Sesshōmaru

Sesshōmaru (殺生丸, Sesshōmaru), feared throughout the world as "Lord Sesshōmaru, Warlord of the Eastern Lands", is Inuyasha's half-brother and the successor to the Great Dog Demon. Unlike many other demons, he has no interest in possessing even one shard of the Shikon Jewel of Four Souls to enhance his powers, since he is already supremely confident of his own strength and he only relies on his sword to aid him. Accompianing him, is a small human child named Rin, and a demon by the name Jaken. After Naraku attempts to manipulate him by using Rin as a hostage, Sesshomaru becomes determined to destroy Naraku.

Appearance
Sesshōmaru is often considered bishōnen due to his slightly feminine appearance even though his attitude strongly opposes this notion. His garments and armor have a decidedly mainland influence, including his waist sash and pointed boots. Sesshōmaru has a Prussian blue crescent moon on his forehead. He also has two red markings on each cheek and on the sides of his wrists as well as one red stripe on each of his eye lids. By default this is Sesshōmaru's preferred form.

Sesshōmaru's armor includes a spiked pauldron that covers his left shoulder attached to the upper section of his cuirass. When damaged, his armor automatically regenerates itself using youki. Both his armor and his long flowing sash have a decided "Mainland" influence, as opposed to the customary Japanese armor and Obi. His Kimono is mostly white with a red honeycomb and flower crest at the collar and sleeves. He wears Sashinuki Hakama, which are gathered at the ankles producing the "ballooning" effect. His footwear consists of flat pointed ankle-high boots. In the colored manga, the markings on his face and the flower pattern on his kimono are a purple-blue colour, however, these features are red in the anime.

His true form is that of a giant white dog with markings similar to those he has in his human form. Several times during the anime and manga when he becomes furious or badly injured his features can be observed shifting slightly into resembling his true form. At that time, the whites of his eyes become red and the pupils and irises purple. The features and markings on his face begin to elongate and become fierce in detail. In the anime, a reddish pink vapor swirls around him to signal his transformation. In this form, he brandishes white fur and long ears. The moko-sama "worn" around his neck becomes part of his fur as a large, billowing collection of fur. Also, he is often seen snarling whilst drooling highly acidic saliva. He has taken on this form at least almost twice during the anime, the second time being when he was ambushed by a band of priests and shows off a burst of transformation to ward off a purifying incantation. In the manga however, he has taken on this form full 3 times. The second time is when he encounters his unnamed mother and the last time is when he verses Magatsuhi in order to overwhelm him.

Personality
A very powerful demon lord (daiyōkai, literally great yōkai); Sesshōmaru often appears aloof and indifferent, and rarely shows any emotions other than slight annoyance or dissatisfaction. He thinks highly of himself and is cruel to others, though he is protective of his minions. He cares little for others, and thinks that humans, while at times amusing, are merely mortal and ultimately expendable. He believes that struggle is the only way for survival. He especially despises InuYasha, his half-human/half-demon (hanyō) half-brother, who wields the powerful Tesseiga, a sword made from one of their father's fangs that can kill 100 yōkai in one strike. (Although in the 3rd movie it is hinted that he acutualy does care about Inuyasha but refuses to admit it when he is protecting him from the Sounga's Dragon Twister.

Although Sesshōmaru maintains a cool, uncaring, at times even heartless, exterior, the presence of Rin at his heels is proof of his growing compassion. He not only tolerates a human, but also acts in an extremely protective manner towards her and rushes to her aid when she gets in trouble. Naraku later had Kagura kidnap Rin as a get-away plan in his attempt to absorb the body and the full yōkai power of Sesshōmaru. Naraku's plan failed and Sesshōmaru was fired up and wanted to go after Naraku, who was trying to escape, but upon hearing that Rin was in danger, Sesshōmaru let him go and came to the aid of Rin. Subsequently he decided to kill Naraku as well. At this point, Sesshōmaru largely becomes more of an ally than an enemy.

