Inuyasha



InuYasha (&#29356;&#22812;&#21449;, Inu (dog) + Yasha (demon) is the main character of the anime and manga series InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi. His name is punctuated/capitalized multiple ways: Inuyasha, InuYasha, Inu-Yasha. (See more about spelling in Romanization.)

InuYasha is a han'y&#333; (half demon - 'y&#333;' is derived from y&#333;kai, which also means demon) of dog demon origins from the Japanese feudal era. According to Rumiko Takahashi's official Zusetsutaizen Ougikaiden character data book, InuYasha's age in human years is unknown, but he is "equivalent" to a human fifteen year old at the start of the series, and was originally going to use the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama) a.k.a. the Shikon Jewel to become a full y&#333;kai. However, the movie canon suggests an actual age of 150 years (since the Sou'unga was sealed two hundred years prior to the feudal era period, InuYasha was shown to be born at that time, and he was sealed away for fifty years, providing 200 - 50 = 150 years.) Rumiko Takahashi once stated that InuYasha is an Akita Inu. The high priestess who guarded the jewel, Kikyo (Kiky&#333;), whom InuYasha developed feelings for, talked him into becoming human (he wished to gain acceptance, and she wished to be a normal woman.) Another hany&#333;, formerly a human known only as Onigumo, but now called Naraku, made them believe they betrayed each other. Because of Naraku's schemes, and their own lack of faith in each other, their relationship ended when InuYasha broke into Kikyo's village and stole the Shikon Jewel. In defense of the village, and to keep him from escaping with the jewel, Kikyo fired a magical arrow at InuYasha, sealing him to a tree in an eternal enchanted sleep. Moments afterward, KIkyo collapses from a wound she received from Naraku -- though at first the viewer is lead to believe that InuYasha wounded her -- and dies within a few short moments. Part of her final instructions to her sister Kaede was to have the jewel burned with her body so that y&#333;kai and evil men could never use it.

Fifty years later, InuYasha was released from the tree by Kagome, a young girl from the present who unknowingly carried the Jewel of Four Souls inside her body. Kagome accidentally shattered the jewel while shooting at a demon trying to flee with it, and the shards were scattered around Japan. InuYasha, Kagome, and their friends (InuYasha-tachi) then began the search for the shards of the Jewel of Four Souls (Shikon no Tama).

InuYasha has very clearly come to love Kagome. He calls her 'the first person he has ever trusted.' Due to the fact that it is stated in the series that the reason Naraku was able to break InuYasha and Kikyo apart was due to their mistrust, this is significant. He is often seen touching or holding her, blushes when in contact with her, and it's her near death that causes him to shed his first tears. Due to his shy nature and obligations to Kikyo, he finds it difficult to directly display his feelings. However, his actions towards her are romantic. In Japanese culture, it is considered a romantic gesture to of course hug, but also to hold one's hand and touch a woman below the shoulders. He does this continually.

InuYasha is offended when someone calls him a dog or suggests that he is inferior to full y&#333;kai.

His only weakness is that a hany&#333; loses their power during a certain time period each month; InuYasha's time is the night of a new moon (when the moon is not visible). His hair turns black and he loses his superhuman strength, speed and defensive abilities, as well as his dog ears, claws, fangs, etc. In this form, basically all of his y&#333;kai powers are gone and he turns human; however, he returns back to normal at sunrise. He prefers to keep it a secret because on that night he is vulnerable, and only his group and a few others know his secret.

Voice Actor

 * Japanese Voice Actor: Kappei Yamaguchi
 * English Voice Actor: Richard Ian Cox

Friends

 * Kagome Higurashi - Being the reincarnation of InuYasha's dead love, Kikyo, Kagome's relationship with InuYasha hardly is an ordinary one. They fight all the time, their quarrels usually ending with Kagome using the rosary around InuYasha's neck to make him fall to the ground.  InuYasha clearly cares for her very deeply, even loves her, but whether he loves Kagome more than Kikyo remains unknown.
 * Miroku - Even though Miroku is a pervy and lecherous monk, InuYasha clearly respects Miroku for his skills, powers, and knowledge. Although they often bicker for one reason or another, both know that they can trust the other with their life if need be.  Whenever Miroku is sucking Naraku's poisonous wasps into his Wind Tunnel or otherwise putting himself in danger to help his friends, InuYasha forces him to stop these dangerous tricks.  Once he even promised to break Miroku's arm if he tried to open it again -- InuYasha's way of saying that he cares.
 * Shippo - InuYasha is continuously annoyed by this fox demon, who is rather smart for his age. Mostly their interaction consists of Shippo annoying InuYasha and the hanyou then hitting him -- and being scolded by Kagome for it.
 * Sango - InuYasha and Sango don't interact often. He doesn't pay much attention to her in any romantic sense, being more centered on Kagome, but he does care for Sango, like for all his friends -- not that he'd ever admit that. However, he has admitted that she is an excellent and formidable foe in combat.
 * Kikyo - InuYasha's relationship with Kikyo is a very troublesome one. He clearly loves her, and was once ready to become a human in order to be with her.  However, Naraku betrayed them both, making them hate each other.  After learning the truth, InuYasha is clearly in love with Kikyo, even to the point of being willing to die together with Kikyo to finally be with her.  Whether his love for Kikyo is stronger than the love he feels for Kagome remains unknown.

