel can potentially be used for good, it's more often used by those with evil intentions. As such, it's a common target for greedy demons who crave power. While Kagome manages to temporarily fend off the centipede woman, it's a reawakened Inuyasha—a half-human, half-dog-demon boy—that finishes it off.

Once the dust from this encounter has settled, Kagome learns that she's the reincarnation of Kikyo, a powerful priestess that died with the jewel in her grasp while believing that Inuyasha betrayed her. Inuyasha himself believes that Kikyo betrayed him, and this misunderstanding is what led his first love to use an enchanted arrow to pin him to a tree fifty years ago. Kikyo had hoped to take the Shikon Jewel into the afterlife with her, but somehow both Kikyo and the jewel have been reborn as and into Kagome.

Following the jewel's reappearance comes demons of all shapes and sizes vying for ownership. This will be easier than expected when Kagome accidentally shatters the jewel into thousands of tiny shards. With demons becoming more powerful left and right, Kagome and Inuyasha set out on a journey to collect all the shards. During their travels, they pick up the fox demon child Shippo, the handsy monk Miroku, the demon exterminator Sango, and her nekomata companion, Kirara.

Kagome and her newfound friends aren't the only ones on a quest: a malevolent entity called Naraku also wants to complete the jewel for his own nefarious purposes. In addition to this competition, most of these travelers have personal scores they want to settle with Naraku. While finding the shards begins their journey, the only way it'll end is once Naraku is dead and the jewel gone for good.

Inuyasha (犬夜叉) (sometimes stylized as InuYasha) is a historical fantasy Shōnen manga by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday from November 1996 to June 2008, finishing with a total of 558 chapters compiled into 56 volumes. Viz Media holds the license to translate and print the series in America. As of 2009, the English release is available as a collection of 18 omnibus volumes. Volumes one to 16 contain three volumes each and volumes 17 and 18 contain four each.

A bonus chapter titled "Since Then" was published in February 2013 as part of the Heroes Come Back anthology to help support the reconstruction efforts after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. "Since Then" takes place six months after the end of the series and is a stand-alone story.

An anime adaptation sometimes subtitled as Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairytale (戦国御伽草子 犬夜叉, Sengoku Otogizōshi Inuyasha) was produced by Sunrise and ran from October 16th, 2000 to September 13, 2004, running for 167 episodes and four movies. Five years later, a continuation titled Inuyasha: The Final Act (犬夜叉 完結編, Inuyasha Kanketsu-hen) began airing on October 4th, 2009. Final Act ran for 26 episodes, adapting the volumes of manga that its initial run didn't cover. Both seasons received an English dub and home release by Viz Media.

A light novel simply titled InuYasha Novel (小説犬夜叉, Shousetsu InuYasha) was written by Tomoko Komparu and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was published in December 2004 and adapts the first ten chapters of the manga (equal to the first four episodes of the anime).

For information on other Inuyasha based media, visit the series' franchise page.


This series provides examples of:

