Episode 7

Showdown! Inuyasha vs. Sesshomaru! is the seventh episode of the InuYasha anime. It first aired in Japan on November 27, 2000.

Synopsis[]

Kagome is seemingly killed by Sesshōmaru, but she is protected by the Tessaiga.
Inuyasha is able to utilize the Tessaiga's full power, when he declares that he will protect Kagome.
Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha conclude their battle at Tōga's tomb.

Summary[]

It begins where the last episode left off with Kagome having accidentally pulled out the Tessaiga despite Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha being unable to.

Sesshōmaru then forgets about Inuyasha and asks Kagome how she was able to draw the sword (unaware she could since she was human; not demon like he and Inuyasha) and then contemplates that she must die because of it. Inuyasha protests demanding he leave her alone as she was not involved in this and that she was only "a human girl," and tells Kagome to give Sesshōmaru the sword as there was no other choice. However, Kagome refuses saying that because he couldn't pull it out clearly meant he wasn't supposed to have it. Inuyasha then argues with her about the matter and Sesshōmaru then says Inuyasha's patience with Kagome was "astonishing" to him before adding on how he "protects her, indulge her, even seem to love her," (which Inuyasha answers with a simple frustrated sigh). Sesshōmaru then remarks these "feelings of mercy" weren't something he inherited from their father, but Inuyasha must have inherited from his mother and what made him have a connection towards humans, and then states that he bears no such weakness.

Sesshōmaru then blasts poison out of his hands at Kagome, completely burying her in a pile of it, apparently killing her as Inuyasha calls out her name. Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha then battle once again when Sesshōmaru insults half-breeds referring to Inuyasha. Inuyasha braces himself as Sesshōmaru launches more poison whips at him. Inuyasha gets more insults from Sesshōmaru for being called a half-demon.

Half-Breed — Inuyasha thinks of his miserable childhood

Inuyasha then thinks back his childhood to where men from his village were playing a ball game. When he tried to approach them, they kicked the ball away, coldly calling him a half breed. Inuyasha runs to his mother asking her what a half-breed is. She doesn't give him an answer, instead she hugs him tightly and starts crying. Then Inuyasha realizes his mother didn't wanted to answer it because she knew what his life would be like because of it. Inuyasha becomes angry saying that he can take the insults; but not the ones for his mother. He then takes several swings at Sesshōmaru's armor; one for his mother and then another for Kagome, the second actually breaking the armor. However, Sesshōmaru further insults him saying if that's what it took to make him fight he would have killed Kagome a long time ago.

Sesshomaru demon form — Sesshomaru's demon form

Just when Inuyasha threatens him again Kagome suddenly bursts out of the poison pile perfectly unharmed. She is in a short rage for attempting to be killed before she quickly gives Inuyasha the sword so he can finish Sesshōmaru off. However, he is confused as to how she is still alive, but Sesshōmaru realizes that the sword is what preserved Kagome's life, something Myōga confirms. Sesshōmaru suddenly transform into a giant dog, which is his true demon form and starts releasing gas. Inuyasha orders Kagome and Myōga to get to higher ground so they won't get harmed and Kagome hesitantly does worrying about him since the gas will harm demons as well given in a few minutes. Sesshōmaru attacks Inuyasha and Inuyasha sees his sword isn't leaving so much as a scratch. Sesshōmaru eventually gets Inuyasha in his mouth and they battle outside the tomb where Kagome has escape too. Kagome attempts to encourage him saying that the swords is his and all he has to do is believe in it like she does him. Inuyasha calls her nuts saying he'll live since he's half demon whereas she "ain't got a chance." Kagome then starts to cry asking if this meant she should just give up hope. Inuyasha then demands her not to cry and when she mockingly asks if she should "laugh" he snaps at her that she should "shut up" and let him protect her, surprising Kagome.

