......./\~*ForeveR^ShrinE*~/\.......

...InuYasha Movie 3...

Swords of an Honorable Ruler

This movie aired in Japanese theaters in December 2003. It's best to see the movie after seeing episode 136 (Japan's Y-TV even took a five-week break from showing the anime to make room for the theater release of the third movie). It stars Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara, Sesshoumaru, Rin, Jaken, Toutousai, Myouga, and a new character by the name of Saya. There are appearances by Kagome's friends and family. This movie delves into the story of Inuyasha's father, Inuyasha's mother (Izayoi), and a human-turned-demon named Setsuna Takemaru, who is this movie's main antagonist.
We see a tall, white-haired demon standing atop a snow-covered hill. He's injured. Sesshoumaru stands behind him, and it's pretty obvious that the injured demon is his father. To be honest, their conversation is purposefully a bit vague. Sesshoumaru says he won't stop his father, but he asks for Tessaiga and Souunga (a third sword) to be handed over first. The two of them obviously don't get along too well, judging from their conversation. The father asks the son if he would actually kill him for the swords. Sesshoumaru says he would not, but then his father poses another question. Why does he seek power? Sesshoumaru replies that he seeks power because he needs it in order to walk "the path of conquest." His last question is to ask his son if he has anything to protect, and Sesshoumaru coldly replies that he has no inclination to do so.
Having the answers he needed, Sesshoumaru's father transforms into his dog form. Sesshoumaru walks away. Meanwhile at a castle nearby, at least a hundred men guard the gates to the complex. And we learn that the castle's princess is in the midst of bearing a child...the child of a monster. The father is running towards the castle, obviously coming for the woman bearing his child.
We see, too, that the ever-faithful Myouga is along for the ride, warning the father that he needs to tend to the wounds he just received from Ryuukossei. The father waves his concerns aside, though, saying that he doesn't have much time left. A castle soldier, probably the captain of the guard, is seen entering the room of the princess. A woman identified as Izayoi talks with him, asking him to flee with the castle entourage since "he" will not forgive anyone for being there.
The soldier, who identifies himself as Setsuna Takemaru, says that he was always fond of her. And then he stabs her with his spear, leaving her to die. Meanwhile, the father has reached the castle gates, and swiftly fells the men with his first sword, Tessaiga. The last one to stand against him is Takemaru, who says that he has sent "her" to a place where no one can reach her. The two warriors run at each other, but in grand style, the father easily hits the soldier, chopping off his sword arm and leaving him behind. He enters the now-burning complex, calling for Izayoi. Following the sounds of a crying baby, he finds her bed and tosses away the stand of curtains around it. He looks down to see that she is dead, and pulls forth his second sword, Tenseiga. Swiping at the soul-bearers revealed to him by the sword, he successfully revives her, and drapes a familiar red coat over her head to protect her from the flames.
It seems, though, that Takemaru is determined to take the father to hell with him. Resigned to his fate, the father tells Izayoi that the name of the child in her arms is Inuyasha. Having drawn his third sword, he tells Izayoi to run for safety, to live on, and she thankfully obeys. From the blade of the third sword, Souunga, the ghostly, black image of a dragon appears. The two warriors run at each other one last time, their blades meeting, and that's when the roof of the entire building caves in. It's a safe bet that Takemaru and Inuyasha's father both perish, though Inuyasha's father was already dying. Inuyasha's mother glances back once she has reached safety, remembering what her lover had told her. To live on. She looks down at her baby. EEE! It's cute baby Inuyasha!!! And that is the first seven minutes of the movie.
The opening credits of the movie begin, and Inuyasha walks along a dirt road. Kagome isn't far behind. During this part, you hear some dialogue in the background, but it's random chatter. Kagome is refreshing the audience as to who she is, and why she and Inuyasha came together. She also makes it a point to explain the tense relationship between Inuyasha and his brother.
