This piece of Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Hakkaku, Inuyasha, Ayame, Ginta, and Shunran fan art, which also has hints of Sesshoumaru x Shuran x Hakkaku in the BroTP sense, Inuyasha x Ayame in the OTP sense, and Ginta x Shunran also in the OTP sense, is dedicated to BelPPG, Inuyashagirl2008, SailorUsagiChan, DeviantMaster2014, DiamondLauper, SuiroAtair, PamFanJN, mcdeb12212, ChilloHaus, alinabeska, and Mad-Hatter-LCarol who celebrated their birthdays several weeks ago. So, I hope you all had magnificent birthdays and I wish you all abundant wealth, great health, beauty, strength, courage, love, perseverance, and magnanimity in your lives as artists and as people. This is also dedicated to all of my friends, fans, fellow artists, and brethren who admire Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Ayame, Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Shunran so much. Sit back, relax, and take a walk on the wild side with The Splendid Seven donning leopard skin garb and showing a lot of skin like the mighty jungle warriors that they are.
Throughout my summer break so far, I have been delving in to the various Tarzan comics published by Dell Comics, DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, and Dynamite, Marvel’s Ka-Zar of the Savage Land, the many Tarzan imitators which include but are not limited to Thun’da, Kaanga, Ki-Gor, Jo-Jo the Congo King, Akim, Zembla, Kulafu, Rahan plus Tarzan’s high priest of the Kavuru Tribe, Kavandavanda, as well as Tarzan’s son Korak, and even the jungle queen counterparts in the forms of Sheena, Rulah, Nyoka the Jungle Girl plus Tarzan’s very own high priestess of Opar, La, and Korak’s wife, Meriem. Delving in to these comics have made me appreciate how action-packed and thrilling all of these tales of jungle heroes are, which also saw some notable releases in the realms of film, animation, and television. I was so inspired by these comics that I felt a rush of thrill within me to create fan art based on jungle hero lore, especially where The Splendid Seven and their offspring are concerned.
Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Ayame, Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Shunran are the perfect candidates for being powerful, mighty, formidable jungle warlords because, when they are together, they have the strength of twenty-one elephants, the speed of a horde of leopards and cheetahs, the courage of a pride of lions, and sufficient endurance to make any gorilla green with envy. Before you endeavor to cry out “kreegah bundolo!”, you have to remember that their formidability comes in numbers from Sesshoumaru’s leopard-like stealth to Shuran’s gorilla-like brute strength to Hakkaku’s cheetah-like speed to Inuyasha’s lion-like strength and combat prowess to Ginta’s eagle-like agility to Ayame’s jaguar-like ferocity to Shunran’s hyena-like craftiness. Therefore, if you are brave enough to cry out “kreegah bundolo!” to want to combat them, your combat prowess would have to be on par with theirs. Otherwise, you might as well cry out “kagoda!” should you be defeated by them. You might even expect these seven jungle warriors to come charging into action with a Tarzan yell to end all Tarzan yells and roars, snarls, bellows, and growls that can make even the mightiest of lions, tigers, leopards, gorillas, and bears retreat in fear.
40-year-old Sesshoumaru is the lord high priest of the jungle. His design is based on Kavandavanda’s look from “Tarzan’s Quest”; I figured that, since Sesshoumaru is the eldest and the aloof lancer of this group, he could be designated as the noble yet deadly high priest who is all about strategy, brain, and sufficient stealth, strength, and speed to make his enemies run home as fast as they can. His status as high priest makes him well-respected by his friends and family although he does get into several scuffles with his younger brother, Inuyasha. His sons, Kai and Shinta, and his daughter, Rin, with whom he shares custody with Inuyasha and Ayame, aspire to be as stealthy and well-respected as he is. Despite his cold external shell, Sesshoumaru has a surprising amount of knowledge about natural medicine, is a supportive father to Kai, Shinta, and Rin, a solid older brother figure to Shuran and Hakkaku, is begrudgingly supportive of Inuyasha, is surprisingly tender towards Ayame, and is tolerant of Ginta and Shunran.
39-year-old Shuran is the bodyguard of the jungle. His design is based on the Leopard Men from “Tarzan and the Leopard Men” as in the warriors who don leopard skin clothing from head to toe and not the anthropomorphized versions headed by Queen La in Disney’s “The Legend of Tarzan”. As the bulky big guy of the group, his strength is in protecting his family from all harm and his ferocity is never to be underestimated. His super strength and how much he emulates the sheer power, might, and formidability of gorillas and even the Mangani are enough to make enemies shake and shiver at the Shuran’s tremendous size which is extremely advantageous in battle. Overlooking his formidable size and his fierce beastliness, he is a warm, supportive, protective friend to Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Ayame and a fiercely protective older brother to Shunran and a strong father to Kohaku, Shintaro, Taichi, Souta, Bunza, and Souten.
