Characters / Inuyasha - Inuyasha (The Character)

Inuyasha Main Character Index
Main Characters (Inuyasha) | Supporting Characters (Sesshomaru) | Naraku and Incarnations | The Band of Seven | Other Villains | Filler, Movies, and Video Games Characters | Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon

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Inuyasha

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (JP), Richard Ian Cox (EN), Enzo Fortuny (LA SP, original series), Marcos Abadi (LA SP, Yashahime), Massimiliano Alto (season 1) Francesco Pezzulli (IT), Jerome Wiggins (FR)

"Should something terrible be caused again by the Shikon Jewel, whatever it may be, I shall cut it down with my own hands."

Inuyasha is the son of a dog youkai and a human woman. Persecuted throughout his childhood due to his halfbreed nature, he sought to use the Shikon Jewel to become a full youkai, but fell in love with the Jewel's human guardian, the miko Kikyo. Fifty years prior to the start of the series, Kikyo sealed Inuyasha to a tree with a magical arrow; when Kagome releases him, he resumes his mission to obtain the Shikon Jewel, which requires him to team up with Kagome to track down the broken Jewel's many shards.

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A — D

• Absurdly Sharp Claws: He can easily rip apart demons and humans with them, and his Iron Reaver Soul Stealer/Sankon Tessō attack, according to Word of God, can slice clean through an industrial steel support beam at full power.invoked
• Accidental Pervert: Whenever Kagome is bathing in the feudal era, it's almost a guarantee that Inuyasha will see her naked.
• Action Dad: To Moroha. After she was born, he makes sure she is safe, and help his family when they're in trouble.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed. He's more abrasive in the anime than the manga, as shown with his more frequent arguments with Kagome and the rest of the group resulting in more "Sit" commands, but is still heroic and cares for others, nonetheless.
• Aesop Amnesia: You would think that after all the dozens of times Kagome's made him "sit" for annoying her or being rude, he would just learn to watch his mouth or keep it shut.
• Airplane Arms: Often runs like this.
• All Genes Are Codominant: He's half dog-demon and half human, so he usually looks like a human with akita inu ears, fangs and claws. His abilities are somewhere between that of a demon and that of a human, with an odd twist on the transformation ability.
• Alternate Identity Amnesia: He seems to have no memory of what he does while under the influence of his Superpowered Evil Side. When he comes out of it in episode 51 to discover his hands are covered in blood and that he brutally slaughtered a bunch of human bandits, he's absolutely horrified.
• Ancestral Weapon: The Tessaiga was once wielded by his father.
• Animal Jingoism: Regular butts heads with Koga and regularly smacks around Shippo. Considering dogs hunt wolves and foxes, it's not surprising. In episode 88 he comes to greatly dislike a trio of monkey demons who messed with him, alluding to how dogs and monkeys are said to be enemies in Eastern Cultures.
• Animal Motifs: Dogs, for obvious reasons.
• Animal Stereotypes: The Dog.
• Anti-Hero: The reason he was forced to wear the necklace of subjugation in the first place was because he used to try to steal the jewel for the same reason as the demons he regularly kills. He mellows into a heroic-yet-rude-and-egotistic good guy rather quickly, though. Of course, the real reason he's such a grumpy son-of-a-bitch is entirely justified, and makes up the primary story arc.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: His usual method of dealing with enemies, though it's usually the reason he gets his ass kicked, too. In the first movie, Menomaru even uses this to his advantage to dupe Inuyasha into freeing his father.
• Attack Reflector: His Bakuryuuha/Backlash Wave technique uses the Wind Scar to send an opponent's attack right back at them, but can only be used against enemies of a similar power level.
• Ax-Crazy: His Superpowered Evil Side. Best exemplified when he brutally slaughters a slew of human bandits, all with a Slasher Smile and while laughing.
• Badass Boast: Gives such a boast after he becomes a full yokai for the first time and kills Goshinki:
  Inuyasha: The demon blood that flows through my veins is unlike yours! I'm in a class of my own!
• Barbarian Hero: Given that he's lived on his own away from civilization since he was a small child, this also counts too.
• Barbarian Longhair: His hair is as long as Sesshomaru's but considerably more unkempt.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: He always wanted to become a pureblood demon. When he discovers the savage brutality of his Superpowered Evil Side, however, he changes his mind.
  Inuyasha: The demon that I wanted to become, the power that I desired... it wasn't like this.
• Be Yourself: Originally wanted to use the Shikon Jewel to become a full-fledged demon due to suffering a lifetime's worth of Half-Breed Angst which led to him holding his human half in disdain. Part of his Character Development is him getting over it to accept himself for what he is. Kagome loving him for how he is played a big part in that.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Kagome. Everyone Can See It, even Kagome's younger brother, who's only 8.
• The Berserker: Once he transforms into his demon form, he becomes an Ax-Crazy aggressive maniac. According to the telepathic Goshinki, Inuyasha's only coherent thoughts in that state are Unstoppable Rage and bloodlust.
• BFS: The transformed Tessaiga.
• Big Brother Mentor: On the rare occasions that Inuyasha visits the present, he falls into a dynamic of somewhat confused brotherly mentorship to Kagome's little brother Sota, who admires and looks up to him. It's shown most clearly in episode 90, "Sota's Brave Confession of Love," in which Sota approaches Inuyasha for advice on how to approach his crush and Inuyasha encourages him to confess his feelings.
• Big Eater: As he is a half demon son of a huge dog demon, it's justified.
• Big Fancy House: He and his Missing Mom lived in a huge but very abandoned Japanese traditional mansion, according to the flashbacks.
