‘Tōwa,’ & Rumiko Takahashi’s Twin Sets
Tōwa
I shalln't spill the beans on everything I have in mind with regards to this topic, such as headcanon, theories, or my fanfic outline. However I wanted to try and being among, if not the very first, to throw this discussion topic out there and go through it. Just as InuYasha’s animation company Borrowed the Name of Ayame from another of Rumiko Takahashi’s Work Kyōkai-no-Rinne, “Ayame Sakaki,” too is Sunrise utilizing another name-sake here “Tōwa Kannagi,” from the Mermaid Saga’s Mermaid Forest for their ‘YashaHime Tōwa’/‘Tōwa Higurashi,’ in the fan-titled/fan-renamed/fan-dubbed ‘YashaHime FanFic.’ [[ Skipping of the Kanna rōmaji and humanoid likenesses between Kannagi and InuYasha’s Kanna, which I will not deny and fully point to this in a whole other matter for which I can placate on.]] [[ And Yes, I am quite openly acknowledging that there is a very commonly distinguished ‘character mold' problem particularly common in most long-term companies, corporations, and franchises, which produce a high number of animations or characters. Both Rumiko Takahashi’s character designs and many mainstream works out there have their similarities and differences. Such a Mermaid Saga’s universal likeness between Mana of both anime and manga toward manga Kagome Higurashi, anime and manga Kikyō, and the fourth movie’s character ‘exclusive,’ Kikyō Clone of HōraiJima. This can easily be compared to the concept of the long term Barbie Mold, or Disney Princesses (especially pre-3D, [however, in some instances this also applies far more to the 3D Princesses than to some openly out-going character designs that aim for unique looks of individuals such as Pixar]). I also have my own plots regarding this type of thing with a similar line of connections to the Series of Rumiko and the Feudal Era in the openly approved “Disney [Princess(es(’))] Connection Theory.”]] Kannagi already had some slight likenesses to the Inu in the original stories. They both start out as a white haired individuals, of which we also see YashaHime’s Tōwa predominantly Shares the majority of the time whence in her HanYōkai form. However, Tōwa Kannagi’s character development also includes her becoming a supernatural being referred to as a ‘Deformed One,’/‘Lost Soul,’ which including immortality to compare to Sesshōmaru’s longevity. This is also followed by the mutation of an abominable right arm as the highlighted parallel between these too, as Sesshōmaru lost his left arm and has on at least one location had a green arm with talons used for a duration ahead of ‘succumbing,’ to a mortal arm in order to wield a certain anti-full-breed/anti-full-fledged Yōkai sword intended to protect humans/mortals. IF memories serve, just a Kannagi’s finger count varies depending upon the iteration- Manga being three fingered, animations with five; so too, I believe, was Sesshōmaru’s finger count for that particular arm he temporarily acquired from another, Being 3 fingers in the manga and having actually remained consistent to this in animation more so than Mermaid Saga’s. Carry the lot of this on over to the small collection of likenesses when comparing Tōwa Kannagi to YashaHime’s Tōwa, and we will see that they both have a primarily human/mortal character mold, and both are twins to an “S,” begining and “a,” ending. Tōwa Kannagi twin to Sawa and YashaHime’s Tōwa twin to Setsuna. In Mermaid Forest, Tōwa is seen originally with dark hair in her ‘human,’ state-- relating that her change to the supernatural, like YashaHime’s also is the cause of whiter hair. [[Perhaps there is a good reason to begin mentioning how things could have influenced eachother. Such as the Tokyo Ghoul Twins Kurona and Nashiro, where the latter also turned into a white hair twin in the change, while the former remains dark haired. Or Haji of Blood+, who upon having the Chiropteran Queen Blood of Saya becomes a Chevalier with his right hand also transformed like Mermaid Forest’s Tōwa? How Mermaid Forest’s Tōwa has her path chosen for her by her sister, just as Shizuka Hiō has her future determined in a betrothal to Rido Kuran, and they share “Hime,” hair-cut style and traditional simplistic Kisode / Kimono attire. ]]
[Update: I also just realized Akari Unryū has the hair stripes in the likeness to these Inu Twins, especially Setsuna’s! ]
