Mechanics of the Inuyasha love triangle?

Question

A large portion of the InuYasha manga and anime series deals with the emotional issues surrounding the primary love triangle of

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kikyo, particularly from Kagome's point of view. However, it is revealed that Kagome is, in fact, a reincarnation of Kikyo, so they actually share the same soul, albeit from different time periods!

If that's the case, then this appears to remove all of the tension and underlying conflict, in effect Inuyasha is in love with

the same person (in two forms, one of which is even a vengeful spirit of the dead who wants to move on the afterlife)!

How exactly was this love triangle supposed to work, narratively? While I can't speak for the mangaka's inner thoughts, perhaps there are cultural nuances or tropes that I'm not aware of at work here?

Answer 1

The mechanics work like this:

Inuyasha is in love with Kikyo. She is the first human since his mother that treats him well. Despite Kikyo killing him and sealing him to the great tree, he still loves her.

Kagome falls in love with Inuyasha at first sight, but he doesn't like her at all. When he firsts revives from death, he thinks it is Kikyo, but once he figures out she is someone different, he doesn't care for her.

Due to framing plot reasons, Kagome and Inuyasha have to work together to save the world. Inuyasha slowly starts to warm up to Kagome over time, as she overcomes the dead Kikyo's shadow. Then Kikyo gets resurrected (as a walking dead corpse). This causes Inuyasha's cooling love for Kikyo to flame strongly again, and causing him to be torn between his first love (Kikyo) and has new growing love (Kagome). However, his loyalties are first to Kikyo, so Kagome always loses out when he must choose between them.

Inuyasha's first loyalty is what prevents Kagome from being able to "seal the deal" with him, and is a hurdle she can never overcome as long as the animated dead Kikyo is around. No matter how close Kagome and Inuyasha become over time (in the main series), he will desert Kagome to run off and save Kikyo if he thinks Kikyo is in danger.

Answer 2

One of the big things divides Kagome and Kikyo, particularly after Kikyo's death, is Kagome's selflessness. She goes out of her way to help those that are in distress, even when she might benefit from letting them die instead- particularly in the scene where Kagome jumps into the pond to purify Kikyo's spirit. She was never thanked for it, and she didn't gain from it, but she did it anyways.

The thing they share is their courage- even when faced with adversity, you don't see Kikyo and Kagome backing down- and if Kikyo does, it's more of an "I don't wanna do it" thing than it is "I'm too afraid."

Kikyo is dignified and introspective, whereas Kagome is gregarious and spirited. Inspecting Inuyasha's demeanor, he is the kind of person that likes to portray himself as careless and tough, but has a gentle heart (like when Kagome says "I hate you" after saving Kikyo's life when Naraku's evil energy had begun to taint her, and Inuyasha admits that it hurt him, whereas Kagome barely remembered saying it) which he reveals through his willingness to step up to the plate and defend others.

The love Inuyasha and Kikyo was brief and hot-blooded, sweet and transient like daylight in an Arctic winter. On the other hand, the bond he built with Kagome was something they built via adversity, blood and tears shed together, providing and caring for one another, and TIME.

Ultimately, while Kikyo before her death was a lively person, post-mortem she is only quite literally a shell of herself, as she only has a tiny fragment of her and Kagome's shared soul stored inside of a clay body (from when the witch brought her back from the dead and Kagome's body absorbed most of the soul back into herself).

It's notable, however, that Inuyasha was with Kikyo out of choice, and went back to her out of choice, as when he followed her tree to tree, spoke with her, and agreed voluntarily to meet her at the Tree of Ages to give up his demon half. He has no choice where it comes to Kagome- she was thrust into his life and even uses the Beads of Subjugation around his neck for vengeful and immature purposes and to restrain his wild nature- they were something that Kikyo ultimately decided she didn't need for him.

Inuyasha and Kikyo were two lonely souls, Kikyo out of the solemn duty to the Shikon Jewel, and Inuyasha because neither the community of demons nor humans would accept him as one of their own. They found kinship, community, and companionship in each other.

Kagome accepted Inuyasha unconditionally. She shows open affection and worry for him, like when she ran toward him in the episode where Inuyasha plummeted over the cliff and she was unsure if he'd been able to survive the fall. The experiences they have shared are numerous, diverse, and impactful- the battles they've been in, the lands they've traveled, and the arguments they've had and resolved. You guys have seen it.

The whole love triangle thing makes me mad sometimes, too.

Answer 3

Reincarnation is tricky business and there are so many opinions what changes when a soul returns in another body. The gender or character can be different from the previous version, so no wonder Inuyasha treats the two girls as different entities. Also there are shared history and memories between Inuyasha and Kikyo which are very precious to him. There is also guilt that he couldn't protect her and a promise he made and intends to keep, while Kagome at first is a complete stranger.

