Inuyasha, the main
character in the anime, is a half-demon who is the offspring of the Lord of the
Dogs and his human mother. He seeks to possess the Shikon Jewel in order to
become a full fledged demon just like his elder brother Sesshomaru. He wields
the sword forged from his father fang "Tetsusaiga" which has the ability to
kill 100 demon in one sweep. He used to be a self-centred and a person who does
not believe trusting people (as a result of ill treatment from humans when
he was young due to his half demon background). This was changed by the
entering of Kagome and the rest of the gang in his life. He gradually
changed from hard hearted person to one who learn to care and be kind to
people in a clumsy way though =). In this picture, we see him eating
instant noodles ! This is one of the many "interesting stuff" which
Kagome brings in a large backpack whenever she takes a trip back to the Feudal
Era. 
Kaede
is Kikyo's younger sister and is a priestess just like her elder sister;
proficient in the usage of herbs for curing ailments, but her priestly
powers do not match up to her elder sister. She is also a worldly-wise
lady whom I regard as one who can provide advice on a lot of matters like
romance for e.g. there was one scenario in the animation in which Shippo
consulted her about Kagome and Inuyasha matters. This was done via a
series of crayon pictures depicting how Kagome and Inuyasha quarreled over
Koga. Her lodging also acts as the gathering and leaving point whenever
the gang stops to allow Kagome to go back or they met with some trouble or
need her help. I consider her to be one of the characters who understands
Inuyasha very well.
Kagome is actually the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo, who was assaulted
fatally by Naraku, disguised in the form of Inuyasha. She carried the Shikon
Jewel in her body when she first came into the Feudal Era (due to the Shikon
Jewel being cremated together with Kikyo). Kagome possess the ability to
sense the presence and purify the Shikon Jewel fragments which she picked up
(just like Kikyo).
Her innate skill in archery also gradually picked up as the story
progresses. Kagome also possess the ability to control Inuyasha by asking him to
"Sit" albeit with some help from the rosary beads from Kaede. This was achieved by the
rosary beads which can be found around his neck. In her present life, she
is just an average ninth grade student whose family lives in a shrine where the
Demon Eating well is located in the present time. 
Miroku is actually a
knowledgeable monk who possess lecherous thoughts (Haha!). He will go
around asking any prospective lady to bear his son. The wind channel in his
right hand allows him to suck in anything into it. This wind channel was a
result of a curse placed upon Miroku's grandfather by Naraku which will leave
every male offspring to be cursed with it. Death will set in when the wind
channel finally suck in the person himself. That is part of the reason why he is
constantly asking any beautiful lady to bear his son hahaha !!! He seeks to lift the curse by
destroying Naraku. In the series, there was a time when his wind channel was
accidentally widened when he was sucking in a mantis demon. He had to seek
his former master's (Mushin) help to sew back the tears.
Myoga
is a flea demon that was the vassal to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father.
He now pops out randomly out of nowhere to join Inuyasha and gang
especially when they are in a fix. He possess no special abilities, unlike
Shouga, except that he can suck a lot of blood until he inflate to human
size. This might explain why he is such a cowardly person and will fled
the scene as soon as possible when the odds are against the gang. He also
provides sound advice for Inuyasha, and serves as a messenger sometimes to
pass information to Inuyasha. He is also one who values his carefree
bachelor life, as seen from him constantly escaping from Shouga, a female
flea betrothed to him from young. (pic obtained from
http://kikouyous.web.free.fr/Inuyasha/myoga1.jpg)
Shippo
is actually a fox demon whose father was killed by the Thunder Brothers Manten
and Hiten for the piece of Shikon fragment in his father's possession. He tried
to scare Inuyasha and Kagome into giving him the Shikon Jewel fragments using
one of his balloon transformations. Alas! but with the wrong results. His motive
was to use the strength of the Shikon Jewel fragments to avenge his father's
death. This was accomplished by Inuyasha who defeated the two brothers actually
to save Kagome who was kidnapped by Manten, who wanted young and beautiful girls
as an ingredient to brew his hair growing potion yuck! Since he is now an
orphan, he decides to join Kagome and Inuyasha in their travels. His cuteness also make
him a hot fave with Inuyasha fans like one of my friend who absolutely adores
him... =)
Sango,
together with her brother Kohaku, is the last of the Demon Slayer clan who was
wiped out by the devious plan of Naraku. Naraku, impersonating as the Lord of a
castle, hired her father and some of her fellow slayers to destroy a demon in
the castle. After the destruction of the demon, Naraku indirectly manipulated
Kohaku into killing their father, the other slayers and mortally wounding Sango.
