Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, with another piece of fanart I made. This time it’s Inuyasha with three of my most beloved and favorite OTPs. From left to right we have Inuyasha/Ayame, Ginta/Shunran, and Kohaku/Rin. I aged them up to what I would think they would look like this year, even though I did make them look a lot younger than I expected them to look. In this picture, Inuyasha is 35, Ayame is 32, Ginta is 33 going on 34, Shunran is 31, Kohaku is 29, and Rin is 25 going on 26. Yes, I know I could’ve also drawn Sesshoumaru/Kagome, Miroku/Sango, Shippou/Souten, and Souta/Kanna, but there was apparently only room for three couples in my sketchpad. Moreover, I am a bigger Inuyasha/Ayame, Ginta/Shunran, and Kohaku/Rin fan because not only do I find these pairings absolutely adorable, but also plausible in their own ways. So, let’s not waste any time and talk about these respective pairings. Inuyasha/Ayame Given the amount of Inuyasha/Ayame fanfics, I have been recommending and, of course, reviewing, it should come off as no surprise that these two are my OTP for life. From the bottom of my heart, I always knew that Inuyasha should’ve ended up with someone more compatible. I mean, if I were in his position, I would move on from Kikyou, stay the absolute heck away from Kagome, and just settle with someone as tough, strong, and kickass like Ayame. Additionally, if I were in Ayame’s position, I should just let Kouga keep Kagome and I can run off with Inuyasha, with good old gramps giving his approval to someone as sturdy, strong, and steadfast like him. In terms of Inuyasha’s outfit, I did promise I was going to make something out of it after I reviewed darling krash’s fanfic A Hint of Hope, and I had an idea of how it should look. Since Inuyasha is essentially a warrior suitable for Ayame to be her loyal husband, I decided to make him look a little more tribal and dress like one of the wolf youkai, even though Inuyasha is a dog hanyou. Speaking of which, I decided to tap into Inuyasha’s full youkai side without the overall bloodthirsty nature he has in that state and make him have enhanced physical strength, given his physicality here. I also imagine him doing more hand-to-hand combat, as well as using his claws to take down his enemies. Overall, it was such a joy making a more muscular, more mature-looking, and more warlike Inuyasha, it was really envisioning him as this type of warrior. Moreover, I did keep Inuyasha’s trademark badassery, which was one thing about him I found so endearing. Ayame was also a joy to draw. I kept her signature outfit and I also decided to make her a little bit more womanly though still keeping her youth and vivacity. I can certainly see Inuyasha and Ayame fighting side by side on a battlefield and they will come home as the champions. After all of that, it’s a whole night of hot and steamy intimacy. I also envision them having children of their own, what with Inuyasha being the strong, no-nonsense, strict, yet open and cool father and Ayame being the supportive, well-meaning, and strong-minded mother. That also gives me an idea of making their fan-children. Overall, is there anything else I need to say about why I not only fancy the pants off of Inuyasha/Ayame but also love them as a couple? In my mind, they were definitely made for each other. Ginta/Shunran I have been toying with this idea of these two being together for many years. All of the sudden it hit me. No one has even thought about pairing these two together other than me. So, I guess it was up to me to give this coupling the light of day. Since I always saw Ginta’s and Hakkaku’s relationship as more platonic, as they act like fraternal twin brothers with their antics and chemistry, I thought to myself, why not give these two guys some lovely women to be their life partners. On the flipside, the Panther Devas, especially Toran, Karan, and Shunran, have been my favorite Inuyasha filler anti-heroes because of how well they work as a unit and just how fun they are in terms of their personalities. So, I kind of came to the conclusion that Ginta might as well take Shunran to be his mate and Hakkaku can take Karan. As I stated before in my fanfiction recommendation of “An Odd Pair” by JapanLurve101, I like the idea of Ginta and Shunran being together. When you have a nice, kind-hearted, hilarious, and sweet soul like Ginta pair up with someone as mischievous, spirited, vivacious, and cheeky like Shunran, it can actually make for a really adorable yet plausible pairing. At