A Complete Cast and Character Guide for Inuyasha (2024)

Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha is a feudal love story between a half-dog demon, Inuyasha, and a modern human girl, Kagome. The story centers on their adventures, alongside their friends, as they travel around Japan in the Sengoku Era to retrieve the Shikon Jewel shards before other demons seek to use the jewel's power for evil.

In this series, many characters play a role in developing Inuyasha’s and Kagome Higurashi's identities and helping them achieve their goal. Who are Inuyasha's main characters, and what are their roles in the franchise?

The Main Cast of Inuyasha: Searching for the Shikon Jewel Shards & Fighting Against Naraku

Inuyasha is a dog demon and human hybrid. He has a stubborn and prideful personality but has a soft side, especially toward humans. Inuyasha refuses to kill humans despite wanting to become a full-fledged demon, just like his father, Toga, the Great Dog Demon.

Inuyasha's human mother, Izayoi, raised him. Society shunned him due to his demon blood, and demons treated him poorly. Due to a tough childhood, Inuyasha's dream was to obtain the Shikon Jewel, which grants any wish to its user. He wanted to use the jewel’s power to become a full-fledged demon. His priorities change when he falls in love with a priestess, Kikyo, the protector of the Shikon Jewel. Rather than becoming a demon, Inuyasha plans to use the jewel to become a human so that he and Kikyo can spend the rest of their lives together. Their love story ends in tragedy when a jealous Naraku sets them up to think they betrayed one another. Kikyo shoots an arrow at Inuyasha and binds him to the Sacred Tree.

Fifty years later, Kagome Higurashi pulls the arrow from Inuyasha's abdomen, breaking the seal. The two journey together to retrieve the shattered Shikon Jewel shards before Naraku collects them. At first, Inuyasha and Kagome do not get along. Still, as the two continue to travel together, they develop feelings for one another, making Inuyasha question whether to become a full-fledged demon again.

Kagome Higurashi is a modern-day Japanese high school student who accidentally gets dragged into the Bone-Eater's Well by a demon centipede and gets rescued by Inuyasha. Their relationship develops as they travel around to obtain the shards of the Shikon Jewel after Kagome accidentally shoots an arrow at the jewel.

Kagome is the reincarnation of the legendary priestess Kikyo and was born with the Shikon Jewel embedded within her body. Kagome is a kind and pure-hearted young woman who always tries to help those in need. She has great emotional strength, making it difficult for demons to possess her through worldly desires or negative emotions. She has strong feelings toward Inuyasha, and throughout the series, she questions whether Inuyasha feels the same way.

Miroku is wise but is also a conniving and lecherous Buddhist monk. He joins Inuyasha and Kagome's journey so that he can defeat Naraku and end his family's "Wind Tunnel" curse. The "Wind Tunnel" is a black hole embedded in Miroku's right hand. The black hole will grow bigger, and the user will eventually get swept into it. The curse passed down from generation to generation after his great-grandfather encountered Naraku.

Miroku is aware that this curse will eventually kill him at any time. Hence, he hopes to get married and have children. If he cannot break the curse, his children will continue the quest, and his family's bloodline continues. Miroku flirts with every woman he sees, but his heart is set on his traveling companion, Sango.

Sango is a highly skilled demon slayer. She uses a human-sized boomerang known as a Hiraikotsu to kill demons. Sango is strong and independent and doesn't like asking for help from other people. She is very fond of her younger brother, Kohaku, and will do anything to protect him. Sango falls in love with Miroku despite his womanizing ways.

Sango is originally from a small demon-hunting village, but an unfortunate fate causes the village's demise. Sango's younger brother, Kohaku, gets possessed by a demon and kills everyone, including their father. Sango vows vengeance and to save Kohaku from Naraku's control.

Shippo is a playful and brave orphaned kitsune, or fox demon. He tries his best to be courageous when fighting his enemies. Yet, he mainly stays on the sidelines, seeking care and protection from his comrades. He tried to steal the Shikon Jewel from Inuyasha and Kagome because he wanted to grow strong to avenge his father's death. Shippo eventually befriended and joined them on their journey. He considers the group to be his family. Shippo is fond of Kagome and considers her an older sister. Shippo teases and plays tricks on Inuyasha, even though Inuyasha would punish him.

Kirara is Sango's faithful companion and the group's mode of transportation during battle. Kirara is a nekomata, a mythical cat with two tails. Kirara was originally the companion of Midoriko, the creator of the Shikon Jewel, and later on, Kirara became part of Sango's family. Kirara is a cat demon. Her actions and expressions are like a cat: she eats cat food and plays with cat toys. Kirara is intelligent and has a strong awareness of people's emotional states. When Sango or Kagome is upset, Kirara shows compassion and tries to cheer them up with cuddles. She is loyal to Sango and the rest of the group, helping them with specific requests.

