Episode 8

The Toad Who Would Be Prince is the eighth episode of the InuYasha anime. It first aired in Japan on December 4, 2000.

Synopsis[]

Inuyasha and Kagome meet a young samurai named Amari Nobunaga.
They help Nobunaga rescue Princess Tsuyu from a toad demon who has a shard of the Shikon no Tama.

Summary[]

Kagome is swimming in a lake and states that she likes the water and fresh air, and at the same time Inuyasha and Myōga sit up in a tree. Inuyasha complains that Myōga told them that they would be able to find Shikon Jewel shards in the land of Musashi. Myōga is not listening, though, as he is more preoccupied with Kagome swimming in the lake. A small white flash of light comes dashing through, which Inuyasha notices. Inuyasha follows it and Myōga tells him that he is a naughty man for trying to see Kagome in her bathing suit. Kagome sees him and screams, which makes Inuyasha land on a stone in the lake. He says that it's not what it looks like, but Kagome agrees, stating that she was startled because her clothes had been stolen, and Inuyasha hears a whistle.

Nearby, a young samurai is waiting for this monkey to return. The monkey gives him Kagome's clothes but is shocked to see them, saying that he had hoped the monkey would have brought him food. Inuyasha and Kagome pop out of the bush by the samurai and demands that he give Kagome's clothes back. The samurai draws his sword as he thinks they are suspicious, and Inuyasha says he was going to ask the same thing. Kagome gives the samurai some potato chips and tea, and he promptly consumes them. They introduce themselves and the samurai reveals that his name is Nobunaga, who Kagome knows about from her history class and wants to get an autograph from him. It turns out that the man is not actually Oda Nobunaga like she had hoped, and the man's name is written Amari Nobunaga, disappointing Kagome. He goes to leave but instead Nobunaga falls down a shallow cliff, showcasing his clumsiness.

In a village, there is a line of young girls being taken to a castle, and Amari finds out that the rumors about these young girls are true. Inuyasha and Kagome tag along with him to go the castle where the girls are being taken to. Meanwhile, a young princess named Tsuyu serves a drink to a bandaged lord. The princess asks him about the rumors of the young girls being taken to the castle, but the lord angrily replies that he will not speak about it. He slams his fists on the ground, so Tsuyu begs for his forgiveness. Kagome's group arrives at the bottom of the castle and Inuyasha smells a demon nearby, so they enter. When they find a couple of guards sleeping, it does not seem natural.

As they walk around, it turns out that most—if not everyone—in the castle is asleep in the same manner. Amari calls for Tsuyu in the castle; they come into the room and they find her. Myōga sucks her blood to wake her, and Tsuyu happily greets Nobunaga, stating that she remembers him as they have known each other since they were children. Kagome deduces that Amari must be in love with Tsuyu, who tells them that her lord slipped in the pond and got a terrible fever, acting strange ever since. As the two speak, the lord enters the room.

Inuyasha slashed the bandages off, revealing that the lord is a possessed by a toad demon, having taken on the lord's appearance. Kagome sees a glow on his right shoulder which she recognizes as a shard of the Sacred Jewel. Myōga warns Inuyasha that the toad is a formidable foe, much stronger than it appears. Inuyasha assures him he can defeat it, but the toad breathes out toxic fog, knocking Inuyasha down. The toad demon attacks Nobunaga with its tongue, impaling him through the shoulder.

The toad then takes off with Tsuyu to a room where there are many other women in egg sac-like prisons, showing that the toad eats young women's souls to stay alive. Getting back up, Inuyasha attacks the toad with Tessaiga, managing to inflict a wound on its shoulder. However, the toad calls forth the souls from some of the imprisoned women, and the souls heal the wound instantly. Soon after, Nobunaga is able to free Tsuyu from the sac that she was in. Inuyasha hits the toad in the head, which apparently causes the young lord to regain his consciousness. The lord expresses horror for the actions he has been forced to commit, begging to be killed for his atrocious actions. Seeing his pain, Inuyasha moves to kill the toad, but Nobunaga stops him, saying that he soul of the lord is still alive inside the toad. Furthermore, Nobunaga elaborates he does not like bloodshed of any kind, regardless of the situation. Nobunaga demands Inuyasha sheathe his sword and he does, telling Nobunaga that the lord is his problem now.