first, they might not agree on a lot of things and may have their own trust issues, but as soon as he sees Shunran in danger, I can imagine Ginta bucking up and saving her. Through time, they will actually grow to like each other, in spite of how different they are with Ginta being a wolf youkai and Shunran being a panther youkai. They will very much challenge and break the system, thus running off together. Plus, I am sure they will have a lot of great interactions with Ginta thinking that Shunran is cute, bubbly, and fun-loving and Shunran thinking that Ginta is hilarious, strong, and charming. With Ginta’s outfit, it is a variation of his trademark one in the anime though I did make a few changes to expose parts of his chest and torso. In terms of his personality, I see him being a lot more independent and strong while still being the gentle, goofy, and kind soul that he’s always been. Plus, he has beefed up a bit as he got older. With Shunran, I made a variation on her outfit while still keeping her trademark colors, as well as the…
Inuyasha/Ayame
Hello, once again! Antoni, here, with yet another fanfic starring Inuyasha and Ayame. I will be taking a look at The Promise, which was written by darling krash, published on August 14, 2006, and last updated on September 30 of that same year. It’s rated M. It’s in English. It has eight chapters. It’s Romance/Drama, and aside from Inuyasha and Ayame as the main couple and main protagonists, we also have in this story Miroku, Sango, Kagome, Jakotsu, Kouga, an OC by the name of Doctor Kameko, and a whole bunch of villagers. As I read this fanfic, I cannot tell you how I excited I am to talk about it. So, without further ado, let’s get cracking. Jakotsu from the Band of Seven is attacking some villagers and marauding the overall peace. Inuyasha steps in to stop this pillage caused by the last of the Band of Seven or the Shichinintai, but little does he know, Ayame comes to aid him, as Jakotsu also murdered some members of her tribe. Together they finish Jakotsu off but at a price, Inuyasha’s palm is injured. Once Kagome brings in the bandages and disinfectants, Ayame willingly tends to Inuyasha’s wound. Meanwhile, Ayame’s den has been attacked by none other than Naraku, who has also taken her grandfather’s life. Inuyasha, sensing peril, rushes to go save her. Seeing Ayame injured, after her ordeal with Naraku, he rushes her to the village doctor, who tends to her wounds, feeds her well, and gives her lovely dresses. Whilst all of this is happening, Inuyasha and Ayame start becoming a lot closer than they think and this could be love, even though her grandfather’s dying words are for her to marry a warrior from Kouga’s tribe. What sells this story for me is the growing relationship between Inuyasha and Ayame. It is clear as night and day that even though Ayame is tied to her grandfather’s promise and Inuyasha tied to the past with Kikyo and the present with Kagome, these two are clearly meant for each other. For eight chapters, I definitely felt a lot of emotions surging through me and it kind of helped that there was a song in the form of I’ll Stay with You originally sung by Beth Hart in the fourth chapter, as Inuyasha sings a fragment of this to soothe Ayame. On a tangential note, as I heard the song on YouTube, I did imagine Richard Ian Cox singing the English version and Kappei Yamaguchi the Japanese version, which I thought was kind of cute. Sure, I would’ve loved the story to have gone longer, and develop how Kagome was going to further react to this, as well as how Kouga is going to take it. Probably, he would’ve decided that now that Ayame belongs to Inuyasha, he can very well be by Kagome’s side, though certain relationship issues will not stop Miroku, Kouga, Inuyasha, Sango, Kagome, and Ayame from destroying Naraku. Speaking of which, we could’ve had an epic battle involving these six and Naraku. However, as it is, the fanfic has been left abandoned for eleven to twelve years. To give it the benefit of the doubt, how it ended in the eighth chapter was at least satisfying knowing that Inuyasha and Ayame are an item, slight spoilers there. By and large, even though I would’ve loved to have more in this story, it is still a solid package full of heart. Inuyasha and Ayame, as always, steal the show in this fanfic. While Inuyasha maintains his brash, strong-minded, and defensive nature, it’s balanced out by a sensitive side. I, as the reader, can witness his vulnerability, when it comes to his past, as his human mother Izayoi