inuyasha

Inuyasha had been alone for most of his life; shunned, abandoned and left to fend for himself after his mother's death because of his half-youkai nature. Had there been no prejudice, Inuyasha would have lived a life of luxury as his mother was somewhat of a princess and his father the dog youkai lord. However, instead he was even ignored by his other half-brother Sesshomaru. After the death of his mother, as we do not know how she died at this point in the story, it is assumed that Inuyasha learned the harshness of life quickly despite his mother's attempts to shield him from it when she was still alive. The need to defend himself, plus also give him some kind of acknowledgement in the world of humans and youkai alike, caused Inuyasha to become known for his fighting skills.

The only way for Inuyasha, a hanyou, to be accepted into a society, of either race, would be for him to become a fullblooded human or complete youkai. Of course, Inuyasha, wanting to become stronger and not lose his power by becoming a weaker human, decided that his goal would be to find a way to be a youkai. Around that time there were rumors of a jewel called the Shikon no Tama, which was supposed to make youkai stronger and could surely grant any wish. However, the jewel was guarded by a powerful miko named Kikyou and no one had been able to steal it from her.

As he constantly attempted to steal the Shikon no Tama from the miko, and was always caught and defeated by the powerful woman, Inuyasha became somewhat intrigued by her. It wasn't long before attempts at stealing the jewel turned into excuses to sit and talk with Kikyou, who seemed accept him despite his hanyou name.

Naturally, the two fell in love and made plans for Inuyasha to use the jewel to turn into a human so they could be together. However, on the fateful day that they were to meet, Naraku made his first appearance in Inuyasha's life, disguised as Kikyou, and informed Inuyasha that she had been using him. Inuyasha, hurt and angry that the one person he had trusted would betray him in such a way, attacked the village and sucessfuly stole the jewel. As he was making a getaway the real Kikyou appeared and used one of her spells to seal him to a tree with an arrow - putting him in to sleep for fifty years until Kagome appeared and broke the enchantment that sealed him.

However, because Inuyasha had such painful last memories of Kikyou and the similarities that the two women shared, as well as Kagome actually being confirmed to be the reincarnation of the miko, Inuyasha didn't trust Kagome at first. Instead, he was back to his original goal of using the Shikon no Tama to turn into a youkai and again he was held back by Kikyou's presence - namely the rosary that Kikyou made which Kagome used to subdue him.

Hating Kagome for being so much like Kikyou, Inuyasha kept watch over the jewel in order to find the right time to attack and steal it. It was hard to continue to hate Kagome as time went on though, because even after the events in the past, Inuyasha still had feelings for Kikyou. In fact, he was probably relieved when the Shikon no Tama shattered and Kagome was stuck around to help search for the pieces - which makes the plot of the series.

What really allowed Inuyasha to forget his grudge of the past and evolve as a character was the reappearance of Kikyou. As he finally came to understand that Kikyou had not betrayed him, and had even let herself die in order to follow him into death, Inuyasha finally learns compassion and forgiveness. However, that also starts his quest to become stronger, as a hanyou, and to defeat the one who had caused them so much heartache to begin with, Naraku.

His confidence building by the posession of a powerful sword, Tetsusaiga, that his father had left for him; Inuyasha grows remarkably as a character. The formation of his own bands of friends, Sango and Miroku, and even a surrogate son of sorts, Shippou, causes Inuyasha to form relationships and experience emotions that he would never have had otherwise. The biggest change of Inuyasha however, is his new relationship with Kagome.

As he no longer held a grudge against Kikyou he starts to see Kagome for the person that she really is. Inuyasha learns to trust her, protect her and soon she becomes an irreplaceable person in his life. On the other hand, Kikyou has been resurrected and wants to drag Inuyasha to hell with her. At first, Inuyasha doesn't mind because he feels guilty about Kikyou's death and not trusting her to begin with. As the story progresses though, Kikyou's plans change to defeating Naraku on her own. However, even though there can no longer be a romance between them, Inuyasha still seeks out Kikyou's advice and she returns to being someone that he respects and trusts.

Rumic Alikes

Saotome Ranma the hero from the extremely popular work Ranma ½ is perhaps the closest matched to Inuyasha. Before the creation of Ranma, Takahashi's heros, with exception of Yuta from Mermaid Forest, were on the weaker side physically as they were overshadowed by the stronger female leads (Maison Ikkoku was of a different genre).

Much like Inuyasha, Ranma changes forms (into a female) because of a curse. That doesn't deflate his ego though, as both men are extremely strong fighters and know it. They also both share a kind of arrogance and inability to communicate, which constantly gets them in trouble with the female leads.