- "Half-Demons. There exists a prophecy that a half-demon shall be the one to kill me. I must find out whether this is true or else my conscience will not be at ease. Regardless, you half-demons should not be allowed to exist in this world at all."
- ― Kirinmaru
Kirinmaru (
History[]
The equal of Tōga the Lord of the Western Lands, as the Lord of the Eastern Lands, Kirinmaru alongside Tōga joined forces to repel the Grim Comet and protect their respective lands. Afterward, they came to a truce, leaving one another to rule their respective lands.[1]
In 1297, Kirinmaru was informed by Konton and Kyūki that Tōga had been spotted in the land of Kamakura and gravely injured from battling Shishinki and Ryūkotsusei. The two suggested they use this opportunity to kill Tōga. Kirinmaru was angered by this as it used an underhanded approach that involved no honor, stating unless Tōga was in his prime, defeating him is pointless. This would mean, he refused that Tōga was wounded and weak as "a true battle must be one with honor and dignity". He then summoned Riku and instructed him to gather medicinal herbs for Tōga to heal his injuries from the battle with Ryūkotsusei.[2]
Upon being awakened by Zero, his older sister to learn Tōga's sons had taken care of the Grim Comet, he was shocked that Sesshōmaru had married a human girl just like Tōga married Izayoi 208 years ago. Zero also told him that Sesshōmaru had sired daughters as Rin had given birth to twin half-demon daughters. Then the Shikon no Tama is already gone 7 years ago, (which they didn't know that Naraku is what he wanted) and that Inuyasha had also already married a human woman 4 years ago who had given birth to a quarter-yōkai daughter. With the prophecy that he would be defeated by a being neither human nor yōkai, Kirinmaru was about to kill Inuyasha, but Sesshōmaru showed up and offered help. Kirinmaru accepted, and the two confronted Inuyasha and Kagome. This forced Inuyasha's wife, Kagome Higurashi the reincarnation of Kikyō, to send away their newborn daughter for her own safety with Hachiemon while she and Inuyasha faced the two daiyōkai. Before Kirinmaru could fight the married couple, Sesshōmaru removed the Black Pearl from Inuyasha's right eye and used it to seal him and Kagome into their father's grave at the Border of the Afterlife under the reason that Inuyasha's Meidō Zangetsuha would be needed by Jaken. Kirinmaru accepted this reasoning and left.[3]
The Sacred Tree of Ages itself deems Kirinmaru a grave threat for wishing to warp time itself, which it fully controls and manipulates as the unsurpassed entity sees fit.[4]
Season One[]
Fourteen years later, he is visited by Kyūki, who informs him that one of the Shikyō, Tōkotsu, has been slain and the Red Rainbow Pearl entrusted to him stolen by one of the three Half-Demon Princesses. Kirinmaru was apathetic, only praising the strength of Sesshōmaru's daughters as they defeated someone who must have been a mighty warrior. He shows no interest in hunting them down, as Kyūki leaves to take care of them instead.[5]
Even with Kyūki and Tōkotsu having been defeated, Kirinmaru still wouldn't personally act against Sesshōmaru's daughters even as Zero calls him out on this. Instead, he was more interested in Riku's movements and choosing to entrust matters to him since he is his most trusted retainer.
Kirinmaru was eventually forced to take action personally, however, when the Half-Demon Princesses had all battled and killed Konton and Tōtetsu, forcing the latter to escape and drive them to the sea, intending to have Kirinmaru dispatch them. With his enemies lured into his ship, Kirinmaru went to the mainland. After admonishing the last surviving member of the Four Perils send him on his way and blasted Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha off Takechiyo and introduced himself to them. After remaining silent as they ponder on whether to engage him or not and on his connection to the Yume no Kochō. Kirinmaru challenged them to try to kill him and fulfill the prophecy that hanyō would be the one to destroy him. He quickly proved himself to be much stronger than their combined might as he effortlessly handled their assaults while easily overwhelming them without even using any special technique. He simply used his sword and demonic energy, mocking them for their poor effort.
Even as Moroha tapped into some of the strong power of her quarter demonic blood, Kirinmaru swiftly overpowered her as she passed out from exhaustion before proceeding to decisively overpower Setsuna in battle. Despite taking a slight injury from Towa soon knocked her down with an energy blast. However, before he could kill them, Sesshōmaru threw Bakusaiga at him before landing down to engage him. Sarcastically commenting on how even Sesshōmaru did care for his daughters, he fought Sesshōmaru to a draw. Their clash causing tremendous shockwaves that rose the tide of the oceans and eventually began to affect the weather, releasing thunderclaps that knocked out Towa and Setsuna. Deciding to respect Sesshōmaru's wish to keep his daughters safe as they clearly couldn't kill him, Kirinmaru reminded him that they still need to work together before leaving.[6]
Kirinmaru was later seen in the office of his ship as he touches the scar Towa had inflicted on him when Zero entered the room. He admitted it was the half-demon princesses who gave him that wound but stated it was hardly any entertainment for him. Kirinmaru called them pups who have yet to grow their fangs fully and requested her to not attack the Half-Demon Princesses, wishing to wait for them to grow more and telling her not to get too carried away. However, his sister was not convinced and revealed that not only the quarter demon Moroha, but the half-demon sisters' powers have also been sealed away when Kirinmaru tried to dismiss it as Moroha was only using the power of the Great Dog Demon to go wild and hadn't mastered it, believing at their full power even Kirinmaru wouldn't be able to get away unscathed, before leaving.[1] During the night of the same day, Kirinmaru looked up as the Grim Comet approaches while Osamu Kirin also noticed it appearing in the modern era (unseen through the eyes of ordinary mortal beings; such as the fully grown younger brother of a time-traveler), and admitted that he could not let the Grim Comet ravage any more eras of time; past or future.