• Birds of a Feather: While not as skilled at being openly friendly as Kagome, they strangely possess a few similarities. They're both terrible at keeping their emotions in check, leading to mood-swings that make it difficult for them to be around others and each other, especially when it comes to their stubbornness, jealousy, bad temper and irritability. They're also impulsive when it comes to helping those around them and each other.
• Blood Knight: Especially in his full yokai form.
• Bloody Murder: Hijinkessou/Blades of Blood, one of his earliest and least-used attacks, involves infusing his own blood with yoki and slinging it at an enemy. He generally uses it by using blood from an already open wound, but if he has to, he'll draw his own blood from his palms.
• Blow You Away: Tessaiga's early abilities are loosely wind-based, particularly the Wind Scar.
• Blue Blood: With a demon lord for a father and a human princess for a mother, Inuyasha is of noble birth like his brother, Sesshomaru. Not that Sesshomaru cares...
• Book Dumb: He's clueless when it comes to higher reasoning, but has very good fighting instincts.
• Brain Bleach: In episode 47, when Kikyo reveals that Naraku retains Onigumo's Villainous Crush on her, he's quite disturbed.
  Inuyasha: I can't believe he might be in love with you. It's too much to bear!
• Bring My Red Jacket: His clothes are all red and as the main fighter he gets injured often, tainting them in blood. Ironic since his clothes are supposed to be an armor against sharp objects.
• Brought Down to Normal: Whenever a new moon appears, he becomes completely human and thus powerless.
  • The exception to this rule is the powerful, purifying barrier around Mount Hakurei. It was strong enough to eventually render Inuyasha human, and at the worst time too...
• Brutal Honesty: Let's just say tact isn't one of his strong points.
• Butt-Monkey: Generally thanks to the restraining necklace and not helped by his jerkish behavior. Thankfully he's an Iron Butt-Monkey.
• Byronic Hero: He's basically a Villain Protagonist at the beginning but becomes a traditional one later on as he wrestles with numerous personal issues.
• Calling Your Attacks: Almost everyone does at least a little of this, but Inuyasha does it every time he uses one of Tessiaga's abilities.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: He would have killed Kagome had she not been able to sense the location of the shattered Shikon Jewel.
• Card-Carrying Villain: In episode 3, he freely admits to Kagome and Kaede that he's one of the "wrong hands" that they're trying to keep the Shikon Jewel shards away from. He later warms up to them and become a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: In the English dub, his response to Sesshomaru's dog transformation stands out:
  "Yeah, yeah, 'roar roar' to you too, buddy."
• Character Development: He goes from a Villain Protagonist to a genuinely heroic individual.
• The Chew Toy: This guy can never catch a moment of peace because he always (sometimes unintentionally) perks his allies which don't take him very seriously.
• Cloak of Defense: Inuyasha's red robe is called the Robe of the Fire-Rat. It was made from the fur of a rat Youkai that was Immune to Fire. The robe retains the Youkai's fire immunity and grants this protection to anyone who wears it.
• Cock Fight: Inuyasha + Koga = this, especially if Kagome is present.
• Counter-Attack: Bakuryuuha/Backlash Wave, though enormously powerful under the right circumstances, can only be used as a counter to a powerful energy blast. This means it doesn't see as much use as most of Inuyasha's other attacks, since only some enemies even have an energy attack powerful enough for the Backlash Wave to trigger.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: When Koga's involved with Kagome, or any other guy, he becomes quite irritable.
• Cute Little Fangs: Sports these, since he's descended from a dog yokai.
• Dark and Troubled Past: His dad died from a demon dragon wound, he and his mother had to suffer years of discrimination due to being a half demon and another demon turned his lover against him. Not to mention the implications of being hunted down by humans and demons alike when trying to survive after his mother's death.
• Deadly Upgrade: When his youkai blood goes out of control, he becomes faster, stronger, and more direct. It also makes him savage.
• Deadpan Snarker: One good example is this exchange between Kagome in Episode 31:
  Kagome: You like being with me, don't you?
  Inuyasha: I dunno. Is it a trick question?
• Declaration of Protection: Countless times, to both Kagome and Kikyo, with expected shades of "I failed to protect her" with the latter. Things do, of course, get messy whenever both happen to be in danger at the same time. The first time enabled him to wield Tessiaga: "You should shut up and let me protect you!" Suddenly, Tessaiga transforms for him.
• Defence Mechanism Superpower: His full demon form activates whenever he's in life-threatening danger and doesn't have the Tessaiga handy.
• Defrosting Ice King: Thanks to his comrades, he mellows out from his villainous start.
• Deliberate Injury Gambit: He pulls one off against Sesshomaru after the latter steals the Tessaiga, allowing him to punch a hole through his torso with one arm and giving Inuyasha the opportunity to slice off his other arm and take back the sword.
• Determinator: He just keeps going, no matter how bad the odds are or how injured he is, even when he's human.
• Disappointed by the Motive: He's left utterly baffled upon learning from Kikyo that Onigumo/Naraku set them against each other purely out of jealousy over their relationship.
  Inuyasha: He was jealous? Over something so ridiculous?
  Kikyo: Yes, ridiculous. But that's what mortals are.
• Distinguishing Mark: His dog ears mark him as a half-demon.
• Does Not Like Spam: He absolutely hates spicy curry (and presumably other spicy foods), likely due to his enhanced sense of taste and smell.
• A Dog Named "Dog": "Inu" is the Japanese word for dogs, and "yasha" is a kind of demon. Thus, he is a dog demon named Dog Demon.
• Dogs Are Dumb: He's half dog youkai and is quite simple-minded, with a reputation as an Idiot Hero amongst his friends.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: More often than not, his "period of weakness" occurs during a situation that could easily be resolved with his demonic powers.