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  • 0% Approval Rating: Nobody likes Naraku, up to and including his own incarnations. Kagura wants nothing more than to be free of him and not one but two of his other minions want to usurp him. Even Kanna, who's supposedly completely emotionless, gives her enemies crucial information about Naraku and the Shikon Jewel right before she dies.
  • 24-Hour Armor: Sesshomaru and Koga never go anywhere without their armor. Given that Inuyasha's fire-rat robe acts much like armor, he never goes anywhere without it either. Sango also keeps her exterminator gear on hand everywhere she goes, whether or not she's actually wearing it.
  • Accidentally Broke the MacGuffin: Kagome shoots an arrow at a crow youkai carrying the Shikon Jewel, but the arrow hits the jewel itself. This shatters the jewel into many, many tiny pieces, each piece scattering all over the surrounding area. The primary myth arc of the manga then becomes a quest to find all the shards to make the jewel whole again (at least up until Naraku's introduction).
  • Action Dad: Becoming a father doesn't stop Miroku from youkai hunting. If anything, it just motivates him more, since he now has a family to provide for.
  • Action Mom: Sango is a mother of three and still works as a youkai exterminator whenever her friends need a helping hand.
  • Action Girl: Sango, Kikyo, Kagome, and Ayame are all strong warrior ladies who can knock out any bad guy who crosses them.
  • Actually a Doombot: Before he obtains enough shards, Naraku utilizes golems to interact with his enemies so he won't put himself at risk of being killed. Once he gets powerful enough to create his own minions, he stops using them, prefering to have them fight in his stead or just generally do the dirty work for him until he's powerful enough to do it himself.
  • Adaptation Expansion: The manga gives very little information on Inuyasha and Kikyo's backstory other than briefly implying that they had fallen in love once. Some of Kikyo's comments also suggests that she hadn't been able to soften Inuyasha's heart and they had never kissed (until she did so in present-time). The anime episode "The Tragic Love Song of Destiny" expands greatly on their story to show how the falling in love happened with Inuyasha becoming kinder around her and culminating in them sharing a kiss, the opposite of what the manga suggested.
  • Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole:
    • The anime makes the assertion that Kagome needs jewel shards in order to use the well, whereas the manga says no such thing. Later in the series when Kagome loses all her jewel shards and can still use the well, at first the anime tries to cover for itself by claiming Sango had a secret stash that Kagome could borrow, but later just quietly forgets about the whole thing and lets her use the well without any.
    • Shippo grabbing Tessaiga in a filler episode, you know, the sword that has an anti-youkai barrier that's pretty important to the plot. Possibly justified if the barrier doesn't affect truly benevolent youkai.
    • The story is about the Shikon Jewel trying to renew its cycle, having the souls of a powerful miko and a composite of several youkai and a human, and needing similar souls, like Kikyo/Kagome and Naraku. All of this information is either left out or outright changed in the anime during the Jewel explanation.
  • Adaptation Name Change:
    • Played straight with Amari Nobunaga, who was called Takeda Nobunaga in the manga. However, upon discovering that Takeda Nobunaga was a real person, his surname was changed to Amari in the anime... which they then made into a joke.
    • Many other characters who were originally nameless in the manga were given names in the anime, including:
      • Ginta and Hakkaku, Koga's two henchmen
      • Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, Kagome's three friends from school
      • Ah-Un, Sesshomaru's two-headed dragon
      • Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother
    • In the Latin American dub, Kagome's name was changed to Aome due to "Kagome" sounding too much like a vulgar phrase. Her name is also changed to "Agome" in the Brazilian Portuguese dub, along with Miroku who had his named changed to "Miroki", for this same reason.
  • Adorably Precocious Child: Despite being younger than Inuyasha, Shippo possesive a level of emotional maturity that Inuyasha lacks. Of course, Shippo is still throughly a young fox demon and he won't say no to a good prank, especially if Inuyasha is on the receiving end.
  • Adventure Towns: The search for the Shikon Jewel leads Kagome and the gang to many different villages. They often get side tracked trying to help the villagers with whatever demon is plaguing them.
  • Aerosol Flamethrower: While battling a toad demon, Kagome uses a can of hairspay combined with a candle's flame to create a makeshift flamethrower. Since the toad demon's biggest weakness is heat, the demon exits the body of the man he was possessing.
  • Affably Evil:
    • Even while fighting and talking about killing people, Yura remains playful and flirty.
    • Bankotsu is laidback, illiterate and treasures loyalty. He also finds killing to be his calling.
    • Jakotsu is a murdering psychopath, but he's also incredibly bubbly about his crushes and is loyal to Bankotsu, being genuinely one of his few friends.
  • After Action Patch Up: Subverted at the beginning of Sesshomaru's introductory episode: Kagome attempts to patch Inuyasha up following their battle with Yura of the Hair, during which he was stabbed through the shoulder with a sword, but after forcibly wrestling his shirt off she finds that he's already fully healed.
  • Alas, Poor Villain:
    • Kagura's death is quite tragic: decides to save Kohaku knowing well that neither Akago nor Naraku will be happy with the betrayal. Naraku mockingly returns her heart before fatally poisoning her with his miasma. The heroes and even Sesshomaru rush to try to help her to no avail. She dies in a field of flowers, with a smile in her face for Sesshomaru being there, and her last thought being "I am the wind, as free as the wind."
    • The heroes try to convince Kanna not to throw her life away and upon her demise, Kagome feels sad for her, having realized that, despite everything Naraku said, Kanna truly did have emotions and wanted to live.
  • Alas, Poor Yorick: In the manga, during Goshinki's attack, at one time the only two surviving kids are hugging the severed heads of their parents.
  • Alleged Lookalikes: Everyone initially compares Kagome to Kikyo. They may technically have the "same" face (as it turns out they have the same soul), but when the series suffers from Only Six Faces and Kikyo and Kagome purposefully differ in hair style, habitual facial expressions, skin tone, and age, they don't look alike at all - at least, not any more alike than any other two random characters you could pick out. The manga did have Kagome start off with blunter bangs, making it easier to see why she was compared to Kikyo, but in the anime there was no such luck, to the point it's almost an Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Every hanyou in the story, including Inuyasha himself.
  • All Part of the Show: During a school festival episode, Inuyasha unwittingly interrupts Kagome's play by challenging the male lead to a duel, then slays a watermelon demon that suddenly appears, then jumps through a hole he made in the ceiling while carrying Kagome, and none of the Muggles in the audience realize this was unscripted. When Kagome's friends got to meet Inuyasha, one of the things they asked him was if Kagome asked him to do that.
  • Almighty Mom: Sesshomaru's mother is a plot device designed to help Sesshomaru's Character Development by achieving something almost no one else in the manga managed to do - putting him in his place in the most brutal manner possible.
  • Almost Kiss: Inuyasha and Kagome almost shared one before being rudely interrupted. It was the closest they got to a kiss in the manga. The Final Act fixed that.
  • Amazon Chaser: Sango is wanted by both Miroku and Kuranosuke because of her beauty and her strength. Inuyasha as well because his love interests, Kikyo and Kagome, are both known for their bravery and fighting abilities.
  • Ambiguous Situation: In the ending, it's left ambiguous as to whether or not Kagome can use the well to travel through time anymore after she returns to the Feudal Era for good, but it's implied by her tearful farewell to her mother and Sota's conversation with his friends that she can't. In any case it is very unlikely that she would even want to try in case she gets stuck in the modern era again.
  • Amplifier Artifact: The Shikon Jewel is shattered by accident by one of Kagome's arrows. Other demons that get even one or two shards get a comparatively large power boost. Naraku collects all the shards for reassembly into the intact Jewel for the purpose of becoming the ultimate youkai.
  • Anatomy of the Soul: The soul is divided in two: Kon and Haku. Kon is the heart (will) and Haku is the power that moves the body:
    • Moryomaru is just a bunch of dead youkai body parts animated by Haku. When Akago is inside of him, he provides the Kon.
    • Kikyo's Kon is the part she stole from Kagome's soul but she needs to constantly steal Haku to be able to move.
  • Anchored Ship: Both Inuyasha/Kagome and Miroku/Sango are Type 1.
  • And Then What?: Near the end, Byakuya asks Naraku what wish he will make on the Shikon Jewel after he has killed Inuyasha and the rest; he admits he isn't sure. Later Kagome correctly guesses that he had already made a wish but the Jewel didn't grant it.
  • And Your Little Dog, Too!: Naraku, who is behind almost everything bad that happens to, well, everyone.
  • Animal Jingoism: Played for Laughs with the animosity between Inuyasha and Shippou. In Japanese folklore, dogs and foxes hate each other and more than one secret kitsune wife has been outed by the clueless husband's loyal dog. Inuyasha is Shippou's favourite target for pranks and practising his magic on, so Inuyasha tends to bite back.
  • Animate Dead: Kagura's Dance of the Dead.
  • Animation Bump: The anime series itself often goes from good to poor in sequential order, with a superbly animated episode followed by a greatly inferior one. For example, the finale of the Bankotsu fight has smoother animation than most of the series. The Final Act continues the trend of fluctuating quality, but is overall better than the earlier series. A shorter series with a generous budget means the show basically got the same quality as the earlier movies. 2D Visuals, 3D Effects were the main offense.
  • Anti-Hero:
    • Kikyo settles into the role after her resurrection, once the worst of her initial rage has subsided.
    • Sesshomaru starts off as a villain, but subsequent Character Development shifts him from there to Anti-Villain and from there to Anti-Hero; exactly where he falls tends to vary depending on your perspective.
    • A case can also be made for Kagura possibly reaching Anti-Hero status by the end of her character arc when she begins acting directly against Naraku - again depending on your mileage.
  • Anti-Villain: Saint Hakushin; Kagura and Sesshomaru both evolve into this role as well.
  • Appendage Assimilation: Sesshomaru tried to replace his severed arm with other youkai arms, but they all turned out to be useless and after a while he just stopped trying.
  • Arc Words: "Pure has now become Impure, Impure has now become Pure," for the Band of Seven/Mt. Hakurei arc.
  • Armour Is Useless:
    • Inuyasha and Sesshomaru both wear 24-Hour Armour (Inuyasha's magical fire-rat robe and Sesshomaru's breastplate), but it seems to grant very little actual protection, especially later in the series. By this point both are practically juggernauts in battle, so presumably anything that's going to hit them is a strong enough attack to bust through armour anyway.
    • The fire-rat robe seems to be better armour when Kagome is wearing it.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Kagome to Naraku: "The Shikon Jewel didn't grant your real wish, did it?".
  • Art Evolution: At the beginning of the manga, Takahashi drew the characters with rounder faces, bigger eyes, and a very different style for the hair. Just look at Sesshomaru.
  • Art Shift:
    • The first three movies have a different character designer from the TV anime, resulting in a style more faithful to Rumiko Takahashi's art style. This is averted for the fourth movie, however.
    • The anime suffers through a shift in the overall quality of the animation, thanks to a shift between traditional cel animation and digital animation that happens late in the original series' run.
  • Artifact of Death: The Shikon Jewel and its search only brings death and destruction.
  • Artifact of Doom: There are... a lot of these in this show.
    • Yura of the Hair is actually a spirit born from a comb used to comb the hair of dead people. Destroying the comb destroys Yura.
    • The cursed Noh Mask. It is a deadly artifact that once placed on the face, it absorbs/consumes the wearer.
    • Later, Sesshomaru commissions the making of the deadly sword Tokijin, crafted from the teeth of Naraku's detachment Goshinki. It possesses its own maker, but when Sesshomaru takes it for himself, he shrugs off the sword's attempt to possess him through sheer willpower.
    • Kanna has her Mirror, which can steal the very soul of those she shows it to or, in some cases, absorb the power and devastating effect of a weapon and allow her to direct it back at the sender.
    • The Naginata of Kenkon, aka the Naginata of Heaven and Earth, was fashioned from the corpses of 222 demons by the same demonic smith who made Tokijin.
    • Dakki, the youki-absorbing sword that transformed its human smith into a pseudo-youkai in order to try and absorb Tessaiga's youki and then transferred the full force of Inuyasha's attack to said smith's body in a desperate attempt to save itself.
    • The Shikon Jewel, the real Big Bad of the story.
  • Artificial Human: Kikyo's body is made of her ashes and clay.
  • As You Know: One of the many methods that the show uses to recap events.
  • Asian Fox Spirit: Shippo is a kitsune cub, and one episode featured an Inn full of them.
  • Asshole Victim:
    • Some of the angry villagers who bullied Jineji and tried to kill him and his mother are eaten alive.
    • Similarly, the villagers who bullied and beaten Rin in Episode 35 are killed by Koga's pack of wolves.
    • Sometimes, the episode will start by focusing on a Red Shirt Army bragging about how they're going to attack and conquer innocent lands. Guess what happens to them, courtesy of the Villain of the Week.
    • Inuyasha's Superpowered Evil Side killed several bandits in a brutal way; said bandits were knowingly working for a demon and personally fed innocent women to their demon boss while forcing an incapacitated Inuyasha and Miroku to watch.
  • Assimilation Backfire: This is how Moryomaru and the Infant are defeated by Naraku. Generally speaking, doing this to Naraku's never a good idea.
  • Attack Reflector: Kanna's mirror, and later Naraku's barrier develops this as well.
  • Attempted Rape: In the manga, Mukotsu attempts to rape Kagome but she fought him back. The anime tones this down into having Mukotsu try to force Kagome into marriage with him.
  • Awful Truth: The truth about Tenseiga is kept secret for a long time because it's this trope for Sesshomaru.
  • Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: in Inuyasha's group: They may not always see eye to eye at times on certain matters, they may drive each other crazy, but when the chips down, they'll lay their lives on the line for each other, especially Inuyash and Kagome.
  • Ax-Crazy: Evil!Suikotsu, as well as Inuyasha himself whenever he goes in his youkai form.
  • Babies Ever After: In the finale, Miroku and Sango have gotten married and have three children; twin girls and a baby boy who is born at the start of the final chapter.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Inuyasha and Koga vs. Naraku's two speedster detachments
  • Badass in Distress:
    • Sesshomaru in his fight with Magatsuhi when he has to be rescued by his brother. He gets stronger.
    • Inuyasha, whenever he turns human.
    • Miroku rescues Sango on a few occasions, including one where he gets severely injured freeing her from demon control. Sango also rescues Miroku later in the series by destroying her own weapon to do so, resulting in an ensuing stroy arc to get it fixed.
  • Badass Normal:
    • Sango. She's completely human and the only protagonist who doesn't have any kind of supernatural or magical power, but she's able to throw around the huge boomerang as if it were a toy, and is as good of a fighter as Inuyasha himself.
    • And of course, Kohaku. His Shikon shard doesn't seem to do anything but keep him alive and under Naraku's control, but by the end of the series he's able to easily slaughter groups of trained guards and youkai like they were nothing.
    • The Band of Seven while they did have Jewel shards when they fought against Inuyasha and company, they were just normal humans before they got resurrected and capable of easily taking out not only powerful demons but also entire armies by themselves.
  • Baku: One of the few non-malicious youkai in the series is a baku, though still considered troublesome, as it was in danger of overeating on dreams and taking the good ones as well as the bad. It's also significant for being the only youkai to appear in the present day instead of the distant past.
  • Band of Brothers: The Inu-tachi. The group gets together mostly because of the shared battle against Naraku. While at the beginning they weren't fond of each other, their loyalty and dedication to one another grows steadily, to the point of not even thinking about putting their lives in danger to save the others. They end up forming a weird but strong family who still make snide remarks at each other all the time.
  • Bandaged Face: Onigumo, in the flashbacks to his time at the shrine. Justified in that he'd been badly burned, and the bandages are to protect his damaged face.
  • Bandit Clan: Inuyasha and Kagome encounter numerous bandit clans, some of which were being led by a demon in disguise.
  • Bare-Bottomed Monkey: Gon, Bun, and Ken are a trio of small monkey Youkai who play a prank on Inuyasha, and then gloat about it by mooning him while singing a song about their red behinds. Inuyasha reacts exactly as expected.
    Gon, Bun, and Ken: Monkey bums are bright and red, more brains here than in your head!
  • Barrier Maiden: Shiori the bat hanyou is forced to serve in this role to protect the bat youkai clan, having inherited the position from her father. She eventually gives up it up so Inuyasha can claim the power of the crystal related to the post.
  • Barefoot Poverty: The story is primarily set during the Warring States era, where almost everyone save for lords went barefoot at all times. A couple of characters like Kagura, Rin and Inuyasha himself do cross into Prefers Going Barefoot territory however, but this too was largely the result of the times and simply being used to them. The entire setting was really the perfect barrel for Takahashi to indulge in some of her preferences.
  • Barrier Warrior: There are several, including Miroku, Kikyo and Naraku, but the most impressive is Saint Hakushin who is able to create an enormous barrier surrounding Mt. Hakurei which is incredibly powerful, enough to weaken youkai in the surrounding area and purifying them instantly if they get too close.
  • Bathtub Bonding: Kagome and Sango, but instead of a bathtub it's a hot spring. They get to learn a lot more about each other after they have a bath together.
  • Battle Aura:
    • Demons and spiritually powerful humans have this.
    • Sango, the only member of the group that doesn't have supernatural powers, also manifests one when she's really pissed off, usually at Miroku. It sends Inuyasha ducking for cover.
  • Battle Butler:
    • Kanna, the only minion who's honestly loyal. (At least until right before she dies).
    • Byakuya's also completely loyal to Naraku, and like Kanna, throws his life away for one of Naraku's plans, though in his case he didn't even do a posthumous betrayal.
    • Jaken also fits this trope, but with somewhat less "battle".
  • Battle Couple: Inuyasha/Kagome and Sango/Miroku. In the anime, this also extends to Inuyasha and Kikyo, although they're never shown fighting alongside one another in the manga.
  • Battle Tops: Shippo has an arsenal of tops.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Inuyasha desires to become full youkai. When it happens, he doesn't want it anymore and does everything in his power to stay as a hanyou.
  • Beam Spam: Tessaiga gets one that would make a Gundam jealous.
  • Bee Afraid: The Saimyoushou, the poisonous insects Naraku uses. They're introduced primarily to limit Miroku's use of his Wind Tunnel by poisoning him if he takes them in; seeing them appear always means bad news.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Inuyasha and Kagome, especially at the beginning. They later become a variant since they come to an understanding as to their mutual feelings, but the belligerence doesn't die down.
  • Berserk Button:
    • Miroku is normally very calm and collected, even in the presence of Naraku. But if you dare make inappropriate advances on Sango, he will beat you into a pulp.
    • Manten gets extremely upset when his last few hairs are lost from his head.
    • Sesshomaru's are mostly related to receiving Inuyasha's pity and hearing Kagura's death being insulted. The latter upset him so much that he broke Tokijin over it and endangered his own life in the process.
    • Discuss Inuyasha's love for Kikyo around Kagome. I dare you.
    • Threaten Inuyasha or any of Kagome's friends when she's around, only if you've made your peace with a higher power beforehand.
  • Betty and Veronica: Kagome is the Betty to Kikyo's Veronica and Inuyasha's Archie because she's his Nice Girl partner instead of the tragic priestess.
  • BFG: Renkotsu's grenade launcher and gatling gun, And Ginkotsu's flak cannon and (Missile launchers after being made into a giant cybernetic tank.).
  • Big Brother Instinct: Sesshomaru towards Inuyasha increasingly as the storyline progresses, Sango towards her little brother Kohaku, even the evil Hiten towards his younger brother Manten (and their little brothers love them too). Kagura also seems to develop one towards Kohaku, which ultimately led to her dying for it.
  • The Big Damn Kiss: Inuyasha and Kagome in the finale of the anime.
  • Big Damn Reunion: At the end of the manga, Kagome and Inuyasha reunite after a timeskip of three years in which Kagome was stuck in her own time and unable to come back. She and Inuyasha look lovingly at each other and share a deep hug upon their reunion.
  • Big Entrance: If the main activity suddenly gets interrupted by everyone being drawn to what appears to be a massive bolt of lightning that crashes into the earth, rattling the ground and releasing an overload of raw power, it almost always means Sesshomaru's just entered the scene.
  • Birds of a Feather: Inuyasha and Kagome have contrasting personalities, but they both tend to get angry quickly, especially with each other. They share a dislike for avoiding confrontations and can be quite possessive and stubborn. Expressing their emotions is also a challenge for them. However, they are extremely protective of anyone in their group and will not tolerate anyone who intends to harm them physically or emotionally.
  • Black Blood: In the anime, blood is portrayed as black or occasionally black with a red tinge to it. This isn't the case in the manga or the movies, where blood is always red.
  • The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In: And not just blades, but any weapon which is thrown or dropped, including staves and giant boomerangs.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Sango has a retractable blade hidden in her right sleeve that she uses as a last resort.
  • Blade Brake:
    • Inuyasha rams Tessaiga into the ground to prevent being sucked into the Wind Tunnel. In one of many amusing examples of just how alike the two brothers really are, when Sesshomaru first experiences the power of the Wind Tunnel, he reacts in exactly the same way (and since he's holding Tessaiga at the time, he even uses the same sword).
    • Also performed by Kohaku to prevent himself from falling to his death down a chasm.
    • Also by Kagome with Tessaiga inside Naraku's body.
  • Bland-Name Product: Wacdnalds, where Kagome and her school friends go to eat and hang around.
  • The Blank:
    • Muso, one of Naraku's incarnations, starts off this way, until he starts stealing people's faces (leaving them faceless and dead).
    • The Muonna that Sesshomaru had impersonate Inuyasha's mother looked like this under her illusion.
  • Blessed with Suck: Inuyasha's youkai form provides insanely high levels of strength and speed, a much improved healing factor, and enough demonic aura to make even Sesshomaru feel one, brief moment of fear. Of course, there's the little matter of him becoming a bloodthirsty monster that has barely any of Inuyasha's restraint, and each time it gets even less controllable and less intelligent. His Tessaiga helps keep this form from overpowering Inuyasha, and his fear of his youkai blood taking control drives him to master the sword.
  • Blood from Every Orifice: This happens to Miroku when he takes a massive dose of Naraku's miasma into his Wind Tunnel in the process of trying to take him out once and for all.
  • Bloody Murder: Inuyasha's first and most basic ranged attack involves him making flying blades out of his blood (or, sometimes, other people's). He tends to pull it out only as a desperation move, for obvious reasons.
  • Blow You Away: Kagura. Her wind powers include tornados, flight, manipulating the wind to (attempt to) cut off the wind-based attacks of opponents and even Razor Wind.
  • Body Horror:
  • Also very noticeable when the living Noh mask attacks Kagome; the body it has is the corpses of its previous victims mashed together into one fleshy lump.
  • Body of Bodies: The list include the Flesh-eating Mask, Naraku's true form, the whole Kodoku spell and also Moryomaru's later forms.
  • Bones Do Not Belong There: The demon that drags Kagome down the well in the first chapter/episode is a Mix-and-Match Critter consisting of a roughly humanoid torso with a centipede lower body. It's shown to have an endoskeleton in its lower body despite centipedes being invertebrates.
  • Book Ends: The beginning, and the finale, both involve Kagome shooting the Shikon Jewel for some reason.
  • Boomerang Comeback: Sango uses this technique several times. She lets her enemies attack her while Hiraikotsu is away so they'll be hit by it when is returning to her.
  • Bowdlerise: The anime edits or otherwise drops several scenes of blood and/or nudity from the manga:
    • Mistress Centipede has Barbie Doll Anatomy in the anime. Not so much in the manga.
    • The Noh mask's body, in the manga, was a mismatched mass of gore and body parts from the people it had consumed, whereas in the anime, it's just an amorphous mass of black goo.
    • All visible blood in the anime, human or otherwise, is reddish-black.
    • Midoriko's corpse is crystallized, whereas in the manga, it's actually mummified.
    • In the manga, Sesshomaru actually sliced out Inuyasha's right eye to get at the black pearl that led to their father's grave, whereas in the anime, he extracts the pearl with an energy beam that causes no visible damage to the eye itself.
    • Mukotsu's Attempted Rape of a poisoned Kagome is turned into a bizarre And Now You Must Marry Me scenario.
    • In the manga version of the fight between Muso and Inuyasha, Kagura prevented Inuyasha's Wind Scar attack from hitting Onigumo's heart by aiming her Razor Wind attack at Muso at about stomach level, slicing him apart and thereby moving Onigumo's heart out of the way. In the anime version, Kagura instead aimed her attack at the Wind Scar in order to deflect it.
    • When Sango tries to convince the demons of her Hiraikotsu to continue helping her, the group is unable to see her unless they get drunk. In the manga, Shippo and Inuyasha both drink the sake to see her, but in the anime, only Inuyasha drinks it. Most likely because Shippo drinking sake would be showcasing underaged drinking.
  • Brains and Brawn: Inuyasha is the brawn to Kagome's brain.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy:
    • Kohaku. After being revived, Naraku erased his memories to be able to control his mind. He then ordered Kohaku to kill a lot of innocent people, including his own sister.
    • The majority of the main cast, including Inuyasha, Sango, and Kagome, are put under some kind of mind control effect and used against their companions at some point in the series or movies.
  • Broken Hero: Miroku is a carefree, cheerful guy in spite (or maybe because) of having death looming over him his whole life.
  • Broken Pedestal: Parodied. When Sota meets Inuyasha, he's initially starstruck. And then Inuyasha seems like he's refusing to protect Kagome over an apology, and Inuyasha is life-size in his eyes - for about five minutes.
  • Brought Down to Normal: Happens to Inuyasha (and every other half demon) every month, most often during a plot that could be resolved effortlessly with Inuyasha's normal powers. It also happens to him during the Mount Hakurei arc.
  • Buried Alive: Sango, after being badly wounded and declared dead. She clawed her way out.
  • Cain and Abel: Inuyasha and Sesshomaru for a while mostly due to the perceived Parental Favoritism. A better example would be Kinka and Ginka, brothers who are attached to one another because neither of them had managed to kill each other in their childhood as was the nature of their species.
  • The Call Knows Where You Live: After returning to her time after her first trip to the feudal era, Kagome assumes the whole experience was a dream and proceeds to forget about the whole thing....until Inuyasha barges into her house while her family is having dinner. It doesn't help that one of the bad guys (Yura of the Hair) seeking the Shikon Jewel tries to enter Kagome's time moments later.
  • Call-Back: The last opening song, ‘Kimi ga Inai Mirai’note , uses some phrases and titles from other opening and ending songs.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Once the manga hit its stride, almost all the characters do this. Uniquely, Sesshomaru's the only one who is mostly too cool to call his attacks out loud. He thinks them instead.
  • Camp Gay: Suzaku of the Flower, a Demon Ninja based off of the Vermillion Phoenix. His comrades tell him several times to stop acting like that, as it creeps them out. Jakotsu of the Band of Seven is another example.
  • Canis Major: Sesshomaru and his parents are dog demons, and in their true forms go from Rubber-Forehead Aliens to gigantic canids.