InuYasha's Special Attacks and Resistances

 * Physical Abilities
 * Strength: InuYasha's youkai blood gives him superhuman strength. No upper limit has yet been shown in the canon, but, according to the Zusetsutaizen Ougikaiden official character data book, he is at least "strong enough to easily lift a boulder - with a diameter greater than the height of his body - over his head with one hand." (direct translated quote - Ougikaiden page 27)
 * Assuming that boulder is near-spherical, is made of granite with a density of 2.7g/cm³, and has a diameter of 200 cm (InuYasha's height being assumed at an average 175 cm), a boulder of that size would weigh approximately between 9000 kg (9 metric tons or 19,800 lb) and 11,000 kg (11 metric tons or 24,250 lb), or approximately the weight of a large city bus or the combined weight of 5-6 standard cars.
 * He has also been shown to be able to uproot trees and break through walls and fortress gates, and has a punch feared by youkai many times his size. InuYasha has also shown the ability to be able to throw enemies hundreds of times his size; he did so in "Nursing Battle of the Rival Lover" by throwing a mountain-sized green ogre (presumably heavier than an InuYasha-sized boulder, hence the "at least" mentioned in the Ougikaiden above). In the battle against the Noh mask in the manga, he is shown to be able to punch through solid steel, as he did while destroying the mask. This is further corroborated on page 30 of the Ougikaiden, where Takahashi comments that InuYasha's Sankontessou attack probably has the power to rip clean through the type of steel I-beam (tekkou in Japanese) used in modern construction. Similarly, in later manga chapters, he accidentally deformed Kagome's bike with his hands while attempting to fix it.
 * Speed: While not as fast as Entei the youkai horse that served as Hakudoshi's steed, InuYasha's speed has been shown to easily exceed that of a normal horse. He is able to cross great distances with a single jump, sometimes creating the illusion that he is flying.  The Ougikaiden says he can reach the top of tall cliffs with a single leap as well. As seen in the movie canon, InuYasha can move fast enough that he appears to regular humans as nothing more than a brief and indistinct red blur (see volleyball incident in movie 3) and can apparently move fast enough to run over water (see movie 2).
 * Defensive Ability: His fire-rat robe provides added protection, but InuYasha's body is capable of taking a lot of damage - at the very least, it is capable of withstanding Yura's youkai hair, which was able to decapitate humans and slice through trees. He has also been seen to be unaffected by severe blunt force attacks - he was hit on the head with a log hard enough for the log to break in two without any effect. He appears weak against strong smells because of his sensitive nose, but has shown the ability to withstand direct contact with fire and tremendous heat (for example, against Renkotsu's flame attacks and in many other situations - the fire-rat robe may be partly responsible for this, but parts of his body not covered by the robe appear equally invulnerable), does not need additional clothing in extreme cold (see the one-hour prequel special involving Kikyo) and appears resistant to acid (as when trapped by Naraku in the Ogre's Belly). He is, however, susceptible to a lot of youkai and holy weapons, but appears to be invulnerable to most human weapons, able to catch arrows out of the air and break swords with his hands. Even when injured, his recovery rate is much faster than that of a human's. Similarly, attacks powerful enough to severely injure him are rarely fatal - he recovered quickly from numerous serious attacks, including a fist-sized hole punched through his gut.

InuYasha's Special Attacks and Resistances

 * Soul-Shattering Iron Claw (Sankon Tess&#333;): Iron claw attack; also translated as Iron Reaver Soul Stealer.
 * Blades of Blood (Hijin Ketsus&#333;): InuYasha's blood does damage when thrown.
 * Tessaiga: Special sword made from his father's fang. It contains a protective aura which makes full y&#333;kai unable to touch it.
 * Wind Scar (Kaze no Kizu): Special attack that kills 100 y&#333;kai with one strike.
 * Backlash Wave (Bakury&#363;ha): Tessaiga's &#333;gi (or ultimate technique). Uses the opponent's strong y&#333;ki and the Kaze no Kizu to return the attack, magnified hundreds of times.
 * Barrier Shattering: Gained from Shiori's orb for saving her from her grandfather and his bat y&#333;kai, this technique renders barriers (including Naraku's for a while) useless. When being used, Tessaiga glows red. Only the strongest barriers cannot be shattered by this attack.
 * Diamond Spear (Kong&#333;s&#333;ha, &#37329;&#21083;&#27085;&#30772;): Attack gained from Housenki after Naraku had used the shard to make him fight InuYasha. Able to pierce Naraku's stronger barriers. He only can use this in the manga.
 * Sheath of Tessaiga (Tessaiga no Saya): Can deflect energy attacks with the barrier used to contain Tessaiga's power.
 * Robe of the Fire Rat: InuYasha's kimono allows him to resist fire. (It also works on others to whom he lends it.)

See also: InuYasha