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How could they draw me, Princess Abi, into this? Such petty fights between half-demons

—Abi[src]

Princess Abi[Note 3] (阿毘あび (阿毘あびひめ), Abi-hime, "Assisting Corner") was a female humanoid bird daiyōkai who was used by Naraku to open a path which would lead Naraku into the Netherworld. Abi lived on a mountain with her mother Tekkei, a giant bird daiyōkai, who was connected to the Netherworld. Abi herself was in control of large flocks of demon birds that had the ability to suck the blood from its victims.

History[]

Princess Abi and her mother became Naraku's pawns for getting the final shard of the Shikon no Tama the minute Naraku learned of them. At the time, Abi's mother was sick from consuming a poisonous demon, which looked like a quad-pedal goblin/spider that has three toes on each foot and an olive/forest green color to its skin (with the exception of the "spider hanyō" which was a seemingly furry yellow). Abi had been using her flock of demon birds to attack and suck the blood from humans in the surrounding villages, using the human blood to dilute the poison that was harming her mother. Both Inuyasha's group and Naraku became aware of the destruction she caused in her search for human blood. While Inuyasha's group went from village to village finding more victims of Abi's birds, Naraku came face to face with Abi in order to put his plan in motion. Naraku first met Abi after she had her demon birds suck the blood from a group of bandits that had burned down a village. He immediately requested that she make a path for him to the Netherworld.

Abi&Naraku-C301

Naraku introduces himself to Abi.

The two of them discussed matters back Abi's nest and Naraku inquired about Abi's mother. He offered to help Abi collect more human blood than she could ever manage on her own, as well as a three-point trident made from his bones and an unmentioned as well as unknown reward, in exchange for creating a path to the Netherworld for him. They were interrupted by the apparent "sons" of the demon Abi's mother consumed. Naraku took the liberty of destroying them himself, then returned to talking with Abi. Before Naraku left, he gave Abi a Saimyōshō hive, stating that they would help her (meaning against Miroku's Kazaana) and left. Abi claimed that Naraku was an arrogant fool afterwards. Tekkei told Abi that he could still be of use to him. She claimed Naraku had a powerful aura, but was still a hanyō (to which Abi concerned), and that they would feed him to the demon birds if tried anything strange.

Abi had her birds attack another village that night. Inuyasha his friends were also at the village and defended against the birds. They were suddenly confronted by Abi after many of her birds were slain by them. She approached them while she was in midair. Abi asked them who they were and why they were interfering with her. Inuyasha and the others believed that she was an ally of Naraku since the saimyōshō were flying around her. Abi claimed that she was not in league with Naraku, nor was she aware of Inuyasha's relation to him. She transformed in hand into a talon and threatened to kill them for slaying her birds. Inuyasha declared that he would kill Abi for what she and her birds had done, but Abi expressed her doubts of his claims since Inuyasha was a hanyō like Naraku. She expressed her anger of being dragged into a battle between the two hanyōs while she launched her flames at Inuyasha. He was able to dodge her attack and told Kagome and the others to help the villagers escape. Abi ordered her birds to suck the blood of all the villagers while the attempted to flee. Inuyasha used the Kaze no Kizu Abi and her birds. She was surprised at the amount of power that Inuyasha possessed. She was saved from his attack when the trident that Naraku gave her suddenly created a barrier. Abi was surprised that the trident was able to put up a barrier, and began to suspect that Naraku gave it to her for the purpose of fighting Inuyasha. Abi had her birds retreat along with her.

St. Hijiri[]

Abi continued to have her birds attack villages and suck the blood of its inhabitants. The surviving villagers left in order to seek protection from a rumored holy person known as St. Hijiri. Inuyasha and the other came across some injured villagers that were traveling a mountain pass to seek out this individual. They soon realized that everyone seeking St. Hijiri was in danger from Abi's demon birds since they targeted large groups of humans. They arrived in time to protect some of the refuges just at the birds appeared. They were also met by Naraku's incarnations Hakudōshi and Kagura. It was soon discovered that they birds Inuyasha's group was were just a distraction so Abi could go after an even larger gathering of refugees that were seeking St. Hijiri.

Abi and more of her demon birds went after most of the villagers that were seeking St. Hijiri. The villagers had taken refuge in a cave, and were protected by a barrier that was maintained by St. Hijiri's attendant Asuka. Abi had her birds light themselves on fire and collide with the barrier. This was done in order force the villagers out of the barrier's protection by surrounding them in fire. A few villagers fled the barrier, but were instantly killed by Abi's birds. St. Hijiri suddenly arrived to save them. Abi recognized St. Hijiri as the one who placed the barrier around the villagers and had her birds attack the holy person, but they were all immediately destroyed by a sacred arrow. As St. Hijiri was prepared to fire another arrow at Abi, she surrounded herself in a ball of flames and disappeared.

