A selfless wish? (Discussion time!)

I have an issue with the wish Kagome made. I mean in my eyes it wasn't entirely selfless. Wishing for the jewel to disappear seems almost like a bailout on her part. If the jewel continued to exist then she would end up fighting for the rest of her life to keep out of the hands of evil. But if it's gone, then she's free to live a 'normal' life with no obligations to the Shikon no Tama.

That's just my take on it, of course. I want to know what everyone else thinks.

I think that it is selfless because everyone benifits from it being gone not just her. no one has to deal with all the mayhem that the Shikon no Tama brings to the table

When I read the manga it kind of struck me as a little bit of a cop-out. Like Rumiko Takahashi had to bring an end to the manga somehow and this was just the simplest way. After all that the group had been through, was this really all that they had to do? For some reason, I always thought that there would have to have been more of a sacrifice on Kagome's part for the jewel to be put out of existence.
Of course, the sappy side of me is glad to see a happy ending for all involved, but yeah, that's just my two cents worth on the subject...

selfless

"devoted to others' welfare or interest and not one's own,"

I don't think her wish was all that selfless and I agree with Inu above me. I did feel that it was a bit of a cop-out. Kagome benefited from the jewel being gone to. Though, with the jewel gone, she did sacrifice being the love the of her life.

With that said, what would have been a selfless wish?

When I read through the manga online it was only Kikiyou who said it had to be a selfless wish. When Kagome was sitting in the dark with the Shikon she was thinking about how she had to make the right wish not a selfless one. It also went into something about how the jewel doesn't grant you what you wish so even if she could have come up with a selfless wish it would have been twisted. I do agree with you, though, the ending didn't meet my expectations at all.

Thank you to all the replied. I agree that it did seem Rumiko just wanted it to be over and did this. I was a bit disappointed actually, when Kagome returned to the past. I figure if they're going to use a cop-out wish, which in reality, as Lady Shikibu stated above, is the only wish that could not be distorted, then Kagome should at least have to sacrifice either her life in the Sengoku Period, or her life in the present. The way it ends Kagome had to make no real sacrifice and everyone lived happily ever after. It seems almost like a disgrace to all the hard work put into it to just say "and they all lived happily ever after. The end."

I agree with you all. The ending was just a cope out to be done with it all...never mind all the obvious flaws in the decision to end it the way she did. For instance, when Kagome wished the jewel to disappear and she was taken back to the future, she should have never been able to return...not in three months let alone three years. Another instance...Kagome actually wished the jewel away. If the power had been wished away, again, she would have never been able to go back to the feudal era. If Rumiko really wanted to give it a happily ever after...she could have let Inuyasha fight to live until Kagome present and search her out or she could have at least met his reincarnation.

I don't think the ending was much of a cop-out. I do think it could have been expounded upon. For instance, during those three years, for all Kagome and Inuyasha knew, the well was permanently closed, and they'd never see each other again no matter how much they hoped for a miracle. The opportunity in there for angst was really downplayed. Also, Kikyo made an educated guess about the effects of a selfless wish on the jewel. All Kagome had to do was make the right wish, which was probably actually more difficult to do. A selfless wish implies multiple possibilities, while the right wish implies only one, which means she'd better not screw it up.

As far as the wish being selfless, I think it was. Think about it. If you found a genie in a bottle, wouldn't you wish for something? You could wish for a billion dollars, which is undeniably selfish, or you could wish for an end to world hunger, which still supplies altruistic satisfaction to the wisher. The reason we give gifts at Christmas is because it makes us happy to see others be happy.

Now, Kagome didn't wish for anything other than the disappearance of the jewel. Yes, it means she and her friends no longer have to fight, but it also forgoes any good they might have been able to do for others. Think of all the people hurt by the jewel, and the temptation to save them from that hurt. I think it took an enormous amount of willpower to wish that opportunity away.

~Wick3d Ang3l~ wrote:
A selfless wish? (Discussion time!)

I have an issue with the wish Kagome made. I mean in my eyes it wasn't entirely selfless. Wishing for the jewel to disappear seems almost like a bailout on her part. If the jewel continued to exist then she would end up fighting for the rest of her life to keep out of the hands of evil. But if it's gone, then she's free to live a 'normal' life with no obligations to the Shikon no Tama.