  • Canon Foreigner: Ayame (Koga's childhood love interest), and Akitoki Hojo (an ancestor of one Kagome's classmates) only appear in the anime.
  • Can't Hold His Liquor: When Miroku takes a poison that will make him immune to pain, Inuyasha lies and tells Kagome his weakened state is due to this after he swore to Miroku he wouldn't tell anyone.
  • Can't Live Without You: According to Byakuya, even if the other detachments had survived, they would have perished when Naraku was destroyed anyway.
  • Catchphrase Interruptus: Talking about his infamous question:
    Sango: After all, she's the one you asked to bear your child.
    Miroku: Well, it's something I always say when I meet a girl.
    Sango: You haven't said it to me though.
    Miroku: Forgive me, Sango! Will you...
    Sango: You don't have to say it!
  • Cats Are Mean: A rather impressive filler arc showcased some cat demons as this.
  • Changed My Jumper: Kagome traveling through Feudal Japan in her school uniform with a very short skirt.
  • Changing Clothes Is a Free Action: Played straight by Sango at least once in the anime where she changes from her normal clothes to her armor in a second, while leaping. Usually she averts it though, either having some time to change, fighting in her kimono or already wearing her armor since the beginning.
  • Character in the Logo: One of the series logos shows Inuyasha's silhouette leaping over the letters.
  • Characterization Marches On:
    • This is what happened to the smiling, talkative Sesshomaru. Lampshaded briefly in the manga, however. In the early days, his smiles were usually only sadistic. Later on in the manga, once Sesshomaru's unsmiling, taciturn personality is established, Jaken does briefly observe that Sesshomaru only smiles when he's in a killing mood.
    • Jaken also got this. His first appearance has him roast a pack of demons and be a generally competent advisor. A few appearances later, he's firmly settled into the Bumbling Sidekick Butt-Monkey role.
    • This is the only explanation for Koga. He starts out as a straight up villain, setting his wolves on Rin's village and killing her, kidnapping Kagome and threatening to kill Shippou. After a brief arc, he mellows out into an Anti-Hero rival to the main character and no mention of this previous deeds is ever made.
  • Chastity Couple: Basically what Miroku and Sango become after the proposal and before their marriage.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Magatsuhi is first introduced in episode 26 (in Japanese, at least), despite not actually showing his hand for another 158 episodes.
  • The Chessmaster: The Shikon Jewel manipulated everyone from the beginning. Including Naraku, so he would take the place of the youkai inside, and tried to manipulate Kagome into making a selfish wish, which would condemn her to take Midoriko's place.
  • The Chew Toy:
  • Child Soldier: Sango has been a professional demon hunter since she was at least eleven.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Miroku is able to behave himself when the situation calls for it.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Kagome, although it's Inuyasha who ends up doing the saving most of the time.
  • Clothing Damage: Kagura is especially prone to this, usually in order to provide excuses to show off the identifying spider-shaped scar on her back.
  • Cock Fight: Happens every time Inuyasha and Koga meet.
  • Color Failure: When Shima claims that she has already given herself to Miroku; he, Sango and the youkai Nushi (who Shima is promised to marry) all experience this.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Miroku shows signs of this in his fight with Sango, tripping her with his staff so she'll lose Hiraikotsu. He's reminded painfully she has other weapons.
  • Combination Attack: The anime made up one for the films and a filler mini-arc involving Kagome's arrows and one of Inuyasha's special attacks combining together for impressive results. This doesn't actually make much sense because Kagome's arrows purify youki which is exactly what Inuyasha's attacks are made of, but it's not something that ever crops up in the manga.
  • Comedic Sociopathy: Where to begin? Kagome's abuse of Inuyasha, Sango's abuse of Miroku, Inuyasha's abuse of Shippo, Inuyasha and Miroku's abuse of each other, and Sesshomaru's abuse of Jaken are the more regular instances.
  • Comic-Book Time: While the manga lasted for 12 years, the whole story happens in barely one year, not taking into account the three-year Time Skip at the end.
  • Compressed Adaptation: The last season of the anime, where about 10-20 chapters were compressed into each of 24 episodes.
  • The Constant: The Sacred Tree and Bone Eater's Well. To the extent that, when the Bone Eater's Well disappears in the Final Battle, it's seen as a very, very bad sign by everyone on both sides of the well.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: Everyone in Inuyasha's group (except for Kagome who has a living mother), and the two humans who end up in Sesshomaru's group are an orphan and Self-Made Orphan.
  • Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: Inuyasha did this at one time and was almost sucked into the Wind Tunnel for his troubles.
  • Cool, Clear Water: None of the character seem to worry about how safe the water is to drink unless it's because a dangerous Youkai might be lurking there waiting to pounce on unwary drinkers... despite the story being set during a time of rampant war, death and disease.
  • Cool Sword: Tessaiga, Tenseiga, Tokijin, Sou'unga, Bakusaiga.
  • Cooldown Hug: In the final episode of the (first) anime, when Inuyasha was turning into full youkai, Kagome's hug stopped the transformation. Justified in that she's in fact purifying the corrupt Shikon shard he was using.
  • The Corrupter:
    • Naraku's favorite tactics are those that involve messing with his enemies' hearts.
    • The Shikon Jewel. Of the entire franchise. It manipulates and corrupts everything around, including Naraku.
  • Counter-Attack: The Backlash Wave.
  • Counterpart Artifacts: The title character bears the sword Tessaiga which can kill 100 demons/yokai at a time. His brother Sesshomaru uses the sword Tenseiga, which can't harm living beings (but can kill underworld creatures) and can bring creatures back to life. Each sword was created from one of the fangs of their demon father.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Sango habitually carries a backup weapon, a hidden backup backup weapon, and a considerable assortment of poisons designed for use against demons. She rarely has to use more than Hiraikotsu and maybe her short sword, but when Miroku has to subdue her while she's under the control of a demon salamander, he gains a new and firsthand appreciation for just how scary an opponent she can be.
  • Creature-Hunter Organization: There used to be a group of people dedicated to exterminate the Youkai who were causing mayhem in the villages. During a gory attack orchestrated by Naraku, all of them except two were killed. The two survivors are Sango and her brother Kohaku.
  • Creepy Centipedes: Mistress Centipede is the first and foremost instance, but generic giant centipede monsters turn out to be one of the most commonly-encountered and easily-dispatched types of mook.
  • Cry into Chest:
    • Sango finally breaks down crying into Kagome's chest releasing all her heartache when the group forgive her for betraying them.
    • Kagome does this to Inuyasha a lot. It usually freaks him out somewhat.
  • Curse: The Kazaana/Wind Tunnel/Air Rip is a Hereditary Curse.
  • Cursed with Awesome: The Wind Tunnel in Miroku's right hand is a curse that was placed on his grandfather and passed down to him. The tunnel is basically a one-way dimensional gateway with the force of a black hole. Even the most powerful of youkai seem to be unable to escape it if drawn inside. However, Miroku can only control it by wrapping his hand in certain special beads, and as Naraku created it, he has also created a counter for it: a wasp-like creature called Saimyosho that contain a poison that will cause Miroku intense pain and eventually death if he draws them in. Even when not in use, the Wind Tunnel is slowly growing ever larger, until the day it'll consume Miroku and everything around him in a fair-sized Sphere of Destruction. The only way to get rid of the Wind Tunnel permanently is to kill Naraku.
  • Cute Clumsy Guy: Akitoki Hojou. Also a Dogged Nice Guy towards Kagome, like one of his descendants.
  • Cut Short: The anime initially ended just over half-way through the manga and there was nothing more for several years until the manga ended. This was finally subverted when a wrap-up series The Final Act was produced to conclude the anime, although it heavily truncated the story to try and fit over 200 chapters into 26 episodes.
  • Damaged Soul: Kikyo only has one part of her soul since Kagome has most of it. Which also means that Kagome's soul is missing a piece, but her soul is depicted as so unusually large and potent that it's not enough to notice.
  • Damsel in Distress: The anime likes putting the female characters in distress much more than the manga does, especially Kagome and Rin. In the manga, however, Kagome's last true kidnapping was by the hands of the baby. After that she becomes a full-on Action Girl, saves Kikyo's life, defeats Naraku alone while burning in the flames of Hell, gets her ultimate weapon and her last part of Character Development after facing the shadows of her heart before ultimately killing Naraku and the Shikon Jewel. Rin isn't really kidnapped much, given the length of the manga, but the final time she's kidnapped lasts for quite a few chapters since it's the final battle.
  • Dark Action Girl: Kagura (starts off this way), Tsubaki, Jakotsu (or so he thinks), Princess Abi, Mistress Centipede, Yura, Kaguya
  • Dark and Troubled Past:
    • Inuyasha was shunned by humans and hunted by youkai for being a hanyou (his half-brother hate him for that same reason), lost his mother early in his life and spent the rest alone, then he fell in love with Kikyo who betrayed him (or so he thought) and was sealed for fifty years.
    • Miroku witnessed his father fall victim to his curse when he was a little kid, watching him being consumed by his hand only leaving a big crater afterwards, and grew up knowing that that would be his fate one day.
  • Darkest Hour:
    • Sango and Miroku waiting for the Wind Tunnel to absorb them while their despair consumes the light within the Shikon Jewel leaving it in darkness.
    • Sesshomaru's darkest hour occurs when he finally learns the truth about Tenseiga's origins and the real reason why he was given Meidou Zangetsuha, resulting in him believing that his father wanted Inuyasha to kill him to get the perfected technique back to Tessaiga. His Heroic BSoD is so overwhelming that even Myoga is desperate to help him.
    • Inuyasha is tricked into thinking he murdered Kagome in his blood rage. This breaks him down so completely that he gives into his despair and demon blood.
  • Date Peepers: Every time Inuyasha/Kagome or Miroku/Sango have any romantic moments, the rest of the group will be either spying or eavesdropping.
  • Death Equals Emotion: Kanna starts showing that she actually has emotions and cared for Kagura just a little bit before her death.
  • Death Glare: Sesshomaru. Early in the manga, he scares off a pack of wolves with his glare alone. Later on, he's badly injured to such an unusual degree that Kagome and Shippou worry about it and discuss healing him. His glare sends both of them scurrying behind Inuyasha for protection.
  • Death is Cheap: Ask Kikyo... or Kohaku... or Rin. The series does try not to take it too far: before he could master Tenseiga's Meidou Zangetsuha, Sesshomaru had to learn that even Tenseiga's ability to revive the dead has its limits, since he couldn't properly appreciate the value of the lives of others as long as he assumed he could simply bring them back. However, the lesson is rather undermined when Sesshomaru's mother revives Rin a second time anyway.
  • Death of the Hypotenuse: The Inuyasha - Kikyo - Kagome love triangle is finally broken when Kikyo dies for good, and she ends up perishing peacefully in Inuyasha's arms.
  • Declaration of Protection: Inuyasha to Kagome:
    Inuyasha: Shut up! I'm saying I'll protect you!
  • Deliberate Injury Gambit: Inuyasha lets Sesshomaru impale him through the chest, taking advantage of the moment and ripping off his older brother’s arm to get Tessaiga back.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance: Every time Kagome talks about her relationships from the past era to her present-day classmates, they assume the worst. Every episode they're in, they urge her to abandon the "violent and abusive thug" feudal-era Inuyasha in favor of the much nicer, present-day ideal boyfriend Hojo.
  • Depraved Homosexual: Jakotsu. He's Affably Evil enough to soften the effect a little, but still pretty depraved. He's also the only character to ever use the word 'sexy', at least in the anime.
  • Designated Girl Fight: Subverted. When the Inu-tachi plus Koga face the Band of Seven, Sango ends up fighting Jakotsu, much to his chagrin.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: Kikyo in Inuyasha's arms. It's worth mentioning that Naraku explicitly tried to invoke this, in a twisted Yandere fashion. (He was, as usual, the reason she was dying in the first place.)
  • Digital Destruction:
    • The first two volumes of the 2020 North American Blu-ray sets feature an odd frame-skipping issue that makes some panning shots look jittery.
    • Inuyasha The Movie 2: The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass: The English 5.1 track on the Blu-ray accidentally uses a slightly unpolished earlier cut of the dubnote  instead of the finalized version from all previous physical and digital releasesnote .
  • Dispel Magic: Myoga the Flea has an odd version of this; he can break binding spells on people because if he bites you, no amount of magic will prevent you from swatting him.
  • Distress Ball A few times picked up by Sango as a means to provide Miroku with a heroic moment and/or opportunity to show his devotion.
  • Doom It Yourself: In one of the filler episodes, Inuyasha accidentally damages the handlebar to Kagome's new bicycle. While she goes to school, he volunteers to fix it. Given his lack of knowledge on bicycles - or anything else from the modern era for that matter - things quickly get out of hand, and by the time Kagome gets home, the bike is nothing but a mangled ruin.
  • Do You Want to Copulate?: When Kagome is temporarily staying away from the feudal era, Shippo shapeshifts into her to tease Inuyasha. Being a kid, he doesn't have much subtlety:
    "Kagome": I could lie with you if you like!
  • Dramatic Drop: Played for Laughs. When Kagome asks Sango, who's cleaning Hiraikotsu, if she's in love with Miroku (more like states it), Sango drops the weapon in shock and breaks the floor.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: Despite being a very powerful incarnation, Hakudoshi is brought down quickly by Miroku' Wind Tunnel once he's abandoned by Naraku.
  • Dude, She's Like in a Coma: Ironically, Sango kissed Miroku while he was unconscious.
  • Dumbass Has a Point: Considering how Jaken only sees Rin as a bothersome and clueless kid, this would count when she's the one to point out to him that Kagura is possibly in love with Sesshomaru, something he completely dismisses.
  • Dynamic Entry: Happens several times. One example consists of Kagome, Miroku and Sango being saved from Mukotsu by a clawed hand slicing into Mukotsu's body signify the arrival of - to Kagome's shock - Sesshomaru rather than Inuyasha.
  • Dysfunction Junction: Of the group of five, at least three of them are severely broken emotionally, with huge trust issues, due to Dark And Troubled Pasts.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: After everything the main characters went through, almost all of them got a happy ending. Miroku and Sango are Happily Married and have three kids; Shippo is learning to get better with his powers; Kohaku, accompanied by Kirara, is atoning by helping other people; Rin is staying with Kaede and is often visited by Sesshomaru; and even though they were separated for three years, Kagome and Inuyasha are reunited at the end.
  • Easily Forgiven: Koga and his tribe murder a whole village of innocent people, and none of Inuyasha's team seem to mind. While Koga is a rival for Kagome's affection, this is played for laughs and he often works together with the team. The murders he committed are never brought by them in the entire series, although one filler episode in the anime acknowledged it and revealed Koga stopped attacking humans.
  • Eat Me: Naraku lets Moryomaru absorb him so he could get close to Akago and consume both of them from the inside.
  • Embarrassing Cover Up: The excuses for why Kagome is missing so much school are usually provided by her grandfather and consist of a cavalcade of increasingly implausible health ailments, many of them more common to the elderly than to a teenage girl (it's implied that Grandpa is in fact abusing it to get health goods for himself). Kagome inevitably finds it very embarrassing when she goes back to school and is questioned by her friends about her latest illness.
  • Enemy Within: Inuyasha and his Youkai blood. Fortunately he was able to fix the problem. Unfortunately there are other ways of unleashing it, and Naraku knows about it.
  • Episode Title Card: Always read aloud by Inuyasha himself.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas:
    • Princess Abi joins Naraku to save her dying mother.
    • A female bone-youkai stole Sango's weapon to try and save her father.
    • While it's hard to tell how he and his mother feel about each other, a significant part of Sesshomaru's character development involved getting over his daddy issues which required her help.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Bankotsu, the utterly evil leader of the Band of Seven whose only stated desire is to kill as many people as he possibly can, is still completely disgusted by Renkotsu's greed and selfishness, eventually laying a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on himafter Renkotsu betrays and kills Jakotsu to steal his jewel shard.
    Renkotsu: Tell me what's the difference! How is what I've done any different than what you're doing right now?!
    Bankotsu: The difference is I would never betray my friends.
  • Even the Guys Want Him: Inuyasha not only is in the middle of a Love Triangle with Kagome and Kikyo, but Villainous Crossdresser Jakotsu is explicitly and obsessively in love with him. Jakotsu was also attracted to Sesshomaru and Miroku, but concluded that he preferred Inuyasha.
  • Everyone Can See It: Everyone could see Inuyasha and Kagome liked each other since the beginning. Her brother Sota was surprised to find out that they hadn't yet admitted it. Everyone could also see Sango liked Miroku, except for Inuyasha.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: At one point, Naraku is utterly confused over the fact that, no matter what he makes Kohaku do, Sango simply will not kill him. Much later, he also remarks that the simple fact that Inuyasha's group would show mercy to Kanna, who had been sent on a Suicide Mission against them, actually makes him feel sick.
  • Evil Desires Innocence: There once was a badly injured bandit named Onigumo, who was being cared for by a kind and gentle Miko named Kikyo. Onigumo lusted after Kikyo, and offered himself up to the demons of the area in exchange for the ability to pursue her. Thus was born Naraku, who proceeded to pit Inu-Yasha and Kikyo against each other, since she had given her love to the half-demon. Later on he finds that he cannot harm a resurrected Kikyo, as Onigumo's heart is still present within him, and still yearning for Kikyo.
  • Evil Evolves: Tessaiga, though just demonic and not technically evil, qualifies as well late in the series, absorbing power from the demons it slays.
  • Evil Tainted the Place: After the mortally-wounded bandit Onigumo sold his soul and his body to become Naraku, the spot where he formerly lay was left corrupted, and even fifty years later, nothing grows there, even as moss has overrun the rest of the cave.
  • Evolving Weapon:
    • Inuyasha's sword, Tessaiga, explicitly has the ability to get stronger by killing things and gaining related abilities. It has to be a strong opponent though. After mastering the Backlash Wave, all of the Tessaiga upgrades were based on this, one way or another.
    • Bankotsu had a weapon called Banryu that gained demonic power after killing 1000 humans and 1000 demons.
  • Excalibur in the Rust: In the hands of almost anyone except Inuyasha, Tessaiga looks like a katana that has seen better days. When Inuyasha weilds it, the blade takes its true form.
  • Expy: Rumiko Takahashi admitted that the romance between Inuyasha and Kagome was the romance she had originally intended to write between Ranma and Akane from Ranma ½.
  • Extra-Long Episode: The show has three doube-length episodes that would be split into two-parters marked as "Part I/Part II" later: "The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru", "The Tragic Love Song Of Destiny", and the original finale "The Bond Between Them, Use The Sacred Jewel Shard!". (The full-length versions would be used for home media and streaming.)
  • Eye Colour Change: When Inuyasha and Sesshomaru transform, the sclera of their eyes turn red and their irises blue.
  • Eye Scream: In the manga, Sesshomaru stabs Inuyasha's right eye in order to get the black pearl that's hidden there, a portal to his father's grave.
  • Face Fault: Inuyasha has a Restraining Bolt necklace forced on him by Kaede early on, which causes him to do this whenever Kagome gives the command ("Osuwari" in the original, "Sit boy!" in the English dub).
  • Face Stealer: Muso, Naraku's sixth spawn, who was born without a face and is desperately trying to find one for himself.
  • Facial Markings: Sesshomaru and his mother have them. So does Inuyasha when he's a full demon.
  • The Fair Folk: The demons tend to be otherworldly and ruthless. Some are very ugly, others very beautiful. It's stated that the most powerful and dangerous ones are those that look like humans. This actually plays into Japanese culture; the beings referred to in Japan as Youkai and Obake would probably be considered more Fey than Demons by Western standards.
  • Family Theme Naming: The three named characters from the demon slayers' village — Sango, her younger brother Kohaku, and their pet Kirara — all have names referring to semi-precious stones (coral, amber and mica, respectively). Additionally, Kikyo and her younger sister Kaede both have names that begin with K and refer to plants (bellflower and maple). Also Kagome and Souta could be taken to mean Bamboo and young grass respectively.
  • Fanservice: Kagome does seem in many shots to be almost entirely made up of very shapely legs, though we never see up her skirt. Twice, Kagome's breasts were bared though this is edited for the American releases as is the short shot of Shippo disrobing for a dip in an onsen. Also, Sango's Taijiya uniform is very form fitting. All of the main girls have been subject to nude scenes shortly after their introduction. Kagura's top gets ripped off numerous times. Never mind the extreme frequency with which Inuyasha, Miroku and other male characters go shirtless.
  • Fantastic Racism: Humans and demons don't get along very well, even when they aren't straight-up killing each other. When a human and a demon fall in love, they are met with a great deal of discrimination.
  • Fast-Forward to Reunion: Inuyasha and Kagome are separated after the final battle when the well stops working. We get a Time Skip of 3 years and they are reunited for good.
  • Fate Worse than Death: Midoriko and the composite youkai, having to battle each other forever inside the Shikon Jewel.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Naraku acts refined and regal even while talking about how he killed or is about to kill someone. After his upgrade at Mount Hakurei, he drops it completely in favor of being a Smug Super.
  • Feel No Pain:
    • Yakurou Dokusen offers a "medicine" to Miroku so he'll stop feeling pain everytime he sucks poison into his curse but it won't cure the shouki wounds that are killing him. He takes it.
    • Shikon shards in the body will make it insensitive to pain no matter how severe the injuries are, which is how, for example, Sango manages to go toe-to-toe with Inuyasha in her first appearance despite being grievously injured.
  • Field Power Effect: The one night of the month half-demons lose their powers.
  • Final Battle: The series' final battle takes place when the heros plus Sesshomaru's group go inside Naraku after he transforms into a giant, floating spider.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: The main group was formed because all the members (except Shippo) share a common goal, and at first they were hostile to each other. Inuyasha and Kagome are forced to work together to find the Shikon shards, they let Miroku join after learning they share a common enemy and Sango joins for the same reason. They warm up to each other and end up being best friends since they don't really have anyone else.
  • Fire Keeps It Dead: In the first chapter a mortally wounded Kikyo has herself cremated with the Shikon Jewel so she can take it to the afterlife with her and keep it out of the demons' hands. Unfortunately she didn't count on her reincarnation as Kagome five centuries later.
  • First Love: Kikyo is this for Inuyasha, he loves her and feels he failed her, feeling responsible for her.
  • First-Name Basis:
    • Inuyasha starts to call Kagome by name after defeating Yura. Miroku jumps directly to first name basis with no honorifics with Sango, the only woman he addresses in such a fashion.
    • Averted by Sango, who never uses Miroku's name at all, always calling him "Houshi-sama" even after she's promised to marry him. (This and Miroku's use of yobisute mentioned above are distinctions not carried over into the English dub due to the difficulty of translating them effectively.)
  • Florence Nightingale Effect: How Onigumo falls in love with Kikyo.
  • Follow the Chaos: Naraku, along with his "stink", also tends to leave behind trails of dead bodies everywhere he goes
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Plays with this. Kagome isn't flighty per se, but often forgets to bring her homework to class, only for Sota to pick up the slack. Then again, considering she's spending most of her time in the Feudal Era, she can hardly be blamed for losing focus on her supposed off days.
  • For the Evulz: If Naraku isn't gathering jewel shards or working on his next Evil Plan to off Inuyasha and his pals, he'll be ruining the lives of anyone and everyone he comes across just because he can.
  • The Force Is Strong with This One: Most of the main characters are able to detect youki.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • A brilliantly blatant yet easy-to-miss example occurs when Naraku manipulates Sango into stealing Tessaiga for him. He is able to hold it and briefly uses it against her. Amidst the ensuing drama, the audience isn't likely to remember that said sword was suppossed to have a demon-repelling barrier around it that should've left a full demon like Naraku with some ugly burns on his hand... this is explained when we learn that Naraku isn't a full demon at all...
    • Another moment occurs as a result of the same incident. Sango tells Inuyasha's group that they can't trust her because, if Naraku attempts to use the same tactic on her in the future (making her choose between friends and a loved one), she'll make the same decision all over again. Right at the end of the manga, Naraku attempts what Sango feared and does indeed try to repeat the incident. This time, it's a choice between Rin's life and Miroku's life and, as warned, Sango does indeed make the same decision again: attempting to kill Rin to save Miroku.
    • Another throwaway comment, this time by Totosai. When Inuyasha first masters the Kaze no Kizu while fighting Sesshomaru and it's revealed at the same time that Tenseiga has chosen Sesshomaru as its true master, Totosai mutters to himself "Whether Tenseiga lives or dies will depend on Sesshomaru's heart". It takes hindsight to show us just how significant that statement proved to be.
    • After just getting Tessaiga but still being unable to make it transform against Sesshomaru, Inuyasha complains to Myoga about how useless it is, to which Myoga responds that it's a memento from his father and to never let go of it.
    • In the manga, the fact that there is more to the Jewel and that it seems and that it appears to be manipulating a lot of what has happened is introduced very early (basically along with Sango). Magatsuhi is also mentioned at this time and this actually also happens in the anime, but it's Lost in Translation.
    • The Inu no Taishou left two swords made from his fangs, one for each of his sons, but every time his corpse is shown it's missing only one fang. Turns out there was only one sword made from his fang: Tessaiga, which was later split up in two to create Tenseiga.
  • Foul Medicine: When Kagome gets sick, Inu Yasha grabs a bunch of ingredients and starts cooking them in a pot. The resulting concoction smells foul, something that Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all agree on. However, it does manage to cure Kagome's illness. Inu Yasha then states that the concoction is something his mother used to make for him when he was sick as a small child, which is why he had so much faith in it.
  • The Four Gods: A Quirky Miniboss Squad in one of the late filler arcs (first half of the anime's sixth season) is a squad of four Demon Ninjas based on them; Byakko of the Snow (Byakko the White Tiger), Genbu of the Darkness (Genbu the Black Turtle), Seiryuu of the Moon (Seiryuu the Azure Dragon), and Suzaku of the Flower (Suzaku the Vermillion Phoenix).
  • Freakiness Shame:
    Kagome Higurashi: Dog ears? I think I wanna... Touch 'em! [tweak tweak]
    • And her mom follows suit the instant she sees him. "Are these... real?" [tweak tweak] Also note her little brother Sota squealing, "Me next! Me next!"
    • Jakotsu prefers human Inuyasha, but he does want to keep his dog ears as a trophy.
    • Miroku and Sango's twin daughters love them too.
  • Free-Sample Plot Coupon: Downplayed. Kagome already has the Shikon jewel inside her at the start of the series, but after some unsavory events it is fragmented into several pieces, scattered through Feudal Japan. Thus the objective is to retrieve them, and the first of them is held by a very powerful opponent, negating the trope entirely.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: Shampoo is seen jogging briefly in episode 128 of Inuyasha "Battle Against the Dried-Up Demons at the Cultural Festival.