was the only one who ever gave him any type of love and without her, he felt like no one else mattered, and his genuine, pure, steadfast love for Ayame. He will do everything in his power to not only protect Ayame from all harm but to also give her the love, affection, and time she truly deserves. Ayame maintains her steadfastness, loyalty, and sense of familial pride to her clan. She will do everything in her power to ensure that her grandfather, who was killed by Naraku, will be avenged, along with the rest of her tribe. She still has feelings for Kouga. However, as she met Inuyasha, he was very much the one who gave her his true love and protection. Even though she sees Kouga as her solution to unite their tribes, it is clear that her heart and her being belong to Inuyasha. I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but this is the fanfic which made me root for them as a couple. Not only do they present themselves as strong capable fighters who are intrepid enough to go physical, but they also have admiration and respect for each other. Thus emitting empathy from both of these characters. Not to mention, their chemistry is absolutely amazing, especially when they consider that they don’t have this type of emotional depth with their respective “partners”, Inuyasha with Kikyo then Kagome and Ayame with Kouga. As mentioned before, they knew they were destined for each other, even though they have to work it out if they truly are. It would be easy to make Kagome the jealous and clingy girl. However, she is someone who at first was befuddled, as to why Inuyasha would go out of his way to protect Ayame, but now she does get the hint, that these two have more genuine feelings for each other than Inuyasha has for Kagome and Kikyo combined. Sango ends up being rather emphatic in this story, as she not only understands Inuyasha’s vulnerability but Ayame’s growing feelings for him. She knows fully well that Inuyasha truly loves Ayame. Miroku is still his chivalrous pervert self, as he even suggests to Inuyasha that he should grope…
Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, with another fan fiction recommendation. Today I am taking a look at another Inuyasha fanfic entitled Wolf Dog written by BonaFideGarbage and published on February 4, 2009. It’s rated M. It’s in English. It’s Hurt/Comfort/Romance, and the main couple is Inuyasha and Ayame. Other characters involved, yet mentioned through exposition, are Kagome Higurashi, Sango, Kouga, Miroku, and Shippou. As you can tell, I am totally up for some hot, steamy action from my two of my most favorite anime characters in the world and OTP, Inuyasha/Ayame. So, let’s cut to the chase! After Naraku’s defeat and death, Inuyasha and his friends decide to go their separate ways. Miroku and Sango ended up being married with children. Shippou is in the search for other kitsune. The icing on the cake is Kagome splitting up from Inuyasha and becoming Kouga’s wife. This irritates Inuyasha so much to the point where his inner full demon forcefully advises him to get over that failed relationship. One day at a hot spring, Inuyasha spots Ayame, who is about to immerse herself in the steamy yet soothing water, while feeling down that Kouga would dare choose Kagome over her. He questions what she is doing at his relaxation spot, as she starts to get suspicious. That is until Inuyasha comes down from the tree as his hiding spot and Ayame finally recognizes him. What follows are moments of self-revelation from both sides and a rapidly blossoming romance between them. By and large, I did find myself thoroughly enjoying the story, as it is a nice balance of genuine character interactions and some well-deserved eroticism between Inuyasha and Ayame. The story does build itself up rather nicely and I love the inclusion of having Inuyasha’s full yokai form as a sort of conscience, as he is meant to be a symbol of Inuyasha’s animalistic instincts. This creature is just so tired of Inuyasha’s complaining that he actually spurs him to do something about his problem. Enter Ayame, who unfortunately was in a similar situation as Inuyasha, as these two have more than just a heart-to-heart conversation. Overall, the story does not rely too much on the eroticism but rather builds up the necessary development for our two main characters before the deed is done. One tiny caveat I have to give is, how do the other characters react to this? Part of me thinks that they are first hesitant, but turn face when they realize that Inuyasha and Ayame are truly