殺生丸
Bio
Inuyasha's full-youkai older half-brother. He rarely shows emotion, and speaks only briefly and infrequently, so he's difficult to figure out. Though he gives the impression of not caring about anyone else, he's been traveling with and protecting Rin, a young human girl, for quite some time now. Sesshoumaru tends to ignore his underling Jaken, and tolerates but doesn't get along well with Inuyasha.
Background
(under construction)
Sesshoumaru bears 天生牙 (てんせいが), one of two swords made from the fangs of his father (the other is Inuyasha's Tessaiga). He initially disdains it, because it is incapable of killing. However, after it saves his life by protecting him from Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu, he takes another look at it. Testing it out on the recently killed Rin, he finds that the sword allows him to see and destroy otherworldly spirits, as shown to the right. By disposing of the beings that come from the next world (i.e., afterlife) to bear the dead there, it saves lives and can even reverse recent deaths. Besides killing otherworldly beings, Tenseiga has also proven effective against the undead.
Seeking a sword that could actually kill things, Sesshoumaru had a blade forged from the fangs of the beast that bit Tessaiga in half. Called 闘鬼神 (とうきじん), the sword had such a powerful aura that only one as strong-willed as Sesshoumaru could wield it without losing control. Aside from its considerable power as a blade, Toukijin had an area destructive effect similar to Tessaiga's Kaze no Kizu. Sesshoumaru kept it, sheathless, next to Tenseiga.
Toukijin has since broken, snapped by Sesshoumaru in an uncharacteristic fit of rage on Kagura's behalf. However, Tenseiga, sensing the change in his heart, calls out to Toutousai, who reforges it to have offensive capabilites. The new ability 冥道残月破 (めいどうざんげつは), literally 'dark road' + 'dawn moon' + 'destroy', slices open a crescent-shaped rift to the world of the dead, which takes in the victim's body, or at least a crescent-shaped slice of it, as shown at left. According to Toutousai, the rift will grow larger, eventually reaching a ful circle, as Sesshoumaru improves.
Like Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru is a character with a particularly interesting name. 殺生 (せっしょう) means 'taking life', and 丸 (まる) was once a common ending for male names, which fits the early impression he gives, that he takes lives mercilessly when they're in his way. However, assuming I'm not reading too much into this, there's another meaning too. Take 生丸 as one part. The kanji mean 'life' and 'circle', so it could refer to the 'circle of life', the cycle of life that ends in death. Throw in the 殺, 'kill', and it looks to me as though his name also refers to the way in which he can kill that cycle by restoring life with Tenseiga. Anyone else think I might be onto something?
The observant may have noticed that both this webpage and the images of Sesshoumaru use the name 'Fluffy'. Apparently, there are quite a few people who are rather obsessed with the fluffy... thing... he's always carrying around. Dubbing it the 'fluff', countless people have speculated about what exactly it is. To go with the 'fluff', Sesshoumaru is fairly widely known as 'Fluffy'. While I'm not too interested in the fluff, I like the name, and I prefer to keep filenames fairly short anyway. Besides, it amuses me that someone as serious as Sesshoumaru has such a cutesy nickname (and it's more creative than Sessy-chan would be).
Current status
Sesshoumaru travels with Jaken, Rin, and the two-headed steed Ah-Un. His goals are unclear, since he rarely explains anything to anyone, but it's readily apparent that he wants Naraku dead. He's missing his left arm from an early battle with Inuyasha, but he's so graceful and deadly in combat, even without it, that it's easy to forget he only has one arm. In recent news, Toukijin just (ch. 407) broke while Sesshoumaru was attacking Mouryoumaru in an uncharacteristic fit of rage, after the latter insulted Kagura. However, Toutousai has reforged Tenseiga to be able to attack (ch. 410), in a way.
Special powers, etc.
(under construction)
Voice: 成田剣
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