Tessaiga pulsing — Tessaiga begins to pulse

Inuyasha resumes his fight telling her to stay where she is. Suddenly the sword begins to pulse and grows bigger and turns into a dog fang and when Sesshōmaru pounces onto Inuyasha with his left paw, Inuyasha jumps at him and cuts off his left arm. Inuyasha then declares that it was their father who chose to leave the sword to him, to hide his tomb in, and that he wasn't so worthless after all. Sesshōmaru attacks him one last time, but Inuyasha manages to defeat sending him off the skeleton. Jaken, shocked to see his lord defeated, rushes after him as the both escape to the normal world. Inuyasha takes back what he said about his sword earlier saying it's not a "piece of junk" after all. Myōga shows up with skeleton vultures for a ride home. They return to the normal world and the black pearl returns from to Inuyasha's right eye. They get back to Kaede's hut where Myōga informs Kaede about what happened. Keade asks why Kagome was able to get the Tessaiga where Sesshōmaru, who was a powerful daiyōkai, and Inuyasha couldn't. Myōga said that Kagome was mortal and the purpose of the Tessaiga was to protect Inuyasha's mother who was also a human and that it was Inuyasha's feelings towards mortals that enabled him to wield the sword. Kagome then recalls that when Inuyasha told her he would protect her the Tessaiga reacted. Kaede then says how to Inuyasha his half demon/human heritage has always been a curse and that his love for his mother has always been tinged with shame but yet those feelings is what make him different among other demons and why his father chose him for his resting place. She then speculates that maybe the one that most resembled their father was not Sesshōmaru but Inuyasha.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha is up in his tree swing the sword in its rusty form trying to figure out how to get it to work again. Kagome then shows up and calls to him saying she knows how to get him to use the sword again. Inuyasha doubts her advice and when she refers to him earlier telling her that he would protect her, Inuyasha quickly yells that he didn't mean it like "that," and says how the sword should be used to "collect more jewel shards and making him more powerful," and that he isn't wasting it on "babysitting a helpless little human" like her. Kagome then pushes him onto the log bridge confusing him. She then gets back onto the end on the land and says "sit, boy" which causes Inuyasha to automatically slam face down onto the logs breaking them and causing him to fall into the river below.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

Music[]

Opening Theme — CHANGE THE WORLD — TV OST Vol. 1
Episode 6 recap — Big Counterattack (Daihangeki) — TV OST Vol. 1
Kagome holds sword, Sesshōmaru wonders who she is — Demon Charm (Yōen) — TV OST Vol. 1
Inuyasha flashback to childhood — Sad Song (Aika) — TV OST Vol. 1
Inuyasha attacks Sesshōmaru, manages to hit him — Fight to the Death (Shitō) — TV OST Vol. 1
Sesshōmaru transforms into dog form — Demon Brother Sesshōmaru (Yōkei Sesshōmaru) — TV OST Vol. 1
Sesshōmaru’s poison envelops the tomb, he and Inuyasha clash outside, Kagome cries — Attack (Shūgeki) — TV OST Vol. 1
Inuyasha cuts off Sesshōmaru’s front leg and wins battle — Dilemma (Kyūchi) — TV OST Vol. 1
Myōga returns after battle — Old Flea, Myōga (Nomi no Jijii Myōga) — TV OST Vol. 1
Myōga tells Kagome about Tessaiga’s purpose — Kagome and InuYasha — TV OST Vol. 1
Kagome and Inuyasha argue — Searching for the Shikon no Tama (Shikon no Tama o Motomete) —TV OST Vol. 1
Ending Theme — My Will — TV OST Vol. 1

Notes[]

Sesshōmaru claims to not have inherited any of Tōga's "weaknesses"; however, he would be proven wrong later, when he resurrects and ultimately cares for Rin, a human girl.
Episode 134 shows the aftermath of Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru's fight.
(English dub) For Sesshōmaru's full-demon form, animal growls were used.
Flashback of Inuyasha's childhood are replayed in InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler, the third movie of the InuYasha franchise.

Differences from the manga[]

The anime includes an extended conversation between Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sesshōmaru, where Inuyasha urges Kagome to hand over Tessaiga to Sesshōmaru in order to save her own life. In the same conversation, Sesshōmaru scorns Inuyasha's and his own father's love for humans, claiming he doesn't have this flaw.
After Kagome is "melted", the anime includes scenes of Sesshōmaru beating and berating Inuyasha for being a half breed, which leads into a vision of child Inuyasha being scorned by humans for the same reason. The manga, however, has Inuyasha try to immediately save Kagome from the poison, and then successfully attack Sesshōmaru in rage when he thinks Kagome has died.
Inuyasha's fight with Sesshōmaru is extended greatly in the anime to include a fight at the top of their father to escape from the toxic gases Sesshōmaru spews. In the manga, the fight is kept inside their father's stomach, and Inuyasha mentioning his relationship with his father is never touched upon.
In the manga, it's never explained how the group escaped from Inuyasha's father's tomb. In the anime, however, Myōga brings along a skeleton vulture for them to escape.
In the anime, the black pearl returns to Inuyasha's eye, whereas Kaede is seen holding it when speaking to Kagome about the Tessaiga's power in the manga.
The anime has Kagome push Inuyasha onto a bridge before telling him to sit, whereas Kagome simply has him sit into the ground in the manga. In the same scene, the manga depicts Myōga urging Inuyasha to fix his personality.