Inu-Yasha is a Half Demon who wants the Jewel of Four Souls, so that he can become a full demon. He's a lot like Ranma, egotistical, rude, cute etc. Although he is a demon, he usually does, begrudgingly, end up being the good guy.
It turns out that, once, he actually considered using the Jewel to become a human (!!!) However, due to a number of unexpected events, this didn't happen. Instead he ended up pinned to a tree by Kikyo.Kagome in the reincarnation of Kikyo. Initially the Jewel of Four Souls was implanted in her side. It was discovered when Mistress Centerpede bit her. Being the reincarnation of such a powerful priestess, Kagome also posseses some special powers. These include the ability to cleanse shards of the jewel, and to see or feel where they are in order to find them.
Kagome is also a remarkable resourceful girl. She isn't your usual clutzy, ditzy heroine. In fact, she's just the opposite. She does well in school and can handle herself quite well in almost any situation (she uses brains more than brawn to get out of sticky situations). Despite being in the past most of the time, she still manages to keep up with her schoolwork. Of course it doesn't help that her Grandfather keeps telling the school that she's got a different disease everytime she can't come to school.
Shippo is a small fox spirit. He met Kagome and Inu-Yasha when he was attempting to avenge the death of his father. He has quite a lot of spunk, and posseses a certain degree of magic. He can transform, but when he does, he often retains his bushy little tail or just looks silly (like that big baloon thing he becomes ^^) and he can't hold it for very long.
A Buddhist monk with a weakness for women.... basically he's a lecher. ^^;; He is the victim of a hereditory curse placed on his grandfather by Naraku. His hand is pierced by a hell hole, which slowly enlargens as time goes by. If Miroku can not find Naraku and defeat him then he will eventually be swallowed up by the hole.
Although he's somewhat promiscuous when it comes to women, Miroku is actually a pretty nice guy. He's also a pretty good fighter, and that vaccum in his hand is useful in a battle.
Sesshoumaru is the half brother of Inu-Yasha and is a full demon. He's a really mean (but cute ^_^) guy, who doesn't really care for his brother, actually, to put it more bluntly, he'd like to kill him. ^^;;; Being a full demon, he cares nothing for humans.
Kikyo is later reborn in a body made of her old bones and clay. This was made for her by a witch, who had Kagome's soul drawn out of her and then allowed it to return to Kikyo. However, shortly after Kikyo returned from the dead, her sould returned to Kagome. Now the only thing that is keeping her alive is her hate for Inuyasha. However, because her body is not real she needs to absorb the souls of other people to keep it from deteriorating.
Kaede Kikyo's sister. She was only a child when Kikyo died, and now she is the priestess of her villiage. She helps Kagome to search for the Shikon Jewel by offering advice
