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    Myoga 

Myoga

Voiced by: Kenichi Ogata (JP), Paul Dobson (EN), Daniel Abundis (LA SP, original series), Ariel Cister (LA SP, Yashahime), Mino Caprio (IT), Hughes Boucher (FR)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myoga.png
Myoga the flea youkai was once a servant of Inuyasha's father, and tries to help Inuyasha and his friends by providing useful information, although he is a coward and a bit of a lecher. He claims Inuyasha's blood is delicious, and often appears by biting Inuyasha to drink some of his blood, usually resulting in getting squashed by Inuyasha. In the sequel, he accompanies Inuyasha's daughter, Moroha.


  • Animal Motifs: The flea.
  • Arranged Marriage: Kind of in the anime. He got roped into a wedding with an energetic lover, but seems none too happy about it and escapes.
  • Balloon Belly: More like Balloon Body; using his abilities to Suck Out the Poison causes him to swell up like a round blood-filled balloon.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Inuyasha's group was this close to dying had he not arrived to suck the poison out of them.
  • Blatant Lies: He protests that he would follow Lord Inuyasha and Lady Moroha to the ends of the earth, as is his duty as their loyal servant. Neither ever believes him because he is a Lovable Coward.
  • Butt-Monkey: Everyone is always making fun of his cowardice and swatting him.
  • Dirty Coward: Books it whenever there's danger.
  • Lovable Coward: Will no doubt run when the going gets especially tough, but only because he's a puny flea with barely any combat potential other than sucking a demon's blood dry over the course of several hours.
  • Mr. Exposition: Serves as this in the sequel. Justified in that he's often explaining things about the demon world to Towa, Setsuna and Moroha that they aren't familiar with due to their parents not being around.
  • Nigh-Invulnerability: He's still kicking despite being repeatedly squashed flat.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: He's the only non human character with round ears.
  • Old Retainer: He aided Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father in years past, which is why he so respectful of them in the present. By the time of Yashahime, he has served three generations of Ino-no-Tashio's family because he follows "Lady Moroha" on her bounty hunting.
  • Really 700 Years Old: It is never stated how old he really is but we're led to think he's pretty old.
  • Running Gag:
    • Usually, when Myoga shows up, he tries to nibble on Inuyasha's blood, to which Inuyasha retaliates with a firm swat to the flea, which sends him sailing to the ground like a flattened sheet of paper. A few times, it clues the gang in to his sudden, unseen arrival.
    • His Lovable Coward tendencies - specifically his habit of abandoning whichever party member he's perched on if it looks like they might be in danger - are also played as a Running Gag, to the point that in at least one instance Myoga moving from one character's shoulder to another character's is taken as a warning sign, and the first character is advised to move where it's safer.
  • Suck Out the Poison: On more than one occasion, he saves Inuyasha and co. from dying by sucking poison out of their systems.
  • Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious:
    • According to him, Inuyasha's blood which he inherited from his father.
    • Moroha's blood when she turns into Beniyasha is an even closer match to Inu-no-Tashio's blood than Inuyasha.
  • Third-Person Person: He does sometimes speak in terms of "This Myouga" in the Japanese dub.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Inuyasha's blood is the most delicious thing he could ever drink, aside from the blood of Inuyhasha's father and daughter.
  • Virtuous Character Copy: Of Happosai from Manga/Ranma One Half, and having far more redeeming qualities to balance out his fewer vices.
  • Youkai: A flea youkai. He is really small and drinks blood, but never enough to cause them harm.

    Kikyo 

Kikyo

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (JP), Willow Johnson (EN), Georgina "Gina" Sánchez (LA SP, original series), Noelia Socolovsky (LA SP, Yashahime), Francesca Guadagno (IT), Claire Beaudoin (FR)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jg_c_0.png

As a miko and the Shikon Jewel's guardian, Kikyo's responsibility was to purify the Shikon Jewel and keep it out of anyone else's hands. Falling in love with Inuyasha, however, led to her death, and she had the Jewel burned with her body in order to protect it, causing it to reappear within the body of her reincarnation, Kagome. However, this is not the last we see of her...


