I've always greatly lamented the lack of realistic depth in the Inuyasha series. I realize the story is fictional and meant for entertainment in picture form, but some things just drive me up the wall. I'm not expecting writers to discuss problems with waste elimination or periods, but some things are just so basic... Perhaps it's the anthropology courses I've taken (not that I'm some sort of expert, mind you), but I thought I'd bounce it off others to see what you all thought.

My grievances are the following:

1) Kagome's clothing - in the feudal era, her clothing choices are not just indecent, they're ruinous to her reputation. Why was there never a character development moment where she realized it would be better to adapt to feudal customs in that way, so as not to draw negative attention? I think this comes out more in fanfics (i.e. she is often accosted in fanfics more than she ever is in the manga/anime), but it drives me batty. I'm not suggesting she become someone other than herself, or start sporting miko clothing and look exactly like Kikyo, but I would really have enjoyed it to see her adapt it in a way that was *her*. I really wish they would have added this kind of depth to the story.

2) Winter? Does it not exist in the feudal era? I was trying to think off the top of my head but I simply cannot remember an issue/episode where it's snowing and cold. It's been a while since I've read/watched though, so it might be me. But I can't imagine her running around in a fuku and the little socks and shoes she sports. She'd obviously freeze to death! Overcoming hurdles like not being used to being out of doors in bad weather would also add depth I think.

3) Lack of obvious desire to train as a miko (I know that's not a 'realistic' one, but based on the canon it is) - You'd think that once she realized how bad she was in battle, she'd know the need to actually make a better effort to learn to defend herself and use her abilities. I know that comes up in fanfic a lot (and sometimes Kagome is turned into some kind of all-powerful Super Girl), but I truly wish it had in the series in a reasonable way. I feel like it would have been a good growing point for her character to mature with.

Am I crazy? I'd love to hear other pet peeves any of you have about this stuff. What I wouldn't give to read a well-done fanfic with Kagome in feudal era clothing and a decent pair of modern outdoor walking boots (because who in the heck could walk all those miles in those crappy school shoes she wears?!).

I must be crazy.

I think that the series plot included a lot of realism when it came to interpersonal communication. The plot seemed to revolve more around the character's feelings and the way they interacted as a group. The core of it basically being that a tyrant creates his own worst enemies. ie. if Naraku hadn't messed with Inuyasha, Kikyo, Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, and Sesshomaru's lives those people probably wouldn't have banded together in the end to destroy him.

Kagome, as she is in the manga, is the epitome of the heart's strength. Her childishness and lack of experience in the feudal era highlight her non-physical strength. In reality there are few people at 15 who could pull off what she does. Namely falling into a world she thought complete myth, dealing with this onerous task of the shikon, being faced with her reincarnation, being in love with said incarnations ex, etc etc. Her lack of training further highlights this. She is not a physically strong character and I think it serves a purpose in the story line to show that not all strength is physical, (skill with a sword, miko powers).

It's hard sometimes to remember that while we may have been reading the manga or watching the anime over a series of years only 1 year has taken place up to the very last manga chapter. Kagome is 15 and while I agree that one year in a drastically different environment than she is used to would cause changes for whatever reason Takahashi decided not to dwell on this aspect, instead focusing on character growth through other means.

I will agree with you and say that many things are abscent in the manga, as you mentioned, bathroom breaks, periods, confrontations with hostile villagers but that is just evidence of the lense Takahashi decided to view the story through. Also, I'll give you, it hardly ever rains or snows. There are very few episodes it does rain, and I believe a grand total of two shots where it snows (one being the snow madien episode with Miroku, the other being a shot of Kikyo and Inuyasha going off to defeat some snow cat like demon).

While I think the series could have indeed been given more depth by including some of these aspects in the end we have to remember that this is a Feudal Fairytale, and very often in fairytales events are stylized.

No, you are NOT, crazy.

