Something interesting occurred to me today while I was at the fitness center at WSC. Everyone assumes that the story of Inuyasha revolves around the timeline of the defeat of Naraku. We haven't seen the end of that timeline yet, so we're not sure what to expect, and so everyone complains about the possibility of an ending, and the story dragging for too long.
Perhaps the story doesn't revolve around the goal of defeating Naraku at all. Think about the story-line so far: we have Kagome jumping between her two worlds, trying to help her friends destroy a powerful foe in one, and keep her grades up (and the possibility for a future as well) in the other. It seems to me that this is what the story is really leading up to, given recent chapters; Kagome is going to have to end up choosing between her worlds.
The marker for this choice seems to have been the high school entrance exam she just took. Her pass/fail determines everything. If she passes, she may be spending even more time in her original time, and she'll need to leave her friends in Feudal Japan soon after. If she fails, she has a future in the Feudal era with all who love her there.
So, the fact that she's just taken the entrance exam is an interesting point, and not because it's a sub-theme. It may very well be the timeline Takahashi was working on all along. Perhaps she wasn't dragging out the story because of money-making possibilities, but because this entrance exam means everything to the continuation of the story as a whole.
After all, how many times has Kagome gone back home to catch up on her studies and suddenly everything went to shit like in chapter 521? I lcould be wrong, but I don't think it has ever happened before (please correct me if I am). So, assuming I'm right, the story, for all its false climaxes, seems to be coming to an ACTUAL one. Kagome and Inuyasha are going to come back to complete disarray, and I don't think it's on accident.
The question is, is it because of the fact that Kagome has just taken a test that will eventually determine the whole of her future? Is it because, that while all of this is happening in the Feudal Era, Kagome could be leaving or staying forever, and the results of this exam are crucial to whether or not she stays to fight?
Even so, it may be that after the final battle, she gets her results, and whether or not she stays is a final farewell to the series.
jadehorse77
Interesting thought. I don't know, I'm not going to post too many hopes on this entrance exam thing. It may well have just been a week for RT to recollect and decide what to do next...and it's a common step in the life of a Japanese student. RT may just be trying to throw everyone off.
Lyssandra
Still, this entrance exam is doubly important to Kagome because it determines her future in TWO worlds, not just her general future. If she passes, it could mean saying goodbye to Feudal Japan forever.
VRaptorX
Personally I'd rather have the missing part of Kagome's soul that Kikyou took and never returned to Kagome and this shikon no tama trap developed more than her school life.
Lyssandra
School life or not, you can't deny that this has played a big part in how she has juggled things thus far; it's a note of how her character can adapt when she's jumping between these two worlds. All I'm saying is that the taking of the entrance exam may have been a cue, a noteworthy one at that, not only concerning her school life, but the entire direction of the story.
Lyssandra
It may be too early to say.... but I called it, you guys....
VRaptorX
congrats! Chances aree you're right. I did call that "inside teh jewel" thing before Kikyou even died.