The next day, Kirinmaru visited Sesshōmaru's mother and asked if the Windmill of Time had moved yet, learning that it has not and she hasn't seen Akuru for several years. She comments that Sesshōmaru was also having trouble finding Akuru's pinwheel, while expressing his disapproval that Zero continued to hunt her granddaughters. Furthermore, she states that he can't let them go unharmed if they try to attack him once more. When the Windmill of Time began to move, Kirinmaru felt and commented on it in his ship.[7]
He, later on, appeared before his sister, Riku, Sesshōmaru, and the Half-Demon Princesses as Zero had been killed by Setsuna but was resurrected and Zero destroyed Tenseiga in a rage. Expressing remorse and regret that Zero destroyed Tenseiga, Kirinmaru offered his apologies and coldly told Zero that she had gone too far when she demanded he not interfere. Stopping Sesshōmaru from killing Zero, Kirinmaru tried to make him back off by reminding him he didn't find Akuru's pinwheel but he refused. As Sesshōmaru commented on how pitiful his sister had become, Kirinmaru decided to scatter the Rainbow Pearls through the land to prevent her from regaining her demonic power as punishment for her repeated disobedience of his order to leave the Half-Demon Princesses alone and grow and destruction of Tenseiga. This infuriated Zero to where she disowned Kirinmaru as her brother and left. Before Kirinmaru could pursue her, Riku stabbed him to weaken Kirinmaru so Towa could have a chance to survive before going after Zero and Sesshōmaru also went after her, but not before Kirinmaru asked him about the girls.
With Sesshōmaru telling him to fight them as he wished, Kirinmaru mused on how half-demons were always meant to fight to prove their worth to survive before descending down and throwing away his mask as he revealed that he had been holding back in their previous fight but now that he had been injured, he could not spare such measures. Still proving to be more than a match for them despite his injury and their growth in strength and experience in fighting him before, he effortlessly countered Towa's sword attacks before proceeding to easily deflect Setsuna's attacks. Even as Moroha unleashed her new Crimson Backlash Wave and her spiritual power attack Tenkū no Yabusuma, Kirinmaru still easily withstood the newly strengthened demonic attacks while lecturing them on being unable to properly come into their own latent dog-demon abilities due to relying on their red and silver Rainbow Pearls so much, and praising Moroha's natural potential in utilizing her innate spiritual powers finally starting to further develop properly, if only gradually, while mocking on how the red Rainbow Pearl only limited what her respective spiritual abilities were truly capable; and soon knocked her out and flung her to Kirara.
Proceeding to fight Towa and Setsuna personally, he easily pressured Towa while commenting on how she was much weaker than when she injured him and easily parried Setsuna's attack with 2 fingers while stating her form may be excellent but her blade is subpar and not sufficient to damage him. Realizing that Towa must-see Setsuna is in danger to tap into her power, he flung her aside and commented on how she was a good older sister before going after Setsuna. He was stopped mid-way as Towa stabbed him in the same spot Riku stabbed him and as Setsuna charged in, Kirinmaru, further injured, blasted Towa aside and blocked Setsuna's attack but she managed to use her Blood Blade to scratch him close to where Towa had earlier injured him, causing him to mortally injure her. As Setsuna seemingly succumbed to her injuries, Kirinmaru lamented the loss of the young woman and that Tenseiga had been broken by Zero so she, unfortunately, couldn't be brought back to life, before Moroha engaged him with her Beniyasha form.
Initially dismissive, he was soon impressed when he saw Moroha manifest a huge flaming dragon and commented how it was natural as it was where her grandfather died and as such she could unlock her full potential there and even more so when Towa also unlocked her full power and furiously promised to kill Kirinmaru to avenge Setsuna. Challenging them to attack him at once, he blocked Towa's amplified Sōryūha and Moroha's amplified Crimson Dragon Wave and named Towa's stronger, larger attack Twin Azure Dragon Wave as it had two dragon heads and clearly showed she had refined her father's technique while he also praised Moroha's Crimson Dragon for being able to use it to where he can't force it away from him.
Deciding to take the attack with his demonic energy shield head-on, destroying much of the landscape, he was left injured and praised them for their magnificent capabilities and being capable of controlling and harnessing such a massive demonic energy before summoning his sword back. He was even more impressed and entertained when the landscape changed into a galaxy-like field, stating it was the battle he had always wished for. After a lengthy struggle, Kirinmaru eventually defeated them and knocked them down and unconscious whereas Towa woke up he praised the Half-Demon Princesses for giving him such a battle and lamented how it ended that way and expressed his wish to meet them again while promising to remember Setsuna's name before leaving, injured but alive and triumphant still.[8]
Season Two[]
Some days later, Kirinmaru has since healed but the additional scar he had received from Setsuna remains with that made by Towa some months ago. Eating purple grapes, he remains self-confident in his objectives if ambiguous. He learned via his intimate and personal connection to Riku, the former being originally one of his horns that had been cut by Tōga six centuries previously, he was surprised to hear that Setsuna had returned to life. This discovery of his recent murder victim being very much alive intrigues him, being certain that Tenseiga had indeed broken in half when he had last encountered Setsuna. He concludes Towa's role in this development, and how that Riku has expressed his interest in the elder twin daughter of Sesshomaru. In the evening, Kirinmaru received word from none other than a triumphant Zero, who informs of her success in gathering her Rainbow Pearls after he himself had dispersed all seven throughout the various lands. He smiled, stating that he knew that nothing he had done or not done would never get by his own sister.
A few moments later, Kirinmaru leaves the comforts of his ship-like lair and arrives at the spiritual/sacred mountain of Musubi, where he again encounters the Half-Demon Princesses, including Setsuna since her premature demise at his hand.