38-year-old Hakkaku is the messenger of the jungle. While his design is based on Burne Hogarth’s Tarzan, his attitude is also based on the Waziri messenger, who I christened in my Basuli and Tarzan as brothers AU headcanon as Waranji, because of how high-strung both Hakkaku and Waranji can be. His trademark physical attribute is his speed, considering how he can outrun any cheetah and how his running almost feels akin to flying at the speed of light. He can implement his speed to put his enemies in a state of total befuddlement. As the jungle messenger, Hakkaku ensures good communication among his family from his older brothers from other mothers, Sesshoumaru and Shuran, his best friend, Inuyasha, his younger brother by a few months, Ginta, and his sisters from other mothers, Ayame and Shunran. He even passes down that sense of good communication to his children, Asagi, Shion, Hitomi, Mizuki, Koume, and Kokichi.
38 going on 39-year-old Inuyasha and 35 going on 36-year-old Ayame are the king and queen of the jungle. Inuyasha’s design and build are based on Joe Jusko’s Tarzan, although he is relatively leaner than Jusko’s bulked-up version of Tarzan and his loincloth is a bit skimpier, while Ayame’s design and clothes are based on a combination of La the High Priestess of Opar and Sheena the Queen of the Jungle among many other jungle girls I could name off the top of my head. This power couple of the jungle rule with strength, authority, perseverance, and the importance of never leaving anybody behind. When going into their individual attributes, Inuyasha’s sheer strength and muscle power are enough to make lions, gorillas, and elephants very jealous of his god-tier combat prowess and Ayame’s strength, speed, stealth, and stamina can make even the mightiest of lionesses, cheetahs, leopards, panthers, and jaguars more than a bit covetous. Poachers, bullying animals, and tyrants do not stand a chance against Inuyasha and Ayame in the slightest, for Inuyasha’s bear hugs, camel clutches, punches, kicks, full Nelsons, and attacks with his claws and fangs are enough to knock them out in one blow and Ayame’s cat-like reflexes, elephant strength, courageous authority, and ferocious speed are enough to put their lights out. Their influence is so strong that Oparians, the Waziri warriors, the Mangani, and the lions of Pride Rock treat them with utmost respect and allegiance. Should anybody betray them, Inuyasha and Ayame would carry out their swift and lethal punishment. Equally strong is their family ties, with Inuyasha bearing a greatly competitive relationship with his older brother, Sesshoumaru, in which they test each others’ strength, muscles, and combat prowess, and Ayame being just as loyal and dutiful towards Sesshoumaru, yet her undying love for Inuyasha remains as potent as ever, even to the point where Sesshoumaru blessed Inuyasha’s and Ayame’s matrimony. Furthermore, Inuyasha has found a formidable older brother from another mother in Shuran and loving younger brothers from another mother in Hakkaku and Ginta, while Ayame has a firmly formidable relationship with Shunran, who she considers to be her younger soul sister. There is no doubt that Kai, Rin, and Shinta are also Sesshoumaru’s children, but they are just as loving and caring to Inuyasha and Ayame as their children, while showing their unconditional appreciation to Dai, Roku, and Shiori as their children. Therefore, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame do see to it that Dai, Roku, Kai, Rin, Shiori, and Shinta get along as best as they can.
37 going on 38-year-old Ginta and 34-year-old Shunran are the lord and lady of the jungle. While Ginta’s design is based on Tarzan and his imitators including Kaanga and Ki-Gor, his loincloth is based on Malb’yat’s from “Tarzan and the Lion Man”. Shunran’s design is based on the Dynamite Comics version of Sheena the Queen of the Jungle. This power couple have the speed, stamina, stealth, steeliness, and sufficient strength to make any leopard, panther, cheetah, and lion jealous of them. Where dynamics are concerned, Ginta has the Adonis charm which make women fall in love with him, while Shunran has the lovable adorability that makes her the apple of any man’s eye. Regardless of their potential suitors’ affections, Ginta and Shunran always find their way back to each other and they consider each other to be the best. However, just because they are cute and cuddly together, does not mean they cannot be formidable, as their formidability accounts for how potent and formidable they are together. They utilize self-defense as a means to protect their jungle home and keep the peace within their family. Speaking of strong familial bonds, Ginta and Shunran have an extremely tight friendship with Inuyasha and Ayame, a strong sibling relationship with Shuran and Hakkaku, and they do look up to Sesshoumaru, despite his aloofness. Their undying love for each other also passes down to their daughters, Moegi, Satsuki, Sayo, Saki, Kanna, and Ai.
These seven jungle warlords take no crap from anybody when you see them in their formidable glory. Their strength, stamina, speed, and stealth make them the most formidable fighters in the African jungle. If you hear them emit the yell of a bull ape or even their huge roars, that is when you know that they are ready for action.
I hope you all enjoyed this and I will see you in the next submission. Take care and stay safe, everybody.
Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Hakkaku, Inuyasha, Ayame, Ginta, and Shunran from Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise.
