Inuyasha - Wicked Clutches (Vol. 23)
Drama--and the main thread of the narrative--once again take a back seat to comedy when fox-spirit Shippo receives a challenge from the last surviving relative of the Thunder Brothers from episodes 9 and 10. Koryu is not the menacing demon Shippo fears, but a cute little girl who is just his equal in power. As Shippo was the only member of the team who hadn't been paired off, seasoned anime viewers will recognize a fractious romance in the making. Naraku punishes Kagura for her planned rebellion and dispatches his latest monster: the murderous Faceless Man. This menace is intimately linked to Onigumo, the thief Kikyo treated 50 years earlier (and who became Naraku). The Faceless Man senses the link between Kikyo and Kagome, and seizes Kagome when she returns from the present day. (Unrated, suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, brief nudity)--Charles Solomon