compatible. Talking about the characters is talking about Inuyasha and Ayame. As always, Inuyasha maintains his defensive, brash, easily peeved, angry, yet strong-willed and charming personality. The fact that he has is full yokai side within his conscience kind of makes him rather dangerous yet fascinating. Whenever Ayame starts to weep, he tells her, albeit abrasively, that whatever they have experienced is all in the past and they need to move on. Ayame is presented here as a jilted lover, who cannot fathom why Kouga would choose Kagome as his mate over her. She initially has a hard time accepting it until she sees Inuyasha. Knowing what he went through in the past given his hanyou status, his first tragic falling out with Kikyou, and his latest one with Kagome, she easily empathizes and establishes a much stabler connection with him. In terms of their lovemaking scene, she is the submissive one to Inuyasha’s more alpha male actions. In terms of her characterization, she maintains her strong will and occasional vulnerability making her a diverse character overall. Even though the other characters in the forms of Miroku, Kouga, Sango, Kagome, and Shippou are only shown in bits and pieces, they do contribute well to the plot, even though it would have been nice to see how they react to such a change occurring between Inuyasha and Ayame. The only issues I have in terms of the grammar, spelling, and other technicalities mainly chalk up to minute missing letters from certain words. Otherwise, the layout is really good and the language does serve its purpose as an erotic romance story. So, overall, this was a really well-done Inuyasha/Ayame fanfic. If you are into erotic romance stories with a good amount of steam and genuine character relationships, this could be for you. With that said, I give this fanfic a solid A+. In spite of some super minor gripes, I still have to salute it for at least delivering the goods in terms of Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s relationship. There was rarely a time I had to correct in terms of grammar or spelling and I had an overall blast. Well, that’s all for now. Tune in later where I recommend another Inuyasha/Ayame fanfic, The Promise by darling krash. So, until then, have an awesome Easter Week. Wolf Dog by BonaFideGarbage
Hello, once again. Antoni, here, with another fan fiction “recommendation”, you will see why I put that in quotation marks. Let’s now switch our attention to what I consider my Inuyasha OTP, Inuyasha/Ayame, as I will be taking a look at The Blue Twin, which was written by Never Surrender, published on September 29, 2005, and last updated on December 9 of that same year. It’s rated T. It’s in English. It’s Drama/Romance. It has 23 chapters, and, obviously, the main pairing is Inuyasha/Ayame. Other characters involved are Miroku, Sango, Kagome Higurashi, Shippou, Kouga, Kaede, Sesshoumaru, Jaken, Myoga, and Kirara. There are also some OCs namely Kori, Kome, and Yume, more on them later. I did encounter this fanfic a few times and I was kind of excited to take a gander at it considering how much of a die-hard Inuyasha/Ayame shipper I am. With that said, let’s get on to what I thought about this particular fanfic. It’s a warm and peaceful day in Feudal Japan, where not much is happening. That is until someone who looks like Inuyasha, except with blue hair and attire, arrives, thus leaving Kagome, Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and, especially, Inuyasha in utter shock. That someone in question is his long-lost twin brother, Kori, and he is really excited to see Inuyasha after several years. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, is less than enthusiastic. Along the way, there are new relationships to be made with Kouga and Kagome, Inuyasha and Ayame, and Kori and Kirara, who can somehow turn into a humanoid form, Miroku being wed to Sango, thus bearing his first child, some deceptions, broken relationships, and even a kinship to be formed between Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Kori. By and large, the story was rather enjoyable, as I did enjoy how the characters interacted with each other. There was one major headscratcher, though, and it was, how on earth did Kirara obtain a humanoid form? Was there a certain power which made her do so at will? Are there any conditions she has to go through for it to happen? It was not thoroughly mentioned nor explained how that happened because in the original anime she can only go from her little cat form to her