Alright, it is Saturday and I am gonna post the fifty-fourth volume of Inuyasha. Feel free to react or comment on any panel, though I appreciate if image replies are not used during the dump. Feel free to discuss anything Inuyasha related after the dump.
Previous thread: Despite the OP image, I am using the VizBig 3-in-1 localization which does not feature this cover exactly. Be aware that some of the larger images have been edited to be lower quality due to image size limits.
Here's the inner illustration for Volume 54 in the 3-in-1. Round.
November 7th, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: What is the only thing you cannot give up on?
A: Onions sauce on fried eggs."
A lot of stuff happened near the end of last volume.
No chance.
No time to waste.
As before, Kagome refers to Kohaku as "Kohaku-kun", but VIZ didn't include it.
Ugh...
Sango...
You know, I genuinely don't think I ever internalized just how young Kohaku really is when all this went down. The same way a lot of people forget Kagome is 15, I think I subconsciously had Kohaku be a few years older than he really is.
It is so sad.
Tear him up.
November 14th, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: When you win against your rival, what would your catchphrase be?
A: Good job today."
That sight. Who could've foreseen what it would bring?
There it is.
Mission accomplished. I do like that Naraku has managed to fill the space left by Magatsuhi's departure. That's a cool idea.
It is interesting to try to imagine the story if just some things played out just a bit differently. He seems to think he wouldn't have gotten to this point without the cast pushing him.
Hm.
Bad timing.
Congratulations. Just barely, it seems. We were spared some drama of her being on the waiting list.
Aw, her grandfather is so proud.
Oh, he's back. Remember him? Furinkan notes that: "“Does he know she’s got a ruffian for a boyfriend?” - the term used to describe Inuyasha is "furyou" (不良), which means "delinquent" or "hoodlum"."
Meanwhile, hundreds of years ago.
I like this page. A lot of vertebrae.
Buyo did show up next to Sota earlier in this chapter, but I overlooked him and failed in my duty.
Furinkan notes that: "Viz translated Grandpa Higurashi's gift as the "whiskers of a dog demon". In the original Japanese they are the whiskers of a tengu, a bird-like demon that appeared in Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura."
I will say that it being a tengu doesn't necessarily mean it is a karasu tengu. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't just a regular tengu, which are more like red long-nosed goblins than birds. Especially since they are more likely to have facial hair. I don't know why VIZ changed this at all and "goblin whiskers" would've worked for the joke just fine without raising questions in regards to Inuyasha and the other dog demons in the cast.
Cute.
Original title was 邪気の雲海. This appears to translate to "Evil Sea of Clouds" or "A Cloud Sea of Evil". It does use the term 邪気 or "jaki", the term we see in the series for evil made manifest and commonly translated as "evil aura".
November 21st, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: What’s the most shocking thing you lost in your life?
A: I once lost my house key."
The term used by Inuyasha here was ガキ or "gaki" which means brat. VIZ often makes the various animal demons make reference to animal terms, which is fun but can be misleading.
Shippo... I do like the sudden cut to this.
November 28th, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: What is your troublesome habit?
A: I couldn’t guess."
It's kinda dumb how long it took for Naraku to complete the shikon jewel. Rumiko probably didn't have any idea what to do after Naraku got the jewel, so that's why there was this huge side story with Moryomaru that didn't really lead to anything.
I wish it was easier to find fanart of Naraku's specific forms. I unfortunately had to resize this image to post.
Being Sango is suffering
Going for it.
Rumiko has a wideban extra about Naraku that I'll be posting probably next volume that discusses some of this. I did get a lot of fatigue with Moryomaru on my initial read of Inuyasha, but I found him pretty compelling when reading about him in these threads. I know if we simplify things, it didn't lead to anything since you can have Naraku power up in any number of ways, but I found the "not-quite incarnation" aspect of Moryomaru (and the others) to be more interesting than Naraku himself going around collecting yokai aspects.
Everyone!
Not even concerned about the poison here. You can sort of see why I forgot about the poison entirely as a stakes-raising plot element. I always was more worried about it popping open. Though admittedly, this aspect of the wind tunnel is a bit harder to depict so I can see why she did the painful poison that leaves scars on the body.
Plan's in place.
He wasn't exactly small on the outside either, honestly.
In case you were worried he wasn't going to be able to be smug as a giant spider, we got ourselves some inner Naraku too.
A bit familiar.
It is omnipresent in here.
Hm.
Original title is 玉の気配 which seems to translate more to "Sign of the Jewel" or "Indication of the Jewel". Hint presumably makes more sense in context. The original VIZ translation apparently went with "Trace of the Jewel". Either way, it is basically all the same thing.
December 5th, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: Even as artists what do you struggle with drawing?
A: Drawing every week is hard."
Something about the eyes adds to it. He would almost be a living statue of armor if it wasn't for those.
I assume it is all chitin.
Furinkan states that: "A double issue for the holidays. Nothing was published the following week." You'll notice it in the publication dates.
December 12th, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: People may not understand, but do you have a favorite type of B-grade food you like?
A: Apart from the usual, I don’t."
Ironic that with all the concern about the poison reaching his heart, the original concern of the wind tunnel finally opening wide enough to swallow him comes back front and center.
Furinkan notes that this is another double issue in order to give the staff a holiday break, so the publication dates will reflect that. They also mention that the week this chapter came out, there was a short article in Mainichi Shimbun, a major daily newpaper in Japan, regarding Inuyasha. They translated that segment and I'll post it after the dump.
December 26th, 2007. Author's note:
"Q: If you could take lessons today, what lessons would you take?
A: Ukulele."
The flashback is back.
The tragedy continued...
And continued...
And now we're here.
Not good.
January 8th, 2008. Author's note:
"Q: What would you like to achieve this year?
A: Rebuild the house."
Had to resize the image to post. Sorry.
January 16th, 2008. Author's note:
"Q: Who is the person you're most interested in right now?
A: Kenichi Matsuyama."
He's an actor.
Determined Kagome with the scar, the quiver and the sword is kind of a cool look.
January 23rd, 2008. Author's note:
"Q: Have you ever seen a scene or some scenery that moved you?
A: The first time I saw the sunrise from the fourth story window of my work space."
You know, maybe... if you want.
"Don't kill Inuyasha, that would be what Naraku wants" is as good an argument as any.