This screenshot motivational poster is highly, indubitably, and absolutely Pro-Sesshoumaru, Pro-Shuran, Pro-Inuyasha, Pro-Hakkaku, Pro-Ginta, Pro-Ayame, Pro-Shunran, Pro-SessAya in the OTP sense, Pro-InuAya in the OTP sense, Pro-SessAyaInu in the OT3 sense, Pro-ShuHak in the BroTP sense, Pro-GinShun in the OTP sense, and many other great things I can think about this particular septet. So, sit back, relax, and revel in why I firmly believe this septet of fighters is the true Inu-Gang or Inu-Tachi.
My friends, I am going to say this once and I am going to say this again. This is what I firmly believe the Inu-Group should have been from the very start. Sesshoumaru’s taciturn and stern nature, Shuran’s brutish, fierce yet internally cuddly personality, Inuyasha’s toughness, strength, and strong will, Hakkaku and Ginta hilariously playing off of each other as brothers with Hakkaku being high-strung and Ginta being more of a charmer, Ayame’s determination, stealth, and formidability, and Shunran’s feistiness, mischief, and lovability make this group scream absolute perfection in group dynamics, everyone demonstrating their strengths, learning from each other, and growing not only as individuals but also as a wonderful group of friends.
In Inuyasha’s life, he certainly has it all thanks to the people who have given him more reasons to live and breathe and can rest assured that their friendship and sense of unconditional love will never be taken for granted.
Being his older brother, Sesshoumaru would definitely inspire Inuyasha to never settle for less, strive for higher aspirations, and acknowledge just how strong, tough, and formidable Inuyasha truly is. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha would have several sparring matches to test each others’ strengths, marathon runs to test each others’ speed, and many rigorous physical activities to test each others’ endurance. There will also be a huge amount of respect and camaraderie present within these two powerful dog yokai brothers. As young children, they were given some really good pearls of wisdom by their father stating that they should be strong, independent, and courageous on their own terms and find the intrepidness to look at fear in the eye and attack it head-on with valor and stamina. This also ended up being passed down when they came of age and ended up being truly reliable friends to Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta, loving husbands to Ayame, and big brothers from another mother to Shunran.
Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta are Inuyasha’s best friends for life, as they would have moments where they can chill, enjoy life, and feel completely and utterly comfortable with each other. Shuran may be the rough, tough, and untamed big guy towards his enemies, but towards Inuyasha, while he does maintain his signature roughness, strength, and toughness towards him, he is also akin to a lovable, cuddly giant teddy bear towards him, especially evidenced in how he gives him noggins and endeavors to play wrestle with him, thus demonstrating how big of a heart Shuran really has. Hakkaku may be high-strung and easily reactive, but he is an exceptionally good listener to Inuyasha when he has a problem or whenever Hakkaku has something that he is worried or anxious about, thus being utterly grateful that he can get straight-talking to from Inuyasha. Ginta is the pretty-faced, adorable funny man who would look up to Inuyasha almost like his older brother because of his courage, strength, and willingness to go head-on into battle. Therefore, in Inuyasha’s circle of best friends, Shuran is the big guy with a big personality who loves to playfully spar with Inuyasha and Hakkaku and Ginta are akin to his younger brothers who completely understand him and unconditionally respect him. As little children, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, and Ginta would always play games and tricks on Sesshoumaru whenever he was meditating. Even as grown ups, they tend to be at it, but with Sesshoumaru usually being one step further than them.
Ayame is Inuyasha’s and even Sesshoumaru’s true lady love, as she has been playing a significant role in the dog yokai brothers’ lives ever since they were children thanks to her strength, determination, and courage. Ever since infancy, it was clear to both The Wolf Elder and The Dog General that their children were going to have something absolutely deep when they came of age. They even proved that they were meant to be with Ayame when they saved her from the Birds of Paradise and ended up inducted into the Northern Yoro Tribe. Ayame is completely grateful to have both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru in her life, as they have always been true to her and are always willing to fight for her. In turn, she has constantly stayed strong for them, gave Sesshoumaru all the respect and allegiance he deserved, and fully accepted Inuyasha as a hanyo, showed him true compassion, and loved him body and soul.
