Shippō

was an orphaned young fox demon who attempted to steal Shikon Jewel shards from the miko Kagome Higurashi and the half-demon Inuyasha, wanting to become much stronger and avenge his father's death at the hands of The Thunder Brothers. Though his plan fails, Kagome and Inuyasha aid him after hearing his story, and he becomes their companion for the rest of the series.

Shippō normally appears to be a young boy with certain fox-like features: his legs, feet, ears, and tail. He can shapeshift, but his other forms (such as a large pink flying balloon) are temporary and often ineffective, usually given away by his lingering fox tail. He can also create illusory duplicates of himself, as well as weak fox-fire magic and toy-based tricks such as his giant spinning top attack.

Naively observant, he often directs cheeky comments to Inuyasha, usually earning himself a smack on the head. Inuyasha and Kagome serve as older sibling figures to Shippō. Because of his small size, Shippō often rides on Kirara or the shoulders of others, as well as getting beat up by Inuyasha in almost every episode. When he does travel on the ground, he drops to all fours if he wants to run quickly. His actual age is never stated in the series; according to the official InuYasha guide by Rumiko Takahashi, his appearance is equivalent to that of a seven-year-old boy.

Three years later following the defeat of Naraku, Shippō resides in Kaede's village, but often leaves to train and take the kitsune demon examination to become a full-fledged fox demon of even higher rank.

Appearance
Shippō is very small in stature with brown-auburn hair, green eyes, and a cream-colored, fluffy tail. He wears blue pants, a turquoise shirt patterned with leaves and a tan vest with a thin black belt. His feet look like those of a fox, therefore he never wears shoes. His hair is kept up in a small ponytail with a turquoise bow. Shippō's ears are narrow and pointed, as is with most demons like Sesshōmaru and Kōga.

Personality
He has a small body but a strong spirit. Although Shippō is a demon, his pure spirit knows no corruption. He has only recently opened his eyes to love, but with his knowledge and bravery, his feelings for his comrades are first and foremost. His spirit is still growing so it's overall size is small.

Shippō has a strong will to follow through on things once he made a decision. For example, he fought the Thunder Brothers Manten and Hiten even though he knew their powers were far greater than his own. Kagome and Inuyasha helped Shippō exact revenge and touched by their gentleness and bravery, a dauntless strength and spirit began to grow inside him. Despite being a innocent child, he has a strong will for revenge if anyone close to him is hurt.

Since he usually forgets he is a demon, he is often afraid and hides behind his comrades when threatened. However, when it comes to a showdown, he has the courage to confront the most dreadful enemies and dangerous situations. He fights bravely for his friends, overcoming his fears. In spite of his youth, he has an unwavering toughness in his heart.

More than anything else, just being with everyone makes Shippō happy. It is harder for him to be apart from them than it is to travel with them in dangerous situations or to experience adversity. For Shippō, who lost his parents, his companions are now as good as family to him. Shippō expresses his feelings honestly to them without hiding anything often strengthened their bonds. For example, when Inuyasha fell off a cliff in his human form, Shippō sobbed uncontrollably despite being in the presence of others.

Shippō is sharp and extremely perceptive, allowing him to analyze any situation. Many times his wits have saved them from a variety of dangers. He understands his own capabilities well, and because he is willing to do whatever he can in any given situation, he is able to apply them to good effect.

Shippō thinks he is already a fine grown-up. He sometimes surprises people with his mature remarks and actions, which are unimaginable based on his looks. He once treated Inuyasha as an incompetent(due to being in human form) and openly declared he would protect everyone by himself.

Shippō usually has good judgement, and his words and actions are usually adult-like. He is, in fact, quite young. Having the indiscretion of a child, he sometimes shows a more simple and childish side.

He is sensitive to his companions' feelings. With a gentle heart, he tries to act as a go-between. He employs a variety of methods, like pushing stubborn friends from behind or resolving misunderstandings. He most often pushed Kagome and Inuyasha together, though he did do the same with Miroku and Sango as well on some occasions. He tries hard to cheer up the ones he loves.