Personality[]
Kirinmaru appears as a resolute and detached individual, speaking the bare minimum. He seems to be distant to even his closest followers as he did not remember Tōkotsu, who was one of his four central lieutenants, much less that he even gifted Tōkotsu the red Rainbow Pearl in the first place. Upon learning of his demise, Kirinmaru showed apathy, merely giving some praise to Sesshōmaru's twin daughters, who terminated him as he reasoned that anybody serving under him must have been quite a powerful fighter. He was also apathetic to the deaths of the other Four Perils. Likewise, when Zero woke him up, Kirinmaru treated his sister with a to-the-business attitude.
When he and Sesshōmaru joined forces to kill Inuyasha and Moroha, he immediately engaged them while responding to Kagome's defiant refusal to hand Moroha over to him with a cold rebuttal. He also could show an authoritarian side, remaining unmoved by Zero's wishes to kill Sesshōmaru's twin daughters. Despite the Tree of Ages stating that Kirinmaru was power-hungry by wishing to warp time itself to his will, it was noted by Myōga that Kirinmaru was content in only ruling the Eastern Lands, which was supported by the fact that he left Tōga to govern the Western Lands in peace for years, with him expressing shock that Kirinmaru would be trying to rule the Western Lands and desires to warp time to his will and stating that he isn't the type to go this far. However, he does have a dark sense of humor as he chuckled at Jaken's claim that Inuyasha and Kagome would be paying their respects to his rival's tomb and sarcastically commented Sesshōmaru when he saved Towa and Setsuna from him that even someone like him still cares for his children.
In battle, Kirinmaru is shown to be capable of being mocking and condescending while remaining focused and composed, remarking on the lack of strength shown by his foes and criticizing their flaws, as shown when he mocked Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha for their lack of skill and technique. He seems to hold spirit, skill, mind, and heart as important aspects in battle, repeatedly mocking the Half-Demon Princesses for showing a lack of those. At the same time, he was capable of enjoying a good fight and admitting it, as shown by how he showed sincere respect towards Towa and Moroha for their efforts in forcing him to fight seriously to keep up and later on commenting he had long since wanted to engage in such a fierce battle.
According to Riku, Kirinmaru hates humans and half-demons. Still, it's unclear to what extent he really resents them: Though Zero indicated he shared Sesshōmaru's initial views of such creatures, with Kirinmaru expressing shock that his rival's older son would marry a human, and he did scoff at Kagome's defiance and vow to stop him from killing Moroha, when he was first woken up, he acknowledged Inuyasha as having the strength to alongside his half-brother destroy the Grim Comet and showed no inclination to slay him until he learned Kagome had given birth to a quarter demon daughter and even then when he and Kagome were instead sealed into the Black Pearl, Kirinmaru accepted it when Jaken reasoned that Inuyasha's Meidō Zangetsuha would be needed in the future with no protest at all.
Likewise, he proved disinterested in going after Towa and Setsuna and freely acknowledged that he expected them to be powerful due to having such a mighty demon as their father. Even when Zero had specifically demanded Kirinmaru kill them, he still chose not to act personally just for that. He only decided to fight them when they were about to reach his ship and despite showing his belief that half-demons should not exist and repeatedly mocking them, he freely admitted that Towa truly was his rival's granddaughter after she managed to land a blow on him. Towa, Moroha, and Setsuna would later successfully earn his full respect in his second fight with them to where he promised to carve Setsuna's name into his heart and repeatedly praised the two sisters for unleashing and controlling their full power and giving him such a good fight. Overall, while Kirinmaru seems to consider himself superior and has disdain towards them, it doesn't seem to prevent him from acknowledging half-demons when they prove formidable.
For all his self-importance and justified belief in his own might, Kirinmaru is also an honorable fighter who firmly believes in proving oneself in combat through rightful means. He refused to take advantage of Tōga's weakened state to have him killed and take Japan for himself, even chastising Kyūki and Konton forever so much as suggest it, and even ordered Riku to aid on Tōga's healing, as he thinks an underhanded victory would never leave one truly satisfied. Even Zero believes he is a bit too uncompromising which causes problems for their crew. Like with Sesshōmaru, Kirinmaru believes firmly that any power one wields must be their own and holds the Rainbow Pearls and Shikon Jewel both in contempt over the fact many demons desire their power, to where he refers to the Shikon Jewel as a worthless orb and though he entrusted the Pearls to the Shikyō, it was clearly more out of a desire to keep it in safe hands instead of enhancing their abilities, being uninterested in their deaths and the fact that the Pearls were removed from them and he scoffed at the Half-Demon Princesses for having relied on the Rainbow Pearls for so long they aren't able to naturally manifest their powers while never trying to recover the Pearls while they still had it. Considering Zero's wish that brought the Rainbow Pearls to existence as being a grave dishonor, Kirinmaru also shows his standards and honor extends to his own sister, as he has repeatedly shown himself to be unnerved by her malice and sinking into new lows to fulfill her dark desires to where he eventually decided to put a stop to it by scattering the Rainbow Pearls through the land, showing his contempt towards the Pearls as a whole.
He could also show sincere respect and reason towards those who had earned it, as shown by how he treated Sesshōmaru's mother with the formal title of your ladyship even when she no longer ruled the Western Land and showed respect towards Sesshōmaru despite his failure of finding Akuru's pinwheel and apparent desire to take care of his daughters, going as far as to bow to him and sincerely apologize for Zero breaking Tenseiga and agree to prevent Zero from unleashing her wrath upon his daughters. Likewise, he seemed to genuinely regret dispatching Setsuna and even lamented she couldn't be resurrected as the Tenseiga was broken. When he had defeated Towa and Moroha, instead of killing them, he instead patiently waited and watched over them until Towa woke and sincerely praised her for the good fight and expressed hope to meet her again in the future and he even showed the fallen Setsuna genuine respect by promising to remember her always.
Physical Description[]
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Kirinmaru's full body artwork.
Kirinmaru appears as a young man with a violet suit of armor, a red belt across his waist, and a golden plate on his left shoulder. He wears lavender clothes underneath, darkened reddish pants, and black battle boots, with golden adornments.