E — L

• Empathic Weapon: In order to use the Tessaiga's true power, he has to be actively thinking about protecting humans.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Even at his absolute worst, he deeply loved and cared for his mother. Sesshomaru having the Un-mother impersonate her as part of a ploy to find the Tessaiga absolutely infuriates him.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Jakotsu of the Band of Seven is infatuated with him.
• Everyone Has Standards: He's crass, hot-headed, and violent, but there are plenty of lines that even he won't cross:
  • He's utterly disgusted by the depravity of the Thunder Brothers, who see women as nothing but playthings and not only murdered Shippo's father, but skinned him and turned him into a belt. And this was before he underwent most of his Character Development and was still a borderline Villain Protagonist.
    Inuyasha: I'll be the first to admit I've racked up my share of bad karma in the past, but I'm innocent compared to you two swine!
  • In the filler "The Tragic Love Song of Destiny" anime special, he refuses to attack Kikyo for the Shikon Jewel when she's badly injured and can't fight back, explaining to her that he doesn't "play dirty"; he even personally saves Kaede from Mistress Centipede while refusing to take her hostage for the jewel as Centipede intended to do.
  • When he fights Tōkajin, the latter demands that he drink some of the failed potion made from Ninmenka's fruit before their fight; given the source of the fruit, Inuyasha is quick to turn it down.
  • When he meets Shiori, he adamantly refuses to kill a fellow half-demon, let alone a little girl.
  • When he and Sesshomaru discover that their father only intended for Sesshomaru to master the Meidō Zangetsuha technique and then give it to Inuyasha, Inuyasha agrees with Sesshomaru that that was cruel of their father.
• Evil Me Scares Me: Initially, Inuyasha only helps Kagome so he can take the Shikon Jewel and use it to become a full yōkai. He starts questioning this desire after genuinely befriending Kagome, Sango, and Miroku, when it's pointed out that if he became a complete yōkai he might kill and eat them. When his yōkai side turns out to be a bloodthirsty monster, he resolves to stay a half-yōkai so as to not endanger his friends.
• Extremity Extremist: When not using the Tessaiga, he fights using his claws or his fists.
• Eye Color Change: Whenever Inuyasha goes full demon he gains red sclera and blue irises. His eyes also change from gold to a very human gray when he undergoes his monthly transformation to his human form.
• Eye Scream: In the manga, Sesshomaru cuts out his right eye to get at the black pearl that links to their father's grave; the eye regenerated over the course of the next few chapters.
• Face Fault: When Kagome says "Sit!"/"Sit, boy!" (Japanese = "Osuwari!" an imperative form of "to sit" that is used, among other things, as a command for dogs.)
• Facial Markings: When his youkai blood overloads his system he gains jagged purple stripes on the sides of his face.
• Finger-Twitching Revival: When he wakes from Kikyo's seal, the audience is treated to a close-up of his right hand twitching.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: Being sealed for 50 years, a lot has changed for him in the Feudal Era. Even more so whenever he goes to Kagome's era. It's not really touched upon much, but one notable instance was when he was watching TV with Kagome's family:
  Inuyasha: This is the strangest box I've ever seen!
• Forced to Watch: After getting All Webbed Up by Gatenmaru in episode 51, Gatenmaru decides to show Inuyasha just how helpless he is before he dies by making him watch as he kills and eats helpless village women for fun. He and his men don't survive the consequences.
• Frame-Up: Aside from Kikyo's murder, Naraku has framed Inuyasha for the destruction of Sango's village and the deaths of Koga's packmates to trick both into trying to kill Inuyasha for him.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Inuyasha is quite a challenging character to deal with, given his confrontational attitude that often leads to clashes with his group members, especially Kagome. They tend to ridicule him for the slightest of reasons and call him an "idiot" whenever Kagome commands him to "sit." However, despite all this, the group still deeply cares for him and tolerates his behavior because of his strength and connection with Kagome. Kagome usually has to rein him in, but she and the rest of the group know that his attitude is a product of his past experiences. All in all, their relationship is characterized by care, necessity, and closeness.
• Furry Reminder: Every once-in-awhile Inuyasha will do something that reminds the viewers he is part dog-demon. For example, he'll shake off like a dog when wet, occasionally scratch his ear with his foot, and also sniff around on the ground. Then there was the time Kagome got him to fetch a stick (he kind of got pissed about that one though).
• Generation Xerox: Inuyasha has his father's marks when a full demon but for the most part looks like his mother. In the third movie, her old admirer even points this out. Also, as Sesshoumaru points out, he has a weakness for human women and gets in trouble because of them.
• Genius Ditz: In spite of being rather simple minded, he's shown to be a skilled tactician at times and can easily find a weakness in an opponent's battle style.
• Godzilla Threshold: In the first episode, with Mistress Centipede having survived all previous attempts to kill her, and having obtained the Shikon Jewel, Kagome has little choice but to unseal Inuyasha to handle things. Inuyasha takes out Centipede in seconds before going after Kagome for the jewel.
• Good Counterpart: To Naraku. Both are half-demons who sought to become full demons to purge themselves of their human "weakness"; however, while Inuyasha eventually embraced both sides of his heritage and used it to his advantage to form bonds with members of both species, Naraku rejected his human side and destroyed the bonds of humans and youkai alike for his own amusement. In many ways, Naraku also serves as Inuyasha's Shadow Archetype, representing what he could have become had he never embraced his human half and given up on his desire to become a full-fledged yokai. During the final battle, Inuyasha acknowledges this and states outright it's one of many reasons he utterly despises Naraku.
• Good Is Not Nice: A prime example: he starts off motivated largely by self-interest, and while Character Development soon brings out his better nature, he remains a short-tempered, foul-mouthed Jerk with a Heart of Gold whose first solution to most problems involves violence.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: With all of the injuries he's suffered, he'd most likely be dead a hundred times over if not for his demonic Healing Factor.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: Even though he made it clear through his acts that he cares for Kagome but never said it out of pride, whenever Koga shows up or if Kagome just as much as talks about him in a non-derogatory way, Inuyasha will become fiercely possessive and jealous.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: He's openly grumpy, with a base state of "mildly irritated", and it doesn't take much to set him off; the most trivial things or setbacks can provoke him into punching someone.