EP

Indigo_Miko - You make excellent points. I am really not the type of person that thoroughly thinks about character symbolism as you've noted, so I do see why Takahashi would have written it that way. I suppose it's just me as a 25 year old trying to make the series a bit more grown-up? I don't know. Many series don't include stuff about bathroom breaks, etc etc because in reality, do we really need to see that? But to me, some other realistic aspects, like struggles with everyday worries like weather/cultural issues would have been interesting to me. And I totally know what you mean about it being stylized as a fairy tale, because it really is. The series is played out with the story being the main focus, so of course details will be lost in the mix (unless the series went on for ten years). I guess it's just my desire to add something that has always felt... well... missing to the story. I often wonder what it would have been like had the series time line been more extended. I actually didn't quite realize that the entire series is just one year in canon. Thanks for your reply. I really enjoyed reading it and seeing your view.

ElegantPaws wrote:
No, you are NOT, crazy.

EP

Thanks! Good to know at least someone doesn't think so!

Of course, it helps to remember the group this manga was targeted towards. This does follow the basic formula for shonen. It is for young men. You have a young male, rejected by society, who finds himself worthy in the eyes of a young, basically helpless (hapless?), female. Through her help, he gains a loyal group of friends. They are basically the cheerleaders. Sure, they help a bit, but for the most part, they get neutralized somehow and Inuyasha draws his strength to continue the good fight from his friends. The boys reading this are all about the action and camaraderie. It is a testament to Takahashi to have written/drawn something that appeals to both sexes and all ages. Shojo for the girls targets emotions and romantic relationships.
This is why I like the fan fiction sites so much. It allows the writers to research as much as they like into the era to lend realism and depth to their stories. If they don't want to, it takes nothing away from the original manga. Everybody wins!
With the peasants being nothing but fodder for slaughter in the series anyway, no one is left alive to reprimand Kagome for her indecent clothing.
I recommended a book series on Recommendations. It has a link to a webpage of the author's original short story that sparked the series. If you are interested in the culture of this time period, you will like this mystery series.

Yeah, I understand the target audience and all, but it has still bothered me. I suppose it's silly really, but I guess I have always just wished it a bit more realistic. I will look for that series you mentioned in Recommendations. I checked it out earlier and I am very interested so thank you!!

I know that this is an old post and all but I had to toss my two cents in here on this one, I agree with the realism, I wish there was more, and if there had been plans on making the series longer and more in depth it would have been fantastic to see, but as it was it did span such a short period of time, unfortunatly, it was so long in coming that it felt as if she had been there for ages when it had been only months! It would have been excellent character development for Kagome to learn how to live without modern convieniences, and very funny for us as well to see what she had to learn to live without.

I do recall, perhaps in one of the movies, where it was winter in her time. Shouldn't it also be winter in the Sengoku period? My friend says that it doesn't necessarily have to be the same season in both periods. In that same respect it was late summer/early fall when the series started, shouldn't it have at least been a bit cold there? And the fact that it barely rains is irritating and it seems like when it does rain in the series it's based more on the mood of the characters than meteorology.

The fact that Kagome has no desire to train as a miko makes no sense to me! I realize that she didn't want to become Kikyo (which in my humble opinion she did in the end anyhow) but she still should have wanted to grow in strength and learn to defend herself.

The clothing thing bothered me as well. I don't think she should have worn the traditional miko garb, but a kimono or something would have been nice.

I do understand not speaking of bathrom breaks and such, it's not as though the story was showing them 24/7. In most stories/movies/novels these rudimentary details are skipped over for the simple fact that nobody wants to read about someone going to the loo. I think there could have been more hostility from the villagers and such due to her clothing choices, instead they seem to accept it rather quickly(something that would NOT have happened in that time) and move on from it.

One thing that really peeves me is the fact that no matter the battle or circumstance Inuyasha is the one to *almost* always give the defeating blow. The other characters are strong in body and mind, but it seems he's always the one to end it. I also have issues with the fact that he always shows up with perfect timing. No matter how far away he it he is ALWAYS there *just* in time to save the day. There should have been times when they had to save themselves, but no, he was always there.

With all that said I also think it's great that she chose to work on interpersonal relations and growing strength in character development rather than the aforementioned things. She chose how she WANTED the world to be see and went with it, creating a very interesting, and entraping, manga/anime series.

