Defense

Although Alterna is a shrine to Kikyou, I also want to defend Kagome on this page. I personally believe the two women get bashed way too much for things that really are not their fault at all. Even though I like Kikyou more, Kagome is still a great character that also deserves to be defended. I also hope by defending them both, I will be able to provide a neutral stance. Majority of the fans (used to) like one or the other, and I am here to say that I like both females. I also used to have an upcoming shrine to Kagome, so I will put the support page here as well. You want to challenge me or bring up another point for me to defend? Feel free to do so.

KIKYOU – SHE IS AN EVIL SCHEMING BITCH!
I would like to address this comment first because a lot of people seem to argue their disdain for Kikyou based on it. Kikyou died heartbroken and filled with rage and anger from the thought of being betrayed by the man she loved and trusted more than anything. Naraku intended on this to fill the jewel with spite and malice. She then went peacefully to her death in order to follow Inuyasha, only to be forced to walk among the living once again. She was made only because she could live off of the hatred she died with. Obviously she is not going to be a sweet bundle of heaven right off the bat. She did not know that Inuyasha was not the one to betray her when she was first revived. And yeah, okay, she tried to take him to hell with her even after she sort of knew it was Naraku who killed her, but you have to remind yourself that she is thriving off her hatred for him. Kikyou saves Inuyasha’s life plenty of times to make up for it anyway, and plus, she could have killed him easily when she was alive.

Which brings me to my next point. Kikyou is incredibly caring and gentle. Why else would she go around treating the sick and wounded on both sides of the battlefield? Why else would she teach children how to use medical herbs and spend time protecting villages from demons and other things? I know she tried to kill Kagome once, and even Inuyasha once, but if she was truly and evil bitch, she would not care for anyone or anything at all. Not to mention Kikyou grows a lot throughout the series, and does not want to kill Kagome or Inuyasha anymore. Even though Kagome has that illusion of Kikyou, Inuyasha points out that Kikyou is not like that anymore, and she knows it is true. Kikyou devotes her life to helping people, before and after she dies.

Lastly, most people think Kikyou is an evil bitch because she gives the almost completed Shikon no Tama to Naraku at one point. They obviously completely ignore the fact that she says to him something along the lines of “collect the remaining jewel shards…and then I will send you to hell”. Kikyou obviously has a plan to destroy Naraku, it just is not shown until after the anime ends. If you get to around chapter 430 something and forward, you will see that Kikyou plans on purifying the jewel once it is whole, along with Naraku. She knows that Inuyasha cannot permanently destroy him, and the only way he can be is by purifying the jewel. Even while dying, she uses the last of her strength to fight his miasma in the jewel to try and purify it. Though she never was able to defeat her enemy, Kikyou’s purpose was always to kill Naraku. She would never help the man who killed her and robbed everything from her.

KIKYOU – SHE REALLY NEEDS TO LEAVE INUYASHA TO KAGOME AND GO DIE!
Um, all right. Well, all I can say to the people who make this argument is that they have obviously never been in love before. Kikyou was completely in love with Inuyasha before they died, and that was why Naraku could play them against each other so easily. Just because she died and was resurrected, does not mean that her feelings have changed at all. How exactly would you feel to be forced to live again in a body made of clay and bone, forced to steal souls of the dead in order to keep functioning, only to realize that your reincarnation was softening the guy you were in love with? Kikyou has to face that Inuyasha also loves Kagome now, and that Kagome is doing what she wanted to do…what she would have done if Naraku did not ensnare them. Either way, after the whole incident with trying to bring Inuyasha to hell, Kikyou never really interferes between the two of them. It is not her fault that Inuyasha runs off to find her whenever he hears about her or knows that she is near. She does not purposely drag him away from Kagome. In reality, Inuyasha is the one at fault, going between both girls. Inuyasha is the one who cannot make up his mind. Granted, it is hard for him to get over Kikyou when she died because he could not trust her, and he obviously cannot help being in love with both girls either, but I think if anyone needs to take the blame, it is him. Kagome and Kikyou are not doing anything wrong. You cannot blame them for simply existing in his life. And if you really want to blame one of them, you have to blame both because they are “equally at fault” then, not just Kikyou.