big, battle cat-like form with blazing flames. The fourth chapter, as proclaimed by the author, was a filler chapter and that was not really necessary other than to drag the main story’s plot. Speaking of filler, there were times some scenes did feel like filler, but it was not too much. At times, the story can be melodramatic, but it’s well-balanced with some humor, action scenes, and a few touching moments found in the climax and especially the ending. There are also some character deaths to be found in this fanfic but despite all that, I thought there were some moments in the final few chapters which were rather touching, sweet, and left a smile on my face. The characters were still quite enjoyable to witness. Inuyasha still has his trademark impulsivity, sarcasm, brashness, and overall jerk with a heart of gold nature. In spite of all that, he also shows a good amount of compassion, especially with Ayame. He was very much in character all throughout the fanfic. Not to reveal any major spoilers, but let’s just say I was really happy when Kori took off the beads of subjugation from Inuyasha. Now we get to the main OC of this fanfic, Kori. In terms of design, I cannot really imagine him with blue hair but the blue haori I can certainly envision. Personality-wise, he is the complete opposite of Inuyasha. He’s jolly, sweet-natured, lovable, and happy-go-lucky as opposed to Inuyasha’s occasional crabbiness and sarcasm. He bears a sword called the Ketsaiga, which can only kill fifty demons. There are times he can be annoying but not on the level where it is obnoxious. His brand of annoying is kind of endearing, as he has lived in the North all of his life, has only heard about certain key events in passing, and has never left his territory. Yet, how he manages to know all of these key events and people like Kouga, Sesshoumaru’s mokomoko and even Kikyo is beyond me. I can forgive the occasional annoyance I have with Kori, as he is at least entertaining and does not take too much screentime. When reading his dialogue, I kind of imagine Brad Swaile or Samuel Vincent voicing him on the English side and Tomokazu Seki on the Japanese side. By and large, he is a pretty fun addition to the cast and he works well off of Inuyasha. Ayame has toned down her high strung nature yet still keeps that strength within her, which makes her consistently awesome. It was a bit of a shame that she entered somewhere in the ninth chapter because I would’ve loved to see a lot more of her in the previous chapters and let her grow from there. In spite of all that, she still proves herself to be worthy of Inuyasha because of how strong of a character she is and I have been rooting for them to be together. Like I said, what happens to them in the climax and even the ending is really heartwarming, adorable, and sweet. Kirara does serve her purpose as the team mascot and main source of transportation and here, as mentioned earlier, she has a humanoid form. Again, why she ended up having that I will never know. It’s safe to say that she is loyal, smart, and she proves herself to be a capable, strong fighter in both her cat-demon form and her humanoid form. Sesshoumaru keeps his brand of coldness and indifference in this story, as he initially wants nothing to do with either Inuyasha or Kori. Throughout the story, he eventually warms up a little bit more to the point where he can tolerate both Inuyasha and Kori. What happens to him…
Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, with another fan fiction “recommendation”, you will see why I put those quotation marks there later in this post. This time, I am taking a look at an Inuyasha fanfic called A Hint of Hope which was written by darling krash and published on January 29, 2005. It’s rated M. It’s in English and the main pairing is Inuyasha and Ayame. Other characters involved are Kouga, Ginta, Hakkaku, and one random character who appears in the end. I will say this once and I will say this again. I am no InuKag fan in the slightest. I find it annoying whenever Inuyasha and Kagome bicker constantly even though they grow closer to each other, and it does not help matters when Kagome uses the “Sit boy!” command although there were times Inuyasha did not deserve to be punished in such a fashion. There are also times that despite being the main female protagonist and showing some strength and independence as a character, Kagome will at times be the designated damsel in distress probably because the plot seems to demand it. Even at thirteen, I always thought that