Shunran is the pesky little sister from another mister Inuyasha is certainly proud to have. Being the youngest member of this seven-person band of combatants, she is the light and bubbly ray of optimism who brightens up the group’s darkest days and is also the heart of the group who gives them well-needed empathy, especially Inuyasha. She always reminds Inuyasha that in spite of their differences, there will be something that makes them quite similar. She is also very playful around Inuyasha, thus helping him to lighten up every once in a while. At the same time, Inuyasha finds her really hilarious and is fully supportive of her loving relationship with Ginta.
Together, Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran all give purpose to Inuyasha’s life and give him the moral support, encouragement, acceptance, and positivity he really needs and end up becoming a surprisingly close-knit family and more than just friends. Moreover, they are the bravest warriors the Northern Yoro Tribe ever had.
I will also reiterate that with this group dynamic there will be no love triangles akin to a soap opera, no God-forsaken Beads of Subjugation, no taking the piss on Inuyasha for no reason at all, no Karmic relationships, no need for excessive filler, and no severe trust issues. What will exist in this group are healthy dynamics, loads of encouragement, everyone having a purpose to the overall story, and a whole lot more unity to the point where Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran are invincible as a unit. Additionally, Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran are the young adult characters I have always cared for the most followed by Kuranosuke Takeda, Toran, Ayumi, and Karan and with Kagura continuing to be extremely polarizing. Nevertheless, my admiration for these seven combatants will never go unquestioned at all.
This fascination of having Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran join forces as a powerfully dynamic group goes hand-in-hand with my AU headcanon I have for them where they start off as childhood friends and come of age as strong combatants with their own families. I am also going to put their birthdays, their birth years based on when the anime series started which was back in 2000, and the role they play in this particular group all from eldest to youngest.
Sesshoumaru was born on June 10, 1981 and is the eldest member of the Inu-Gang, thus serving as the intellectual, articulate, well-read voice of reason whenever he and his friends find themselves in a particularly distressing situation. As someone who uses tactics to ensure an attainable victory, his skill in strategy, knowing an opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, and various martial arts such as Battoujutsu, Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Pankration cannot be beaten. While he does enjoy the company of Shuran, Hakkaku, Ginta, and Shunran because of how much they would help him loosen up every once in a while, even though he does not always show it, he is really close to his younger brother Inuyasha and his darling wife Ayame, considering how close and deep their bond was when they were little children. Ever since then, he has made sure that he, Inuyasha, and Ayame will keep up the family legacy of their ancestors with their strength, courage, and determination.
Shuran was born on August 2, 1982 and is the most physically powerful and durable of the Inu-Gang, thus serving as the brutish muscle with a heart of gold and does a lot of the heavy-duty pounding. With his magnificently brute strength and his incredible usage of lightning manipulation, he could help his friends out of any difficult situation and shock the living daylights out of his enemies. Being the strongest and the biggest of this group also means that he will protect them from all harm and will not scrimp on ensuring his friends’ safety. Because of this he does bear boundless loyalty to Sesshoumaru, loads of competitive support to Inuyasha, brotherly appreciation towards Hakkaku, kindness towards Ginta, lovability and loyalty to Ayame, and protectiveness to his favorite little sister Shunran.
Inuyasha was born on April 1, 1983 and is the strong, athletic, courageous and powerful combatant of the Inu-Gang, thus making him the athletic muscle who is unafraid of getting his hands dirty, especially when he transforms into his full demon form. Much like The Incredible Hulk, Inuyasha would go full feral mode when he is badly injured or massively provoked, which got to the point where he had to learn to control himself with his brother’s help. He is also really competitive towards Sesshoumaru and Shuran, as he loves testing his strength on them through hand-to-hand combat, wrestling, martial arts, and weightlifting. Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame are even the three formidable leaders of the Northern Yoro Tribe and ended up obtaining respect and admiration from their friends. Aside from Inuyasha being competitive, he is also someone who is unafraid of speaking his mind and calling out the crap, which his friends also highly respect him for that.
Hakkaku was born on October 12, 1983 and is the shrewd yet high-strung member of the Inu-Gang, thus making him quite emotional but will use his strong emotions to get the job done when push comes to shove. Hakkaku may have tendency to panic about the little details, but he still has that lovable charm and hilarity which make him quite infectious as a really valuable member of the group. He also proves himself to be utterly devoted to his friends, as he will ensure that no one ends up harming any of them with a twelve-foot pole. One key aspect about Hakkaku that makes him quite formidable in battle and in daily life is his stamina. He may fall down every single time, but he never ever surrenders and always soldiers on. That right there is internal determination akin to a vessel that needs to be brightly lit. In fact, Shuran highly respects Hakkaku for his endurance because of the fact that he is his closest sparring partner and he does enjoy being carried by Shuran’s powerful arms and massive size.