He wears a pair of armored gauntlets decorated with the same adornments as his boots and a white dragon-shaped mask with several markings leaving only his left green eye visible along with the blue marks on his cheek. The mask concealed his right eye for an unknown reason, however, it is seen that the right side of his face seems to be filled with dragon scales. He has pointed ears that are hidden due to his mask and bulbous, long, red hair. Expectedly from a bestial daiyōkai, he has sharpened nails of a greyish-purple coloration. He eventually gets a minor scar on his left cheek after his encounter with Towa.
On his true demonic form, Kirinmaru's face becomes more monstrous with two horns emerging from his forehead (the left one being shorter, because it has been cut by Tōga), long fangs, and more feral eyes with purple marks on his eyelids and longer messier darker eyebrows. His left arm drastically changes into a draconian green with several spiked protrusions.
Powers & Abilities[]
- Immense Demonic Power: Being the Ruler of the Eastern Lands and the equal of Tōga, the Lord of the Western Lands, in terms of strength, Kirinmaru is obviously an extraordinarily powerful daiyōkai. He was confident he could kill Inuyasha, an extremely powerful half-demon who had defeated other powerful daiyōkai, and Sesshōmaru even went as far as to banish Inuyasha and Kagome into the Border of the Afterlife rather than allow Kirinmaru to fight them, suggesting he believed Kirinmaru could indeed kill both Inuyasha and Kagome despite their own incredible powers. He was able to easily overwhelm Towa, Setsuna and Moroha, all three of them holding incredible demonic powers, even when Moroha was using the full extent of her demonic power which rivaled Inuyasha's base strength, and fight Sesshōmaru to a stalemate, the clash of their powers being such that it caused massive shockwaves and even shifted the weather, causing storm clouds and thunder strikes, with him even stating that he had been holding back against the Half-Demon Princesses in their first fight. Even after being injured by Riku, Kirinmaru was still more than powerful enough to maintain the upper hand over them in their second fight, going as far as to kill Setsuna and ultimately defeat Towa and Moroha accessing their full powers simultaneously, although not without serious effort and considerable injuries. It has also been shown that his power exceeds that of his sister Zero's, as he was able to overpower her demonic energies contained in the Rainbow Pearls to scatter them across the land despite Zero willing them to return her demonic powers to her. He has displayed excellent control over his demonic energy, capable of manifesting it in various ways and varying intensity.
- Telekinesis: Kirinmaru displayed the ability to use his demonic energy for precise purposes such as manipulating objects, as shown by how he levitated and then scattered the Rainbow Pearls across the land by surrounding it with demonic energy with a clench of his fist before waving it wildly, and he could remove a sword impaled on his person by Riku with no gestures and control it to land on his hand and later on summoned his sword back with a meager hand wave.
- Demonic Energy Blasts: Kirinmaru is shown to be capable of releasing powerful energy blasts from his bare hands that were strong enough to easily pressure Setsuna's defenses and even cancel Towa's ability to absorb demonic energy. He could also channel demonic energy into his sword without any special technique to release powerful slashes of energy easily able to batter Setsuna and Moroha, even forcing her back to her human form when she was using her full demonic power. He was even able to cut through Setsuna's weapon and critically harm her with a single demonic-energy enhanced slash, even more, impressive considering how he was using a normal sword instead of his own demonic sword.
- Demonic Energy Barriers: Kirinmaru could create powerful circular barriers, even when using a normal sword, able to easily negate Moroha's Tenkū no Yabusuma and he also displayed a reflective variant that could reflect her Crimson Dragon Backlash Wave. He could manifest such barriers swiftly, as he was able to create one quick enough to block Setsuna's attack moments after knocking aside Towa. Upon tapping into his full power, he displayed the ability to create from his bare hands' powerful demonic shields that were able to stop Towa's Twin Azure Dragon Wave and Moroha's Crimson Dragon Wave and also seemingly use it to lessen the damage when he couldn't dissipate it as well manifest from his sword a large barrier strong enough to eventually repel the slash of Moroha's giant fiery dragon projection.
- Aerokinesis: Kirinmaru is capable of manifesting his demonic energy in the form of powerful waves of wind-like demonic energy without even having to move his hands at all, which he can control the intensity of, ranging from simply intimidating the Half-Demon Princesses and Kyūki and Konton while also opening the door behind them (after hearing them to strike Tōga down from his battle with Ryūkotsusei), to easily dispersing Tōtetsu's demonic smoke and knock him down, as well as shoot down Takechiyo and repeatedly easily ground the Half-Demon Princesses. He could also release a powerful tornado of wind that were able to easily launch Moroha off the ground and to a considerable distance and knock her out.
- Levitation: Kirinmaru is capable of levitating himself off the ground and remaining suspended as well as flying through the air at incredible speeds with ease.
- Master Swordsmanship: Kirinmaru proved to be an incredibly skilled swordsman, casually fighting off the assault of Moroha, even when she was using the full power of her demonic heritage to execute powerful melee blows, and easily overwhelming Setsuna and Moroha using their weapons, going as far as to mock them for their inferior combat skill, as well as going toe-to-toe with Sesshōmaru in a sword fight. He even displayed the ability to use a normal sword with great skill, able to effortlessly defend himself from Towa, despite having been injured by Riku before, and he was able to use his own sword to still outfight Towa with ease.
