~Kagome~
Higurashi Kagome is a 9th grade girl attending Jr. High in Tokyo, Japan. (Sorry, I don't know what district of Tokyo she lives in or what school she goes to.) She has lives in a shrine/house with her mother, grandfather, and younger brother.
Kagome is also the reincarnation of Kikyou, a powerful priestess who lived in the Sengoku Jidai period 400-500 years ago. Kikyo was the protector of the Shikon no Tama, and Kagome is discovered to have had it hidden inside her body. Kikyou was also a master of the bow and arrow, and although Kagome cannot yet match up to her skills, she sometimes uses a bow and arrow to get her friends out of trouble. :)
Kagome's special sight also allows her to see and sometimes purify Shikon no Tama shards, which proves very useful in the journey. Another useful thing she can do is restrain Inuyasha when she says "osuwari." (sit) This is because Kaede put a rosary around Inuyasha's neck that will make him splat to the ground whenver Kagome says "sit."
Kagome is usually a cheerful and energetic girl. She has lots of tests to take in school, since 9th grade is the year before High School. But staying the the Sengoku Jidai period for weeks at a time looking for the Shikon Shards doesn't help her math improve much. ^_^;; Also at school, a boy named Houjo from Class B seems to have a crush on her. Of course with shard searching and test taking, Kagome has accidentally blown off a few dates with him. ^_^;;
Aside from Houjo liking her, a wolf-youkai guy named Kouga also likes her. (Actually, he claims that he "loves" her, and that she's "his woman", which makes Inuyasha really mad. ^^) But as far as love-interests go, Inuyasha's probably the only one she really likes in a way other than a friend. ^_^
Violent, selfish, and rude is what someone might first describe Inuyasha as. But there's much more to him than meets the eye. Sure, most of the time Inuyasha *is* violent, selfish, rude, quick-tempered, stubborn, arrogant, etc., but there are many times when he does nice things, even if he doesn't get a Shikon Shard for it. ^_^
Inuyasha's father was a youkai, and his mother was a human, making him a hanyou. (half-youkai) He has an older half-brother named Sesshoumaru, who is a full-youkai. They're not exactly on best terms though, unless you call "erupting into a life-and-death-battle on sight because Sesshoumaru wants Tetsusaiga because he thinks Tenseiga stinks" good terms.
Being a hanyou, Inuyasha was accepted by neither humans or youkai. The humans fear him and the youkai mock him for his impure blood. Because of this, he wanted to take the Shikon no Tama to turn into a full-blooded youkai. But then he met Kikyou and fell in love with her. He was going to use the Shikon no Tama instead to turn into a human for her, but then they both "got betrayed".
Inuyasha seems to have feelings for Kagome, but then.. he also still has lingering feelings for Kikyou. He used to think that Kagome was a lot like Kikyou, but now he accepts her for who she is.
Once a month, on the night of the new moon, Inuyasha turns into a full-blooded human. He loses all his youkai powers, including his claws, ears, and the ability to use transform Tetsusaiga. His senses also dull. His hair turns black, and his eyes turn violet. He looks a lot like his mother.
Inuyasha has many attacks. When he uses Sankon Tetsusou, (Soul Shatttering Iron Claw) he uses his claws to attack his opponents. He makes his own blood into blades when using Hijin Ketsusou, (Flying Blade Blood Claws) but his most useful weapon is the Tetsusaiga.
The Tetsusaiga was originally made of his father's fang. It was hidden in Inuyasha's eye after he died. Tetsusaiga is a very powerful weapon. It's basic attack is the Kaze no Kizu, or "Cutting Wind," which can kill 100 youkai in one swing. But an even better attack is the Bakuryuuha, Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack.
Tetsusaiga is not just Inuyasha's weapon, but it also contains his youkai blood. If Tetsusaiga breaks, (like it did in Volume 16, I think) then Inuyasha's youkai blood will take over, and he'll turn into a full blooded-youkai if he still has the will to live. When in full-youkai form, he sort of loses control of his mind and goes on a killing spree. Kagome was able to turn him back to normal once though by saying "sit." ^_^;;
Shippou is a kogetsu youkai. (fox demon) He was first introduced into the series during the Thunder Brothers arc. His father had been killed Manten, and he was seeking the Shikon Shards to avenge him. He then met up with Inuyasha and Kagome, and became the 3rd person to join the search for the Shikon Shards.
