Inuyasha Vol. 44 continues the story of Kagome, the reincarnation of a Japanese priestess from the feudal era, and her adventures with Inuyasha, a half-demon. The Shikon Jewel, a crystal tainted with evil power that enhances the abilities of demons, has shattered and the pair is trying to collect all of it.  However, it's now (aside from three shards with Kohaku and Koga respectively) completely in the hands of their arch-nemesis, the half-demon Naraku. There’s no telling what evil he will do next, and their small band of heroes fights to destroy him and save the innocent people of feudal Japan. They fight demons and fall in love with each other in elaborate love triangles..it is a Takahashi series after all. Inuyasha is part action/ horror (with some gore) and part  funny/sad love story.

In the previous volume, Inuyasha learned that the Great Holy Demon Spirit could help him master his demon-scaled Tetsusaiga. Yeah, he still hasn't figured it out. When Inuyasha and his friends get there however, they discover the GHD Spirit has had his liver stolen by a demon, and it's hiding in the nearby village. Inuyasha (despite having his Tetsusaiga sealed to prevent killing innocents) has located and killed a demon snake hiding in the village, but the demon energy hasn't decreased.

Highlights

The sad fact is that each Inuyasha volume has less and less that could be deemed a "highlight". The quest to master the new form of Tetsusaiga ends in this volume, more abruptly than I would have liked.  The battle has an unexpected twist, but exploring the human turned demon village was one of the most interesting things in a couple of volumes. Inuyasha learns a secret about the use of the Tetsusaiga, and there's the ominous note of another, final form for the blade. Perhaps it could be the thing to final finish off Naraku? Yeah, if only.

In the next story, a pack of wolf demons are attacked by a horrible monster. Kai, a young wolf demon and sole survivor, is forced to fight Koga to save his younger brother. This is hardly the first time this sort of thing has happened in Inuyasha, nor is it the first time Inuyasha and crew get mixed up in it. Even Moryomaru does eventually, mirroring the fight that's happened say, in every one of the last three volumes as Koga and Inuyasha must work together. The big change here is that thanks to his new weapon, the Goraishi, Koga pulls his weight. It was pretty cool seeing someone other than Inuyasha do some damage for a change; it reminded me of the nice old days when even Miroku or Sango could lend a hand (Now of course, every time he even looks like Miroku plans to do something, poisonous insects show up).

There are a few fun monents, and I'm still a big fan of the character interplay (Inuyasha's tactlessness, Shippo's remarks, etc.) but development and fun are falling to the wayside more and more.

Overall

Let me once again start with the positives. The art is still pure Takahashi; her facial expressions and action  are a delight to look at. The setting is interesting, and the new character designs never disappoint (I'm particularly a fan of the scrappy little wolf demon Kai). Even the action, in itself, is nothing to complain about. The vortexes Inuyasha learns to attack are a unique method of hurting a foe, and the speech he gets about the true purpose of his Tetsusaiga would be dramatic. That is, it would be dramatic if I didn't feel like he's gotten the "True use of the Tetsusaiga" speech about five times now; every time it upgrades. Remember when it was too heavy? Then when it got  hot all the time? Yeah. Some swords should really come with a manual to avoid all this hassle.

Then there are the characters; if your name isn't "Inuyasha" or perhaps "Sesshomaru" or "Koga", you're probably just going to be one of the cheerleaders. Whatever happened to Kagome's arrows or Sango's boomerang? Takahashi might as well just give them pom poms and make it official. I really hope we get another chapter in the present, or more development on Shippo… or something. The side cast is still charming and I want to see more of it instead of Round Eight with Moryomaru (please, someone kill this guy). Repeated fights work better in western comics because in each case the villain comes up with a scheme that can be foiled. In Inuyasha, all we really get as "motive" is a sort of general "I'm an evil demon and I'm gonna evil things up around here. Rawr." At least Naraku is continually being a jerk, which still gives me a desire to see someone kick his butt.

It's sad, but this series has so much potential yet it's really been going around in circles for a while now. When they start wrapping up a few of these dangling subplots (Moryomaru, the Tetsusaiga, Sango's brother etc.) it might be worth picking up a volume or two, but it's getting to be an Inuyasha fanatics only club. One of the plots seems to develop or end in this volume,  at least, but as it is, reading a review to see if anything worth noting happens  isn't a bad idea. For people who haven't wandered off, the last few volumes,  where Naraku goes down,  are most likely still going to be a good time. Inuyasha's  worst flaw isn't a lack of quality, it's the feeling that we've all been here before, so very very many times.

ComicsOnline gives Inuyasha vol 44, 3 out of 5 wandering wolf demons.