So this is really only a mere observation thing.

In the series everyone says how much Kagome and Kikyo look alike. But, from what I've seen, comparing Kagome and Kikyo, is that they look nothing alike. Even when compared in manga form. Dare I say that Kagome looks more like Inuyasha than she does Kikyo?

Here they are from the anime:

And this would be as similar looking as I could find them. And even then, they're not all that similar looking.

Now, here's Kagome and Inuyasha:

They look like they could be brother and sister.

I mean I may be crazy... But, you would think, that if they wanted Kagome and Kikyo to look alike they could have done a better job.

(All the pictures are click-able for a better view on them.)

Looking alike does not mean you look exactly like the other person. They are not the same person. They are not even, as far as we can tell, from the same bloodline. They merely are the same spirit which has reincarnated. They look similar but, honestly, as any Rumiko Takahashi fan can attest to, most of her characters tend to look quite a bit alike from series to series. It's her style.

edited:

Yeah, Kikyou is always such a downer :] kidding.

I'm with zandrellia on this one. Kagome is taken to an era in which she deals predominantely with people and beings that are more in tune with things like spiritual essence than your average, modern human. Kagome, being the reincarnation of Kikyou, starts out dealing with Inuyasha, Naraku and Kaede (2 half demons and an old, wizened shrine priestess)- and thus is basically presented to us, the reader or watcher, tnrough their eyes, so the similarity that they sense can be interpretted as them 'seeing' Kikyou when they look at Kagome.

Please remember that ranting isn't permitted on the forums. While this is a perfectly acceptable topic for discussion, I would highly advise everyone to be mindful of tone, as posts which start off like this tend to take a bad turn. Thanks everyone, in advance! Lurv ya all!

I was merely stating that in the first couple of episodes it is made to seem that Kagome and Kikyo are so identical looking that Inuyasha cannot even tell them apart.

Well, you have to remember a few things....

The Kikyo we know is not the Kikyo InuYasha knows. We know an older, determined, angry miko who was brought back from the dead only to find that her reincarnation has a majority of their power (not to say they are powerless) and the increasing interest of her former lover. Between the great love and respect they had, plus the fact that Kikyo and InuYasha didn't exactly leave off on the best of conditions - they are constantly thinking of each other, even if they don't mean to be.

When InuYasha came to, he only took a few moments to vaguely look at Kagome and the heart does funny things when we miss someone we care for deeply. It is easy to see people who are not there in those that look similar to them. (A son might look very much like the father to the mother, even more so when the father is away, for example.) The same can be said for Kaede, who was very attached to her elder sister and misses her greatly.

As time continues they both realize that while Kagome and Kikyo share some similarities they are not the same person.

However, there are some distinct personality similarities between the two young girls:

Kagome and Kikyo both have a strong sense of loyalty - Even after feeling that InuYasha had betrayed her and killed her, she still longed to be with him. Her heart was so loyal to him that this is part of what led Kagome to receive the jewel so that it could bring Kikyo's soul back to InuYasha.

Kagome and Kikyo both are tough girls who will try to endure whatever struggles life throws their way, even if they are still feeling empty and wishing there was a way out - Kikyo remains a miko and is only willing to stop being one when her duty to the sacred jewel is over. Kagome struggles to do her schoolwork while still hunting jewel shards and tries her best to endure the fact that InuYasha is less than understanding of her feelings on many occasions.

I do not believe it is all that far-fetched for any of the characters that knew both to compare Kagome and Kikyo.