Monday, January 16, 2012

Manga Review: InuYasha: Turning Back Time, Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi


I have been thinking for a while that I wanted to change-up my Mondays on the blog. I love the questions and responses that I get from my blogging rules posts and will still do them from time to time, but I read a good bit of graphic novels and have recently wanted to try some manga but was not sure when best to post them. Then I found out Alison Can Read was turning her awesome weekly Monday Manga post into a meme. So starting now I will do my best to have all graphic novels and manga posted on Mondays. Some post may have more than one book, as I eat them like candy! There just so yummySmile

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InuYasha: Turning Back Time, Vol. 1 (InuYasha, #1) 

Description

Transported back to Japan's feudal era, high school student Kagome accidentally releases the feral half-demon dog boy Inu-Yasha from his imprisonment for stealing the Jewel of Four Souls. (Goodreads)

Book Details

Author: Rumiko Takahashi
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 2 edition
Release Date: January 8, 2008
ISBN-10: 142151978X
ISBN-13: 978-1421519784
Source: Library

Review

InuYasha is my very first manga and I had a lot of fun reading it. I am very glad I never saw the cartoon series, so that I was reading InuYasha with fresh eyes. I really appreciated the note at the beginning of the story explaining why InuYasha is set Between 1482-1558 They said:
“ because it was relatively easier to draw out a ghost story from that time period…in the Sengoku Era, there was war, and lots of people died.”
I had never thought about all the research that would go into a graphic novel or manga before, yes I know stupid on my part, but the note at the beginning really set up the story for me.
 
Kagome doesn’t care about all the stories her grandfather tells her, she is your normal self absorbed teenage girl. When she gets sucked into the past/other world, all this has to change. I liked Kagome. She reminded me of Sailor Moon ( but less winey). Kagome had a lot to deal with: Crazy demon things coming at her every time she turned around, an old woman trying to tell her what to do, a hot half demon that she can’t decide to trust or not, and some cool new powers. When it was between Kagome running from a fight or helping people, she would help and that is what made me like her.

InuYasha is the half demon that has been trapped/dead until Kagome came into his world. Kagome looks exactly like Kikyo, the one that trapped him. All InuYasha says he wants is the Jewel of Four Souls to make himself all demon. Well for someone who just wants a jewel he sure does save Kagome, and not the jewel on occasion. And there is definitely some attraction and tension going both ways for these two.

There were some really funny moments too. Kagome discovered she had power over InuYasha and would look at him say the words “Sit Boy” and his body would immediately do it! Um…I want that power with a few people. Is that bad? Anyway I can’t wait to read more in this series. It’s so much fun!

Happy Reading,
  Signature

Loved it! I want to know about everything this author writes.

Recommended For
These actually have ratings on the back!
Older Teen: For violence and some nudity.

9 comments:

  1. I'd like to explore Manga and graphic novels this year. Hope you enjoy your new Monday meme.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! The more I read it, the more I love it!

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  2. I love this series to pieces. I adore Kagome and Inuyasha, and all the companions they eventually pick up along the way. The only thing is that it's ridiculously long lol.

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    Replies
    1. I am so excited to hear that you love it so much! And yes, it is long, It's like what 56 volumes! LOL

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  3. I love Manga! And if this is a meme... Well, I might have to join up! Prepare for an onslaught of fringe manga!

    Anyway. Inuyasha is, amusingly enough, one of the Manga I like least. I guess there's something about being able to fall in love with the lead boy that the doggy ears just aren't accomplishing. The name Demon Dog isn't helping either *laughs*

    Your review has made me want to take another look at this series, though, with a few more years and a better understanding of japanese language and culture to back me up. Mmmh. There *were* a lot of funny moments, even if I felt the hot hero department was kind of lacking...

    Thanks for the great review!

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  4. ahh Inuyasha! I watched the first 50 eps of the anime before I gave up (this was a long time ago). Maybe I should pick up on it again, or just read the manga! I really enjoyed the series, it was a lot of fun watching the tension between Inuyasha and Kagome! & the 'Sit boy' haha.

    Great Review!
    -Kate
    Thanks for stopping by my Manga Mondays!!

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  5. Thanks for joining the meme! This sounds very interesting. I like the combination of a historical setting and demons. Does it incorporate a lot of real history or do you think it's mostly made up?

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Thanks so much for the comment love!