• Half-Breed Angst: For most of his life, Inuyasha was feared by humans and looked down upon by full-fledged demons because of his mixed heritage. This is actually the reason why he wanted the Shikon Jewel to become a full-fledged demon at the start of the series.
• Half-Breed Discrimination: He was picked on for his half-demon heritage his whole life. When he was a kid, he was shunned by humans and hunted by youkai for being a hanyou. Even now, humans suspect and fear him while youkai mock him.
• Half-Human Hybrid: He's half dog yōkai, and hates this because his mother suffered for it at first.
• Healing Factor: He heals much faster than a normal human, and is even been shown to be able to regenerate lost eyes and teeth.
• The Heart: Though rather immature and not the brightest, he will do anything to help his friends. In an episode where they are trapped in the cocoons of a moth demon, what helps them break free is remembering the times Inuyasha supported them.
• Heartbroken Badass: Kikyo's death(s) really did a number on him. Not that it stops him from kicking all kinds of ass.
• Hellish Pupils: Inherited from his youkai side.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Due to his demonic heritage, humans all over think badly of him. Kaede's village thought especially badly given his history there.
• Heroic BSoD:
  • One time when Kagome told him he was "exhausting". To which he replied "What? Do you mean you're tired of being with me?" Cue the signature sitting position and a (very) blank stare.
  • There was also the scene where Inuyasha realizes that he just brutally slaughtered a group of bandits after his demon side took over and he was unable to even remember what happened.
  • Gets a much worse one late in the manga when Kikyo dies in his arms.
• Hey, You!: At the start of the series, he never refers to Kagome by name, much to her annoyance. It's only after they work together to defeat Yura that he starts addressing her by name.
• Holding Your Shoulder Means Injury: Whenever he's injured, he holds his shoulder. In fact, the only time he doesn't hold his shoulder is when he is literally too injured to move.
• Honor Before Reason: For all of his flaws, Inuyasha does have a sense of honor:
  • When Kaijinbo, possessed by the newly-forged Tokijin, comes to kill him while he's Brought Down to Normal, Inuyasha decides to fight him himself rather than let his friends do so for him because he was the one Kajinbo was after.
  • He also invokes this trope in the filler episode "The Tragic Love Song of Destiny," which details how Inuyasha and Kikyo first met and the events that led up to Kikyo's death and Inuyasha's sealing. When he first discovers the existence of the Shikon Jewel, he refuses to attack Kikyo for it when she's badly injured and can't fight back; when Kikyo asked why he didn't try to kill her then, he explains that he "doesn't play dirty." He also makes sure that Kikyo gets Kaede to safety before they really get into it.
• Hot-Blooded: Inherited from his father and hostility gained from being hunted down by both sides.
• Hypocritical Humor: He hates people who hide how they feel towards others while hiding his feelings for Kagome.
• I Can't Sense Their Presence: When it comes to Naraku's detachment Kanna. As she is composed of void, she has no scent for Inuyasha to sniff out.
• Idiot Hero: Inuyasha is half dog-youkai and is extremely simple-minded as a result. While it makes his fighting instincts very powerful, Inuyasha is clueless when it comes to higher-reasoning.
• Immortal Immaturity: Like every other demon in the series, he's very clearly older than most of the humans. Nevertheless, he acts like a Hot-Blooded teenage delinquent.
• Inappropriate Hunger: In episode nine, the episode begins with him and Kagome eating in the middle of an old battle ground with decomposed bodies strewn all over the place. Kagome questioned how he could eat in the middle of the battle ground.
• In a Single Bound: Word of God is that he can clear three mountains in one jump.invoked
• Inconsistent Spelling: Inuyasha? Inu Yasha? Inu-Yasha? Also, Tetsusaiga or Tessaiga?^note Tetsusaiga is purely a transcription error realized too late
• Indy Ploy: Despite his reputation as the Idiot Hero and the fact he's the least-sophisticated fighter of his group, he's also the character most likely to think outside of the box in a pinch, such as the time he was told of there being an Achilles' Heel somewhere on his youki-absorbing opponent with the intent that he would find it and attack there instead. His reaction was basically, "That'll take too long, so I'll just use my Sword Beam to blow up the ground underneath him and smack him while he's off balance."
• Informed Ability: His fire rat robe is allegedly "stronger than any suit of armor", despite being ripped to pieces every other chapter. The more accurate translation is that it is better than a suit of poor armor (it's probably as strong or stronger than leather armor, but that would be like tissue paper against other Yokai).
• Informed Species: Or well, informed youkai species. His pointy ears, sharp claws, slit pupils and feisty attitude sometimes has people mistaking him for a cat demon rather than a dog demon at first, though it becomes more apparent as he starts showing dog traits. (And as mentioned above, his ears are meant to be Akita inu ears.)
• Involuntary Shapeshifting: Into both full human and full youkai depending on the circumstance. The new moon for the former and imminent death without Tessiaga for the later.
• It's Personal: Naraku killed Kikyo and tricked Inuyasha into thinking she had betrayed him. That's the main reason Inuyasha wants to kill him.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Sometimes Inuyasha makes points that make sense in the situation, however due to his crass way of saying them and his Butt-Monkey status, he is often viewed as an Idiot Hero by his companions.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His character development over the course of the series. Though he remains crass, short-tempered, and violent, he is fiercely protective of his friends, especially Kagome, and able to sympathize with other half-demons who were prejudiced against, such as Shiori and Jinenji. Despite his harsh nature due to his hard life, he's a good person and helps those in need, sometimes willing and sometimes not.
• Ki Manipulation: All of his attacks depend on the power of his youki. His Bakuryuuha, turns his enemy's youki against them and consequently can only be used against demons with enough youki to match his without dwarfing it, or vice versa.
• Killing Intent: When Goshinki reads his mind after he enters his Superpowered Evil Side, he's completely unnerved to discover that Demon Inuyasha's only coherent thoughts center around rage and killing intent, which renders him unable to predict what Inuyasha will do next.
  Goshinki: What's the meaning of this? His heart is completely different now. He has none of the indecision or sadness or fear of before. I sense only anger, and he delights in the thought of killing me.
• Kubrick Stare: He sometimes does this when he's in his full youkai form.
• Leeroy Jenkins: He has a tendency to charge in recklessly without thinking of any plan.
• Lightning Bruiser: Even while holding his BFS he's fast and can take a beating while delivering much pain to his enemies.
• Loner-Turned-Friend: To Kagome and the rest of their group, thanks to Character Development.