That's just my take on it, of course. I want to know what everyone else thinks.

it was a cop-out i think. And i dont think it was selfless. b/c i think your right, i can understand the point saying that it was a benefit to all living beings that the jewel be gone, but then what about the souls locked in the jewel. She just damned them to remain that way forever, wherever the jewel vanished to. Poor Midoriko is still locked in battle. She could have wished for the souls in the jewel to be released and at peace with their passing, and that would have been more selfless in my eyes.

Then there's all of the ending all together, it was like 20 chapters of "the final battle." and he died b/c of one arrow? i mean come on? i'm sorry it was a complete cop-out on her part[Rumiko], like she didnt know how to end it. Personally i think the jewel should have re-joined Kagome's body, and from there, she should have stayed in the future, thats one of those, " i learned a lesson" type endings. Not going back to Inuyasha.

Really what was the point of going back to finishing school if she's just going to go back in time and live as a miko/hanyou wife? which really can she even be considered a wife and miko? i mean miko's are to remain chaste, virginal, and not marry. And then there's the fact that she was only in the past for what maybe 6 - 8 months? yet she willingly gave up her future and family there to come back to the past and play wife to a hanyou that thought her to be someone, and compared her to that former being for the majority of the time?

I kinda feel like Kagome got jipped and if she really thought of it, she was only made to be a replayment in inuyasha's eyes. He didnt want her to wear miko cloths b/c she looked like kikyo, and in the end she became exactly what Kikyo wanted, and was, except for being cold and selfish. Its like no matter what she still walked Kikyo's path. its sad to me. I hate how the manga ended.

:grumbles more:



**********this has nothing to do with this post!
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i agree with all of you, about the end of the manga, and besides i don't think it is possible to have a true selfish wish, i donno i mean i agree with that the wish Kagome made did have a selfish part to it. i mean what could she had wished for that wasn't selfish?

LC Rose wrote:
selfless

"devoted to others' welfare or interest and not one's own,"

I don't think her wish was all that selfless and I agree with Inu above me. I did feel that it was a bit of a cop-out. Kagome benefited from the jewel being gone to. Though, with the jewel gone, she did sacrifice being the love the of her life.

With that said, what would have been a selfless wish?

The only true selfless wish that I've come up is is probably simpler than what Rumiko came up with:

"I wish this had never happened; that I never feel though the well, that Mistress Centipede had never gotten her hands on me or the jewel."

It doesn't sound selfless, I know. But it is. Without the jewel, Kikyo wouldn't have had to protect it, she wouldn't be miko. Onigumo wouldn't have found her, ultimately never becoming Naraku. InuYasha never would have met her (if he did, he'd probably end up with her and be human), Kohaku never would have died or the rest of Sango's family, Miroku's family never would have been cursed.

And the worst part of that wish - no one would remember. To sacrifice that would be completely selfless. The feudal era became her world, throwing it away would be the ultimate sacrifice.

Well, the way I see it is that Kagome made the wish so others wouldn't have to go through what she did. I mean, let's say she dies and in another fifty years another girl breaks the jewel and other demons got their hands on the pieces...then more evil would surface and more innocents would die. So, in a way, I kind of see where the selflessness comes in.

But I will agree--I think could of ended a much better way....but that's just my two cents.

I think you're probably right, Wick3d, it's not a selfless wish, but if you look at it like that, then what would be a proper, selfless wish? The Shikon takes things and distorts them, perverts the outcome to something selfish and twisted.
At the same time, I don't agree with Mikaela on the "I wish this never happened" part. I think that, by far, is one of the most selfish wishes.
I can see where it's coming from, but I think that if Kagome were to make that singular wish on the Shikon, disaster would ensue. See, it's my personal opinion that if that were to happen, she wouldn't have met Inuyasha or Shippou or Sango or anybody in the past. Life wouldn't be as it was in the modern-day Tokyo. Hojo's ancestor, for example. If Naraku and his evil hadn't existed, if he hadn't turned Inuyasha and Kikyou against each other, then a lot of the stuff with Hojo's ancestor wouldn't have happened. Inuyasha and the group wouldn't have been able to help him with his "quest". He might have died, and the blade might have gone to someone less responsible, more ignorant, and/or completely incapable. Disaster might ensue, and that would, effectively, change the future. But then again, nothing's ever for certain, and I could be completely wrong in this aspect.