  • Adaptational Villainy: Kikyo is far more antagonistic in the anime, whereas in the manga she and Inuyasha reconcile much more quickly.
  • All-Loving Heroine: She was an unadultered version of this, until she died. She still retained some of the traits after being forcibly revived and becoming a Dark Magical Girl, helping the poor and disinherited whenever she could and helping Saint Hakushin to finally let go of his hate and despair.
  • Aloof Ally: Initially antagonistic, she eventually becomes an ally but always keeps her distance.
  • Aloof Big Sister: After they reach an understanding of sorts, she is something like a stern and distant big sister to Kagome. She had a similar relationship with her blood sister, Kaede, when she was still alive since she was always focused on her duty.
  • Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She is tall, beautiful, dark-haired, pale-skinned, and extremely aloof.
  • Always Someone Better: Kikyo fills this role for Kagome and Tsubaki by showing them up in spiritual abilities (and in romantic matters for the former). In a flashback, there is a scene of Tsubaki tossing her best shot at Kikyo, who nonchalantly deflects it back at her.
  • Anti Heroine: She was a traditional hero when she was alive. After her resurrection, while still a good person at heart, she's too manipulative and aloof to be a 100% traditional hero.
  • Anti Villainess: After her resurrection, she suffered from intense hate and vengeance; the fact that demonic magic raised her can't have helped her alignment either. She eventually becomes an Anti Heroine.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Receives one from Inuyasha in episode 23, it moves Kikyo to kiss and embrace Inuyasha, and then try to drag him to Hell with her so they can be together. When Kagome snaps Inuyasha out of a trance a heartbroken Kikyo declares her love as she leaves.
  • Arch-Enemy: While Naraku is everyone's enemy, he considers her his greatest adversary.
  • Artificial Human: After revival, her body is made from her ashes and clay and sustained by the dead souls of women.
  • Back from the Dead: She's revived by Urasue to help her find the Shikon shards.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: With Tsubaki in the one-hour special episode focusing on her past.
  • Bad Powers, Good People: After her resurrection, she has to periodically absorb dead souls to be able to move but is otherwise a heroic and good person.
  • Badass Preacher: Not only she's a Miko, but a powerful Lady of War.
  • Big Good: Zigzagged. Thanks to her history and career as a powerful priestess, Kikyo is regarded as a powerful ally that the heroes and village folk can count on for help againt Naraku. However, her selfishness and cold personality make it hard for the heroes, especially her rival Kagome, to fully count on her for support.
  • Big Sister Instinct: She is very protective of her little sister Kaede.
  • Bloodless Carnage: Justified; as her body is composed of clay, Kikyo has no blood to shed.
  • Broken Bird: Particularly after her resurrection, she constantly angsts over her current condition and the events that led to it.
  • Brought Down to Badass: According to the filler episodes 147 and 148 of the anime, her powers were weakened somewhat thanks to Tsubaki's curse. She's still pretty powerful.
  • Came Back Wrong: She's resentful and the only thing that keeps her going is revenge.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Dead or alive, she never hesitates to help someone in need.
  • Damaged Soul: Once the resurrected Kikyou regains part of her soul, she goes from an Empty Shell to consumed by the rage and bitterness with which she'd died. Her first act is to blast Urasue, who'd resurrected her, into oblivion, and she spends quite awhile afterwards trying to kill Inuyasha, Kagome, or both together. While she might have gained balance with her full soul, most of it reverted to Kagome. Which was why in all her later appearances Kikyou had to take the souls of recently deceased women to survive. Whether she destroyed those souls in the process, or merely borrowed them temporarily before letting them pass on, is never made clear, but aside from the soul-eating bit she eventually focuses her attention on destroying Naraku, who should have been the target of her anger in the first place.
  • Dark Action Girl: She's not super bloodthirsty when fighting, but is still rather aloof and more merciless than Action Girl Sango and Action Survivor —> Action Girl Kagome.
  • Dark Magical Girl: She has holy powers like Kagome, but is more mature, more powerful and more vicious. She gets extra points for being Kagome's previous incarnation. She spends the early seasons as an antagonist but later becomes a hero.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: She is extremely frosty when she first meets Inuyasha, and is wholly focused on her duty. Spending time with him, and falling in love with him, awakened more tender emotions. Then Naraku stepped in and the process repeated itself.
  • Don't Make Me Destroy You: In her early interactions with Inuyasha she would simply pin him to a tree with her arrows while warning him to stay away from her and the Shikon no Tama. She only restrained him and always held back from dealing the killing blow.
  • The Dreaded: Out of all of his various foes and pursuers, Kikyo is the only one whom Naraku considers any sort of serious threat.
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Black hair, pale skin and her current self is actually a body made from her ashes and clay that came to life with a resentful fragment of her soul.
  • Evil Counterpart: In the start, she looks this to Kagome due to being her prior incarnation with all the same abilities except better, and is filled with hatred and bitterness due to the nature of her death. She ends up turning into the Anti Heroine counterpart
  • Friend to All Children: One of her most consistent traits, either alive or undead, is her fondness of children.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Tried to kill Kagome out of nothing, but jealousy for the fact Inuyasha was falling in love with her.
  • Guile Heroine: She took the Jewel from Kagome and gave it to Naraku... but only to lull him into a fake sense of security rather than help him. Unfortunately for her, he killed her before she could complete her task, but in the end her plan worked as that's how Kagome killed Naraku. Kikyo just wasn't as ruthless as she thought she was and was unwilling to let Kohaku get killed by Naraku in exchange for purifying the Shikon no Tama, since she was a bit more Ax-Crazy when she came up with that plan. Also, no one planned for the Shikon no Tama trying to grant Naraku's wish by trying to pull Kagome into itself with his soul.
  • Handicapped Badass: She's one of the most powerful characters in the series, but she's hampered by her clay body. Hitting her with enough force or depriving her of her accumulated souls is enough to incapacitate her.
  • Hime Cut: The fitting hairstyle of a Miko.
  • Holy Hand Grenade: She is one of the most powerful priestess in the series. Her holy power is rivaled only by her Reincarnation Kagome unsealed, Hitomiko, Midoriko and Saint Hakushin.
  • Humans Are Bastards: Says something to this effect when revealing that Onigumo/Naraku set them against each other purely out of jealousy of Inuyasha for being with Kikyo:
    Inuyasha: He was jealous? Over something so ridiculous?
    Kikyo: Yes, ridiculous. But that's what mortals are.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Before her death, she told Inuyasha more than once that she wanted to live as a normal girl instead of as a priestess and guardian of the Shikon Jewel. It's implied that she was tired of constantly being on guard against demons trying to steal it.
  • Informed Attribute: Zig-zagged with her and Kagome looking alike. In the manga, she and Kagome do indeed look very similar, but in the anime their designs are both subtly altered to make them more distinct, and they don't look much alike at all — at a glance, Kikyo has a different hairstyle, smaller eyes, and paler skin compared to Kagome.
  • Inhuman Human: After her resurrection she is a clay doll that only looks human and she's not happy about it.
  • It's Personal: Naraku tricked her into thinking Inuyasha had betrayed her and killed her, specifically by disguising himself as Inuyasha, fatally wounding Kikyo, and then, while still in Inuyasha's guise, taunting Kikyo for being stupid enough to believe that Inuyasha loved her.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's considerably more bitter and resentful than she was when she was alive, but is still a good person.
  • Kick the Dog: Her treatment of Kagome in the early seasons falls into this. Especially when she stole Kagome's jewel shards and tried to kill her, followed up by mocking Inuyasha when he confronted Kikyo about it.
  • Lady of War: A composed and graceful archer.
  • Last Kiss: She and Inuyasha share a last kiss right before she definitely dies.
  • The Lost Lenore: Inuyasha, much to Kagome's chagrin, never quite gets over her. It causes a lot of trouble for the three of them.
  • Mage Marksman: Magic Ranger, a trait she shares with Kagome.
  • The Magic Touch: She can use her purification powers to burn opponents such as Inuyasha and Urasue with a touch, and once paralyzed Kagome by touching her forehead.
  • Magical Gesture: Kikyo uses what seems to be a mudra (first two fingers straight out, next two curled, with the thumb touching the top of the third finger) when focusing her spiritual powers.
  • Master Archer: She is an aloof and composed Lady of War revered by the titular character as a master archer and marksman. She can fire multiple arrows in quick succession and hit small, quick-moving targets from great distances. Her reincarnation Kagome got some natural talent for archery out of the deal and decides to follow in her footsteps.
  • Miko: She's a traditional Shinto priestess, and she wears the typical white kimono and red hakama. In life, she was the resident miko of her village, and even now she's still quite powerful with holy magic.
  • Naked on Revival: Is completely nude upon being resurrected by Urasue.
  • Never Found the Body: After her confrontation with Naraku in Mt. Hakurei, her body falls into poison and presumably disintegrates.
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The whole plot of the series began because she decided to show compassion to a crippled bandit. What does Kikyo get in return? Said bandit makes a Deal with the Devil to become a half-demon, then mortally wounds her while duping her into thinking that Inuyasha, her lover and the first one to ever treat her like a person, had betrayed her. It's all downhill from there.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: When Inuyasha was trying to steal the Jewel from her, she repeatedly spares Inuyasha because she sensed that Inuyasha felt all alone just as she did.
  • Not So Stoic: Generally calm and aloof, but when she believes that Inuyasha betrayed her, she is absolutely pissed and makes no effort to hide it.
  • Out-Gambitted: She tried to lull Naraku into a false sense of security by giving him the portion of the Sacred Jewel Kagome had been previously holding onto in order to destroy both him and the jewel was it was completed. This made Naraku stronger which made him able to kill her. In the end, her plan worked but she wasn't as ruthless as she thought she was in order to pull it off.
  • The Power of Hate: After Kagome regains her soul, Urasue claims that Kikyo is only kept going by her hatred of Inuyasha for his perceived betrayal.
  • Power Glows: Her arrows have the same pinkish glow as Kagome's.
  • Pure Is Not Good: At times, Kikyo is aligned against Inuyasha's group and uses her purifying priestess powers to thwart their efforts, since she's a Dark Magical Girl who wants to face Naraku all alone.
  • Psycho Ex: Inuyasha’s. Although she gets better.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has black hair, pale skin, and is considered beautiful by many other characters.
  • Revenge Before Reason: In episode 23, Kikyo plans to drag Inuyasha to Hell with her as revenge for allegedly betraying and killing her. Even after Kagome tells her that Naraku set them up and that Inuyasha still loved her despite everything, Kikyo openly states that she doesn't care because it doesn't change the fact that she died. However, after confirming Kagome's story with Kaede, Kikyo focuses her efforts on Naraku from there on out. It's still this trope though, but in a different way that ultimately doesn't work out for her in the end.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Her immediate priority after revival is to try to kill Inuyasha for his perceived betrayal.
  • Sacred Bow and Arrows: As a priestess, she can fire arrows infused with holy energy.
  • Soul Fragment: Between her and Kagome's shared soul, she only has a little fragment.
  • Statuesque Stunner: Is 169cm (5'6), very tall for a Japanese woman in the Sengoku Jidai, making her a centimeter taller than Inuyasha.
  • The Stoic: Nearly always cool, calm, and collected.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She acts cool, collected and aloof, but she's still a good-natured person at heart. Her death just made her much more bitter.
  • Taking You with Me:
    • Fatally injured, she tries to do this to Inuyasha, who she believes had betrayed her (it was actually Naraku in disguise). At the last second, she seals him with a spell that would make him sleep eternally without aging or decomposing instead of killing him.
    • After her revival, she attempts to drag Inuyasha down to hell with her. Though this is because she admits she wants to be with him. She gets better, however.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Upon her resurrection, she's considerably darker and more violent than she was when she was alive. Considering her Unwanted Revival and the tragic circumstances behind her death, however, this is understandable.
  • Tranquil Fury: Slays youkai and kicks Naraku's ass, all with a cool glare.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: The witch Urasue resurrects Kikyo as if she were one of her clay dolls expecting her to collect jewel shards for her. Kikyo decides to burn her to death using her sacred powers instead.
  • The Undead: The body she uses for most of the series is not alive; it's just a clay doll that stolen spirits temporarily animate.
  • Ungrateful Bitch: After Kagome saves her from Naraku's poisoning in episode 151, Kikyo explicitly tells Kagome that she won't thank her for doing so because Kagome never considered doing anything else. This is just Kikyo putting on a Hidden Heart of Gold-hiding facade though, as she's seen to be secretly touched by Kagome's action as soon as she leaves.
  • Unwanted Revival: Her first act upon being resurrected is to burn Urasue to death while angrily asking why she revived her.
  • Vague Age: The InuYasha Profiles book states that Kikyo was 18 when she originally died, whereas Rumiko Takahashi herself stated that she was "around 17" when it happened.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend: When she reunites with her Rival Turned Evil Tsubaki, who was working with Naraku at the time, she physically restrains her and tells her that, while she has little concern for Kagome's life, she will personally kill Tsubaki if she harms Inuyasha in any way.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: As mentioned above, she was 18 when she died, but she acts, sounds, and thinks like she is in her late twenties.
  • Woman Scorned: Right after being revived, she believes the man she loved betrayed her and tried to kill him for it. She got better.
  • World's Best Warrior: Even outside of her status as a Master Archer, Kikyo is by all accounts the most powerful priestess in the series surpassed only by Midoriko which is why she guarded the Shikon Jewel. She's noted to be one of the few people whom Naraku considers a genuine threat.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: Prior to her death she was a benevolent and compassionate miko who desired to erase the Shikon Jewel so she could become an ordinary woman (i.e. start a family). Eventually, as she calms down and loses her rage with the world, she develops back into a mix of YN and Dark Magical Girl in the later parts of the series.
  • Yandere: After her revival, she hated Inuyasha enough to kill him but also loved him enough to make it a Murder-Suicide. She gets better.
  • You Did Everything You Could: Towards both Inuyasha and Kagome when Naraku kills her for real; she softly reassures Kagome that even if she couldn't save her life, she nonetheless saved her soul, and when Inuyasha is breaking down over being too late to save her, she smiles and gently reassures him that the fact that he came for her is all that matters.
  • Your Soul Is Mine!: After her revival, and due in part to her Damaged Soul, Kikyo has to periodically absorb the souls of the dead to be able to move.

    Kohaku 

Kohaku

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (JP), Ryōhei Kimura (as an adult, JP), Alex Doduk/Danny McKinnon (EN, Inuyasha), Aidan Drummond (EN, Inuyasha: The Final Act), Alan Lee (EN, Yashahime), Eduardo Garza (LA SP, original series), Juan Balvin (LA SP, Yashahime), Fabrizio de Flaviis (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hp_1.png
Click here to see him in Yashahime 

Kohaku is Sango's younger brother. Apparently killed along with the rest of the youkai hunters, he reappears not long afterwards under the control of Naraku, who uses him in frequent efforts to manipulate Sango.