    G-L 

  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man:
    • After Miroku hallucinates about the Wind Tunnel absorbing him, Inuyasha has to hit him to get him out of the shock.
    • At one point, Inuyasha punches himself in the face in an attempt to get rid of Magatsuhi, who is possessing him.
  • Go Out with a Smile: Several instances.
    • Kikyo happily smiles at Inuyasha before her definitive death.
    • Kagura is happy that Sesshomaru went specifically to see her and she smiles as she fades away.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Inuyasha.
  • Good Parents: Mama Higurashi. Also Inuyasha's mother. She loved him very much and tried what she could to protect him. Insulting her memory cost Sesshomaru an arm.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Scars in the shape of a spider on one back mark incarnations of Naraku; it's a taint that he can't get away from because of the part of him that's Onigumo.
  • Gotta Catch 'Em All: Find all the Shikon shards, especially before Naraku does.
  • Great White Feline:
    • Byakko is based on the White Tiger of the West fitting with Hoshiyomi's four ninja underlings being based on the Four Symbols from Chinese mythology.
    • Like Byakko, Jūra's design is based on the White Tiger of the West and is part of a team based on the Four Symbols. He has fangs, cat-like eyes and white-and-black striped hair.
  • Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Inuyasha and Kagome. Subverted by Miroku and Sango, as both of them have attacks for long (Hiraikotsu and Wind Tunnel) and short (Sango's sword and Miroku's staff) range.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: The title character. He was the result a relationship between an Inu yokai and a human princess.
  • Handicapped Badass: Sesshomaru lost his left arm fighting Inuyasha in his first appearance. He still was one of the most powerful characters in the series. Also, while Kikyo is among the strongest characters in the show, her frail artificial body heavily handicaps her; smacking her hard enough or stealing her souls back is often enough to render her helpless.
  • Happily Married: In the ending, Miroku and Sango, and probably Inuyasha and Kagome too.
  • He Will Not Cry, so I Cry for Him: Jaken does this for Sesshomaru when Rin dies.
  • Head Pet: Inverted. When Shippo travels on Kirara, he usually does it on her head.
  • Healing Factor: Everyone with youkai blood. Sesshomaru ups this to eleven later on in the series, which results in him being able to regenerate his missing left arm.
  • Healing Shiv: Sesshomaru's sword Tenseiga can revive the dead by cutting down the pallbearers of the afterlife as they come to collect the dead person's soul. However, as is eventually revealed under tragic circumstances, people can be revived in this manner only once.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Kagura. She first betrays Naraku to help Hakudoshi, but then she betrays both to save Kohaku's life. She even gets offered a spot with Inuyasha's group, but she declines. This offer may have saved her life. Temporarily.
  • Hero of Another Story:Inuyasha and Sessomaru's late father is spoken of with great reverence, and for good reason. Not only does the "Dog General" dwarf his sons in his true form, in his time he fought and defeated numerous epic foes, and he also had an equally epic and tragic romance with a beautiful human princess—Inuyasha's mother.
  • Hero Stole My Bike: Miroku stole Kagome's bike and the Shikon Shard she carried when they first met.
  • High on Catnip: In a filler episode, a villain incapacitates Kirara with catnip.
  • Hijacked by Ganon: Nearly every antagonist the Inu-tachi face is being manipulated by, working for, or a direct detachment of Naraku himself.
  • Hime Cut: Many, notably Kikyo (benevolent priestess) and Sango (Yamato Nadeshiko); interestingly, Sango's hairstyle fits the three characteristics better when she's in casual attire because Kikyo uses her sidelocks to create hair loops. Inuyasha's mother also had one, being a hime herself.
  • Hitchhiker Heroes: It starts with only Kagome and Inuyasha looking for shards, after some time they encounter Shippo who tags along, a little after that Miroku joins up, and finally after that, Sango and Kirara also join them.
  • Hitodama Light: Kikyo is surrounded by the blue spheres of human souls at many times to sustain her resurrected body.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Taigokumaru picks the wrong time to mouth off about his son Tsukuyomaru's death to Shiori, his granddaughter. Guess what happens.
  • Hostage for MacGuffin: In Episode 9, Kagome is kidnapped by the Thunder brothers. She convinces them to let her live to in order to force Inuyasha to trade the jewel shards for her, but this is a bluff as Inuyasha's relationship at the time was still somewhat antagonistic. That leads to this exchange:
    Inuyasha: Let me get this straight, you and I are supposed are supposed to be lovers?
    Kagome: This is no time to get all shy!
    Inuyasha: You actually think I'd hand over the jewel shards as a ransom to get you back?!
    Kagome: Of course you would! Cause that's what a lover would do!
  • Homage: Doesn't the whole plot around how only the "right" person can pull the sword Tessaiga from the place it stands remind people a lot of King Arthur?
  • Home Sweet Home: Kaede's village, all the protagonists settle down there at the end.
  • Hot Guy, Ugly Wife: Manten and Hiten's father was a good-looking, humanoid youkai while their mother was a reptile-like youkai.
  • How Do I Shot Web?: It takes quite some time for Inuyasha to master the Wind Scar.
  • Human Popsicle: Inuyasha, sealed to a tree by Kikyo's arrow for 50 years.
  • Human Shield: Naraku uses Rin as a shield while prompts Sango to kill him.
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters: As bad as the demons can get, humans are often shown to be just as bad, if not worse:
    • The entire series was kicked off when Onigumo, a crippled bandit, voluntarily sacrificed his humanity to yokai to become Naraku, the Big Bad, all to acquire the Shikon Jewel and sate his lust for Kikyo. Even before he became Naraku, Onigumo was far from a Nice Guy; the actions of Muso, Naraku's sixth detachment and first attempt to purge purge Onigumo from himself, reveal that he was a hedonistic psychopath who killed whoever and whenever he wanted.
    • The moth demon Gatenmaru leads a group of human bandits. While they aren't initially aware that he's a demon, when the truth comes out, they're even more eager to work for him and commit atrocities than they were before, helping him slaughter an entire village and allowing him to eat the captured women alive while making a helpless, All Webbed Up Inuyasha and Miroku watch. Inuyasha succumbing to his Superpowered Evil Side and slaughtering them in an Ax-Crazy rage is completely well-deserved.
    • In the film Inuyasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island there is an island where benign humans and benign demons have lived together, and had a lot of half-demons as offspring. They have the island shielded by a magical barrier from the outside world, because they knew that their children would be discriminated against both by demons and by humans.
    • In Inuyasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler, three youkai say that humans are the world's most selfish creatures, and that their greed for power knows no bounds. The demonic sword So'unga seeks only humans as allies, because it is believed that they quickly fall to evil. Later in the film, however, it is inverted when Inuyasha explains that humans, because they are selfish and power-hungry, do not give up easily when it comes to fighting for their friends. Ironically, if humans do not use such demonic weapons as So'unga, they can not do much against youkai.
  • Hybrid Power: Inuyasha has a lot of demonic power from his father, but his human side has certain advantages of its own. Due to his incredibly powerful father he has more power than many demons, and his human side grants him use of the sword forged from his father's fang, which lets him take out any demons his own powers can't take. Addtionally, Inuyasha cannot be purified into oblivion which becomes useful when up against a monk gone astray in an entirely different way from Miroku.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Miroku: "What a terrible guy, to trick girls with a fake medicine." Inuyasha and Kagome in episode 90 when trying to persuade Sota to confess his feelings to his crush "If he loves her, he should just come out and say so. Yeah definitely!"
  • I Am Not Weasel: A Running Gag in the series is that a lot of creatures will be persistently called a tanuki, especially Shippo.
  • I Am Your Opponent: Used several times by Inuyasha and Sango; inverted by Naraku.
  • I Can Still Fight!: Mainly Inuyasha and Sango. Sesshomaru, too, at one point - although he manages to avoid these exact words, he still ends up in an argument with Inuyasha over whether he should be on the battlefield at all.
  • I Choose to Stay: After finishing her education, Kagome opts to remain in the past with Inuyasha.
  • I Die Free: Kagura's only desire is to be free but doesn't want to die to get it so she does everything in her power to get Naraku killed without him knowing. When she chooses Kohaku's life before her own and gets impaled by Naraku for her troubles, she realizes that dying was the only way to be free. (Further confirmed by Byakuya who mentions that the detachments would die anyway when Naraku is killed).
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Basically every time Sango encounters brainwashed!Kohaku.
  • I Never Told You My Name: In the Hoshiyomi filler arc, demons manage to get a photo of three of Kagome's friends from her backpack, and use it to create puppets of them in order to trick Kagome and Hojo into handing over the magic blade that their master needs. Kagome is suspicious to begin with, but her suspicions are confirmed when one of the three calls her by her name - which she hadn't mentioned to them.
  • I Shall Taunt You: Mouryoumaru tries to goad Inuyasha into getting so angry that he does something stupid by insulting Kagura's death. To everyone's shock (including Mouryoumaru's) the one who flies into an Unstoppable Rage is actually Sesshomaru instead, who becomes so upset that he breaks Tokijin and puts his own life in danger.
  • I Take Offense to That Last One: Inuyasha called Miroku a "fake lechering monk" once. His response? "I may be a lecher, but how dare you call me a fake!
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: This is Miroku's reaction when Takeda proposes marriage to Sango, much to Kagome's frustration.
  • I Was Just Passing Through: Sesshomaru's favorite excuse whenever he helps the heroes.
  • Idiot Ball: Shippo, in episode 50, unintentionally provokes Inuyasha into using the Tessaiga which was hard to use after being reforged, while for once he was trying to be pragmatic and use his claws against Kagura's weak demons prior to the big slip of the tongue.
  • If I Can't Have You…: Naraku with Kikyo. He tricks Kikyo and Inuyasha into betraying each other, in hopes that he might be able to whisk the girl away after she's killed her former lover, but to much of his dismay she decides to choose death. Then when she's resurrected, he tries to kill her over and over again until he finally succeeds. He even wanted her to die in his arms, hoping that Inuyasha would be too late.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Happens several times in the manga, bad guys impaling good guys, good guys impaling bad guys. Brothers impaling each other.
    • Magatsuhi first impales Sesshomaru's only arm three times and later impales him twice through the chest.
    • Naraku imapaled Kagura. He was careful enough not to hurt her recently returned heart though.
  • Implied Love Interest: Sesshomaru and Kagura.
  • Impossibly Cool Clothes: The demon slayers' uniforms, plus Inuyasha's fire rat kimono.
  • In a Single Bound: Justified with Inuyasha and other youkais, not so much for humans.
  • In the Past, Everyone Will Be Famous: Subverted. When Inuyasha and Kagome meet a young samurai named Nobunaga, she immediately asks for his autograph excited to be meeting the famous Oda Nobunaga. It turns out he's Amari Nobunaga and is offended to be mistaken for that "idiot".
  • Incendiary Exponent: The first time Inuyasha turns into a human, he ends up having to fight a spider demon. So he pulls up a bunch of wooden grave markers amidst cries of blasphemy, sets them on fire, and then uses them as flaming javelins.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: The small "っ tsu" kana (which emphasizes the consonant that follows it) was mistaken as a full sized "つ (tsu)" kana by the translation team behind the manga and anime. The team didn't realize their mistake until it was already too late, leading Tessaiga to being called "Tetsusaiga" in all the official English translations. (For comparison, Sesshomaru's name also contains the small "tsu," but is never romanized as "Setsushoumaru.")
  • Infinity +1 Sword: By the end of the series, Tessaiga can generate huge energy blasts, reflect incoming energy attacks, launch a spray of adamantine spikes, cut through energy barriers, siphon demonic energy, and CREATE DIMENSIONAL PORTALS TO THE UNDERWORLD.
  • Interrupted Suicide: Inuyasha arrives just in the nick of time to stop Sango from killing her brother and committing suicide.
  • Interspecies Romance: Inuyasha, Shiori and Jinenji all have human mothers and Youkai fathers. And Inuyasha himself with Kagome and Kikyo.
  • Intoxication Ensues: Inuyasha: "I ain't drunk. And why are there two Kagomes?" On another occasion he ends following a butterfly and falling off a cliff.
  • Involuntary Shapeshifting: Inuyasha turns human during the night of the new moon. He also transforms into full youkai when in danger (and not having Tessaiga near to seal his blood) and when a very corrupt Shikon shard is nearby (and not having Kagome near to purify him).
  • Irony: Sesshomaru's mockery of both Inuyasha and their father for caring for humans, when he ends up caring for a little girl himself.
  • It Only Works Once: Tenseiga can revive the dead, but only once. A second one requires a trip to hell and a Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?, and that likewise will only work the one time.
  • It Was with You All Along: Totosai explains that Bakusaiga was this to Sesshomaru.
  • It's Personal: Everyone wants revenge against Naraku.
  • Jackass Genie: The Shikon Jewel. It's sentient and never grants the wishes of the people who use it, mostly just twisting it for it's goal of perpetuating it's existence.
    • Onigumo wished to have Kikyo's heart. Did not happen, and in fact he is absorbed in the Jewel with Kagome to replace the original demon and priestess trapped in the jewel.
    • Kikyo wished to see Inuyasha again. Kagome sees her again and brings the Jewel with her.
  • Jidaigeki: The story (while not in the present) takes place during the Sengoku Jidai.
  • Just a Kid: Lord Kagewaki: "The most skilled [slayers]? But I see here before me a young girl, and you even brought a small child".
  • Just Following Orders: Byakuya's excuse to Sesshomaru when he interferes with Sesshomaru's pursuit of Mouryoumaru is, "don't hate me, I'm just doing my job".
  • Karmic Death: Hakudoshi. Yeah, turns out Naraku had a lot more control over you than you thought...
  • Ki Manipulation: Most all the attacks Inuyasha does are ki attacks focused through his sword; he rarely uses it to actually cut anyone, aside from monster-like demons. This is eventually lampshaded by Sesshomaru, who cryptically advises his brother that he's put so many weird powers into the blade that he's forgotten what the point of a sword is (the point of the sword is to cut).
  • Killer Rabbit: Kirara. She's usually a very small and cute kitty with two tails but she can transform into a large saber-toothed cat with flames around her feet and tails, and in this form she's able to fly and carry up to three people on her back.
  • Knife Outline: When Inuyasha was trying to steal the Jewel from Kikyo, instead of killing him she decided to pin him like this to a tree.
  • Kryptonite Is Everywhere: Even though the Wind Tunnel is the most powerful (and destructive) weapon, Miroku rarely gets to use it since it's vulnerable to poison, and more often than not the foe they're fighting is poisonous. Naraku has the Saimyoshou (poisonous hell bees) exactly for this reason.
  • Ladykiller in Love: Miroku falls hard for Sango. He still flirts with any beautiful lady, though. He later regrets it after he nearly loses Sango in the process and tones it down a little.
  • Land Poor: The Higurashi family are a straight example of the Japanese version. They own a house with several outbuildings, a shrine and a huge tree in the back yard in downtown Tokyo, while being comfortably lower-middle class. Justification abounds, though. The Higurashi family has tended the shrine since Tokyo was a tiny fishing village (in fact, it's implied that the village grew up around the shrine). The house was built so the shrine caretaker wouldn't have to live in the shrine, which would be disrespectful. The outbuildings are mostly sheds and stores for tools and supplies needed to keep the shrine and grounds clean and pretty. The shrine's age and beauty make it both a popular tourist attraction and a popular site for weddings. Meaning that between the rents from bridal parties and the gift shop, the family does have a decent income, but most of it is plowed back into upkeep and repairs.
  • Lap Pillow: Inuyasha rests in Kagome's lap while he's poisoned during his human night.
  • Last Day of Normalcy: Kagome is introduced the day before her Dangerous 16th Birthday, listening to her grandfather tell the story of the Shikon Jewel with visible boredom and gives her gift of a "kappa's foot" to her cat after examining it with incredulity. It would not be long, however, before she would fall down the cursed well and find herself battling demons in feudal Japan.
  • Last Kiss: Inuyasha and Kikyo shared a kiss right before she died. Inuyasha and Kagome share one as well in case they don't survive the final battle.
  • Last of His Kind: Sango is the last surviving demon slayer. At least until Kohaku really gets better.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Inuyasha's preferred battle strategy.
  • Lonely Together: Inuyasha and Kikyo in the past. Both felt extremely alone and bonded over it.
  • Long Runner: The first anime was 167 episodes plus four movies, five in Japan. The Final Act added 26 episodes, for a grand TV total of 193. The manga started in 1996, and finally concluded in June 2008 with its 558th chapter. Overall the series ran for twelve years.
  • Lotus-Eater Machine: The Shikon Jewel makes Kagome believe she's living a normal life while she's trapped inside the jewel.
  • Love Dodecahedron: There are many romantic entaglements between the cast, leading to muptile love triangles.
    • Kagome alone is involved in at least four: she falls in love with Inuyasha, but he still pines over his first love, Kikyo. Despite that, he acts overly protective of Kagome after Koga declared his love for her. Unknown to both of them is Hojo, one of Kagome's classmates who's asked her out on dates at least twice. The anime adds Ayame, another wolf demon who had met Koga in the past and recieved a promise of marriage from him, something that had slipped his mind.
    • As stated, Inuyasha loved and still loves Kikyo, but he does devolop some romantic feelings for Kagome. What he didn't realize was that a bandit named Onigumo desired Kikyo for himself, leading to the eventual birth of Naraku who retains Onigumo's desires.
  • Love Epiphany: From volume 7 and onwards is where both Kagome and Inuyasha seem to acknowledge that they've fallen in love with each other, though they remain on the down-low about it. Kagome has a more official one later on when her jealousy over Inuyasha and Kikyo makes her admit to herself that she indeed loves him.
  • Love Triangle: Inuyasha was effectively engaged to Kikyo when she died and his relationship with Kagome was already well under way when Kikyo came back from the dead (shortly after Koga's entry into the storyline, Kagome and Inuyasha are a confirmed couple), making him honour-bound to both women and completely unable to choose between them. At one point he even admits to Miroku that he was hoping he could solve the problem by having them both (which would have been relatively common for a man in Japan's past, but modern-girl Kagome was definitely not thrilled by that suggestion). It doesn't help that Kagome is Kikyo reincarnated.
  • Loveable Rogue: Miroku doesn't have any problems with lying, cheating, conning, stealing, drinking, womanizing, etc. He's still one of the good guys and a Buddhist monk.
  • Lovecraftian Superpower: Naraku, who’s an amalgamation of thousands of youkai.
  • Loyal Phlebotinum: Several weapons.
    • Tessaiga initially appears to be this, then it seems to be averted when it's revealed Sesshomaru can use it as well, it's only the youkai-repelling barrier that stops him. Finally, it's confirmed during a Die or Fly test of worth when Sesshomaru deliberately steals Tessaiga's power to test its bond with Inuyasha only to find the power immediately flees back to Inuyasha at the first chance it gets.
    • Toukijin is so powerful and evil not even Totosai can approach it. Sesshomaru overcomes the blade's evil will easily and the sword obeys him loyally until the day it's destroyed.
    • Tenseiga is extremely loyal to Sesshomaru even though he doesn't want it at all. Even when he deliberately shatters the blade and discards it, the sword ends up reforging itself and landing back on the ground near Sesshomaru. The only reason Tenseiga is not a Clingy MacGuffin is because it can be physically separated from Sesshomaru. It just won't stay separated.
  • Luminescent Blush: Particularly Sango, but also Kagome and Inuyasha when things get a little too "romantic" between them.
  • Lunacy: Inuyasha loses his powers whenever the new moon is up.

