Koga (InuYasha)

(alternative spelling "Kouga") is a character in the manga and anime series "InuYasha".

Koga is a yōkai-wolf, and he is the leader of his tribe identified in the manga as the Eastern Wolf Pack.

Overview

Koga is the leader of a demon wolf tribe. In his first appearance, he allows his wolves to slaughter and feed on the villagers where Rin resides. When InuYasha finds the massacre, he attacks the remaining wolves who then call Koga for help. The two fight briefly. During their fight, Koga notes Kagome's ability to see the shards of the powerful Shikon Jewel. The battle is over because Koga retreats when he senses danger as InuYasha was about to perform his deadly Wind Scar attack.

Koga soon returns to kidnap Kagome in order to put her skill at seeing the Shikon Jewel shards to use. He explains that he needs her to fight his clan's enemies, the so-called Birds of Paradise. He takes her into battle with him against the Birds and protects her as best he can while fighting. She helps him find the Bird with a jewel shard and then he fights on his own, leaving Kagome in the care of his pack mates Ginta and Hakkaku. With help from InuYasha, the Birds are defeated. In the middle of the battle, Koga claims Kagome as "his woman" and boldly declares his love for her, much to InuYasha's fury and dismay. After the battle, Kagome helps an injured Koga escape from a raging InuYasha, causing InuYasha to feel jealous and hurt.

Though Koga is at first portrayed as a "villain" it is almost immediately clear from his demeanor and personality that he is hardly evil. He and InuYasha are more sporting rivals than arch enemies.

Koga courts Kagome, protects her whenever possible, and seems to love her, thus irritating InuYasha in the process. In the anime, Koga ceases to allow his wolves to devour humans because if he kills a human, Kagome will hate him. Koga is strong, but he is mostly just talk. He's very cocky and bold, but he also follows his instincts to keep himself alive. Koga is infamous for running away from a fight, a quality that a proud, brave InuYasha finds cowardly, but one that does keep him alive and out of fights he can't win.

Later in the series, Koga's entire pack excluding Ginta and Hakkaku are lured to their death by Naraku. After the slaughter, he vows to destroy Naraku at any cost. Once Koga and InuYasha share this common enemy, they cross paths often and even sometimes reluctantly fight together.

Koga appears humanoid and has not to date taken any other forms in either the manga or anime. He was the possessor of two of the last four shards not held by Naraku. After Naraku takes them, Koga returned to the other wolves. In the anime version of the story, he vanished from the series entirely after episode 125.

Abilities and Weapons

Lesser Abilities

"Note: most of these abilities have been diminished or in some cases lost with the loss of his shards";Strength : With the jewel shards, Kouga is far more able to fight than his seemingly weak wolf demon comrades, the jewel shards afford him considerable power, and even the ability to punch the ground and project youkai energy in the form of a shockwave.;Speed : With the jewel shards in his legs Koga can move much faster than other wolf demons, a fact often symbolized in the anime and manga as a whirlwind of dust and debris kicked up as he runs. However, when his shards had been taken by Naraku, he could no longer run as fast as he was previously able to. Despite this, he was still able to run faster than Ginta and Hakkaku.;Agility : Koga is quick and agile using swift moves and high jumps to perform martial arts and brawling style physical attacks. When he runs, dirt and debris tussle from the ground creating a whirlwind around him.;Swordsmanship : Koga carries what appears to be an ordinary katana at his side at all times. He uses it only once (and only in the manga, against Mōryōmaru), and subsequently states that he had taken it from a human he had killed and that it is only for decoration. ;Claws : Koga can use his claws as weapons, though in the anime they are most often drawn as normal fingernails rather than the claws that are present in the manga.;Shard Kick : Like a regular kick, except with the help of the Jewel shards' power in his legs, it is a stronger kick that can break a boulder into tiny pieces. (When the shards had been taken by Naraku in later manga volumes, it caused him to lose this power) Also, due to observance of the anime, Koga is one of few characters that actually use martial arts kicks as a means to beat an opponent. Most other characters that have used kicks, are either minor, or use them very inconsistently.

Goraishi ("Five Thunder Fingers")

This claw-like weapon is a relic of the youkai-wolf clans. It lies dormant beneath the flesh of Koga's hand springing forth when he wishes to use it. It was guarded by the spirits of the wolf tribes' ancestors, all of whom are old men wearing demon skulls and fur. They also seem to be able to communicate their thoughts to Koga via the Goraishi. Koga was able to pass the test (by choosing the lives of his comrades safety over attaining the weapon) of the guardians and win it.

By appearance, it consists of five conically-shaped claws, each with holes at the back where the user's fingers could slip into. All five claws are also connected to a small bracelet by five small chains which the user wears once they summon Goraishi. It can be used as a slashing weapon and also has a powerful magic attack, which is on par with, if not stronger than InuYasha's Kaze no Kizu, or even Bakuryūha, as Koga did manage to knock down Kongōsōha spears from Mōryōmaru earlier on (before Mōryōmaru's acquirement of Shikon shards). It also seems to emit divine energy, which is different from the spiritual energy used by Miroku or the demonic energy used by InuYasha, though somewhat similar to that of Sesshoumaru's Tensaiga.

Koga was informed upon receiving the weapon that it would protect him only one time from Midoriko's will over the Jewel shards. The one-time protection was used after Kagome's arrow purified Naraku's aura which was preventing the protection from being activated. This protection was so strong that not only did it overcome Midoriko's power, which was trying to allow Naraku to consume Koga in his plot to complete the Shikon Jewel, but also defeated Naraku's aura as Koga was able to go through Naraku's shoki without being harmed. In the end, Naraku's body erupted, as the divine protection allowed Koga safe passage outside Naraku's flesh.

Relationships

;InuYasha: Although they are constantly bickering over Kagome, they help each other out. They seem to have a healthy friendship later on in the manga, though neither of them would be willing to admit it if asked. Koga has also shown some friendly affection for InuYasha's friends, such as the time when he told Miroku to keep his Kazaana closed when they fought Naraku. He even tried, in a rather uncouth way, to get InuYasha out of his post-Kikyo-death depression by making him angry.;Kagome Higurashi: His relationship with Kagome is often used for comical purposes over which InuYasha and him are constantly fighting over her. Although his actions and words indicate that he has fallen in love with Kagome (in both the anime and manga), his true feelings for Kagome remain unclear. In any case it is obvious that he values and cares for Kagome, and as does InuYasha, makes her safety a priority. ;Hakkaku and Ginta: These two are Koga's faithful companions. They were willing to stay with him in his battle with Naraku, but Koga tricked them into thinking that he would remain with InuYasha so they wouldn't have to worry about him. They then departed to rejoin another wolf demon tribe under Koga's orders. They then meet up with him again as he leaves the hunt for Naraku, and they all depart together.;Ayame (anime-exclusive character): A female yōkai, just like Koga, who lives with the northern part of the wolf demon tribe. She was promised by Koga that they would marry later on, but since he "fell in love" with Kagome, he has yet to keep his promise to her. ;Kagura: Kagura was first shown in the manga slaughtering Koga's allies, and Koga swore to avenge them. Due to his inability to kill InuYasha and the fact that she wins every time they fight, Kagura thinks Koga to be very weak. Their rivalry was never settled, thanks to Kagura's abrupt death.

Notes and references