Shippou can change forms and has other little tricks he can use. His special attack is kitsune-bi, "fox fire." Even though he is a full-youkai, he proves pretty useless in a battle. Most of the time he just sits there looking cute and annoying Inuyasha, though he has gotten the gang out of a few pinches. :)
Miroku is a houshi, a buddhist monk. (Or is it priest? I'm not sure; I've seen both uesd.) At first he was seeking the Shikon Shards to defeat Naraku, but later decided to join Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou.
Miroku's grandfather had fought Naraku many times. On the last time, Naraku blasted straight through Miroku's granfather's hand, leaving a void. The void in the right hand would be passed down from generation to generation unless Naraku was destroyed. The void's winds would also grow stronger and stronger over time, until it would eventually suck the person up. Now Miroku seeks to destroy Naraku to remove the curse of the Kazaana. (Air Void)
The Air Void does proves useful at times though. If he removes the rosary that he uses to seal the void, he can suck nearly anything into it. (I don't know where it goes though.) But whenever he sucks up Naraku's poison insects, the Saimyoushou, they poison him. (So I guess what he sucks up does affect him after all...)
Miroku's grandfather was defeated by Naraku because Naraku took the form of a woman in their last battle, which caused Miroku's grandfather to let his guard down. In other words, he was a lech. ^_^;; Miroku happens to be the same. He asks every pretty girl to bear his child, because if he doesn't defeat Naraku, he will need an heir to continue the job. (Or so he says...) The only girl he hasn't asked is Sango. Miroku also likes to touch girls... and often gets punished for it. ^_^;;
Houjo
Houjo is in Class B at Kagome's
school. He's very dense (denser than Sakura even), and believes all of
Kagome's grandfather's stories about her being sick. He gives lots her
lots of presents when she comes to school, and tries to go on dates with
her. Of course, Kagome isn't interested in him, and usually ends up blowing
off most of their dates on accident.
Kaede is Kikyou's little sister. She has been living for 50 years after Kikyou's death, and is now the priestess of their village. She provides Kagome-tahchi with help and advice from time to time (she is also blind in her left eye, for reasons so far unknown).
Myouga-jiji was the guardian of Inuyasha's father's tomb (which was inside Inuyasha's eye). He knew Inuyasha's father well, and acts as Inuyasha's retainer. He knows a great deal of things relating to the Shikon no Tama, but he's a coward and often tries to run away during danger (he always seems to disappear and then reappear every once in awhile...).
Jaken is Sesshoumaru's ever-faithful henchman. He follows him everywhere, shouting "Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" all the time. @_@ I really wish Jaken wasn't in the series... He has the most annoying voice. -_-*
Rin is a little girl that lived in a village by herself. The other villagers didn't treat her very nicely though. It also seemed that Rin couldn't talk. One day, she found Sesshoumaru wounded (after a fight with Inuyasha) in the woods, and brought him food. Later, her village was attached by (Kouga's?) wolves, and she was killed. Sesshoumaru later found her body, and wanting to test Tenseiga, used to it to bring her back to life. After that, Rin followed "Sesshoumaru-sama" everywhere. :) She has just the cutest kimono and pigtail~!
Toutousai
(Click
here for image)
Toutousai the swordsmith that created Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. He repairs Tetsusaiga for Inuyasha, and tells him stuff that will help him master it. He always rides on a weird cow. ^_^;;
Kouga is the leader of a wolf-youkai tribe. Nearly his whole tribe was killed in a trap by Kagura, which is why he is after Naraku for revenge (Kagura is Naraku's "offspring"). He has a few Shikon Shards inserted in either his arms or legs (at times, some get taken out so I can't really remember), which boost his power. He likes Kagome, claiming her as "his woman", and always gets into a fight with Inuyasha, whom he calls "dog-turd" (in return, Inuyasha calls Kouga "wimpy wolf").
Kohaku is Sango's 11-year old little brother. At the job at the castle (which was really a trap set by Naraku), he was taken control of, and killed all of the taijiya (exterminators), but Sango (he deeply wounded her though, and she almost died). Kohaku himself was also hurt very badly, and was believed to be dead, but Naraku saved him by inserting a Shikon Shard into his back. Naraku has almost total control over Kohaku, but there are times when he gives an order to kill, but Kohaku doesn't do it. The reason Kohaku is being controlled is because he has a blank mind, which is easy to take over. Kohaku doesn't want to remember the horrible experience of himself killing all the youkai taijiya, therefore, his mind is blank (he also can't remember Sango). There are times when Kohaku breaks free from Naraku's control, and is able to remember a bit of his past and think for himself. But currently, he's still Naraku's henchman... =\
Kirara is Sango's pet youkai.
She usually appears as a small, harmless creature, but she can transform
into a monster-like form when needed in battle.