    M-R 
  • Magically Regenerating Clothing: Characters' clothing get damaged and seem to magically be repaired later on. Justified for some characters like Inuyasha whose Robe of the Fire Rat fixes itself, and Sesshomaru's armor which fixes itself automatically through yokai magic.
  • Maligned Mixed Marriage: Shiori and Jinenji's parents definitely suffered this. Inuyasha's parents as well. Their love is often mentioned with contempt especially by Sesshomaru.
  • The Man Behind the Man: Near the end of the manga, it's implied that the Shikon Jewel manipulated Naraku in a bid to free itself while perpetuating the Vicious Cycle. The last chapter implies that the Shikon Jewel was the REAL Big Bad that Kagome was sent back in time to defeat.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Naraku loves to turn people against each other. And the Shikon Jewel itself to Naraku and practically everyone in the series.
  • Manly Tears: Inuyasha shed tears when Kagome, Sango and Miroku survived after thinking they had died. And later, he cried as he held a dying Kikyo in his arms.
  • Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: Kagome is a normal human teenage girl, while Inuyasha is a half demon who can lift boulders with one hand and take a sword through the chest without receiving any permanent injuries. He also has razor sharp claws on his fingers that cannot be retracted. While they never do get significantly intimate in the tv series or manga, it's not hard to imagine how this could cause some problems farther down the line as their relationship progresses.
  • Mantis Mating Meal: Miroku is once honey trapped by a praying mantis demon that pretends to be a princess of a destroyed state (it previously Killed and Replaced her) before attempting to eat him. He destroys her with his Wind Tunnel, but the barbs on her forearms catch the edges of the hole and injure it, causing the hole to widen.
  • Mars Needs Women: Demons and half-demons in the series have a general contempt for humans, yet numerous demon and half-demon characters are attracted to at least one of them, including Inu no Taisho(he did have a yokai wife before and had Sesshomaru with her), Inuyasha, and Koga.
  • Master of the Mixed Message: Miroku so very much. His proposal is infamous for this: first telling Sango she's a special woman to him but later saying he can't love her and she's only a friend to fight alongside with, and then culminating with asking her if she would live with him and bear his child after Naraku is defeated.
  • Mayfly–December Romance: Since youkai are Really 700 Years Old, any relationship between a human and a youkai. Curiously enough, in the three known relationships like this, the youkai died first. Somewhat justified by other youkai and humans alike viewing this as betrayal and trying to destroy all involved, which the youkai member stopped at the cost of their life (in two of the examples, anyway).
  • Meaningful Name: The series is rife with them.
    • Inuyasha himself, whose name means Dog-Yaksa. A yaksa is a spirit who in Buddhism serves a benevolent god that protects the righteous. Because Tessaiga is meant to be used for the protection of humans, Inuyasha's name suits him very well.
    • Naraku means "abyss", Tessaiga literally translates into "Iron Crushing Fang", Sesshomaru translates into something like "perfect killing circle" and Miroku is the Japanese name for the future Buddha.
    • Another very noticeable example is the entire Band of Seven, whose names all end with "-kotsu" (meaning "bone"), indicating their undead natures. The prefixes of their names are individually meaningful as well; for instance, the "ja-" in Jakotsu's name means "snake," a reference to his serpent-like Whip Sword (accordingly named "Jakotsu-to," "snake bone sword").
  • Memorial for the Antagonist: Kanna, in her last moments, refuses to march towards Inuyasha's gang to destroy them, as Naraku wants. He explodes her to smithereens, but a tiny shard of Kanna enters Kagome's eye; through that link, Kanna tells her that light can kill Naraku, taking revenge on him for killing her and Kagura. Inuyasha puts Kanna's mirror standing up with some rocks, as a memorial for her.
  • Men Don't Cry: Inuyasha says this to a crying Shippo when they think Kagome, Miroku and Sango have died. When it turns out they haven't, Inuyasha tries to hide his tears which Shippo is fast to point out. Sesshomaru also never cries, to the extent where Jaken will cry for him where necessary.
  • Merger of Souls:
    • Demons do this all the time, fusing together to make more powerful demons. The Shikon Jewel was created when a particularly large number of demons fused with a human to fight a priestess. After a long battle both souls fused and crystallized into the series' MacGuffin.
    • Naraku was created when the deranged and perverse thief (and Kikyo's Stalker with a Crush) Onigumo merged with thousands of demons. And at one point in order to obtain a stronger body, he perfoms a Kodoku spell: thousands of fierce demons fight inside a cave in a mountain, and the winner absorb and merge with the losers. Eventually Naraku ends up absorbing the surviving demon in himself.
  • Mistaken for Granite: A pair of statues guard the doorway to the underworld.
  • Mistaken for Quake: In the episode "Battle Against the Dried-Up Demons at the Cultural Festival", Kagome wonders if the ground shaking is an earthquake, but it's actually a demon catfish flopping around on top of the school.
  • Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Naraku kept Kagura's heart in his possession at all times as insurance against betrayal. Kagura got so sick of Naraku treating her like a slave she actively colluded with the good guys anyway. Probably remembering the end that Kagura came to, Kanna gave Naraku the metaphorical finger by dying of suicide as ordered, but without taking Inuyasha and his True Companions with her. She even gives Kagome advice on Naraku's weakness when one shard hits her eye.
  • Moment Killer:
    • Kagome and Inuyasha get interrupted several times. One noteworthy example happens towards the end of the story when they're alone in her house and are about to kiss when Souta comes crashing through the door.
    • Miroku and Sango on the other hand don’t need any help, they’ll ruin the moment themselves.
  • Monster/Slayer Romance: The backstory of Inuyasha, having been a half-demon who fell in love with a priestess.
  • Monstrosity Equals Weakness: It's stated that the more human-looking demons are the most powerful.
  • Mood Whiplash: Chapter-wise, the story will sometimes have one of those chapters involving the characters in an epic battle with them all in mortal danger, which is then followed by a comedic chapter of Inuyasha visiting Kagome's home as he breaks stuff and acts like a dog.
  • Morality Pet: Rin, for Sesshomaru. Kohaku becomes something of a Morality Pet for Kagura for a short time until she dies saving his life, resulting in him defaulting to Sesshomaru.
  • Morphic Resonance: When Shippo shape shifts he is usually unable to conceal his tail.
  • Motive Decay: Naraku.
    • He himself admits once he has the complete jewel, he's not sure what to do with it, largely because all the things he wanted it for, he either already has now or doesn't need or want them anymore. He decides to just use the jewel's power to kill Inuyasha, and since he's spent so long fighting Inuyasha, he admits outright he's not sure what he's gonna do after that. It says something of how long the series runs that the Big Bad loses track of exactly why he's the Big Bad.
    • Kagome confronting Naraku near the end and making the unusually astute guess that the Shikon Jewel did not grant Naraku's wish is really one of the best moments of the series. Naraku states more explicitly at the moment of his death, that his wish was to have Kikyo's heart, and the possibility of being with her in the afterlife, which the Shikon Jewel could not give him. Failing this, he instead planned to replace Midoriko and the youkai with himself and Kagome, by wishing to become part of the Shikon Jewel and by using the stolen Meidou to trap Kagome with the Shikon Jewel. (This of course was really the wish of the Shikon Jewel itself.) The (uncertain) implication is that Kagome could not be trapped in the Shikon Jewel unless she made a wish on it, and any wish would do except for the wish for the Shikon Jewel to be destroyed.
  • Muggle and Magical Love Triangle: Kagome has the most desired boy in school fall in love with her, but even when she goes on dates with him she finds herself thinking about Inuyasha, half-dog demon from the mythic past.
  • Multi-Melee Master: All demon slayers are this, carrying a main weapon and a short sword, and if Sango is any indication, a chain and a hidden blade in their sleeve, too. Sango even fights with the Hiraikotsu and the sword at the same time.
  • Murder the Hypotenuse:
    • Kikyo kinda tries this, letting Kagome fall to Naraku's miasma.
    • Naraku is intent on killing Inuyasha. Although he also is intent on killing the other cathetus.
  • Muscles Are Meaningless: All strong characters are rather lean.
  • Mystical White Hair: With a very few brown-haired exceptions, all of the normal humans in the series have black hair (or had it previously and went grey with age). The white hair of characters like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru marks them as obviously supernatural.
  • Naked on Arrival: Kikyo was resurrected naked.
  • Named Weapons: Everybody's got one.
    • Inuyasha's sword is Tetsusaiga.
    • Sango's boomerang is Hiraikotsu.
    • Sesshoumaru has Tensaiga, a sword which can raise the dead, and Sounga, a demon sword of immense destructive power.
  • Negatives as a Positive: The movie "Swords of an Honorable Ruler" has a demon list several human qualities in a negative way, showing contempt for humanity. But during the climactic battle, as full-demons such as Sesshomaru, Shippo, Kilala, and Jaken begin to lose power, Inuyasha and his human companions fight on, reminding the demon that he's half-human, and that humans are selfish, stubborn, and greedy which is why they won't give up.
  • Nemesis Weapon: An inversion of the alignments. Protagonist Inuyasha's Tessaiga is a sword of destruction. His rival and evil brother Sesshomaru wields the Tenseiga which is the sword of life. Both were forged from their father's fang, and the swords were chosen for each brother so that they would be unable to fight each other. A good portion of Sesshomaru's early motivation was to steal the Tessaiga for himself. Later he commissioned a third blade, Tokijin, from an evil smith specifically to counter Tessaiga.
  • Never Trust a Hair Tonic: Two demon brothers kidnap Kagome. She thinks they simply want to eat her, but it turns out one of them is severely balding and embarrassed about it, and he has heard you can get a hair growth potion by boiling down a human maiden. At hearing this, Kagome angrily insists they eat her instead.
  • Never Trust a Title: The first two movie titles, Affections Touching Across Time and Castle Beyond the Looking Glass, are rather deceptive. Both of those things have a very small role in the movies. This is quite a contrast to most tv episodes, where the plots are often spelled out quite literally in the title. For example, episode 36 is title Kagome gets Kidnapped by a Wolf Demon.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Literally for Kagome. She managed to kill the youkai that had stolen the Shikon Jewel but in the process also broke the jewel, putting into motion the plot of the story.
  • Nigh-Invulnerability:
    • Naraku in many different ways depending on his current body.
    • Nothing can destroy the Shikon Jewel.
    • In the end, Sesshomaru is revealed to be this when Magatsuhi tries to kill him by stabbing him twice in the chest. It only makes him even stronger than he used to be.
  • Nipple and Dimed: May come as a surprise to those more familiar with the anime, but the original manga isn't afraid to show partial female nudity on occasion (e.g. Kagome is shown topless when she undergoes a cleansing rite early in volume one). Even makes for Fan Disservice once when a short-term villain comes in with a female demon done up like an Indian dancing girl, then punches her head off to punctuate a point to another character. It's the male characters that inexplicably get Barbie Doll Anatomy on their upper halves.
  • Noble Demon: Inu-no-Taisho was probably one. Sesshomaru's mother might also be one, but her single appearance leaves it difficult to tell: although she participates in Inu-no-Taisho's plan to teach Sesshomaru compassion, interpretations vary as to whether or not she demonstrates a Lack of Empathy. Character Development eventually lands Sesshomaru in this category; other examples include Totosai, Housenki, and the fathers of Jinenji and Shiori. As a rule, if you have a half-demon child, you are probably a Noble Demon.
  • No Cure for Evil:
    • Sesshomaru, courtesy of Tenseiga, at least until he receives Character Development.
    • Averted with Kikyo, who spent much of the manga as an evil mockery of her former gentle self while continuing to retain her healing abilities and her desire to heal. Eventually, her kind nature was saved and restored.
  • No One Could Survive That!: That's why Sango was Buried Alive, after being stabbed in the back and shot with arrows.
  • No Ontological Inertia: The only way for Miroku to free himself from the Wind Tunnel is to kill Naraku, the one who placed the curse on his grandfather.
  • "No Peeking!" Request: Miroku's first meeting with Kagome and Inuyasha just so happens when he and Kagome are bathing in the same natural hot spring, although they're on different sides. He notices her large sacred jewel shard and is planning to take it when he hears Kagome yelling about not peeking at her. He's momentarily startled, thinking she's talking to him, is relieved when he hears Inuyasha yell a dismissive response to her soon after.
  • No Social Skills: Inuyasha is terrible when dealing with people.
  • Noble Male, Roguish Male: Inuyasha is violent, reckless and rude while Miroku is charming, calm and world-wise.
  • Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: Sango. Also, Kagura who gets blasted through the heart and only survives because Naraku had confiscated her heart.
  • Not Brainwashed: After Kohaku regains his memories, he decides to act like he's still under Naraku's control to be near him and find a way to kill him.
  • Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You:
    • The end of the "Fateful Night in Togenkyo" story ends with Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo standing at the edge of a cliff and mourning for Inuyasha, who apparently fell to his death. When Inuyasha, coming up behind them, takes exception to Kagome calling him an idiot for dying, it takes the rest of the cast an extra line or two of dialogue before they catch on.
    • This happens a few times in the show. The first time is when Shippo first appears. Inuyasha is crying over Kagome who thanks to the foxfire protecting her, looks like a dead spirit (and Myoga the flea is so certain of this that he manages to convince Inuyasha).
  • Not Quite Dead: Kikyo quite a few times, she seems to be prone to fall from cliffs.
  • Not What It Looks Like: When Inuyasha refuses to let Kagome check on his injuries after their battle with Yura of the Hair, she tries to tear off his shirt in order to check for any serious damage. When Kaede and some of the children from the village bump into the two, they think they're doing....something else.
  • Now or Never Kiss: The reason why Sango kissed Miroku. Unfortunately for him, he was unconscious.
  • Nun Too Holy: Miroku is a Buddhist monk who chases after women, has tried to peep on women bathing at least once, is willing to use violence to make others agree with him (he's beaten up his tanuki friend Hachi at least once, and then threatened to use the Wind Tunnel on him a different time) and is quite willing to fake exorcisms in order to get food, money, lodgings or any combination of thereof.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Totosai will often pretend to be senile in order to avoid answering difficult questions.
  • Ocular Gushers: Kagome's grandfather will sometimes burst into comically overabundant tears, usually in responce to Kagome's perpetual disinterest in his tales.
  • Oddly Visible Eyebrows: In both the manga and anime, it's common to see a character's eyebrows even if their bangs should be covering them up. Inuyasha is a primary example, with the ends of his eyebrows often being drawn while the rest of them are realistically hidden.
  • Official Couple: Within the three year period between Naraku's defeat and Kagome's return to the feudal era, Miroku and Sango got married and had three children. After Kagome reunites with Inuyasha, they too get married.
  • Offing the Offspring: Once Naraku deems one of his incarnations as too troublesome or not useful enough anymore, he'll kill them.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • When Kagome blew up his body, Naraku realizes she's Kikyo's reincarnation and is suitably afraid, running with his tail between his legs.
    • Byakuya thought he could handle Sesshomaru with an army of a few thousand youkai to back him up. When Sesshomaru decemates all of the youkai without breaking a single sweat, Byakuya quickly readjusts his estimatation of Sesshomaru's strength.
  • Old Retainer: Myoga the flea was a former servant of the Great Dog Demon, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father. After the GDDs death, Myoga transferred his loyalties to Inuyasha.
  • On The Next Episode Of Catchphrase: Kagome narrates each of the next episode previews and ends them with a peppy "See ya soon!".
  • Once More, with Clarity: In the first chapter, Kikyo's last words to Inuyasha after pinning him to a tree are "The Jewel of Four Souls... For such a thing..." and the anime makes it clear that at this point his consciousness faded. When she's revived, the scene is revisited, and we hear the whole thing in full: "The Jewel of Four Souls... For such a thing... you betrayed me..."
  • One-Man Army: Despite the back-up his friends give him, Inuyasha is more than capable of taking down his enemies by himself. His sword can slay a hundred youkai with a single swing and that's its weakest ability. Then there's Miroku, who can take out many youkai with his Wind Tunnel (when he's able to use it). Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga can slay thousands of youkai with a single swing.
  • One-Winged Angel:
    • Sesshomaru is a powerful dog demon who appears most of the time as a near-human Pretty Boy, so it's unsurprising he has the true form of a giant dog. He seldom uses it in combat, though, probably because it seems to compromise his mobility and have little by the way of inherent advantage of its own.
    • As a shapeshifting conglomeration of demons, Naraku's constantly rearranging himself and gaining more power, so that his current body is always a work in progress, and his humanoid guises (even the ones that are Actually a Doombot) are prone to bursting into a mass of poisonous vapours or tentacles. In the final battle, when he's close to reaching ultimate power, his body is that of an enormous floating spherical spider that may be even Bigger on the Inside. After that, his central humanoid avatar inside still goes through some more changes.
  • Only Good People May Pass: In the anime, Midoriko's cave has a spiritual barrier that prevents anyone with selfish reasons or callousness for the dead from entering. Myoga is initially unable to enter due to his eagerness at seeing the Shikon Jewel's origins making forget about the recently slaughtered demon slayers. Once he lit some incense and prayed for them, he was able to pass through the barrier.
  • Only I Can Kill Him: Everyone wants to kill Naraku, but Kikyo puts special emphasis on how she is the only one who can really do it; she planned to purify the jewel upon its completion. She isn't able to do this, instead using her purifying light to keep Kohaku alive, and, overall, her efforts prove integral to his defeat.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Sesshomaru declares his claim on Inuyasha's life after Inuyasha receives Tessaiga, the sword that Sesshomaru wants for himself. As his Character Development progresses, it's not long before his "nobody kills my brother but me" attitude starts coming across as a face-saving excuse to get involved in Inuyasha's battles without admitting that he doesn't actually want him dead any more.