Important dialogue in the flashback is Inuyasha's vow to protect Kagome, an emotion which granted him Tessaiga's powers. We even see what we didn't in the TV series: the arm that Sesshoumaru lost returns to its human-like shape, and is left there. We catch up with the Yasha gang after the flashback. At a roadside diner, Kagome explains more about their group. Inuyasha hits Shippou...
Miroku gropes Sango... Both are duly punished. The story begins with Kagome at school. Leaving the well house with her backpack in tow, she runs off to school, and when we catch up with her, she and her friends are in the middle of a game of volleyball during their PE class. Kagome is about to return a spike from one of her friends, but a flash of red and the ball is gone! Inuyasha, on a nearby roof and wearing his usual baseball cap, defeats (or rather, deflates) the ball with one hand, tossing it aside. He tries to get Kagome's attention, and she sits him before anyone can see him (she's probably ticked off, too). Her friends are confused now. Kagome makes up some lame excuse about vinegar (osuwari vs. osu wa ii), and runs off. Meanwhile...
Jii-chan and Kagome's mother are moving one of the shrine's many treasures: a sword named "Murakumo no Tsurugi." That's what Jii-chan calls it as he explains its origins to Souta, but it has a different name in other artifact indeces. You and I know, though, that its name is "Souunga." The kanji, ?u?p?_???v, do have the pronunciation "murakumoga," but a rarer pronunciation is Souunga, which you can roughly translate to "Fang of Gathered Clouds." On the way home from school, Kagome tries to explain to Inuyasha that her era is much safer than his, and that he doesn't need to be there to protect her. They?@also have a brief conversation on when she'll stop using "sit" on him all the time, in which she accidentally says "sit." She then apologizes badly.
In a new scene, Myouga brings Miroku and Sango to the grave of Inuyasha's mother. Myouga comments on Izayoi's beauty. Though she died long ago, Inuyasha still mourns her. Miroku and Sango are surprised that Inuyasha would leave flowers at her grave. Sango wonders aloud if his human feelings are a weakness to him... Back with Kagome's family, Jii-chan explains to Souta that the sword was taken from the tail of a monster slayed by a great warrior. The sword is so rusted, though, that it's stuck inside its sheath, but they air it out once a while, anyway. Souta takes a closer look at the seal on the sheath, and points out that the last kanji is read as "fang." Mama comes over and says, "Oh, then its name must be Souunga!" Souta thinks it's a fake, and Jii-chan kind of freaks out, looking around for better evidence of the sword's authenticity. Souta reaches to touch the sword, and a strange face emerges, biting at him but missing. Souta is now freaked, and yells that the sword tried to bite him! Mama doesn't believe him, but a light appears from the seal, and it begins to speak!!! The light says that it is a seal to keep the sword under control, and it has lasted 700 years, but it is weak and about to fail. The light asks if there are any strong demons around, but before anyone can answer, the sword lifts up by itself and flies out of the compound! It leaves the shrine, travelling along the sidewalk and confusing lots of people. Catching up to Inuyasha and Kagome in the middle of an empty playground, the sword stops and waits in front of him, and Inuyasha is poised to handle a new danger.