At the same time, he despatched a group of demons to attack Sango's village...
resulting in the total massacre of her clan. Upon regaining consciousness, she
was deceived into believing that Inuyasha was the murderer. Naraku, as usual,
offered his help by inserting a Shikon fragment in her back allowing her to not
feel pain and attack Inuyasha. There was a confrontation and when the truth came to light, she
decided to join them in collecting the Jewel fragments as in the process she
will find Naraku. She wields the weapon Hirakotsu, that is made of demon bone,
shaped like a
gigantic boomerang to aid her in slaying demons.
Kirara
is actually Sango's trusty aide who follows her around during her demon slaying
exploits. It possess the ability to transform into a bigger and fiercer version
of itself in times of danger. It also possesses the ability to "run"
in the air and not forgetting its strong "yokai" or demon powers.
Inuyasha, when learning "Windscar", had to tap into its power during
training in order to "see" the windscar. It was also suspected that Kirara was
also priestess Midoriko's aide when she was fighting the demons. Otherwise most
of the time it will
just stay in its cute form. 
Sesshomaru
is the half elder brother of Inuyasha. He seeks to snatch the sword "Tetsusaiga"
from Inuyasha. His left arm was cut off by that same sword when Inuyasha first
awoken its power. He wields the sword "Tenseiga" which possess the
power to heal and bring back 100 people to life with one sweep (contrast that
with Tetsusiga). Unlike his father, he feels no
compassion for humans and in fact despises them. Of course, there can be
exceptions, in the case of the human girl Rin who saved him when he was injured
by "Windscar". He is always accompanied by his faithful servant Jaken.
Sesshomaru always look cool, stern and unfeeling in the series, therefore I
choose this smiling pic of him albeit a bit cold
also. 
Jaken is the faithful servant of Lord Sesshomaru. He is always praising
Sesshomaru's
prowess and will follow him around wherever he goes. He possess a magical staff
that has fire-breathing abilities. This staff also enable Sesshomaru
to find out the location of his father's tomb where "Tetsusaiga" was
first located. I reckon him to be craving for praise and hope for Sesshomaru to be
appreciative of his efforts, as seen he was especially hurt when Sesshomaru
tested "Tenseiga" on him even after all
he had done for him. He followed Sesshomaru as he was impressed with his
strength and the fact that he unknowingly saved Jaken's life from a demon,
whom he was fighting with his men.
Kikyo
is the priestess who possess the ability to purify the Shikon Jewel. She was
also Inuyasha's former lover, who was fatally set up by Naraku, into believing
that Inuyasha betrayed her love for the Shikon Jewel. She thus choose to be
cremated together with the Shikon Jewel when she died (hating Inuyasha of
course). Therefore when she was reborn again by the demoness Urasue, she only
remembers her hatred for Inuyasha and nothing else. Her hollow new body consists
of graveyard earth and bones baked using the Urasue's Demon Kiln. The reborn
Kikyo actually is just an empty hollow body shell, and won't have any memories
of her past life except for that bit of Kagome's spirit. This is further sustained by her
collection of other souls from the dead by her demons as seen together with her
in the picture. She still possess her priestess powers which enables her to
repel Naraku's powers when she was captured by him. 
