Entei, The Demon Horse Unleashed! is the one hundred forty-first episode of the InuYasha anime.
Synopsis
- In their search for the "border between this world and the next", Kagura and the Infant continue slaying many hōshi and priests, until they come across a powerful hōshi named Shinsen who, just before his death, manages to split the Infant in two with his spiritual power.
- Inuyasha and the others hear of Shinsen's death, whose power was quite a renown, and they learn that a fearsome horse yōkai named Entei who had been sealed away by Shinsen has been released; Entei later attacks Inuyasha and his friends and showcases its awesome power.
- Kanna takes on half of the Infant and gives the other to Kagura; eventually, Kagura's half begins to pulsate and an arm sprouts from the infant, giving birth to another incarnation of Naraku.
Summary
An elderly Shintō priest’s peaceful evening meditation comes to a cruel end at the hands of unwelcome visitors to the shrine - Kagura and Naraku's evil infant creature. Kagura savagely attacks the old priest, allowing him to survive just long enough for the dreadful baby to wrench information from the dying man.
On the road, again, Inuyasha and the others approach a village. Kagome is delighted - she’s hungry, ready for a break and eager to get to their destination. Sango, however, is less enthusiastic about the village - she senses something evil within the town. They arrive in the village and discover it was attacked, sustaining a lot of damage.
A village elder welcomes the team, and tells them demons killed the village priest and caused all the destruction. Surveying the village, Inuyasha gets a whiff of something evil and leads the team to the ruins of the village shrine. What’s left of the building glows hot with energy and out of the rubble emerge three hostile demons who attack them. Inuyasha executes the demonic trio earning the team a hot meal and a roof for the night.
While the gang dines, their elderly host tells them more about the demons who heaped such destruction on his village. It wasn’t the three demons Inuyasha killed, but a lone female who carried a baby with her. Kagura! The team speculates why she’s conducting this murderous reign of terror and the elder wonders if Kagura is attempting to release a powerful demon sealed nearby - a horse yōkai, or 'Yōba', called Entei.
The village elder spins a tale how a local priest, a demon slayer, sealed the creature after its destructive rampage years before. Elsewhere, an elderly priest tells the same story to his young disciples. He is the same priest responsible for sealing the demon so long ago. The old men weave a story of fear, mayhem, and death beneath the flaming, deadly hooves of Entei. The elderly priest tells the young monks he barely managed to seal the creature with his powers. Back at the village, Inuyasha and the others decide to pay a visit to the old hero and his shrine before Kagura beats them there first.
At the temple, the old priest’s story is interrupted by the arrival of Kagura and the baby. Kagura attacks the elderly man as the young monks watch helplessly. However, the old priest has one last trick up his sleeve. When Kagura places the baby on him to steal his thoughts, the priest removes a holy dokko concealed within his robes and its power blasts the infant in two. It is the same relic he used to seal Entei. Kagura gathers up the bits of baby and flees the shrine, not sure what to do. During her flight, she encounters Naraku’s insects that guide her to Kanna. Kanna takes half of the baby back to Naraku and orders Kagura to keep the other half and protect it.
Inuyasha and the team arrive at the shrine and find a dead priest and two young monks in hysterics. The monks tell them what happened, describing who committed the murder: Kagura and the baby. Their story reveals the reason for Kagura’s priestly killing spree. According to the monks, before their master died, he spoke of the "boundary between this world and the next" to his killers. Kagura came to the shrine seeking information about the last jewel shard’s location, not to release Entei as suspected.
Regardless of Kagura's motives, Entei is released from his mountain prison and immediately runs wild, wreaking havoc and destruction. Inuyasha and the team attempt to stop the beast, but the creature is a fleet and powerful opponent. No attack they can level at the demon stops its relentless violence. The team barely escapes being vaporized by a powerful blast from the creature before it flies off into the night.
They learn the hard way that Entei is a deadly and formidable new foe. Meanwhile, Kagura bides her time, hiding with her half of the evil baby. A stirring of power catches her attention and she watches in amazement as the lifeless bundle she was ordered to protect starts to change. It moves and grows. A childlike hand bursts from the bundle of rags, fingers eagerly grasping for a hold on the world.
Characters in Order of Appearance
Music
- Opening Theme — One Day, One Dream — Best of Inuyasha II
- Kagura injures priest and lets infant embrace him — Tsubaki the Dark Miko (Kuromiko Tsubaki) — TV OST Vol. 2
- Inuyasha’s group comes across attacked village and hear about priest’s death — Evil Spirits Desiring the Shikon no Tama (Shikon no Tama o Nerau Chimimōryō) — TV OST Vol. 1
- Old man tells Inuyasha’s group the rumor of the killer being a woman with an infant — The Hidden Well to the Sengoku Era (Kakushi Ido kara Sengoku Jidai e) — TV OST Vol. 1
- Shinsen speaks of Entei — Sign of Unrest (Fuon na Kehai) — TV OST Vol. 1
- Shinsen speaks of the demon who became Entei’s master — Demon Brother Sesshōmaru (Yōkei Sesshōmaru) — TV OST Vol. 1
- Shinsen recalls his battle with Entei — Attack (Shūgeki) — TV OST Vol. 1
- Shinsen senses Kagura’s presence — The Hidden Well to the Sengoku Era (Kakushi Ido kara Sengoku Jidai e) — TV OST Vol. 1
- Kagura uses Dance of Dragons on the pupils, Shinsen protects them, but he is injured — Inuyasha’s Metamorphosis (Hengeshita Inuyasha) — TV OST Vol. 2
- Inuyasha’s group learns that Shinsen split the infant in half; Kanna tells Kagura to take one half of the infant — Hakudōshi — TV OST Vol. 3
- Entei is free — Hell Insects, Saimyōshō (Jigoku Mushi Saimyōshō) — TV OST Vol. 2
- Entei prepares a large attack — Ryūkotsusei Resurrected (Yomigaeru Ryūkotsusei) — TV OST Vol. 2
- Kagura’s part of the infant grows — Malice (Urami) — TV OST Vol. 3
- Ending Theme — Come — Best of Inuyasha II
Trivia
- In the scene where the gang are eating, although Sango is eating, she has no bowl in her hand or rice in her chopsticks.