Sesshomaru Japanese 殺生丸 Romaji Sesshomaru Alternate Name(s) Sesshoumaru Sesshōmaru Age 160 (approx) Race Dog demon Weapons Tenseiga, Tokijin Family Connections Father (deceased) Mother (deceased) InuYasha (half-brother) Sesshoumaru (殺生丸 Sesshōmaru) is a character in the anime and manga series InuYasha. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Contents 1 Character and history 2 Voice Actors 3 Special attacks, abilities, and items 3.1 Attacks 3.2 Abilities and traits 3.3 Items 4 Name 5 Appearance 6 Notes 7 External links Character and history Sesshōmaru is a demon lord (taiyōkai, literally great yōkai). He 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 most others, though he is protective of his underlings (however, he tries to hide this). Sesshoumaru cares little for others, and thinks of most humans in particular as mere mortals that are, while at times amusing, ultimately expendable. He rarely smiles, but when he does, it's never a good thing. With the ambition to walk the path of conquest, he desires to become stronger (although he is incredibly strong already, possibly much stronger than Naraku), even at the expense of others. He will not, however, use the Shikon no Tama shards to gain strength, which separates him from other demons questing for power. He believes that struggle is the only way for survival and especially despises InuYasha, his half-human half-demon (hanyō) brother, who wields the powerful Tessaiga, a sword made from one of their father's fangs that can kill 100 yōkai in one strike. Sesshoumaru does have Tenseiga, another sword made from his father's fang. However, the Tenseiga, which can bring 100 people back to life with a single swing, was originally incapable of harming an opponent, thus it was useless in a battle. He eventually uses the power of Tenseiga to resurrect the head of Goshinki so that Kaijinbo (Kaijinbō) can forge the Tokijin (Tōkijin) from his fangs. Although the Tokijin was a formidable weapon, it is later destroyed during a fight with Mouryōmaru. Recently, however, the swordsmith Totosai reforged Tenseiga with the ability to send opponents into the afterlife with a single swing, making it a weapon to replace Tokijin. In the manga, it was stated by Totosai that after Kagura's death, Sesshoumaru gained a small amount of compassion making him capable of wielding Tenseiga as a weapon. Naturally Sesshōmaru desires the destructive power that the Tessaiga holds. His father was a very wise and a great dog demon lord. He hid the Tetsusaiga well from both brothers for quite some time in InuYasha's right eye and prevented it from being misused by casting a barrier around the sword so that most full-blooded yōkai or one without compassion for humans cannot hold or wield the Tessaiga. It is for this reason that Sesshoumaru is unable to hold the sword, lest its barrier burns his flesh. Still, as an extremely powerful demon, he is able to wield the Tessaiga for a short time. There have been a few occasions where he held the Tessaiga despite its barrier. In the third movie of the InuYasha franchise, when he fought against a possessed InuYasha, he grasped Tessaiga and performed a Wind Scar on InuYasha. Another time was when he encountered Sara, a human princess who loved him, he used Tessaiga to free her from the demons' control. However, even knowing that he cannot touch the sword, Sesshoumaru still desires to take it from InuYasha, as he feels it rightfully belongs 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 Sesshoumaru's left arm. After that, Sesshoumaru began using the arms of other demons, but they rot and become useless after awhile. Later he made a deal with Naraku, he would kill InuYasha in exchange for a human hand with a Shikon Jewel shard. That way he can wield Tessaiga and use it. There is a small contradiction in this matter as the sword only transforms when it is wielded by those who have the will to protect. At that time, Sesshoumaru certainly was not thinking of protecting anyone. Therefore there is some speculation about why the Tetsusaiga transformed for him. One theory is that the arm Sesshoumaru was using to wield Tetsusaiga had a Shikon Jewel Shard in it that enabled him to transform the sword. Another opinion states that Sesshoumaru was able to compel the sword to obey him through his own demonic power and that it could not harm him with its protective barrier. After he obtained the Tokijin, he seemed to lose interest in the Tessaiga. Once Tokijin is broken in a battle against Moryomaru and he then achieves the skill of destroying his enemies with the