Saying that, I am not sure Kagome being and looking similar wasn't a contributing factor for Inuyasha falling for her. She even had the same talents: both women have miko powers. Maybe on same level he did preceive their relationship as some kind of second chance with Kikyo. He shows no romantic interest in other females, but he does with Kagome pretty early on, even saying she smells nice and when Kagome says

"I thought you didn’t like my scent"

Inuyasha replies with 'I lied'. Which is curious, especially as at their first encounter he confuses her with Kikyo based on her scent. He says:

"Who else would give off a scent like you?"

Inu is a dog hanyou, so olfactory perception is extremely important for him, and if his nose senses that Kikyo and Kagome aren't that different then maybe he did preceive Kagome as Kikyo. But then the 'real' Kikyo returned, which messed Inuyasha up quite a bit.

My impression was that in some instances he'd preferred to stay with Kagome and not, say, die with Kikyo, but he felt that abandoning her wouldn't be fair.

Answer 4

Honestly, yes, it is true that Kikyo and Kagome share a soul, but they have different personalities. Kikyo was someone Inuyasha once trusted and grew attached to her because of her personality (not just because she held the sacred jewel).

Kagome, on the other hand, is from a whole-another world. Inuyasha grew attached to Kagome for her personality and many other aspects. Inuyasha forgot about Kikyo until she was resurected from clay and bones.

Yes, it's a very confusing triangle of love.

Answer 5

While in the beginning and through the series, Inuyasha does tend to break Kagome’s heart more than once, she always comes back. And again, it's true that he loved Kikyo.

From my point of view though, it was companionship that he mistook for loving Kikyo. With Kagome, he didn’t like her at first, but as time went on, she became his friend, then in InuYasha: The Final Act, she becomes his wife (and possibly mate).

If we rewind to the Band of Seven when Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were poisoned, Inuyasha cried thinking he lost Kagome, and if we rewind again to the previous episode, then we can clearly see that he’s worried she ain’t gonna make it causing him to use the wind scar to extinguish the fire getting them out of danger.

Answer 6

Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo and when you truly love someone, a bad experience from that person can't make the feelings just go away --- BUT that doesn't mean that it won't be tainted.

When he met Kagome, he hated her because he thought she was Kikyo who sealed him to the tree. It's actually possible to hate someone you love. Love ignites hatred.

Over time, Inuyasha was slowly forgetting Kikyo and became close with Kagome. Friendship is the foundation of their relationship. And friendship is a strong one.

Unfortunately, didn't take long, Kikyo was resurrected by Urasue. Yes, Inuyasha got confused. But still, Kagome was in good standing because Inuyasha was already fond of her the time they first discovered that Kikyo was still around using dead souls.

And Kikyo was a changed woman. Her behavior had nothing to do with the little amount of soul she got from Kagome. Remember she reclaimed it in full but she's still very angry. It's normal because she thought she was betrayed by the only man he loved. And change happens all the time to every woman who felt betrayed.

After resurrection, she wasn't the same Kikyo that Inuyasha once loved.

Imagine that in real life.

You only know the person's face and name but everything including her actions and the way she talks was unrecognizable.

Inuyasha remembers the past. The way it felt. Nothing more, nothing less.

Remembering is different from what you actually feel. You may jump back to memory lane at times but it will only last a few moments.

He will never leave Kagome.

BUT, Inuyasha is a good person. He must've felt guilty every time he remembers Kikyo suffered living, died and still suffering alone --- while he isn't, anymore.

He tried to cut tie with Kagome, because he thought he owe Kikyo his own life but can't fully decide to do it. He was hesitant. Then he met Kagome and admitted he shouldn't be having fun because Kikyo is suffering.

Coz he's not suffering. Means he was over his love for her.

Everyone knows the feeling of loneliness when you and the one you love are apart? But he wasn't lonely.

Inuyasha is not suffering.

He is having fun with his new friends, especially knowing that Kagome's around and safe.

One thing I'm sure is he'll be really lonely if it's Kagome who's gone.

He loved Kikyo. It's a thing from his past and a part of him that can never be erased. He wants his first love to be remembered a great woman. He wants to protect her, including her memories.

And watching Inuyasha over and over again made me realized that the 3 of them are all good people --Kikyo, Inuyasha & Kagome.

Kikyo didn't talk much about her feelings but you'll see through her actions that she later made up her mind and decided to not do anything about her feelings with Inuyasha, but instead serve other people.

Also, Kikyo doesn't want Kagome gone. She doesn't want Kagome to replace her as Inuyasha's past as she can't be his future either. She thinks rationally. She and Kagome are the same on that manner. And she love Inuyasha too much she doesn't want him to be lonely.

