Inuyasha

In 1496 Japan, humans and demons (yōkai) battle over the Shikon Jewel (四魂の玉, Shikon no Tama; lit. 'The Jewel of Four Souls'), which is said to grant any wish. Kikyo, the priestess who keeps the Shikon Jewel, is in love with the half-demon Inuyasha. However, they fall into a deceitful trap and betray each other.

Inuyasha steals the Shikon Jewel, but the dying Kikyo pins Inuyasha to a tree with a sacred arrow. Per Kikyo's will, her body is cremated along with the Shikon Jewel, which disappeared from the era.

Takahashi wrote Inuyasha after finishing her previous manga, Ranma ½ (1987–1996). In contrast to her previous comedic works such as Urusei Yatsura (1978–1987), Maison Ikkoku (1980–1987), and One-pound Gospel (1987–2006), she wanted to create a darker storyline that was thematically closer to her Mermaid Saga stories. To portray violent themes softly, the story was set in the Sengoku period, when wars were common. Takahashi did no notable research on the designs of samurai and castles because she considered such topics common knowledge.

By June 2001, a clear ending to the series had not been established because Takahashi was still unsure how to end the relationship between Inuyasha and Kagome. Furthermore, Takahashi said that she did not have an ending to the previous manga she wrote during the beginning, having figured them out as their serialization progressed.

Inuyasha was one of the Manga Division's Jury Recommended Works at the fifth and 12th installments of the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2001 and 2008, respectively. In 2002, the manga won the 47th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category. On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Inuyasha ranked 28th.

By February 2010, Inuyasha had over 45 million copies in circulation. By September 2020, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation. Individual volumes from Inuyasha have been popular in Japan, taking high places in rankings listing sales. In North America, the manga volumes have appeared various times in The New York Times and Diamond Comic Distributors top selling lists. Moreover, Inuyasha was one of the most researched series in 2005 according to Lycos.