Overcompensating?

I have been accused, not without justification, of having a sordid mind, and of reading things into animes that just aren't there. Even so, am I the only one who's noticed that Inuyasha's sword gets really huge when there's work to do and shrinks back to an unprepossessing piece of junk when the job's done? Sigh -- a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.