  • Anti-Villain: He starts off Brainwashed and Crazy, is a Punch-Clock Villain when he isn't thanks to his Identity Amnesia, and then shifts to Necessarily Evil before he's convinced that it won't help.
  • Back from the Dead: Naraku brought him back to life solely to screw with Sango's head.
  • Badass Normal: The jewel shard in his back does nothing but keep him alive and under Naraku's control, and he's still a skilled and efficient fighter against demons and other supernatural threats.
  • Blade on a Rope: Kohaku wields a kusarigama made from purified demon bones as a weapon. This leads to a Running Gag where Bankotsu frequently mistakes him for a ninja.
  • Break the Cutie: He was a shy, gentle and somewhat frightened 11 year-old boy who was going to take part in his first demon extermination. And then he was forced to kill a lot of people (including his father), work for the one who destroyed his life and was constantly hunted for the Shikon shard in his back. After all this, he only wishes to die taking Naraku with him.
  • Child Soldiers: Kohaku is sent on his first demon-slaying mission at age 11, and judging from his father's comments, it appears to be standard in his village.
  • Death Seeker: After regaining his memories. He first attempts suicide, and then later settles on living on until he can kill Naraku. In the end, however, he snaps out of it and decides to continue living.
  • Doomed Hometown: Kohaku's village barely lasts past a few episodes/panels
  • Dying as Yourself: When he died, he had come to his senses after being possessed, both times. Specially jarring the second time since he had just accepted to live and fight. Fortunately he got better thanks to First Law of Resurrection.
  • Extreme Doormat: When not brainwashed, he follows Naraku's orders in part because he knows nothing else. Once he regains his memories and drops the act around Kagura, she immediately catches on because Kohaku doesn't usually say anything other than what he needs to.
  • Fighting from the Inside: When Naraku takes control of him and forces him to attack Kagome, he fights back and stops himself from killing her outright; both Inuyasha and Sango take this as proof that Kohaku still has a human heart and can still be saved.
  • Identity Amnesia: After Naraku revives him, he's spends much of the series not remembering anything outside of his name, outside of brief flashes. This changes later on down the line when he is able to regather his memories and starts to pretend he's this trope.
  • Living on Borrowed Time: The only thing that keeps him "alive" is the Shikon shard on his back. When Naraku reclaims it, however, Kikyo's lingering light brings him back.
  • Lovable Coward: The reason Naraku is able to control him so easily is because Kohaku fears confronting his past so he just prefers to forget.
  • Magic Skirt: Averted VERY BRIEFLY in the second movie.
  • Martyr Without a Cause: After regaining his memories, he's extremely eager to help others and be of use, except it's often at his own expense due to his abysmal self-worth and guilt. Virtually everyone struggles to keep Kohaku safe when doing so becomes one of the single most important tasks in the series, as his own self-sacrificial nature tends to shoot these efforts in the foot.
  • Mind-Control Eyes: Whenever Naraku begins to influence him, his pupils disappear.
  • Morality Pet: To Kagura, whose full Heel–Face Turn comes about when she's ordered to essentially kill Kohaku. Also one to Kikyo, who starts wavering in her previously single-minded quest to kill Naraku when she realizes it means sacrificing the kid.
  • Multi-Melee Master: Like Sango, he has other weapons beside his trademark kusarigama and is seen using a sword at least once for close combat.
  • Necessarily Evil: Continues to follow Naraku's orders, even after regaining his memories, because it's the only way he can remain close enough to kill him.
  • Nice Guy: Default mode when he isn't being controlled.
  • No-Sell: Exposure to the Underworld will normally kill any human, as seen with Rin. On the other hand, it has no effect on Kohaku, given that he's not truly "alive".
  • Older and Wiser: In Yashahime, he's a grown man taking his nephew Hisui under his tutalege as well as other villagers to defend against demon attacks.
  • Scars are Forever: As an adult, he has a scar across his nose. It's revealed in Yashahime through flashback that he got it from defending Hisui from a beetle demon.
  • Self-Made Orphan: He killed his father while possessed.
  • Shrinking Violet: Before the possession.
  • Shirtless Scene: Two in the second movie.
  • Sinister Scythe: His kusarigama.
  • Token Good Teammate: To Naraku, at first.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Prior to his death, he was too scared to be an effective demon slayer. After being revived and controlled he loses this fear.
  • Trauma-Induced Amnesia: He was so badly traumatised by his murder of the youkai hunters under Naraku's possession that he refuses to remember it. Naraku uses this to his advantage, as he does with everything; offering to use his powers to ensure that Kohaku can't remember anything about it, no matter how forcibly reminded, is why Kohaku agreed to serve him in the first place.
  • Unwanted Revival: After he regains his memories, he makes it clear that he would've been better off staying dead with his father and comrades, as he doesn't feel like he deserves to be alive. It doesn't help that his Trauma Conga Line didn't end with his death.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: And he still is... when not controlled.
  • Youthful Freckles: He, being a young character, has these but they are best seen in closeups.

    Kaede 

Kaede

Voiced by: Hisako Kyoda and Mika Ito [child] (JP), Pam Hyatt/Linda Harlow (EN), Ángela Villanueva, Lupita Leal and Diana Nolan [child] (LA SP, original series), Mariana Correa (LA SP, Yashahime), Cristina Grado (IT), Frederique Cantrel (FR)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaede_1.png

Kaede is Kikyo's younger sister and assistant. Following her loss of an eye and Kikyo's death, she became a miko herself, and is an old woman when Kagome arrives in the past and unseals Inuyasha. She recognizes Kagome as Kikyo's reincarnation, and assists Kagome and Inuyasha by providing advice and information.


  • Big Sister Worship: She loved Kikyo dearly and thought the world of her.
  • Cool Old Lady: She's always ready to help Kagome and Inuyasha on their quest. This is especially notable in the case of Inuyasha. At the start of the story, she watched Inuyasha attack her village, presumably kill her older sister during the ensuing battle, and its implied he is responsible for the loss of her eye. Despite all this, Kaede quickly gains trust in him even before it becomes apparent that Inuyasha isn't fully responsible for Kikyo's death.
  • Eyepatch of Power: A very spiffy metal one.
  • Eye Scream: Lost her right eye as a little girl, some time before Kikyo's death. In the anime the culprit is Kikyo's old rival, the Evil Miko Tsubaki. In the manga, it's implied Inuyasha's attack was responsible.
  • Force Field: Can make minor barriers and joins with Miroku to make one to protect Inuyasha as he heals from his wound fighting Sesshomaru.
  • Magical Gesture: Does the full blown Asian Rune Chant in The Movie.
  • The Mentor: At the end of the series, she becomes this to Rin and Kagome. She teaches the former about the ways of human life and the latter on how to be a true priestess.
  • Miko: Like her older sister Kikyo.
  • Mission Control: Her village often becomes the headquarters of Kagome and Inuyasha's team.
  • Never Mess with Granny: Any old woman capable of more or less keeping up with all of this qualifies. Not many people can stand up to demons, and few will go headlong into fights against them. Also, while not as handy as her sister in a fight (in her defense, Kikyo was a noted prodigy), Kaede is still a gifted archer and mage, able to hold her own in a fight against lesser demons.
  • No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: Inuyasha and Kikyo both knew her prior to the former's sealing and the latter's death, when she was a child. Upon reuniting with her fifty years later, neither initially recognize her.
  • Parental Substitute: She can be seen as a grandmother figure towards Shippo. This is more evident during Kagome's Dream World where she envisions Kaede and Shippo as a grandmother and grandson living in the present era. At the end of the series, she also becomes this to Rin.
  • Ye Olde Butchered English: In the dub (for some reason). This gets dropped later on in the series.

    Totosai 

Totosai

Voiced by: Joji Yanami (JP, original series), Naoki Tatsuta (JP, Yashahime), Richard Newman (EN), Paco Mauri (LA SP, original series), Martin Gopar (LA SP, Yashahime), Giancarlo Padoan (IT), Yann Guillemot (FR)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TotosaiInuyasha_8936.jpg
Totosai is a youkai blacksmith, the one responsible of forging Tessaiga and Tenseiga from the fang of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father.


  • Big Eater: In the anime, he swallows a whole roast piglet in one bite.
  • Breath Weapon: While he normally breathes fire onto weapons in order to forge them, he also uses this ability offensively, as seen in the third movie.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's the best swordsmith of the land, and can instantly understand the qualities of a weapon by a mere look. He also happens to act like a senile goof for most of the time.
  • Butt-Monkey: Practically every episode he's in features him getting beat up by Inuyasha due to the old man frustrating him.
  • Cool Old Guy: He's hundreds of years old, has the appearance of a senile old man, and is regarded as one of the most powerful swordsmiths of the Feudal Era.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: The whole senility thing? He's playing dumb.
  • Overly-Long Tongue: The first time is seen when he licks a piece of leather to block and sharpen Tessaiga. Played for comedy later when he heals Inuyasha... by licking his face over with a giant tongue.
  • Playing with Fire: Not only he can spit fire, but his hammer can create lava pits when used.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Like Myoga, he's very old, however, he doesn't look any more aged than a normal human might.
  • Secret-Keeper: He knew the truth about Tenseiga and Bakusaiga all along.
  • Trickster Mentor: For both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

    Kouga 

Kouga

Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno (JP), Scott McNeil (EN), Irwin Daayán (LA SP), Corrado Conforti (IT), David Maisse (FR)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gy.png

Kouga is the leader of a tribe of wolf youkai. He has collected several Shikon Jewel shards, which enable him to run incredibly fast and to execute powerful kicks. He kidnaps Kagome due to her ability to sense Jewel shards, and soon develops a crush on her, much to Inuyasha's annoyance.


  • Ascended Extra: Appears in a larger proportion of the anime adaptation than he originally did in the manga.
  • Back for the Finale: In the anime, he appears briefly during the epilogue.
  • Brought Down to Normal: In the Final Act, he loses the Shikon Jewel shards and is depowered as a result.
  • Character Development: During the early seasons, Kouga was a selfish, ruthless jerk of a wolf demon who barely cared about those around him. By the Final Act, while he still has his rough side, he's become more considerate towards his allies and shows thoughtful statements based on the mood of the situation. He also tones down his romantic interest towards Kagome when he realizes that she'll never be into him but still shows her respect.
  • Characterization Marches On: He's introduced as another ruthless villain as he sics his wolves on an entire human village and kills another wolf youkai without batting his eye. This is never mentioned again afterwards as Kouga goes on to be an Anti-Hero that flirts with Kagome and bickers with Inuyasha for comic relief and occasionally helps the group in their battles.
  • Easily Forgiven: The heroes aside from Inuyasha are quick to forgive that in his debut episodes he set his wolves to feast on a human village (and had done so in the past), kidnapped Kagome, declared he intended to make her his mate and would use her to get more jewel shards, and warned if Inuyasha interfered he'd kill him and feed him to his wolves.
  • Fantastic Racism: Constantly mocks and insults Inuyasha either because he's a half-demon or because his demon lineage is that of a dog, while Kouga is a wolf demon.
  • Foil: To Inuyasha, of course. Though he's a bit more thoughtful and clear about his emotions, he and the half-demon he frequently mocks have similarities. They're both fiercely protective over Kagome, hot-blooded canine demons who value their comrades, and pretty bullheaded when certain nerves are touched.
  • Hidden Depths: He's actually quite clever, and he values loyalty above all else.
  • Hopeless Suitor: To Kagome.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be arrogant and starts off as an inconsiderate dick who destroyed an entire village, but at least he looks out for his people and is PISSED THE HELL OFF that Naraku had Kagura massacre his men and frame Inuyasha for it. He also wll do anything if it makes Kagome happy, even accepting the fact that she loves Inuyasha. He even allows Moroha to live with his tribe after her parents sent her away for her safety.
  • It's Personal: Naraku killed his pack and tricked him into thinking Inuyasha had done it.
  • Lightning Bruiser: So fast he makes whirlwinds by running.
  • Lima Syndrome: He kidnaps Kagome for her ability to see the Shikon jewel shards, but ends up falling in love with her because of her kindness, loyalty, and courage.
  • Long Bus Trip: After he loses his shikon fragments and says goodbye to the group, he's never seen again.
  • Mars Needs Women: Like most demon characters, he doesn't hold humans in high regard, treating them as nothing but a food source early in the series. However, this doesn't stop him from developing a crush on Kagome.
  • Moral Myopia: His Establishing Character Moment is slaughtering an entire village because his pet wolves were hungry, but enters an Unstoppable Rage when his pack is killed by Inuyasha's group, even though the group only killed the pack out of self-defense. Despite this Kouga is considered to be sympathetic.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Insists that he alone will be able/allowed to defeat Naraku.
  • Ornamental Weapon: His sword. He only uses it once to free himself from Moryomaru's assimilation abilities, and mentions that he took it from a human.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He acts cold and aggressive towards anyone who gets on his bad side, even his own wolf cronies. His sugar side is mainly for Kagome.
  • Super-Speed: Helped by the Shikon shards in his legs.
  • Super-Strength: Helped by the Shikon shard in his arms.
  • Throwaway Country: A rare example of a "heroic" character actually being a cause of this trope. Kouga slaughtered the populace of two villages, on screen, and not a word is ever said about them — or the others he may well have destroyed before he met Kagome.
  • To Serve Man: Formerly, he set his pack on a human village and this is why Rin died the first time. Although he's never seen doing it himself.
  • Wolverine Claws: His Ancestral Weapon the Goraishi. Ironic given his voice actor.
  • Would Hit a Girl: "Hey Kagura! Wanna know how the Wolf Youkais deal with evil bitches?" *punch*