• The Lost Lenore: Kikyo's death is the driving factor of Inuysha's thirst for revenge against Naraku.
• Love Epiphany: He seemed to have his towards Kagome in episode 19/volume 7 when the latter is badly injured in a fight they have with Sesshomaru. Inuyasha realizes how terrified he became at the thought of her dying and later surprises her with a tender hug before he forces her down the well and blocks her way of coming back so that he won't have to experience said fear a second time. When she still comes back, he complies and in the manga tells her that he wants her next to him.
• Lunacy: The new moon transforms Inuyasha into a human without powers.

M — S

• Major Injury Underreaction: He takes such wounds as getting stabbed in the arm clean through with little more than minor irritation.
• Manchild: Pre-Character Development; Kagome even reflects that her little brother is more emotionally mature than Inuyasha.
• Meaningful Name: Inuyasha: "Inu" is Japanese for "dog" and "Yasha" means "friendly spirit," "forest spirit," or "holy demon.", derivated from the Sanskrit term "yaksha". It seems to refer to a demon that is fueled by positive energy (reiki) rather than negative energy (youki).
• Momma's Boy: Though rarely referenced and long since dead, it is shown that Inuyasha was very close to his mother. One way to incur Inuyasha's wrath is to insult her. Sesshomaru learned that the hard way by losing his arm.
• Mr. Fanservice: As his clothes are often torn, it leads to this.
• Mundane Utility: He once used Tessaiga, a powerful blade that can rend mountains using concentrated ki, to whack the dust out of a futon.
• My Greatest Failure: Being unable to save Kikyo from being killed by Naraku multiple times caused him agonizing despair and made a scar in his mind.
• My Instincts Are Showing: Frequently.
  • He sometimes snarls when angered or sensing danger. The third movie even has a scene where he growls at a passing truck, hand on his Tessaiga.
  • He bounces after a stick that Kagome purposefully throws with an excited face, and seems fond of pestering the Higurashis' cat.
  • In the second movie and at another point in the manga, he shakes himself to get dry.
  • He usually tracks someone (often Kagome) by getting down on all fours and sniffing the ground.
  • He can also been seen kicking up dirt with his legs at an object when he's comically angered, such as when he and Kagome had a fight because of Koga. After Kagome's returned to her world in fury, Inuyasha is seen doing this to the well.
  • In chapter 358, Inuyasha gets intoxicated by herbs and attacks the chapter's villain by jumping at him and biting him like a dog. Doubles as a Funny moment. He then grabs Sango's sleeve with his teeth when she tries to follow the villain.
  • Chapter 392 ("Peaceful Table") has Inuyasha acting like a dog throughout the entirety of it, from scratching his head with his leg to run randomly in circles from boredom to cowering in an apologetic stance by Kagome's feet when she's mad at him.
• Mystical White Hair: He inherited the white hair of his youkai father.
• Named Weapons: Tessaiga ("Steel-Cleaving Fang")

