Ryukotsusei

Ryukotsusei was the greatest opponent of Inuyasha's father, and it was the injuries suffered in this battle that ultimately lead to the death of Inuyasha's father. While Inuyasha's father died, he managed to seal the great dragon in a state of hibernation by plunging a claw into his chest. Naraku destroys the claw keeping Ryukotsusei subdued and releases him on the world once more. The dragon cannot gain vengence on Inuyasha's father due to his death, but decides to kill his rival's son in his stead.

Inuyasha has his own reasons for battling Ryukotsusei. With the Tessaiga too heavy to properly use and his demonic transformations becoming more and more frequent Inuyasha searches for away to prevent himself from losing control again. Totosai tells him of the great dragon that his father once battled and informs Inuyasha that if he slays Ryukotsusei with Tessaiga, the blade will become lighter once again.

Originally Inuyasha was supposed to kill the dragon while it was sealed, but Naraku sets it free before this can be done. Ryukotsusei is truly powerful and his hide is stronger than anything Inuyasha has faced before. Only by executing Tessaiga's ultimate attack, the Backlash Wave, is Inuyasha able to tear the dragon asunder and lighten his blade once again. With the death of Ryukotsusei Inuyasha finally surpasses his father.

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The Meaning Behind the Name - 竜骨精

"Ryu" means "dragon", "kou" is "remains or skeleton" and "sei" is "ghost".

Voices: Kazuhiko Inoue Kazuhiko Inoue provides Ryukotsusei's Japanese voice. He is probably best known as Mamoru Kusanagi in Blue Seed, but he was also Grey in Grey and Kazuhiro Hasukawa in Here is Greenwood. He also provided the voice of Urusei Yatsura's Western educated magician, Tsubame Ozuno in the original series and Mr. Mendo in the 2022 adaptation. He is also Mikado Sanzenin in Ranma 1/2.

Trevor Devall In the English adaptation, Ryukotsusei's voice is provided by Trevor Devall who plays a lot of the background voices you hear in the series. He's also played Mu La Flaga in Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Ganosa Maximillian in Silent Mobius, the Mushroom Expert in Ranma 1/2, and Shiro Mibu in The SoulTaker Additionally, he's the voice of Mukotsu in Inuyasha as well.