    Ginta and Hakkaku 

Ginta and Hakkaku

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Ginta) and Daisuke Kishio (Hakkaku) (JP), Paul Dobson (Ginta) and Alistair Abell (Hakkaku) (EN), Carlos Hugo Hidalgo (Ginta) and Gabriel Ortiz (Hakkaku) (LA SP), Alessandro Vanni (Ginta) and Gianluca Musiu (Hakkaku) (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gintahakkakuinuyasha_6384.jpg

Two demon wolves of the Yoro tribe, always following Kouga around. They mostly serve as his sidekicks.


  • Anime Hair: Both.
  • Butt-Monkey: Whenever they appear, they'll usually be tired and beg Kouga to slow down a bit, as they can't catch up with him.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Parodied in a filler episode: they try to take on Sesshomaru and start yelling random names and threats as they pose. Good thing Sesshomaru was in a good mood.
  • Morality Pet: During the trial in the Yoro Burial Grounds, Kouga decides to save them from the MacGuffin Guardian instead of taking the Goraishi. This actually allows him to pass the test and obtain the weapon.
  • Oh, Crap!: They often freak out over the enemies they met.
  • Secret-Keeper: They're one of the few people who knows about Inuyasha's weakness period.
  • Youkai: They are Japanese wolf monsters/demons that appear mostly human in stature and are explicitly stated to be youkai.

    Hachiemon 

Hachiemon

Voiced by: Toshihiko Nakajima (JP, original series), Chafurin (JP, Yashahime), Terry Klassen (EN), Rubén Leon and Javier Rivero (LA SP)

A tanuki who helps Miroku on occasion, he also occasionally serves as the group's transportation. In Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, Kagome has him take a young Moroha away to safety. In addition, he also has Miroku send the young Takechiyo to Jyubei the Corpse Dealer.

Sesshomaru and his Entourage

    Sesshomaru 

    Rin 

Rin

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (JP), Brenna O'Brien (EN), Mariana Ortiz (LA SP, original series), Letizia Ciampa (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rin_2_4.png
Click here to see her in Yashahime 

Rin is a young orphan child who encounters Sesshomaru while he is recovering from being beaten by Inuyasha. In spite of Sesshomaru's coldness, she shows no fear of him and instead develops a case of hero worship. For his own reasons, Sesshomaru allows her to accompany him and Jaken thereafter.


  • Adaptational Hairstyle Change: The manga version of Yashahime gives her longer hair that has a tie near its end, similar to Sango when she isn't combat ready.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: The people in her village treated her like crap on the basis of her muteness and orphan status.
  • Back from the Dead: Twice. Sesshomaru used Tenseiga to bring Rin back from death after she was killed by wolves. Much later, Rin dies again from overexposure to the atmosphere of the Underworld. Sesshomaru's mother revives her using the Meido Stone to bring Rin's soul back to her body.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: Rin's attatchment to Sesshomaru is implied to stem from this. After Rin had taken a beating from other villagers, he asked where she got those bruises. This causes her to smile and laugh at what was likely the first time anyone ever expressed any care for her since losing her family. Then, he brings her back to life, and Rin devotes herself to him from then on.
  • Bird Run: Occasionally, including in at least one of the opening sequences.
  • Boomerang Bigot: Not too drastically, but Rin openly fears and distrusts other humans far more than she does demons; specifically bandits, as they are responsible for the deaths of her whole family. This eventually becomes subverted after the deal with Naraku is done with, since she is Happily Adopted by Kaede to live in her village, though it probably helps that said village is known to be welcoming to benevolent demons like Shippo, Kirara, and Inuyasha who have made it their home.
  • Cheerful Child: After she starts traveling with Sesshomaru, it's rare for the little Rin to not be laughing and smiling.
  • Damsel in Distress: She's frequently the target of enemies seeking to exploit Sesshomaru's fondness for her. In the sequel, Rin is in suspended animation inside the Tree of Ages by Jaken to prevent Zero's scales curse from killing her.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: As a small child, her home was invaded by bandits and she was Forced to Watch them brutally murder her parents and brothers. This trauma rendered her mute and she formed the firm belief that humans were far scarier than demons. As the Sole Survivor of her family massacre and now without relatives, she was forced to survive as a street orphan. To boot, her neighbors treated her cruelly because of her "strangeness" as a mute and tendency to steal food to get by.
  • Deep Sleep: Is put into this within the Tree of Ages due to Zero's curse on her..
  • Dumb Struck: The death of her family at the hands of bandits traumatized her so badly she became mute until she met Sesshomaru.
  • Florence Nightingale Effect: A platonic love example with Sesshomaru. She first finds him after he's injured in his latest fight against Inuyasha. Rin approaches him, wanting to give him food, but he rebuffs her attempt to help him. Eventually, Rin does grow on Sesshomaru enough for him to revive her after she's killed by wolves.
  • Happily Adopted: By the end of the series, she's been taken in by Kaede, and is happily living and learning under her.
  • I Choose to Stay: Discussed in the Final Act epilogue. Kaede convinces Sesshomaru to allow Rin to live in her village so she can relearn the ways of human life. Once she becomes of age, Rin will then decide for herself if she wishes to live in a human village again or to resume her travels with Sesshomaru. Ultimately, the end of Yashahime shows that Rin's choice was to continue her travels with him.
  • Interspecies Romance: With Sesshomaru, a dog demon to whom she would eventually marry and have half-demon daughters with.
  • I Owe You My Life: Sesshomaru brought her back to life after she was killed by wolves. Since she has nowhere else to go, she follows him around and does whatever he asks of her.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Often makes comments mocking Jaken's appearance and lack of strength, but mostly his height.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: She is the mother of Towa and Setsuna.
  • Mama Bear: After giving birth and praying for the safety of Towa and Setsuna, just mere hours after their separation, Zero shows up and links her life to Rin’s, meaning if she dies, so does Rin. Then reveals the only way to undo the damage without their deaths is to reveal her daughters locations. She knows that Zero wants to eliminate any chance of the prophecy of Kirinmaru’s demise coming into fruition by killing her children, but Rin doesn’t hesitate to grab the Bakusaiga and plead with Sesshomaru to end her life. But her husband Takes a Third Option by placing her in the Tree of Ages until he can find a way to save her and their daughters.
  • Mayfly–December Romance: Once she grew up, she began to have this relationship with Sesshomaru. In the manga adaption of "Yashahime", it's revealed that the reason why they had children was so that they could act as tokens of rembererance to her life, even long after she has passed away.
  • Missing Mom: Her daughters were separated from her at a young age and can't remember her.
  • Morality Pet: Reviving Rin touches off a period in which Sesshomaru is portrayed increasingly sympathetically. That he constantly goes out of his way to keep Rin safe is what shows he isn't a ruthless demon anymore.
  • Not Afraid to Die: Having died twice, she doesn't hesitate to place her husband's Bakusaiga on her shoulder to show that she loves their daughters and refuses to give up their location. This surprises Sesshomaru, who had been trying to keep her alive on their journeys and fears losing her.
  • Official Couple: In Yashahime, which takes place 20 years later, she becomes this with Sesshomaru.
  • Plucky Girl: Rin may not be much use in a fight since she's still a very young girl, but she's brave as hell. The first time she meets Sesshomauru (in the manga) she doesn't run screaming when he snarls at her but actually dumps water on his head. When Jaken's sick, she climbs a mountain filled with youkai to find a cure for him without a second thought. In the third film, when Takemaru is threatening Kagome, Rin stands in front of her to shield her from any blows and doesn't even flinch when he brings his sword down to kill her; thankfully Sesshomaru gets there in time to deflect his strike.
  • The Pollyanna: Despite having witnessed her family being murdered and being beaten to a pulp for stealing food, she manages to smile when Sesshomaru asks what happened to her.
  • Prefers Going Barefoot: She travels barefoot anywhere, including in the snow without much of a problem. Notable for being the only example that's not at least half-demon. She eventually grows out of this as shown in Yashahime.
  • Protectorate: To Sesshomaru. Simply put, if he catches you trying to harm Rin, it will not end well for you.
  • Rags to Riches: Downplayed, but she goes from wearing ratty old clothing to wearing expensive and colorful fabrics thanks to Sesshomaru.
  • Rags to Royalty: In a way, thanks to marrying Sesshomaru. She goes from being an outcasted orphan peasant whom others treat like garbage to someone that even Kirinmaru, who is an equal to the Great Dog Demon in prestige, if not in power, and who has no respect for humans at all, calls "your ladyship".
  • Satellite Character: She's largely defined by her interactions with Sesshomaru and later on, in Yashahime, by her interactions with him and their daughters.
  • Shipper on Deck: She becomes very excited when she thinks that Kagura might be in love with Sesshomaru, tries to convince Jaken that she's right, and says that they should trust Kagura more after she comes to this conclusion - seemingly trying to get them closer together.
  • Supernaturally Young Parent: Rin's time in the Tree of Ages has halted her aging. As a result, she doesn't appear much older than her daughters who are now teenagers, even appearing to be the closer to or even the same age as them. This is downplayed, however, since neither Miroku or Sango, who didn't experience any sort of supernatural imprisonment, have visibly aged either.
  • Third-Person Person: In the Japanese version, due to being a child, Rin often speaks in the third person.She continues to speak like this after Sesshomaru takes the newborn twins and leaves.
  • Token Human: She's the only human of Sesshomaru's group until Kohaku starts traveling with them.
  • Took a Level in Cheerfulness: When she's introduced, she's meek and depressed because of the trauma of her family's death. She becomes much more playful once she starts traveling with Sesshomaru and finds stability in life again. This loyalty earns her his love, marriage, and their twin daughters. The manga adaption ofYashahime even has her go as far as to say that she had been treated like garbage all her life up until then and that meeting Sesshomaru was the best thing that ever happened to her..
  • Undying Loyalty: After Sesshomaru resurrected her, she follows him wherever he goes and obeys him without question.
  • Walking Spoiler: Not so much in Inuyasha outside her second death and recovery, but in Yashahime she is this because she is Sesshomaru's wife and gave birth to Setsuna and Towa.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: At least in the anime, she's shown to be afraid of wolves. Justified in that some wolves literally killed her.