• No-Sell: He once got a log smashed over his head without even flinching (though it did give him a Cranial Eruption). He can also withstand direct contact with acid without getting fried, and didn't even flinch when Sango stabbed him in the arm with a sword.
  • Another time, much earlier than the above, someone threw a large rock at his face. It broke up into several pebbles while he was unfazed by it.
• No Social Skills: Being ostracized and living alone for most of your life can mess up the way you approach other people. Kagome lampshades this:
  Kagome: Inuyasha! We really need to work on your people skills. No wonder everyone thinks you're rude.
• Nominal Hero: In the beginning, he was basically a villain and the only reason he counted as a hero was the necklace of subjugation keeping him under control. He had Character Development.
• The Nose Knows: Can smell on par with a dog... which doesn't always help; for example, in the episode "The Cursed Ink of the Hell-Painter," the strong smell of black ink actually caused him to pass out.
• Not Quite Flight: InuYasha makes Roof Hopping look easy. Doesn't matter if there are any buildings handy or not, treetops also work. And his leaps can cover kilometers (Word of God has stated one leap could clear three mountains). He also both rises and falls rather slowly, as if he was gliding.invoked
• Not Worth Killing: When he goes on the warpath in his Superpowered Evil Side in episode 51, he's only stopped when Sesshomaru comes along and beats him into submission... but rather than kill him, instructs Kagome and others how to reverse his transformation using the Tessaiga. Miroku is instantly suspicious, demanding to know why he held back and didn't kill Inuyasha, to which Sesshomaru replies that he will kill him eventually, but not when he's a feral animal who isn't even aware of himself.
• Oh, Crap!: Whenever the "Sit" command is said/shouted by Kagome, Inuyasha sometimes look at her in fear (even stopping at whatever he was doing) before plummeting to the ground. He later had the same reaction when Sango tried to utter it.
• One Head Taller: At 168 cm(5'6), he's this with Kagome, who is 153cm(5'0).
• Papa Wolf: Shortly after the birth of his daughter Moroha and upon realizing the danger she is in from Kirinmaru, he and Kagome made arrangements with Hachi to take her away. He was last seen defiantly drawing out Tessaiga to Sesshomaru and Kirinmaru, so that this buys him and Kagome time to allow Moroha to be carried away to safety.
• Parental Abandonment: His dad died immediately after his birth and his mother also died while he was young. The most he says about his mom's passing is that she "died a long time ago" and that it "wasn't her fault."
• Pay Evil unto Evil: His butchering of Gatenmaru's human followers in his full demon form in Episode 51. While it was horrifying to see Inuyasha slaughter them with his bare claws while laughing and acting feral, with several of the bandits begging for their lives, considering they loyally served Gatenmaru even after finding out he was a bloodsucking moth demon and personally fed innocent women to him while making Inuyasha and Miroku watch, they more than deserved what they got.
• Perpetual Frowner: He has a lot to be pissed about, and manages to be pissed at everything.
• Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: He's a foul-mouthed, short-tempered Jerk with a Heart of Gold with No Social Skills who's firmly in the Good Is Not Nice camp. Compare him to Naraku, who's Faux Affably Evil, speaking politely and acting cordially even as he's talking about how he's killed or will kill someone, or committing all manner of atrocities and ruining others' lives For the Evulz.
• Pose of Supplication: With her "sit" commands, Kagome, on several occasions, has punished and forced the prideful Inuyasha to assume this humiliating pose where he is on hands and knees with his rear protruding upward.
• Power at a Price: His full yokai form grants him the full measure of power but overwhelms him with bloodlust and will make him fight until he gets killed.
• Power Dyes Your Hair: Inverted; his monthly transformation into a powerless human changes his white hair and gold eyes to a regular black and brown, respectively (his dog ears also become human ears).
• Prefers Going Barefoot: Being half dog yokai, he really doesn't need shoes, and tends to scratch his ear with his foot like a dog. No one seems to notice or care, not even in the modern era (except for one episode of Final Act).
• Properly Paranoid: In episode 49, when they come across an amnesiac Kohaku seemingly free of Naraku's control, Sango is perfectly willing to take it at face value, while Inuyasha is adamant that it has to be one of Naraku's traps. He's ultimately proven right: Kohaku is indeed still under Naraku's control, having been sent their way as a Manchurian Agent to assassinate Kagome.
• Psychic Static: His full yokai form displays this when he fights Goshinki. In this state, Inuyasha's only coherent thoughts are anger and the joy of killing, which rendered Goshinki incapable of reading his mind and thus predicting his next move.

