Written with the ideographic kanji characters for "night" and "witch," in Japanese, yasha is typically the word for a "demon" or "devil," while inu refers to a distinctly less ominous-sounding creature, Canis familiaris, as in the common, domesticated pet. A construct of creator Rumiko Takahashi's endlessly creative imagination, Inu-Yasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale is inspired by long centuries of Buddhist tradition and Japanese folklore. In fact, one of the reasons we decided to release the title as "Inu-Yasha" (rather than as, say, the more prosaic "Dog-Demon") is due to our intention to hew more closely to the cultural elements which give manga or Japanese comics their uniqueness. Jumping back in time from modern-day to sengoku jidai or "warring-states period" Japan, the story of Inu-Yasha is clearly unlike any of Takahashi's previous "big" series (Urusei Yatsura, Maison Iku, Ranma½), but as for how different...well, due to the fact that the series is being published in the U.S. nearly simultaneously with Japan, that's something we'll just have to keep reading to find out.