THE QUESTIONS

1. Does Takahashi ever state which brother (Inuyasha or Sesshomaru) is the true heir to the "Western Lands"?
2. Also, we know about Inuyasha's mother but is Sesshomaru's mother ever mentioned in the manga or anime?
3. When does Inuyasha get Tessaiga's sheath?
4. At the beginning of the series, there seems to be a continuity error in that Naraku, disguised as Inuyasha, steals the Shikon Jewel but later, the real Inuyasha is shown to have stolen it when he is sealed to the tree by Kikyo's arrow.
5. Why did Kagome not sense the final shard of the Shikon Jewel the first time she and Inuyasha travelled to Inuyasha's father's grave?
6. How can I find ____ episode in English? I only want to pay pennies!
7. Are Viz's English DVDs edited?
8. But I heard there was an edit made to episode 21 dealing with Royakan?
9. In what order should I purchase the DVDs?
10. When is ____ coming out?
11. Who created Inuyasha and has the author done anything else?
12. What are the characters ages?
13. What is the furry thing on Sesshomaru's shoulder?
14. Where do the English language versions of the theme songs come from?
15. Is the anime going to continue?
16. Why did the anime end?
17. Where did the anime end in comparison with the manga?
18. Where do the movies fit in terms of continuity?
19. Were there really Inuyasha stage plays?
20. Is there really a chapter of the manga that follows the ending that was published in volume 56?
21. Is there a sequel to Inuyasha?

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THE ANSWERS

1 - Does Takahashi ever state which brother (Inuyasha or Sesshomaru) is the true heir to the "Western Lands"?

Well, if the Hyakki Bats in Vol. 22 are any indication of how most demons work, they seem to just find a place they like, claim it, and then kill any nearby humans. I imagine this is probably how their father operated as well. Of course, he more than likely tried to avoid killing humans since he was married to one and had Tessaiga created to protect human life. Sesshomaru, however, would probably be the one entitled to their father's domain since he was oldest and also a full-blooded demon.

2 - Also, we know about Inuyasha's mother but is Sesshomaru's mother ever mentioned in the manga or anime?

No, she isn't. But for the most information on the relationship of Inuyasha's father with Izayoi (Inuyasha's mother), the third film is the best source. Update: Surpisingly Sesshomaru's mother has now appeared in the manga. She looks quite a bit like him and has a similar personality.

3 - When does Inuyasha get Tessaiga's sheath?

Even though the sheath was not shown in Inuyasha's father's grave, where Tessaiga was found, it can be easily assumed that it was there because the sheath had been created long ago from the branches of Bokuseno, a demon tree. His limbs were also used in the creation of Tenseiga's scabbard.

4 - At the beginning of the series, there seems to be a continuity error in that Naraku, disguised as Inuyasha, steals the Shikon Jewel but later, the real Inuyasha is shown to have stolen it when he is sealed to the tree by Kikyo's arrow.

Actually what happens here is explained in bits and pieces later in the series. Naraku desires to taint the Shikon Jewel by turning Kikyo and Inuyasha against one another. To do this, he takes the form of Inuyasha, steals the jewel and attacks Kikyo. Naraku then replaced the jewel, transformed into Kikyo and attacked Inuyasha, provoking him to steal the Jewel. This betrayal taints the Shikon Jewel, which makes it more valuable to Naraku. Naraku didn't plan on Kikyo taking the jewel with her in death though.

5 - Why did Kagome not sense the final shard of the Shikon Jewel the first time she and Inuyasha travelled to Inuyasha's father's grave?

It wasn't there at the time. The jewel shard was taken to the netherworld by Hosenki. Hosenki, the demon clam who forged the Black Pearl, that allowed passage into the netherworld to retrieve Tessaiga, died and took a shard of the Shikon Jewel with him so the jewel could never be completely reassembled. If Kikyo could take the entire jewel with her in death, it makes sense to think that Hosenki could take a shard with him as well.

6 - How can I find ____ episode in English? I only want to pay pennies!

Then you're out of luck. If you are looking for certain episodes from legit sources then you're going to have to pay for them. Inuyasha is a popular series, and because of this there has been a rash of bootleg copies that have popped up. If you own a subtitled boxset that doesn't have the Viz logo on it you are buying an illegal bootleg. There are only two real sources of legit copies available to most people, Viz's English version or Sunrise's Japanese version. So support the series and buy legit copies from legit retailers like Viz, Animenation, or Rightstuf.