The seal on the sword recognizes Tessaiga first, and then deduces that its wielder must be Inuyasha. It introduces itself as "Saya" (means sheath in Japanese, whoopee), the sheath to Souunga, which Inuyasha's father carried. Saya tells Inuyasha to take hold of the sword before it gets out of its sheath, but Inuyasha isn't about to be so gullible. The sword is drawn before anything can be done, and it pierces the ground, showing Inuyasha and Kagome the future that it can bring to this world. The future is devastating... Souunga has the power to bring the daylight to darkness, the earth to ruin, and humanity to extinction (ooh, sounds cool). A human must not use the sword; it will overtake the person's mind and force them to destroy everything around them. Inuyasha knows he must return Souunga to its sheath, and walks forward to take ahold of the hilt (uhh, aren't you half-human, Inuyasha?). It pains him to hold the sword, but he successfully removes it from the ground, and the vision of the future disappears. Kagome runs up to him to give him his hat, but all is not well with Inuyasha. The sword has "plugged" itself into his sword arm, and Inuyasha is obviously trying to hold back his demon side. The sword talks to him, asking if he is "that guy's son." It tells him that he's too weak to control the sword, but that it'll make Inuyasha the ruler of this world if he obeys the sword. Inuyasha doesn't care about being ruler, and tells Kagome that he's going to try to "get rid" of the sword, but he tells her not to follow him. Then he runs off. Saya, still in the sheath left behind, conveys his relief to Kagome. Kagome is pissed that Inuyasha went off on his own. In the Sengoku Jidai, a red beam of light pierces the evening sky, pinpointing the location of the Bone-Gobbling Well (we can guess where Inuyasha went). Shippou notices it, and so does Miroku and Sango. Sesshoumaru feels Tenseiga tremble against him, and turns to look at the light as well.
He smiles... And it freaks out Jaken. Shippou is the first on the scene. He's also the first to get attacked. Shippou knows that something is wrong, obviously, but when he gets away, Inuyasha zones in on his next target. He chases a woman and child towards the village, where Miroku and Sango are. The villagers flee behind them, and they find Inuyasha, who has slaughtered the village's flock of chickens. Myouga, who's with them, recognizes Souunga. Kirara immediately gets into her fighting form. A crying baby distracts Inuyasha, who goes to kill it and the baby's mother, but Miroku's pleading and Inuyasha's own will prevents him from doing so. The woman and her child flee as well, and when Inuyasha can no longer control the sword, he lifts the sword into the air, about to deal out Souunga's ultimate technique: Gokuryuuha (?u????g?v = ? Wave Technique). Myouga tells everyone to run for their lives, and they take to the sky on Kirara. Gokuryuuha is a spinning cloud of energy that travels along the earth like a giant tornado, and it's obvious that this technique outmatches Tessaiga's ultimate technique: Bakuryuuha (?u?????g?v = Explosive Wave Technique). From above, Myouga explains that this is Souunga's biggest attack, and they all agree that they must stop Inuyasha soon. Miroku says, though, that they must wait for Kagome to return, which she does the next morning. Inuyasha has spent the night in a damp cave. The first people she sees are Miroku and Shippou, sitting under an umbrella she left behind. They show her what has happened, explaining the sword's attack, and Saya is there to explain a few things, too. It's then that Sango and Kirara return, and they decide to follow Souunga's trail to find Inuyasha. When we catch up with Inuyasha, he is walking along the rocky bank of a deep river, and it's here that four or five large demons burst from their resting places, awoken by Souunga, to attack Inuyasha. He slays them easily and moves on, still being taunted by the sword. Sesshoumaru, following the clues given by Tenseiga's reaction to the nearness of Souunga, is closing in on Inuyasha. The Yasha gang, finding the slain demon corpses, are also closing in. And it seems that anything Souunga kills becomes a zombie! The Yasha gang barely survive the zombie demons, with Miroku sucking in one and getting seriously ill because of the large amount of shouki [evil energy] that Souunga puts into a defeated enemy.
Miroku insists that Kagome go on ahead and find Inuyasha before things get worse. Sango stays behind to look after him. Finally, someone finds Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru, seeing that Inuyasha has the other one of the three swords that he wanted for himself, is angry and planning to take the sword by force. Inuyasha says he's probably going to have to do so, even though he would gladly hand it over to him. They have an AWESOME fight. See the extra images for more. There are a few things said during the fight that are important: Sesshoumaru is angry...(duh)...that Inuyasha, a hanyou [half-demon], would inherit the two most powerful swords out of the three (I wouldn't call getting possessed, "inheriting"). Souunga, when the blades of the brothers touch, knows instantly all about Sesshoumaru, including the fact that Inuyasha is the one who sliced off Sesshoumaru's left arm. Kagome is almost there, too, and she meets up with Toutousai, who now knows that Souunga has returned. He's surprised to learn that Inuyasha has it since Inuyasha shouldn't be able to handle the sword right now (how right he is). We learn that Toutousai did not make Souunga (whew), but that Inuyasha's father was the one to take control of it after several humans tried to use it and instead killed many people with it before succumbing to their own deaths. Unlike Tessaiga and Tenseiga, Souunga carries an ancient, evil spirit. Only Sesshoumaru can use it now, but...maybe it's not a good idea to give it to him. Back to the fight... Sesshoumaru does reach for and use Tessaiga once, but he's unable to hold it...it burns the shit out of his hand. Inuyasha, still out of his mind, goes after Jaken and Rin. Sesshoumaru runs to intercept, but Kagome is able to get there first, yelling "sit" twice.
