|
| Inuyasha - Character Histories |
|
Lunar Month > Anime > Inuyasha > Character History
These are character histories, which are more detailed than the simple character profiles. I did NOT write these character histories. They were taken from wikipedia, although I edited them a bit. They contain spoilers if you have not read the full manga series up to date yet, or watched the series/movies yet.
___________________________________
Inuyasha;Kagome;Miroku;Sango;Shippo;Kirara;Naraku;Kagura;Kanna;Kohaku;Sesshomaru;Jaken;Rin;Kikyo;Kaede;Myoga;Koga
Inuyasha:
InuYasha is a brave but naive Hanyo (half demon), the result of a relationship between a powerful inu yokai (dog demon) general and a beautiful human woman. Orphaned at a young age, InuYasha is rejected by humans because of his yokai side and looked down upon by yokai because his human blood supposedly taints his superior yokai blood. Thus, before InuYasha met the powerful miko, Kikyo, he found it very difficult to trust anyone else, and even more to find anyone who accepted him as a hanyo
.
Since the Jewel of Four Souls was powerful enough for InuYasha to become a full demon and Kikyo was the protector of the jewel, InuYasha was motivated to follow Kikyo. However, the two fell in love, and eventually, Kikyo talked InuYasha into becoming human, instead. A human, named Onigumo, plotted to take the jewel for himself. He was once a bandit who was obsessed with Kikyo and became jealous that she had fallen in love with InuYasha. Unable to take any other action, Onigumo gave his body to a horde of demons for power. Their union is Naraku. Naraku disguised himself first as InuYasha and then as Kikyo to deceive them into betraying each other. InuYasha broke into Kikyo's village and stole the sacred jewel. To defend the village and to keep him from escaping with the jewel, Kikyo shot InuYasha with a sacred arrow pinning him to Goshinboku. Moments later, Kikyo collapses from a wound she received from Naraku and gives final instructions to Kaede, her sister, to burn the jewel with her body so it would travel to the afterworld with her.
Fifty years later, InuYasha was released from the Goshinboku by Kagome Higurashi. Kagome is Kikyo reincarnated in modern Tokyo, 500 years after the time of the story. She unknowingly carried the Jewel of the Four Souls within the left side of her torso. A centipede called Mistress Centipede from the Bone Eater's Well attacked Kagome for the jewel so she could obtain more power, dragging her into the well which transported her back to the time of the story. After InuYasha kills Mistress Centipede, he tries to steal the Jewel but ends up with the Beads of Subjugation around his neck. When Kagome says "sit" the necklace plunges to the ground taking InuYasha with it.
InuYasha becomes more civil as time progresses, losing some of his more childish qualities and becoming much more mature. He always tries to take the most direct route possible in solving any problem, which usually involves violence. He maintains a crass, rude attitude towards everyone except Kagome and Kikyo, and to a lesser degree the rest of his companions except Shippo.
InuYasha speaks with pretty harsh Japanese. He never uses honorifics and when talking to people he does not like, he uses obscenities. He also does not show respect to his elders, often calling them "-baba" or "-jiji", which translates as "old hag" or "old geezer", respectively.
InuYasha is offended when someone calls him a mangy mutt, puppy, half breed, or otherwise suggests that he is inferior to demon, due to his human parentage. Although InuYasha should be weaker than full demons since he is a hanyo, he tends to remain the victor in fights largely due to the fact he wields Tessaiga, and his being a humanoid demon like Sesshomaru, Naraku and Koga which gives him a great deal of power.
Being a hanyo, InuYasha loses his demonic powers periodically and is turned into a normal human boy with black hair. For him, this "time of weakness" occurs during the first night of a new moon. His team members try their best to protect him at that time, and keep this vulnerability secret from others. Despite their efforts, however, some of InuYasha's adversaries, including Kagura, learn of this weakness. However, Kagura does not use it against him.
Back To Top.
Kagome Higurashi:
Kagome is a protagonist of this manga and anime series. Her grandfather is the keeper of Higurashi Shrine, a Shinto shrine near Tokyo. On her fifteenth birthday, she is pulled into the Bone Eater's Well by a centipede demon, called Mistress Centipede. This takes her back in time to the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. It is here that she finds the half-demon, InuYasha, in a coma and sealed to the Tree of Ages by a sacred arrow shot from the priestess Kikyo for 50 years. Kagome removes the arrow from his chest, freeing InuYasha and beginning their adventures.
Kagome is a very kind and loving person, and cares deeply about her friends and family. In more than one instance she has put her life in danger to protect her friends.
Kagome's purification ability means anything she touches gets purified. By gathering an enormous amount of concentrated power into her right palm, she can direct it at her opponents. She also uses this to purify the Jewel.
Kagome can pass through barriers, spells, and/or illusions. Kagome is also able to sense evil auras and is unaffected by them. If possible, she is able to surround herself with her own spiritual powers to ward off any evil. It is later revealed that her powers to a great extent are sealed by the Shikon no Tama, so she may have other powers than these. In the most recent chapters when Magatsuhi was killed by Sesshoumaru, Kagome's spiritual powers were released.
Kagome's jewel detecting ability allows her to sense the exact location of the Jewel shards. While other characters have shown a vague ability to see Shikon shards, only Kagome and Kikyo are able to sense the shards remotely.
Kagome can travel back and forth 500 years between the present and the Feudal era using the magical well behind her family's shrine.