Ginta was born on June 6, 1984 and is the hilarious, jovial, lovable pretty boy of the Inu-Gang, thus making him the practical joker of the group, especially when joining forces with his dear brother Hakkaku. Ginta is the master of making great jokes happen and is also quite the pretty boy when he emphasizes his favorite part about his face being his dimples. Aside from external adorability, he also radiates with inward beauty in terms of his kindness, consideration, attentiveness, and humility. Therefore, he is always there whenever his friends are down-in-the-dumps and are going through a rut. He is also someone who combines speed and stamina to get the job done when it comes to placing his enemies in a figurative vertigo. In terms of his soulmate, he has always adored Shunran because of how enthusiastic she is and how she always believes in him.
Ayame was born on May 6, 1985 and is the athletic, determined, fierce warrior queen of the Inu-Gang, thus making her an extremely courageous, fierce, and unflinching fighter who is always prepared to rip the limbs off of her enemies and protect those in need. Ayame is the queen of hand-to-hand combat, acrobatics, athletics, and marathon-running, as her speed, strength, durability, agility, and overall physical prowess have made her a force to be reckoned with. She does not scrimp on how much she can muster, as her enemies will tremble at the sight of her, given how she can bend weapons with her bare hands, give massive head-butts that can potentially injure her opponents in the most painful way, and be unafraid of having a bit of blood on her hands. While Ayame’s warrior ways cannot be denied, she nevertheless has a caring, compassionate heart towards her husbands Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, her greatest friends Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta, and her little sister from another mother Shunran.
Shunran was born on May 8, 1987 and is the cheery, mischievous, feisty youngest member of the Inu-Gang, thus making her the agile mirage-user and pressure-point practitioner of the group. Shunran is quite the expert of conjuring up spring-based illusions in order to place her enemies in a state of befuddlement, but she can also get physical when she needs to thanks to her fleet feet and finger strikes to the pressure points. Ergo, she is not someone to be underestimated because her bite can be much worse than her bark. Outside the battlefield, she is a nurturing, loving, appreciative soul who keeps the group together with her optimism, constant encouragement, and pluckiness. Therefore, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Ayame find her presence absolutely beneficial akin to having her as their little sister from another mister, especially Ayame considering all the girl time both of them have on a ritualistic basis, Shuran is truly happy to have his little sister by his side, Hakkaku finds Shunran truly fun to be with to the point where he acts as Ginta’s wingman, and Ginta truly loves her body and soul.
Outside this main dynamic, there are Kuranosuke Takeda who ended up becoming an ally to them and ended up learning a few tips and tricks on how to defend himself, Toran the eldest Panther Deva sister who is Sesshoumaru’s closest comrade and a mentor figure to the younger members, Kagura who is more a frenemy to the main seven but can still use her wind powers to aid them from time to time, Ayumi who can use book smarts and people skills to know the ins and outs of certain foes and artifacts, and Karan the third-born Panther Deva sister who is the closest comrade-in-arms with the Inu-Gang and is utterly supportive of their every endeavor. Moreover, the younger characters such as Kohaku, Shintaro, Dai, Roku, Kai, Souta, Rin, Shiori, Kanna, Shinta, Souten, and Ai ended up training under Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran to be stronger warriors as well as be a part of their family. Their group is even more united thanks to Dai, Roku, Kai, Rin, Shiori, Kanna, Shinta, and Souten who have seen the best in these seven warriors, learned a whole lot from them, and aspired to be as strong and courageous as them, thus being their great role models for life.
By their powers combined, Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran would use their skills as the finest combatants of the Northern Yoro Tribe to vanquish all evil and defend the honor of their tribe as well as their family.
In conclusion, this is the group that should have been the legitimate Inu-Gang. With Sesshoumaru’s stealth, Shuran’s strength, Inuyasha’s endurance, Hakkaku’s motivation, Ginta’s charm, Ayame’s determination, and Shunran’s positivity, this is a group that can last for ages. Inuyasha is indubitably happy to have a supportive older brother like Sesshoumaru, three awesome best friends like Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta, a compassionate lady love like Ayame, and a pesky but lovable little sister from another mother like Shunran not only by his side, but also in his life.
I hope you all enjoyed this and I will see you in the next submission. Take care and stay safe, everybody.
Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran from Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise.