With the second "sit," she grabs onto Inuyasha, whose sword arm is still up in the air. Two things happen: the rosary breaks, and Souunga is flung far off into the distance. Jaken is hit by a rosary piece, right between the eyes. Owie... Sesshoumaru sees that their fight is over, and begins to leave. Inuyasha tries to tell Sesshoumaru as he leaves that he will take care of destroying Souunga, but Sesshoumaru says it is impossible for him to handle the sword -- he should be thankful to "the girl." This makes Inuyasha think, and he asks Myouga about his father's strength. To think that his father was so strong that he could handle Souunga with relative ease... He leaves Kagome's safety to Toutousai and Myouga, taking Tessaiga from where Sesshoumaru dropped it and walking off. A demon similar to the group of monsters that attacked the Yasha gang earlier in the movie, probably a rather weak demon, finds Souunga and stupidly picks it up. It immediately takes over the demon's mind and, because it would make sense for this sword to have such a power, transports the demon to the land where Inuyasha's father's body rests (where Inuyasha retrieved Tessaiga, and where it turns out that the last Shikon shard is in the anime series...too bad Souunga is a bad method of getting to this place). The sword finds and takes the arm that Sesshoumaru left there (why the hell did he leave it there in the first place?). Souunga's next order of business is to convince the lost soul of Setsuna Takemaru to resurrect and act his revenge upon the sons of the demon who killed him. That night, practically the entire movie cast minus the bad guy, Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru, are all sitting 'round a fire, discussing the swords. Jaken and Rin, having been left behind by Sesshoumaru (probably doesn't want them to get hurt, but he would say he doesn't want them in the way), are also there. Rin, as thanks for saving her life, gives Kagome the rosary pieces from the necklace Inuyasha wore.
First off, this isn't quite in order of how the facts are revealed in this scene, but this explanation is faster. When Inuyasha's father died, Toutousai, Saya, and Myouga had orders on what to do with Tessaiga and Tenseiga. Tessaiga would go to Inuyasha, but Myouga sealed it beyond the black pearl since Inuyasha was still a baby (remember that episode?). Toutousai took care of leaving Tenseiga in a place where Sesshoumaru would find it (find the picture in the extra images, it's funny). However, no instructions were left for Souunga. So Saya offered to seal it for 700 years (actually, he meant 200, but when he, as the sheath, asked to be put into the bone-gobbling well, he knew the extra 500 years could be added on since he'd be going to the future--Souunga was, after all, found in the shrine's well in Kagome's time). The three swords, though, were known together as the swords of world conquest (the English movie title does not use the Japanese title translation), capable of conquering the three worlds: heaven, hell, and man. Tenseiga is the sword of heaven?@?u?V?E?v, where the Gods reside. It's capable of restoring life to a hundred humans with one swing. Tessaiga is the sword of the world of man ?u?l?E?v, where we live. It's capable of taking the lives of a hundred enemies with one swing. Souunga is the sword of Hell ?u?n?E?v, the realm of Hades (or the next world). It's capable of opening the gates of Hell and raising a hundred zombies in one swing (you could make an army out of your defeated enemies, ne?). Shippou rightfully and correctly calls Inuyasha's father "greedy" for having all three swords. Man, he was a BADASS. One more note: Inuyasha was born the day that his father died. We learn in this movie that his father died two-hundred years ago (from Inuyasha's perspective, in his own era--not Kagome's era). So this would make Inuyasha's ACTUAL age two-hundred-years-old. There, now everyone can stop arguing about it. He looks fifteen (fifteen is the "human appearance" age given in the character guide), but he is two-hundred.