  • Only One Name: During the real life Sengoku era, the only people allowed to have two names were noble families, something that the series keeps in mind. This is why almost every character who resides in the feudal age possess one name: Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, etc.
  • Only Six Faces: There are in fact Only Four Faces - Young Woman, Young Man, Old Woman, and Old Man. The difference between the first two and last is also debatable. Kikyo and Kagome are the only two characters that have any business looking alike, but they look like every other young woman, and even some of the men. Ironically, Kikyo and Kagome are two of the more distinct comparisons, given the differences in hairstyle, skin tone, and default facial expressions in the anime. The manga has a few exceptions... all of whom are used for gags (i.e. the servant boy who was acting as a replacement sacrifice, Youreitaisei, etc.).
  • Open-Minded Parent: Kagome's mother supports her daughter's ventures into the feudal era, despite knowing that its full of dangerous youkai and that her daughter is missing tons of school; her grandfather in particular makes up all kinds of diseases to explain her many absences.
  • Ordinary High-School Student: Kagome was a regular middle school student who lived with her mother, grandfather, and younger brother, Sota, on their family shrine. Her main problems were passing exams and listening to grandfather's seemingly endless tales of youkai and sacred jewels. When she gets dragged into Japans warring states era, she sees for herself that her grandfather wasn't exgeratting about either of those things. After shattering the jewel herself, she and the half-demon Inuyasha begin a journey to collect the shards and make the jewel whole again.
  • Ornamental Weapon: Koga admits that the sword he carries was only for decoration after having to use it to free himself from Moryomaru.
  • Our Dragons Are Different:
    • Ah-Un is a kind, loyal, two-headed dragon-horse that travels with Sesshomaru. In the anime, he's also made herbivorous.
    • Ryoukotsusei is a giant elder Dragon who's Nigh-Invulnerable and speaks through what looks like a Noh mask in the middle of his forehead. Inuyasha's father was fatally wounded fighting and sealing him.
  • Our Time Travel Is Different: The Bone-Eater's Well is essentially a wormhole that connects two differents eras of Japan: the Sengoku era and the 1990s. Kagome and Inuyasha are the only ones able to use the well to travel between these two time periods.
  • Our Zombies Are Different: Kikyo, Kohaku, and the Band of Seven are all techinically zombies seeing that they once died and were then brought back to life. Kikyo's body is nothing more than grave soil and clay, animated with part of her original soul and supplimented by souls of recently deceased young women. Kohaku and the Band of Seven retained their actual bodies, but they're only able to "live" thanks to Shikon shards.
  • Out-of-Genre Experience: The Mayu Ikeda arc in Volume 4 is an Urban Fantasy ghost-story where Kagome's world takes center-stage, with only a few token appearances of the Feudal Era providing background on the supernatural happenings (Inuyasha himself even notes he's mostly useless against ghosts, as opposed to very-much-tangible demons and monsters); Mayu herself is probably the only antagonist in the series completely unrelated to Shikon shards or Naraku. While the anime later produced a handful of Filler plots in this mold, this is the only such story in the manga.
  • Outdoor Bath Peeping: The main times Kagome and Sango are able to bathe is in whatever hot springs they happen to come upon. Their baths are often cut short by someone or something (mostly Miroku) trying to sneak a peak.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and even Shippo all have their various strengths when it comes to battling foes; Kagome has her spiritual powers and archery, Miroku his Wind Tunnel and staff, Sango her years of youkai slayer training, Kirara her larger form, and Shippo his kitsune tricks. However, what skills they possess often take a backseat due to Inuyasha's youkai strength and Tessaiga's special moves. Because of this, Inuyasha is usually the one to take on their various enemies while everyone else stands on the sidelines.
  • Papa Wolf: Sesshomaru dives into Hell in order to save Rin and kicks the King of Hell's ass in order to save her and was very clearly in pain about her death.
  • Paper Talisman: Miroku uses paper talismans to exorcise demons, create seals, and decieve wealthy people in exchange for food and lodging.
  • Parental Abandonment:
    • Inuyasha's father died after his fight with Ryukotsusei shortly after he was born, and his mother died years ago before he got stuck to the tree.
    • Kagome's father is never once mentioned in either the manga or the anime.
    • Shippo's father was killed by the Thunder Brothers soon before his introduction. It's unknown what happened to his mother; she's only mentioned off hand once or twice, but in the context of Shippo remembering times he shared with her.
    • Miroku's father was consumed by the Wind Tunnel when Miroku was little, and his mother is never mentioned.
    • Sango's mother is never mentioned; there's no indication that she's alive or dead.
  • Parental Favoritism: Sesshomaru believes that his father preferred the half-human Inuyasha over his first born, full demon son (i.e. himself). He thinks this mainly because his father left the incredibly powerful Tessaiga to Inuyasha and the seemingly useless Tenseiga to him.
  • Parrot Pet Position: Kirara while in her small form will sometimes hitch a ride on Sango's shoulder. Shippo will also ride on one of his companion's shoulders in a similar way.
  • Passing Judgment: Kagome tries to dress the wounds that Inuyasha took in the previous episode, but he insists he's fine and refuses to take off his shirt to let her see. Moments later Kaede walks by with a group of kids as Kagome is sitting on Inuyasha's chest demanding that he take his clothes off.
  • Pastel-Chalked Freeze Frame: The anime will sometimes take a still frame from a scene and render it in pastel chalk colors in order to emphsize the importance of that particular moment.
  • Percussive Prevention: Inuyasha punched Miroku in order to prevent him from using the Wind Tunnel after it was just repaired.
  • Personal Horror: It's possible for Inuyasha's demon blood to take over whenever his life is in danger and he doesn't have the Tessaiga at hand. However, he also turns into a merciless killing machine, only concerned with satiating his own bloodlust. With each successive transformation, Inuyasha's sense of self will errod until his true personality is fully gone. Once he learns about this, Inuyasha is scared to lose himself to his demon side.
  • Physical Scars, Psychological Scars:
    • Sango has a scar on her back where her brother stabbed her, a memento of when her family, village and life were destroyed by Naraku.
    • Naraku has a burn scar in the shape of a spider on his back reminding him of his despised human heart.
    • Kagura has the same spider scar on her back that Naraku has, a symbol of her enslavement.
  • Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: Sango offers her life to Sesshomaru after she tried to kill Rin to save Miroku. While Sesshomaru's feelings about the situation are left ambiguous, it probably helped Sango's case that she apologized to Rin while giving the girl her mask to protect her from Naraku's miasma.
  • Please Put Some Clothes On: In the Tokajin arc, Inuyasha comes to rescue Kagome to find her naked in a sake bath. After a few awkward seconds, he throws her his haori.
  • Pointy Ears: Some of the humanoid demons have human ears with pointed tips. For example, Sesshomaru in his humanoid form has pointy ears.
  • Poison Is Corrosive: Sesshomaru's poison claws emit a green gas that corrods anything it comes into contact with.
  • Poison Is Evil: Poisons are mainly used by the villians of the series; there's Naraku's toxic miasma and Mukotsu of the Band of Seven was well versed in the use of poisons.
  • Poisonous Person: Naraku's body contains a toxic miasma that he often uses in order to make hasty getaways. It's implied that demonic power itself is inherently poisonous, but Naraku's is exceptionally deadly due to him being a fusion of many different kinds of youkai.
  • Portal Statue Pairs: Two giant statues named Gozu and Mezu guard the gate to the youkai's netherworld and come to life whenever approached. They state that if anyone wants entry to the netherworld, they must first be slain. However, they let Sesshomaru pass through freely due to him owning the Tenseiga, a sword that has the ability to cut down anything that's part of the afterlife which includes Gozu and Mezu.
  • Portal to the Past: The Bone Eater's Well lets Kagome and Inuyasha travel between modern day Japan and its warring states era.
  • Possessing a Dead Body: One species of youkai known as Shibugarasu are able to bury into a victim's chest, devour their heart, and then possess the corpse to make it look like the victim is still alive.
  • Posthumous Character: Midoriko lived centuries before the start of the story, but her presense is felt all those years later in the form of the Shikon Jewel and her crystilized statue. She was responsible for the creation of the jewel, and her soul and the soul of the giant youkai she fought at the time are locked in a perpetual battle within the jewel itself.
  • Power at a Price: Sesshomaru's quest for power results in the loss of his arm and, later, the death of Rin. He achieves his true potential only thanks to this and the death of Kagura; Kagura's death moves him to feel compassion for others and Rin's death forces him to understand the irreplaceable value of life and the role that fear and sorrow must play in a warrior's life.
  • Power Dyes Your Hair: Inuyasha's natural hair color is black when he's human. It turns back to silver when his youkai blood resurfaces.
  • Power Floats: Naraku is able to float after aquiring enough of the Shikon Jewel shards, and the incrediably powerful Sesshomaru will sometimes levitate in the air.
  • Power Glows: Anyone or anything with some sort of supernatural or spiritual power will glow: Kagome and Kikyo's sacred arrows glow pink or purple, Inuyasha's Tessaiga will glow different colors depending on the power he's using, Sesshomaru's hands will glow green when he intends to use his poison claws, and so on.
  • The Power of Friendship: Inuyasha's desire to protect Kagome and his friends is what lets him master Tessaiga, a sword that was specifically created to defend humans. When Inuyasha says he will protect Kagome, Tessaiga transforms for the first time. When he protects Miroku, it unleashes the Wind Scar for the first time. When he goes to protect his friends instead of getting a new technique, he gets the Diamond Spears. When says he won't let Naraku keep hurting Miroku and Sango, he makes the Meido Zangetsuha his.
  • Power of the Void: The Wind Tunnel is essentially a black hole embedded in Miroku's right hand. When in use, it will suck up anything and everything that gets in its path. The Meido Zangetsuha in it's most powerful form is a giant sphere that will absorb whatever its thrown at, leaving only a hole.
  • Power Parasite: Moryomaru steals Meioju's incrediably tough armored shell so he can protect the Infant better.
  • Precision-Guided Boomerang: Sango's Hiraikotsu will always return to her unless its purposefully knocked or grabbed out of the air, or it gets stuck in something like a roof.
  • Precocious Crush: Koharu developed a crush on Miroku after he helped her when she was eleven. Three years later, she still holds some love for him.
  • Psycho for Hire: The Band of Seven were blood hungry mercenaries who sold their services to any lords willing to pay.
  • Psychotic Smirk: Naraku will often flash his oppenants a malicious smirk before, during, or after he gloats evilly.
  • Pulling Themselves Together: Youkai with a Shikon shard can reform themselves even after getting chopped up. Naraku in particular can metephorically stitch himself back together thanks in part to his Shikon shards and in part because he's an almagamation of youkai.
  • Puppeteer Parasite:
    • A salamander youkai had a whole village of women controlled by making them ingest its eggs.
    • Shippo gets possessed by a youkai parasite that turns his kitsune tricks against his traveling companions. Shenanigans ensue.
  • Put on a Bus: In the anime, Koga disappears completely from the story after the Band of Seven arc. He makes a brief appearance in The Final Act before leaving for good after Naraku steals his shards. The anime's epilogue does check in on him for a bit.
  • The Quest: Inuyasha, Kagome, and their traveling companions are all trying to collect the shards of the Shikon Jewel before the evil Naraku can get his hands on them.
  • Quieting the Unquiet Dead: Chapters 35 to 38/Episode 12 has Kagome and Inyasha dealing with a Vengeful Ghost named Mayu, who was the late older sister of Sota's friend Satoru. Mayu died beliving that her mother abonded her to perish in the fire that took their home. Because of this, she causes accidents to anyone who gets too close to the apartment she lived in, and is also trying to kill Satoru. However, if she continues to feed her hatred, the Tatarimokke will drag her to Hell. Fortunately, with help from Kagome, Mayu is able to make up with her mother and depart for heaven, now finally at peace.
  • Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Band of Seven is a group of seven human mercaneries that were resurected by Naraku via jewel shards. They each have a specific kind of weapon and generally get in the way of Inuyasha and the group's path to killing Naraku.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The main group of travelers consists of a hotblooded half-youkai, a 1990s girl with miko powers who also happens to be the reincarnation of a famous priestess, a mischevious young kitsune, a cursed lecherous monk, and a female youkai exterminator and her nekomata companion who can change size at will.
  • Rain of Blood:
    • The village next to the mountain housing Naraku's poison imp spell periodically experienced showers of bloody rain and youkai parts.
    • In the manga, when Inuyasha attacks a group of bandits while in his youkai form, he slices the bandits while leaping, making their blood rain from above.
  • Razor Floss: Yura can manipulate strings of razor-sharp hair. Kagome used this sharpness to cut her hand and bleed on the hair, letting Inuyasha see where the hair was.
  • Razor-Sharp Hand: A lot of youkai can use their bare hands to stab through their opponents, including Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.
  • Razor Wind: Kagura's "Dance of Blades" are blades made of air.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Any given youkai is potentially much older than they appear, and this can possibly extend to their half-breed offspring as well. For a specific example, the anime implies that Kirara was Midoriko's companion, meaning Kirara is at least several centuries old.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: When the eyes of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha turn red it means they're going to transform into a giant dog and full demon respectively. For Inuyasha in particular it's a terrifying sign that his demon blood is running the show now and all who value their lives should run.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Inuyasha is as hotheaded and agressive as his half-brother Sesshomaru is calm and collected.
  • Redemption Earns Life: Kohaku is able to live without the need of a Shikon shard because Kikyo's light stayed with him.
  • Redemption Equals Death: Kagura sacrifices everything to save Kohaku only to be killed by Naraku shortly afterwards.
  • Red Spider Lilies of Mourning: The shonen series' first ED, "My Will" opens and is interspersed with shots of red spider lilies clashing with a black background. Contrasting with the OP's adventurous tone, the ending is more somber, with shots of the lilies being interspersed with scenes of three characters: Sango, introduced praying for her deceased clan; Kagome, alone on a ferris wheel in the snow; and Kikyo, shrine maiden and formerly Posthumous Character. The last shot of the lilies shows their stems all being broken by Kikyo.
  • Reforged Blade:
    • After Tessaiga is broken by Goshinki, Totosai reforged it with Inuyasha's own fang. This made the sword heavier to the point of being incredibly difficult to wield, since Inuyasha now has to rely on his own strength instead of his father's.
    • Tenseiga is reforged in order to activate Meidou Zangetsuha, triggered by Sesshomaru's emotionally bruised heart because of Kagura's death rather than the blade breaking.
  • Reincarnation: Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo, a priestess who died during the warring states era. Kikyo had been burned with the Shikon Jewel with the intention of taking the jewel with her to the afterlife. Instead, the jewel granted her true wish of seeing Inuyasha again.
  • Reincarnation Romance: Inuyasha falls in love with Kagome, the reincarnation of his lost love, Kikyo. Kagome, for her part, also develops a crush on Inuyasha.
  • Relationship Upgrade: Miroku and Sango marry and have children sometime after Naraku's demise, and Inuyasha and Kagome become husband and wife after she returns to the feudal era for good.
  • Re-Release Soundtrack: Netflix replaced the first opening, "CHANGE THE WORLD" by V6, with an original track called "Hanyou Inuyasha". In certain territories, "Shippuu no Gotoku" (疾風の如く, "Like a Storm") is used for the opening instead.
  • Rescued from the Underworld: Sesshomaru enters the afterlife in order to retrieve Rin's soul.
  • Restraining Bolt: Tessaiga prevents Inuyasha from becoming a full demon and losing his mind in the process.
  • Resurrected for a Job: An ogre sourcess named Urasue resurrected Kikyo, thinking that she could use the priestess to hunt down Shikon shards for her. Kikyo kills Urasue shortly after her revival.
  • Resurrected Romance: Kikyo is resurrected after fifty years, and she and Inuyasha have to deal with the relationship issues where they were abruptly left off.
  • Resurrection Revenge: After getting resurrected against her will, Kikyo swears vengeance against Inuyasha, blaming him for betraying her and giving her the wound that resulted in her death. Her anger is turned towards Naraku once she learns the truth behind both of these events.
  • Revenge: Most of the main cast want Naraku dead due to his schemes ruining their lives, the lives of their loved ones, or just because he's a general threat to their livelihoods. Inuyasha in particular swore revenge against Naraku upon learning about his manipulations that irrevocably turned Kikyo and Inuyasha himself against each other, leading to Kikyo's demise.
  • Revive Kills Zombie: As a sword of healing and life, Tenseiga's lethal when used to fight undead beings, demons and spirits originating from the underworld. This is especially important since such creatures are usually able to No-Sell or otherwise regenerate from anything else due to already being dead.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: Kirara in her untransformed state looks like an adorable yellow-and-black kitten who just happens to have an extra tail. The anime even gives her a tiny "meow" too.
  • Rivals Teamup: In order to finally kill Naraku, Inuyasha and the gang team up with Sesshomaru and Koga- who both hate/dislike Inuyasha- and Kikyo, who Kagome has conflicting feelings about.
  • Romantic False Lead: Kuranosuke Takeda is an anime original character, a young nobleman who proposes marriage to Sango. By this point, Sango is already in love with Miroku, so Kuranosuke has no chance.
  • Roof Hopping: Inuyasha will often hop from roof to roof in order to get to his destination faster, regardless of whether he's in the feudal era or the modern age.
  • Rope Bridge: Jaken and Rin are confronted by a villain on the middle of a rope bridge. In a subversion, the bridge breaks because Jaken's attempt to defend himself and Rin relies on fire which burns the ropes and breaks the bridge causing all three of them to plunge into the gorge below.
  • Running Gag:
    • Once the subjugation beads are around Inuyasha's neck, Kagome only has to say "sit" or "sit, boy" for the beads to drag Inuyasha facedown to the ground. Sometimes she uses this to stop Inuyasha from acting recklessly, other times it's because her temper gets the better of her.
    • Whenever he sees an atractive woman, Miroku will flirt with her before asking if she would like to bear him children.
    • Myoga always makes his appearance known by sucking blood off of someone (usually Inuyasha) then get slapped. His cowardice is also frequently commented on.