The other point of note in regards to her clothing is that it's entirely impractical. Even if she were unconcerned about her reputation, her uniform would constantly be covered in dirt and blood (not to mention getting torn all the time), and her mum would constantly have to buy her new ones. Plus a skirt that short would pose a problem if you spent all your time hiking and fighting demons.

For the most part, I agree with this one. I really would like to have seen Kagome develope her powers. It also would have been nice to see her dressed in more traditional clothing. Not necessarily miko attire, but more appropriate clothing would have been nice. I really feel that her school uniform would not have been the most practical clothes to be running around fighting demons in. Or even running around and being protected from demons, which was more often the case. I often wished to see her kick some serious butt at some point. But alas, it was not to be. *sigh*

But, this is why I love fan fiction! It fills in the gaps and spaces left out from the actual series. I like to read and write stories where Kagome developes her powers and wears more appropriate clothing. I mean even a nice pair of jeans, a tee-shirt and tennis shoes would be better than that school-girl outfit.

While there are many things I would like to have seen differently, in the end, I am almost glad that they were left out. It makes very furtile grounds for fan fiction!

You Know I Really Don't Think Your Crazy, Because There Are Some Things About The Anime/Manga That Bother Me. For Instance, Kagome Is Always Struck With Some Kind Of Illness, Which Is What Grandpa Tells Eri And The Gang, But Then Every Time They See Her She Is Perfectly Fine. Honestly If I Was The One Being Told About Some Strange Illness Hurting My Friend And Then All Of Sudden She Is Cured [Mulitple Time] I Would Be Worried Or At Least Scream Witch Every Time I Was Close To Her. Also Does Kagome Ever Graduate? If So, HOW?!?!?!?! The Girl Has Surely Missed The Required Days Regardless Of Sickness. The Wanting To Be A Miko Thing That You Stated About Is Something I Wonder About, Because If It Was Me I Would Surely Get Tired Of Being Kidnapped Every Few Episodes. Its Irritating And Just A Plain Pain In The Arse. But IDK Maybe That's Me. Also Sesshomaru's Mother Or Lack Thereof. WHERE IS SHE! We Know How Inuyasha Got Here But Sesshomaru Brings Up Question, I Hope He Didn't Just Fall From The Sky With All Of His Grace. Well I Think Thats It For Now. Good Bye!

So, the series takes place over a period of five months I think. I counted the times Inuyasha turned human as I re-read the series - the manga not the anime, which has so many fillers I'm suprised Kaede lasted long enough. What bugs me (even though I completely understand it) is that the series starts in 1997 or something and ends in 2008, yet still takes place over a period of time less than a year. If you look at it, in the beginning personal technology is almost nonexistant as was the case for most people in the 90's. But at the end she's sitting in this obviously modern room with a modern cell phone lamenting about how she's only just got one even though most girls have had theirs for ages. That amount of technological development in the span of a few months really annoys me.

Musouka wrote:
Also Does Kagome Ever Graduate? If So, HOW?!?!?!?! The Girl Has Surely Missed The Required Days Regardless Of Sickness.

Did you read the rest of the manga? If you are waiting for Viz to come out with the rest of the series in English you're going to be waiting forever. I recommend www.onemanga.com/Inuyasha/. Viz drags their feet on this manga and it annoys the hell out of me. Anyway, yes she finishes high school. I won't say more than that cuz I'd be dropping spoilers.

The Wanting To Be A Miko Thing That You Stated About Is Something I Wonder About, Because If It Was Me I Would Surely Get Tired Of Being Kidnapped Every Few Episodes. Its Irritating And Just A Plain Pain In The Arse. But IDK Maybe That's Me.

I think I said something similar on another bboard and got flamed for it, lol. I have always, ALWAYS, had a huge problem with Kagome's flippant attitude about her miko powers. I mean think about it, she's got demons hunting her, danger surrounding her, you'd think she would want to, ya know, LEARN SOMETHING! Grab a book, ask Kaede or Miroku for some pointers, ask Sango for some basic defense skills...something dammit!

She doesn't need to be Kikyo or some super miko. Just put a little effort in girl!