Saya says that the only way to beat Souunga is if Tessaiga and Tenseiga combine their ultimate attacks against it. Kagome says that this means Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru would have to work together to defeat the sword of Hell. Jaken laughs hysterically, saying that this would never happen...and the rest of the people there agree. Meanwhile, Setsuna Takemaru has attached the discarded left arm of Sesshoumaru so that he can wield Souunga.
The hatred he feels for Izayoi plus the sword's evil alters his appearance. Isn't he pretty... Takemaru gets right down to business. He finds a large castle with a retinue of soldiers, some of which are away from the castle for the time being. He slaughters them, and when the rest of the soldiers arrive home, he kills them, too. A bit later in the movie, he uses Souunga to resurrect them to be his zombie army (about 2000 strong). Inuyasha finds the empty grave of Setsuna Takemaru, but he doesn't know why Souunga was here (doesn't remember since he was a baby at the time). Sesshoumaru shows up, and they can have yet another cool fight. See the extra images for the visuals. The gist of this fight: Sesshoumaru doesn't think Inuyasha has the right to mess around in the business at hand, nor the right to hold anything of their father's -- to even inherit his blood angers Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha doesn't even know their father's face, something for which Inuyasha does envy Sesshoumaru. For Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's existence is the embodiment of something Sesshoumaru cannot understand, nor reverse. Their father died a pitiful death, for a human woman and their half-demon son, at that. He doesn't understand why their father would protect them (we find out at the end of the movie). He wanted to have the chance to surpass his father by defeating him someday, but was denied such an opportunity. This is what he cannot reverse, and the loss of what he probably considered to be his right as a son is killing him.
Kagome later wonders why Inuyasha is so determined to destroy Souunga when he rarely talks about his father. Miroku explains that boys emulate their fathers. Even in the backs of their minds, sons think of their fathers as "the standard." And for some reason, this makes Miroku grope Sango, and he says he inherited "this" from his father. Sango slaps him, saying it's not something to emulate!!! That night, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, approaching from opposing angles, find and survey the stronghold that Takemaru has made. The rest of the cast is able to find the castle by finding the enormous cloud of evil energy surrounding the castle. Takemaru sends forth his army, but let me not bore you with details. The entire cast fights this 2000-man army. They fight a lot...see the extra images for some pictures. Let's just say everyone kicks loads of butt. One funny note: Sesshoumaru nonchalantly swings his sword at the wall of enemies far in front of him, and suddenly dozens fly up in the air. He's so lazy... One of Sesshoumaru's swords, Tenseiga, gets blown away from him during the fight against the zombie army. Rin picks it up for him, and Kagome has to shoot one of her purity arrows to save Rin from one of the zombie soldiers. When she checks on Rin, both Kagome and Rin are abducted as part of an order from Takemaru that Tenseiga be brought to him. Another note: Rin yells for Sesshoumaru to save her...and he immediately turns and runs toward her (...yah, not protecting anything...sure...right). So when the cast is finally beating their way to the castle, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru at one point are back-to-back, exchanging insults but not fighting each other for the moment. However, Sesshoumaru gets inside the castle first.
Inside, Takemaru tries to kill Kagome and Rin because they "are like Izayoi" (girls who hang out with demons). Kagome is knocked unconscious for a few seconds. Rin tries to protect her and is about to be felled by Souunga. Certain that Sesshoumaru will save her, she doesn't flinch. Lo! and Behold, he does save her. Go Sess. The girls leave, Rin puts Tenseiga on the floor for Sesshoumaru, and Sess and Takemaru fight for a bit. Sesshoumaru finds out pretty quickly that Takemaru has his left arm. Seems that Sesshoumaru doesn't need it back, though. o_O Inuyasha, still trying to get inside the castle but having a hard time with the last of the zombie army, is surprised that the rest of the gang is still trying to fight with him. He tries to shrug off their help, but in an incredibly corny scene, they say...