His growing compassion prompts the master sword-smith Totosai to reforge Tenseiga, enabling the Meidō Zangetsuha attack. After Naraku attempts to manipulate him by using Rin as a hostage, Sesshōmaru becomes determined to destroy Naraku.

Biography
Sesshomaru began his quest for the Tessaiga by searching for the place that a short poem indicated it would be. Sesshomaru's father was a very wise and a great dog demon lord. He hid it well from both brothers for quite some time and prevented it from being misused by casting a barrier around the sword so that a full-blooded yōkai or one without compassion for humans cannot hold or wield the Tessaiga. It is for this reason that Sesshomaru is unable to hold or wield the sword. However, even knowing that he cannot touch the sword, Sesshomaru initially desired to take it from InuYasha, as he felt it rightfully belonged to him and not his hanyō sibling. For this reason he fought with InuYasha in their father's burial grounds and by chance, InuYasha transformed the blade for the first time and hacked off Sesshomaru's left arm. After he obtained the Tokijin, he seems to have lost interest in the Tessaiga.

He is followed by his minion, a kappa yōkai named Jaken, and later by a human orphan named Rin who Sesshomaru brought back to life, using Tenseiga, for unknown reasons. (At that time, he claims to be 'testing' the sword, but it is unclear whether that is his true intention.) He is also followed by a two-headed dragon, named Ah-Un (阿吽) that often accompanies Rin.

Although Sesshomaru maintains a cool, uncaring, at times even heartless, exterior, the presence of Rin at his heels is proof of his growing compassion. He not only tolerates a human, but also acts in an extremely protective manner towards her and rushes to her aid when she gets in trouble. Naraku later had Kagura kidnap Rin as a get-away plan in his attempt to absorb the body and the full yōkai power of Sesshomaru. Naraku's plan failed and Sesshomaru was fired up and wanted to go after Naraku, who was trying to escape, but upon hearing that Rin was in danger, Sesshomaru let him go and came to the aid of Rin. Subsequently he decided to kill Naraku as well. At this point, Sesshomaru largely becomes more of an ally then an enemy.

On his way to Mount Hakurei, Sesshomaru saves Kagome, Miroku and Sango from the poison user Mukotsu, one of the Shichinintai (七人隊), however when confronted with the fact, he merely says,"'I only killed someone who got in my way."

Kagura, one of Naraku's incarnations, later betrays Naraku to obtain her freedom. She belives that only Sesshomaru can defeat him. In an attempt to escape from Naraku, she is caught and given her heart back, at a price. At the moment she heard her heart beat Naraku stabbed her and injected her with miasma. She flees to a nearby meadow and the flowers she sits upon turn red and get picked up by the wind. A petal reaches Sesshomaru in the midst of a battle with Moryomaru. Smelling her blood and miasma he is infuriated and quickly concludes the quarrel. Then, he turns up in front of her. Sesshomaru tells Kagura that he picked up the scent of blood and miasma. Sadly, Kagura says,"I see, you thought I was Naraku. Are you disappointed that I'm not Naraku?" Sesshomaru replies to her,"I knew it was you." He reaches for Tenseiga but then realizes at that moment that she can't be saved. Kagura is happy she got to see Sesshomaru one last time. She looks up at him and smiles as she dies before him dissolving into the wind.