Naraku
or Lord Kagami, the villain behind Inuyasha's, Miroku's and Sango's mishaps,
actually exists in various forms with Kagura being one of them. He is actually
the thief Yatou Onigumo, who was actually seriously hurt and burnt, before he was
rescued by Kikyo. Onigumo (meaning demon spider), due to his
injuries, desired Kikyo who was taking care of him. He summoned demoniac
spirits and allowed them to consume his useless body in return for power and
Kikyo of course. He
became Naraku as a result. He plots to kill Inuyasha as Kikyo loves him, and so
he impersonated as Kikyo to attack Inuyasha and vice versa. He is also pursued by Miroku who seeks to kill him to remove the "Wind
Tunnel" curse on him. But inside him still beats the heart of Onigumo
therefore he still cares about Kikyo (until he removed the heart) He desires the Shikon
Jewel in order to become a full-fledged demon just like Inuyasha. 
Kagura
is just one of the many incarnations given form and shape by Naraku himself.
This was a testament of the Shikon Jewel's powers as he was only able to do this
after gathering a considerable amount of fragments, most of which courtesy of
Kikyo. She represents the element "Wind", and wield a fan as her
weapon. Using her fan, she was able to conjure up lethal blades of wind to
attack people. This move is called "Dance of the Wind". Her
other moves include the ability to conjure up zombies from dead bodies
"Dance of the Dead", and of course "Dance of the Dragon",
she conjures up spinning tornadoes containing bits of bone that will cut
up any living thing.
Kanna, supposedly the older sister of
Kagura, is the element "Void", another meaning is
"nothingness". She is just one of the many incarnations of Naraku, as
testified of his rising demonic powers due to the number of his collected Shikon
Jewel fragments. She possess a mirror which allow souls to be sucked into it.
This will render them "souless" and thus allow her younger sister
Kagura to control the "souless" people using her "Dance of the
Dead" to attack their enemies. Any attacks on her can also be deflected
using her mirror, except for attacks that contain or consist of souls like
Kagome "sacred" arrow attacks.
Koga
is the leader of the northern cavern wolf tribe. He first came into the picture
when his fellow mates were killed by Naraku who took the form of Inuyasha. He
kidnapped Kagome in an effort to lure Inuyasha to his lair. However his wolf
tribe was also fighting another group of enemies called "Birds of
Paradise" who were ironically ugly creatures. Like Inuyasha, Koga wanted to
make use of the Shikon Jewel fragments to gain strength and defeat the
"Birds of Paradise" plus the leader who also possess the fragments. He also
became Inuyasha's love rival when he was somewhat impressed by Kagome's
resilience and efforts to escape while under capture.
Rin
is a mute orphan young girl who took care of the injured Sesshomaru by providing him
with food when he was unable to move. However this move was of course not
reciprocated by the proud Sesshomaru, who despises humans. However,
coincidentally her village was attacked by Koga and his wolf minions. All the
villagers, including Rin, were killed by the wolf minions. Her limp body was discovered by
Sesshomaru, and with one swipe of his Tenseiga, revived her (Hmmm a show of
compassion ?). In the process of
doing that, he also cured her muteness also. She became a talkative young girl
and her compassion for her companions was seen in naming the two-headed
dragon (Sesshomaru's steed) Ah & Un and saving Jaken when his plan to
steal Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga fail. She also composed a song depicting her
longing for her companions (Sesshomaru and Jaken) to come back soon. when
she was alone. But anyway from
that time onwards, Rin followed Sesshomaru and of
course Jaken everywhere (personally I think she might be the person who will
"soften" Sesshomaru hard-line approach like what Kagome did for
Inuyasha... though I might be wrong =))
Kohaku
is Sango's younger brother. He was under the control of Naraku when he wiped out
his father and the other demon slayers. He also attacked and injured Sango. They
were earlier summoned to Naraku's castle on the pretense of getting rid of a
demon. While they were away, their village came under the attack of Naraku's
demonic minions. Kohaku was then killed after he tried to protect Sango from a
rain of arrows shot at him. He was later revived by Naraku via a Shikon
Jewel fragment. Upon regaining his consciousness, he realized that he had killed his father and the other slayers. This refusal to remember
the fact that he killed
his father and the other slayers will be one of the reason he was controlled by
Naraku. He became Naraku's controlled pawns used to kill the gang. He was
later used to kill Kagome, however,
in his body his heart still beats, therefore it
was not successful.