Age: unknown. He is probably rather young for a youkai, though; already an adult, but in his figurative early twenties.

Hair: black, straight. He wears it in a high ponytail. In wolf form his fur is presumably light, dusty brown since his tail is that colour.

Eyes: light blue

Appearance: Kouga is young and robust, and has an omnipresent air of cocky confidence about him. His attire is rather rough: he wears a simple body armour decorated with patches of fur at the shoulder straps, and what appears to be a hide loincloth. He has bands of brown leather around his right wrist and head, a wider one (like forearm guard) around his right arm, and hide shin guards. He walks barefoot, and has a wolf's tail even when he is in his otherwise humanoid, pointy-eared youkai shape.

Appellations: Kouga, Kouga-kun, yase ookami

Meaning of Name: "Kouga" means "steel claw".

Quote: "Kagome is my woman."

Impressions: Kouga is the young leader (wakakashira) of the Yourouzoku, a tribe of wolf youkai that lives in the mountains. He commands the steadfast respect of his tribe (that seems to be distinctly devoid of females) and is fiercely loyal to his packmates. He is relentless in battle and appears by far the strongest fighter in his tribe -- the few other Yourouzoku we have seen seem quite wussy in comparison. He is not very bright, and is in the habit of overlooking or forgetting essential details. He's also cocky to the point of arrogance, and does not always know when to back off. He is a true whelp of the wilds -- tough as only tough can be, but lamentably short on anything resembling manners.

History (spoilers!): Very little is known about Kouga's background. His pack lives in a cave behind a waterfall in the mountains, where his tribe has its territory. It should be pointed out that he is the leader of only one wolf youkai tribe, and there seem to be quite a few other tribes as well. For a long time, Kouga's tribe had waged an unresolved war with the Gokurakuchou, a tribe of montrous bird-human hybrids that resided near to the tribe's territory. To achieve a decisive victory, Kouga began gathering shards of the Shikon no Tama, and thus he happened upon Inuyasha & co. when the latter were investigating a village that Kouga's tribe had attacked. Kouga figured out that Kagome could sense the shards, and thus kidnapped her. Kagome decided it was wise to cooperate until she was rejoined by her friends. Then, out of the blue, Kouga declared that he was going to make Kagome "his woman", with no apparent explanation to his sudden crush on her. Later on, the Gokurakuchou were defeated with some (unintentional) help from Inuyasha, who understandably raised his hackles when Kouga informed the hanyou of his love for Kagome. The two have been avid rivals since, with an acute dislike for the other. Threats and blows fly whenever they meet, although Kagome has never responded to Kouga's affections -- he certainly has not stopped trying. Naraku wanted to steal Kouga's jewel shards. He set up a trap for Kouga and got Kagura to slaughter Kouga's comrades. Now Kouga is also on a quest to kill Naraku and have his revenge.

Weapons & Attacks: Kouga has a Shikon shard embedded in his right arm, and one on both of his legs. The power of the shards vastly boosts his speed (he becomes a mere blur when running) and the striking force of his arm. He fights like a wild thing, with punches and kicks, and makes good use of his superhuman speed. He has a sword strapped to his waist, but he has never used it so far.

Things of Note: Kouga is set apart from other wolf youkai by his Shikon-enhanced powers, though he only uses the shards to boost his physical prowess. He can assume the form of a regular wolf at will (I presume, since he is a full-grown youkai) but is mostly seen in his humanoid youkai form.

Love Life: Kouga has proclaimed Kagome his woman, and certainly behaves like a love-sick suitor whenever he happens across Inuyasha's little group. Kagome, however, in spite of calling him "Kouga-kun", which may as an expression have an affectionate undertone, treats him as a casual acquiantance. At least he has to be credited for perserverance.

First Appearance: manga act 130, anime episode 35
Seiyuu (Japanese): Matsunobu Taki
Voice Actor (English): Scott McNeil