Placed around InuYasha's neck by Kaede and empowered to "subdue" him at a word from Kagome. This slams InuYasha into the ground whenever she says the word "sit". The effect wears off quickly and InuYasha is able to get up again.
Back To Top.
Miroku:
Miroku is a Buddhist monk), who possesses a rather unusual curse. His right hand has a slowly expanding Kazana ("Wind Tunnel" in the English dub) that sucks in anything nearby if it's not kept covered by a cloth and strand of japa mala beads. This curse was placed on Miroku's grandfather by Naraku and passed down to him. His father died because the wind tunnel grew so large that it sucked him up. Eventually, the curse will cause Miroku to be sucked in as well, unless Naraku is defeated, and the curse is broken. He is, therefore, one of the main reasons the group is after Naraku.
Miroku meets InuYasha and his friends after walking away from a town after cheating a rich man there out of some money. While bathing in a hot spring, he sees Kagome naked, also taking a bath. He discovers she has shards of the Shikon jewel while staring at her breasts and takes the jewel shards and her bike (which he somehow knows how to ride) with the help of his tanuki friend, Hachi. InuYasha and Kagome catch up to him and InuYasha attacks him, but Miroku uses his Kazana in return. Kagome, realizing that the monk will not harm humans, stands in its path and causes Miroku to quickly cover it with his prayer beads. Miroku explains his situation, and InuYasha reluctantly allows him to join them.
Miroku has habit of asking countless, random women to bear his child, which is formally known as womanizing. He does this because if he would happen to die while in the process of killing Naraku, he would want his son to finish the family mission. Despite his good looks and temperament, Miroku's worst vice (and best running joke) is lechery, specifically shameless flattery and occasional groping with varying subtlety. He is a big flirt that always asks seemingly single women to bear his children. It is known that he had a foster father, grandfather and father, but no trace of a mother. Miroku must have a child in order to have an heir by the time he may be killed by the curse, and thus finds it perfectly fine to offer the chance to many young women to bear his child.
In fact, it was lechery that got Miroku's bloodline into trouble in the first place. His grandfather was fooled into "caring" for a young woman, who turned out to be Naraku in disguise. It was then that he received the Kazana (Windtunnel) curse. Despite knowing this, Miroku continues his ways. As an ironic twist of fate, one episode of the anime lands Miroku in a similar situation where he woos a young woman who turns into an insectoid demon. His Kazana suffers a dangerous rip before he destroys the demon, forcing him to seek medical attention from his old caretaker Mushin.
Nonetheless, the monk mellows out as time goes on and proves to be a very valuable ally. He is very knowledgeable about demons, and is the secondary fighter of the team after InuYasha. Though quite possibly the most intelligent of the group, Miroku often uses humor or lechery to lighten serious situations, especially if anyone is worried about him. Despite his lighthearted and lecherous exterior, it is clear he has an inner darkness (Shippo has been heard to comment that he 'never bought that holy man routine') and worries over his curse and the resulting death sentence that hangs over his head.
Although he mellows out, he reveals feelings for Sango, who in turn has had feelings for Miroku for a long time, thus her jealousy over him womanizing all the time. There are many times where their trust in one another is challenged but it appears their feelings are true enough to work past a few misunderstandings and bad habits.
Back To Top.
Sango:
Sango is a highly skilled yokai exterminator, or demon slayer, and a member of a group of exterminators trained to kill demons. Sango, like all other children of her village, started training to master the art of yokai extermination from a very young age. Her preferred weapon is a huge boomerang called the Hiraikotsu, and is made of the bones of demon.
Naraku, the main antagonist of the series, devised an elaborate strategy to destroy the demon exterminators and take their pieces of the Shikon no Tama. He first lured the five most skilled slayers of the village away to a castle. The castle was under the control of Naraku who had either taken the form of its young lord Hitomi Kagewaki or had been that person for many years. The slayers quickly killed a weak spider demon who they had been told was threatening the castle. Immediately after, another spider-demon in the disguised form of the castle's lord took control of Sango's younger brother Kohaku and had him attack the entire group of exterminators (including his own father). Sango was the only survivor. When she discovered the presence of the spider-demon controlling Kohaku, she turned to attack the demon. Kohaku stabbed her in the back with his kusari-gama (chain-sickle). Meanwhile, the spider-demon still disguised as the lord of the castle ordered his men to kill the "crazed" slayers. Sango and Kohaku were both shot full of arrows. Naraku, in the form of Hitomi Kagewaki, then appeared and killed the spider-demon. He orders that the bodies of the exterminators be buried with the exception of Kohaku which he takes away for other purposes.
While the slayers were fighting at the castle, Naraku sent his saimyosho out to lead a large force of demons against the village of the slayers. All the villagers were killed in the battle and Naraku gained their pieces of the Shikon no Tama.
Sango was then buried but then digs herself out of her burial mound and afterward has her wounds briefly tended to by Naraku in the form of Hitomi Kagewaki (the young lord). In that form Naraku has his saimyosho come to him. The saimyosho (calling itself Naraku) tells Hitomi Kagewaki within listening range of Sango that her village was destroyed by demons under the leadership of a demon named InuYasha. Enraged at this "news", Sango demands her weapon and swears to kill InuYasha at all costs.
