| Characters: Kurama (AKA Minamino Shuuichi and Youko Kurama)
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Kurama is one of the main for characters of the Yu Yu Hakusho series. He's also one of the most popular. In Japan, he was consistently voted number one guy in all the magazines when the show first aired in Japan. Both him and Hiei rivaled Ami Mizuno of Sailor Moon and Ah! Megami-sama's Belldandy in the top 4 spots of the magazine Animage for a very long time (I have the mags to prove it too) and even lingered in the top 30 for months after the series ended.
The picture on the right is of Kurama's human form and the picture below that to the left is of his youko (fox spirit; "bewitching fox" form). His youko form can be considered pretty much his true form because years ago in Makai, he was a great thief who ran around Makai stealing precious items from miscellaneous buildings, structures, and castles. He'd work solitary or with companions like Kuronue and Yomi. Life was good until one day he made the mistake of trying to steal from a hunter. The hunter chased him and shot him. Kurama's spirit had fortunately escaped to Ningenkai (the Human World) and possessed the body of an unborn child inside Minamino Shiori. If you know anything about kitsune (foxes), this kind of possession is total and permanent and also subjects the kitsune to all the needs and emotions that a human goes through. After taking the child's body, Kurama was named by his human parents, Minamino Shuuichi. Shuuichi grew and lived as a human, but never truly intended to stick around until one day there was an accident and his human father died and his mother did everything she could to protect and take care of her darling son. This caused Kurama to begin to truly love and care for his human mother, and learn a great deal about human emotion and what it means to be human.
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Kurama's first appearance in the series can probably be considered Yusuke's first mission. Along with two other demons, Hiei and Gouki, Kurama stole the three treasures of Reikai: the Gakidama, Koma no Ken, and the Ankokukyo. Kurama only joined these demons on this crime because he wanted to use the Ankokukyo ("Mirror of Darkness") in the light of the full moon to save his human mother's life because she was sick and in the hospital. The price for the Ankokukyo granting his wish though, was for Kurama to give up his life energy and die. Yusuke though, having already seen his mother's reaction to his own death, wouldn't let Kurama throw away his life like that, so he gave up half his life energy to the mirror so that Kurama could live and also save his mother. After that, Kurama gave himself up willingly and went to prison in Reikai. He later returned on probation though during the trip to Yomakai to defeat Suzaku & Co. with Yusuke and continued to hang out with the group after his probation was over until the end.
As you might've guessed already, Kurama is a very sweet, kind, and gentle person that cares for his mother a great deal as well as so many others. He pretty much just cares about people in general, and for him, that's what's worth fighting for. This is why in my personal opinion, he's like the brother I always wanted, but never had. (Seriously. All I have is a younger sister.) But anyway, he isn't the kind of person that's easily irked. He's pretty calm up until the point you really get on his case. For weaponry, his specialty is using various plantlife and very beautifully I might add. If you were gonna die, wouldn't you want a flower arrangement death?
Later on in the series, Kurama's Mom gets re-marries a man called Hitanaka (I couldn't find his first name) and gains a younger brother also named Shuuichi. Yomi invites him to Makai just as Yusuke gets invited by Raizen and Hiei by Mukuro. All the fuss is going 'bout because there was word that Raizen might die, and if that was the case, a battle between Mukuro and Yomi over Raizen's territory could be eminent. Instead though, Yusuke comes up with a tri-annual tournament to decide Makai's new leader. Of course Kurama participates, and during Kurama's battle with Shigure, he resolves to never use his youko powers again, but to instead fight as a human for all humans. At the very end, he works in his step-father's flower shop. (Imagine how well that show will do.) Age: 15 (and 19 by the end of the series) Seiyuu: Megumi Ogata For more pictures of Kurama, go to Kurama's Image Gallery. | ||
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