Sango (InuYasha)
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| Sango | |
|---|---|
| InuYasha character | |
 Sango in her demon slayer uniform |
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| First appearance | "Enter Sango, Demon Slayer" |
| Created by | Rumiko Takahashi |
| Voiced by | Houko Kuwashima (Japanese) Kelly Sheridan (English) |
| Profile | |
| Age | 16[1][2] |
| Species | Human |
| Known relatives | Shako (grandfather, deceased) Father (deceased) Kohaku (brother) Miroku (fiancé) |
| Weapon | Hiraikotsu (Both outfits), Katana, Hidden Sword, Poison Gases (Slayer Outfit) |
Sango (珊瑚? "coral") is a character in the manga and anime series InuYasha.
Sango is a highly skilled yōkai exterminator, or demon slayer, (妖怪退治屋, yōkai taijiya) and a member of a group of exterminators trained to kill demons. Sango, like all other children of her village, started training to master the art of yōkai extermination from a very young age. Her preferred weapon is a huge boomerang called the Hiraikotsu, and is made of the bones of yōkai. Until chapter 488 in the manga, Sango was the only member of the group to lack supernatural powers. It isn't until chapters 497-499 that she discovers her Hiraikotsu has gained some powers.
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[edit] Overview
Naraku, the main antagonist of the series, devised an elaborate strategy to destroy the demon exterminators and take their pieces of the Shikon no Tama. He first lured the five most skilled slayers of the village away to a castle. The castle was under the control of Naraku who had either taken the form of its young lord Hitomi Kagewaki or had been that person for many years. The slayers quickly killed a weak spider demon who they had been told was threatening the castle. Immediately after, another spider-demon in the disguised form of the castle's lord took control of Sango's younger brother Kohaku and had him attack the entire group of exterminators (including his own father). Sango was the only survivor. When she discovered the presence of the spider-demon controlling Kohaku, she turned to attack the demon. Kohaku stabbed her in the back with his kusari-gama (chain-sickle). Meanwhile, the spider-demon still disguised as the lord of the castle ordered his men to kill the "crazed" slayers. Sango and Kohaku were both shot full of arrows. Naraku, in the form of Hitomi Kagewaki, then appeared and killed the spider-demon. He orders that the bodies of the exterminators be buried with the exception of Kohaku which he takes away for other purposes.
While the slayers were fighting at the castle, Naraku sent his saimyōshō out to lead a large force of demons against the village of the slayers. All the villagers were killed in the battle and Naraku gained their pieces of the Shikon no Tama.
Sango was then buried but then digs herself out of her burial mound and afterward has her wounds briefly tended to by Naraku in the form of Hitomi Kagewaki (the young lord). In that form Naraku has his saimyōshō come to him. The saimyōshō (calling itself Naraku) tells Hitomi Kagewaki within listening range of Sango that her village was destroyed by demons under the leadership of a yōkai named InuYasha. Enraged at this "news", Sango demands her weapon and swears to kill InuYasha at all costs.
Sango meets InuYasha and the group not long after she left the castle. Immediately she engages in a battle that InuYasha does not want to fight in, and he thus holds back. Naraku was watching closely with a yōkai puppet and sends the saimyōshō to deter Miroku from using his Kazāna. It seems like Sango has the upper hand by using her poison gas to fend off InuYasha's attacks, but InuYasha easily discovers that if he knocks off her mask she would not be able to use such an effective defense. Having done so, InuYasha 'saves' Sango from her own poison gas after knocking off her mask. Puzzled as to why InuYasha, the yōkai who supposedly killed her entire village would save her, she stabs him in the arm with her Wakizashi. InuYasha, after rather nonchalantly removing the weapon from his arm, bluntly points out that Naraku was tricking her and that she was bleeding rather badly. Sango is shocked to see that he was right because she had felt no pain from her wounds, soon afterward she passes out. She awakens on InuYasha's back and only after assurances and explanations from Kagome does Sango feel as if she can "trust" InuYasha for the time being.
Naraku's Saimyōshō escape with the Jewel Shard he lent Sango and she loses consciousness due to blood loss. When she wakes up, they make it back to her village, where Sango finds out that they had already paid proper respects to all the villagers, who died defending the village without their strongest warriors from the onslaught of yōkai.
The group learns from Sango that the Shikon Jewel has close ties with her village, and Sango in time realized the true nature of Naraku and joins the group.
She is a valiant warrior in battle as she is the best yōkai exterminator from the village, and with her Hiraikotsu she is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Sango also has her fire cat demon companion, Kirara. She hopes to defeat Naraku and be reunited with Kohaku who was brought back from the dead by Naraku with a Shikon Shard.
[edit] Abilities and weapons
- Hiraikotsu (飛来骨? Boomerang Bone)
- The name of Sango's giant boomerang, and also the name of the attack using it. It was made from the bone of a yōkai, and this makes it nearly unbreakable and powerful. 'Hi-' means 'flying', 'rai-' means 'return' and '-kotsu' means 'bone', so the name can also mean "bone that flies back." This weapon is effectively destroyed in Chapter 484 (Youdoku) of the manga. However, through a poison and medicine yōukai called Yakurodokusen, the youkai that make up Hiraikotsu realize Sango's and Miroku's devotion for each other, and decide to fight together with Sango once more.