Sango meets InuYasha and the group not long after she left the castle. Immediately she engages in a battle that InuYasha does not want to fight in, and he thus holds back. Naraku was watching closely with a demon puppet and sends the saimyosho to deter Miroku from using his Kazana. It seems like Sango has the upper hand by using her poison gas to fend off InuYasha's attacks, but InuYasha easily discovers that if he knocks off her mask she would not be able to use such an effective defense. Having done so, InuYasha 'saves' Sango from her own poison gas after knocking off her mask. Puzzled as to why InuYasha, the demon who supposedly killed her entire village would save her, she stabs him in the arm with her Wakizashi. InuYasha, after rather nonchalantly removing the katana from his arm, bluntly points out that Naraku was tricking her and that she was bleeding rather badly. Sango is shocked to see that he was right because she had felt no pain from her wounds, soon afterward she passes out. She awakens on InuYasha's back and only after assurances and explanations from Kagome does Sango feel as if she can "trust" InuYasha for the time being.
Naraku's Saimyosho escape with the Jewel Shard he lent Sango and she loses consciousness due to blood loss. When she wakes up, they make it back to her village, where Sango finds out that they had already paid proper respects to all the villagers, who died defending the village without their strongest warriors from the onslaught of demon.
The group learns from Sango that the Shikon Jewel has close ties with her village, and Sango in time realized the true nature of Naraku and joins the group.
She is a valiant warrior in battle as she is the best demon exterminator from the village, and with her Hiraikotsu she is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Sango also has her fire cat demon companion, Kirara. She hopes to defeat Naraku and be reunited with Kohaku who was brought back from the dead by Naraku with a Shikon Shard.
Back To Top.
Shippo:
He is a kitsune, (a demon fox) who tags along with Kagome and InuYasha after they defeat the Thunder Brothers. At first, Shippo tries to steal Kagome's shards of the Jewel of Four Souls, needing them to become stronger so he can avenge his father's death at the hands of the Thunder Brothers. After InuYasha and Kagome hear Shippo's story, they help him fulfill his revenge and he becomes the first new member of the group. Shippo, unlike some demon, has no problem with humans, but InuYasha and Shippo always tease each other while Kagome acts like katsumomo, a combination of mother and sister to Shippo. Though young and rather naive, he has a very good grasp of the emotions and motives of his companions, and has oddly accurate moments of insight. He wishes very much that Kagome and InuYasha would not fight, and when they do, he is right there trying to convince InuYasha to apologize for whatever he did, resulting in a quick bop to the noggin for the kitsune.
As a kitsune, his specialty is trickery. He has fooled with InuYasha in particular on a few occasions, once abandoning him on the side of a road with his hands trapped beneath a stone with a sutra on it, which he is unable to touch, one act among several that have garnered InuYasha's mild resentment. Shippo's illusions aren't always complete and don't always last for very long, leaving Shippo to face trouble from the people or demons he may be trying to deceive.
Back To Top.
Kirara:
Kirara ("Kilala" in the English dub) is the nekomata companion of Sango. Kirara usually appears as a tiny and cute feline no larger than a kitten with cream-colored fur, black ears, various black markings, large red eyes, and two tails, but her true form is a large saber toothed tiger-like demon. Despite her demon blood and appearance, she is fiercely loyal to Sango and her friends and has been in Sango's family for generations. She has taken a particular shine to Shippo, evidenced by her keeping the young kitsune company when her presence is not required in battle, and she has aided InuYasha on occasion by helping him learn how to wield the Wind Scar.
It is strongly hinted at in the anime (but not in the manga) that Kirara was at one time the companion of Midoriko, creator of the Shikon no Tama. As the taijiya village was built near the site of the legendary battle between Midoriko and the demon that nearly consumed her, this is a logical assumption. In episode 91 of the anime, Shippo encounters another nekomata named Kuroro that is similar in appearance to Kirara and has several offspring, showing that there are others of her kind in the world (though it's unknown whether these others are capable of transforming as Kirara can). Some people also believe that Kirara is an ancestor of Kagome's present pet cat Buyo. Others believe that because Kirara has been in Sango's family for generations, her family is in some way acquainted with the priestess. Kirara is also believed to be a descendant of the Nibi No Nekomata, a large cat demon referred to as the "Two Tails". This somewhat seems to make Kirara related to the Two Tailed demon cat from Naruto.
Back To Top.
Naraku:
Naraku is the main antagonist in the anime and manga series InuYasha. He is directly responsible for the death of the character Kikyo and the seal placed on the series protagonist, InuYasha. He is also the cause of most of the troubles and problems facing the other major characters, making his destruction the overall focus of their quest due to their personal grudges with him.
As a half demon, and later a full demon, Naraku desires the Shikon-no-Tama, a jewel that would be able to grant him near-invincibility should he acquire all the pieces of it. Although early in the series he desires the jewel to purge his half-human self from his body, after he become a full demon he desires the jewel to enhance his strength even further. Due to his obsession with the jewel, he usually has a majority of the pieces of it, and in the recent events of the manga, he has acquired the final shard from Kohaku and now has possession of the complete jewel. However, he is repeatedly opposed by InuYasha and his friends, along with several other enemies.
Originally there was a man named Onigumo, who was evil. He became badly injured with burns so that he couldn't walk. He was found by Kikyo who slowly nursed him back to the point of being able to speak. Onigumo developed feelings for Kikyo, but knowing that he could not move for the rest of his life, he summoned countless demons using his corrupted soul. He then had them devour his body in exchange for giving him a new body with which he could claim Kikyo and the Jewel of Four Souls. Thus the countless demons were bound together in a form with Onigumo serving as a connector. This resulted in the part-human, part-demon Naraku.