Infant's castle[]

Abi blamed Naraku for her recent confrontations against Inuyasha and St. Hijiri, and told her mother Tekkei that she wished to kill him. She was also angry that Naraku had dragged her into his battle with Inuyasha since they were both hanyōs. Tekkei revealed that she had the demon birds spy on Naraku's horde of yōkai and noticed that they ignored a certain human castle while they were searching for St. Hijiri. She decided that Abi should attack the castle to find out what Naraku's connection to it was.

As Abi lead her birds towards the castle, she was suddenly approached by a swarm of Saimyōshō. She believed that they were spying on her for Naraku and had her birds devour them. She exclaimed that it served the insects right to be eaten and proceeded to the castle.

Abi had her birds attack the castle while everyone was asleep. Inuyasha and his friends arrived in order to stop Abi and her birds, much to her annoyance. She asked Inuyasha when he was defending the castle since he was Naraku's enemy. Inuyasha asked if she meant that Naraku was at the castle, but Abi claimed that she wanted to find out. She was surprised, however, to only come across human resistance. Inuyasha asked Abi why she would attack since he thought she was Naraku's ally but Abi claimed that Naraku was the one that initially approached her. Inuyasha told her to stay out of the fight against Naraku since he would be the one to kill him. Abi charged towards Inuyasha and threatened to kill him. Inuyasha used the Kaze no Kizu, but Abi was able to repel it with the barrier from Naraku's trident (she noted to herself that the trident was the one good thing that came out her deal with Naraku). Abi was able to strike Inuyasha with the trident, and it suddenly expelled a miasma.

The two of them continued to battle each other. The bird demons began to gather around Abi after they sucked all the blood from the humans at the castle (except the ones that were killed by Kohaku while under Naraku's control). Abi decided to retreat since gathering blood was more important to her. Inuyasha tries to stop her from fleeing with the Kaze no Kizu, but she was able to repel it with the trident's barrier and escaped.

Abi had returned to her mountain nest. She explained to her mother that she was unable to find the connection between Naraku and the castle, although she had managed to obtain the blood from many of the humans there for her. Tekkei warned her that Naraku would make his move against them soon since a barrier that he placed around their nest of his own accord had suddenly disappeared, but Abi was not afraid to face him.

Path to the border of the Netherworld[]

Naraku appeared before Abi and Tekkei at their mountain nest. Abi's mother had recovered from being poisoned and revealed herself to Naraku. About the size of the mountain she had been hiding in, Abi's mother was a colossal bird demon with blue flames around her. Tekkei attacked Naraku by exhaling fire at him. Naraku had disappeared with the smoke from the attack cleared. Abi believed that Naraku had perished, but he soon revealed himself to her in the opposite direction. Naraku unleashed his tentacles, but Abi with able to repel them with the trident she still obtained from Naraku. Tekkei was surrounded in flames and launched them at Naraku. This too proved to be ineffective. He is then swallowed, barrier and all by Tekkei. Little did they know that they had fallen into Naraku's trap. Inuyasha's group arrived at the scene and learned that Tekkei had just eaten Naraku. A battle suddenly ensued between Inuyasha's group and the two bird daiyōkai. Not long after a few blows were exchanged, tentacles appeared as they gorged a hole in Tekkei's head. Naraku emerged from Tekkei's body and killed her as a result. Abi was furious at Naraku and tried to attack him, but Naraku caused the trident to disintegrate, taking Abi's right arm with it. In a blind rage Abi continued her attack on Naraku. Naraku revealed the final reward for helping him would be a painless death for her. He then stabbed her through the chest with multiple gray tentacles, effectively killing her. Abi disappeared, seeming to disintegrate into black dust and then into nothing.

Only after the deaths of Abi and her mother is Naraku's gate revealed. He beheaded Tekkei and her blood flowed down the remains of their mountain like a river. By merely following this river could one go to the Netherworld since Tekkei was linked to it. As soon as the blood stops flowing, however, the gate would close. Naraku followed the flow of blood, hovering above it while surrounded by his barrier, with Inuyasha's group following soon after.

Personality[]

Princess Abi is shown to be very domineering and ruthless. She is also very prideful and believes herself to be superior to many other beings. She holds humans with no regard as she is willing to slaughter as many that she feels are needed to save her mother. She also shows her discrimination against hanyōs. She is also angry that she has been dragged into a battle between Inuyasha and Naraku since they are both hanyōs.

A more positive aspect of Abi is that she cares greatly about her mother. She goes to great lengths to cure her from the poison that she consumed. She also cares greatly for her demon birds. She is angry at Inuyasha for killing her birds when the two of them first meet.

Physical description[]

Princess Abi appears as a young woman with fair skin and red lips. She has red eyes and long black hair, with some of it tied into a bun.

