Kagome is an ordinary modern schoolgirl living an ordinary life. Who would have thought the dried-up old well on the site of her family's shrine would be a gateway to Japan's ancient past? Drawn through the gate against her will, Kagome finds herself battling demons for control of what she thought was a worthless trinket but is actually a powerful magical gem, the Shikon Jewel! Together with an unlikely ally, the half demon Inuyasha, Kagome begins a quest to recover the shards of the Shikon Jewe...
While not the most riveting volume, there's a lot of interesting foundations set in this. The interactions between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru here are nicer than in the anime. There's also some sweet moments between Kagome & Inuyasha, and Miroku and Sango. Also it's hillarious that Inuyasha can't handle spicy foods or hot baths! The rivalry between Inuyasha and Kouga continues as ever (though it's kinda clear who's "winning" that). It still doesn't make sense to me that they're not after his 四魂のかけら. The quest that Kikyou is about to embark on is another head scratcher for me. Also the old lady at the end of this volume is hilarious, and only gets better next volume!
The hair and mouth 妖怪 reminded me of 結羅 (Yuura) from volume 2, and made me realize something: While I like a lot of the character and relationship development over the course of the series, I really feel like the 妖怪 in the beginning were more interesting than Naraku becoming the overarching villain through the entire rest of the story. While there may be some intrigue in trying to figure out what his new scheme is each time, he's a really boring/annoying character otherwise.
I'm looking forward to the arc that's coming up though... but I'll leave that for the next review!