Naraku tricked Inuyasha and Kikyo into hating each other, which resulted in Kikyo's death. Onigumo's soul, within Naraku, objected to Kikyo's death. At this time, Naraku took action to prevent Onigumo from consciously influencing the hanyo's actions. Onigumo perceived this process as imprisonment in a deep dark place where he proceeded to sleep.
For fifty years after Kikyo's death, Naraku secretly plotted and waited for the Shikon Jewel to appear again. After the appearance of Kagome as the present-day reincarnation of Kikyo and InuYasha's awakening, he moved forward with his plan of gathering the shattered shards of the Jewel. Knowing his weakness as a hanyo, he relied mostly on evil tricks and traps while gathering information on his potential enemies that would stand before his insidious plot.
Being a hanyo like InuYasha, Naraku also sometimes experiences a period of weakness. During those times, he loses all his yokai powers and reverts to his human "form". While in this form, he is composed of his head attached to countless random demon parts. Naraku has the freedom of choosing this time, unlike InuYasha, and since he is made up of thousands of yokai, each time he "experiments" and "reconstructs" his body, he gets rid of weak and useless parts while keeping the vital ones to get stronger. It is possible that during each of these periods he expelled more and more of his humanity. This process ultimately led to the creation of his stronger form.
Eventually, Naraku separates himself from his heart, rendering it in two pieces. The physical heart he imparts to Akago, rendering Naraku effectively immortal unless Akago is destroyed. The spiritual heart, or soul, which he inherited from the human Onigumo, is discarded inside Hakurei-Zan. This allows Naraku to become stronger, much like a full yokai. Furthermore, he now possessed an even stronger barrier, which proved impenetrable to anything except for the Testsusaiga's Adamant barrage.
Naraku then reveals his new, powerful form and strikes down Kikyo. His powers increased dramatically as he challenged Sesshomaru and deliberately let him tear his body apart with a point-blank range yoki blast, however it had no effect and Naraku proclaimed that "I cannot die".
Throughout the series Naraku is always constantly absorbing yokai to carry on the process of expelling the weak components of his victims and retaining the stronger ones. Thus he is able to constantly increase his strength even after the events of Mt. Hakurei.
Because of his nature, Naraku's true form is somewhat a mystery. In the past, he was usually seen hidden inside his white baboon pelt, which hides all but his mouth. He is later seen wearing a dark blue kimono with matching hakama and a purple kataginu that matches the color of his shoki. This may not be Naraku's true form, but rather the form of a human daimyo named Kagewaki who Naraku has either killed and replaced or created as a deception, which he uses as his form all the time. In Naraku's "human" form, he has long, dark hair, pale yellow skin and almond eyes. Naraku also has a very feminine appearance, wears blue eye shadow and often colors his lips in the manga. Humans familiar with the daimyo could not distinguish between them.
Back To Top.
Kagura:
Kagura the wind sorceress is the second detachment of Naraku. She dresses in a three-layer kimono typical of Kagura dancers and wears a pair of earrings (each is a string of five light green beads with a feather at the end). The irises of her eyes are red and her ears are pointy. If pupils are shown, they are dark red. Kagura uses her wind-manipulating fan to create slicing winds and powerful tornadoes with which to attack her foes. Even without the fan, Kagura can control wind; it merely helps focus her abilities. A pair of feathers in her hair can be enlarged to allow her escape on the wind if need be.
After her first battle with InuYasha, which Naraku more or less staged to test the power of InuYasha's sword, Kagura's chief desire is to kill Naraku in order to free herself from his control. However, because Naraku literally carries her heart, she cannot openly defy him without quite literally being killed in a heartbeat; since Naraku knows her thoughts, he has squeezed her heart in his hands in front of her, making Kagura collapse in pain each time. Like the wind she controls, Kagura wishes to be free and tries to gain that freedom in any way she can. Despite the impediments her existence entails, Kagura frequently (though covertly) aids the two camps opposed to Naraku, those of InuYasha and Sesshomaru.
Back To Top.
Kanna:
In the form of a small, pale girl, Kanna is the first, and longest lasting, of all of Naraku's offspring and the most trusted. Kanna is recognized easily by her emotionless expression and white clothing. Kanna is formed from mu, (nothingness), giving her neither demon properties, emotions, or a presence. Kanna seems fully aware of being only a servant to Naraku, though due to her lack of emotions, seems to have no care to this. Because of this, Kanna is the only offspring Naraku truly trusts, telling her important information about his actions and allowing her to give orders to his other offspring and pawns. His trust in her is also shown when it is hinted at that she is allowed to keep her own heart, as he had to tell her to destroy herself rather than doing it himself with her heart. Despite her loyalty, in Chapter 415 of the manga, Kanna appeared to have abandoned Naraku. Though Akago confirms this was done of her own free will, Kanna still remains loyal to Naraku.
Kanna carries with her a demonic mirror, with which she can steal the souls of those reflected in it. Once a soul is trapped within her mirror, Kanna can control their host bodies to her bidding. The people who's soul were stolen are almost unrecognizable from normal people. Should a powerful soul, such as Kagome's, be locked into the mirror and overflow it, the mirror will start to crack, forcing Kanna to release all souls currently trapped within. It is later shown that the mirror can create powerful rays of light to blast at Kanna's enemies. The mirror has other purposes as well, such as reflecting any attack it catches or observing to goings on of the world. The most powerful of the mirror's powers, however, is the ability to create a glass demon that can copy the abilities of whatever it happens to reflect. Kanna, however, receives all damage in the glass demon's stead.