    Jaken 

Jaken

Voiced by:Yuichi Nagashima (JP), Don Brown (EN, Inuyasha), Andrew Russell (EN, Yashahime), Carlos Íñigo (LA SP, Inuyasha), Alfredo Gabriel Basurto (LA SP, The Final Act), Gustavo Dardés (LA SP, Yashahime), Fabrizio Mazzotta (IT), Christophe Giordano (FR)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaken.png

This goblin-like youkai is Sesshomaru's longsuffering and loyal retainer. He is not a very powerful fighter, but can wield the Staff of Two Heads in order to assist Sesshomaru when needed.


  • Butt-Monkey: Poor little guy just can't catch a break. See Below.
  • The Chew Toy: Jaken's role in the series boils down quite effectively to "show up, highlight how annoying he is by being a jerk and/or kissing Sesshomaru's ass, then get abused by Sesshomaru for being such a lickspittle". Even Kagome, prior to awakening her powers, easily dumps him in a river and whacks him with his own staff for badmouthing Inuyasha.
  • Diagonal Cut: Kaijinbo kills him this way. He recovers, thanks to Tenseiga.
  • Evil Counterpart:
    • To Myoga (for a given value of "evil" anyway), acting as Sesshomaru's retainer the same way Myoga (ostensibly) does for Inuyasha. He even reflects the initial power disparity between the brothers- he's not a strong demon by any measure, but he can at least use the Staff of Heads to unleash huge bursts of fire, making him moderately dangerous, while Myoga is completely useless in a combat scenario except for giving the odd bit of advice (from a safe distance).
    • To Shippo. They're both short demons who act as the Plucky Comic Relief of their respective groups, they both use fire magic, and are often subject to slapstick by the dog demons that they follow. A big difference between the two is that Shippo has no restraint with insulting or badmouthing Inuyasha while Jaken sings nothing but praises and worship towards Sesshomaru.
  • Fantastic Racism: Jaken hates humans and half-demons, and routinely insults and mocks them. Then again, this might be a way of singing the praises of the similarly disdainful Sesshomaru, given his jeers often revolve around how worthless such beings are compared to him. His disdain for Rin comes from envy that a human girl they recently met gets far better treatment than he does.
  • He Will Not Cry, so I Cry for Him: When Rin kicks it again, Jaken cries on Sesshomaru's behalf explaining that Sesshomaru would never do something so undignified himself. Jaken also sneezes for Sesshomaru when others are gossiping about him, since it would be too undignified for Sesshomaru to sneeze.
  • I Owe You My Life: In the anime, this is his reason for following Sesshomaru so loyally.
  • Iron Butt Monkey: He receives a lot of physical abuse, mostly by Sesshomaru, but is still kicking.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Toward Rin. He's initially quite sour about a human joining them (more so with Sesshomaru showing far more compassion toward her despite his longer time of servitude), but is quite protective of her (though partly out of fear of Sesshomaru should anything happen to her).
  • Oh, Crap!: Whenever Rin is endangered and he's unable to protect her, he panics thinking Sesshomaru will kill him.
  • Parental Substitute: To Rin, albeit a begrudging example. While Rin travels with him and Sesshomaru, he's the one who winds up playing with her, keeping watch over her, and explaining to her what's going on while Sesshomaru carries on with his own business.
  • Playing with Fire: His only attack is to fire gouts of flame from the ever-present Staff of Two Heads.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the manga; in the anime his eyes are yellow.
  • Sycophantic Servant: Is Sesshomaru's yes-man to the nth degree.
  • Third-Person Person: He has been known to say "This Jaken" in the Japanese dub.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Downplayed. It's kind of cheating since Yashahime focuses on Sesshomaru's daughters, but we do get to see Jaken's better sides more because of this. Doesn't really care too much for Moroha though even if he doesn't outright act like a jerk around her much like her father.
  • Undying Loyalty: Despite being a real kiss-up, he's very loyal to his master despite his cowardice and being abused constantly.
  • Youkai: Resembles a kappa, being a green-skinned goblin with a beak.

    Ah-Un 

Ah-Un

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twin_tailed.png

A two-headed dragon youkai and Sesshomaru's beast of burden, he had no name until Rin came along. Though typically used as a means of transportation, he is capable of fighting when the situation calls for it.


Higurashi Household

    Mrs. Higurashi 

Mrs. Higurashi

Voiced by: Asako Dodo (JP), Cathy Weseluck (EN), Rebeca Manríquez (LA SP, Inuyasha), Yolanda Vidal (LA SP, The Final Act), Luciana Falcón (LA SP, Yashahime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrs_higurashi.png

The mother of Kagome and Sōta, Mrs. Higurashi is extremely supportive of her daughter and takes much of the bizarre nature of her trips to the Feudal era in stride.


  • Everyone Can See It: She could see early on that her daughter was in love with Inuyasha.
  • Good Parents: She cares for Kagome very much and supports her as much as possible, probably thinking it's her destiny and since she cannot stop her, she'd better help her. In the final episode, she even encourages Kagome to follow her heart and return to the feudal era, even though she knows she will probably never see her daughter again.
  • Open-Minded Parent: "What's that Kagome? You say our well is a time portal and demons exist? Oh that's interesting. And you want to skip school to go through this portal to a place where demons try to kill you on a regular basis? Well sure, go right ahead. Don't worry about school, I'll provide a cover story. I see also that you're madly in love with a Half-Human Hybrid. He's welcome here anytime. I'll even cook for him."
  • Parental Substitute: She acts like this towards Inuyasha, whose mother is long dead.
  • Parents Know Their Children: She was able to figure out that Moroha is her granddaughter after seeing her for the first time.
  • Secret-Keeper: She knows of Kagome's journeys in the feudal era and helps cover for her.
  • Shared Family Quirks: Like Kagome, she finds Inuyasha's ears cute and tries to play with them when she first meets him, much to his annoyance.
  • Shipper on Deck: Supports and encourages her daughter's relationship with Inuyasha.
  • Silver Fox: She's still fairly attractive for a grandmother of at least 50 years or older come Yashahime.
  • Unfazed Everyman: She takes everything surrounding Inuyasha, Kagome, and her family's well connecting to the Feudal era in stride.
  • Unnamed Parent: She's only ever referred to as "Mom," "Mama," "Mrs. Higurashi," or "Kagome's mom."

    Sota Higurashi 

Sota Higurashi

Voiced by: Akiko Nakagawa (JP), Saffron Henderson/Rebecca Shoichet (EN), Robbie Daymond (EN, Yashahime), Claudio Velázquez (LA SP, Inuyasha), Eduardo Sánchez (LA SP, The Final Act)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sotainuyasha_7694.jpg
Click here to see him in Yashahime 

Kagome's younger brother.

In the sequel, he becomes Towa's adoptive father and Moroha's maternal uncle.


  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Kagome regards him as this a lot of the time.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Episode 90 of the anime centers largely around him as he tries to win the affections of his crush with Inuyasha and Kagome's help.
  • Everyone Can See It: Even he could see that his sister was in love with Inuyasha. He asked Inuyasha for advice about love because he thought that Inuyasha and Kagome were a couple. He was surprised to find out they hadn't admitted it.
  • Genre Savvy: Thanks to his past experience with Inuyasha and Kagome, he very quickly figures out that Towa comes from the Feudal Era pretty much as soon as they meet.
  • Good Parents: He's a very kind and caring father to his two daughters in the sequel.
  • Hero-Worshipper: He idolizes Inuyasha.
  • Like Parent, Like Spouse: His wife is a kind and gentle woman who openly welcomes Half Human Hybrids into their home and treats them as family, just like his mother.
  • Muggle Foster Parents: He raises Sesshomaru's half-demon daughter Towa when she ends up stuck in the modern era.
  • Older and Wiser: In the original series, he was Kagome's kid brother. When Towa meets him in the Reiwa Era, he's a full-grown man with a family of his own.
  • Open-Minded Parent: Much like his mother, he doesn't protest when his adopted daughter is going to go back in time to a Feudal Era where demons are everywhere. Though considering that Towa originally came from the Feudal Era, he probably has less qualms about Towa going back to her original home.
  • Parental Substitute: He raises Sesshomaru's time-displaced daughter Towa, who never met her biological father.
  • Puppy Love: In the anime, he has a crush on Hitomi, one of his elementary school classmates.
  • Secret-Keeper: He, like his mother and grandfather, knows of Kagome's trips to the feudal era and helps cover for her. He also has Towa to promise to keep her heritage a secret from others.
  • Wanted a Gender-Conforming Child: Downplayed. His disapproval of Towa dressing like a boy is more about wanting her to stop getting into fights. He still clearly accepts her for what she is.

    Grandpa Higurashi 

Grandpa Higurashi

Voiced by: Ginzo Matsuo (Ep.1-38), Katsumi Suzuki (Ep.47 onwards) (JP), French Tickner (EN, Inuyasha), William Frederick Knight (EN, Yashahime), César Arias (LA SP, original series), Lucas Medina (LA SP, Yashahime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grandpa_higurashi.png

Kagome's paternal grandfather.


  • Compulsive Liar: He handles the fabricated stories for why Kagome can't come to school, but his lies tend to go over-the-top.
  • Gift-Giving Gaffe: Grandpa has a habit of giving his grandchildren "demon" based artifacts that are hardly ever useful. The only one that truly sees its value is his greatgrandchild Moroha.
  • Like a Son to Me: He seems to have a fondness for Sota since he reminds him of his fallen son.

Inhabitants of the Feudal Era

    Mushin 

Mushin

Voiced by: Yuzuru Fujimoto (JP), Alec Willows (EN), Armando Réndiz (LA SP), Giancarlo Padoan (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mushininuyasha_7793.jpg

An old, fat Buddhist monk who greatly loves saké. He's Miroku's foster father and master, as well as the only person who can take care of his Wind Tunnel.


