| Goryomaru | |
|---|---|
| InuYasha character | |
| First appearance | "The Bond Between Them! Use the Sacred Jewel Shard! (Part One)" |
| Created by | Rumiko Takahashi |
| Voiced by |
Japanese: Masaki Terasoma English: Ross Douglas |
| Profile | |
| Species | hanyō or human (see below) |
| Weapon | Light cannon arm |
Goryomaru (御霊丸 Goryōmaru) is a character in the manga and anime series InuYasha. He first appears in chapter 347 of the original (Japanese) manga. In the anime, his Japanese voice actor is Masaki Terasoma, and his English dub actor is Ross Douglas.
He was originally a well-meaning monk who had his arm eaten by a yōkai, but apparently managed to hold it in check and control it with his willpower ever since, and could therefore shoot laserlike beams with his prosthetic arm. He had a small group of followers, all of them young orphans. Those followers employed rechargeable vessel-like weapons with an appearance similar to that of his arm and had earned something of a reputation as yōkai terminators. In that activity they often obtained yōkai corpses that they returned to Goryomaru, probably as some sort of sustenance for his weapon arm. Goryomaru was capable of recharging those weapons, but it took a lot of time and left him considerably weakened for a while.
Inuyasha eventually found out that the energy beams of his followers' weapons (and probably those of Goryomaru himself as well) were actually solid and could be cut with the Kaze no Kizu (Wind Scar / Wind Wound) technique of the Tetsusaiga. Apparently the energy beams were in truth some variety of remarkably fast and bright yōkai.
Not long after, Kagura finds Goryomaru's temple fortress and attacks it with a group of yōkai corpses under her control. In the conflict that ensues she is blasted through by Goryomaru and nearly dies. After her recovery she is recruited by Hakudōshi to join him in invading the same temple again.
Hakudoshi then finds Goryōmaru and kills him by cutting his head off.
Goryomaru briefly reappears later, at chapter #356, as a prisoner of Naraku being wardened over by Kagura. In chapter #362 he is freed with the help of Hakudōshi and Kagura, leading to a confrontation with InuYasha and his allies that goes on for several chapters. However, at the ending of #363 and the beginning of #364 we learn that this is actually Mōryōmaru using his body for the disguise and the yōkai arm-weapon. Mōryōmaru then regains his own likeness (but keeps the arm of Goryomaru) and goes on with his fight.
It is believed by some that Goryomaru may actually be a sort of reverse hanyo (half-demon) because of his demon arm. Other hanyo, like InuYasha and Naraku, occasionally revert into a completely human state and lose all their demonic powers. Goryomaru showed the reverse of this process. During Kagura's attack on his temple, he suddenly became possessed by his demon arm due to the influence of Kagome's jewel shard nearby. Moments later, however, he seemed to snap back into reality after noticing the threat posed by Kagura. Afterward, it seemed as if he did not remember anything about the brief incident, not unlike InuYasha's transformations into a full demon. Also, this may have occurred due to the weakness of his body after refilling the weapons of his followers with light.
Powers and Abilities[]
Goryumaru possess a kind of symbiote-type yokai on his right arm that grants him the power to fire energy blasts at opponents.