Interestingly enough, Naraku seems to always create his plans while keeping in mind not to have Kanna harmed, despite however an important role she plays. Naraku only uses Kanna twice for battle, the first being just after her introduction to test Kagome's soul, and the second being for her to destroy InuYasha's Tetsusaiga. During the latter attempt, in Chapter 480 of the manga, Kanna is ordered by Naraku to commit suicide, shattering herself and the glass demon she was currently using into thousands of tiny shards. One of the shards hits Kagome's right eye, and using it Kanna directs her final thought into telling Kagome how to destroy Naraku, the only time shown Kanna has betrayed Naraku. While Naraku comments Kanna had no care for either living or dying, Kagome states Kanna did not wish to die, and perhaps developed feelings of her own overtime.
Back To Top.
Kohaku:
Kohaku is Sango's younger brother. When Kohaku turned eleven, his father told him that he must now put his training as a demon slayer to use and help the rest of his family with their next mission; exterminating a Spider yokai who is tormenting a castle. Kohaku is scared, but he does not want to disappoint his father. Sango cheers him up by telling him he will be safe with her. However, during the mission something goes horribly wrong. Kohaku becomes a puppet of the Spider yokai, who has taken the form of the castle's lord, and kills his family. Sango sees the spider thread the yokai is using to control Kohaku connected to the back of his neck and knows he is not himself. Sango tries to wake her brother up and a battle ensues. They fight until the false Lord orders them killed. Sango is wounded and Kohaku is released from the yokai's spell. He rushes to aid Sango, only to be shot dead by the Lord's archers. It isn't until after this that the lord's son, Hitomi Kagewaki (whose body is later taken over by Naraku), realizes that his father has been possessed and kills him and order's that the demon slayers be given a proper burial. It is later revealed that this was all setup by Naraku so that he could use the opportunity in which the demon slayer village's best warriors were absent to attack the village and take the shikon jewel shard there, then tell Sango that Inuyasha was the one responsible so that she would attack him.
Later on in the series, Kohaku is brought back to life by Naraku, and is kept alive by a shard of the Shikon no Tama lodged in his back. He remembers nothing of his past life, and so, he becomes Naraku's servant. In episode 29 of the anime (Volume 11 of the manga), Naraku uses Kohaku's life as leverage to try and persuade Sango to steal the Tessaiga for him. Later on in the series, some of Kohaku's memories gradually return to him, but he still serves as a minion under Naraku. He is eventually instructed to deliver Akago to the castle of a noblewoman who had just miscarried her baby. Naraku orders him to remain ain in the castle under the guise of a servant so that he may protect Akago from any potential threats. While protecting the castle from Princess Abi and her bird yōkai, he begins to fully regain his memory. Kohaku is then ordered to kill all the people he helped defend, so that he could retrieve Akago for Naraku, but in doing so he not only fully regains his memories—including those of the day when he killed his father and comrades—as well as his own will. Desperate to determine his identity and trying to stop himself from killing the noblewoman, he begins to cry before her. Sango arrives to stop him as Kohaku struggles to accept the surge of memories he is recalling. Kagura arrives to take him away; as they escape, he is able to fully assess his recovered memory, but keeps it a secret and decides that even at the cost of his own life, he will kill Naraku. After recovering his memory, he revisits his abandoned village in episode 163, to give honor to the slayers that were slain by his own hands. Kohaku also runs into Kirara and remembers his childhood of his father and Sango, who he refers to as Ane-ue, while also battling some rogue yokai. At the end of this episode Sango realizes that she has a chance of seeing her brother and shouts his name while running towards the village. Kohaku decides to remain in the shadows and Sango narrowly misses him. After realizing about the secret flower garden, Sango now knows that Kohaku has his memories back.
Back To Top.
Sesshomaru:
Sesshomaru is the demon son of the powerful Inu no Taishou and another, yet unnamed inuyokai known only as Sesshomaru's Mother. Since Inu no Taishou is considered to be a great demon, Sesshomaru is a great demon himself. In both the manga and the anime, he appears stoic and hard to read. He rarely smiles, and when he does, it is usually not a good thing; Jaken once begged Sesshomaru to beat him rather than to smile because it was Sesshomaru's smile that he feared most. Sesshomaru believes that struggle is the only way for survival, and throughout most of the series, he shows his contempt for InuYasha, his half brother.
Although Sesshomaru inherited his father's Tenseiga, which can bring 100 people back to life with a single swing, he originally coveted InuYasha's inheritance, the powerful Tessaiga. However, a barrier was cast around Tessaiga so that full demon cannot wield it without burning their flesh. Even knowing that he cannot touch the sword, Sesshomaru still desires to take it from InuYasha. He fights with InuYasha in their father's grave and by chance, InuYasha transforms the blade and hacks off Sesshomaru's left arm. It is not until his fight with Magatsuhi that his left arm returns. By the time he regains his left arm, however, he is no longer interested in obtaining the Tessaiga.