- In Chapter 498, during her confrontation with Naraku, Sango finds that her weapon now has the ability to absorb his aura and body when she throws it at him. This newfound vulnerability prompts Naraku to flee for now. The full extent (and/or potential weaknesses) of this upgrade have not yet been revealed.
- Yōkai Paralyzing Poisons (毒分? dokufun)
- Sango's knowledge of various poisons (particularly ones that affect only yōkai) is extensive, and she employs a few different kinds throughout the series. She wears a custom-fit gas mask to protect herself from some of the more potent ones.
- Numbing Potions
- Used as an alternative for Hiraikotsu whenever Sango attempts to ensnare Yokai without killing them. She usually bakes these and prepares them disguised as baked goods (usually buns or donuts) placed on top of a small box for the yokai to eat.
- Dagger gauntlet
- Hidden in the sleeve of her kimono is a retractable dagger. The first time she uses it is when she fights Naraku at his castle. In one episode she used it to free herself when she was tied up by villagers. Another time she used it against Miroku while she was possessed by a demon egg. Her wrist blade is mostly used as a last resort.
- Wakizashi
- A weapon that she sometimes uses in close combat or if she loses Hiraikotsu, but she prefers her main weapon. Many believe that this weapon is a katana but a katana would be too long to hold. It is actually the wakizashi, a shorter, one handed sword.
- Chain
- Uses the chain as a whip and to constrict foes.
[edit] Relationships
- InuYasha
- InuYasha doesn't really trust Sango at first, but quickly comes to realize her value as both a fighter and a friend. He worries about her and protects her, but in most situations Sango can generally take care of herself. Sango and he are commonly found saving one another from peril. Sango has stated that she doesn't have a preference for which form InuYasha is in and will stand by him no matter what.
- Kirara
- Sango's "pet", who looks like a small two-tailed cat and can transform to a huge flying fire cat. Kirara is a nekomata demon. Kirara is fiercely loyal to Sango. It is hinted in the anime that Kirara was once the companion of Midoriko, creator of the Shikon Jewel, which could mean that Kirara has lived for some hundred years.
- Kagome
- In and out of battles, they also share feelings about love interests and other important topics, such as the whereabouts of the Shikon Jewel Shards. In a word, Sango and Kagome are like foster sisters, with Sango being the older one and Kagome the younger. This means that Sango will always protect and help Kagome in any way she can. Sango turns to Kagome for the occasional advice on or sympathy for the predations of Miroku.
- Shippo
- One of her good friends and traveling companions, Sango can really relate to Shippo but he is much closer to Kagome.
- Miroku
- When addressing Miroku, Sango generally refers to him with the respectful term houshi-sama (houshi means Buddhist priest, and -sama is a respectful honorific), despite his thieving and lechery. Miroku, for his part, frequently gropes Sango when the opportunity arises, though she usually slaps or punches him for it. Sango also strikes him when he makes advances to other women as he frequently does. She does this because she loves him and she is jealous. As the series progresses, Miroku is seen to return these feelings and eventually asks her to marry him once their ordeal with Naraku is over. Sango tearfully accepts.
- Sango and Miroku make an excellent pair in battle, and whenever the group splits up it is usually split between InuYasha-Kagome and Sango-Miroku. Curiously enough, with all his groping and innuendo, Miroku does not ask Sango to bear his child (as he does with every woman he meets) until she demonstrates jealousy over his asking other women and finally brings the subject to his attention. Surprised, Miroku naturally asked the question, and Sango rejected him.
- Sango accepts Miroku's marriage proposal in Episode 132 of the anime series. Miroku saves Sango from a demonic egg which had possessed her and caused her to repeatedly attack him. Feeling guilty over his actions (his negligence led to her possession, and he had to punch her stomach to save her) Miroku gets Sango alone with him and asks her forgiveness. She replies that it was not his fault since she let her guard down. Mustering his courage, Miroku then lets his heart out to Sango and tells her that she is the only woman he has ever loved. He then promptly proposes marriage to her (also asking her to have at least ten to twenty children with him), and she tearfully accepts. However, she follows up her "Yes" with the request that he stop flirting with other women. He fails to answer, and receives a dirty look from her.
- However, Sango is not always the only one to get jealous, as shown in the episode "Only You, Sango". In the episode, a handsome and wealthy lord named Kuranosuke claims to be in love with Sango and asks her to marry him, claiming that they have met before years ago when she performed an extermination. Throughout the episode, Miroku behaves in a stoic and quiet manner much to Kagome's despair, since she wants Miroku to declare his love to her openly now that he has a direct rival. He explains to Kagome that after all Sango has been through, he wants her to have a good life, and Kuranosuke can give it to her. When Miroku and Sango are finally alone, he tells her that he wants her to be happy.
- Eventually, at the end of the episode, Sango tells Kuranosuke that she must find her brother and declines his marriage offer; he accepts this and parts ways with Sango amiably. As the group leave, Sango is given an umbrella by Kagome and lets Miroku guard himself from the rain with her, though as usual Miroku can't hold himself back and gropes Sango, who hits him as usual but when the frame returns to her face she is smiling.
- Sesshomaru
- When she confronted Naraku inside of the large jewel-like battlefield during Naraku and the group's final fight, she was willing to sacrifice Rin's life to destroy Naraku once and for all. When Sesshomaru saw this, Sango said that if he must, he will kill her but only once Naraku is slain.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ See questions and answers
- ^ Zusetsutaizan Ougikaiden By Rumiko Takahashi
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