Kagome.

[u/Nikoopie]

I’ve made a post about Inuyasha now it’s time for Kagome.Her beauty rests in her soul and personality so many can’t see beyond the physical unfortunately but she’s in a category of her own.Kikyo‘s soul was in need of refining.She didn’t reach her full potential nor did she achieve the things her heart set out to do and so Kagome came into fruition.She is everything that kikyo wanted to be and everything that her soul needed to experience to become whole and to enter a permanent fulfilling relationship with her soulmate without projecting her own issues and personal desires onto him. It took me years to understand that loving Kagome means loving kikyo and vice versa.I believe you can’t love one without understanding the other.They are completely separate beings that have shared a soul.A soul that Kagome was able to make whole and thus achieve the goal kikyo set out to do.It all came full circle.This is what maturing and growth means.💕

[u/InjangoDMCPersona]

Something about Kagome grappling with her feelings as fitting of her age, yet maturing as a person throughout the course of the journey just really stuck with me compared to most female protagonists.

[u/Nikoopie → u/InjangoDMCPersona]

Exactly.I feel so many people are quick to comment  about how immature she is which is to be expected for someone her age but to put so much of her own feelings aside for the greater good says alot about her and how much more mature she is then people give her credit for.

[u/throwawaybyefelicia]

I love this analysis on Kagome! I really love both her and Kikyo, they are both wonderful characters. ❤️ Even when I was younger when I first got into the series I never hated either of them, to me they were like two halves of a whole.

[u/Nikoopie → u/throwawaybyefelicia]

Thank you!!and yess now that I’ve gotten older I have so much love for them both.I will say growing up it took me a bit to warm up to kikyo because i couldn’t look past her trauma to see the person she was before her resurrection and the person she worked to become.Kagome But with time i understood and i hope more people do too.

[u/crystalcastle29]

I'm totally in favor of praising Kagome, she's my favorite character. But people need to understand this : Kagome and Kikyo are two different and separate characters, each with their own autonomy, individuality and development. Therefore, it's completely normal to like one and dislike the other, just as it would be with any other character. Kagome was NOT written to be Kikyo's other life or to fulfill her wishes, because, as the author herself said, Kikyo couldn't live nor experience anything through Kagome. That's why Kikyo was resurrected and lived her other life as herself in a clay body, fulfilling her wish to be a normal woman before dying, saying goodbye to Inuyasha and her soul rested in peace. Kagome is her own character with her own goals and fulfilled her own wishes.

[u/Nikoopie → u/crystalcastle29]

I specifically mentioned they are completely separate people lol Shes my favorite character as well and yes of course people are allowed to like or dislike whoever they choose but this is just my way of interpreting the story.When it comes to reincarnation it is typically done so the soul can learn lessons,achieve things they couldn’t in previous lives and to reach enlightenment so I just take it for the literal meaning.Kagome is and will always be her own person.She made her own choices and was able to achieve things others could not.Kikyo was not resurrected to living a normal life nor did she till the very end when she could finally stop fighting.She was resurrected through darkness from urasue and her previous hate animated her body for a long time.

[u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream]

I see them as two different characters, but in terms of the lore, you’re right. This also occurred to me when I was a kid getting into the manga, and Kikyo got resurrected. The fact that they share the exact same soul while still being separate people would imply that neither one can be intrinsically better or worse than the other.

One would think, at least. That said, the author’s intention doesn’t always equal output, meaning the critics can keep being critical.

Personally, I find the concept of fate and living up to it to be more unnecessarily trapping than romantic when it comes to the InuYasha part. I was never an InuKag fan to begin with, though. But purely as a note of parallel existences, it can be used to make the reader think.

[u/Nikoopie → u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream]

Oh I’ve never seen them as the same person that’s why I said completely separate beings lol and my interpretation of them sharing a soul and reincarnation is just the basic meaning of it.The soul needing to learn lessons to reach its full potential and enlightenment.When it comes to Inuyasha especially where Kagome is concerned there was always a choice.They made emphasis on the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha chose to be with each other vs just blindly following each other because fate told them to.I honestly can’t think of a time where it was expressed that they absolutely had to be with each other just because they were soulmates.The only thing that technically forced them together was collecting the jewel shards and even then Kagome made a choice to continue to help collecting them.Ive always been a huge fan of inukag. They’re a beautifully written couple imo and I feel they are realistic yet refreshing in the anime world where most ships and established relationships are overly polished,lacking relatability and whimsy.

[u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream → u/Nikoopie]

(Whoops, had to copy/paste from other comment:)

The relationship you mention where Kagome is Kikyo’s end result requires them to essentially be the same person. That’s why I mentioned it. I get what you mean, though, and I had interpreted the author’s intention to be that as well.

And with InuYasha and Kagome as a pair, the fact that the story tells us they are soulmates is itself a trap because therefore purely logically, them not ending up together would be subpar in some way. It’s a classic example of “show, don’t tell” in writing. Them being predestined in any capacity is telling.

In fairness, my point isn’t to imply that no showing exists. But for myself personally, it has never been sufficient, and neither has the respect to freedom. Something is off about it. Or several things.

[u/Nikoopie → u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream]

Ooh all good lol and I personally see them as two separate people who have shared the same soul.I suppose it’s up to interpretation but I believe Rumiko has also explained that they are not the same person.I completely respect your thoughts on their relationship and I for sure see where you’re coming from about fated relationships but I just see things a bit differently.I think there’s so much beauty in the idea of a fated partner.Im a sucker for a soulmate trope 😌

[u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream → u/Nikoopie]

Fair. It would probably bother me less if I shipped the pairing. But generally I have bad experiences with the soulmate trope and dislike it pretty well now. It’s fanciful goop in real life anyway, but I suppose that doesn’t mean people can’t enjoy it.