7 - Are Viz's English DVDs edited?

No, Viz does not edit any content, music, names or any other aspect of the series. At times Cartoon Network has made edits to the show in order to televise it, but Viz's DVDs are complete and uncut.

8 - But I heard there was an edit made to episode 21 dealing with Royakan?

Episodes 21 and 22 were initially an hour-long Spring Special in Japan. The two episodes were aired together and had some scenes that had to be deleted in order to cut the running time down into two seperate DVD episodes. This was done by Sunrise, not Viz, and the Japanese DVD release also lacks these scenes. The scenes in question are near the beginning of episode 21. When Kagome argues with Sota as he plays video games, in the final version, she grumbles at Sota and then the scene cuts to Hojo asking Kagome out, before cutting back to the "Game Over" screen of Sota's game as Kagome walks to the shrine. In the Spring Special, Kagome argues with Sota, walks off, Sota gets the game over, then asks Kagome to show him how to play the game, since she uses a sword in the past and his fighting game character is using a sword. She remarks that she uses a bow and arrow, and puts down Inuyasha, as they are having a fight. Sota teases her when she reveals Inuyasha hugged her and runs to tell their mother and continue his teasing as Kagome leaves the house, headed for the shrine, she continues to think that she's old enough to hug guys if she wants to, then remembers Hojo asking her out, her friends asking her if she's interested in someone else, remembers Inuyasha taking the Shikon Jewel from her and sending her back to her own time as she then enters the shrine. The second deleted scene is near the beginning of episode 22, after the battle where Inuyasha pursues Naraku, Miroku remarks that the spider-shaped scar will be Naraku's sign. Kagome then turns to see Inuyasha sitting on a tree branch. In the Spring Special after Miroku makes this comment, Royakan collapses and Kagome removes the Shikon Shard from his head. At which point he goes back to normal and runs away with Shippo commenting that he did not show much gratitude, Kagome then turns to see Inuyasha in the tree. Royakan's departure after the Shikon shard is removed from his head.

9 - In what order should I purchase the DVDs?

The English DVDs each contain three episodes and are as follows:
Season 1

Down The Well
A Girl's Best Friend
Fathers & Sons
The Thunder Brothers
Secret of the New Moon
Deadly Liasons
Secrets of the Past
Kikyo's Wandering Soul
Origin of the Sacred Jewel

Season 2

Scars of Battle
Into the Miasma
Swords of Destiny
Den of Wolves
The Wind and the Void
Broken Fang
Heart of the Beast
Shattered Memories
The Demon Within

Season 3

The Way to Wisdom
Curse of the Dark Priestess
Double Trouble
The True Face of Evil
Wicked Clutches
Severed Identities
Crimson Blade
Curse of Generations
Brothers in Arms


Season 4

Promise of the Past
Castle of Evil
Monkey Business
Duplicates and Dilemmas
Glow of the False Jewel
Unexpected Encounters
Children of Snow


Season 5

The Band of Seven
A Half-Demon's Tears
Two Souls, One Body
Battle on the Sacred Island
The Black, Impure Light
Divine Malice
Naraku Reborn
Farewell My Beloved

Season 6

Demons in the Modern Age
The Most Dangerous Confession
The Woman Who Loved Sesshomaru
An Ancestor Named Kagome
On A Pale Horse
A Father's Love
Tragic Love Song of Destiny
Kikyo and Kagome
The Path to the Netherworld
The Last Shard of the Jewel
Malevolent Macinations

Season 7

Mistakes of the Past
The Bond Between Inuyasha and Kagome

10 - When is ____ coming out?

Rumic World's New Releases page has all the release dates for upcoming releases for all of Rumiko Takahashi's series, including Inuyasha. I can promise, if it's not on the list then a release date has not been announced yet.

11 - Who created Inuyasha and has the author done anything else?

Inuyasha was created by Rumiko Takahashi, the most successful manga writer/artist in Japan today. She's also the most successful female comic creator in the world. Her other series are detailed in depth here at Rumic World.

12 - What are the characters ages?

