Shippo
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- This article is about Shippo, the fictional character. For the town located in Aichi Prefecture of Japan, see Shippo, Aichi.
is a character in the anime and manga series InuYasha.
Contents
Name roots
'Shippō' means 'the seven treasures' (as in gold, silver, pearls, agate, crystal, coral, and lapis lazuli) in Japanese. (The English anime of InuYasha spells his name in a manner that ignores the double "o" - "Shippo" has a different meaning than "Shippō"). The similar-sounding 'shippo' (しっぽ) means 'tail', which is likely a deliberate pun.About
He is a kitsune, a (yōkai-fox) who tags along with Kagome and InuYasha after they defeat the Thunder Brothers. At first, Shippō attacks InuYasha and Kagome in an effort to steal their shards of the Jewel of the Four Souls (Shikon no Tama). He wants to use them to become stronger so he can avenge his father's death at the hands of the Thunder Brothers. After InuYasha and Kagome hear Shippō's story, they help him fulfill his revenge and he becomes the first new member of the group. Shippō, unlike some yōkai, has no problem with humans, but InuYasha and Shippō always tease each other while Kagome acts like a combination of mother and sister to Shippō. Though young and rather naïve, he has a very good grasp of the emotions and motives of his companions, and has oddly accurate moments of insight. He wishes very much that Kagome and InuYasha would not fight, and when they do, he is right there trying to convince InuYasha to apologize for whatever he did, resulting in a quick bop to the noggin for the kitsune.As a kitsune, his specialty is trickery. He has fooled with InuYasha in particular on a few occasions, once abandoning him on the side of a road with his hands trapped beneath a stone with a sutra on it, one act among several that have garnered InuYasha's mild resentment. Shippō's illusions aren't always complete and don't always last for very long, leaving Shippo to face trouble from the people or yōkai he may be trying to deceive.
Character relationships
Girls along the way
Shippō meets a variety of young girls upon his travels. They are drawn to him due to his innocent sense of fun, his cuteness and tiny size, his sense of humour, and general pleasantness. Some of these include:- Souten, the younger sister of the Thunder Brothers. Shippou accepted her challenge to duel, thinking that she was a boy. Later, when she revealed her true gender, Shippou called off the battle and permitted her to keep his box of coloring crayons (which Souten had found extremely fascinating). After witnessing this act of chivalry on Shippou's part, Souten develops a crush on the kitsune.
- Satsuki, who he saved from a lizard yōkai who tricked her into believing that it was her brother. Shippo's "First Love."
- Koume, a girl that mistakes Kirara for Kuroro (the village's twin tailed cat) and Shippo immediately develops a secret crush on her. He helps her look and find Kuroro. When Shippo and his friends leave the village, Inu Yasha starts to tease Shippo saying that Shippo was in love with her. Shippo becomes upset and Kagome "sit"s Inu Yasha.
- Mitsuki, a girl who he was pressured into playing a trick on by a band of fox demons who idolized him. Mitsuki later became angry with Shippo and never wanted to see him again.
Kirara
Shippō has a special relationship with Kirara, Sango's pet, and he is often found talking to her, particularly during battles in which their skills are not needed. Shippō is the weak member of the group, Kirara the one who cannot speak to the other humans. They're both quite small, are the only full demons of their group, and both specialize in fire techniques. These similarities lead to a strong sense of comradery, even if they are fox and cat.InuYasha
Shippō focuses many of his tricks upon the main character. Also being a canine demon, he sees InuYasha in the role of an older brother. He values his strength, and emulates him, even asking to borrow his Tetsusaiga, and mimicking his 'Wind Scar' with his own 'Heart Scar'. Despite this, like any bratty younger brother, Shippō constantly torments InuYasha with practical jokes and thinly veiled insults. This often causes InuYasha to physically abuse Shippō. While the two have a strong rivalry, when confronted by an enemy they both are willing to risk their lives to defend each other.Kagome and Sango
Kagome and Sango view Shippō like a younger brother, and take on a rather motherly role. When InuYasha begins his assault, Kagome tells him "Sit, Boy!" punishing him for beating on the younger and weaker demon. InuYasha usually does not go easy on any male or demon of any age, especially if they've made him angry.Miroku
Other characters have remarked that Shippo has been emulating Miroku's flirtatiousness with women (in Shippō's case, girls), and gained his natural charm. Shippo has shown his affection for Miroku by crying when he was willing to kill himself to destroy Naraku. At times, he doesn't seem to realize that Miroku is doing less than moral things, but later catches on and is the most sceptical towards the monk's motivations. They usually get along and both like to avoid unnecessary conflict - especially if it means that they can get out of it alive.Abilities
- Kitsune Youjutsu (Fox Magic): A umbrella term for all his magical ability
- Naki Kinoko (Weeping Mushrooms): Leaves a trail of wailing, crying mushrooms that can be followed to his current location.
- Tsubushi Goma (Smashing Top): Illusionary magic using a small toy top that gives the appearance and presence of a very large top, often used to pin opponents to the ground.
- Bunshin (Divide): Using special happa (leaves), creates many illusionary clones of Shippō that distract the enemy. This ability resembles Uzumaki Naruto's Kage Bunshin No Jutsu from Naruto.
- Kitsune-bi (狐火 Fox Fire): Summons a ghostly-looking blue fire. Used mostly for defense but works as an effective attack against weak yōkai. This ability resembles Uchiha Sasuke's from Naruto
- Transformation: Deceives the enemy by transforming into another creature, person or object. These transformations are often incomplete, his untransformed tail usually gives him away, and the appearance usually can't be maintained for very long. He has transformed into Kagome at least four times (episodes 10, 20, 89 and once with Hachiemon in episode 135), Koga (episode 37) and a woman (episode 129), although his tail was visible in all the transformations. He is also able to transform to a pink balloon-like shape with limited flying ability to carry one light person like Kagome. Shippō has also transformed into a spider (episode 13) thinking that InuYasha was afraid of spiders. Near the beginning of the second movie, it is seen that he turns into a large duck-like creature carrying Kagome (whom compliments on the incomplete transformation in which his ribbon is visible in which Shippo replies, "Give it a rest") in order to confront Naraku. Also in the second movie, he turns into a bow for Kagome (at her request), but feels pain when she actually tried using him in battle. This originally occurred in episode 10 at Shippo's request sans pain. This ability resembles the Henge No Jutsu from Naruto.
- Kokoro no Kizu (Wind of the Heart) (Dub: Heart Scar): Shippo learned this new attack while fighting a lizard demon (episode 130). Shippō simply inflicts a painful but not deadly bite. This technique may release some of the yōkai's energy every time it strikes, as Shippo says that he saw the Kaze no Kizu.
- Hidden Cloud: In episode 136, Shippo combines happa and a talisman given to him by the old woman exorcist (introduced in episode 85) to become invisible. Of course, like his other transformations, it doesn't last very long.
Voice Actor
- Japanese Seiyū: Kumiko Watanabe
- English Voice Actor: Jillian Michaels
- Hungarian Voice Actor: Steiner Kristóf
| InuYasha characters | [Edit] | |||||||||||||||
Listed in approximate order of appearance.
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