But aren't we friends??? Oh my God, that was corny!!! But I digress...They let Inuyasha go ahead, and Miroku bravely offers to use his Kazaana [Wind Tunnel] to get the last of the army taken care of. Sango protests, but Miroku sweetly says that he must do it for the girl he loves. After he sucks up the zombies, Miroku is down for the count (at least, in the meantime). Sesshoumaru is still fighting Takemaru (geez, kill the guy already). Rin and Kagome have gone downstairs, but they've been waylaid by a random demon. Inuyasha puts him in his place, and then he runs upstairs to deal with Takemaru, but not before Kagome tells him that to defeat Gokuryuuha (Souunga's ultimate technique), he and Sesshoumaru must fight together with Tessaiga and Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru is thinking of his father's question about having something to protect, but Inuyasha interrupts his thoughts with a good Kaze no Kizu [Wound of the Wind]. He and Sesshoumaru kinda fight over who gets to fight with Takemaru (yah, it's stupid), but in the end, Inuyasha is the one who defeats him. He tells Takemaru as their blades meet that his human blood is an asset -- it gives him the determination to never give up. Plus, to have something to protect makes him stronger than an enemy that protects nothing. As Takemaru is blown through the wall and falls down against a wooden pillar, he remembers Izayoi's last words to him: she was trying to protect when she told him to run. This breaks the hatred that Takemaru felt for her, and he "re-dies" in peace. Sesshoumaru swings Tenseiga at his body (or rather, skeleton) to ensure that his soul rests.
Oh-ho, but it's not over yet! Souunga, flying off with the remainder of Sesshoumaru's arm (yeah, I don't think I'd want that back, either), decides to open the gates of Hell! The entire cast retreats, though Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stay to fight Souunga, which makes itself into a suit of armor with the blade as its sword arm (why didn't it do that earlier?). The Yasha gang looks into the new pit in the earth and sees the zombies of the underworld, who are calling to the souls of the living. Saya is forced to erect a barrier to protect the human souls because the call of the underworld can put you into a trance. Miroku has to grab Sango before she falls in (oops). The only person to leave the barrier at one point is Kagome, who doesn't seem to feel any side effects. The reason why she leaves is because Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are sucking at "working together." She tries to use her purity arrows and a few good screams at Inuyasha to remind him, but he ends up standing in front of her to protect her from a couple of bouts of Souunga's Gokuryuuha. He eventually leaves her where she was, letting her hold Tessaiga's sheath to protect her from any more blasts, and has the chance again to assert that his human blood gives him the tenacity to beat his enemies. Souunga uses Gokuryuuha again, and Inuyasha returns with Bakuryuuha. Sesshoumaru, who for some reason is being dumb, stares at the shaking Tenseiga in his hand, wondering if he should be so low as to team up with Inuyasha. He remembers again the question his father posed about having something to protect, and though JAKEN and RIN flash in his mind several times, he says aloud that he has nothing to protect and launches his Tenseiga attack to team up with TWO of Inuyasha's Bakuryuuha. Souunga is defeated and flung into Hell where it belongs. Thank the Lord...
Oh, but what's this??? The super-distorted ghost of their father!!! He explains that he had hoped they would together defeat Souunga, and says that he's proud of them. I suppose we can assume that Inuyasha at least can see his father's face, even if we can't. So all is well with the world again. Don't forget one last thing, though, that Kagome must return to Inuyasha.

.'Wa||PaPeR'.
.'Gifs'.

...COMING SOON...

.'InuYasha GameS'.
.'PuzzlE'.
.'QuiZ QuiZ'.

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