- Immense Strength: Kirinmaru possessed an enormous amount of physical strength, being able to easily counter Moroha's Sankon Tessō even while only using his armored hand with enough force to toss her aside, and casually block Towa's sword attacks and even easily bruise her with a simple light blow from his sword. He could also clash equally with Sesshōmaru with such force that their sword fight released shockwaves that rose the tide of the ocean and left considerable pressure on Towa, Setsuna, and Jaken and even shattered the ground with a single blow from his sword. Even in a weakened state, he remained able to effortlessly block attacks from Towa with one hand and was still able to easily overwhelm Towa in a sword lock without really trying to overpower her and even go as far as to comfortably maintain the struggle with one hand while using only two fingers of the other hand to stop Setsuna's Kanemitsu no Tomoe and knock her aside simply by flicking those fingers before tossing Towa aside even as she tried to intensify her demonic power. He even managed to slice through Setsuna's weapon and fatally injure her.
- Immense Speed: Kirinmaru showed vast levels of superhuman speed, being able to move fast enough to form afterimages while easily reacting to and outpacing the attacks of Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha and even go toe-to-toe with Sesshōmaru, also an extremely fast individual.
- Immense Stamina: He possesses tremendous levels of superhuman stamina to exert himself at full capacity for prolonged periods of time with little strain, being totally unfazed from his fight with Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha and then Sesshōmaru and even remaining fully conscious and able to leave his second fight with them even after fighting Towa and Moroha at their full power despite suffering remarkable injuries whereas they were left unconscious and struggled to walk afterward.
- Immense Durability and Endurance: Kirinmaru displayed massive levels of superhuman endurance and durability, as he showed little pain and only suffered a slight scratch from Towa's full-strength sword slash to his face. He was even able to survive being stabbed in the side by Riku with only minimum pain, going as far as to casually walk down the stairs with it still embedded in his body while able to talk normally, and still retain more than enough power to effectively fight, even being able to take having it worsened by Towa stabbing him in the same place without much pain, going as far as to be able to still talk and even blast her aside even when she had intensified her attack and took an attack from Setsuna's Blood Blade that broke through his barrier with only a scratch. He was even able to astonishingly take Towa's Twin Azure Dragon Wave and Moroha's amplified Crimson Dragon Wave and survive and still continue to fight until he eventually overwhelmed his opponent.
- Spellcasting: By his own accord, Kirinmaru is able to use spells, although he has not been seen using any.
- Natural Leadership: He has great power and authority over dozens of demons from the mainland but especially his top minions, the Four Perils.
- Shapeshifting: It appears that Kirinmaru can change his appearance to resemble a human's, like Tōga, Sesshōmaru, and Sesshōmaru's mother. He also seems to be able to partially transform into his demonic form, manifesting horns in his foreheads and transforming his left hand into a green spiky arm.
- Longevity: Like many yōkai, Kirinmaru is capable of living for many centuries and remains unchanged even after the birth of Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha.
Equipment[]
- Sword: Kirinmaru owned an unnamed sword with a golden hilt. It is powerful enough to clash evenly with Sesshōmaru's Bakusaiga and durable enough to easily block Moroha's Kōryūha and Hijin Kessō.
- Blasting Barrage: Kirinmaru slashes his sword and releases a large slash of energy that fires multiple powerful energy projectiles capable of destroying the Grim Comet and easily overpowering Moroha's Crimson Dragon Backlash Wave even when using a normal weapon.
- Wind Blast: Kirinmaru blast the wind on Moroha, similar to Setsuna's Senpū-jin.
- Unknown Black Hole Technique: Kirinmaru fires from his sword a powerful black hole that was strong enough to plow through Towa's gigantic demonic dog projection of her father and overwhelm her ability to absorb demonic energy to where she was knocked unconscious.
- Silver-scale curse: Kirinmaru has two silver-scales that will put on Kagome and Inuyasha, which means the third and final death for Rin.
Temporary[]
- Riku's sword: Kirinmaru used Riku's sword with two silverpoint on the top as the sharp blade goes. After Riku stabbed him, and during the battle with the Half-Demon Princesses at the ruin of Izayoi's mansion, it broke while protecting it with the barrier by Moroha's Crimson Dragon Backlash Wave.
Relationships[]
- Zero
Zero is his older sister and also the one that warned him about the prophecy of his downfall, showing great loyalty to him. Kirinmaru clearly trusts her as well, taking the news that she brought over his rival's sons giving birth to more hanyō seriously and deciding to kill Inuyasha when she heeds him to act. Still, he doesn't seem to be emotionally close to her, referring to her with a formal attitude, though acknowledges her as his older sister and refers to her with the formal term あねうえ (Aneue). While it seemed at first they were closer when Tōga was still alive, after Zero removed her demonic powers and created the Rainbow Pearls, it seemed their relationship became distant, as Kirinmaru later stated he considered her wish as vain. He is quite aware of his sister's power and took precautions to prevent it from being spread out of hand by giving it to the Shikyō. Having known her for years and likely experienced her grief over Tōga's death, Kirinmaru was fully aware that despite her insistence that she was targeting the Half-Demon Princesses to protect him, she was also doing this out of irrational jealousy and anger at Tōga for not returning her love and dying for the family he had with Izayoi and the half-demons that came from his blood afterward and clearly disapproves of it: While at first he only refuses to act against Towa and Setsuna even when she outright demanded him to kill the half-demons, as she continues to target them, Kirinmaru started to become more and more uneasy over the lows she sunk to fulfill her malice towards Tōga's descendants, expressing dismay that she continues to seek the destruction of the Half-Demon Princesses. He eventually lost all tolerance when she broke Tenseiga, furiously stating she had gone too far, and though he protected her from Sesshōmaru, as she insisted on killing the Half-Demon Princesses and Sesshōmaru drove the fact that Zero had only continued to dishonor herself, he decided to punish her by scattering the Rainbow Pearls through the land to prevent her from regaining her demonic power. Still, he did refer to her respectfully even when Zero furiously declared Kirinmaru was no longer her brother for doing so and even worried about her, when Sesshōmaru going after her.
