Relations: In Related to Sesshoumaru » His Companions: Rin
Please note that this section contains spoilers sprinkled throughout.
Name: Rin (no known last name)
Age: Not mentioned but my guess is she's roughly about 6-8 years old, give or take.
Race: Full Human
Seiyuu: Noto Mamiko (Have also done the voices for Monou Kotori from X TV series, Yamada Yoshiko from Tenchi Muyo, and various other roles in several popular anime like Ayashi no Ceres, Fruits Basket, Angelic Layer, Boogiepop Phantom, Full Metal Panic, Gatekeepers, Comic Party, etc.)
Family: Parents and siblings, deceased by the time she was introduced in the series. Rin's entire family was killed right in front of her by thieves when she was younger. She has no other known relatives and because of this, Rin was instead brought up by the local villagers after her family's death. However, they didn't seem to treat her very well as she seems to often get beaten up and called names.
Entrance: She was not introduced to us until later in the series during Manga Volume 14 and Anime Episode 35. We basically meet her at the same time that Sesshoumaru does. Rin made her first appearance in the forest where Sesshoumaru was resting after he was almost fatally injured by a direct encounter of Inuyasha's first successful Kaze no Kizu attack. She had fearlessly walked up to Sesshoumaru, who looked a fright at the time, and dumped water over his head. XD The two pictures below illustrates their encounter and how Sesshoumaru's condition was when Rin first came upon him.
Regardless of how Sesshoumaru looked at the time, Rin seemed to be quite taken with our bruised up youkai. She even goes so far as to bring him food and feed him. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, was being quite the rude and blunt one, telling her to go away and leave him be. He also claims that he doesn't eat human food, but Rin doesn't give up. She instead tried to steal fish from the village pond in order to feed him. This is is when she gets caught by the villagers which resulted in a beating. She seems unfazed by it though- she returns to Sesshoumaru's location and proceeded to give him a big adorable smile when he asked her what had happened to her after seeing the bruises on the poor girl. The smile in turn sort of threw Sesshoumaru off as he doesn't understand what she's so happy about. It was quite an adorable moment. :)
Shortly after this incident, Rin heads back to the village only to find it being attacked by the wolf youkai that Kouga had set free, resulting in her own death. By this time, Sesshoumaru had appeared to be gaining most of his strength back and was getting ready to leave. However, his keen sense of smell had alerted him of the stench of blood coming from the direction that Rin often went off to. Following the trail of his senses, he finally comes upon Rin lying dead on the ground in the woods. After some very brief contemplation, Sesshoumaru decided to test the Tenseiga and drew the sword out in order to revive her. This then became the first time we truly see the Tenseiga's potential, marking the moment when Sesshoumaru actually saved a life...and a human one at that. This seemed to perplex Sesshoumaru but Rin appears quite happy, albeit a bit dazed. Here are some pictures of when Rin had died and was first brought back to life.
Rin can also be described as brave in many ways. She had, afterall, approached Sesshoumaru and repeatedly offered her assistance without even considering the fact that he may harm her. Throughout the series, she has also encountered some life endangering situations and she's handled them all quite well. We also see that she becomes much more open and less timid than when she was first introduced. Being by Sesshoumaru's side has apparently done her much more good than living in the village.
Relation to Sesshoumaru:
Right after Sesshoumaru revived her, he basically stood up and went on his way without a word. Seeing that Sesshoumaru was leaving, Rin then ran after him without hesitation, apparently intent on following him. She simply follows him wherever he goes and Sesshoumaru just plainly allows her to. He even gave her new clothes- as you can see in the picture, she no longer wears the same ragged kimono that she did when she first met him.
We know that she adores Sesshoumaru just by looking at the way she interacts with him. She appears to have a great amount of faith in him and also follows his instructions without question. The first time we see her do that was when Sesshoumaru tells her to "stop" and she literally stops mid-step with one of her legs still in the air...and she doesn't move even an inch until Sesshoumaru tells her she can. Rin can also often be seen worrying about his well-being- appearing the happiest when she reunites with Sesshoumaru after a period of being away from him. Most of all, she had begun talking again when she started travelling with him and Jaken, and that in itself says a lot.
Speaking of Jaken, we also know that she cares a great deal about him as well. In the later episodes, we can see glimpses of her being worried about Jaken when it looked like he was in danger. There was even a time when Jaken was in a near-death state and needed a very rare antidote that can only be found in a particular area that was very hard to reach. Rin, intent on saving Jaken, did not hesitate to go and retrieve the antidote by herself even though the journey was dangerous. In fact, she was in tears from worry that Jaken would die and it was one of the rare moments where we really see her cry. I thought it was a very touching episode.
It's obvious that Rin has come to be quite attached to both Sesshoumaru and Jaken as they're really the only people she has left in the world. I'm guessing that it was probably the first time she really felt like she belonged and was being cared for ever since her family was murdered. Even though Sesshoumaru may not show her affection, it's apparent that he has come to care for her in his own way. Whenever he senses something amiss, he always sends Rin off and makes sure Jaken watches over her to ensure her safety at all times. And when her life is in danger, he will even abandon whatever he's doing at the moment to go rescue her.
As much as Rin may bring out a subtle part of Sesshoumaru that we may not have the opportunity to see otherwise, she can also possibly be a thorn for Sesshoumaru in the sense that she's an easy target for those who may want to get at him. In fact, Naraku has often attempted to use Rin as a leverage or a distraction. Again and again, Sesshoumaru rescues her and regardless whether it's because he hates the idea of being manipulated by Naraku or not, I think it's safe to say he's definitely protective of her.
-Content Last Updated: August 30, 2004