Customer Reviews

Inuyasha, Vol. 49 - Tragic Love Song of Destiny

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After watching this DVD - "Tragic Love Song of Destiny" I realized that while I really hated Kikyo for a long time (and actually broke open a bottle when she died again) I can't hate her now.

You see that they didn't have anyone else but each other in a world where no one cared anyway. They took what they could from each other and for themselves.

I WAS upset that Inuyasha could say the "L" word so easily to Kikyo and yet has an extremely difficult time saying it to Kagome who he obviously loves so much more than he ever loved Kikyo. I put it down to the fact that Naraku is still around and could mess with Inuyasha & Kagome like he did to Inuyasha and Kikyo.

The whole DVD sort of makes you realize that Kagome, the reincarnation, is just their second chance at happiness. She's not second best, the second woman or any of that. Just a chance for good to triumph over evil yet again by allowing their souls to be together.

Inuyasha has become such a guilty pleasure of mine. What I enjoy most of all is how complicated the love story turned out to be. Yes, I, like many, started out disliking Kikyo. This episode, "The Tragic Song of Destiny" has so much meaning. The strangest part for me is...it fleshed out the love story between Kikyo and Inuyasha...BUT...it solidified the fate and destiny of Kagome and Inuyasha. It's probably one of the most important episodes to watch. Inuyasha loves both Kagome and Kikyo, but the trip is, they are the same soul. It does bother me that Inuyasha was able to say he loved Kikyo so easily but this episode just proves it's partly because he was connected to that time in an innocent way. Everytime he says he can protect Kagome it's in that action that shows how much he loves her because he doesn't want what happened to Kikyo to happen to Kagome. For him, history must not repeat itself and maybe part of him remembers that the minute he said he loved Kikyo, he lost her forever, or so he thought. Fate plays a significant part in this story. Kikyo inadvertently preserves Inuyasha for their future together, through Kagome. The Kikyo we see in most of the story is but clay, bones, dirt, pain and a memory...a memory that haunts Inuyasha, while unbeknownst to Inuyasha and Kagome, the real love is right in front of their faces. Kagome's bears the pure heart that Kikyo has lost, the heart that belongs to Inuyasha. So sad and so very beautiful.

This DVD showcases two of the most informative and (to me) heart-wrenching episodes of the entire InuYasha series. Herein, we follow the voice of the Priestess Kaede as she tells the story of her beloved older priestess-sister Kikyo and how she'd cared for the injured thief Onigumo, who later gives his earthly body to a hoard of demons in order to gain power, pursue Kikyo and destroy her life. But Kikyo had a greater task than caring for the paralyzed thief. The local demon hunter clan entrusts the extremely powerful Shikon Jewel (The Jewel of Four Souls) to her because she alone has the power to purify the jewel and keep it safe from the evil forces that would possess it. While caring for the Jewel, Kikyo meets InuYasha, a 150 year-old half demon who wants to steal the Jewel in order to erase his human half and become a full-blooded demon. Despite his selfish and feral nature, Kikyo can see that within him is a soul that can love and be loved, and she finds herself attracted to him. InuYasha puts on a good angry front, but he too finds that he desires the company of the beautiful priestess. Little by little, they develop their own special relationship which is sad and sweet at the same time, for Kikyo dreams of having the life of a normal young woman, and InuYasha, having recognized his love for her, finds that he is willing to give up his quest for full demonhood and instead tells her that he's willing to let her use the Jewel's power to transform him into a full human. But lurking in the background is the newly reborn Onigumo,now known as Naraku (the name means "Hell") who still harbors a twisted love/lust for Kikyo. He concocts a horrific plan to destroy the budding relationship between InuYasha and Kikyo and tear them utterly apart.

Some fans have developed a dislike for Kikyo over the course of the series due to how she's been portrayed after her resurrection by the Ogress Urasue. But these two episodes show clearly the error of that thinking. Kikyo and Inuyasha were a beautiful example of true love and their story would have ended happily, had Kikyo not shown the evil Onigumo kindness and compassion by caring for him. Once torn asunder, the lovers meet again and again throughout the series, their hearts aching for the future they'd both lost.

Then along comes Kagome, who reintroduces the Jewel into play and is also instrumental in shattering it into countless pieces that must be gathered together again. Kaede forces InuYasha to work with Kagome to this end by collaring him with the Nenju necklace; a string of enchanted beads that will throw him to the ground each time Kagome utters a word of control. In her case, "Sit", ("Osuwari!" in the Japanese version.)