Powers & Abilities

 * Poison Claw: Sesshomaru's claws release deadly acid which can melt flesh. Sometimes he uses it like InuYasha uses his Sankon Tessō (Soul-Shattering Iron Claw or Iron Reaver Soul Stealer) attack, but he can also use it to spray venomous acid from his fingertips.
 * Whip of Light: Exclusive to the anime, can generate a thin whiplike strand of energy from his fingertips that can slice through almost anything.
 * Dragon Strike: It is his signature move but it is mainly seen in the movies (three times in the third and twice in the fourth). Its strength is comparable to his brothers Bakuryuuha (Backlash Wave). The Dragon Strike takes on the form of a dragon-like lighting by Sesshomaru waving his sword in the air and from there it takes form. He can also put in the ground which allows him break an enemy's barrier. Unlike the Wind Scar or Backlash Wave, however, this attack is born of Sesshomaru's own power rather than that of a sword, as he is seen using it with both the Tokijin and Tenseiga in the third movie. In the second episode of Inuyasha: The Final Act, Sesshomaru used the Dragon Strike on Mouryoumaru with the tokijin
 * Flight: Ability to hover in the sky or generate a sparkling dust cloud to ride on.
 * Poison Immunity: Sesshomaru is immune to all kinds of poison.
 * Super Endurance: Sesshomaru is able to resist pain better than most demons.
 * Super Speed: Ability to move at blinding speed in short bursts, Sesshomaru can move faster than the eye can see, both on land and through the air. When he does this in the anime, he leaves behind a fast-moving blur and in some cases, after-images. He can also instantaneously close long distances without being detected by others.
 * Super Strength: Sesshomaru possesses physical strength far beyond that of a normal demon; he was able to easily lift InuYasha by the throat into the air with one hand in one of their earlier encounters. In addition, Sesshomaru was seen carrying the boulder-sized demon head of Goshinki in one hand with little to no effort. In the InuYasha profiles manga, Rumiko stated that Sesshomaru has Herculean strength, even with only one arm; his strength with only one arm is double that of InuYasha's full strength; InuYasha's strength allows him to lift a 9 to 10 ton boulder using one arm with little effort, so Sesshomaru would naturally be capable of lifting double that or far more with the same amount of effort.
 * Teleportation: He has the ability to morph into a ball of energy and move over great distances over a short amount of time.
 * Psionics: Though Sesshomaru's psionic capabilities have never been specifically quantified, he has demonstrated powerful feats of both telepathy and telekinesis in both the anime and manga. Examples of such being his ability to mentally levitate and fling skulls at InuYasha and Kagome in the 7th episode of the anime as well as his ability to overwhelm Goshinki's powerful telepathic aura in order to claim Tokijin as his own.
 * Taiyōkai: As the son of a great dog demon lord, naturally Sesshomaru is a far superior yōkai with heightened senses, intelligence and strength. While he appears to be an elf-eared human bearing splendid clothing and armour most of the time; he can transform into his true form at will, which is that of a gigantic acid-breathing flying canine with white fur (though he's only done this three times).
 * Immortality: Being a demon, Sesshomaru does not suffer from old age the way humans do. He appears to be a young man in his 20s. However, he has been around for at least a few hundred years.
 * Regeneration: An ability that allows Sesshomaru to seemly replace limbs lost in battle and recover from similar severe damage. This ability was obtained once Sesshomaru found the necessary strength to summon Bakusaiga, he not only regrew his lost limb but healed from severe wounds inflicted earlier.

Tenseiga
Tenseiga (天生牙, "heavenly life fang" or "fang born out of heaven") is one of the Swords of Supreme Conquest, once held by Inu no Taishō; now in possession of Sesshōmaru. The sword has a special property in that it cannot harm any living beings, which is ironic for a sword. However its power lies in the fact that it can bring the recently dead back to life as well as healing the wounded. Tenseiga allows a powerful wielder to see and slay the beings from the underworld, as well as bringing up to 100 beings back to life in one swing. And it should be noted, that the Tenseiga has a mind of its own, as at various points, it has been seen talking to Sesshōmaru by telling him things like wishing to be drawn or giving him advice. It can restore the life of the dead by cutting the pale-bearers who take the souls of the dead. It was also able to cut Magatsuhi, the manifestation of the evil yōkai with whom Midoriko battles inside the jewel. The sword also acts on its own when his life is in serious danger, and grants Sesshōmaru access into the Netherworld through the Border of the Afterlife as Tenseiga isn't a sword of earth.