  • The Alcoholic: He drinks a lot, a bit too much according to Miroku.
  • Big Fun: He's fat, goofy, and fun loving.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He loves liquors a little too much, but is the only person who can take care of Miroku's Wind Tunnel and even repair it when it's chipped by something. He's also shown that he can use spiritual powers.
  • Demonic Possession: He's the victim of one due to Naraku's Kokochu demon.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: A possible explanation.
  • Holy Hand Grenade: He wields a giant rosary, which he can use in conjunction with the "Houriki" (Law's Power) to submit demons.
  • Ironic Name: "Mushin" refers to the state of empty-mindedness and spiritual purity associated with mastery of Zen. Miroku points out the irony when he claims that Mushin taught him every vice he knows (Mushin's name is spelled with the character for "Dream" and "Mind" rather than "Empty" and "Mind").
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his drunk and perverted personality, he does care about Miroku.

    Jinenji 

Jinenji

Voiced by: Hisao Egawa (JP), Michael Dobson (EN), Jorge Ornelas (LA SP), Saverio Indrio (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JinenjiInuyasha_2632.jpg

A huge half-human, half-demon character who owns a field of healing herbs along with his old, human mother. Despite his large, intimidating appearance he's a gentle and shy creature.


  • All of the Other Reindeer: He was frequently bullied by the other villagers, and instantly accused of attacking humans simply for being half-demon.
  • Back for the Finale: He appears in the final episode where he helps with Kagome's priestess training.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Generally passive and kind, but as shown in his appearance, he's not one to be trifled with when push comes to shove. When provoked into a fight, he can kill demons with his bare hands. In the anime he beheads a giant insect demon by hugging it, and then shatters its head with one punch.
  • Covered with Scars: Due to being attacked and bullied by the villagers.
  • Cowardly Lion: Normally shy and cowardly, he turns into a demon-smashing machine when Kagome is threatened.
  • Establishing Character Moment: The first time we see him, he starts bawling his eyes out and begging his mother to save him from Inuyasha and the villagers.
  • Gentle Giant: Despite his stature and great strength, Jinenji is far too kind and timid to even try to defend himself against the abuse of the villagers.
  • The Grotesque: The villagers don't like him in part because he is so hideous.
  • Guilty Until Someone Else Is Guilty: When a demon centipede begins killing villagers to feed it's clutch of eggs, the village immediately accuses Jinenji and his mother of being responsible simply because Jinenji is half-demon. It takes Inuyasha exposing the centipede and Jinenji killing it for them to own up to their mistake.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: His father's brief appearance is that of a radiant Bishōnen, leaving it unclear what kind of youkai he was.
  • Meaningful Name: His name means "Earth" which can refer to him being a herb farmer.
  • Momma's Boy: Loves his momma dearly and often feels shame for bringing her so much trouble with his existence.
  • The Medic: He is a very skilled and knowledgeable healer.
  • Nice Guy: He's a BIG sweetie.
  • Odd Friendship: With Kagome, who's the first person (outside of his mother) to not be afraid of him.
  • Shrinking Violet: A rare Gentle Giant male version; he's quite timid.
  • Small Parent, Huge Child: He positively towers over his human mother. He's also extremely strong and very homely, factors that cause the villagers he lives near to blame him for several deaths in the area. Fortunately he's a Gentle Giant and quite good with medicinal herbs, a fact that helps get them to warm up to him when the truth comes out.
  • Super-Strength: Capable of tearing giant demons to pieces with his bare hands. Luckily he's also very peaceful.
  • Tempting Fate: Subverted; when Kagome is helping him tend to the herbs, he thinks about how it's the first time he talked to a girl without said girl screaming, only to be startled by Kagome screaming bloody murder a split-second later. As it turns out, she was freaking out over a caterpillar. This actually made it even more heartwarming since, as Jinenji's mother muses, Kagome is afraid of caterpillars and worms but not of him.
  • Top-Heavy Guy: His upper body is much larger than his lower one.
  • Turn the Other Cheek: Despite spending his entire life being bullied and hated by his fellow villagers-to the point that they had just been trying to burn his and his mother's house down with them inside it, he immediately sets to work helping tend to the injured after a demon attacks the village.
  • The Unreveal: In the anime, Rin meets Jinenji in his "full human" period, but we don't get to see how he looks like, as he's covered by a giant blanket. Only his mother knows what his human form looks like, and he prefers to hide at home on that day.

    Shiori 

Shiori

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (JP), Nicole Bouma (EN, Inuyasha), Janice Kawaye (EN, Yashahime), Alondra Hidalgo (LA SP, original series), Mariana Martí (LA SP, Yashahime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zz_01.png

A young female half-bat demon who was kidnapped by her paternal grandfather, Taigokumaru, and forced to power their tribe's Deflector Shield. It's through her that Inuyasha gains the Red Tessaiga.


  • All of the Other Reindeer: All the kids in the village bullied her simply because she was half-demon.
  • Ambiguously Brown: She stands out as one of the few characters in the series to have dark skin.
  • Barrier Maiden: Literally; she powers the bat demon tribe's Blood Coral Crystal, which generates Deflector Shields.
    • Yashahime reveals that she retained her powers, using them to make and protect a Hidden Elf Village for half-demons. When without the Coral, her abilities are still powerful enough that it takes her being Brought Down to Normal by a solar eclipse for a group of demons to remotely pose a chance of getting inside.
  • Brought Down to Normal: Like all half-demons, she periodically loses her powers and becomes fully human. For her, this happens during a solar eclipse.
  • Cute Monster Girl: Despite her bat demon heritage, she's physically completely human.
  • Dhampyr: Half-bat demon, anyway, though the bat demons shown do drink blood.
  • Disappeared Dad: Her father was murdered by her paternal grandfather.
  • Half-Breed Discrimination: She and her human mother Shizu are treated badly by the humans of their village because Shiori's father was a bat demon. Taigokumaru isn't much kinder either.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: The child of a bat demon and a human.
  • Hidden Elf Village: In Yashahime she's used her barrier powers to make a village where orphaned half-demon children can grow up safely.
  • Meaningful Name: Her name means "Purple Woven," befitting her purple eyes.
  • Missing Mom: Her mother, Shizu, sadly died off-screen before the events of Yashahime.
  • Mystical White Hair: Like Inuyasha, she's a Half-Human Hybrid with silver hair.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: Just like Inuyasha, she's suffered at the hands of people simply for being a half-demon. Because of this, as well as her age, Inuyasha is extremely reluctant to kill her, even for the sake of enhancing the Tessaiga. Taigokumaru's death allows Shiori to offer the Blood Coral for use on Tessaiga and empower it.
  • Significant White Hair, Dark Skin: She's a half-bat demon girl with silver hair and dark skin.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal: She inherited the ability to speak with bats from her father. Later in life, she uses this ability to use bats as scouts in the forest where the village of half-demon children is hidden, keeping watch for either potential inhabitants or enemies hoping to destroy the village.
  • Team Mom: We find out in Yashahime that she grew up into this and is now caring for an entire village of half-demon children and using her barrier powers to protect them, she also took care of Setsuna for some time after the forest fire.
  • You Killed My Father: When she discovers that Taigokumaru killed her father, she promptly expels him from the barrier, giving Inuyasha free rein to attack and kill him.

    Hosenki 

Hosenki

Voiced by:Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (JP), Dave Pettitt (EN), Roberto Mendiola (LA SP), Sandro Sardone (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HosenkiInuyasha_7564.jpg

An elder oyster youkai who made faboulous gemstones while alive, including the black pearl leading to the demon's netherworld. After his death, he took a fragment of the Shikon Jewel with him to protect it.


  • Diagonal Cut: His skull cracks in half after bestowing his trademark attack Kongosoha (Adamant Barrage in the dub, literally "Wave of Adamantine Spears"). Though, being already dead, he doesn't die.
  • Fatal Flaw: He's far too prideful and confident.
  • Flechette Storm: Can spit volleys of large diamond chunks.
  • Made of Diamond: Literally, as his body is made of diamond spikes.
  • Meaningful Name: Housenki means "Demon Hermit of the Treasure".
  • No-Sell: He's so old and tough that not even Kagome's holy arrows can damage him.
  • Posthumous Character: He's already dead by the time the group hear of him, but they still meet him.
  • Spikes of Villainy: Except that he's not really a villain.

    Gakusanjin 

Gakusanjin

Voiced by:Tamio Sobami (JP), David Kaye (EN), José Alberto Camacho (LA SP, Yashahime), Gerolamo Alchieri (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GakisanjinInuyasha_3113.jpg

An elder mountain demon, whose aura-sealing stone was stolen by Naraku, who used it to conceal the aura of the Infant. Desperate, he asks to our heroes to help him, but is offed by Goryomaru's disciples before they can help him.


    Goryomaru 

Goryomaru

Voiced by:Masaki Terasoma (JP), Ross Douglas (EN), David Allende (LA SP), Emiliano Coltorti (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GoryomaruInuyasha_9760.jpg

A mysterious, scarred monk with a demonic, laser-spitting arm. He takes care of some orphaned children and equips them with demon-slaying weapons, so that they may avenge their parents.


  • Arm Cannon: Sort of: it was part of a demon who was trying to assimilate him, and can shoot demon-killing light (which is actually composed of lesser demons).
  • Back from the Dead: Resurrected by Naraku, so that he could be merged in Moryomaru again.
  • Identical Stranger: Since Moryomaru confirmed that Goryomaru already existed as a monk before he came into existence, this means that his similarity to Moryomaru is just a coincidence.
  • Light The Way: Can spit "light beams" from his arm.
  • No-Sell: His attacks don't affect Hakudoshi, much to his horror.
  • Red Right Hand: More like red right arm. Said arm is actually Moryomaru.
  • That Man Is Dead: When Moryomaru takes over his body, he tells Kagome he's no longer the Goryomaru they knew.

    Yorei Taisei 

Yorei Taisei

Voiced by:Ichirō Nagai (JP), Don Brown (EN), Carlo Reali (IT)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yourei_taiseiinuyasha_288.jpg

A guru demon of great wisdom and power, he tests Inuyasha and teaches him about the Yoketsu (Demon Hole), explaining him how to properly use the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga.


  • Achilles' Heel: Thanks to his lessons, Inuyasha is now able to see the "Yoketsu" (a whirwind of demonic energy) of demons, which he can cut with the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga, killing the demon instantly.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Given how he behaves, he could be Totosai's brother.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: All the trial endured by Inuyasha and co after entering into his home are actually his work. He also states that a non-lethal Youketsu he made is much more powerful than those produced by lesser demons.
  • Meaningful Name: His name overall translates to "Great Holy Demon Spirit".
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: His training will drastically improve Inuyasha's Tessaiga... or render it useless forever.
  • Warts and All: Yup, our heroes did not expect a meek old man seemingly made of paper.