Tenseiga, it appears that he has lost his interest in obtaining Tessaiga altogether. He is followed by his minion, a kappa (mythical creature) yōkai named Jaken, and later by a human orphan named Rin, whom Sesshōmaru brought back to life using Tenseiga. Though he told Jaken that he was merely testing his sword, his thoughts revealed that it was Tenseiga itself that compelled him to resuscitate Rin. He is also followed by a two-headed dragon named Ah-Un. Ah-Un is Rin and Jaken's main form of transportation when Sesshoumaru takes flight or when they need to cover long distances quickly, as only Sesshoumaru and Ah-Un are capable of flight. Rin is always instructed to stay with Ah-Un when Sesshoumaru must leave her behind, whether he orders Jaken to accompany him or not. It can only be speculated that Sesshoumaru does so because Ah-Un's fire-breathing and ability to fly would be Rin's only source of protection should she be attacked while he is away. Although Sesshoumaru maintains a cool, uncaring exterior, the presence of Rin at his heels is proof of his growing compassion. He not only tolerates a human, but also acts almost like a father to 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 Sesshoumaru. Naraku's plan failed and Sesshoumaru was fired up and wanted to go after Naraku, who was trying to escape, but upon hearing that Rin was in danger, Sesshoumaru let him go and came to the aid of Rin. Subsequently, he decided to kill Naraku as well. On his way to Mount Hakurei, Sesshoumaru saved Kagome, Miroku, and Sango from the poison user Mukotsu, one of the Shichinintai (七人隊), however he merely says, "I only killed someone who got in my way". Towards the end of the anime series, it is shown that there was a human princess named Sara who loved Sesshoumaru. She allowed yōkai to possess her body and stole the Tessaiga from InuYasha, as she was under the illusion that Tessaiga was Sesshoumaru's desire. Later, she realized her mistake, but the demon wouldn't grant her freedom. Sesshoumaru, grasping the Tessaiga despite its barrier, released the princess from the yōkai and quoted: "Feel free to play your flute for me in the afterlife". Another hinted love interest for Sesshoumaru was Kagura. When Kagura is dying, Sesshoumaru purposefully seeks her out and even attempts to save her life with the Tenseiga, only to find it impossible. He then simply watches as Kagura's body dissolves, leaving only the wind behind (it should be noted that this is the only time in the series Sesshoumaru has tried to use Tenseiga's healing powers out of his own intent, not being urged to do so by the sword itself.) After she dies, Moryomaru insults her and Sesshoumaru then tries to kill Moryomaru. Later, Totosai offers to reforge Tenseiga to make it able to not only heal but also kill, claiming that this is because Sesshoumaru has shown anger and sorrow for a creature other than himself -- this being when he attacked Moryomaru, enraged by his comment that Kagura died in vain. Later, after trying the newly forged Tenseiga, Sesshoumaru thinks to himself that he is the only one capable of deciding whether or not Kagura's death was in vain. After this, wind blows over the scene -- probably a sign of Kagura still being present. It is worthwhile to speculate that Sesshoumaru will play a vital role in the destruction of Naraku, yet to be revealed in the manga. He is clearly one of the most powerful creatures in the series, possibly even more powerful than Naraku himself. Able to resist poisons, magical barriers, and most attacks of physical force, weaponsry, and magical energy alike, Sesshoumaru appears to be practically invincible. Earlier he did lose a couple of times, but towards the end of the series he has been only becoming stronger, leaving no doubt about his powers. With the newly reforged Tenseiga, he would be able to battle and destroy his enemies. Wielding the Tenseiga, he would truly be able to meet InuYasha on equal ground on the battlefield. As Tenseiga's special ability is to cut open the path to the afterlife, it results in a attack that is perhaps impossible to block or defend against as no other sword in the world has the power to connect to the afterlife other than Tenseiga. It would be a miracle if such a power had nothing to do with the final destruction of the main villain. Voice Actors Japanese Seiyū: Ken Narita English Voice Actor: David Kaye Special attacks, abilities, and items Attacks Dokkasō (Poison Flower Claw): Sesshoumaru's claws release deadly acidic poison which can melt flesh. Sometimes he uses it like InuYasha uses his