He is followed by his retainer, an imp-like demon with a small beak named Jaken, and later by a human orphan named Rin, whom Sesshomaru brings back to life using Tenseiga, which he tells Jaken was merely a test of the sword (bringing a great deal of distress to the retainer). He is also followed by a two-headed dragon that Rin names Ah-Un. Ah-Un is Rin and Jaken's main form of transportation when Sesshomaru takes flight or when they need to cover long distances quickly. Also, Sesshomaru later saves Kohaku from Byakuya, resulting in Kohaku's decision to join his retinue as they leave Sesshomaru's mother's palace. It is also revealed that none of his companions (excluding Ah-Un) can again be revived by the Tenseiga since they have all died before and were either already revived by Tenseiga or are being kept alive by a Shikon Jewel shard.
Although Sesshomaru maintains a cool, disinterested exterior, throughout the story his compassion seems to be growing. When InuYasha is controlled by his demon blood, Sesshomaru comes to see for himself the power that InuYasha could produce. After defeating InuYasha, he instructs Kagome to return the Tessaiga to InuYasha in order to restore him to his former self. It is possible that he lost interest in obtaining the Tessaiga mainly due to InuYasha's need for the sword to control his demon blood, but also because he had recently got his own offensive sword, Tokijin. He left claiming that he intends to kill InuYasha one day, when InuYasha could adequately fight back. By making this public declaration, Sesshomaru is claiming first right to InuYasha's death by his own hand, and at his choice of time and place. Thus Sesshomaru can then choose to battle any shared adversary with no loss of face and without admitting any familial attachment or emotions. As by his declaration, any enemy attempting to kill InuYasha is infringing on Sesshomaru's right to do so.
Though Sesshomaru is prone to hitting, kicking, and stepping on his servant Jaken, he has repeatedly warned Jaken to move out of the way prior to an attack. Sesshomaru also allows Rin to follow him and protects her when she gets in trouble. Kagura later kidnaps Rin for Naraku as part of his attempt to absorb Sesshomaru. When Naraku tries to escape after failing to absorb him, Sesshomaru intended to pursue Naraku, but upon hearing that Rin was in danger, he lets Naraku go, and instead goes to aid Rin.
Back To Top.
Jaken:
Jaken is a small green demon who serves the powerful Lord Sesshomaru. Jaken is very loyal to him, primarily out of gratitude for once saving his life but also out of political ambition for himself. Despite this loyalty, Sesshomaru more often than not ignores Jaken's needs and wants. Jaken is not really a fighter, as he tries to avoid situations that might endanger him. And when he does engage in direct battle, it's usually with the company of some other strong yokai to help back up his threats. He is charged with carrying the weapon known as the Staff of Heads. Although he occasionally puts its power to use, it is generally of little use in a fight. He is useful in that he verbally promotes the greatness of Sesshomaru in ways that the aristocratic Sesshomaru would never do himself. Sesshomaru once resurrected Jaken with the Tenseiga when he was killed by Kaijinbo when possessed by Tokijin.
Jaken was once a lord among similar demons. A battle broke out with another demon tribe when they were trying to defend themselves from being devoured. The leader of the larger demon tribe had Jaken by his neck, when Sesshomaru appeared and told the demon to move for he was blocking Sesshomaru's path. The demon did not heed him and as soon as Sesshomaru repeated himself he used his poison whip and cut the demon to pieces.
Seeing all this, Jaken told his tribesmen to move out of the way. They knelt down before Sesshomaru, creating a path before him. Jaken, captivated by Sesshomaru's power, beauty and a need to repay the life-saving debt, he told his minions to "forget about me" and followed after Sesshomaru.
With perseverance, Jaken finally cracked open the door a little and Sesshomaru told him that if he could use the Staff of Two Heads, then he could become his servant.
Back To Top.
Rin:
Rin is a young child that first appears after InuYasha used the Wind Scar on Sesshomaru. The Tenseiga saves Sesshomaru by transporting him to a forest glade near Rin's village, though Sesshomaru is still injured by the attack. While in the forest, Rin finds Sesshomaru in a feral state. Rather than be frightened, Rin persistently tries to help Sesshomaru by bringing him fish from her village's preserve, despite his insistence that she mind her own business. The village men beat her for stealing the fish, and when Sesshomaru asks about the injuries when she returns, she simply smiles instead of responding - though he retracts the question at this.
Rin is later killed following a conflict between the wolf demon Koga and a thief. After the thief is killed, Koga lets his wolves attack the village for food. Rin attempts to make her way to Sesshomaru, but trips along the forest path as the wolves catch up and attack her. After recovering, Sesshomaru catches her scent and finds her mauled and lifeless body. Remembering Rin's smile and stating aloud that he wishes to test his sword again, Sesshomaru uses Tenseiga to resurrect Rin. After setting Rin on her feet again, Sesshomaru walks away, leaving the dumbfounded Jaken and a wide-eyed Rin standing on the path. Still mute, Rin follows Sesshomaru. By their next appearance, Rin has a new, more colorful kimono and is devoted to Sesshomaru and Jaken. She now talks and acts more like a typical child.
Many fans of Hokuto No Ken (or called Fist of the North Star) have indicated that the Rin of InuYasha, could be based off the Rin (sometimes called Lynn) from Hokuto no Ken. Rin from Hokuto no Ken also lost her ability to talk when she lost her parents and upon being cured by Kenshiro, she started to follow him like how InuYasha's Rin follows Sesshomaru for helping her.
Back To Top.
Kikyo:
When Kikyo was alive, she was a calm priestess with a reserved manner. With her kindness, she had helped several people that she met along the path. She was apparently very intelligent as well, and although she often smiled, it also showed her internal sadness as well. Her only wish was to become an ordinary woman, and thought she couldn't express any emotions from being a priestess with tremendous power.