I know I've pretty much skirted around the whole subject by putting my opinion out there, so I'll get back to the main point. ;D

I think Kagome's wish could go either way, depending on the heart she put behind it. Also depending on how the reader's opinion differs from Rumiko Takahashi's, it's hard to dictate what side it would fall to. I do agree that it was a kind of slip-on-oil-"what?" kind of ending. It could have been done many ways, but I think that, and just leading up to it, could have been a bit more climatic.

*bows to Mistress Incomp*

I think the whole ending could be done differently, it was so anti-climactic. I agree with Mistress Incomp that the "I wish the never happened" wish could have had horrible repercussions, but I think there is still a better wish to be made. Like r0o said, she could have freed the souls in the jewel. Some people would argue that this would free Naraku and thus start it all over again, but honestly without the jewel what would be his motivation, revenge can only fuel someone for so long and he would be MUCH easier to stop without the power of the jewel.

I don't know, I just felt so let down with the ending. And I also agree that Kagome got the short end of the stick in all this. She has essentially become Kikyo, which is exactly what Inuyasha has wanted from the beginning, and doesn't even seem to notice or care! Outragous I tell you!

I have to go with cop-out on this one. While I don't know what a selfless wish would have been, I feel like Kagome probably benefited more than anyone else from the jewel being wiped out of existence. With Kikyou being dead, she would have had to take the responsibility of the jewel's safety after all.

So yeah, I think it was a cop-out, but I don't think it was the first one throughout the magna. Forgive me for saying this, but the whole thing with Sesshoumaru's left arm was total bull crap! I've seen better scenarios in fandom for him regaining his arm!

We all apparently love Rumiko's work, but I suppose even she get's lazy sometimes.

Oh yes, and Kagome... yeah, I think she got royally jypped! Inuyasha never picked her! He was merely deprived of his other option. She deserves so much better than being picked by default!

So in conclusion, I guess that's the main reason why I write Sess-Kag fanfiction!!

I always thought the selfless wish or the right wish would be to save Naraku's soul from eternal damnation. But I suppose the wish she actually made makes more sense, even if it does feel like a cop-out.

I am a fan of the 'there really is no selfless wish' bit.

and... somebody tell me if I'm just waaaay thinking into this too much.. but the youkai souls in the shikon told inuyasha he could only see kagome if she made a wish.. and suddenly he's able to find her after she says 'I'm not going to make a wish' ?

on another note for Incomprehensible mentioning how the jewel would pervert and twist a wish, I think it totally would. Really the jewel dissappearing should have had some detrimental side affect, maybe more than just Kagome being stuck in her time away from inuyasha. Example: since the jewel dissappeared before Kagome was ever born Kagome had no reason to be born because there was no endless battle to continue. Maybe Inuyasha stays stuck to that tree until he rots and dissapears and who knows what happens to the other characters.

I also think Rumiko Takahashi copped out at the end... I think all fanficers prove there were seemingly endless wish possibilites with different side effects and she didnt make full use of them at all *frowns*

But since almost everyone is of the mind the end was pooey we all have the creative license to rewrite it

I'm.... kinda undecided actually it's actually really heard to say. Because after all the group went through I'd say it was an unselfish wish for the Shikon to disappear because there wouldn't be anymore carnage (or evil hanyous going around messing with people's heads) Plus Kagome got the chance to catchup on school and graduate because remember she was falling behind in school when she was in the Fuedal Era.

Yet the other side of me feels like I've been totally jipped. I feel....empty like the manga didn't have the feeling of closure that is should've had. (besides the fact that I thought Rin should've stayed with Sesshomaru but that's besides the point)

All in all I can see both sides so I can't really say for sure what I think but I do feel cheated.

i thought the ending was too sappy and boring something more should of happened not just okay its finished now i was disappointed it was too happy and safe it should have had more.. idk the word but it was lacking in..grand finalyness i guess should have been bigger more emotional le sigh oh well