Kotaro Inugami

Kotaro Inugami
Negima! Magister Negi Magi character
Created by	Ken Akamatsu
In-universe information
Alias	Kojiro Oogami, Kotaro Murakami
Species	Dog hanyō
Gender	Male

Kotaro Inugami (犬上 小太郎, Inugami Kotarō) is a fictional character from the manga series Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, created by Ken Akamatsu. He is a half-demon first seen as one of the three mercenary children helping Chigusa in Kyoto. He is also the only supporting character who does not appear in either anime series.

Background & Personality

Kotaro is a dog hanyō, evidenced by his pointed ears and furry tail. Despite being hotheaded, Kotaro is a chivalrous person and would never hit a woman unless she is a powerful fighter, He has a strong dislike of Western-style magic, with Negi being one of the few exceptions.

Kotaro has a very lonely past, because being a hanyō has made him, from birth, an outcast of both human and dog-yōkai tribes. This makes him value both his friendship with Negi, and living with Chizuru and Natsumi, as they become the only true friends or family he's ever had.

Though he is clearly not very "book smart" (unlike Negi) he is quite "street smart" and is often understands/catches on to the things that Negi does not.

Part in story

He was used by Chigusa to try to prevent Negi and Asuna from delivering a letter to the head of the Kansai Magic Association. He attacked Negi and Asuna, but was defeated by Negi, with unexpected help from Nodoka, who had followed Negi and, via her Pactio item, found out about the fight between the two. That night, he intercepted Negi again as he tried to stop Chigusa's summoning ritual, demanding a rematch. This was interrupted by Kaede, who fought and defeated Kotaro while Negi continued on (although Kaede realized that Kotaro wasn't giving his best then).

After the Kyoto Arc, he was put under the custody of the Kansai Magic Association, where his abilities to transform and summon dog spirits were sealed. He later escaped to find Negi (whom he now considers as a rival, being the only person he's met of his own age who can fight with him on even terms) to have another rematch. When he arrived at Mahora, he ran into Graf Hermann and The Slime Sisters, and learned their plan to attack Negi. He fought them, stole the bottle that Graf Hermann had been released from, and escaped. However, in an attempt to warn Negi, he was injured and hit with a confusion spell, causing temporarily amnesia. Chizuru Naba and Natsumi Murakami, two of Negi's students, found him and nursed him back to health, thinking he was just a stray dog.

Graf Hermann tracked Kotaro to their dorm room, and attacked Kotaro in an attempt to retrieve the bottle, kidnapping Chizuru after she saved Kotaro from being petrified. Kotaro joined Negi in defeating Graf Hermann in order to rescue her and the other girls taken by the demon. For helping Negi battle against Graf Hermann and the Slime Sisters, he was pardoned and his powers restored. Kotaro decided to transfer to the Elementary school at Mahora Academy in order to hang around with Negi, whom he had befriended after the battle, and Kaede. He currently lives with Chizuru, Natsumi, and Ayaka Yukihiro in their dorm room, at the former's insistence, under the identity of Kotarō Murakami, Natsumi's younger brother.

Chizuru's maternal attitude to Kotaro (such as her hugging him to her well-endowed chest in public) frequently embarrasses him. He also regularly chastises Negi for being "involved" with so many girls, only to have his relationship with Chizuru thrown in his face (it's a little unclear whether this is because he has a crush on her or whether it's just simple embarrassment). While Kotaro likes to think of himself as a "lone wolf", Negi teased him by saying "You're more like a dog." His views also seem to draw him into arguments with Yue, which he usually loses. He also holds Kaede in high regard, due to her strength.Though since he refuses to use his full strength against women, it is unknown who is the stronger fighter

At the Mahora Legendary Martials Arts Tournament, he quickly defeated Mei Sakura in the first round, but was crushed in the second by Alberio, which makes him believe himself to be weak, and worry that his only friend would not want to associate with him any longer. Kaede approaches him and offers him to train with her after everything has settled, and he awkwardly makes up with Negi in succeeding chapters. He spends a little time with Negi, Chisame, and Chachamaru when Negi goes to see Ako and the Cheerleaders' concert, and in the process learns a little more about how to treat girls than he ever wanted to. He seems to be somewhat over-protective of Natsumi.

Like Negi, Kotaro has a somewhat limited view about the world in general, and he is more or less ignorant when it comes to the emotions of girls, although when artificially aged into a handsome teenager, he seems pleased when one of them finds him attractive. His stance on becoming the strongest only in combat leaves him unprepared for things that do not involve fighting.

Kotaro did not appear after Chao had succeeded in revealing magic to the world, presumably went into hiding out of fear of his hanyō background being exposed. After the time jump back to the final day of the festival, Kotaro appeared to help Negi while fighting his way to Chao's airship. After the festival, he was brought in by Evangeline as a sparring partner for Negi's next level of training, finally getting his rematch. Afterwards, he primarily trains with Kaede, and helps Mei with her own skills. He accompanies Negi overseas to search for his father. He was temporarily knocked out by one of Fate's accomplices in the attack on the gateway, but was revived by Anya, and quickly rejoined the fight. After the destruction of the portal platform, he was transported to a jungle far from the gateport, but managed to find Negi, Chisame, and Chachamaru again on his own. After helping Negi get over a fever, he and the group must evade bounty hunters who are after them under a false charge of destroying the Gateport. To avoid recognition, he and Negi use the Red Age Deceiving Pills to assume their teenage forms again. He has recently discovered that his "sister" Natsumi is lost in the Magic World as well, and he and Negi enter a tournament in order to save her, Ako, and Akira from slavery. During one of the battles he suggests that to become stronger Negi should have a finishing strike, something like a "Negi beam".

Powers and abilities

Kotaro is trained under the Garyū Inugami-ryū which is basically a self-taught school. Kotaro is an expert in ninjutsu and charms, and has the power to summon inugami (dog spirits), which he can use as a ranged attack, to restrain foes, or to fly by forming them into wheels on his feet. He prefers to fight hand to hand rather than using magic from a distance. Kotaro is also capable of self propelled flight with an adaption of his inugami abilities. Kotaro also has the ability to transform into a small black and white dog using a paper charm, or to a stronger beast form. He claim that most of his fighting technique (including the use of ki power) was made up by himself. His capability to correctly analyze Negi's technique supports his ability to achieve such a task.

Notes

• As stated above Kotaro does not appear in either anime series. The Kyoto arc, where he is supposed to appear, is depicted in the first anime series as a drastically shortened one because of lack of material at the time of production; while Negima!? follows a different storyline and presents different circumstances regarding Konoka and Setsuna, therefore preventing a Kyoto arc-like scenario (although there's an in-joke involving him in the Summer OAV). He is present, however, in the games, wherein his voice is provided by Sachi Matsumoto.

• Kotaro's concept and characterization are possibly driven from InuYasha from InuYasha, as Ken Akamatsu admits to be a fan of that series -- Kotaro shares Inuyasha's rough language, bluntness, and body language, both are dog hanyō and his Beast form also bears a minor resemblance.