On the other hand, Kagome gets jealous and all because she's only human but still saved Kikyo a few times. She respect her as the first woman in Inuyasha's life. 1. Kagome didn't let Miroku carry Kikyo to Mt. Hakurei barrier's boundary. 2. She let Inuyasha leave to look for Kikyo's remains.

She's the perfect version of Kikyo. She's exactly what Kikyo subconsciously wished to be. Both nice girl.

Answer 7

I'm not sure how much of what follows was actually intended to be part of the triangle/show's narrative and how much is just my own takeaway, but:

Given that a person's soul is essentially the actual person: Kagome as Kikiyo's reincarnation is basically the same person as Kikiyo. Now, why does a soul reincarnate? To evolve. In many ways, Kagome is the Kikiyo-who-should-have-been: she is a natural evolution and extension of Kikiyo's development towards being a better person.

Therefore, Inu Yasha is in love with the same person: Kagome and Kikiyo are the same. Kagome is Kikiyo evolved while Kikiyo post-ressurection is an artificial construct of witchcraft that shouldn't actually exist. Think of it like: your current self and your toddler self somehow existing at the same time. The two of you are certainly the same person...and yet, so different. It would be such a quandary wouldn't it?

Answer 8

If you have already read the manga from start to finish, then the answer should be clear: Inuyasha’s true love is Kagome. Some of the people on here complaining are still bitter that Kikyo died and that Inuyasha ended up with Kagome instead of their emotionless princess. Look at the facts: Kagome is the only one who makes Inuyasha feel at ease, cheerful, and comfortable; Kagome is the one who taught him to shed tears and show kindness to others; Kagome is the one who helped him make friends and ended his life of loneliness; Kagome is the one who accepted him 100%; Kagome is the one who changed him; etc. The list goes on and on. More importantly, most of these facts were pointed out by Inuyasha himself, who at the end stated that he was born only for her and she for him. Kikyo is strictly a drama device. The entire purpose of her character is to cause drama between Inuyasha and Kagome. She never actually propels or initiates Naraku’s death.

Regarding the triangle, Inuyasha had feelings for her, and after her rebirth, those feelings mostly transitioned to guilt. He felt responsible for her initial death and pity for the fact that she has no one but herself while he has a new crew to be with. During the later part of the series, this and the goal to learn more about Naraku are two reasons he runs to her. The other reason is Kagome lets him. He almost always goes only after Kagome tells him to. If he senses she’s not comfortable with it, he stays by her side, simply because he values Kagome more. That’s also why he always stays by her side. At first it was for jewel hunting, but later it’s for the peace, serenity and love she gives him, a level of happiness he never felt with Kikyo. If we had to break it down further, Inuyasha and Kikyo’s relationship could be viewed as lust while his and Kagome’s represent love.

And now the triangle is settled because Kikyo’s dead for good and was never meant to be with Inuyasha no matter how much people try to convince themselves of it. What he doesn’t realize is that he no longer needs to feel guilty. He’s suffered far more than her, since his whole life he’s been shunned by two species. The only person who loved him died when he was a child, and everywhere he goes people judge him by his looks, while she’s revered as a beautiful priestess and hero nearly all the time.

And no, Kagome and Kikyo are not the same person. Mangaka Rumiko Takahashi made this statement several time throughout the series yet people still don’t get it. These two share a soul. That’s it. It wouldn’t even be fair to consider their love for Inuyasha as equal since Kagome has made it quite clear that she loves Inuyasha way more. She consistently puts his needs above hers. That’s what an unconditional love is. She also handles many situations differently than Kikyo, and that’s because the two have polar opposite personalities and backgrounds. Kagome even develops different powers than Kikyo later, and treats Kikyo differently than Kikyo treats her. She could have any soul placed in her and she will still retain these different traits, so no: Kikyo and Kagome are NOT the same person.

Answer 9

I agree with the existing answers, except Kagome isn't just Kikyo's reincarnation. If you go deeper, you'll find that she is a multi-reincarnation, though it appears Inuyasha goes after Kagome because she has some similarities to Kikyo.

Part of that is true, he also likes her because she is herself. Kagome has convinced herself of this, thus she has proved that she does not live in Kikyo's shadow, she actually surpasses Kikyo in some way.

It's true that Kikyo is the first human besides his mother to treat him kindly, but she also only loved his human-side since that was the first side she met him in, so she suggested that he become a human and that they live together.

However, in the second movie, Kagome clearly states "to be who you are" and that "she loves him as a half demon", and she even chose to stay with him when he was having trouble with his full demon side.

Kagome loves Inuyasha the ways he is, but Inuyasha at times still sees her as Kikyo.