Inuyasha's Affiliates: The Supporting Cast Members

Kikyo is a powerful priestess whose duty is to protect and purify the Shikon Jewel. Kikyo is a kind and compassionate person. She is forgiving toward everyone, regardless of whether they are a friend or foe. She is devoted to being a priestess and cares deeply for those around her, including her sister, Kaede, and her lover, Inuyasha. Kikyo rarely showed her emotions to anyone and preferred to be reserved and stoic.

Kikyo passed away fifty years before the current events of the series. Kikyo was the former lover of Inuyasha. After getting severely wounded by Naraku and then sealing Inuyasha to the Sacred Tree, she felt such great emotional and physical pain that she decided to end her life and burn the Shikon Jewel with her to prevent any other evil humans and demons from possessing it. Soon after, Kikyo gets resurrected by a demon named Urasue and goes on a journey to defeat Naraku, the one responsible for ending her relationship with Inuyasha, and to remove the existence of the Shikon Jewel from the world.

Kaede is Kikyo's younger sister. While Kikyo was still alive, Kaede would help her sister with daily tasks like gathering herbs. After Kikyo passes away, Kaede becomes a shrine priestess like her sister and becomes the protector of her village from demons. She mentors Kagome, teaching her about life as a shrine priestess. Kaede lost her eye fifty years ago when her sister passed away. Kaede is reserved but quick-witted, making amusing remarks at Inuyasha every time he teases her.

Myoga is a flea demon and was previously a companion of Inuyasha's father, Toga, The Great Dog Demon. When Toga passed away, Myoga became in charge of guarding Toga's legendary sword, Tessaiga, until Inuyasha retrieved it. He becomes Inuyasha's loyal informant on current events and enemies. Myoga acts tough and brave, but whenever Inuyasha is in battle against another demon, he quickly runs and hides out of fear.

Totosai is an elderly yokai blacksmith. He has great pride in his sword-making skills. Totosai forged the fangs of Toga to create two powerful swords: Tessaiga and Tenseiga. Similar to Myoga, Totosai looks after and mentors Toga's sons, especially when it comes to them using the two inherited swords. Totosai often forges the swords as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru learn to master them. Inuyasha gets stronger at protecting the people he cares about, and Sesshomaru learns to be more compassionate toward others, especially humans.

Koga is a wolf demon and the leader of the Eastern Wolf Demon Tribe. He is Inuyasha's rival in physical strength and love. Despite their rivalry, Koga becomes an ally of Inuyasha and joins the fight to stop Naraku and Kagura, who are responsible for eradicating his tribe. When Koga first encounters Inuyasha's group, he kidnaps Kagome so that she can track the sacred jewel shards for him. After spending time with Kagome, Koga falls in love with Kagome. When he visits the group, Inuyasha instantly gets jealous as Koga flirts with her, even though Kagome sees him as just a friend.

Sesshomaru's Party: A Wanderlust Group of Travelers

Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's cold-hearted and stoic full-fledged dog-demon half-brother. He has immense power due to his lineage and is feared and respected by all demons. Sesshomaru isn't interested in collecting the Shikon Jewel shards, but he does want to defeat Naraku for personal reasons.

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha have a complicated sibling relationship. They tolerate one another but rarely show love and compassion toward one another. Sesshomaru has feelings of jealousy and disdain toward his brother, Inuyasha, after inheriting the Tessaiga, and he is left to inherit the Tenseiga, a sword that cannot kill. He has a strong dislike toward humans as he sees them as weaklings. While traveling with Rin and the rest of his party, Sesshomaru slowly displays more compassion toward living things.

Jaken is a green-imp demon. Jaken shows great loyalty toward Sesshomaru and always praises him for his achievements, especially in front of others. Sesshomaru always ignores Jaken's compliments and playfully teases and abuses Jaken, but he considers Jaken a loyal and worthy ally. Sesshomaru even gifts the Staff of Two Heads to Jaken. Jaken is cowardly like Myoga, but even so, he would never abandon Sesshomaru in battle.

A-Un is a two-headed dragon with horse-like traits. A-Un had been traveling with Sesshomaru for a very long time, but A-Un was never given a name by Sesshomaru. Rin names the right head "A" and the left head "Un." A-Un can fly and shoot lightning from both of its mouths. "A" can shoot blue beams of lightning, and "Un" can shoot green beams of lightning that are said to be capable of controlling the weather. A-Un is a laidback and benevolent creature and has a great fondness for Rin and Kohaku. He is subservient to everyone except Jaken, who they often ignore. Like Kirara, A-Un is self-aware of individuals' feelings and is responsive to situations.