Inuyasha should be better off with another girl aside from Kagome, who can be as strong, tough, and courageous as Inuyasha. Enter Ayame. Even though she is a filler character and was meant to be Kouga’s bride to be, she certainly has a presence to her which makes her all the more endearing and charming as a character. Yes, she only appeared in a total of four episodes, and spoilers I am not even a fan of KogAya, mostly because Kouga seems to have a lot more interest in Kagome, despite the respective couples being married in Inuyasha: The Final Act. When all is said and done, this is all just a matter of personal tastes so InuKag, InuKik, and KogAya fans please put down your torches and pitchforks. When it comes to shipping Inuyasha and Ayame, there are traits about the both of them which I love. Both Inuyasha and Ayame are strong, tough, capable, battle-ready, fiery, and badass characters with a lot of spirited personalities. Because Ayame has been raised by the white wolf yokai tribe, she was taught to fight at such an early age, and for that, she is respected by her tribe, though Ginta and Hakkaku are rather intimidated by her. In terms of Inuyasha, he grew up in such a harsh environment where both humans and demons repudiated him because of his ********** status, due to the fact that he has a human mother and a Daiyokai father. When one puts two and two together, one has characters like Inuyasha and Ayame who have gone through a lot in their lives, faced many a hardship, and even faced loss and heartbreak, Inuyasha with Kikyo and Ayame with Kouga. In spite of the obstacles, these two remain resilient and headstrong with their goals, Ayame in trying to get Kouga to marry her to reunite their tribes and Inuyasha in obtaining the Shikon no Tama or the Shikon jewel, in order to become a full-fledged yokai. Even more so, these fighters are intrepid enough to go headfirst into battling demons and other evil spirits. I love these two so much as characters, that at times I wish they could’ve been the main couple and let Kagome be paired up with someone as thrill-seeking as Kouga or calculating as Sesshoumaru. It is also a shame that Ayame did not get as many appearances in the TV show, as she was a pretty formidable ally, who was criminally underused. With that rambling out of the way, let’s get on to what I thought about the story. Ayame is sitting by a stream pondering about Inuyasha and Kagome liking each other so much. Kouga appears not to return Ayame’s love, but to scold her for interfering with his obsession with Kagome, and he assaults her. In storms, Inuyasha defends Ayame against Kouga, wards him off, and tends to her wounds and her overall loneliness. During Inuyasha’s stay with Ayame, the two of them become closer, a bit more intimate, and their relationship blossoms even further. All the while, Kouga is all the more obsessed in terms of having a bone to pick with Inuyasha, no pun intended. By and large, the story was pretty well-woven with sufficient interest. As always, I want to spoil neither the climax nor the ending. I will say this about the latter. The ending does make me want to draw fanart of how Inuyasha looked like with his new attire when he returns to Ayame. Okay, I know I have a no-spoiler policy when it comes to doing fanfic or general reading recommendations, but I will give myself the benefit of the doubt, the ending had a nice build up, it was nicely satisfying, and it was lovely to have Inuyasha and Ayame be together. The characters who managed to steal the show for me were Inuyasha and Ayame. Inuyasha does manage to keep his tough-guy personality, though it’s backed up with a chivalrous and noble personality without going too over-the-top with it. He makes sure that Ayame gets not only the protection she needs but the love she so wholeheartedly deserves. Speaking of Ayame, she herself manages to be thoroughly enjoyable as a character. She still keeps her loyal, fierce, and strong personality, but it’s also backed up by some vulnerability to make her all the more human and relatable. Kouga took a level in jerkass in this fanfic. Yes, he was rather villainous in his debut episode when he and his wolves ransacked a village, but he immediately had a 180 when he met Kagome at such a bizarre rate. Here, I actually like how darling krash made him a little bit more villainous in terms of his jealousy, animosity, and obsession to best Inuyasha, and he served his purpose well. The other characters like Ginta, Hakkaku, and a random black wolf yokai serve their…