• Really 700 Years Old: Inuyasha's exact age and whether or not the fifty years he spent asleep count toward it is the subject of considerable debate in the fandom, due to the fact that Takahashi prefers not to provide exact physical ages for youkai and hanyou characters. It is, however, established in the series that youkai live longer and age more slowly than humans, so while official materials only state that he's effectively a teenager, it's generally accepted that this trope is in effect. Word of God is that psychologically, he's a teenager. Swords of an Honorable Ruler sets his actual age at about two hundred and fifty (including the time spent in stasis) but is not considered canon.invoked
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His irises are gold, but the sclerae turn red with blue irises when his youkai blood drives him berserk.
• Red Is Heroic: He wears a red kimono and is an Anti-Hero.
• Reflectionless Useless Eyes: Sports the "visually impaired" variety.
  • After he gets his right eye gouged out, he regenerates this eye until it becomes fully functional.
  • When blinded by the poison from Sesshomaru's claws.
• Rescue Romance: He rescues Kagome many times, both in combat and in hostage scenario. Incidentally, the first time they met he rescued her from Mistress Centipede and then Kaede rescued her from him.
• Resist the Beast: When he first assumes his Superpowered Evil Side, one of the first things he does upon killing Goshinki is order Kagome to stay back. On another occasion, he actually pushes Kagome over a ledge as he transforms so he doesn't hurt her.
  Inuyasha: Stay away!! There's no telling what I'm going to do next!
• Restraining Bolt: Tessaiga prevents his Superpowered Evil Side from taking over. And the necklace he sports was unwillingly placed on him by Kaede to stop him from attacking humans, which Kagome has the power to activate (much to his dismay).
• Roof Hopping: When in the modern world, he jumps from buildings to other buildings to move quickly.
• Sanity Slippage: With every transformation into his full yokai form, his sanity degrades, making it easier for him to transform and harder for him to change back. During his first few transformations, he could still talk and retained some form of higher reasoning, but after a while, he was reduced to a mindless Berserker.
• Say My Name:
  • He says Kagome's name a lot, the majority being screams; in total, he says her name 568 times in the whole series, out of 167 episodes. Ironic, since when they first met and teamed up, he was strictly on a Hey, You! basis with her.
  • During Kikyo's debut. her name was six or seven of Inuyasha's lines in a row. The third movie reveals his father was much the same.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: Thanks to his sense of smell, he can follow someone at great distance.
• Sealed Badass in a Can: The reason Kagome released him from his suspended animation in the first place was because he was the only person in the immediate vicinity who could kill a Shikon-fueled Mistress Centipede.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Inuyasha wasn't always a hero or anti-hero. Kikyou pinned him to a tree with a seal that lasted for 50 years until it was broken by Kagome. Once he began traveling with Kagome, his evilness was rapidly cured.
• Secret-Keeper: Of the existence of Miroku's shouki wounds and that he can no longer feel pain when poisoned.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: When Miroku assumes Kagome to be his lover, Inuyasha states that she's just a "jewel detector," much to Kagome's annoyance.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Inuyasha has never seemed to be attracted to anyone besides Kikyo and Kagome. Since Kagome is Kikyo's reincarnation, this makes it even more so.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Especially in the Japanese dub, in which his language is pretty crude.
• Smug Super: While not to the extent of Sesshomaru or Naraku, he is very prideful and boastful of his abilities, particularly when fighting weaker opponents.
• So Last Season: Just about every upgrade he gets for the Tessaiga quickly diminishes in usefulness, forcing him to find another.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: With Kikyo; half-demon and human priestess who guards a priceless treasure, it bound to end in tragedy.
• Stock Shōnen Hero: He starts out as more of an Anti-Hero who wants to take the Shikon Jewel for himself and become a full-fledged demon, but as he starts to surround himself with friends he abandons that goal and starts fighting on their behalf as well, taking on more aspects of a typical shonen protagonist in the process. Unlike most examples, he is definitely not Oblivious to Love, as he was previously in a romantic relationship with Kikyo and has lingering feelings for her for much of the series, while still picking up on a few hints from Kagome. The only thing that keeps his relationship with Kagome from progressing past Belligerent Sexual Tension is the fact that they're both Tsunderes who Cannot Spit It Out.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: Reflecting his dog-based Youkai nature.
• Superpowered Evil Side: He inherited more power from his youkai side than his half-human body can handle. Once this power is awakened by a near-death experience, if it's not kept sealed each time he draws upon it it degrades his sanity and drives him into fits of feral Unstoppable Rage that can only be controlled by Tessaiga's anti-youkai barrier. The fact that he was a threat to his friends in this state is what ultimately convinced InuYasha not to become a full youkai.
• Super-Senses: Most of his senses are stronger than a human's because of his youkai blood.
• Super-Speed: Considering that he dodges Koga's attacks, he has fast reaction time and he can cover great distances quickly on foot.
• Super-Strength: He's faster than a horse even when carrying Kagome. Being a half demon can do that for you.
• Sword Beam: The Kaze no Kizu/Wind Scar is a wave of energy that can kill "one hundred demons with one stroke". He also fires the Backlash Wave, Diamond Storm, and Miedo Zangetsuha from his sword.