Rin is an orphaned human girl who is a faithful traveling companion to Sesshomaru. She meets Sesshomaru when he is severely injured. Rin takes care of him by bandaging his wounds. She is brought back to life by Sesshomaru's Tenseiga after she was killed by Koga's tribe when they raided her village. At first, Rin had difficulty communicating with others because she lived as an orphan and didn't have anyone to talk to until she met Sesshomaru and Jaken. Rin sees them as family. She's a kind-hearted young girl with a natural curiosity about the world. Like Kagome, she sees goodness in all individuals, even if they are an enemy.

Kohaku is Sango's younger brother and is also a demon slayer. For most of Inuyasha, Kohaku was under Naraku's control and forced to do evil deeds. He breaks Naraku's control and decides to redeem his wrongs by killing Naraku. Soon after, Kohaku joins Kikyo's and Sesshomaru's traveling parties. Kohaku is a humble and kind young boy. Kohaku and Rin developed a strong brother-sister relationship while she was kidnapped by Naraku. He cares a lot about his family; thus, when he regains his memories, Kohaku shows great remorse and decides to live a life of redemption for his sins.

The Main Antagonists of Inuyasha: Naraku, His Incarnations and The Band of Seven

Naraku is the main antagonist in the Inuyasha series. Naraku was once a bandit named Onigumo who fell in love with Kikyo. He became jealous of Kikyo and Inuyasha's relationship, which led to Naraku tricking the couple into betraying one another. He is also responsible for Miroku's cursed Wind Tunnel and the death of Sango's demon-slaying village.

Naraku is cruel and manipulative. He takes pride and joy in the suffering of others and is responsible for the suffering of many of the characters in Inuyasha. Naraku is seeking the Shikon Jewel to become even more powerful and invincible and be able to pursue his selfish desires.

Naraku's Key Incarnations

After retrieving several Shikon Jewel shards, Naraku creates new demons from his body. The incarnations are his minions that would do his bidding to fight against Inuyasha and his group. To keep control of his incarnations, Naraku owns their hearts. He would squeeze their hearts, inflicting pain onto them, if his incarnations refused to do his bidding.

Kanna represents the "void," or nothingness. She is quiet and unemotional. She has pale white skin and hair, and she carries a mirror that has the power to suck out the souls of people. Kanna has no demon aura; thus, individuals cannot detect her presence, and she is not affected by any demon-preventative barriers and effects. Kanna is Naraku's most trusted and loyal reincarnation. She is aware of Naraku's secretive plans and actions and is actively fulfilling them.

Kagura is a wind sorceress. She can create gusts of wind and tornadoes to attack individuals with fans and use feather-like hair ornaments as a means of transportation. Kagura wishes to be free of Naraku's control. Thus, she isn't opposed to Inuyasha's goal of stopping Naraku, and if Inuyasha cannot kill Naraku, Kagura will find a way to do it herself. Kagura is similar to Naraku. Both are willing to sacrifice anyone to fulfill their goals. Kagura is quite observant and tactical. She makes calculative decisions that favor her.

The Infant is Naraku's heart and is protected by Moryomaru, an artificial body. The Infant is a baby that is capable of human speech. He is as devious and controlling as Naraku. The Infant has the power to control people by manipulating the darkness within their hearts. The Infant aims to control Kagome and use her to find the rest of the Shikon jewel shards. Later on, at Mount Hakurei, the right side of The Infant's body is used for the incarnation of Hakudoshi.

The Band of Seven

The Band of Seven is a group of human mercenaries that Naraku resurrected. Naraku assigned them to stop Inuyasha and his group from traveling to Mount Hakurei while Naraku was there.

Inuyasha

In the year 1496 in Japan, the priestess Kikyo guards the Shikon Jewel, which grants any wish. Kikyo and the half-demon Inuyasha fall into a trap, leading to betrayal and Kikyo's death. Five hundred years later, Kagome, Kikyo's reincarnation, is transported to the Sengoku period, where the Shikon Jewel shatters. Inuyasha, aided by Kagome and a diverse group, seeks to collect the shards and confront the spider half-demon Naraku, who manipulated Inuyasha and Kikyo. As they journey, relationships develop, and the group faces challenges, culminating in Kagome's selfless wish to erase the Shikon Jewel forever, leading to a changed Sengoku period and Kagome's reunion with Inuyasha

Author

Rumiko Takahashi

Artist

Rumiko Takahashi

Release Date

November 13, 1996

Genre

Adventure , Fantasy , Romance

Chapters

558

Volumes

56

Adaptation

Inuyasha (2000)

Publisher

Shogakukan, Viz Media

Inuyasha (2000)

TV-14

Action-Adventure

A teenage girl periodically travels back in time to feudal Japan to help a young half-demon recover the shards of a jewel of great power.

Release Date

October 16, 2000

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

7

Studio

Sunrise

Franchise

Inuyasha

Creator

Rumiko Takahashi