    S-Z 
  • Sadistic Choice: In the final battle, Naraku creates an illusion of himself holding a very much real Rin while in front of Sango. He taunts Sango about Miroku's impending demise via his Wind Tunnel, pointing out that she's got two options: she can use her Hiraikotsu to take a shot at him which would most likely kill an innocent girl at the same time or let Miroku die. Not realizing that the Naraku she was speaking to was just an illusion, Sango goes for the kill anyway.
  • Sailor Fuku: Kagome's middle school uniform is a green and white ensemble with a sailor collar.
  • San Dimas Time: Spending three days in feudal Japan is about the same as spending three days away from 90s Japan. Because of this, Kagome misses a lot of school. She can't change how the Bone-Eater's well works, so she will spend a few days between the past and her present so she can still help with the shard collection efforts and still get through middle school.
  • Say My Name: During dramatic situations, it's common for one character to shout another character's name, chief among them being Inuyasha and Kagome.
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's hightened senses of smell make it easy for them to track basically anything.
  • Scars are Forever:
    • Sango has a big scar on her back where Kohaku stabbed her.
    • No matter his form, Naraku has a giant spider-shaped scar permanently on his back. In an attempt to be rid of it, he cut the flesh off of his back to remove the scar only for the scar to immediately grow back in place.
  • Schizo Tech: Ginkotsu from the Band of Seven is a cyborg-tank during an era in which gunpowder-based weapons weren't available in Japan.
  • School Uniforms are the New Black: Kagome frequently strolls around in her middle school uniform while in feudal Japan.
  • Screw You, Elves!: After Sesshomaru's constant belittling of humans and half-demons, Inuyasha not only slices Sesshomaru's arm off, he also mocks Sesshomaru about how a mere half-youkai like himself got to inherit the powerful Tessaiga.
  • Scrubbing Off the Trauma:
    • While in his full demon state, Inuyasha brutally slaughters a gang of bandits while berserk, including some who attempted to surrender and all in front of his shocked companions and some traumatized villagers. Once back to normal, Inuyasha attempts to wash the blood from his claws, only to lament that- with his hyper-sensitive nose- there's nothing he can do about the smell.
    • Suikotsu when in his good persona will oftentimes be overcome by the desire to obsessively wash his hands for hours on end. It's implied to be a manifistation of his disgust at his evil side and the inner conflict he's going through.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: A composite demon is housed inside the Shikon Jewel, which allows whoever owns the jewel or its shards to succumb to their worst impulses or desires.
  • Sealed Evil in a Duel: The Shikon Jewel contains the enternally dueling souls of Midoriko and a powerful composite demon. This is how the jewel is able to be used for both good and evil.
  • Second Love: Inuyasha fell in love with Kikyo first fifty years ago, but she died after their last encouter. Her reincarnation, Kagome, looks exactly like her, but that's were the similiarities end, mainly due to Kagome being born in raised in a very different time period. Nevertheless, once Inuyasha gets used to Kagome's likeness to Kikyo and understanding that she's her own person, he falls in love a second time. After Naraku's defeated, they eventually get a much happier ending when Kagome returns to the fedual era for good and marries Inuyasha.
  • Secret-Keeper: Totosai knew from the start that Tessaiga and Tenseiga were originally one blade, and that the Meidou Zangetsuha wasn't supposed to be Sesshomaru's technique alone.
  • Secret Test of Character: Sesshomaru's entire character arc throughout the story turns out to have been a test given to him by his father. Once he finally passes it, he obtains the Bakusaiga, a sword that's more powerful than Tessaiga.
  • Self-Guarding Phlebotinum: The Tessaiga has a barrier around it that prevents demons from touching it. Humans and half-demons can touch it without pain.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Kohaku killed his own father while being possessed by Naraku, and since no mention is made of his mother, it's safe to assume that he and his sister, Sango, just became orphans.
  • Selfless Wish: Naraku expected Kikyo to use the Shikon Jewel to save her own life after having been mortally wounded. She takes it with her into the afterlife instead. This sets up the ending, where Kagome and Inuyasha are trapped in the jewel. Like Kikyo before her, Kagome doesn't make the selfish wish to return home but instead wished for the jewel to cease to exist.
  • Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: The two female heroes dress modestly while the first two villainesses, Mistress Centipede and Yura, were topless/scantily clad respectively.
  • Sentient Phlebotinum: The Shikon Jewel has a consciousness of its own.
  • Shapeshifter Default Form: Even though Naraku can take any form he wants, since that's the way he tricked Inuyasha, Kikyo and Miroku's grandfather, once he takes on a nobleman son's identity, he sticks with that appearance for the rest of the series.
  • Shape Shifter Mashup: Naraku, being an amalgimation of youkai, will sometimes appear as a mishappen, mishmash of youkai parts.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend: Whenever someone mistakes Inuyasha and Kagome as being a couple or just generally in love, one or both of them will get flustered. Soon after permanantly joining Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo, Miroku states this assumption out loud, to which Inuyasha- in his haste to deny it- says that Kagome is just a jewel detector. Kagome doesn't take this well.
  • She Will Come for Me: A gender inverted example happens during the ending: while inside the Shikon Jewel, Kagome grows afraid that she'll be stuck in its dark emptiness forever. She almost succumbs to her fear and wishes on the jewel to return home. However, upon hearing Inuyasha's voice, she gathers her courge and chooses to believe that he will come for her.
  • Shipper on Deck:
    • When the oppertunity presents itself, Kagome will try to get Sango and Miroku alone together once it becomes apparent that Sango has fallen in love with the monk.
    • In Chapter 343/Episode 167, Rin is quite up-beat and happy upon realizing that Kagura is in love with Sesshomaru, to the extent where that realization cures her fear of her former kidnapper.
  • Shock Collar: Inuyasha has a subjugation necklace of enchanted rosary beads designed to make him hit the ground whenever Kagome says "sit" or "sit, boy".
  • Shout-Out:
    • The main characters of Inuyasha mirror Journey to the West's main characters to some extent. Just like Goku, Inuyasha is bad tempered, was set free from a long curse at the beginning, has an elongable weapon, has animal traits, and is subdued by a talisman which is under control of the person he's protecting. Kagome, like Tripitaka, is on a quest for a sacred item, is the reincarnation of a noble soul from the past, is the preferred target of demons and is helpless compared to most other characters.
    • In the English dub, after being dragged through her family's well, Kagome has just landed in some strange forest she does not recognize. Upon seeing this different scenery, she thinks to herself "Toto, I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore.".
    • During the incident where Kohaku is brainwashed and slays the entire demon hunter clan save for Sango, the daimyo who hired them is decapitated by Naraku (who was posing as his son) and his head turns into a spider.
  • Shrines and Temples: Kagome lives in a shrine in Tokyo.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: In the last battle, Sesshomaru confronts Naraku with his Bakusaiga, an incrediably destructive blade. Naraku points out that if Sesshomaru cuts him down, his miasma will coat the village underneath them, likely killing dozens of villagers. Naraku seems to have forgotten that Sesshomaru doesn't generally care about human lives, as evidenced by his swift usage of Bakusaiga.
    Naraku: If you kill me, my miasma-stained body will rain upon the village.
    Sesshomaru: So what? Bakusaiga!
  • Sibling Rivalry: Sesshomaru detests his half-youkai half-brother Inuyasha, a feeling that is mutual. Their animosity increases when Sesshomaru learns that their father's renowned sword, Tessaiga, was left to Inuyasha and not to himself as he had asumed. This, combined with being saddled with the seemingly useless Tenseiga, only deepens Sesshomaru's hatred of Inuyasha. It takes a long time for him to let go of his desire to claim the Tessaiga for himself.
  • Sick Episode: The Jinenji story is borne from Inuyasha and Kagome searching for some medicine for Kirara after she got laid up by Naraku's miasma.
  • Sideways Smile: Sesshomaru sports a smile that goes from ear to ear and keeps growing as he transforms into his true, giant dog demon form.
  • Significant Name Shift: Inuyasha initially refers to Kagome as simply "you" or some variant thereof, punctuating their strained relationship. After she helps him kill their first dangerous enemy, however, he switches to using her name. Kagome herself notes the change.
  • Single-Target Sexuality: The only women Inuyasha shows any interest in are Kikyo and Kagome.
  • Sinister Scythe: Kohaku's kusarigama is a scythelike weapon that he uses throughout the series.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Miroku inherited the Wind Tunnel because his grandfather wanted to destroy Naraku. A lot of enemies Inuyasha and Sesshomaru encounter were originally enemies of their father.
  • Situational Sword: Tenseiga has the power to protect Sesshomaru from death, but it only kicks in if Sesshomaru sustains an injury that might potentially kill him without that protection. (More specifically, Tenseiga's protection will always work on reflex when it senses that Sesshomaru is about to take a mortal blow from Tessaiga. This was something his father had placed as a failsafe just in case the latter blade is turned on Sesshomaru, ensuring Sesshomaru and Inuyasha can't maim each other using their heirlooms at the very least.) Under extreme conditions it can trigger a barrier on its own. It's also incapable of killing the living, but it can kill spirits. Later, it's shown to have one of the most powerful offensive abilities in the series, the Meido Zengetsuha. This was eventually meant to be passed on to Tessaiga and Inuyasha after Sesshomaru mastered the skill. Once Sesshomaru passes the move on, Tenseiga is back to being a pure Healing Shiv.
  • Sizeshifter: Kirara can shift from a small, kittenlike form to a large, saber toothed tigerlike form.
  • Slipknot Ponytail: In the final battle, Sango and Kirara are bathed in Naraku's miasma which it eats away her hair tie allowing her hair to fall down.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Jaken takes a lot of pride in being Sesshomaru's second-in-command and tries very hard to convince people to pay him the respect he believes he's deserved. He is wholly unaware of his own incompetency and undue arrogance.
    Kaede: Little youkai, will you be staying here too?
    Jaken: That's Jaken-sama to you!
    Rin: You sure talk big...
    Sango: ...for such a little body.
  • Smells of Death: Kagome gets kidnapped by a group of bandits and taken to their leader, who she can sense has a shard of the Shikon Jewel. She mentions that the bandit leader smells of rotting flesh, indicating that the jewel shard was reanimating a corpse.
  • So Last Season: As Naraku and other antagonists become more powerful, Inuyasha and the gang gain upgrades in the form of new weapons. Inuyasha in particular is able to add new powers to his Tessaiga. While none of the powers Inuyasha adds to his sword becomes completely obsolete, their usefulness does degenerate as the series goes on.
  • Soul-Cutting Blade: Tenseiga can only harm beings that don't belong to the living world. It's possible to revive someone with Tenseiga by cutting the demons responsible for collecting the recently deceased.
  • Soulless Shell: Moryomaru is one of Naraku's incarnations who had no soul and couldn't think for himself.
  • Sphere of Destruction: Meidou Zangetsuha's perfected form is a massive sphere that swallows up everything its thrown at, leaving only an empty space behind.
  • Split Personality:
    • Suikotsu from the Band of Seven can involunatarily switch between the personality of a kind, gentle doctor and a blood hungry killer.
    • Inuyasha is often hotheaded and honest to the point of callousness, but he has a soft side that can shine through during calmer moments. When his demon blood takes over, he turns into a ruthless murderer who can only think about his next fight.
  • Spoiler Opening:
    • The first opening sequence, "CHANGE THE WORLD", show Shippo, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara long before either of these characters' respective debut episodes.
    • The Final Act's opening, "Kimi ga Inai Mirai", spoils that Sesshomaru gets him arm back and a new sword, and that Inuyasha inherits the Meido Zengetsuha, all of which happens well over halfway through the season.
  • Squeaky Eyes: In the anime, sometimes a character's blinking will make a noise, usually for comedic effect.
  • Stable Time Loop: Kagome meets the possessed Noh mask in her present day and brings its shard back to the past to complete the Shikon Jewel, meaning that the original shard is still in the past, where it will become part of the Noh mask, which Kagome will bring back to the past, and so on and so forth.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: The half-youkai Inuyasha wanted to use the Shikon Jewel to become a full youkai. The jewel was under the protection of the human priestess Kikyo at the time, leading the two of them to meet. Despite their differences, Inuyasha and Kikyo fell in love, so much so that Inuyasha did a complete 180 on his inital goal, wanting instead to be turned fully human so he and Kikyo could live a normal life together. However, Naraku manipulated Kikyo and Inuyasha into thinking they betrayed one another, leading Inuyasha to attempt to steal the Shikon Jewel and Kikyo to pin him to a tree and dying shortly thereafter. Fifty years later, Kikyo is brought back to life, but as an animated clay puppet that looks like her instead of a flesh-and-blood human. As such, there's no way Kikyo and Inuyasha can truly be together.
  • The Starscream: Hakudoushi, the Infant, and Mouryoumaru are all incarnations of Naraku and all three scheme to eventually kill and supplant Naraku.
  • Status Quo Is God: Once the main players are introduced, the story settles into a monster of the week format with the overarching antagonist, Naraku, popping in every now and then to cause trouble for everyone either as himself or having one of his incarnations doing it for him. Character dynamics tend to stay the same for a long time, and while there is character development for most of the cast, the length of the series makes it hard to tell at first, leaving one to feel like there's a lack of progression.
  • Stealth Hi/Bye: When Byakuya is messing with Inuyasha's group and they don't even know he's in the area, he decides to leave while he's ahead and suddenly discovers Sesshomaru looming out of nowhere behind him.
  • Stepford Smiler: Miroku tends to hide his troubles and worries with a smile and a grope.
  • The Stoic: Sesshomaru is almost always calm and collected, rarely if ever showing his emotions.
  • Storm of Blades: Tessaiga's diamond form has an attack called Diamond Barage. When activated, a swing from Tessaiga will shower the surrounding area and anyone in it with diamond spears.
  • Story-Breaker Power:
    • The Wind Tunnel could easily solve many of the troubles Inuyasha and the group find themselves in since it can suck in anything and everything. Naraku is well aware of this, having been the one to curse Miroku's grandfather with it. In order to keep Miroku down for the count, he uses saimyosho, poisoned wasps that could kill Miroku if he sucks up too many.
    • Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga is introduced before the final battle, and it's an incredibly powerful weapon: one swing unleashes a destructive beam that goes on raviging its target until said target is completely destroyed. Once the final battle against Naraku comenances, however, Sesshomaru is unable to use the sword for much of the fight.
  • Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Naraku urges Sango to kill him while he's holding Rin in his arms. This being Naraku, he's not really going to die since he's only an illusion, but Rin is real and if Sango strikes the girl will die, filling the Shikon Jewel with darkness.
  • Suck Out the Poison: Being a flea youkai, Myoga has sucked out spider venom from Inuyasha after he got bitten while in his human form. On another occasion, he managed to save Kagome, Sango and Miroku from almost dying from Mukotsu's poison.
  • Summon to Hand: Inuyasha can summon Tessaiga back to him by using its scabbard.
  • Supernatural Sensitivity: Since all youkai and half-youkai emit some level of demonic energy, it's possible to detect where they are through these auras. This includes the Shikon Jewel, which emits its own special aura that only Kagome and Kikyo can sense.
  • Super-Power Meltdown: The Wind Tunnel will eventually consume Miroku and anything in his surrounding area. Miroku had to watch his father get swallowed by his own Wind Tunnel, which left a crater in the ground underneath where his father was standing when his tunnel swallowed him up.
  • Super-Toughness: Beings with youkai blood can take more damage than an ordinary human can thanks to a quicker healing time.
  • Superpowered Evil Side:
    • When his life is in danger and the Tessaiga isn't nearby, Inuyasha's demon blood takes over, vastly increasing his speed and strength and lessening his ability to feel pain. However, when in this state, he also becomes a killing machine, focused only on murdering whoever is in the vacinity, be they friend or foe.
    • Suikotsu of the Band of Seven has two personalities: a gentle, beneign doctor and a ruthless, murder happy mercenary.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Byakuya, the last of Naraku's incarnations, is introduced after Kagura's exit from the story. He resembles and acts similiarly to Kagura, has similiar powers, and plays much the same role that she did (e.g. observing Naraku's opponents and getting involved only when ordered to).
  • Sweat Drop: A character's fustration or confusion is sometimes represented with a large sweat drop on the side of their head.
  • Swirling Dust: In the anime, Sesshomaru flying is represented as a sparkling, swirling dust cloud.
  • Swiss-Army Weapon: Thanks to Tessaiga's ability to steal powers, Inuyasha is able to add a number of special moves to the blade including the ability to send an opponents powers back to them, bearier breaking, diamond spears, and absorbing a youkai opponent's demonic energy.
  • Sword Beam: Tessaiga's Wind Scar is a move that emits three beams of clawlike marks, able to cut down hundreds of opponents in one swing.
  • Take Off Your Clothes: When he sees Kagome dressed as a priestess for the first time, Inuyasha asks her to take off the outfit. Kagome responds with a rock to his head and calls him a pervert. He clarifies, stating that he didn't want to see her naked, only that he wanted her to change back into her other clothes; her already strong resemblance to Kikyo is emphasized even more while she's in priestess garb, and it's making him uncomfortable.
  • Taken for Granite: In one of the filler episodes, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara were turned into glass.
  • Taking You with Me:
    • In the anime, Ginkotsu tries to save Renkotsu from Koga by exploding himself and take Koga down with him, but he fails to kill the wolf youkai.
    • Miroku decides to take Naraku down via the Wind Tunnel when it's about to consume him. Unfortunately, the Naraku he's trying to kill is only an illusion.
  • Talk to the Fist: In Chapter 518/Episode 184, Sesshomaru delivers a resounding talk to the sword to Magatsuhi, slicing his head in half during mid-gloat.
    Magatsuhi: Hmpf. It seems that you've put on quite a show for me. However, this is still a borrowed body. I feel neither pain nor-
    Sesshomaru: [Slice]
  • Talking Is a Free Action:
    • Combatants often like to chat during their fights or exposit about their powers, manaevours, and so on. For a printed format like manga, it can be annoying but not necessarily immersion breaking. For a medium with a time component like anime, though, it could prove distracting.
    • The Final Act includes a lampshade hanging subversion: in her first battle after having the Hiraikotsu restored, Sango launches it at Naraku, who goes into a whole speech about how useless her weapon is on him only to be cut off mid-sentence by his upper-torso being turned into figgy pudding by the new aura-shattering powers of the Hiraikotsu.
  • Tanuki: Hachi, Miroku's supernatural friend, is a tanuki who utilizes illusion magic much like Shippo.
  • Tear Off Your Face: During Naraku's initial attempt to expel his human heart, it takes the form of a naked faceless man. The man goes on to slay a whole bunch of bandits and cut off their faces, trying them on like one would shirts in a store.
  • Tears of Blood: Victims of Kaou the Flower Prince tend to shed tears of blood.
  • Technicolor Toxin: Naraku's miasma is purple in color and Sesshomaru's claws glow green when he intends to use his poison.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Inuyasha and Kagome's early relationship consisted of them spending just as much time bickering with and insulting one another as they did fighting demons and collecting jewel shards. After one argument too many, Kagome gets so fed up with Inuyasha's attitude that she promptly leaves to go home. It isn't until the threat of Yura is dealt with and Inuyasha starts calling Kagome by her name that they become friends. They still bicker, of course, but the bickering is no longer out of animosity.
  • Thanatos Gambit: At his moment of death, Naraku plans to take Kagome into the Shikon Jewel with him so they can replace the composite demon and Midoriko respectively. This would ensure the perpuation of the jewel's inherent dueling nature.
  • That Didn't Happen: Sango goes into complete denial after declaring that she'd prefer to die with Miroku than leave him and save herself.
  • They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Sango's father often warned her that the most dangerous kinds of youkai are those that can take human form. Time and again, this advice is proven to be correct, for Inuyasha and the gang aren't immune to being tricked by youkai who possess a human shape or steal a human body for possession.
  • Theme Naming:
    • The three named characters from the youkai exterminators' village (Sango, Kohaku, and Kirara) all have names referring to semi-precious stones (coral, amber, and mica respectively).
    • The Band of Seven's names all end with "骨 kotsu" which in this case means "skill".
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
    • One chapter/episode that primarily takes place during Kagome's time period includes Inuyasha trying to kill a cockroach in Kagome's kitchen with a transformed Tessaiga. Cut to part of the kitchen being completely destroyed.
    • In Chapter 523/Episode 19 of The Final Act, Byakuya summons thousands of demons in an attempt to kill Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru kills them all with one swing of Bakusaiga.
      Byakuya: [Summons a swarm of demons]
      Sesshomaru: You can't stop me with dozens of these demons.
      Byakuya: Oh, I know that. That's why I've summoned thousands of them.
      Sesshomaru: [Easily tears them apart]
      Byakuya: Maybe I should have gone for millions...
  • Time Travel: The well at the Higurashi shrine acts as a portal between the Japan of the modern day and its 15th century, an era already filled with war and strife compounded by the existance of youkai. Kagome uses the Bone-Eater's Well to travel between the 1990s she grew up in and the Sengoku era.
  • Time-Travel Romance: Kagome is from 90s contemparary Japan while Inuyasha has always lived in the Sengoku era. Throughout their adventures, they slowly fall in love with each other despite their very different backgrounds.
  • Time-Travelers Are Spies: Kagome was suspected to be a spy from a rival village when she first arrived at Kaede's village.