Shippō had always been busy worrying about the love relationships between his friends and offering his support, but when he met a certain girl he awoke to romantic feelings of his own. Through those feelings he came to know the importance of feeling love for others. Shippō's first crush was Satsuki, who he decided to separate from since he had been the one who put her in danger.

Abilities and Techniques
Shippō uses toys he grabs from under his clothes, such as:
 * Snake Toy Transformation: The toy snake he possesses is transformed into a large snake usually attacking the opponent. It is only an illusion, and is discovered quickly.


 * Enhanced Biting: The ability to strongly bite an enemy's vital points using his sharp teeth as a deadly offensive weapon. It is his last resort and does not cause much damage. In one episode he does an attack called "Heart Scar" which is presented in a episode when Shippō's heart got broken over a girl, although the same thing as biting, though his mouth and body glows red. It seems to have quite a strong burning effect on the opponent.
 * Firebombs: An explosive weapon thrown at his enemies. The bombs confuse his enemies with their loud noise, but the ones he makes are no more than firecrackers.
 * Signals: The skill of throwing magic Weeping Mushroom spores or Spinning Acorns that can send signals to his companions through their cries. He uses them in emergencies to call for help or give out his location. Although the Weeping Mushroom Spores and Spinning Acorns are used for signals, Shippō has thrown them at enemies in an offensive manner.
 * Fox Magic: The skill to create illusions and make someone feel pain and/or weight as if it were real. This technique is highly effective in stopping enemies in their tracks.
 * Dopplegänger: The skill to reproduce himself with a dopplegänger technique using leaves. If a dopplegänger receives impact, it makes a popping noise and bursts like a balloon. They can confuse enemies so Shippō can go for reinforcements and they can increase their numbers for a concerted attack.
 * Foxfire: The ability to create incredibly hot greenish fire with demonic skills. It has next to no burn effect on opponents, but it can burn things like spider webs. It can neutralize fire from enemies, making it more of a defensive spell than an attack. The blue flame can also be sustained in Shippō's hand, providing a handy torch in dark areas, such as caves. but this is also his main attack.
 * Transformation: The ability to transform into animals or look the same as someone else by putting a leaf onto his head. However, when Shippō's memories are vague, it is sometimes impossible to tell what he has transformed into. He imagines himself becoming something much greater than what he actually becomes, usually forgetting to hide his tail. However, Shippō has been able to transform into Miroku without any flaws. He is better at transforming into humans than animals, but it does not last very long. He is also able to transform to a pink balloon-like shape with limited flying ability to carry one light person, like Kagome. Although this is not much, it is a big improvement, seeing as he originally was not able to even carry one person.
 * Leaf Flying: He can fly by transforming leaves into bigger leaves that people can ride on. However, leaves can only drift on wind and cannot fly on their own, so they can only be used for coming down from high places.
 * Toy Horse Running: The skill to turn a small horse into a life-size one. It can fly and is quite fast, but is also small and so is only suitable for one rider. The toy horse is made up of Spinning Acorns. It can be broken back down into individual signals. In the anime, instead of having the horse, he actually turns into the horse.

Picking Up Familiar Traits
Shippō has fallen in love with several girls along his journey with the others, even meeting girls in nearly every village they visit later in the series. In one episode, this is pointed out. Both Sango and Kagome both believe this is because he has spent so much time around Miroku, he's picked up his flirtatious habits. However, he is still a shy boy around girls he likes.

Shippō has also taken some traits from Inuyasha due to the constant beatings he's been given. In Inuyasha the Movie 4- Fire on the Mystic Island, Shippō hits Roku and Dai on the head for bad mouthing his friends, shocking Inuyasha, who was about to hit them again.

Shippō and His Friends
Shippō thinks of his friends like family. In some episodes, when the group has a place to stay, Shippō usually sleeps with Kagome. In several episodes, Shippō bathes with Sango and Kagome. The first time Shippō does this (before we meet Miroku, Sango, and Kirara) he even suggests that Inuyasha join them. When Shippō's family was alive, they would all bathe together; this shows that Shippō thinks of his comrades as family.