The former Lord of the Western Lands and an old rival of Kirinmaru, the two worked together to deal with the Grim Comet when it first landed and made a truce with one another, leaving the other to rule their respective lands peacefully. Before Tōga's death, Kirinmaru clearly respected his rival and they appeared to have a friendly relationship, to where Kirinmaru could casually sleep with him around and he was offended when Kyūki and Konton asked him to kill the Great Dog of the West in his weakened state and stated he would only challenge him when he was at his full power and even ordered Riku to find and give the most potent herbs to help him recover. Even after his death, Kirinmaru retained considerable respect for him, as he was confident that both his sons, even including his half-demon son, would be enough to destroy the Grim Comet. He seemed amused when Jaken commented that Inuyasha and Kagome would be trapped in Tōga's tomb and "pay respects" to his grave and decided to leave it be. He even admitted when the half-demon Towa managed to injure him lightly that he expected no less from his rival's granddaughter. He also was enraged when Zero broke Tenseiga, despite it being a healing sword, simply because Tenseiga was made of Tōga's fang, and punished Zero for such a deed by scattering the Rainbow Pearls through the land, which also ensured Tōga's granddaughters would remain safe from her wrath. He showed the full extent of his respect for his rival's power when he commented how his granddaughters were able to use the place where he died to gain their full power and give him such a fierce fight, stating that he had never been able to go all out ever since their last fight.
- Sesshōmaru's mother
He treated Sesshōmaru's mother with the formal title of your ladyship even when she no longer ruled the Western Land.
- Kyūki
Kirinmaru seems to hold Kyūki to a higher standard than most of his subordinates, as he remembers her name and trusts her with handling Sesshōmaru's daughters after they had killed Tōkotsu even Inuyasha's daughter killed his son Jakotsumaru. He is unaware that Kyūki wanted to overthrow him, and even when she was dead, Kirinmaru showed detached feelings.
- Konton
Kirinmaru has heard from him with Kyūki that Tōga has been spotted in Kamakura as he told his master that Tōga has sustained grave injuries from Shishinki and Ryūkotsusei, and plan to strike him down.
- Kirinmaru: "Riku? Riku, are you here?"
- Riku: "Yes master?"
- Kirinmaru: "Gather the finest medicinal herbs you can find and deliver them to the Great Dog Demon, immediately. Now go."
- Riku: "Understood"
- ―Kirinmaru's orders to Riku to save Tōga from his wounds from the battle with Ryūkotsusei[src]
Kirinmaru refers to Riku as his most trusted retainer, expressing confidence he could defeat Towa and Setsuna. Interestingly enough, even though Riku serves Kirinmaru, he hates the Four Perils that work under him. He was shocked and angered when Riku betrayed and stabbed him.
- Tōkotsu
Kirinmaru seemed to hold Tōkotsu in little regard as he didn't remember his name until Kyūki reminded him that he has bestowed the Red Rainbow Pearl to him.
- Tōtetsu
Kirinmaru seems to dislike Tōtetsu, having no qualms knocking him down for bringing the Half-Demon Princesses to his ship and coldly dismissing his apology and telling him to leave his presence.
Enemies[]
Inuyasha is his old rival's half-demon youngest son. Although Riku claimed that Lord Kirinmaru would naturally despise him as he is a half-demon, it appears that Kirinmaru doesn't actually have much of a grudge towards him: When he was woken up by his older sister, Kirinmaru openly acknowledged Inuyasha's worth as Tōga's son and that his strength along with his brother would have sufficed to destroy the Grim Comet, showing an initial lack of inclination to kill Inuyasha. Only opting to exterminate Inuyasha when he learned Inuyasha had married Kagome and gave birth to Moroha, even when Sesshōmaru instead sealed them away to the Border of the Afterlife, Kirinmaru showed no eagerness to kill Inuyasha and accepted when Jaken noted Inuyasha's Meidō Zangetsuha will be needed, showing Kirinmaru doesn't really have any personal spite towards Inuyasha or at least not enough to actively wish for his death until he was pushed into doing so.
- Kagome: "We will never give Moroha to you."
- Kirinmaru: "Quit your squawking, human."
- ―Kagome and Kirinmaru[src]
Being that Kagome the reincarnation of Kikyō as Inuyasha's wife, had married Inuyasha and gave birth to a quarter demon girl, Kirinmaru wanted to kill her and her husband. Still, like with Inuyasha, he showed no personal enmity towards her and calmly accepted Sesshōmaru's decision to instead trap them in Tōga's tomb. However, as he attempted to attack her, he did scoff at her statement that Kirinmaru won't be able to get through her and Inuyasha to kill Moroha, calling her a mere human.
Being Sesshōmaru is his rival's first and pure demon son and the viable heir to the title of the Lord of the Western Lands, Kirinmaru seems to acknowledge and respect him. Zero noted that Kirinmaru was very well aware that Sesshōmaru hated humans and hanyōs. He would be shocked to hear that he had married and sired two half-demon daughters, which was confirmed by the shock Kirinmaru showed upon learning it. Despite this, Kirinmaru still showed respect towards Sesshōmaru, being willing to let him kill Inuyasha and even accept his decision to seal him and Kagome away instead. Indeed, he even acknowledged that despite being half-demons, he had expected Sesshōmaru's daughters to be very powerful and was not surprised when he learned they had managed to kill one of his Shikyō. He seemed to be more amused than annoyed when Sesshōmaru came to save his daughters and as they fought to a stalemate, Kirinmaru decided to respect Sesshōmaru's willingness to protect his daughters and told him they would continue to work together before leaving. Despite Sesshōmaru acting out of character by prioritizing his daughters and not being fully focused on finding Akuru's pinwheel, he still treated him with respect and even bowed to show his regret that Tenseiga was broken by Zero. He also tried to reason with him when he tried to kill Zero by reminding him of his failure in a respectful manner instead of mockery and decided to heed his desire to keep his daughters safe from Zero by scattering the Rainbow Pearls through the land. He even asked him what to do with his daughters and Moroha.