 * Sōryūha (龍スト, dragon strike); When Sesshōmaru charges yoki into the Tenseiga and then releases, a massive amount of yoki in the form of blue arcs of lightning. In the fourth movie, the Sōryūha became stronger and manifested in the form of a blue dragon made of energy. Sōryūha is at first shown to be equal in power to the Bakuryūha but when Sesshōmaru channeled his anger into the Tenseiga to strengthen the attack further, it eventually overpowered the Bakuryūha.
 * Meidō Zangetsuha (冥道斬月波, "dark path of the dawn's moon blast") is a technique that creates a path that sends anyone who is hit with it directly to hell, killing them without actually harming them. The technique originally belonged to Inu no Taishō's own zanpakutō; however, he passed it on to his son Sesshōmaru in order to give him the power to protect, not just to kill. The Meidō Zangetsuha creates a massive black circle that will send a entire body into hell, leaving no trace left behind. However, when Sesshōmaru was first learning to use the technique, the Meidō will take the form of a black cresent moon that only sent a part of a person into hell along with their soul; stronger opponents may be uneffected by the cresent Meidou. As Sesshōmaru gained strength, the Meidō grew until it became a perfect circle.

Bakusaiga
Bakusaiga (爆砕牙, Explosive Crushing Fang) was created from Sesshōmaru's own body, once he abandoned his lust for Tessaiga. The Bakusaiga came from Sesshōmaru's body attached to his finally regenerated arm. It is nearly unique in that it is one of two yōkai swords in the InuYasha universe not forged from a yōkai's fang. It is Sesshōmaru's final signature sword.
 * Decomposition: Bakusaiga appears to manifest a form of corrosive wave attack, an interesting manifestation of Sesshōmaru's own power of corrosive poisoning as a sword attack. Miroku comments that Naraku would suffer the same affliction should he absorb any demon wounded by Bakusaiga. If there are any significant limits to the effects of the corrosive power they are not known - even the fully transformed body of Naraku was unable to stop or quench the effect and only avoided it by abandoning pieces to destruction. Only the Shikon no Tama itself withstood any Bakusaiga attack, and it appeared to be immune to essentially all demonic attacks of any nature.
 * Destructive Wave: The Bakusaiga's destructive wave is seen only once in the Manga, in Chapter 523 when Sesshōmaru easily dispatches thousands of demons pitted against him to delay his arrival at another battle. If there is an upper limit to the strength of this wave it is not known, though its power is far in excess of the Tessaiga's Kaze no Kizu.

Equipment

 * Staff of two Heads: This can locate his father's grave, fire streams of flame and generate floods of water. The staff is usually held by his assistant Jaken. It features an old man's and a woman's head. They can speak when the staff is used.


 * Mokomoko: is the "fur 'sash'" on Sesshomaru's shoulder that can stretch to long distances. He uses it every once in a while, he once used it to grab InuYasha. It can be extended to great lengths and used to whip or constrict people.

Quotes

 * "Just because you have Tessaiga, it doesn't mean a low-life like you can master it."
 * "All that for a memory and a dead mortal girl? If I'd have known that's what it would have taken for you to fight, I would have killed her sooner."
 * "You're truly stupid, aren't you? You know, you could just hide and run away...For you, the image of that wouldn't be disgraceful. Because, after all, your living soul in itself is already the pinnacle of disgrace."
 * "You haven't even released the full power of the Tessaiga. Watch as I destroy 100 demons with one blow."
 * "Well, Totosai... don't you think it's a pity for Tessaiga? All Inuyasha can do is wave about a sword with all his strength... it's the same whether it's a famous sword or a log." 

Trivia

 * The kanji of "Sesshō" means "killing or destruction.". The suffix "Maru" is usually a suffix that is often added at the end of a Japanese name for young males in samurai families. They would use this name until they were recognized as adults, whereupon they would adopt a new name. However, it is said that "maru" can also translate as the word for "circle or perfection", which is a common Japanese motiff for what in the West is called "the circle of life." It is revealed in one of Rumiko Takahashi's InuYasha Guides, that his name means "killing perfection," Which best discribes his usual personality.
 * Many fans have nicknamed Sesshomaru, "Fluffy", referring to the white fluff on his shoulder.
 * He makes an appearance as a concept art in the front pages of Chapter 9, before he was introduced as a character.