I started out disliking Kikyo, like many fans do, but once I spent some real thought on it, I realized that I was doing her a great disservice. Through no fault of her own, she was denied a future with InuYasha by a man whom she tried to help. And over the course of the series, I could now see that Kagome (while obviously a true friend of great personal strength) was prone to use InuYasha's necklace in fits of petulance if she didn't happen to like his mouthy attitude. Given his history with Kikyo, she has no right to expect InuYasha to think of her as anything more than a friend, as long as his true love walks the earth. Her jealousy and temper were uncalled for many times and I have since decided that I would be happy if she went back to her soft bed, hot bath, and schoolwork in the future, leaving InuYasha to carve his own place in the past. But, I digress.

These two nicely crafted episodes are the best summation of the history of the complex interactions and machinations that drive the characters forward toward the eventual reconstruction of the Shikon Jewel, and the destruction of the consummate evil that Naraku has become. Any true fan of the series will appreciate this historical backdrop and some of the deep secrets it reveals. There is such a richness to InuYasha's story in it's entirety that whether you favor Kikyo or Kagome, you will find plenty to fuel the imagination. I look forward to the DVD so I can watch these episodes several times over!

This volume has to be one of the best of the entire Inuyasha series. It depicts the true relationship of Inuyasha and Kikyo. I love the use of narration by Kaede. We see their relationship through Kaede's eyes. I absolutely enjoyed this episode. It is indeed heartbreaking and tragic. A relationship ruined by both evil ambitions and cursed destinies. After watching this volume you get a sense of Kikyo and her character and why she acts the way she does. She is a priestess and part of being a priestess requires her to be giving. Its sad how she puts others needs before hers and when she finally gets an opportunity to seize what she desires, she is killed. This kind of portrays a metaphor in the sense that most women in deeply rooted cultures tend to please their societies and are hesitant to find their own happiness. In summary, the tragic love song of destiny is superb in all its glory and it is definetly a must have if you are a die hard Inuyasha fan.

Hakudoshi lets Kagura tell Inuyasha and pals where to find the gate that leads to the netherworld and the last Shikon jewel shard, but there's a catch. Anyone that is not dead that tries to force their way through the gates has to contend with two giant warrior statues that come to life to make sure any trespasser is indeed deceased before they pass through! Naraku, as usual is plotting more schemes and alternate paths to the same goal himself, and enlists the aid of Princess Abi,a demoness who controls a flock of vampiric birds who is nursing her wounded mother back to health with the blood of humans she slaughters. The last episode on the disk is a special one hour show that flashbacks to the past of Inuyasha and Kikyo's past and shows in more depth than ever before how they fell in love and ended up dead...or semi-dead in Inuyasha's case, and ends at the beginning of Episode 1.

At this point in Inuyasha we're in yet another long trudge of chasing Naraku and finding a jewel shard with all the main players gradually growing closer and closer to a confrontation that will lead to a big battle that settles nothing. Naraku will escape in the end and nothing will be resolved, and the show starts over again. This formula is getting a little old by this point, but even when you know exactly where the story, or lack thereof, is leading, I still enjoy this show. I just really like the characters I guess, and I like to see how the creators manuever them all into the big fight. Viz outdid itself with this release with the hour long show because this series is known for its miserly episode count, with a measly three episodes per volume, just so they can milk fans for a ton of extra money. The last episode alone is worth the price of admission because it shows a vulnerable side to Inuyasha and Kikyo that we haven't seen in a while, and the tragedy that occurs at the end is no less powerful for being known. A great show keeps on chugging.

Kikyo and kagome may have the same soul, but Kagome is waay differnet than Kikyo just off the fact that Kagome shows her emotion's all the time. Inuyasha probably likes Kagome, but the way i see it is its a friend love.... He and Kikyo that was love she really cared about him and showed him compassion. You have to remember, Inuyasha had nobody before Kikyo and Kikyo had nothing before Inuyahsa, she may have a grudge on him even though she knows he didnt kill her, but she still see's his face doing that to her, and that has to be a powerful image. Kagome is a annoying brat who may love inuyasha but i dont think he feels the same way, i think he just says the stuff he says to kagome just to keep her around when she throws a fit and leaves. Although....... if you watch all the episodes you will see that she does in fact grow on Inuyasha and Kikyo in my opinion is no longer a factor. BUT! he can never forget his first love he will always see kikyo in kagomes face. always.