When Kikyo was resurrected by Urasue, for a long time the only thing that she lived for was for revenge against InuYasha. The hatred and anger that was inside of her soul before her death possibly caused her to become a cold, even cruel woman after she came back from hell. She still had some kindness towards other humans (when not involved in Inuyasha's quests, she was often seen taking care of orphans, war-torn soldiers and poor people) and other living things, and wonders if she could ever rest in peace. Though cold-hearted at first when she was resurrected, Kikyo learned new lessons from others every day, and still loves InuYasha even when her main goal was killing Naraku to restore the balance in the world.
In her life, Kikyo had slain many demons that tried to gain possession of the jewel; however, she could not force herself to kill InuYasha, a hanyo who is half-human and half-Inu yokai (Dog Demon). She felt as though InuYasha was isolated from his kind, as she was from hers. On several occasions she would immobilize InuYasha when he attempted to steal the jewel, and had brief conversations with him. InuYasha had followed her for a long period of time. Soon they spent more time together, and the two of them began to have feelings of love and compassion for each other. Kikyo told InuYasha that the Shikon Jewel could be used to make him completely human, as opposed to his original intention of becoming a full demon. Kikyo speculated that if the jewel were used to turn InuYasha into a human, it would be purified and vanish, which would free Kikyo from her duty to protect the jewel and she could then live as a normal woman with InuYasha. He agreed, believing this was the better option.
The following day, Kikyo arrived at the area where they had agreed to meet, but InuYasha was not present. When she went out into a field to attempt to find him, she was attacked by Naraku, disguised as InuYasha. She collapsed to the ground as he escaped with the jewel, proclaiming that he had "absolutely no intention of becoming human" and that the jewel needed to "absorb even more bitter blood", thus effectively framing InuYasha for the evil deed. Kikyo limped back to the village in pain, only to find that the real InuYasha, who was also tricked by Naraku in thinking that Kikyo wanted to kill him, had attacked the village and was escaping with the Shikon jewel.
Drawing on her last strength, Kikyo fired a sealing arrow at InuYasha to seal him to the Sacred Time Tree (Goshinboku). She collapsed the instant after InuYasha was sealed, and instructed her younger sister Kaede to burn the Shikon no Tama with her body to assure that none can exploit the terrible powers the jewel holds. With that, she died.
In the anime (but not in the manga), this tragic fate of Kikyo was foretold through a curse laid by Tsubaki, (a powerful Miko and Kikyo's rival) when she told Kikyo that "a priestess must abandon her heart to achieve power ... this includes love as well" and "You must extinguish love. You must never hold a man dear," or else she would "suffer an untimely death."
Kikyo had been dead for fifty years already until the demon Kijo Urasue attacked her village and stole Kikyo's ashes along with some burial soil from her grave. Using her powerful magic, she re-created Kikyo's body in the hopes that Kikyo would find and retrieve the shards of the Shikon Jewel (which was incidentally shattered by Kagome) but, to the old yōkai's dismay, Kikyo's soul had not returned to her body.
Urasue was angry for a while, until Kagome and InuYasha, along with Shippo and Kaede, were attacked by Urasue's guards. With a quick attack, the yōkai had Kikyo's reincarnated soul and eventually (with InuYasha's unknowing help) revived Kikyo, who immediately killed Urasue and went on to attack InuYasha. Kagome however somehow managed to get most of her soul back after Kikyo's assault. With only one part of soul within her Kikyo fled, fueled by the bitter hatred she felt for InuYasha at the moment of her death.
However, despite this hatred that she bears for him, the confused Kikyo cannot deny her feelings of love and well being for him, for it is her wish to die with him and descend into hell, where they can be together forever. Kikyo attempted to do this once, yet upon seeing Kagome trapped to a tree, InuYasha interrupted the process. Though at a later point in the series, InuYasha tells Kaede that he would, "Gladly leap into hell with Kikyo if that is what she wants."
Kikyo's body is not made of flesh and blood; she only has a bit of soul and strong, willful determination. As a result of this, she must find ways to sustain her "unlife" until she can kill Naraku. Kikyo fulfills this need by using Shinidamachu (dead soul insects, known as Soul Collectors in the dub of the anime) to collect the souls of deceased women, allowing her to move and continue her journey.
The Kikyo appearing after her death is very different from the one who had just died. At first, Kikyo no longer smiled and hardly showed any real emotion, except pain or panic when being attacked by an opponent. She killed a priest who was trying to save her soul by releasing her from her desire to live, thus ending her life. However, this changes as the story progresses and Kikyo adapts more and more to her undead existence. A lot of this change can be attributed to the different characters she meets along the way.
Whenever she is not going after Naraku, she can be seen aiding the wounds of soldiers or taking care of children, helping to rebuild the villages destroyed by the war or monsters.
Back To Top.
Kaede:
Although contrary to her appearance, Kaede is the younger sister of Kikyo. She became the village miko after Kikyo's death and became the respected elder in the village .
Kaede appeared to have accompanied Kikyo nearly everywhere, helping her sister with various tasks such as gathering herbs or holding her arrows. Fifty years after Kikyo's death, InuYasha, when freed by Kagome, recalls Kaede as "the brat" who followed Kikyo around.