Also Sesshomaru's Mother Or Lack Thereof. WHERE IS SHE! We Know How Inuyasha Got Here But Sesshomaru Brings Up Question, I Hope He Didn't Just Fall From The Sky With All Of His Grace. Well I Think Thats It For Now. Good Bye!

She's in the manga, but honestly there isn't enough back story for my taste. Yes, the manga is called "Inuyasha" not "Sesshomaru", but I've always had issues with Rumiko T's lack of detail in her storytelling. Of course, this is great for fan fiction because we can fill in all the gaps.

As for the seasons not matching up...somebody mentioned to me that they thought that Kagome wasn't just in the future, but in a parallel universe. It would explain the seasonal differences. *shrug*

Her clothing. Hrmm, I seem to remember Rumiko T. saying in an interview once that the sailor suit outfit is Kagome's signature garb. As impractical as it may be.

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but this is really interesting. I've always been saddened by fanfiction set in historic Japanese time periods that aren't well researched, but the lack of realism in the Inuyasha manga doesn't bother me for a number of reasons. First, it's a lot more realistic than a lot of people realize, and the second, it's deviations were calculated and not accidental.

On the subject of Kagome's uniform, it wouldn't have been as vile as people in fanfiction make it out to be (as opposed to how scandalous it would be in late 16th century Europe). True, it wouldn't have been great and people would have scoffed, but it wouldn't have marked her as a prostitute or anything like that (if anything, more clothing would have done that). I know a lot of people don't know this, but the Japanese people have never had a problem with girls showing leg (any person who has lived in Japan and seen how short the skirts are will agree with me). One of the reasons why is because the very important job of planting rice seedlings has always gone to girls (poetically to maidens). They didn't want to get their clothing wet (because rice seedlings are planted in a flooded rice field), so they showed a good deal leg while doing so. It wasn't sexy, it was rather poor-looking. Children also were inclined to show leg since they were generally wearing clothing that didn't fit very well (notice that Rin shows leg but no one cares). I've also seen in historical dramas that any young woman who had a job that involved manual labor always had a kimono that showed some leg. Even further, I've seen Japanese paintings that show women who had the job of diving for certain shellfish would strip down to their koshimaki (a sort of wrap-skirt that was Japanese female underwear until the 1920s). Koshimaki only conceal from hip to knee/mid-calf, and yet no one was scandalized to see their breasts (certainly not their male co-workers who were wearing even less). It wasn't sexy, it was poor-looking. Also, gender-divided bath-houses didn't spring up until after Japan opened its doors to the West in the late 1800s, so for a long time Japanese women didn't have a problem with the idea of every man in town seeing them naked (so long as they weren't alone). So really, while Kagome's show of leg was more than what they were used to (generally the highest it went was to the knee), it really wasn't that scandalous. If anything, it made her look poor. It has always been in Japanese aesthetics that covering the body was sexier than displaying it. Showing the curves of the body wasn't sensual, it was crass and displayed no sense of refinement. If a person could afford to cover their body, then they did. If they didn't have the money, or had a job that made that impractical, well then their lack of clothing made them looked low-class but not vulgar. This can be seen even now in Modern Japan. Despite the shortness of the skirts, no Japanese woman would consider showing her shoulders or any sort or cleavage except for very unusual circumstances.

Also another thing is to consider is that Rumiko Takahashi put Kagome in her school uniform over and over again because it was funny. Japanese people have grown up watching historical dramas on TV and reading the classics in school. They know far better than we do what that time period was like, and more specifically what it looked like (just as we understand 16th Century Europe and Colonial America far better than they do). For many of them, historical dramas are so predictable that they only watch them because they like the actor, not because they are enthused by the plot. So, imagine how funny the image of a fifteen year old girl in a school uniform moseying around 16th Century Japan must be to them. Imagine how refreshing it must be. Think about how we like stories about modern day people put in old settings and watching them bumble about (take the movie 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' ). Rumiko Takahashi was not at all interested in being accurate, she was interested in being amusing.

