| Inuyasha | |
 | |
| 犬夜叉 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Rumiko Takahashi |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | November 13, 1996 – June 18, 2008 |
| Volumes | 56 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Katsuyuki Sumisawa |
| Music by | Kaoru Wada |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | NNS (ytv, NTV) |
| English network | |
| Original run | October 16, 2000 – September 13, 2004 |
| Episodes | 167 |
| Anime television series | |
| Inuyasha: The Final Act | |
| Directed by | Yasunao Aoki |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Katsuyuki Sumisawa |
| Music by | Kaoru Wada |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | ytv, NTV |
| English network | |
| Original run | October 4, 2009 – March 30, 2010 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Anime films | |
| |
| Sequel spin-off | |
| |
Inuyasha (犬夜叉, lit. "Dog Yaksha") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in 56 tankōbon volumes. The series begins with Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old middle school girl from modern-day Tokyo who is transported to the Sengoku period after falling into a well in her family shrine, where she meets the half-dog demon, half-human Inuyasha. After the sacred Shikon Jewel re-emerges from deep inside Kagome's body, she inadvertently shatters it into dozens of fragments that scatter across Japan. Inuyasha and Kagome set out to recover Jewel's fragments, and through their quest, they are joined by the lecherous monk Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and the fox demon Shippō. Together, they journey to restore the Shikon Jewel before it falls into the hands of the evil half-demon Naraku.
In contrast to the typically comedic nature of much of Takahashi's previous works, Inuyasha deals with a darker and more serious subject matter, using the setting of the Sengoku period to easily display the violent content while still retaining some comedic elements. The manga was adapted into two anime television series by Sunrise. The first series ran for 167 episodes on Yomiuri Television and Nippon Television from October 2000 to September 2004. The second series, Inuyasha: The Final Act, is a direct sequel that adapts the remainder of the manga. It ran for 26 episodes from October 2009 to March 2010. Four feature films and an original video animation (OVA) have also been released. Other merchandise includes video games and a light novel. An anime original sequel spin-off television series, titled Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, aired for two seasons from October 2020 to March 2022.
Viz Media licensed the manga, the two anime series, and movies for North America. Both Inuyasha and Inuyasha: The Final Act aired in the United States on Adult Swim (and later on its revived Toonami block) from 2002 to 2015.
By September 2020, Inuyasha had 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2002, the manga won the 47th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category.
- ^ a b "The Official Website for Inuyasha". Viz Media. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ マンガ批評：「犬夜叉」 因縁の対決と恋が決着 名手が描く物語とドラマ (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. December 24, 2008. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2022.