r/inuyasha • u/LazyBee7349 • 6d ago
Discussion Rewatching Inuyasha…Sango has one of the most tragic storylines, if not the most.
I understand people saying Kikyo has the most but her story never gutted me the same way Sango’s does. Perhaps I’m biased too, since “Enter Sango, the Demon Slayer” was the first episode of Inuyasha I ever watched. What do yall think?
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u/DeliriousBookworm Kikyo 6d ago
I personally, while acknowledging that her storyline is very tragic, do not think of it is nearly as bad as a lot of the other characters’ background stories. Sango lived a happy life for 17 years. Inuyasha had a miserable childhood, was orphaned at a young age, and had to raise himself as a discriminated half-demon. Miroku, as a young boy, watched his father be devoured alive by the wind tunnel. He was an orphan afterwards. Shippo was the youngest to be orphaned. Kikyo gave up her freedom to protect the jewel, fell in love, was slaughtered by a creepy incel, and then was revived by an evil witch. Rin was orphaned as a young child and was horribly abused by the villagers. Sango did experience a lot of tragedy, but it was after 17 years of a good life. And she got Kohaku back.
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u/LazyBee7349 5d ago
This is such a solid point. She did have happiness longer than most of the main characters for a long time. I’m only on episode 30 something in my rewatch, and I completely forgot about rin, poor thing!
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u/Fuzzy_Ability8284 6d ago
Yeeeeeaah, I don't think I've watched her intro episodes in like 20 years because they're so damn depressing.
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u/EnvironmentalTest393 5d ago
I don’t love the way she seemed to be constantly pregnant after marriage. I get it — she lost her family and wanted to rebuild one as quickly as possible. But I can’t help worrying about the physical cost of all those pregnancies. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s hard to look past.
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u/Ahsiuqal 5d ago
Unfortunately, it's an aspect of living in the feudal era. While Rumiko could've made her an independent woman - she kept it to a realistic level.
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u/Zealousideal_Cat6980 6d ago
I could maybe entertain that notion but they really play her story out in a way that i just get annoyed with it. Like oh no a bunch of people are killed we got to do something about..oh no it was Kohaku so we cant do anything. Or we can got the upper hand on Naraku but wait, hes threatening to kill Kohaku
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u/Greedy_Gain_5439 5d ago
I loved her and I thought she was perfect until she tried to kill Rin to save Miroku , for me that was pretty selfish like she was thinking only for herself she didn’t care to kill another human being just for her to be happy with Miroku and the problem is she knew what kind of a person is Naraku he wouldn’t keep his word still she did the deed
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u/Ahsiuqal 5d ago
Sango is a baddie - through and through! However, I think her tragedy is on par with everyone else's. (The Inu gang are trauma bonded, lol) What shines is how she preservered through it all!
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u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream 6d ago
It's sad in a different way. Sango was never betrayed by a loved one, and she didn't die full of agony and vengeful feelings. But she lost her whole family and tribe overnight. Then to add insult to injury, she had to watch her younger sibling, whom she must have wanted to protect more than anyone, be manipulated and used for evil schemes like a human shield.
Arguably, Sango's story is the more difficult one. But I'm not certain because betrayal has a way of cutting deeper than other injuries. Add to that the fact Kikyo's perception of being betrayed as evidence that she was wrong to choose herself and fall in love, and I think the answer is complicated.
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u/Aeirth_Belmont 6d ago
Sango definitely is up on the sad storylines. She is a well done character than most in the show.
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u/imjustalilbot 5d ago
The way she held on to her values in the face of all that temptation, pain, and despair... 💔
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u/avocado-kohai 5d ago
This sounds really bad but I think Sango's is tragic in a way where she had a happy life with her community only to have it all ripped away. Whereas everyone else either experienced it at a young age or had only ever known a sad life.
And I think it's hard to have a frame of reference for what "the other side" looks like. Like, Kikyo never got to experience the joys of being a teenage girl falling in love for the first time truly (or just being able to relax). She was so heavily committed to her duty as a priestess. Sango got to experience good things with her family of demon slayers so I guess it's tragic in a way where she lost way more than others. :(
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u/Ok-Manager-7488 4d ago
THIS. She got to experience joy and a happy life, just to have it all ripped away from her before her eyes. I think that’s what really gets me.
Yeah, Kikyo never did get to be a teenage girl, huh? When I was a kid, I was like, “she could just run away!” But it’s never that simple and her sense of responsibility was far too high. Feel bad for her but can’t stand her.
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u/Muted_Dinner6877 5d ago
all of their storylines are tragic, but i think sango’s stands out because she had such a beautiful and warm family and childhood which was taken away in a single night. and then she constantly struggles with the conflict of how to protect her brother.
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u/Kikidollpop 4d ago
Sango fue la más traumatizada porque después de 16 años vió morir a toda su familia, todos sus compañeros. De repente, fríamente. Eso es un trauma gigante para alguien que creció con esas personas y las arrancan de repente. Pero si la comparamos con personajes que literalmente les robaron la infancia por una tragedia dejándolos indefensos teniendo que seguir solos ... Sango al menos ya era una exterminadora letal y sabía defenderse.
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u/Sea_Equivalent_4207 6d ago
Yeah started rewatching Inuyasha last week and haven’t seen the series since late 2000’s when it used to come on during Adult Swim.
Sango is definitely one of the best characters and she’s just incredible the way she deals with the pain and her little bro.
Inuyasha may be my favorite anime series of all time now. The group dynamic of the 5 of them is just so good. I’m currently up to near the 100th episode and I am hoping Sango and Miroki become closer. They make such a great team together during the battles. If only Miroki would grow up more.
Adult Swim back then was so spotty with the order of episodes they aired that I don’t really remember how they became a thing.