T — Y

• Tame His Anger: At first he restrains himself somewhat in response to having a necklace placed on his neck that can put him in line whether he wants to be or not. Later, Character Development also contributes to this, but it really becomes crucial to him when he assumes Youkai form and unintentionally threatens the ones he cares about.
• Team Dad: He's an unorthodox example, but he tries to give the Team Mom emotional support, physically prevents the Action Girl from giving up on her brother and The Smart Guy from throwing his life away, and is an example for both the Tagalong Kid and Kagome's little brother.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Does this on a few occasions. Stand out examples are as follows
  • When fighting against the Thunder Brothers, where he kills Manten by throwing Tessaiga through his back.
  • His fight against Sango when he threw it at her so she couldn't retrieve her Hiraikotsu.
  • Throwing it at Bankotsu during their final fight in Mt Hakurei as a feint, so he can get in close and slash his shards out with his claws.
  • Too Awesometo Use: In Chapter 421, Inuyasha absorbs the power Kinka, granting him the Flaming Tessaiga, using the power to resonante with the electric power of Kinka's twin brother, Ginka, to harm Moryomaru from the inside. After the following chapter, the Flaming Tessaiga is never seen again. Most likely because it was mostly used against Moryomaru, who is implied to have discarded Ginka's body following the battle.
• Token Evil Teammate: At the beginning of the series, he only agreed to help gather the Shikon Jewel shards so he could use them himself, and would have killed Kagome had Kaede not placed the enchanted necklace on him.
• Tragic Keepsake: His fire-rat armor was left to him by his mother before she died. According to episodes 147 and 148 of the anime, he also kept a shell of lipstick that belonged to her, which he later gave to Kikyo as a gift.
• Treasure Chest Cavity: The gateway to his father's grave is hidden in a black pearl stored inside his right eye.
• Troubled, but Cute: Considering that he is a Bishōnen Jerk with a Heart of Gold complete with a Dark and Troubled Past.
• Tsundere: A male version of the Tsun variety. Very tsuntsun, but when he wants to he can be very sweet and generous.
• Unusual Ears: Dog ears, reflecting his youkai heritage; specifically, they're akita inu ears. The first time Kagome saw them, she was gripped by an urge to tweak them.
• Unstoppable Rage: His Superpowered Evil Side has this as it's main attribute. And once it activates, he can no longer distinguish between friend or foe, but can beat down anything that assails him. It scares him so much, he goes to great lengths to ensure it never happens again.
• Unskilled, but Strong: A prime example. Word of God explains that instead of using techniques and tactics, Inuyasha wins simply with raw power and instinct. Despite the Tessaiga's many abilities, Inuyasha's typical approach to battle is charging head-on with his sword raised high, screaming like a maniac, and either hammering his opponents with the blade or spamming his Sword Beam. His actual sword strikes are either overhead swings or horizontal slashes that often miss their mark, making him an easily predictable opponent and allowing his opponents to exploit holes in his attacks. If he ever gets his ass kicked, this is usually why; in fact, his recklessness is why Goshinki was able to break Tessaiga in the first place.invoked
• Villain Protagonist: Would have happily killed Kagome and the rest of the village at the beginning to get at the Shikon Jewel, although he quickly mellows into an Anti-Hero.
  Kagome: [Upon being threatened with death shortly after freeing him] Wasn't he supposed to be the hero!?
• Weapon Across the Shoulder: He often carries the Tessaiga in this manner when it is not in its sheathe.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: He'll kill demons without batting an eye, but absolutely hates to kill humans no matter how evil or despicable they are. Case in point: in Episode 51, he succumbs to his Superpowered Evil Side and personally hunts down and slaughters Gatenmaru's henchmen; despite the fact that they were knowingly serving a demon and that they had personally fed innocent villagers to their demon boss For the Evulz while making him watch, he undergoes a complete My God, What Have I Done? moment as soon as he snaps out of it.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: His solution to any problem eventually works out to some form of "I hit it with my BFS." Admittedly said BFS was apparently made for the Swiss Army's Magical WMD Division.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Early on he qualifies since he was a borderline Villain Protagonist, although he quickly mellowed into an Anti-Hero. Personality-wise, he's the opposite to the usual mysterious and aloof behavior used on this trope.
• Will They or Won't They?: He has a rocky relationship with Kagome, especially when her past life comes around.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Greater youkai blood provenience leads to greater power and greater brutality.
• The Worf Barrage: With the exception of the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga (which he never used enough to find a fixed weakness), all of his abilities eventually become obsolete with time. Instead of doing what they are supposed to, they just establish the villain's power by said villain tanking them.
• Would Hit a Girl: He fights Kagura and Tsubaki just as hard as any male foe, and tells Princess Abi that, though he doesn't like fighting women, she's so vile that he's making an exception. He also repeatedly attacked Kagome while trying to get the Shikon Jewel from her at the beginning of the series, not long after she'd freed him from Kikyo's seal.
• Would Hurt a Child: He won't hesitate to give kids like Shippo a good smack upside the head when they annoy him, but he draws the line at actually killing them, as seen when he first met Shiori.
• You Killed My Father: Downplayed; he fights and kills Ryukotsusei, the demon responsible for his father's death, but it's more to learn how to master the Tessaiga rather than to avenge his father since Inuyasha never even knew his father and had no connection to him.
• You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: Seriously, you won't. Though his transformation into a full demon is really triggered by fear, not anger. The angry part comes afterwards.

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