Sankon Tessō attack, but he can also use it to spray venomous acid from his fingertips. Whip of Light: Sesshoumaru can generate a thin, whiplike strand of energy from his fingertips that can slice through almost anything. Kanetsu: Slashes with the Tokijin, generating some blue light of pure hatred which damages enemies. Souryuha: a powerful wave of blue energy, it's the Tokijin's most powerful technique: sufficient to counteract Tessaiga's BackLash Wave. In the English dub, it's refered to as "Dragon Strike". Meidou Zangetsuha: With the reforged Tenseiga, Sesshoumaru slashes at an enemy and creates a black crescent shaped wave that sends anything it touches directly to the next world. As an attack that opens the path to hell, it is impossible for an adversary to block or defend against. While at the beginning the wave takes the shape of a crescent, Totosai claims that eventually the wave will become a complete circle. Abilities and traits Flight: ability to float in the sky or generate a sparkling dust cloud to ride on. Often, when Sesshoumaru uses his direct flight powers for an extended period of time, the pants-legs of his wardrobe extend to semi-transparent etherial flowing masses--- similar to how one would picture the wind-driven cloak of a ghost. This does not happen when he chooses to fly upon his dust cloud or ride Au-Un. Super speed: ability to move at blinding speed, though only in short bursts, both on land and through the air. Teleportation: ability to morph into a ball of energy and move himself (and small amounts of other material, including other living beings) over great distances in a short amount of time. Taiyōkai: As the direct descendant of a great dog demon lord, naturally Sesshōmaru is a far superior yōkai: endowed with heightened senses, intelligence, strength, and a myriad of demonic powers. While he usually appears to be an elf-eared human bearing splendid clothing and armor; he can transform into his true form at will; which is that of a gigantic, flying acid-breathing canine with fluffy white fur. Immortality: Being a demon, Sesshoumaru 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 years1. Immunity: Various episodes of the anime (perhaps the most indicative being episode #104) inform that Sesshoumaru is immune to diseases, poisons, and gases that can paralyze or kill both humans and weaker demons. Sesshoumaru also has a fair threshold of immunity to magical and clerical spells; though it's been shown he can indeed be affected by them, to varying degrees of intensity. His resistance to purifcation powers was so strong that he was able to enter Mount Hakurei, despite its purification barrier, without being purified and was only slightly weakened in his battles against Jakotsu, and Suikotsu. Swordsmanship*: Although Sesshoumaru did not really show that he was a swordsman during the first season (He wielded no sword at the time), he was clearly a superior sword fighter when he first fought against Inu-Yasha with Toukijin. Items Tenseiga: Tenseiga is a sword that can revive the dead and heal the living. It does this by letting Sesshoumaru see the pall-bearer demons that take away the souls of the dead so that he may destroy them with Tenseiga. In extreme cases, the Tenseiga also protects Sesshoumaru from potentially lethal attacks. When in use, the Tenseiga has a blue aura. In the manga, the Tenseiga is reforged to become a weapon and becomes capable of sending a black, crescent shaped wave which sends whatever it touches straight to the afterlife. Tokijin: Tokijin is a sword crafted by the evil swordsmith Kaijinbo from the fangs of Goshinki. It can fire off extremely powerful blasts of pure hate energy and is initially thought to be Tessaiga's equal, however as the series progressed the Tessaiga gains new abilities in its red and crystal forms. There are two different ways of using it. Tokijin can be used to blow back and injure an enemy with a powerful pinkish-purple aura, generated as the manifestation of pure hatred. It can also be used to slash at an opponent and release a powerful wave of blue energy known as Souryuha. The third InuYasha movie informs that Souryuha is Tokijin's ultimate technique, and is sufficiently powerful to counteract even Tessaiga's BackLash Wave. Staff of Heads (also called Staff of Skulls, 人頭杖, nintōjō and also known as Two-Headed Staff): Locates his father's grave, can fire streams of flame and generate floods of water. The staff is usually held by his assistant Jaken. Also, it's seen that the staff of 2 heads can be used to summon demons. Moko-moko sama : It