In a special episode of the anime, it is shown that Kaede suffered a major injury which cost her right eye while fighting alongside Kikyo and InuYasha. Kikyo failed to protect her because she was in love with InuYasha and her powers had been weakened by a curse laid by Tsubaki, and as a consequence Kaede lost her right eye. On the other hand, the manga never mentions explicitly how Kaede lost her eye, though it is heavily implied it actually occurred during InuYasha's attack on the village to steal the Shikon Jewel. She wears a tsuba (sword guard) over her missing eye, using it as an eye-patch.
The younger Kaede appears occasionally in flashbacks. She is seen with both of her eyes intact when apprehensively treating a badly burned Onigumo when asked to by Kikyo; however, after Onigumo's change into Naraku and Kikyou's death, she's seen checking Onigumo's cave and she has already lost her eye. She is also seen with her eyes pre-injury in episodes 1, 147, and 148.
After her sister's demise, Kaede becomes a miko in her own right and defends the village against demons until Kagome, her sister's reincarnation appears 50 years later. She is the first to identify Kagome as the reincarnation of Kikyo and placed Kikyo's kotodama no nenju (a holy rosary that gives power to the spoken word of whomever creates it) on InuYasha when Kagome first let him go, so Kagome could control him.
She later helps them defeat the mountain witch Urasue, who stole the bones of her sister Kikyo and created a clay body for her (attempting to use her as a slave to recover the Shikon no Tama (Jewel of Four Souls)).
She also provides moral support (such when InuYasha was jealous over Kagome's helping Koga) and sometimes uses her miko powers to help, for example when InuYasha was injured, she and Miroku kept a barrier that hid them from Royokan, who was being controlled by Naraku with a Shikon shard. Additionally, she is a source of helpful knowledge regarding Kikyo's past, most notably her brief time with Onigumo, and the era (this knowledge is of most help to Kagome and the viewers).
As the series progresses the story focuses less and less on her until she rarely appears. She seems to have loved Kikyo very much when she was alive, but loathes to see her as a zombie made of clay and wishes for her to return to death. This is not out of spite or hatred, as she explains to Miroku and later to InuYasha, but because Kaede believes Kikyo has been through too much pain after her forced revival, and it'd be better for her beloved sister to be able to finally rest in peace.
In Viz's English dubbed version, Kaede speaks in a very archaic tone (using "ye" even extra-grammatically as an accusative and dative).
Back To Top.
Myoga:
Myoga is a demon-flea who appears randomly and gives the hanyo InuYasha information on current events, foes, and the shards of the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon No Tama or Sacred Jewel). Myoga is an old friend of InuYasha's father, Inu no Taishou, and was originally charged with guarding InuYasha's father's tomb. But when Sesshomaru came to it in order to look for the Tessaiga he fled and met up with InuYasha and Kagome. When he is not with the group, he is usually off gathering new information that can be useful. Otherwise, he is with Totosai.
Myoga often flees before or during a battle, which often annoys InuYasha and the rest of the group. It becomes something of a running gag among the group that if Myoga is around, they must not be in danger.
Later on, InuYasha and the gang encounter old lady Shoga, Myoga's fiancee. Shoga controls the gang separately to catch Myoga as Myoga tries to run away from her. In the end, they were going to marry in the village that they were in, but Myoga flees and Shoga swears to find him, then marry him.
Back To Top.
Koga:
Koga is the leader of a demon wolf tribe. In his first appearance, he allows his wolves to slaughter and feed on the villagers of Rin's, village. When InuYasha finds the massacre he attacks the remaining wolves who then call Koga for help. The two fight briefly. During their fight, Koga notes Kagome's ability to see the shards of the powerful Shikon Jewel. The battle is over because Koga retreats when he senses danger as InuYasha was about to perform his deadly Wind Scar attack.
Koga soon returns to kidnap Kagome in order to put her skill at seeing the Shikon Jewel shards to use. He explains that he needs her to fight his clan's enemies, the so-called Birds of Paradise. He takes her into battle with him against the Birds and protects her as best he can while fighting. She helps him find the Bird with a jewel shard and then he fights on his own, leaving Kagome in the care of his pack mates Ginta and Hakkaku. With help from InuYasha, the Birds are defeated. In the middle of the battle, Koga claims Kagome as "his woman" and boldly declares his love for her, much to InuYasha's fury and dismay. After the battle, Kagome helps an injured Koga escape from a raging InuYasha, causing InuYasha to feel jealous and hurt.
Though Koga is at first portrayed as a "villain" it is almost immediately clear from his demeanor and personality that he is hardly evil. He and InuYasha are more sporting rivals than arch enemies.
Koga courts Kagome, protects her whenever possible, and seems to love her, thus irritating InuYasha in the process. In the anime, Koga ceases to allow his wolves to devour humans because if he kills a human, Kagome will hate him. Koga is strong, but he is mostly just talk. He's very cocky and bold, but he also follows his instincts to keep himself alive. Koga is infamous for running away from a fight, a quality that InuYasha finds cowardly, but one that does keep him alive and out of fights he can't win.
Later in the series, Koga's entire pack excluding Ginta and Hakkaku are lured to their death by Naraku. After the slaughter, he vows to destroy Naraku at any cost. Once Koga and InuYasha share this common enemy, they cross paths often and even sometimes reluctantly fight together.
Koga appears humanoid and has not to date taken any other forms in either the manga or anime. He was the possessor of two of the last four shards not held by Naraku. After Naraku takes them, Koga returned to the other wolves.
Back To Top.
|
