Takemaru

was a character who appeared in the third InuYasha movie Swords of an Honorable Ruler where he is one of the main antagonists.

Overview
Takemaru no Setsuna was a jealous human Samurai lord who fell in love with Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi. His jealousy became so great at he attempted to take her life and impaled her while she was in labor with Inuyasha. When Inu no Taishō, Inuyasha's father, came to save her, Takemaru appeared before the daiyōkai warrior and attempted to take him on but his challenge was easily brushed aside, costing him his left arm. Not wanting to let the Inu daiyōkai take Izayoi away, he orders his soldiers to immediately burn down the castle. Takemaru's attempt to keep her for himself was in vain as the daiyōkai utilized Tenseiga to revive Izayoi, allowing her to escape while he fought the desperate Takemaru to the death. Takemaru is killed off screen when the Inu no Taishō draws forth Sō'unga and claims his life with the Dragon Twister.

Later on, the sword Sō'unga (free from Saya) wanders around the land searching for a suitable host after its seal is broken. Reacting to the lingering thoughts of Takemaru, whose skeleton resided in the charred badlands, the evil sword revived him and fed on his desire for revenge against the Inu no Taishō and his kin. To further sweeten their vengeance, Sō'unga gives Takemaru Sesshōmaru's left arm which was lopped off during the daiyōkai's scuffle with his younger brother earlier in the series. With blade in hand, Takemaru transforms into a Yōkai of death and destruction and takes command of a nearby castle, killing its inhabitants and soldiers whose corpses he uses to raise an army of evil undead as he erects a dark castle to begin his conquest. As Inuyasha's and Sesshōmaru's groups storm the castle, Takemaru comes face to face with Sesshōmaru himself with Tōkijin at the ready.

Though Sesshōmaru is able to easily overpower him in terms of strength and even cuts him down, the Sō'unga simply regenerates him, mocking him that he can't be killed by another weapon already steeped in evil. It is from this realization that Sesshōmaru instead draws forth Tenseiga and attacks again, but Takemaru still lives and continues to mock him, proclaiming that he is disappointing his father's fang. Inuyasha then arrives at the scene and does battle with him after a preemptive Wind Scar attack. Crossing blades, Takemaru looks at Inuyasha and sees his mother in him. Growing colder, he reveals to him that he was the one who had taken his mother's life, greatly angering the half-demon. While Sesshōmaru and Inuyasha begin to bicker over fighting him, Takemaru tries to take this opportunity to kill them both with the Dragon Twister. Inuyasha however rushes forth and drives him back with an unprecedented amount of power. Takemaru is baffled by this and Inuyasha explains that it is his human side that gives him the persistence and willpower to fight to the end as well as the desire to protect those close to him. With one final push, he finally blasts him through a wall, defeating him. His last thoughts are of Izayoi and regretting his mistakes as his body is reduced to bone once more before his skeleton is crushed by the temple's following transformation.

Personality
Takemaru was depicted as a man who appeared to care for Izayoi but his jealousy over the Dog General consumed him so that he became a danger to all around him and attempted to take Izayoi's life. When resurrected at the behest of Sō'unga, Takemaru's jealousy gradually turned to insanity, wanting to slay each and every human, no matter their age, if they shared a relationship with demons, causing him to view them all the same way that he viewed Izayoi.

Appearance
Takemaru first appears as a male human adult with fair skin and black hair tied up in a short fashion. When he was still alive, he wore traditional samurai lord armor featuring a distinct crimson sheen. After being revived as a specter, most of his armor has been worn down but his hair grew to its full length, much past his shoulders. After taking hold of So'unga, Takemaru took on a slightly demonic appearance featuring blue spots and markings on the right side of his face and a long horn growing from his forehead along with his hair becoming red and shaggy. His eyes gained a yellow sclera and pupils became red. He wore a dark jacket, white hakama and crimson armor with spikes jutting out and a large blue jewel in the middle of his chestplate.

Powers and abilities

 * Expert Swordsmanship - Despite being a human, Takemaru possessed enough sufficient skill with a sword to go toe-to-toe with Sesshōmaru and even hold both him and Inuyasha back. This is most likely due to being possessed by Sō'unga.
 * Regeneration - As a result of being possessed by Sō'unga, Takemaru is able to regenerate from even the most fatal of wounds and could even recover from a slash of the Tenseiga as his hate prevented him from passing on
 * Dragon Twister - As a result of wielding Sō'unga, Takemaru can, at will, invoke the powerful Dragon Twister which allows him to summon forth the powers of a hell dragon and utilize its power in the form of a massive twister of demonic power strong enough to level a fully fortified castle single-handed.

Weapons

 * Warlord Armor - When he was still alive, Takemaru adorned a set of red armor, including cuirass, gauntlets, grieves and helmet. After his death, this was worn down but restored and transformed after taking a hold of Sō'unga.


 * Sō'unga - The third sword once possessed by the Dog General. It fed on Takemaru's lingering desires as a specter and restored him to life and gave him great power, promising him supreme conquest if he was to kill Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru. While their swords, Tessaiga and Tenseiga, could destroy a hundred demons in one swing and save a hundred lives in one swoop, Sō'unga could summon forth a hundred corpses from Hell itself to serve the wielder. Unlike the other two swords, So'unga is possessed by an ancient and malevolent demon spirit.

Trivia

 * Takemaru's full title, "Setsuna no Takemaru" (刹那の猛丸, せつなのたけまる), literally translates as "Violent/Savage/Cruel/Bold Circle/Perfection" (Takemaru) "of the Moment" (Setsuna no); and literally translates rather fittingly as "in the heat of the moment".

Setsuna No Takemaru