Age: Unknown.
Birthplace: Unknown. However, he has been mentioned to be the Lord of the Western Lands...so I can only guess that he's from the west. There were very few talks about him as a child..but one of which had something to do with him being by his father's side- and his father ruled the Western Lands so that kind of adds to the assumption that he's from the west.
Appearance: He has super long (about almost knee-length) silver/ivory-whitish colored hair with beautiful amberish golden/yellow eyes. He can also be easily recognized by the markings on this face: a prussian blue crescent moon, the two magenta stripes on each side of his cheeks, and the red markings on this eyelids. On his wrists are matching magenta stripes to the ones that are on his face. He also has pointy elvish look-alike ears and sharp fingernails that are almost like claws. His clothing is at best described as some sort of "kimono-ish" looking thing with an armor that slings on his left shoulder while a huge, white furry thing wraps around his right shoulder, looking like a boa. =D That furry thing has yet to be confirmed as to what it is though many believe it to be his tail. Now, there's a reason why some fans think it's a tail. Being a dog demon, Sesshoumaru's true or other form is of a giant white dog. When he transforms in to a dog, the crescent moon on the forehead is also visible though the cheek markings look a bit different. His eyes turn red and his ears become flappy. Some parts of his fur also almost look like white flames. Really cool Transformation! :)
Appellations: Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru-sama
Also Known As: "Fluffy" by fans. The nickname was given by fans because of the furry thing that's slung over his shoulder. He's also been referred to as "The Youkai Lord," "The Youkai Prince," and "The Great Demon Lord of the West."
Meaning of Name: The kanji in his name can be read in a myriad of ways. Some possibilities include "killing purity" or "destruction of life". The "maru" kanji in his name can be seen in many Japanese men's first names.
Name Analysis: The name Sesshoumaru gives you a very responsible, stable nature. Your calmness of mind enables you to analyze objectively, and to make decisions quickly, making it possible for you to do well in business or in any professional capacity. Because of your serious, self-possessed nature you can appear domineering and forceful to others. You have a strong humanitarian nature and many times you are called upon to assist others with their problems.
Quotes: "When it comes to human. I, of course, bare no such weakness."
"You haven't even released the full power of the Tetsusaiga. Watch as I destroy 100 demons with one blow."
"So we meet again little brother."
"A hanyou should act like a hanyou...AND LICK THE GROUND!!!"
"Well, Toutousai...don't you think it's a pity for Tetsusaiga? All Inuyasha can do is wave about a sword with all his strength...it's the same whether it's a famous sword or a log."
Identity: For the character role aspect, he is mainly known as Inuyasha's older brother in the anime and manga. As a general identity, he's known as the Lord of the Western Lands and one of the most powerful youkai. Naraku once referred to his power as something similar to the perfect youkai. Since Inuyasha is technically the main character, Sesshoumaru can also be viewed as one of the enemies because the two brothers don't get along together at all. In fact, he can often be seen attempting to kill Inuyasha. Now, whether that warrants him as a "bad" guy or not remains to be controversial among viewers.
Not only is he straight with words, but he's also not one to hide behind anyone or send minions to do his dirty work. In fact, he's not one to do what you would call "sneaky" things or resort to "dirty" tactics at all- unlike, say Naraku. When looking at him, his whole being exudes a powerful aura and he carries himself as though he is above it all. He also isn't fond of humans and often look down upon them or "see them as insects" as Inuyasha once described. However, the topic of Sesshoumaru and humans can often be controversial among fans due to another character called, Rin. More on her is covered elsewhere in the shrine and is extensive with spoiler content so I won't add it in here. Browse around and you'll find more info on our favorite demon.
Personality: At first glance, he appears to be cold, calm, collected, and confident to the point of almost arrogant. He has also been mentioned by Jaken as someone who's a very proud person and no matter what it may look like on the outside, he'd actually be seething inside if he were to ever be made a fool of. His character is actually quite a mystery as you're never sure of what to expect from him. He may appear cold-hearted but his actions sometimes raises the question as to whether he really is that emotionless. He seems to be a man with few words...and when he does talk, there is no such thing as beating around the bush. He gets right to the point..blunt and clear. Sometimes, he may appear to seem sarcastic in his word choice especially when talking to Inuyasha. For examples of the stuff he says.
History (spoilers!): Sesshoumaru is the older son of the late Inutaishou, Lord of the Western Lands and a taiyoukai (great demon). The identity of his mother is unknown. It is presumable, although not sure, that Sesshoumaru now reigns over his father's domain. Virtually nothing is known about his personal past, but he did spend a long time searching for his father's grave, where Inutaishou had hidden the magical blade called Tetsusaiga, forged of his own fang, which Sesshoumaru desired. This was how he first ran across Inuyasha after the hanyou had been freed from his enchanted sleep. Inuyasha didn't know where it is, but Sesshoumaru figured it out. He took the black pearl out of Inuyasha's eye. Their father hided his grave inside Inuyasha's eye. He found the sword, but the shield around the blade repelled him since the sword was meant to be Inutaishou's heirloom to Inuyasha.The barrier didn't affect Inuyasha, but he couldn't pulled it out either. After Kagome pulled out the sword and gave it to Inuyasha, he transformed into his true form, a giant dog. The brothers did battle and Sesshoumaru fled in defeat after Inuyasha had lopped off his arm. He has returned to claim the Tetsusaiga on several occasions, but has thus far never achieved his goal. He later teamed up with Naraku. Naraku offered him a human arm with a jewel shard in it so he could use the tetsusaiga. He took the tetsusaiga from Inuyasha and showed him the real power of the sword. It could kill a hundred demons in one move. After a very seriously injured Inuyasha took the sword back, he left. After he got his new sword, the toukijin, he lost interest in the tetsusaiga. His new mission in life is to destroy Naraku, because he kidnapped Rin and tried to absorb him into his body.
