Inuyasha: 6 Greatest Redemptions, Ranked

Inuyasha ran for over 150 episodes during its tenure as an anime, which means there is a lot of story in the series. It’s dense and almost operatic with plot twists upon plot twists. Ultimately, the characters of Inuyasha receive happy endings after all the traveling, hard work, demon-slaying, and sacrifice. Some of the more interesting character arcs also serve as redemption stories.

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However, it could be argued some of these transformations don’t hold up as well as others. Are the characters’ redemption arcs truly earned or merely fan service?

6 Sango

One of the main characters of the series, at least in the core group, Sango is a demon slayer who was manipulated by Naraku into working for him in order to help her brother, Kohaku. It’s hard to say if the early part of Sango’s story counts as a redemption arc. Yes, she did attack Inuyasha and the gang, but it was mostly under duress after an extremely emotionally fraught situation. Her brother had become possessed and killed their father and others while on a demon-slaying mission.

Still, Sango did repent her actions by linking up with the crew, who didn’t really hold these acts against her. Early on, it’s clear enough that Sango felt the need to redeem herself and that it played a role in her story.

5 Kanna

The first incarnations of the Big Bad for Inuyasha, Naraku, Kanna is a seemingly emotionless little girl who becomes the holder of many of Naraku’s secrets as the series progresses. While Naraku insisted that Kanna had no true thoughts or feelings of her own, she did lead to his downfall. After Naraku killed her “sister” Kagura, Kanna betrayed him to Inuyasha, Kagome, and the gang by revealing his weakness.

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Whether or not this counts as a redemption arc is hard to say. There wasn’t an inner struggle within Kanna over things like morality. Her sister was killed, and she got revenge for it. It was a rare moment of true heroism from a villainous character in Inuyasha. While the action definitely redeemed Kanna in the eyes of the characters, it still ended up feeling a bit unearned.

4 Kohaku

Sango’s younger brother Kohaku is also a demon slayer, who was killed and possessed during his very first mission. That version of Kohaku ended up murdering other demon slayers, including his own father, before officially dying for the first time. Naraku, however, revived Kohaku in order to get Sango under his control by placing the shard of the Shikon Jewel in the back of his neck, which left the boy with amnesia. A main part of Sango’s story in Inuyasha centers around saving her brother without sacrificing his life in the process.

Over time, however, Kohaku’s memories returned to him. With that, he decided to kill Naraku in order to redeem himself from his past actions under the control of his “boss” and the corrupting influence of the Shikon Jewel. In Kohaku’s redemption arc, however, things go on a bit too long. Oftentimes, it feels more like a chore to get through in order to get to the more interesting story arcs.

3 Kikyo

Kikyo is a bit of an interesting case. The legendary priestess who Inuyasha‘s main character, Kagome, is reincarnated from, Kikyo genuinely was a good person when she was alive. However, a demoness resurrected her in a body made from her remains and clay, and the process left Kikyo changed for the worst. Over the series, Kikyo became an antagonistic force for Inuyasha and the crew. She often threw the half-demon off his game as Inuyasha was very much still in love with Kikyo.

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Despite her villainy within the series, Kikyo’s previous caring and compassionate nature does arise from time to time. Inuyasha explores her apathy at the world fighting against her duty to protect it, which makes for some great character moments where audiences see the sort of person Kikyo once was. Toward the end of the series, she sacrifices herself in order to bring Kohaku fully back to life, which showcases her better nature winning out in the end.

2 Sesshomaru

The elder full-blooded demon brother to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru doesn’t care for anyone outside of himself at the start of the series. He wants, what he feels, is his brother’s superior weapon from their father. Sesshomaru also longs to not share blood with a half-demon. Things, however, change when Rin comes into the picture. Sesshomaru saves the little girl, who decides to follow him as a vassal.

Over the course of the series, the bond with Rin allows Sesshomaru to soften. Working with Kagura also helps Sesshomaru’s heart grow, with her death a catalyst for him to mature into a more caring individual. These instances of thinking about others prompted emotional development, which allowed for a more internal sort of redemption for the character.

1 Kagura

Another aspect of Naraku, Kagura plays a vital role in other characters’ redemption arcs. However, her journey is also worth celebrating. Over the course of Kagura’s story, the wind demon struggles against the chains of her progenitor, usually by scheming against him. Eventually, she begins to fight not for her freedom, but to protect those she cares about.

As Kagura bonds with Kohaku and Sesshomaru, she longs to be with those she cares about. When Kagura is killed, it’s because she helped Kohaku escape to his freedom, openly defying Naraku at the cost of her own life. While redemption doesn’t always equals death, Kagura is a great example of how this sort of redemptive death trope can be done well, if to devastating effect, and change the course of the story over all.

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