- Rin
They probably had never met before, but Kirinmaru was shocked when he learned that Rin had become Sesshōmaru's wife just like his old rival Tōga married Izayoi and that she gave birth to twin hanyō daughters. It remains unknown if he has anything to do with Rin's current slumber. Still, it appears that he isn't after her daughters herself, showing disinterest in doing so even after they had killed one of his foremost generals, with the separation of the twins being ordered seemingly solely by Zero with no order from Kirinmaru, making it seem unlikely that he has anything to do with her current condition. Indeed, although he was aware of Zero's link to Rin, Kirinmaru seemed to have literately no interest in it.
- "I haven't fought like this since my battle with the Great Dog-Demon. It's most unfortunate that I must end it in such a way. Half-Demon Princess. I await the next time we can meet. Setsuna. I shall carve your name onto my heart. I will never forget you."
- —Kirinmaru saying farewell to the twins.[src]
Although Kirinmaru showed shock that Sesshōmaru's daughters were half-demon, unlike Zero, he showed no inclination to kill them, even when he was willing to act to kill Inuyasha and Moroha, likely as he seemed to have genuine respect for Sesshōmaru. Even though Zero ordered Homura to burn down the forest they were in, it appeared that it was out of Zero's own volition. Kirinmaru had nothing to do with it, as he showed disinterest in hunting down Towa and Setsuna when they had killed not only Tōtetsu but even Kyūki as well and would not oblige to Zero's demands to kill them himself, even showing them some respect by admitting he had expected them to be powerful considering the immense power their father had.
He only finally decided to kill the half-demon twins and their cousin once Konton was killed and Tōtetsu escaped to his ship. While fighting them, he effortlessly overwhelmed them while criticizing them for their lack of skill, easily nullifying even Towa's ability to absorb demonic energy and sense his demonic energy and flaunting the fact he wasn't even using any technique to handle them before proceeding to swiftly batter Setsuna to submission with a casual sword technique. However, he acknowledged Towa's demonic abilities when she managed to actually land a single blow on him, stating he expected that from Tōga's granddaughter and Sesshōmaru's daughter. When Sesshōmaru appeared to save them, Kirinmaru showed a lack of desire to kill the half-demon twins as they proved to be quite powerless before him and decided to stop fighting and leave.
He refers to them as pups who have yet to grow their fangs and stated that he cannot allow them to leave unharmed if they challenged him but seemed disapproving of Zero's relentless desire to kill them and he even allowed them to remain safe from his sister's wrath by scattering the Rainbow Pearls through the land. During his final battle with the two, Kirinmaru was finally impressed by their skills as they gave him a harder time and referring to them by their names, showed more respect towards Setsuna as he fought her and her sister after knocking out Moroha, admitting her skills were remarkable but her weapon was too weak, and retained his interest in Towa, wondering why she couldn't fight him like before. He was willing to attack Setsuna to bring out Towa's full potential but when he accidentally killed her without knowing his own strength, he appeared to feel utterly guilty of her death, lamenting it couldn't be undone as Tenseiga was destroyed. He was visibly impressed when Towa unveiled her full power and hatefully vowed to avenge her beloved sister's death and even more so when she created the Twin Azure Dragon Wave, naming the attack and commenting her for perfecting her father's technique. After finally defeating her, he not only decided to spare Towa but also patiently waited for her to wake up and respectfully admitted she and Moroha had given him a fierce battle that he thought he would never experience again since his battle with the Great Dog Demon and expressed regret he had to end the fight prematurely and looked forward to their next meeting. He even showed sincere respect and condolences to Setsuna by promising to never forget her and carve her name into his heart.
As a quarter demon, Kirinmaru considered her a threat to him and attempted to slay her, but was unable to when Inuyasha and Kagome sent her to safety. In the present, he seems to have abandoned his interest in killing her, as she did not yet know of his existence, whereas she knew of her grandfather's, indicating that he probably made no further attempt on her life.
He only finally decided to kill her and her half-demon cousins once they kill Konton and force Tōtetsu to escape to his ship. Kirinmaru easily overpowered Moroha while mocking her for her lack of skill and casually shrugged off her Kōryūha and even remained fully dominant as Moroha tapped into the full extent of her demonic blood, easily forcing her back to her normal form and battering her to exhaustion with a single attack after completely blocking her Hijin Kessō while mocking her for not being conditioned to remain in that form for long, although he did praise her somewhat increase in strength she acquired when applying the blood of her paternal grandfather to her lips, showing her minor respect for her being the mighty Tōga's granddaughter. He seemed to scorn her for being unable to master her grandfather's power, stating she was only going berserk under its influence.
However, in their second battle, Moroha finally gained Kirinmaru's respect when she revealed her ability to use spiritual power and even more so when she achieved full mastery over the power of her blood and perfected her Crimson Dragon Wave, outright praising her for being able to use it to where even he cannot fully block it and acknowledging her as worthy of being called the Beniyasha.
Quotes[]
- "It doesn't suit my taste."
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "You fools! If I am to challenge him to battle, it cannot be after he is wounded and made him weak. A true battle must be won with honor and dignity. Is that too much for you cowards to understand?"
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "Battle is meaningless unless both sides are willing to give their all for victory. Adopting underhanded tactics to win will only leave you empty."
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- Kirinmaru: "Why have awakened me? The Great Dog Demon's sons have surely dealt with the Grim Comet's fragment by now."
- Zero: "Sesshōmaru has taken a human as his bride, just like the Great Dog Demon once did."
- Kirinmaru: "He did what?"