  • Timey-Wimey Ball: Kagome finds a jewel shard in the present, which implies it's also back in the Sengoku period, meaning the Shikon Jewel eventually comes up to complete plus one extra shard stuck in a tree somewhere. Souls also seem to transcend time in that Kikyo can't be reborn with her soul because it's already been reincarnated in someone else. Someone else from the far future who hadn't been born yet, even if she happens to have will have travelled back in time.
  • Token Human: Rin is the only human in Sesshomaru's entourage, at least until Kohaku starts traveling with him for a time as well.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Since Kagome grew up in a peaceful era, she lacks any battle experience and being Kikyo's reincarnation doesn't mean she knows archery right off the bat. As such, she often has to rely on Inuyasha's superior strength in order to help them out during the beginning of their adventures. As the series progresses, Kagome becomes a skilled archer, able to kill youkai with one sacred arrow.
  • Took a Level in Kindness:
    • Inuyasha starts out selfish and overly combative, being more concerned about finding Shikon shards than Kagome's wellfare. Over time, he begins to care a lot more about Kagome and his fellow traveling companions, putting their health and safety above obtaining the shards or new powers.
    • Sesshomaru detests humans, finding them all weak, inferior creatures and finds his half-youkai brother, Inuyasha, especially loathesome. After getting beaten by Inuyasha, Sesshomaru is wounded badly and a human girl named Rin helps nurse him back to health in what little ways she can. Some time after that, Sesshomaru stumbles across a recently deceased Rin and uses his Tenseiga to revive her. Instead of dropping her off at the nearest human village, Sesshomaru lets her tag along with him and Jaken. While he'll never admit it, he does come to genuinely care about her life to the point of getting genuinely upset at the thought her dying for good.
  • To Serve Man: There are plenty of youkai who find the flesh of humans delicious.
  • Toplessness from the Back: When Sango first bathes with Kagome, her back is predominatly shown in order to show off the scar Kohaku unwittingly gave her.
  • Treacherous Spirit Chase: Inuyasha nearly gets killed by a youkai disguised as his mother who has been dead for years. If Kagome hadn't seen through the illusion and managed to convince Inuyasha that things weren't what they seemed to be, he would have died.
  • Treasure Chest Cavity:
    • When Kikyo was reincarnated into Kagome, the Shikon Jewel hitched a ride as well, residing inside of Kagome's body (specifically the left side of her torso).
    • Inuyasha's father had a portal to his grave hidden inside a black pearl with the pearl itself hidden inside Inuyasha's right eye.
  • Trouble Follows You Home: After three days stuck in 15th centry Japan, Kagome finally returns home thanks to an attack by Yura sending her through the Bone-Eater's Well. Kagome thinks this means that she can put the time traveling, shard collecting shenanigans behind her... up until Inuyasha himself travels through the well to retrive her and the hair Yura's manipulating follows suit.
  • Troubled, but Cute: Inuyasha is a handsome man despite his half-youkai features (or even because of them). However, it's thanks to his half-youkai blood that Inuyasha's childhood was anything but pleasant: while his mother cared for him deeply, he was the target of ridicule and harrasment from both humans and youkai alike. Thanks to this hostile enviroment, he had to grow a gruff, violent exterior in order to survive. And that's not even getting into his and Kikyo's situation.
  • True Companions: Throughout the course of their travels, Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango and Kirara form a close bond. They each look out for each other and are willing to do anything to keep one another alive.
  • Tsuchigumo and Jorogumo: The Spider Heads were a group of spider yokai that took over a local shrine. Their leader posed as a monk as part of a plan to lure Inuyasha to him and steal his shards of the Shikon Jewel.
  • Tsundere: Inuyasha and Kagome are both tsunderes of different kinds: Inuyasha is antisocial and has a quick temper, but manage to befriend him and he'll be loyal, trustworthy, and sometimes kind. Kagome, meanwhile, is outgoing, friendly and generally sweet, but becomes something of a terror when angered.
  • Ultimate Black Smith: Totosai is the youkai who made Tessaiga and Tenseiga. After Tessaiga breaks, he's able to reforge it using his fire breath and one of Inuyasha's fangs.
  • Undeath Always Ends: Characters who are brought back from the dead usually die before the arc or series is over, such as the Band of Seven and Kikyo. Kohaku is the exception, thanks to Kikyo's light keeping him alive.
  • Undressing the Unconscious: During her capture by Tokajin, Kagome is rendered uncounscious. When she next wakes up, she finds herself naked in a big bath. Tokajin wanted her clean before intending to eat her (in the manga)/feed her to a man-eating tree (anime).
  • The Unfair Sex: Kagome gets extremely jealous when Inuyasha has any kind of interaction with Kikyo, even if said interaction is nothing more than discussing about how to kill Naraku. Everyone showers her with sympathy, while they'll berate Inuyasha when he gets jealous of Koga for flirting with Kagome.
  • Unfazed Everyman: If Kagome's mother, brother, and grandfather are surprised to learn that the well in their shrine is a time portal to the 15th century, then they never let on to that fact. Nor does Kagome's mother seem surprised or concered by Kagome skipping tons of school in order to take trips to an already volatile period that includes all manner of dangerous creatures.
  • Unholy Holy Sword: The Shikon Jewel is a spherical gem that can imbue its owner with immense power(s) and even grant their wishes. However, while its nature is neutral, it's more often used for malicious purposes and it won't always grant the wish you want.
  • Unnamed Parents: In the manga, none of the parents for the main characters are given names, instead being referred to by how they are related to them. This remains mostly true for the anime as well.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: Sango and Miroku develop a mutual attraction, but it takes both of them awhile to acknowledge it. After they do, there's the threat of Miroku's Wind Tunnel swallowing him up at an uncertain time hanging over their heads. Sango would rather die with Miroku than be left without him, but Miroku doesn't want to take her down with him. Once Naraku is killed off for good, they marry and have three children together.
  • Unwanted Revival: Kikyo had chosen to follow Inuyasha in death and take the Shikon Jewel with her to the afterlife in the hopes of being with Inuyasha in some way and removing the jewel from the playing field for good respectively. She couldn't have expected the jewel and herself to be reincarnated five hundred years later nor for Urasue, an ogre sourceress, to successfully revive Kikyo herself into a clay body. When she realizes what has been done, she's furious and kills Urasue immediately.
  • Van Helsing Hate Crimes:
    • The general public's treatment of youkai and half-youkai often borders on "hate on sight". For one example, Jinenji is automatically accused of attacking and eating people simply because he's a half-youkai, and the villagers only discover the real culprit after they've formed an angry mob and burn his hut to the ground.
    • The anime only character, Ungai, is a monk who is firmly convinced that all demons are bad to the extent that he openly declares Kagome, Miroku, and Sango (a miko, a monk, and a professional demon slayer respectively) hypocrites for even bothering to associate with Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kirara.
  • Victim of the Week: During their travels, Inuyasha and the gang meet many humans and villages who are plagued by a particular youkai.
    • Chapters 19 to 22/Episode 8 introduces Amari Nobunaga, a samurai who seeks to rescue his beloved Princess Tsuyu from a toad demon.
    • Chapters 183 to 185/Episode 31 focuses on Inuyasha and Kagome helping Jinenji, a kindhearted half-youkai who is the target of some scared and angry villagers that believe him to be behind a string of recent murders. Jinenji and his mother have been the target of the villagers hate, and this latest incindent proves to be the last straw. It isn't until Inuyasha outs the actual culprit and Jinenji kills the youkai that the villagers admit their mistake.
  • Victor Gains Loser's Powers: It's possible for the Tessaiga to steal a youkai's power but only if Inuyasha is able to defeat whoever possess that power.
  • Viewers Are Goldfish: Both the manga and the anime have a habit of reiterating information that the audience already knows or can plainly see for themselves; character motivations and backgrounds are often repeated, and whoever isn't participating during a battle will likely keep up a running commentary of the fight.
  • Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Just when it seems like Inuyasha and the gang may be able to kill Naraku, Naraku uses his miasma, saimyosho, or something else to force them back so he can beat a hasty retreat.
  • Villain Team-Up: Naraku uses the recent loss of an arm and the Tessaiga to manipulate Sesshomaru into attacking Inuyasha. He gives Sesshomaru a human arm with a jewel shard embedded in it to replace the one he lost, allowing Sesshomaru to potentially wield the Tessaiga against Inuyasha. Of course, this team up only lasts for as long as the fight that follows. After it's over, Sesshomaru vows to kill Naraku for using him in Naraku's own battle against Inuyasha.
  • Villains Act, Heroes React: Naraku is always at least two steps ahead of Inuyasha and the gang, leaving them scrambling to counteract whatever scheme he's concocted.
  • Villainous Crossdresser: Jakotsu dresses in woman's attire and is a ruthless man who delights in killing handsome men.
  • Visible Sigh: Sometimes when a character sighs in the anime, a little white cloud moving away from their mouth will show up.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Inuyasha and Shippo may bicker and get into their fair share of spats, but when push comes to shove, they'll have each other's backs.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting:
    • Shippo's fox magic lets him shift into a large pink bubblelike shape and even other people.
    • Hachi, Miroku's tanuki friend, can shift from his default tanuki form to a large comet-like form.
    • Since Naraku is an amalgamation of youkai, he can shapeshift into other beings at will. He used this ability to make it seem like Inuyasha and Kikyo had betrayed each other by taking on each of their forms.
  • Walking the Earth: Since Kagome and Inuyasha don't know exactly where the Shikon shards landed, they travel across Japan searching for anything or anyone who may have them. Kagome's ability to detect where they are is certainly useful, but it only helps narrow down any one shard's location. Along the way, they pick up Shippo, Sango, her nekomata companion, Kirara, and Miroku, the later of whom introduces the threat of Naraku.
  • Warding Gestures: Sometimes when a character is surprised or frightened, their fingers form the shape of the mano cornuta gesture.
  • Warring Natures: Half-youkai are generally hated by both youkai and humans. Being half-youkai himself, Inuyasha was an outcast who grew to hate his human side. He initially wanted the Shikon Jewel to become a full youkai so he'd finally fit in somewhere.
  • Warrior Therapist: Shishinki is a skilled combatant that uses an understanding of his opponent's mental weaknesses combined with his own physical abilities to take his enemy down.
  • Weapon Tombstone: The youkai slayers' graves are marked with their weapons.
  • Weapons That Suck: Miroku's right hand has a hole that can suck up anything and anyone unfortunate enough to get within its range. He calls it his Wind Tunnel and he generally isn't adversely affected by the things it sucks up, but poison wasps and miasma can do a number on him if he isn't careful.
  • Weapon Wields You: Sesshomaru takes Goshinki's decapitated head to the swordsmith Kaijinbo, and commissions him to make a sword from his fangs. Kaijinbo complies, but the resulting sword, Tokijin, takes over the mind of anyone trying to wield it, filling their head with hate and murderous intent. This isn't true for Sesshomaru, who picks up Tokijin with nary a flinch.
  • Welcome Back, Traitor: Upon learning that her bother, Kohaku, was raised from the dead, Sango is given an ultimatum by Naraku: steal Inuyasha's sword and bring it to him or he'll take the Shikon shard sustaining Kohaku's life. Sango snatches Tessaiga and brings it to Naraku. After this latest kerfuffle is dealt with, Sango explains why she betrayed her newfound companions and that she'd do it again if it meant saving Kohaku. Inuyasha and the rest are understanding of her plight and let her continue journeying with them.
  • What a Piece of Junk: The Tessaiga takes the form of a battered, rusty katana when not in use. Inuyasha refers to as a piece of junk a few times before seeing it in its transformed state.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: After finishing off a possessed Noh mask animated by a Shikon shard, Kagome theorizes that other shards may have survived into the present day, setting up similar conflicts. While there is another youkai encounter, no Shikon shards were involved and any excursions into the present thereafter are mainly comedic affairs.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Everyone kills youkai without batting an eye, but Kagome and her group always try not to kill humans no matter how evil or despicable they are. In Chapters 183 to 185/Episode 51, Inuyasha succumbs to his Superpowered Evil Side and personally hunts down and slaughters Gatenmaru's henchmen. Despite the fact that they were knowingly serving a youkai and that they had personally fed innocent villagers to their demon boss while making him watch, Inuyasha undergoes a complete My God, What Have I Done? moment as soon as he snaps out of it.
  • What You Are in the Dark: During Kagome's vision at Mount Azusa, she has to choose whether or not to save the fake Kikyo. The Spirit Advisor points out that Inuyasha would never know if she decided to let Kikyo die. Kagome tells the fake Kikyo off and realizes that she has nothing to be jealous over.
  • When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Inuyasha's main attack becomes the Wind Scar as he uses it against practically every opponent. He does add other moves to his repertoire, but the Wind Scar remains his go to.
  • When It All Began: The events of Inuyasha occur due to actions that took place 50 years ago: a severely injured bandit named Onigumo wanted Kikyo for himself, but he needed a functional body to do it. He made a pact with a bunch of youkai, offering up his soul and body. This had the unintended side effect of transforming him into Naraku, a half-youkai who was more concerned with tainting the Shikon Jewel than winning over Kikyo. He even goes so far as to manipulate both Kikyo and Inuyasha into thinking they betrayed each other, with Kikyo putting an enchanted arrow through Inuyasha before dying herself. She requested the jewel be burned alongside her, intending to take it with her to the afterlife. This proves successful for five hundred years until she and the jewel are reincarnated into Kagome. And thanks to Kagome and the jewel being sent to the past, the fight over the jewel's power starts over again.
  • "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The final chapter, "Tomorrow", checks in with the major characters three years after Naraku's defeat; Rin lives in the village with Kaede, Sesshomaru visiting periodically. Miroku and Inuyasha keep up their youkai hunting so Miroku can support Sango and their children. Inuyasha himself has been visiting the well every three days in the hopes that Kagome will come back. In the modern day, Kagome has graduated from high school and misses Inuyasha greatly, which proves to be thing that gets the well working again, letting her reunite with Inuyasha.
  • Where It All Began: Naraku dies and the Shikon Jewel is destroyed at the same well that brought Kagome into the past.
  • Whip Sword: Jakotsu's sword doubles as a regular sword and a cutting whip through the use of jointed blades.
  • White Hair, Black Heart:
    • The silver-haired Sesshomaru starts out cold and cruel to everyone who crosses him. After Rin joins him and Jaken, Sesshomaru's heart begins to thaw a bit. He'll still kill without hesitation, but he does become more concerned about lives other than his own.
    • Hakudoushi possesses white hair and is just as manipulative as his progenitor, Naraku. Ending dozens of lives, human or otherwise, in pursuit of his goals means nothing to him.
  • Wise Tree: Bokuseno is a two thousand years old magnolia tree who uses his age and experience to give advice to those who seek it. The scabbards for Tessaiga and Tenseiga were made from his branches.
  • Wishplosion: The only way to destroy the Shikon Jewel for good is by making the correct wish. Said wish is to demand the jewel to make itself disappear. Kagome manages to figure this out while inside the jewel and the jewel grants her wish.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: When Inuyasha transforms into a full youkai, he gets incredible strength and resistance, but it's too much power for his half-human body to handle. With each transformation, he'll lose his sanity bit by bit until he'll end up as nothing more than a mindless killing machine that will keep fighting until he destroys everyone around him or gets himself killed.
  • Wolverine Claws: When his evil side surfaces, Suikotsu dons an open-palmed glove with four long sharp blades fitted on the top.
  • Womb Level: Once the Shikon Jewel is completed, Naraku has enough power to create a giant spider form to hide himself inside of. Kagome and her group alongside Sesshomaru all enter the giant spider to seek and destroy Naraku once and for all.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Inuyasha impaled Yura through her chest with his hand, Koga hit Kagura in the face and Miroku punched Sango (and other girls) to free her from a youkai in her stomach possessing her.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Naraku has no compunctions about doing horrible things to whomever he wants, children included. Various other youkai such as Goshinki share his willingness to harm kids, and even Koga has no issue with letting his wolves kill Rin during his first appearance. Kagura may be a notable exception, given that she fails to do anything more serious than kidnapping Rin, and becomes quite protective of Kohaku. Thanks to a multiple personality disorder, Suikotsu flipped between being a gentle doctor who wouldn't hurt a fly to a homicidal maniac that was willing to add children to his body count.
  • Wrecked Weapon:
    • In addition to his telepathy, Goshinki possessed incredibly strong fangs which he used to snap Inuyasha's Tessaiga in half. This leads to the revelation that the Tessaiga was what was keeping Inuyasha's youkai blood in check, and there's a mini-arc dedicated to fixing the sword and Inuyasha remastering it.
    • To save Miroku, Sango sacrificed her Hiraikotsu by spreading a very corrosive poison on its surface in order to destroy the bone youkai they were fighting. The poison partially dissolves the huge boomerang as well, rendering it useless until Sango goes through an ordeal to fix it.
    • Honoring a promise to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru sacrifices his claim to both swords by deliberately shattering Tenseiga's blade against Tessaiga to pass on the Meidou Zangetsuha. The broken Tenseiga responds to this by guiding the pair out of the danger they're in and promptly reforging itself.
  • Yandere: Onigumo was a bandit who was so severely burned and injured that he couldn't move at all. As Kikyo took care of him, her beauty and kindness fomented a possessive desire in Onigumo. This desire is what led Onigumo to giving over his soul and body to a horde of youkai, giving birth to the half-youkai Naraku. Onigumo's feelings for Kikyo carried over into Naraku, who despises them and goes to great lengths to get rid of them.
  • Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: For the early episodes of the anime, the English dub attempted to have the villagers and Kaede speak in an archaic English syntax in order to fit the older time period. This was dropped after a dozen or so episodes, with only Kaede keeping this specific speaking style and everyone else talking in regular modern-day English.
  • You Are Not Alone: After failing miserably at defeating Naraku and saving her brother plus having just betrayed her new companions, Sango tries to leave the group but the others don't let her, telling her that being alone isn't a solution and it's best if they all stay together.
    Sango: I was really scared... I was scared that I'd be alone.
  • You Are Worth Hell: Sango prefers to stay and die with a poisoned Miroku than save herself while being chased and cornered by youkai. In the final battle, when the Wind Tunnel is about to consume him, Sango refuses to leave.
  • You Can Barely Stand: Regardless of how many wounds he takes, Inuyasha still forces himself back up in order to defeat his opponent(s). The same goes for Miroku; even when his blood is laced with saimiyosho venom, he'll use his Wind Tunnel should the need arise.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
    • After getting heavily injured by Inuyasha and spared with the intention of freeing her from Naraku, he crushes Kanna's crystalline heart to blow her up in a last-ditch attempt to kill the protagonists. Naraku partly saw this as a Mercy Kill because of Kanna's condition by that point.
    • Once Hakudoshi starts gloating about betraying Naraku, the latter decides he's not worth protecting and abandons him to be killed.
  • You Must Be Cold: Inuyasha gives his fire-rat haori to Kagome several times throughout the series, most times because it's resistant to fire, poison and sharp things, but a few times because she's actually cold or to protect her modesty.
  • Youkai: The Sengoku period is crawling with youkai everywhere and many of them want the Shikon Jewel to make themselves unbeatable. In half-youkai Inuyasha's case, he wants the jewel to turn himself into a full youkai.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: Miroku's Wind Tunnel will eventually grow to the point where it will consume him and anyone and anything around him unless he kills Naraku first.
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: There are multiple times where Inuyasha or another character seemingly kills Naraku only for the Naraku they killed to be revealed as a puppet or that he is the acutal Naraku and is wounded, but he's still alive and thus able to beat a hasty retreat.
  • Your Soul Is Mine!: Kanna's mirror can steal the souls of whoever is reflected in the mirror. Depending on the strength of the individual, it's possible for the person to still move even after their soul is stolen.
  • Your Universe or Mine?: Kagome was born and raised in 90s Japan while Inuyasha was born and raised in the Sengoku era. This temporal difference doesn't stop them from slowly falling in love with one another, and the question of how they'll stay together eventually rears its head. Ultimately, Kagome decides to stay with Inuyasha in feudal Japan.
  • Zigzag Paper Tassel:
    • The goshinboku tree in the present, assimilated into the grounds of the Higurashi shrine, has a shimenawa around it. (Not so in the past, due to being farther from the village and generally avoided by the villagers.)
    • One chapter features some monkeys who trick Inuyasha into touching a small stone with a shimenawa around it, which sticks to his hand and becomes a huge boulder.
    • Shimenawa are occasionally seen being used by monks or miko to set up a magical barrier or seal, such as the seal on the cave where Entei was trapped.

 
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Miroku and the Mantis Youkai

"Miroku Walks into a Dangerous Trap". A praying mantis demon disguised as the princess of a destroyed state lures Miroku away from the party offering to bear his child, then attempts to eat him. He destroys the demon with his Wind Tunnel, but its forearms nick the edges, prompting the main plot of the episode.

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