Inuyasha is a classic manga and anime series that swelled in popularity after it was introduced to Cartoon Network's lineup. It's fair to say that Adult Swim is mostly responsible for its massive stateside success. The show toggles between several genres, including romance, action, horror, and comedy, so there's something for everyone to enjoy.
The original Inuyasha anime ran for 167 episodes—though Inuyasha: The Final Act followed to wholly complete the story—so it can only be expected for certain chapters to be superior to others. Let's check out the 10 best episodes of the original Inuyasha series (according to IMDb).
10 Episode: Kikyo's Stolen Ashes | Rating: 8.4
The events of this episode were a major part of the first season that ultimately prompted Kikyo's resurrection. A demon named Urasue stole the priestess' remains, along with the soil from her grave, in hopes of bringing her back to life. Urasue wanted Kikyo to do her bidding and find the shards of the Sacred Jewel (also referred to as the Shikon Jewel or The Jewel of Four Souls).
This also marked the moment where Kagome learned of Kikyo and Inuyasha's troubled past. Urasue came across Kagome and realized she was Kikyo's incarnation, so she snatched the protagonist and told her she "had plans for her."
9 Episode: Tetsusaiga Breaks! | Rating: 8.4
Inuyasha tracked Kikyo down to find out if she actually gave Naraku the Sacred Jewel shard she had taken from Kagome. Upon confirming this fact, she also told him that she wouldn't allow Naraku to kill him because Inuyasha's life "belonged" to her.
The titular action occurred when Naraku's latest incarnation, a demon named Goshinki, attacked a village. Inuyasha confronted the creature, but he wasn't powerful enough to emerge victorious. He was lacking in speed and overall strength. Goshinki broke Tetsusaiga with his fangs, which triggered Inuyasha's demon transformation. In this form, he was able to easily defeat the monster.
8 Episode: Subete wa Togenkyo no Yuro ni (Kohen) | Rating: 8.4
The title of this episode translates to "Fateful Night in Togenkyo Part II". While in his human form, Inuyasha was captured by Tokajin so that his blood could be used to feed Ninmenka, the Demon Tree of Humans. Miroku and Shippo helped Inuyasha escape so they could locate Kagome.
They found her soaking in a bathtub and the four were able to leave the building together. As they departed, Kagome hit Tokajin with a sacred arrow, which caused his Sacred Jewel shards to leave his body and enter Ninmenka instead. Ninmenka ended up absorbing Tokajin, but Inuyasha was able to revert to his half-demon self and defeat the pair.
7 Episode: The Bond Between Them, Use the Sacred Jewel Shard! Part 2 | Rating: 8.4
This was the 167th and final episode of the original Inuyasha anime. Kagura gave Sesshomaru and Jaken a crystal shard so they could detect the gem protecting Naraku's heart. Meanwhile, our team of protagonists—Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo—came face to face with Naraku and conflict ensued before he finally teleported away.
Inuyasha almost returned to his full demon form, but Kagome put her own life on the line to prevent it. She ended up injured and retreated to Kaede's village where she and Miroku could let their battle wounds heal. The story ends with Inuyasha declaring that they will continue to hunt Naraku down until they defeat him.
6 Episode: Inuyasha's Soul, Devoured | Rating: 8.5
Sesshomaru tracked down Bokuseno, an ancient tree demon whose boughs were used to craft Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga's scabbards. Bokuseno revealed that Inuyasha was resorting to his demon half whenever he saw himself in a tight spot. Apparently, it was only a matter of time before his human soul would be completely devoured and he became a savage monster.
In the same episode, Inuyasha and his team encountered a moth demon named Gatenmaru. The demon had been posing as a human leader of a group of bandits. Gatenmaru trapped Miroku and Inuyasha inside of a poison cocoon and the latter was separated from his sword.
5 Episode: Inuyasha Shows His Tears for the First Time | Rating: 8.5
Inuyasha recovered his friends' bodies from a burning building assuming that they were all dead. He utterly hated himself for letting all of his friends die, but Kagome eventually woke up. As it turned out, Myoga had sucked the poison out of everyone's bodies and it ended up saving their lives.
At this point, Inuyasha turned away and shed some tears, which shocked the whole group. Koga also made an appearance, showing up to berate the titular character for letting Kagome get hurt. While this happened, Kikyo met with a doctor named Suikotsu, who had a split personality and doubled as a bloodthirsty killer.
4 Episode: The Bond Between Them, Use the Sacred Jewel Shard! Part 1 | Rating: 8.5
Inuyasha and his crew heard tales of "ascetics", or orphans trained by Goryomaru to be demon hunters. A group of these children appeared out of nowhere, so the team followed them back to their temple. However, hoards of demons suddenly attacked and everyone had to work together to fend them off.
After the dust settled, Goryomaru offered Inuyasha and his crew shelter for the night. The peace didn't last for long—Kagura took control of demons around the temple and ordered them to attack. She thought "the infant" (Naraku's seventh incarnation) was hidden somewhere within the location. Lo and behold, Naraku appeared at the end of the episode, but let Kagura live so she could lure Inuyasha into a trap.
3 Episode: The Mystery of the New Moon and the Black-Haired Inuyasha | Rating: 8.7
Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo rescued Nazuna, who was being chased by demon Spider Heads and stayed the night with her. They were attacked that same night, but Inuyasha couldn't help. He surprisingly became fully human and his sword wouldn't transform, meaning he couldn't fight off the Spider Heads. Shippo used his foxfire to buy everyone some time to flee to the forest.
As it turned out, Inuyasha would lose his powers during a specific circumstance, which was a common stipulation for half-demons. In his case, he would become wholly human during the new moon. His human form had black hair instead of silver.
2 Episode: Return of the Tragic Priestess, Kikyo | Rating: 8.7
After the events of the preceding episode, Urasue was able to successfully resurrect Kikyo with the use of Kagome's soul. Kikyo's first action involved killing the very demon that brought her back. She then confronted Inuyasha and asked why he was still alive. He responded by asking why she had betrayed him. Kikyo proceeded to shoot him in the chest with an arrow and his scream woke Kagome up.
Kagome attempted to call the souls from Kikyo to her, but the latter refused to cooperate. She fell off a cliff and disappeared into the mist. Afterward, Inuyasha detailed the history between him and Kikyo, including the reason behind their failed relationship.
1 Episode: The Tragic Love Song of Destiny: Part 1 | Rating: 8.7
This episode was basically Kikyo's life story as told by Kaede. We saw the moment that the priestess received the Jewel of Four Souls from demon hunters, which then triggered a retaliation from a horde of demons. We also witnessed the moment that Kikyo first met a black-haired Inuyasha.
Inuyasha tried to goad Kikyo into giving him the Sacred Jewel, but instead of slaying him for being a demon, she chose to let him live. The pair drew closer together and ended up falling in love. The subjugation necklace seen on Inuyasha throughout the series was created by her, but she decided to not use it.