InuYasha
- Transmission of Love story, battle and awesomeness -
Rumiko Takahashi's work to be animated

The Asahi Shimbun - October 27, 2000 (Atsushi Obara)
Original text

Kagome, a 15-year-old junior high school student, slips back in time from a well in a shrine to the Sengoku era in which yokai inhabited. She unseals InuYasha born of yokai and human, and starts a journey with him in search of shards of the Shikon Jewel that increase yokai power. Rumiko Takahashi's manga series InuYasha was made into anime. I heard an aim and highlight of this anime from Producer Michihiko Suwa and Director Masashi Ikeda.

Interviewer - Which part of the manga attracted you?
Suwa – A love story between Kagome and InuYasha, battles with yokai, and the fineness of describing cross talks of the two during hard battles. Even after the increase in sub characters, each one has a definite aim and a drama. In addition of these charms, I thought that the InuYasha world had "awesomeness", in other words, "Mononoke feelings (Yokai feelings)", which modern person had forgotten. Deidarabocchi (English name: Nightwalker) in Princess Mononoke is also such an "awesome" character. I felt that it was interesting to transmit such a feeling and spirit in a mainstream like the prime-time TV show.

Interviewer - I heard that you have read more than ten kinds of manga magazines a week in search of manga suitable for being animated.
Suwa - I love manga. Because of being aired in the prime time, I desire a manga that can attract a wide range of people. But recent manga magazines have a tendency that one magazine obtains wide range of readers by letting each work aim exclusively at each specific group of readers. It is a difficulty in broadcasting of a prime-time TV anime based on a manga.

Interviewer - Which element do you emphasize the most strongly as the director?
Ikeda - It's apparently a live story considering being Takahashi's work. But because I work for a long time in Sunrise that has produced many action-oriented titles, I have a feeling as well to prefer actions to love stories I don't get used to... I want to mix the both and show them in a good pace. My most favorite character is Kikyo. After she sealed InuYasha as a priestess and then died, a yokai revives her. But she is obsessed with love and hate to InuYasha. For a person who once died and came back to life, what do good and evil mean? No one can say it is wrong for her to act dependently only on the emotion. It makes me consider the true nature of human. The creator (Takahashi) also is letting Kikyo go to a more difficult process, and is trying the creator herself. Though I want to put her in the anime as soon as possible, because I can’t figure out her enough, I’m upset.

Interviewer - Kagome sometimes goes back to the modern times through the well. But it looks like the school takes no notice of her despite the fact that she is usually absent for feigned illnesses. Moreover, after returning to the Sengoku era, she must start the journey from the well again. Are they forced settings?
Ikeda – To be honest, other person made a suggestion that we set wells for the gateway in various places. But I opposed it. The manga doesn't care this point, and it doesn't decrease the interest. My policy is that an anime based on an original work ought to conform to rules of its creator. I prefer considering how to express the interest of an original work in an anime, to being bound by settings,



InuYasha has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan) since 1996. Volumes 1- 18 have been published and sold 11 million books so far.
The TV anime series is broadcast every Monday at night. Considering the rating of the first episode on October 16 is 15.1% (Kanto area), it made a good start. The production company is Yomiuri TV and Sunrise.
Producer Michihiko Suwa belongs to the Department of Production of Tokyo, and has been charge of Detective Conan (Case closed), Kindaichi Case Files etc. Directore Masashi Ikeda produced Gundam Wing and Ronin Warriors.