Inuyasha Filler Guide

Inuyasha is the second in an ongoing series of anime based on the manga by the same name. The series follows Inuyasha and his friends on their quest to find the Shikon Jewel’s fragments, which can grant any person’s wish.

Rumiko Takahashi created Inuyasha. The series first began in Weekly Shonen Sunday, a weekly manga magazine. The series serialized from 2000 to 2010 and was collected into 193 episodes. The series has been released in North America by Viz Media, the largest distributor of Japanese manga in the United States. Viz has also released the Inuyasha anime on DVD and VHS, and the episodes are currently available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix.

Inuyasha Plot

The story opens with a group of five men battling a demon in their feudal era village. They kill the demon, and its head is cut off, but the head continues to speak. The head states that if they kill the one who has been sealed in a cave for over 500 years, the Shikon Jewel will be released, and they can make their wish come true. The five men enter the cave and find a sleeping girl they call Kikyo. Kikyo kills them all with her arrow, but their blood awakens Inuyasha, who also kills Kikyo as she flees.

In present-day Japan, Kagome Higurashi is at her family’s shrine at Kaede’s request to see any signs of an ancient demon nearby sealed inside a well by a priestess long ago. Kagome opens the well and releases the demon named Inuyasha. Once freed, he breaks through Kagome’s time slip (the way she returns to her own time) and steals her jewel shards to re-assemble his sword Tetsusaiga with which he wishes to kill the man who sealed him: Kikyo.

Kagome follows Inuyasha back in time 500 years into feudal Japan, where she meets Inuyasha and his friends – Kaede, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. Kagome learns that Inuyasha has been searching for a way to destroy the demon Naraku for 500 years, who is responsible for Kikyo’s death. Naraku was accountable for his father and mother’s death, but he also killed Kikyo because she was also looking for Naraku to avenge her family’s death.

How Much Filler is in Inuyasha?

There are a total of 20% filler episodes in the Inuyasha anime series.

Quick Filler & Canon Lists

Complete Filler List

List of filler episodes for Inuyasha in chronological order – Learn if it is worth watching

Episode 59: The Beautiful Sister Apprentices

After dropping Miroku off at the village where he always is, Kagome walks back to her home and finds Sango coming in through the door. She asks her if she was on a date, to which Sango quickly responds no. She does however show Kagome the new weapon she made, but it is broken. Inuyasha and the gang arrive at the village and see that it is abandoned with only some dead bodies left behind. Inuyasha finds a scent of Naraku’s scent upon them. Inuyasha suspects that Naraku has been here. The group quickly sets out to find him when they see Sango in the distance fighting off some demons. They rush over to help her, but she tells them not to. The girl’s attack and tell them that their village was destroyed by Naraku’s horde of demons and they want revenge on him, for their father’s death in his failed attempt to kill Naraku during his raid on their home village years ago.

They took everything from their father with his last breath when he told them “Live…strongly” – including the weapons they had inherited from their ancestors; weapons that were specially designed for ninja warriors so that no one could ever steal them again. They had been waiting for the day to come when they could get their revenge on Naraku. The girls attack Sango with a barrage of weapons and the gang is shocked at what they are seeing. Sango tries to defend herself from them, but finds it hard. Inuyasha, intent on protecting Sango, goes to kill them both, but Sango tells him not to. She then starts to fight them off as they explain that they just want revenge on Naraku for destroying their home village and killing their father.

This episode is known to be a filler episode. However, it has a story that is quite deep for a filler episode.

This story relates to the “Naraku” saga from the Inuyasha manga. The girls who are attacking Sango are actually Naraku’s half-sisters (as the result of his mother eating her husband after being seduced by Naraku). The girls do not know this, and only want revenge on Naraku for destroying their village and killing their father (who was trying to kill Naraku).

This filler episode is a big turning point in the relationship between Sango and Miroku. It is revealed in this episode that Sango’s father was killed by Naraku’s “mother” who had been possessed by Naraku. Miroku then realizes that his habit of touching Sango’s butt is causing her to see him as her father, who was killed by Naraku (and thus hurting her). Miroku decides to stop it once and for all. The gang also goes out on their first group mission (using teamwork) to help Sango fight off the girls.

Episode 63: The Red and White Priestesses

Back at the school for priestesses, Botan and Momiji plan on how they will take on the demons that are after Tsubaki. Momiji tells Botan she feels really strange about all this, but Botan insists that she is fine.