    Yakuroudokusen 

Yakurodokusen

Voiced by:Minoru Inaba (JP), Ron Halder (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yakurodokuseninuyasha_9834.jpg

A "Master of Potions" whom Inuyasha's group consult to repair Sango's Hiraikotsu. He also gives Miroku a potion to nullify the pain of his miasma poisoning.


  • The Alcoholic: He's got entire pots of sake just laying around, and the "waterfall" near his home is pure liquor.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a drunken mess, true, but there's no doubt he's good at his job.
  • Dirty Old Man: He instantly agrees to repair Hiraikotsu when he discovers that it's Sango's weapon. On top of that, he gropes Sango to "determine her strength" and lifts up Kagome's skirt.
  • Overly-Long Tongue: He has one, which he uses to test Hiraikotsu's recovery rate.
  • Rubber Man: Has the ability to stretch his limbs to grab a jug from a long distance.
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: The test he puts Sango through will either repair Hiraikotsu or destroy it forever; or even kill her.

    Midoriko 

Midoriko

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midorikoinuyasha_5201.jpg

An extremely powerful miko and the creator of the Shikon Jewel.


  • And I Must Scream: After she died in the process of creating the Shikon Jewel, her soul was imprisoned within the jewel and forced to battle with the spirits of the demons she took with her for centuries.
  • Back for the Finale: She makes a cameo appearance when Kagome and Inuyasha find themselves trapped in the void of the Shikon Jewel.
  • Bowdlerise: In the manga, her remains are mummified as opposed to crystallized.
  • Determinator: She was fighting for centuries inside the jewel even when there was only a tiny speck of light inside it.
  • Disappears into Light: In the anime, after Kagome makes her wish for the Shikon Jewel to disappear, Midoriko sheathes her sword and vanishes along with the demons inhabiting the jewel. The everlasting battle that began centuries ago was finally over.
  • The Dreaded: She was demonkind's boogeyman during her lifetime.
  • The Faceless: In the manga her face (save for her corpse) is never seen.
  • Facial Markings: Has a star-shaped marking in the center of her forehead.
  • Master Swordsman: In addition to her already impressive spiritual abilities, she has mastery over the sword.
  • Miko: A legendary priestess that is the source of the Shikon No Tama legend.
  • One-Woman Army: She was said to have the combined might of a hundred samurai. What better proof of this claim than fighting off hordes of demons nonstop for seven days and seven nights solid?
  • Posthumous Character: By the time of the series, she's been dead for centuries.
  • Regret Eating Me: The youkai literally had her in his jaws when she took him down.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: She's long dead by the time of the series' beginning and only appears in flashbacks, but her influence persists, since she was the creator of the Shikon Jewel.
  • Taken for Granite: Her physical body remains in crystallized form in a cave near Sango's hometown.
  • Taking You with Me: What she does to the merged demon, resulting in the birth of the Sacred Jewel.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She's the creator of the Shikon Jewel, and the indirect cause of all the tragedy surrounding it.

    Goshinboku 

Goshinboku

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (JP), Willow Johnson (EN), Noelia Socolotovsky (LA SP)

The Sacred Tree, or more precisely, the spirit of the Sacred Tree. Takes the appearance of Kikyo after having absorbed some of her spiritual energy from the sacred arrow that pinned Inuyasha to the tree.


  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: Takes on Kikyo's form, though this is more from absorbing her spiritual energy than any effort to appear human.
  • Big Good: Seems to be this in Yashahime, asking help from Sesshomaru's daughters to slay erstwhile Big Bad Kirinmaru.
  • The Chessmaster: Implied to be have set certain events of the plot in motion, considering that the dream butterfly Towa, Setsuna and Moroha are looking for is in her presence.
  • Refusal of the Call: Specifically, it was her call that was refused by Sesshomaru's daughters.

The Dog Demon Family

    Sesshomaru's Mother 

Sesshomaru's Mother

Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara (JP), Lisa Ann Beley (EN, original series), Laura Post (EN, Yashahime), Jennifer Medel (LA SP, original series), Luciana Falcón (LA SP, Yashahime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shessymotherinuyasha_324.jpg

The mother of Sesshomaru, whom he consults for advice on how to perfect the Meidō Zangetsuha.


  • Almighty Mom: She achieves what almost no one else could ever do - putting Sesshomaru in his place in the most brutal manner possible.
  • Ambiguous Situation: Zero implies that Sesshomaru's mother actually resents Izayoi for having stolen the Great Dog Demon's heart and when she passed through, took time to express negative feelings towards her. Sesshomaru's mother doesn't deny this accusation, even turning stoic, after she previously taunted Zero. This is later muddled further by her reaction to Moroha, her face turning solemn. Whether or not she only came to resent Izayoi after her husband died or she actually always had suppressed feelings of bitterness and resentment towards her is still unknown.
  • Big Fancy House: She possesses a huge, sprawling traditional Japanese palace. The location? Floating amongst the clouds. It takes even someone with Sesshomaru's insanely good nose a good few days of active searching to actually find it and even then his mother has to come to meet him before he can locate it and Kirinmaru can easily find it on his own. The lady must be an absolute bitch to get in touch with at short notice.
  • Cool Old Lady: Not physically, of course, but considering her age and the fact that she already is grandmother of two girls, Sesshomaru's mother was such a graceful individual until she roasted the hell out of Zero while she was dead.
  • Fantastic Racism: Subverted. She's not as disdainful of humans like her son. But at the very least, she understood why her beloved took a human wife.
  • Good Is Not Nice: She's more or less on the side of good, but she's also extremely callous.
  • Hey, You!: She never refers Jaken by his name even though he keeps telling her his name. Not that she bothers to.
  • I Shall Taunt You: After Setsuna kills Zero, the both of them were taunting each other involving Inu no Taisho. But what she did was discovering that Zero was jealous of Izayoi and tells her how "human" she became. Zero hated what she was insuating when she made that comment.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
    • She proves that she truly does care for Sesshomaru by using the Meidō Stone to resurrect Rin.
    • When Zero reveals that she linked her own life with Rin's, she did not take kindly to her using her daughter-in-law's life in order to make her son suffer. While she states she doesn't care about her granddaughters, she will not let others make her son suffer via Revenge by Proxy.
  • Mama Bear: When Zero tells her Rin's life was connected to her, she was not amused that Zero would connect her life to her daughter-in-law, especially since she did it to make Sesshomaru suffer. She stops playing around when she discovers Zero was jealous of Izayoi, and throws this fact at her by saying how human she was being. Zero was pissed.
  • The Mourning After: She remains loyal to the Great Dog Demon years after his death.
  • No Name Given: As is the norm for the series she is an Unnamed Parent. That's why we have "Sesshomaru's Mother" as the label for this folder.
  • Not So Above It All: Despite being The Ojou, she is not above making fun of Zero like a high school girl, especially when she dug deeper into realization that Zero was jealous.
  • Parental Neglect: The Inu-no-Taisho explicitly told her not to be worried or concerned about Sesshomaru even if the test she puts him through endangers his life, and at best, she's only casually concerned about her son. Then again, it's not like he needs coddling.
  • Secret Test of Character: She seems to be aware of her late husband's tendency to put his sons through this, and followed his footsteps to the letter when she sees Sesshomaru again.
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: She pulls this on her own granddaughters after meeting them once, by summoning a damned demon named Meidomaru to fight them.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Sesshomaru gets his Facial Markings from her. He also gets his stoic personality.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives her son a very hard one after he escapes from the underworld by telling him he is not a god to cheat death nor is he infallible. She also tells him he needs to learn compassion and learn to grieve if someone he loves dies, something her late husband said as well.
  • Youkai: Like her son and husband she is a powerful inugami.

    Izayoi 

Izayoi

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (JP), Alaina Burnett (EN), Rommy Mendoza (LA SP)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MotherInuyasha_5308.jpg

Inuyasha's mother, she fell in love with a demon and gave birth to Inuyasha. She raised him alone in the court of nobles and was herself a noblewoman who's family had fallen into ruin. Sometime before the series, she died through unknown circumstances.


  • Almighty Mom: For one thing, this was a woman who had a child with a yokai. Not just any yokai but a powerful and legendary one. Also she was able to flee a burning building just after giving birth in the snow, barefoot while watching her beloved husband die. Not only that, Inuyasha says he only once saw her cry. So she was this in her own way.
  • Back from the Dead: According to the third movie, she died during childbirth and was revived with Tenseiga.
  • Death by Childbirth: Subverted; though she does die in the process of giving birth to Inuyasha during the third movie, it's due to Takemaru stabbing her with a spear. Thanks to Tenseiga, she gets better.
  • Good Parents: She loved Inuyasha very much and tried her best to protect him.
  • Gorgeous Period Dress: She wears an elaborate juunihitoe, a kind of kimono only worn by extremely wealthy noble women, showing her to be of noble birth.
  • Happily Married: From what is stated, she and the Inu no Taisho were madly in love.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: She's much smaller than her husband, the Inu no Taisho, even in his human form. But being that he is an enormous yokai, it would be expected.
  • Impoverished Patrician: She is said to have been from a noble family that had fallen to ruin.
  • Interspecies Romance: She fell in love with the Inu no Taisho, who returned her affection. They married and had Inuyasha. She even calls the Inu no Taisho "Anata" (which means "dear or beloved").
  • Marry for Love: Despite being of noble birth in a time where marriages were usually arranged, she married a yokai she fell in love with.
  • Missing Mom: She died pre-series so she isn't around when Kagome arrives.
  • Noodle Incident: It's unknown exactly when and how she passed; all Inuyasha says about it is that she died "a long time ago" and that "it wasn't her fault." Given the time frame involved it's highly likely that she simply died of old age.
  • No Name Given: In the anime and manga. Her name was made up for the third film like Inuyasha's father, but unlike his name, hers appears frequently since he's a big invoker of Say My Name. Yashahime makes her name canon in episode 14.
  • Posthumous Character: She's long dead by the time of the series.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She's black-haired, fair-skinned, and is explicitly described as a beauty by Myoga.
  • Starcrossed Lovers: Its clear her relationship with Inuyasha's father was not well received by her noble peers, when she is giving birth to Inuyasha, an army of samurai are there to keep the father of her child out of the mansion.
  • Stepford Smiler: It's implied in some flashbacks she was this, trying to shield Inuyasha from the pain, humiliation and persecution she knew his heritage would earn him in the future. One of the few memories Inuyasha has of her is how he once asked her what a "half breed" was, and he noticed she was Trying Not to Cry...
  • Wicked Stepmother: Sesshomaru seems to see her as this. He sees the love between her and his father as having weakened his father and he blames her for his father's death.