Shippō and Kirara seem to have a close relationship. Shippō talks to Kirara, and sometimes rides on her back, and they are often seen spending time together. In one episode, Sango gets so very angry, causing both Shippō and Kirara to be very scared, so that they hug each other tightly.

Not a Raccoon-dog
Several times in the series, Shippō is mistaken for a raccoon dog. This is because he is small and has a round body. The difference is their tails. Although Hachi, the raccoon-dog, looks nothing like Shippō, as seen in the series, some yokai look more human than others.

Relationships

 * Kagome: Shippō and Kagome have a mixture of a mother-son/brother-sister like relationship. It is shown that he favors her more than the rest mostly because they are so close. He usually seeks her out when scared or trying to get away from Inuyasha after upsetting him. Also, when Inuyasha pushed Kagome into the well and back to her own time, Shippō seemed to be more upset than Inuyasha or Miroku, and said he vowed to never speak to Inuyasha ever again. The promise didn't hold true, because a short time later he came running to Inuyasha for help while being chased by wolves. Shippō is often traveling on Kagome's shoulder when Inuyasha runs. Generally, whenever Kagome goes back to her own time period, Shippō is seen anxiously waiting for her to return at the Well.
 * Inuyasha[[file:Shippou and Inuyasha.jpeg|thumb]] After the death of his father, Shippō has taken to thinking of Inuyasha as a older brother/father in ways, despite at the beginning the two didn't really get along much. It is rare that Inuyasgha is genuinely kind to Shippo. It might be due to the fact that he sees Kagome as a mother, that he also sees Inuyasha as a father. Inuyasha often teases him, such as taking his food, but usually in a friendly way; Shippo doesn't see these acts as friendlly, instead cruel. When he says something insulting, or embarrassing to Inuyasha, Shippō usually gets a good whack to the head.
 * Kirara  It is shown that Kirara and him are close friends.[[file:Shippo & Kirara.png|thumb]] They are usually together when the group is traveling. The two seem to be able to understand each other rather well, to the point that Shippō might be the second one in which Kirara is closest to in the group minus Sango. The reason they get along so well may have to do with the fact that they are both demons.
 * Sango: Sango has taken the role of an older sister/aunt like figure. The two usually are together when Inuyasha and Kagome are having their fights. Along with Sango, he is disgusted by Miroku's perverted habits. Shippo has great fear of Sango when she's angry, more so than Inuyasha, who is almost constantly in a bad mood; he tends to cower in fear.
 * Miroku: Shippō tends to think of Miroku as a perverted older brother or somewhat uncle type figure. Miroku is shown several times trying to educate Shippō in his "ways". Shippō often sits on Miroku's shoulder when traveling on Kirara; he also respects how educated Miroku is about demons and the ways of the world. A running gag is that Shippō calls Miroku an idiot when one of his perverted actions causes Sango to retaliate with a slap to the face.

Quotes

 * "Hey what'ya do that for!?"
 * "Such fine weather!"
 * "Kagome help me! Inuyasha's picking on me!"
 * "Hey Inuyasha! What if Kagome's butt gets deformed!?"
 * "Oh, I knew it. You really are hopeless when Kagome isn't around."
 * "I gotta keep it together!"

Trivia

 * The seven treasures referred to by Shippō's name are: gold, silver, pearls, agate, crystal, coral, lapis lazuli.
 * Shippō, along with Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kagome make a cameo appearance in Ranma 1/2 OVA Episode 13. During one of Akane's nightmares, Shippō's dead body is seen on top of Inuyasha's dead body located to Akane's left. He also has a lump on his head, which is usually inflicted by Inuyasha smacking Shippō on the head.
 * Despite being male, he bathes with Kagome and Sango.
 * Shippō's love interests were all humans: Satsuki, Koume and Mizuki.
 * Shippō never changes clothes, and he is always seen barefoot.