Weapons & Attacks: In battle, Sesshoumaru is death with style. Whether using claw or blade, he is precise, coordinated, and lethal, and never lets anything even remotely like emotion cloud his judgement. Combined with his youkai endurance and superb speed, these qualities make him an opponent to be feared. The only one to have briefly overcome Sesshoumaru so far has been Naraku, who was planning to merge the youkai lord into his body.
Dokkasou ("Poison Flower Claw"): Sesshoumaru is able to imbue his claws with a greenish, vapoury poison that is deadly to humans and incapacitating to youkai.
The Whip: Aside from using his claws for executing poisonous attacks, he's also able to make some sort of a whip type power. It's basically some greenish white swirl that looks and works like a whip. He appears to control it with his two forefingers and doesn't seem to take much effort on his part in executing it.
The Tenseiga ("Heavenly Life Fang"):The Tenseiga is Sesshoumaru's grudgingly carried heirloom sword, left to him by Inutaishou. It is the Tetsusaiga's counterpart, after a fashion, since whereas the Tetsusaiga has the power to destroy a hundred lives with one strike, the Tenseiga can, when fully mastered, save a hundred lives with one swing. In short, the Tenseiga is a healing sword. When wielded by Sesshoumaru, it has the power to restore a (recently) dead creature to life by destroying the pall-bearers, the goblin-creatures that come to take the dead soul to the afterlife.
The Toukijin (the kanji for the name translate as something like "fighting fierce god"): The Toukijin is also a sword that is made from a demon's fang. However the story behind that particular fang is what makes the sword an interesting rival for the Tetsusaiga.
The fang itself belonged to a demon called Goshinki who was involved in a fight with Inuyasha. Goshinki's fangs were so strong that they were able to destroy the Tetsusaiga by biting and breaking the blade in half during the battle. Though Goshinki was eventually defeated and killed by Inuyasha during the fight, the mere fact that it was able to break the Tetsusaiga gives us an idea of how strong that fang would be if it were to be created in to a sword. Naturally, Sesshoumaru also had the same idea...and so he brought the fang over to Kajinbou, commanding him to make a sword out of it. The middle manga scan down below is the scene where Sesshoumaru found Goshinki's head. At first when Sesshoumaru brought it over to Kaijinbou, he was told that a great sword could not be made out of a fang that is already dead. But fear not, Sesshoumaru has the Tenseiga in which he finally uses it for something he wants. ^_^ With the fang revived by the Tenseiga, Kajinbou can finally make this new sword, Toukijin.
At first, the sword was surrounded by such a massive evil aura that it actually possessed Kaijinbou when he held it. The evil of the sword basically came from Goshinki's deep lingering desire to kill Inuyasha. Kaijinbou eventually dies from his dual with Inuyasha though the sword remained to be contained with evil- so much so that no one was capable of touching it. When Sesshoumaru arrived to claim the sword, he was warned by Toutousai to not touch it or else he would also be possessed and controlled by the evil within even if it was someone of Sesshoumaru's power. However, we soon see that Sesshoumaru surprised everyone by his ability to effortlessly surpass Toukijin's evil energy and gain control of the sword to use as his own. The evil aura dissipated and finally, the sword has chosen its master!
In the few times that Sesshoumaru actually drew the sword out, we're able to see an amazingly great power pour out of it. The sword's mere energy/pressure is capable of cutting the opponent without even striking them. In fact most of the time, Sesshoumaru doesn't even touch Inuyasha with it. He just holds it out and all the cackling energy comes out of it and in turn cuts Inuyasha with the sword pressure. The left and right manga scans up above next to Goshinki's head are examples of how it looks like. Notice that in both pictures, the sword isn't touching anything but instead Sesshoumaru just holds it or slashes it in the air. The image directly above basically shows the Toukijin and the Tetsusaiga up against each other. The yellow lightning look-alike streaks you see are often what we see surrounding the Toukijin when it cackles in battle. We have yet to see what else the Toukijin is capable of doing and whether it will contain any special hidden attacks...but it's obvious that the Tetsusaiga has finally found its rival sword!
Things of Note: Sesshoumaru has only one arm, since Inuyasha severed his left one. He has, on occasion, worn the arms of other creatures as replacements, but despite the regenerative abilities of youkai he seems unable to grow a new arm. As a full-blooded youkai, he can assume several different shapes at will: that of a huge dog (his true form), the form he usually wears which can be mistaken for a human from a distance, and then a generally humanoid but much more monstrous shape in which his claws lengthen and his eyes go red. He can also fly, on a vapoury, cloud-like thing (whether it is an innate ability and the cloud is merely for show, or some kind of a magical item, I don't know).
Love Life: Love? The great Sesshoumaru is definitely above such feeble human emotions. The fact is that he apparently has no love life. Other than his saving of Rin's life, and his fatherly concern for her, there has been no detectable emotional activity in him. Even when a girl named Sara loved him he seemed to not care at all.
First Appearance: manga act 12, anime episode 5
Seiyuu (Japanese): Narita Ken
Voice Actor (English): David Kaye