Rumiko Takahashi gives the ages of the characters in the Inuyasha guide, Inuyasha Okuki Kaiden. The characters who's ages are revealed are:

Inuyasha - 15 (with a notation that this is his age in relation to his appearance and mindset)
Kagome - 15
Miroku - 18
Sango - 16
Kohaku - 11
Shippo - 7 (again with the notation)
Kikyo - 18 (at time of death)
Koga- 15 (notation)
Sesshomaru - 19 (notation)
Naraku - 23 (notation)
Kagura - 17 (notation)
Kanna - 10 (notation)
Bankotsu - 17 (at time of death)
Jakotsu - 20 (at time of death)
Renkotsu - 24 (at time of death)
Suikotsu - 26 (at time of death)

13 - What is the furry thing on Sesshomaru's shoulder?

This information comes from Inuyasha Okuki Kaiden which contains extensive character profiles. What follows was written in Sesshomaru's profile and translated from Japanese...
"Fur- Although it is part of Sesshomaru's body, the fur is of extremely luxurious quality. It has been occasionally used as an offensive weapon."
It doesn't go so far to as it's his tail, but the book does indicate that it is part of his body.

14 - Where do the English language versions of the theme songs come from?

Ironically, the English versions of the songs were made for the Italian language adaptation of the show. Finding information about the artists who re-recorded the songs in English is somewhat difficult. The only name we could find is "Max Alto", who recorded the English version of "Change the World", and is an actor in the Italian version of Inuyasha. I believe BoA's version of "Every Heart" was actually sung by her in English because she is bilingual.

15 - Is the anime going to continue?

No, there have been no official plans to continue that anime after the manga ends. There has been no substantial news since March 2005 when a meeting was held in Hakone, Japan between Takahashi and the producers of the show. No information was shared about the results of the meeting, but obviously nothing came of it. Once the manga ends, things may develop, but as of right now it does not look like it.

Update: It was announced on July 9, 2008 that a 30 minute special Inuyasha anime entitled "Kuroi Tessaiga" (Black Tessaiga) will debut at Rumiko Takahashi's "It's a Rumic World!" art exhibition on July 30th. It is unclear if this will lead to more animated specials or if it is a one-off event.

Update 2: The rest of the Inuyasha anime was concluded as Inuyasha: Kanketsuhen (Inuyasha: The Final Act). This set of 26 episodes wrapped up the rest of the manga all the way through the ending.

16 - Why did the anime end?

There were 167 episodes before the series ended. When rumors began to come out that the show would soon be ending there were reports that the staff wanted to move on to another show, Yakitate! Japan. Whether or not ratings were a factor has never been revealed. Thankfully after the series in 2004 a final set of 26 episode was green lit in 2009 which saw the official conclusion of the anime.

17 - Where did the anime end in comparision with the manga?

The 167 episodes of the television series covered up to chapter 355 (volume 36) of the manga. If you would like to see what happens after the television series ended, this volume is a good place to start. This held true until 2009 when Inuyasha: The Final Act animated the rest of the manga series up to its 56th volume conclusion.

18 - Where do the movies fit in terms of continuity?

The order the series should be watched in is as follows:

Episodes 1 - 54
Movie 1
Episodes 55 - 95
Movie 2
Episodes 96 - 136
Movie 3
Episodes 137 - 167
Movie 4

19 - Were there really Inuyasha stage plays?

Yes, there have been three, one that ran from April to May of 2000 at the Akasaka ACT theater which was directed Masashi Todayama and produced by Hidenori Inoue. This director/producer team was responsible for the second staging the following year which ran from January to February in 2001. A third adaptation was staged in 2017. Atsuhiro Satou and Kyoko Toyama stared as Inuyasha and Kagome in the first two productions, of which a DVD release was made. The 2017 production starred Yutaka Kyan as Inuyasha.

20 - Is there really a chapter of the manga that follows the ending that was published in volume 56?

There is. Rumiko Takahashi wrote another chapter that takes place after the ending of the series for the earthquake relief fundraising manga anthology called "Heroes Come Back". The summary of this chapter, entitled "Since Then" can be read on the website in the volume summary of the 56th volume. "Heroes Come Back" is still the only place where this postscript to the series has been published.

21 - Is there a sequel to Inuyasha?

For the first time in her career Rumiko Takahashi has allowed a sequel series to be created about one of her works. On May 8th, 2020 in Shonen Sunday 2020 #24, Hanyou no Yashahime was announced with a release date of Fall 2020. At the time the Covid-19 global pandemic had just begun to spread and many thought the anime may get delayed, but bits and pieces of information continued to come forward. The series would follow Sesshomaru's twin daughters Towa and Setsuna as well as Kagome and Inuyasha's daughter Moroha. Rumiko Takahashi designed all the new characters, and most of the main staff from the original anime have returned to do the series.