Unfortunately, the toad demon shows that it actually was still in control and was just manipulating them, piercing Nobunaga again in the shoulder once again. Thinking quick, Kagome quickly gets the princess away from the toad. Myōga tells Kagome that the toad's weakness is fire. Accordingly, Nobunaga's monkey runs ahead and retrieves a small flame, but Inuyasha appears and informs Kagome that luxury something they cannot afford for the battle. He prepares to kill the lord and toad demon simultaneously, but Kagome knows that she can still save the lord. She tells Inuyasha to "Sit" out of the way, allowing her to use her hairspray with the fire to burn the toad out of the lord's body. The toad tries to flee, but Inuyasha kills the demon and retrieves the shard.

Nobunaga is grateful, and just as he is about to embrace Tsuyu, she runs into her husband who is revealed to be the lord, making Nobunaga upset. Later the next day, Nobunaga admits he is a fool. Inuyasha cheers him up by telling him that he saved all the other people, which Nobunaga realizes is a great deed and he is glad about it. He bids goodbye and leaves, but he falls off the same shallow cliff that he did before. Inuyasha and Kagome look down and agree that Nobunaga is foolish.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

Music[]

Opening Theme — CHANGE THE WORLD — TV OST Vol. 1
Kagome recaps her last adventure — Big Counterattack (Daihangeki) — TV OST Vol. 1
Kagome talks to Nobunaga and wants his autograph — Osuwari! — TV OST Vol. 1
Villagers look at prisoner women walking — Evil Spirits Desiring the Shikon no Tama (Shikon no Tama o Nerau Chimimōryō) — TV OST Vol. 1
Inuyasha’s group looks for princess inside the castle — The Hidden Well to the Sengoku Era (Kakushi Ido kara Sengoku Jidai e) — TV OST Vol. 1
Nobunaga and princess special moment — To the End of Sorrow (Kanashimi no Hate ni) — TV OST Vol. 1
Inuyasha exposes castle lord as a toad demon — Fang Sword, Tessaiga (Kiba no Ken Tessaiga) — TV OST Vol. 1
Kagome’s group finds the other women — Attack (Shūgeki) — TV OST Vol. 1
Lord realizes his actions and begs to be killed — Dead Soul (Shinidama) — TV OST Vol. 1
Toad stabs Nobunaga with tongue — Evil Spirits Desiring the Shikon no Tama (Shikon no Tama o Nerau Chimimōryō) — TV OST Vol. 1
Kagome runs with Princess Tsuyu, she uses fire to expose toad — Attack (Shūgeki) — TV OST Vol. 1
Nobunaga is disappointed, but Inuyasha cheers him up — Searching for the Shikon no Tama (Shikon no Tama o Motomete) —TV OST Vol. 1
Ending Theme — My Will — TV OST Vol. 1

Notes[]

This is the second Shikon Jewel shard recovered.

Differences from the manga[]

The anime omits the entire scene in the manga where Inuyasha and Myōga question a group of kappa about the Shikon Jewel. Therefore, unlike the manga where Inuyasha arrives to the scene of Hiyoshimaru stealing Kagome's clothing after questioning the kappa, Inuyasha catches sight of the monkey while sitting in a tree.
While Kagome's reaction to hearing Nobunaga's name is the same, in the anime she asks for his signature, whereas in the manga she explains Oda Nobunaga's history after taking out her history textbook from her bag.
The anime omits the part in the manga where the Tsukumo no Gama realizes someone has entered the castle immediately after Inuyasha's group notices the sleeping guardsmen.
In the anime, the scene depicting Princess Tsuyu finding the women in eggs and the subsequent scene of Tsukumo no Gama preparing to put her into one is not included.
In the anime, Nobunaga pleads for the lord's life after the lord temporarily regains his heart, causing Inuyasha to give up on his attempt to kill the lord. Nobunaga is then attacked by the Tsukumo no Gama when its possession is restored. In the manga, however, Inuyasha swings his sword down, but voluntarily decides not to kill the lord. The Tsukumo no Gama then attacks Inuyasha, which causes Inuyasha to temporarily fall to the ground.
In the manga, Myōga relays his plan to remove the Tsukumo no Gama from the lord in the room filled with eggs, and afterwards Kagome gets caught by the frog's tongue in its attempt to devour her. This then leads to the scene of Nobunaga pleading for the lord's life as he attempts to keep the Tsukumo no Gama at bay.