The group arrives at the school and soon two young priestesses appear before them. They are challenged as to what they are doing there and they explain that Tsubaki is there. Botan asks if they’re demon slayers or something and Kagome explains that they’re a group of people who have been fighting demons together for a long time (which really confuses the priestesses). The two then explain that both of them have been studying to be priestesses for five years with Tsubaki being their mentor and leader of their group. The girls explain to Kagome about some of the things they’ve had to do in order to become a full fledged priestess, but Kagome figures it must be tough being one too, since she has to go through exams every month in her classes even though she’s already passed them all once before (much like when Inuyasha takes his exams but instantly fails them).

This was a rather interesting filler episode. It wasn’t as funny as some of the others, but it did have its moments. The idea that a demon slayer and monk would be intimidated by two young girls with pretty faces was amusing (especially since the girls were only supposed to be 10-13 years old and they are much bigger). It’s quite amusing when Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango all don’t know how to answer Botan’s question “Do you have any strange hobbies?” either because they all think it’s a weird question or because they can’t come up with an answer at all.

It was also interesting that Inuyasha didn’t know what shampoo was and thought it was some kind of food that Kagome might want to share. I’m sure if he knew what it really was he would’ve been more than willing to ask for some.

Botan and Momiji were very amusing characters in this episode. They certainly had the personalities of a typical pre-teen girl, but they also had the abilities of one too. I found myself laughing when Botan called her staff “Bosojimaru” and when Momiji kept saying “I’ve never felt this way before.” I’m sure she’ll have plenty of time to find out what all those feelings mean as she gets older.

Episode 64: Giant Ogre of the Forbidden Tower

Inuyasha and the others enter the “Ogre Fortress” and they encounter a priestess who was once an ogre. She transforms into an ogre after Inuyasha is tricked by her.

The reason why this is a filler episode is because the story takes place in the middle of the manga storyline which was not yet published at that time. It also continues on from episode 63 where Kagura shows up, and episode 64 has nothing to do with that plot line, or any other plot line in the manga at this time.

This episode should be viewed only after completing all of the previous episodes in order to avoid confusion as to what is going on. This anime filler episode has no relation to anything that happens in either season one or two of Inuyasha, so it should be skipped altogether for those who are interested in watching just season one or season two of Inuyasha.

Episode 65: Farewell Days of My Youth 

The episode begins with Sango and Miroku talking about having a child. Miroku is saying that they only need one between the two of them, but Sango says that they need at least two to keep up the family business. She reminds him of their families weapon shop in the demon slayer village. Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kagome are off fighting a giant centipede. The centipede falls from a tree but it is alive still so Miroku uses his Wind Tunnel on it to finish it off for good. The villagers cheer and praise Miroku, Kagome tells him to stay at the village once again because they need someone as strong as him to protect them from other demons. However, he refuses because they don’t have any attractive women in the village.

This episode is a filler episode because of the fact that the plot doesn’t go any further than being in the feudal era with Inuyasha and his friends. This episode doesn’t go anywhere in terms of character development or the main story line. It is simply a break from Inuyasha and his friends fighting demons to make you laugh for awhile. The fact that this episode is a filler doesn’t mean that it is bad, because it is actually quite funny. The funniest parts of this episode are when Miroku says “I refuse to accept your thanks” and then says something completely different. That is probably the funniest part of the show.

Episode 68: Shippo Gets an Angry Challenge

The episode begins with an invitation to Shippō, from the last surviving Thunder Brothers, a.k.a Sōten, to engage in a battle between Thunder Brothers. The letter is carried by a dragon bird and it is delivered to Shippō while he’s walking alone through the forest. Inuyasha and the others are shown observing Shippō’s reaction, but they seem to be very keen on following the invitation and leaving for Sōten’s castle.

When they arrive at a location indicated in the letter Sōten appears before them and he tells Inuyasha that if he were to defeat him then he would be able to claim Shippō as his own property. As it turns out, Sōten had been tracking Shippō ever since he stole his thunder balls in episode 9 of the anime series, and now Sōten wants revenge for what Shippo had done to him.

This is a filler episode that was designed to increase the length of the anime series as well as to give the viewers a break from watching the ‘usual’ plot.

If you think that this episode is boring and pointless, then I suggest that you watch it again and pay attention to details. The episode gives you a glimpse into Sōten’s character and how strong he is, despite his size. It also shows how much Sōten hates Shippo for what he did in episode 9. By watching this filler episode, you will be able to understand why Shippō is so afraid of Sōten.

This particular episode has some animation errors and other errors, but it’s still worth watching!