- Zero: "At this rate, Sesshōmaru will experienced the same fate as his father. Are you going to let that happen? Also he has brought about two daughters, half-demon twins. You remember, yes? The Shikon Jewel is gone now, but it still left us a prophecy before its departure. My dear little brother, your life will be taken by something that's neither human or demon, a being which exists on the edge of possibility that is able to transcend the flow of time. Back then you laughed it off, saying that no such thing could exist, but thanks to the Great Dog Demon, that which should not exist has become reality. That is the nature of the half-demon. They are an existence that is neither human or demon. Also a quarter demon daughter will soon be born between Inuyasha, and Kagome, the girl who surpassed time appear in this world. If we cannot erase these half-demons, along with their variants, the outcome for you is clear. Just as the Shikon Jewel prophesied, you will meet your end."
- ―Kirinmaru and Zero as she talks about his prophecy, the last prophecy.[src]
- "My demonic energy cannot be sensed by the likes of you. Your mind, body, and skill, are all weak. Was the prophecy false? Or perhaps the fact of the matter is that you are not the true half-demons who are fated to take my life after all?"
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "It's only natural the Heavens and Earth would resound when our blades would cross each other."
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "As expected of his grandchild, and Sesshōmaru's daughter."
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "I see. So it does appear in that other era as well. Then I suppose something must be done about it."
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "How pathetic! That vain wish on some worthless orb is what brought you this dishonor! Begone!!"
- —Kirinmaru[src]
- "Yes. How truly magnificent. I've been waiting my whole life for such a battle."
- —Kirinmaru[src]
Trivia[]
- The Shikon Jewel prophesied that half-demons would be Kirinmaru's downfall. Hence why he desired Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha's deaths along with Inuyasha. However, this may have lead to a "self-fulfilling prophecy" where Kirinmaru may have started the chain of events that leads to his doom, very similar to the Empress Dowager of China from The Twins of Destiny, and Lord Voldemort from the hit Harry Potter novels. All desired the destruction of their enemy as infants but were ultimately felled or destroyed by them as preteens or teenagers.
- Kirinmaru's Japanese voice actor (Yoshimasa Hosoya) and English voice actor (Crispin Freeman) both voiced Osamu Kirin.
- When Kirinmaru was connected to Osamu Kirin, given a name, that they saw a Grim Comet between two eras which it appeared in the Reiwa Era, as in The Three Princesses Strike Back that Kirinmaru states that the Grim Comet "does appear in that other era as well".
- Kirinmaru is the first opponent to defeat all three Half-Demon Princesses with ease.
- During his first battle with the three Half-Demon Princesses, he criticizes them for lacking mastery of their hearts or minds, skills or techniques and bodies (心, 技, 體) the three most important aspects of martial arts, implying he himself has fully mastered these aspects.
- Kirinmaru has the Wind Blast in Sesshōmaru's Daughter just like Ryūra's Fūjinga of the Shitōshin and the Wind Lion's.
- While he is considered as possibly the main antagonist Kirinmaru's personality, actions and skills heavily contrast with that of previous antagonist Naraku:
- Kirinmaru is a full-demon while Naraku was a half-demon.
- Naraku saw himself as superior to all beings, human and demon alike, and especially despised half-demons while Kirinmaru is at best apathetic to most beings and supposedly hates humans and half-demons but still gives praise to those who gain his respect which even includes humans and half-demons like Inuyasha, Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha.
- Naraku was cowardly and preferred to trick and manipulate others to fight his battles for him whereas Kirinmaru would openly face his opponents in open combat.
- Whereas Naraku would enjoy seeing people suffer Kirinmaru seems to prefer granting swift and quick deaths to his enemies.
- Naraku would often take advantage when his enemies were weakened but Kirinmaru is insulted by the idea, preferring his enemies be at their best when he fights them as seen when he orders Riku to take medicinal herbs to his arch-rival the Great Dog Demon.
- Whereas Naraku sought the Shikon Jewel and its power for himself Kirinmaru gave the Rainbow Pearls he had to his lieutenants and seemingly has no desire to retrieve the ones that were taken or the ones in possession of Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha.
- Naraku would often bring the fight to Inuyasha and his friends in form or another through allies, people he had tricked, or his incarnations but Kirinmaru only acted when provoked such as when he was told the prophecy of his death or when the Half-Demon Princesses were close to his ship. His lieutenants often battled against the Half-Demon Princesses on their own, not under orders to kill them by their master.
- Those under Naraku’s command were often incarnations whose hearts he removed and threatened with death to ensure their obedience while the demons under Kirinmaru’s command are completely loyal to him with the exception of Kyūki. While Naraku never cared about the lives of his incarnations and was willing to threaten and abuse them and would kill them if they failed or tried to betray him, Kirinmaru is apathetic towards his subordinates but he does at least acknowledge that anyone who serves under him must be a powerful warrior and while not above disciplining them himself, he has never been shown to outright abuse his followers.
- Naraku would seldom resort to physical combat, relying on his barrier to protect him and his miasma to kill his foes Kirinmaru not only fights directly in combat but even enjoys it against worthy foes.
- While Naraku would flee from battle if the tables were turned Kirinmaru would stand and fight but would stand down if he gained nothing from a victory such as when he decided to let Sesshōmaru's daughters live after seeing they were no threat to him and because of his respect for Sesshōmaru.
- According to the May 2021 Animage issue, Kirinmaru is not from Japan.
Media Appearances[]
Season One
- Episode 4 (Hanyō no Yashahime) (1st Appearance) {{country data {{{1}}}
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- Episode 5 (Hanyō no Yashahime) {{country data {{{1}}}
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- Episode 7 (Hanyō no Yashahime) official debut
- Episode 8 (Hanyō no Yashahime) dream; silhouette
- Episode 15 (Hanyō no Yashahime) {{country data {{{1}}}
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- Episode 17 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
- Episode 18 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
- Episode 21 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
- Episode 22 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
- Episode 23 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
- Episode 24 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
Season Two
- Episode 27 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
- Episode 28 (Hanyō no Yashahime)
References[]
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This article uses content from the Inuyasha wiki.
The original article can be found [[w:c:inuyasha:{{{1}}}|here]] and the original contributors here.
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