KAGOME – SHE IS SUCH A SLUT!
I decided to address this one first for Kagome, because this is the one that really bothers me. If you call Kagome a slut, you're calling a lot of schoolgirls in Japan sluts. Yes, I am aware that there are longer skirts in some uniforms, but there are schools that have similar sailor uniforms to Kagome. It is her school uniform after all. As for her own clothes, the first outfit we see Kagome in is her pink sweatshirt with long blue jeans. And we all know that sluts love to wear things that cover their skin. Yes I know, technically she could change her clothes before she goes to Feudal Japan, but that is the outfit she is known for wearing. Her mother says that it is the outfit that really makers her who she is. As for the people who say, "every time her outfit changes, her skirt gets shorter and shorter!" It really doesn't. Because if it did, we'd be seeing more of Kagome than we do. Rumiko Takahashi even asks you NOT to draw Kagome's underwear showing in the InuYasha artbook. And for Kagome to be a slut, she'd also have to act like one, which she obviously does not. Kagome is completely devoted to Inuyasha, and Inuyasha only, even if she does not realize it at first. She does not play with Inuyasha, Kouga and Houjou's feelings. Houjou is just too dense to realize she does not like him, and Kouga is too stubborn to take no as an answer. She was even angry at Kouga for not remembering his promise to marry Ayame. Her friends ask her if she is jealous of some younger girl that really likes Houjou, but she really is not at all. The only person she gets jealous of is Kikyou, because her heart really does belong to Inuyasha. Part of the problem with Houjou is her friends, because they won't leave her alone about him just because he likes her. Kagome is not the type of girl that would play with guys’ feelings.

KAGOME – SHE IS WEAK AND CANNOT DEFEND HERSELF!
Well where should I start with this one? In the beginning of the series, yes Kagome did have to be protected and saved by Inuyasha quite frequently, but up until then she had been a normal teenage girl. She did not have any training, and she thought herself to be quite normal. She obviously has absolutely no skill with a bow in the beginning, but it takes practice to be good at something does it not? Kikyou may be a master archer, but not only has she always lived in Feudal Japan, Kikyou has also had a ton of practice and rigorous training to become the level she is. Kagome is determined to learn and get better so she can protect herself and the people she cares about. She does leave her mark against enemies on numerous occasions and is useful while people are fighting. You have to keep in mind that a bow and arrow is only useful when you are at the right distance from things, so if a demon is right on top of her...her weapon isn't going to be very usable in that situation. Kikyou would be in the same bind, and would have to be saved as well. She is definitely far from weak though, because if Inuyasha or someone else is in danger, she will run up or attempt to do something to help the person in need, even if that means putting herself in danger. Take the second movie for example. After her arrow was returned aiming at Inuyasha, she jumped in the way to protect him from getting killed. In any case, saying she cannot defend herself is false, because she does defend herself on numerous occasions. It isn't necessarily her fault that Inuyasha or someone else jumps to her rescue a lot of the time. And for the record, Rumiko even says that Kagome’s power will end up surpassing Kikyou’s because she is quite a girl.

KAGOME – SHE IS SO BITCHY ALL THE TIME!
Well, the only place I can see where people would gather evidence to support this would be during Inuyasha-Kagome fights. She is quick to a temper with him, but Inuyasha is the same. Their fighting is just a symbol of how much they like each other, because neither of them will willingly apologize to the other, even if they both feel bad about it. Inuyasha just has a hard time showing his feelings, which ends up hurting Kagome's feelings by accident. Kagome is always seen laying on her bed, doing homework or in the bath thinking about Inuyasha and how she feels bad for leaving him, or yelling at him. They both just let things slip out before actually thinking about them when they are mad, so Inuyasha is just as guilty as Kagome is. Aside for that, Kagome is not "bitchy" to anyone. She always cares about her friends -- Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kirara...and she even is caring for Kikyou, someone who tries to kill her on one occasion and does not exactly act like she cares about Kagome in the beginning. Kagome is always willing to help someone in need, and wants things to be fair. If something does not seem right in her eyes, she will do anything she can to try and fix it. She is a very loving and caring person, who just happens to have a temper with the person she loves most.

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