I don't think Kagome had any desire in the manga to train as a priestess because Rumiko Takahashi was focused on Inuyasha's character (the whole thing's named after him), and his training/transformation instead of Kagome's. Kagome's role in the story isn't oriented towards action, so giving her an action role might have felt contradictory the author. Besides, the skilled/mystical priestess is another cliche of the manga world, so Rumiko Takahashi was being funny by having Kagome bumbling about. But, I think if a fanfiction is going to cover the canon universe to some extent, then they must cover her training at least to a certain degree.

As for my pet peeves, I'm peeved to find that most of the accepted beliefs about Japanese culture of this time aren't based on Japanese culture of this time at all but on either European culture of this time or idealized beliefs of Japanese culture. This is a rather odd bifurcation to me as neither of those two widely held sets of beliefs are based on research.

For instance, I constantly see that one of the qualities that Sesshoumaru likes in Kagome is that she bathes regularly, stating that it's an unusual quality for a human. Which would be true if this were 16th Century Europe, but it's not at all true of 16th Century Japan. The reason Europeans of this time feared bathing was because they had no defined system of dealing with their excrement in a sanitary manner. They would pollute their water sources, and thus water became associated with disease. This is not true of Japan, and in fact water is one of the top two tools in Shinto to ritually purify (right next to salt). Records of the Jomon Period (14,000BCE-400BCE) show that excrement was moved to outside of human settlements, and sewer systems were in place in the Yayoi Period (300BCE-250CE). Bath-houses first start hitting the history books in Japan in the Nara Period (710CE-784CE). Water sources were never soiled, so water was never feared. It is, in fact, revered and for a very long time most Japanese people would bitch and moan if they couldn't bathe once a day (they still do). So, villages in the Sengoku Jidai wouldn't have been particularly smelly, and neither would the villagers.

Another thing that gets me is Japan's perceived level of technical advancement in this time. I've noticed that a lot of fanfiction like to have the past characters stumbling over math and science (even Sesshoumaru, arguably the most educated out of all of the past characters). But it's really very hard to build structures like Kofukuji and Todaiji without math (as is using an abacus), so it defies logic to say that the Japanese people of 16th Century Japan didn't have any. A fair deal of science is also needed to be able to construct a proper solar/lunar calender. This belief can't be based on beliefs concerning Europe of this time, for this is the time of Galileo. I can only say that this idea of the general ignorance of historic Japan is based solely on pre-conceived notions people have over historic Japan... which feels a little... insulting. As if 16th Century Japan couldn't possibly know all that much... Generally speaking, I get a little annoyed at a fanfiction when it does this... I get having them stumble over some of the stuff Kagome has, but every subject she studies save English is something the past characters have encountered before (save Inuyasha and Shippou). I also get fudging here or there in the name of comedy, I did it in my first chapter of 'The Diary' with Sesshoumaru wondering what a book was (they have in fact had books in Japan since at least the 1000s), but total ignorance of... everything seems a little histrionic...

The last pet peeve on my list is the clothing that people have past characters wearing. I've been collecting kimono for five years and have devoted a good part of my day to thoughts of them and a good part of my life to researching their history, so whenever I see someone putting a 16th Century character in a kimono that was invented in the late 19th Century, it does have a tendency to put me off. Kimono have evolved over time just in the same way Western clothing has, so the idea of characters in the past wearing a tomesode and wide obi tied in the Otaiko knot is about as strange as characters in King Henry VIII's court wearing fin-de-siecle bustles and top hats. There's a good online source for the history of Japanese clothing here www.iz2.or.jp/english/index.htm . It's The Costume Museum of Kyoto (and I can say with the fangirlish delight of all kimono-collectors that I've been there XD ). They have a visual record of what was worn by whom and when, including Sengoku Jidai (within the larger Kamakura Period).

Hmmm... this was much longer than I thought it would be. It might be longer than some of my chapters... how sad.

You know I will say that in the future if I have any questions about creating better authenticity in my stories, I will come to you I've had readers tell me that my work comes off as well researched, but after reading that, it sure doesn't seem like it. Props!

You made several good points about authenticity in the manga, and about your pet peeves. I've always wanted to learn more about Japanese history, and Asian history in general, but have never gotten around to it. You have prompted me to start doing some research.

Also, thanks for the link to website for the Costume Museum of Kyoto. It looks very interesting, and I will have to take some time to really explore the site.