InuYasha is my favorite anime for several reasons, one of which is its strong women. InuYasha is able to show women in all their strength and glory, and the show does it without killing chivalry or being a girly show either. It is the perfect balance. Although Inuyasha protects Kagome with his life, this show is not the stereotypical man saving girl situation. They all protect each other: the way it should be. Alright so let’s look at some of these women. There are a lot to choose from so I’m going with a perfect 10 in the order they appear: Kikyo, Kyade, Kagome, Mrs. Higurashi, Mistress Centipede, Yura of the Hair, Sango the Demon Slayer, Priestess Midoriko, Kagura, Rin
1. Kikyo
source: InuYasha Wiki
I have so many mixed feelings about Kikyo. She’s good. She’s evil. She’s healing people. She’s trying to drag Inuyasha to Hell. We never really know what she is doing. So, for the sake of my sanity, let’s just look at Kikyo in her first life. She was a high priestess. Even that to me is a big deal. Where I went to school, girls couldn’t be in leadership over boys. This was always infuriating. So, to watch this show and see Kikyo as the head of the town was enlightening. Now not only was she a high priestess in the village, she was known throughout the region as being a powerful priestess. She led the village and protected the sacred jewel on her own and still had time to fall in love with Inuyasha. She wanted to be free of that life and to be with Inuyasha instead. I can’t blame her for wanting that, but there was where her downfall started. In the end, she had the strength to choose not to kill Inuyasha even though she could have.
2. Kaede
source: InuYasha Wiki
Kaeda was Kikyo’s younger sister. After Kikyo died, Kaede was the new high priestess of the village. I love when the men clear a way for her to come through; it warms my heart. I just want to look at one attribute of Kaede: her forgiveness. For 50 years she believed that Inuyasha killed Kikyo. But after the spell was broken and Inuyasha revived, she trusted him to help Kagome find the jewel shards. She encouraged Kagome to get along with him. And when Kikyo was brought back from the dead, Kaede told Kikyo that Inuyasha was not her enemy. That is some powerful forgiveness!
3. Kagome
source: women write about comics
Even though the show is called InuYasha, Kagome really is the main character. She is the only one we follow all the time. Kagome was just a normal 15-year-old girl. And then she had to become this demon-fighting adventurer. She became good with a bow and arrow and nearly killed arch enemy Naraku with a single strike. Her ability to see the jewel shards was indispensable. Kagome brought out the best in Inuyasha, and was the only one who could soothe his demon blood. She never lost her compassion or her kindness. She even went to Hell and back again to save the soul of a little girl she didn’t even know. Her heart remained pure despite the constant pain of being in love with someone who wouldn’t love her back. She never viewed Kikyo as her enemy and helped her, even saving her, time and time again. If that isn’t an example of strength, I don’t know what is. I could go on and on about Kagome Higurashi.
4. Mrs. Higurashi
source: InuYasha Wiki
Kagome’s mom is the best example of an encouraging mother. Here Kagome is going off on these crazy dangerous missions, and her mom always supports her. She never tries to stop her daughter because she knows that those missions are something Kagome has to do. She is always there to cook her a meal or pack some supplies. She is even considerate of Inuyasha. Mrs. Higurashi is probably the only woman who actually fits the female gender role, but she does it so well I don’t even care. Mr. Higurashi is never seen, so she is raising to two kids and grandpa all on her own. You know it takes a strong woman to do that, so don’t discount her just because she is not out slaying demons with the rest of the gang.
5. Mistress Centipede
source: InuYasha Wiki
Mistress Centipede is the first evil creature we see in the series. She is the one that pulled Kagome into the well. She is the one who bit the sacred jewel out of Kagome. She is the reason Kagome freed Inuyasha from the tree. She is the first demon Inuyasha slayed. And let’s not forget that Mistress Centipede came back to life after however many years her bones were in the well. She is really creepy looking, and she isn’t in the show for long, but she is a pretty big deal.
6. Yura of the Hair
source: InuYasha Wiki
Guess who the second villain is. That’s right: another strong female character. Some people really like Yura. I don’t really like her, but she’s included in this because It’s significant to me that the first two villains are both female. Yura is really strong she does some serious damage to Inuyasha. It takes more than one episode to finally defeat her, and it was thanks to Kagome they finally did. This battle also caused some necessary bonding between Inuyasha and Kagome.
7. Sango the Demon Slayer
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Where do I begin? Sango is the Epitome of a strong woman. In her debut, she walked out in her full demon slayer garb and knocked out this demon with one swing of her “hiraikotsu.” Then she changed clothes and was all cute and with her family. Sango was the only female demon slayer from her village, and she was the best they had. She should have died from Naraku’s first attack, but she survived on sheer willpower. She later joined the group and fought Naraku for the sake of her brother. She endured the suffering of facing her brother. On a lighter note, she put up with Miroku too. That takes just about all the strength you can get.
8. Priestess Midoriko
We only see Midoriko in one episode, but she is really the most significant person in the whole story. She was the greatest priestess ever from hundreds of years ago. She was the one who created the sacred jewel that caused all drama in the first place. She faced countless demons and battled them for days on end. The story goes that her soul is still inside the sacred jewel battling the demons. Strongest woman ever.
9. Kagura of the Wind
source: InuYasha Wiki
Naraku may be the main villain, but he would be a lot easier to deal with without his incarnation Kagura. She is my personal favorite because she uses a feather. Kagura is always causing problems for our heroes, and they can never do any damage to her. Little do they know, she is desperately trying to escape from Naraku. She cannot stand having him control her, and that is why she is her own hero. She does what she must to survive while constantly planning her betrayal. She’s the villain that you secretly root for. She does get her freedom in the end, but Naraku kills her and she becomes the wind. So sad.
10. Rin
source: InuYasha Wiki
We cannot forget sweet little Rin. Rin was an orphan stealing to survive. She ended up finding Sesshomaru in the woods when he was hurt. She tried to help him even though she could barely fend for herself. Long story short, Rin joined up with Sesshomaru and started traveling with him. Rin changed Sesshomaru from a total jerk to someone who actually cared about someone else besides himself. Rin softened his heart so much that he realized the toxicity of his lust for power. I believe this change in Sesshomaru is why he helped the gang defeat Naraku in the end. Rin didn’t do anything that heroic. She was just her-happy-go-lucky- self. That’s all she needed to be, and that’s all it took.
As you can see, these women changed their world. They fought right alongside the men. They were all equal. They were all great. And when we realize that, we can change our world too.
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