    Toga, The Great Dog Demon 

Toga

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (JP), Don Brown (EN, original series), Mick Lauer (EN, Yashahime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inunotaisho_yashahime_001_5.jpg
Click here to see his corpse in Inuyasha 

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father, a great demon lord who was known throughout Japan. Though he died shortly after Inuyasha's birth according to the third film, his presence is felt throughout the series in the trials and weapons he leaves to his sons, and the legacy they (especially Sesshomaru) aspire to.

While he never appeared in the manga save for the corpse of his demon form, he appears in the prologue of the third film on the eve of his death, followed by several flashback appearances in the anime sequel Yashahime.


  • Action Dad: To Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. In the manga, Inuyasha has limited memories because his father died when he was young. The third film contradicts this by instead claiming he died when Inuyasha was born, leaving Inuyasha with no memories at all.
  • Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed. Both manga and anime show Toga's corpse to be the size of a mountain, even Sesshomaru's true dog form can walk on his skull. But in the third movie, his demon form is shown to be way smaller, only a bit bigger than Sesshomaru's true form.
  • Badass Cape: Has a parted fur pelt on his shoulders that flows past his feet; it becomes twin streaks of fur running down his back when he transforms.
  • Baritone of Strength: The most powerful demon alive and, both in Japanese and English, a deep baritone voice.
  • BFS: Tessaiga, of course, as well as So'unga.
  • Canis Major: His true demon form is gigantic. The transformed Sesshomaru is smaller than his head.
  • Chick Magnet: Implied in Yashahime. Other than having two wives (one demon and one human), he has also won the affections of Zero, the older sister of his rival Kirinmaru, partly due to his polite and charming personality.
  • Crazy-Prepared: He set all manner of trials and tests in place for his sons before he died, which contributed greatly to both of their Character Development.
  • Determinator: Even while injured, he still managed to tear through Takemaru's forces to rescue Izayoi & Inuyasha and die fighting.
  • Didn't Think This Through: While he was obviously hoping that Sesshomaru would take on a Big Brother Mentor role towards his younger half-brother, it backfired when Sesshomaru instead saw being left with Tenseiga while Inuyasha was left with Tessaiga as Parental Favoritism on his father's part; it steps up his dislike of his half-brother to actual hate, and he tries to kill Inuyasha several times. It's likely that this would have worked had Toga lived to be able to guide Sesshomaru personally, but without him there was no one up to the task.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: Sealing a dragon that breathes lightning, despite having taken fatal wounds (in the manga, at least). The third film takes this further by having him survive for a little bit longer so that he can easily battle his way through a castle of soldiers to reach Izayoi, despite the fatal wounds he's carrying, but he was determined to be by her side as she gave birth to Inuyasha.
  • Enemy Mine: He joined forces with Kirinmaru to destroy the first Grim Comet 500 years prior to his death and his sons handling the second.
  • The Faceless: When he first appears in the third film, his face is never shown clearly. There are occasional close-ups of parts of his face, but otherwise his face is obscured in shadows, or he's facing away from the viewer, or his head isn't in the frame, etc. However, momentary glimpses of him can be seen as he's running through the forest as Freeze Frame Bonuses. This is eventually subverted in Yashahime where his face is finally fully visible in flashbacks showing how he and Kirinmaru destroyed the first Grim Comet 500 years ago.
  • The Good King: He was the ruler of the western domain while his rival and equal Kirinmaru ruled the east. He was also a noble and compassionate daiyoukai whom many demons of his land respected for his kindness. Even after his death, many demons show loyalty to his sons and supported them however they can. Even Kirinmaru respected him.
  • Good Parents: Despite everything, it's clear he loved both his sons very much. All he wanted for Sesshomaru was to become a kinder person and named Inuyasha himself moments before his fight to the death with Takemaru.
  • Greater-Scope Paragon: Toga, the father of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, was a powerful dog daiyoukai that spent his life working to protect both the humans and youkai of Japan against other powerful beings. In the movies he repelled yokai from the continent that came to feast on the souls of those who died in the Mongol invasion of Japan, and sealed away the dragon daiyoukai Ryukotsusei. Both Tensaiga and Tessaiga were forged from his fangs, and both brothers end up fighting a lot of his old enemies, but his own direct influence on the plot is limited because he died long before the events of the series as a result of the wounds he sustained fighting against Ryukotsusei.
  • Handicapped Badass: During the intro to the third movie, he's been injured by Ryukotsusei, pierced with several arrows and clearly not at his best. Doesn't slow him down much.
  • Happily Married: Based on what we know, he and Izayoi were madly in love. Possibly he was this with Sesshomaru's mother as well, since he seems to have trusted her with the Meido stone.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Not entirely his fault in full; with a touch of Parents as People regarding Sesshomaru and overlaps with Didn't Think This Through. As wise and far seeing the Great Dog Demon was, there were limits. Specifically his death prior the time of the story had clearly resulted in no one being able to properly guide Sesshomaru as truly intended since there was no one else capable of the task: his mother for better or worse remained hands off until a very specific time, Myoga and Totosai may have known but neither were ever going to be able get the message across. In turn this nearly got both of his sons killed... by each other. He got the results he wanted, but only just, and it was a painfully bitter affair for his inheritors.
  • Interspecies Romance: He fell in love with a human, Izayoi, who fell in love with him too and became the mother of Inuyasha. Their love is mentioned several times in the series by both allies and enemies of him. His love for her is the reason behind Tessaiga's construction in the first place.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: See Manipulative Bastard for more details.
  • Large Ham: While he's just as even-toned as Sesshomaru when speaking to him, he still manages to make every word dramatic and intense. Then he gets into battle and acts just as Hot-Blooded as Inuyasha. His sons have inherited these traits to varying degrees.
  • Manipulative Bastard: A positive fatherly take on this trope. He's left trials in place for them with the interests of spurring Character Development for the better, but like a true parent his lessons aren't learned easy and come with harsh truths attached.
  • Nice Guy: Has shades of this in Yashahime similarly to his granddaughter Towa based on his interactions with Kirinmaru and Zero, where he is shown expressing some compliments to the latter and even politely bowed to her before taking his leave.
  • No Name Given: The above name is just his title, "(The) Dog General". The third film attached the name "Touga" ("Battle Fang") to him during development and on the soundtrack, but it's never in the finished film and was mostly made so the staff had a name to refer to him by.
    • Meanwhile, in Yashahime he's only referred as the Great Dog Demon Lord
  • Not in Front of the Kid: When he first dueled Kirinmaru, he easily overpowers him by cutting off his left horn and his right arm. He immediately stops when he notices Rion was witnessing their battle, and opts to not kill her father in front of her.
  • Older and Wiser: Those that knew him don't hesitate to let Sesshomaru and Inuyasha know that not only was he older and stronger, but he was wiser than they are. His scene with Sesshomaru in the third film adequately demonstrates this.
  • Papa Wolf: Tore through an army of samurai trying to finish him off, all to get to Izayoi who was in labor with their son Inuyasha. Even though he was already dying from his wounds from the battle with Ryūkotsusei, yet being shot at Annoying Arrows DID NOT stop him either in his already critical state. Keep in mind when Takemaru shows up and announced that he killed Izayoi, he left out that their newborn son had survived the birth, making it seem that both had perished. Toga was PISSED and immediately runs through and cuts off Takemaru’s left arm! After reviving Izayoi with the Tenseiga, he gives her the robe of the fire rat to ensure her and Inuyasha’s safety out of the burning castle as he stays behind and fights Takemaru to the death.
  • Parental Favoritism: Implied, but ultimately averted; the chip on Sesshomaru's shoulder stems from the belief that he was The Unfavorite to Inuyasha, to the extent where he actually believes his father was grooming Inuyasha to kill him. The situation between the brothers is eventually resolved when it becomes clear that their father understood the vulnerabilities of being half-human and just how powerful Sesshomaru would one day become. His real desire was for Sesshomaru to become a source of support and guidance for Inuyasha.
  • Posthumous Character: He's long dead before the story started.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: The Great Dog Demon was the ruler of the west and the most powerful demon until his death.
  • Samurai Ponytail: The same silver hair as his sons, worn in this manner.
  • Say My Name: Yells Izayoi's name a lot even in what minimal on-screen time he's given in the prologue of the third movie (granted, he is desperately searching for her in a burning building, and then discovers her impaled corpse.) Which explains where Inuyasha gets the habit.
  • Secret Test of Character: The main reason Inuyasha got Tessaiga and Sesshomaru got Tenseiga. Later it becomes apparent there was more to it than this, though.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: He left behind a lot of enemies that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru inevitably have to clean up now that he's gone, often because it's mentioned that the two are honor-bound to finish his battle, or because said enemies seek them out.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Inuyasha appears to take after him when his Superpowered Evil Side is in control (minus the eyes, of course, which remain golden for the latter). The jagged facial markings Inuyasha carries in his transformed state are clearly inherited from his father.
  • Unusual Eyebrows: Has the fiery and forked style, which fits his Hot-Blooded nature.
  • World's Strongest Man: Clearly and obviously one of the most powerful characters shown in the series and was said to be the strongest demon alive. It took a dragon to kill him, and even then it ended with said dragon simply being sealed while Toga sustained fatal injuries and died soon after (in the manga). After that battle (in the movie), he hung on through mortal wounds to fight his way through a castle of soldiers and see Izayoi before he died. Just one of his fangs turned into some of the most powerful demonic swords in existence is enough to slay one hundred lesser demons in a single swing. Repeatedly, it has been stated that he far exceeds both his sons in power and even Sesshomaru admits how surpassingly powerful his father is, believing obtaining one of his swords as the only way to rival and hopefully surpass him. Out of all the characters in the franchise, only Kirinmaru in the sequel series, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, is said to be his equal, their powers being revealed to make them the Lords of Western and Eastern Lands respectively and responsible for keeping the peace as well as repelling the Grim Comet every time it appeared. In fact, the second season confirms he had once defeated Kirinmaru and left the man that would become his rival in furious shock that there was anyone in the world who can be that powerful after stating he has defeated literately anyone he fought through the globe.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: The moment he sees Rion, Toga stops his fight with Kirinmaru, rebukes him for bringing his daughter into a battlefield and then leaves him alive without hurting her at all.
  • Youkai: He was an immensely powerful inugami.

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