is the fluffy, scarf-like item on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. He can extend it to great lengths, and use it to whip or constrict people. It is rumored that this object is, upon Sesshoumaru's transformation into his large dog form is his tail (another rumor suspects it is the ring of long hair/fluff going round his shoulder), as it has bled at one point in the series during battle. However, when he's in his dog form it looks slightly different. In episode 35 of the anime, both ends of the tail were claimed to be seen, therefore allowing one to assume that it is detachable. Sesshoumaru's father had one as well, however,his was on his back and both shoulders. Name The kanji of 'Sesshō' means 'to kill or destroy.' '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', which is a common Japanese motiff for what in the West is called 'the circle of life.' Thus it is widely assumed that the name Sesshoumaru translates literally as 'destruction of the circle of life', or 'end of the circle of life.' However 'maru' also means perfect, so another possible translation is 'perfect destruction.' He has also earned the nickname ‘Fluffy,’, or 'Sesshy' by some of his fans. He was called 'mutt' at least once by a character in the story, Kouga, who only saw Sesshoumaru as InuYasha's older brother. Appearance Sesshōmaru is often considered bishōnen due to his slightly feminine appearance even though his attitude is contrary to this notion. This has granted him many fangirls across the wide span of InuYasha fans. He has silverish long hair that flows straight down his back and his armor is simaliar to that of his father. It has an armodillo rim-like piece around his left shoulder (deceased) and going out onto his upper torso. His kimono is mostly white with a red honeycomb/flower-like pattern at the collar, sleeves, and shoulder. He has the traditional 'poofy Japanese pants' and has flat pointy ankle-high boots. On his right arm, Sesshōmaru has a fluffy cloth, the nature of which is debated. Rumiko Takahashi mentioned in an interveiw that when she was creating his character, it was originally intended to be armour but she exaggerated it while doodling and decided it looked good. Many fans still believe that it is his tail even though it is obvious that it is not connected to him anywhere. In his demon form we notice he has longer fur over his shoulder and around his waist which is extremly similar to his fluffy 'armour'. We also know that he can make it move on it's own since in the 6th episode he restrains InuYasha by wraping it around his younger half-brother. Sesshōmaru has many similar but also slightly different appearance characteristics compared to his father. On his arms are two maroon narrow slashes, while his father is supposed to have three, also on his face is another pair of such slashes, while his father only has one blue slash. Sesshōmaru does have a navy-blue crescent on his forehead easily shown by his parted bangs. His alternate 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, badly injured or unable to defeat an opponent, his features can be observed shifting slightly, resembling his alternate form. At that time, his eyes turn red and the features and markings on his face begin to elongate. Notes 1In the third movie of the InuYasha franchise, Sesshoumaru has a dark and ominous conversation with his father. Later, it is revealed that the series of incidents that led to the events in the third movie occurred 200 years before the Sengoku Period, therefore it is fair to say that both Sesshoumaru and InuYasha are centuries years old. However the InuYasha Zusetsutaizen Ougikaiden states that InuYasha is only 15 years old, proving how far from manga canon the movies stray, although it can be argued that in demon years, InuYasha is only 15 years old. This suggests that demons age more slowly than humans. External links The Killing Perfection InuYasha characters Edit Listed in approximate order of appearance. InuYasha's Group InuYasha | Kagome | Myoga | Shippo | Miroku | Kirara | Sango Sesshoumaru's Group Sesshomaru | Jaken | Rin | Ah-Un Naraku's Group Naraku | Kohaku | Kagura | Kanna Goshinki | Kageromaru | Juromaru | Muso | Akago | Hakudoshi | Moryomaru | Byakuya Misc. (recurring) Kikyo | Kaede | Hachiemon | Koga | Totosai Misc. (non-recurring) Tatarimokke | Midoriko | Kaijinbo | Ryukotsusei | Tsubaki | Shichinintai | Gatenmaru | Goryomaru | Entei Modern-day Characters Mama | Grandpa | Sota Higurashi | Hojo | Yuka, Eri, Ayumi he:סשומארו Search Term: "Sesshomaru" Categories: InuYasha characters