InuYasha Day and Breaking Dawn

InuYasha and Breaking Dawn . . . they seem like two completely different epic stories, but there are more similarities between the two than you would think.

First, let's look at InuYasha. This what Viz (the publishers of InuYasha) say about the story on the official InuYasha website:

Inuyasha is a hit television and movie series that follows the adventures of Kagome, a typical high-school girl who is sent back in time to Japan's feudal era. There she meets the half-human, half-dog-demon Inuyasha, who has been imprisoned for attempting to steal the mystical Jewel of the Four Souls. When the jewel is shattered and its shards are scattered across the land, Kagome and Inuyasha must reluctantly teacm up to recover them before they fall into the wrong hands. It's a classic boy-meets-girl story --spiced up with ancient Japanese folklore and action!

My take on InuYasha is this...yes, it's the classic boy-meets-girl story. Both InuYasha and Kagome dislike each other quite a bit when they first meet and team up to find all of the shards of the Shikon Jewel. However as the story progresses, they become friends and quite possibly fall in love. There's just one catch. Kagome is the reincarnated body of Kikyo, a priestess who died thinking that InuYasha betrayed her. Kikyo was raised from the dead and has been causing problems with Kagome and InuYasha. This leaves InuYasha feeling torn. He loves Kikyo, but he also has feelings for Kagome. Who will he end up with once all of the shards have been recovered? Or, will he use the jewel to become a full demon, leaving both Kikyo and Kagome behind?

Now to Breaking Dawn and the Twilight Saga...
It's again, the classic boy-meets-girl story, but yes, there are twists and turns. Bella moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father. At school she meets and instantly falls for a mysterious guy named Edward Cullen. He is a little standoffish at the beginning of their relationship, because, well, he wants to kill her. It seems that Edward is a vampire. That doesn't stop Bella from falling for him, however. Now Bella and Edward are beginning their tentative relationship and Bella meets another local teen - Jacob Black. After that, all bets are off. Bella is torn between these two totally different guys who both love her, in different ways.

I know, there's so much more I could write about the Twilight Saga, but there's not enough room here for me to get into every little detail of the story. So why do I think there are similarities between the two? Well, here's my list...

1. Love Triangles. Kagome-InuYasha-Kikyo and Edward-Bella-Jacob. Sure, the roles are reversed in the two stories, but its still a difficult place for both InuYasha and Bella to be.
2. Dangerous Quests. Kagome and InuYasha are trying to recover all of the jewel shards. This means they have to keep fighting other demons who want the jewel for other reasons. Bella seems to always get into some sort of trouble where either Edward's family, Jacob's family, or both families need to work together in order to save her.
3. The Supernatural. Hello! InuYasha is a half-demon. Kikyo is dead. Edward is a vampire. Jacob is a werewolf. Need I say more?

I could go on, but I'm just going to leave you with these three topics to think about. And when you're reading/watching other stories, look and see if you can compare what you're enjoying to another book or movie that you've enjoyed in the past.

And to end this, keep in mind that on Saturday, July 12th, the Gettysburg Library is going to be hosting InuYasha Day! Come and spend the day with us as we watch all four InuYasha movies! Snacks will be provided - including ramen.

And for your Twilight Saga fans, on Saturday, August 2nd the Gettysburg Library is going to be hosting the Breaking Dawn Release Party! Any area teen that enjoys the Twilight Saga is welcome to come and join in the fun. There will be trivia, discussions about the books and movie, contests, giveaways, and just general Twilight-induced fun. Registration is required for this event.