Outfit[]

Abi wears a red top with gold outlines and breaks off into four points at the bottom. She wears a golden brace around her top. She has a long skirt over her legs a long green obi sash that is tied around her waist. She wears red ribbon over the part of her hair that is tied into a bun.

She wears armguards that expose part of the skin. Her left shoulder is covered by a piece of gray armor in the shape of a demon bird's wing. Abi has a thin band tied around her upper right arm. She is always barefoot and has golden bracelets around her ankles.

Powers and Abilities[]

Abi is not a particularly powerful demon, as while she is strong enough to be considered a daiyōkai, she would have been easily slain by Inuyasha had she not had the weapon Naraku gave her.

  • Enhanced Demonic Claws: Like most great demon who can unleashed powerful slashed. It is unknown if she could use it, since it was shown only for a few scenes.[2]
Abi Angry

Abi's demon face.

  • Great Demonic Power: As Abi is the princess and second-in-command of the Demon Birds, she was no doubt a powerful demon though given that she's only the princess her mother, Tekkei, is much more powerful than she is. Abi had proven herself to be capable of great threat to many human populace and was able to easily combat against Inuyasha and his group with some of her demon birds (though she had help from Naraku).[Note 4]
  • Pyrokinesis: Abi was able to shoot streams and balls of fire from her hands and set her demon birds on fire with a wave of her hand. Being an experienced fire user she showed great proficiency.[2]
  • Flight: Abi was able to fly with flames under her feet similar to Kirara.[2]
  • Transformation (変化, へんげ, "Henge"): Abi was able to undergo a transformation where her hands became claws with huge talons and her eyes became blood red; the area around her eyes became darker similar to when Sesshōmaru gets angry. All of her attacks became drastically increased in power. It was also possible that she hadn't fully transformed and her true form was much larger than she appears, similar appearance to her mother.[2]
  • Enhanced Durability: Abi was somewhat durable as she showed little reaction other than surprise when the trident she was holding on to exploded which destroyed her right arm when Naraku destroyed it by his will.[1]

Weapons[]

  • Trident (Temporary): A three-pronged spear lent to her by Naraku after having separated some of his flesh that would serve as an effective tool in combating Inuyasha and his group as Naraku was well aware that Abi would eventually run into them. After Inuyasha and his group arrived at the mountain range, Naraku revealed himself to be alive within Tekkei whom he killed from the inside out which enraged Abi into attacking with the trident but he destroyed it through his will along with her right arm.
    • Barrier: With Naraku's trident she was able to put up the same barrier that Naraku had. Whether her barrier has the same strength as Naraku's is unknown but it was likely as it was able to block both Inuyasha's Wind Scar and Red Tessaiga.
    • Shōki: The trident was also capable of allowing Abi to produce and control miasma like Naraku, though as this is not her specialty and the trident is only a fragment of Naraku's flesh, it was unlikely to have as much power as Naraku himself.

Manga vs. Anime[]

  • In the anime, Abi attacks Naraku after he requests that she make a portal to the Netherworld for him by shooting her flames at him. He protects himself with a barrier and corrects himself by saying that it is meant to be a trade.
  • The scene when the army of spider yōkai that confronts Abi to avenge their father being eaten by Tekkei, before Naraku kills them, is not in the manga.
  • The first battle between Abi and Inuyasha is slightly longer in the anime than in the manga.
  • During the battle between Abi and Inuyasha in Episode 153, Kagome tried to attack Abi with her arrow, but Abi launches her flame attack at Kagome before she can shoot. This does not happen in the manga.
  • In Episode 153, before Inuyasha uses the Kaze no Kizu in an attempt to stop Abi from fleeing, he lunges at her in midair before being repelled back from the trident's shōki. This does not happen in the manga.
  • The short battle with Abi and Tekkei against Inuyasha's group before Naraku emerges from Tekkei's body in Episode 154 does not happen in the manga.

Trivia[]

  • Her seiyū, Saeko Shimazu, voiced characters from previous works of Rumiko Takahashi. They include Shinobu Miyake from Urusei Yatsura, Sayoko Kuroki from Maison Ikkoku and Kodachi Kuno from Ranma ½. The later also bares a resemblance to Abi and both of them share the same English voice actress as well.
    • A character called Ageha from Inuyasha's subsequent manga series, Kyōkai no Rinne, bears a strong resemblance to her.
  • She is similar to Bankotsu of the Shichinintai: Both are fairly long-running villains whom Naraku used as expendable pawns as part of his plan. Neither really trusts Naraku, and Inuyasha is enraged at Naraku for betraying them, despite the fact that he himself killed Bankotsu and had intended to do the same to Abi, as Naraku points out both times in response.
  • Princess Abi appears in her official color scheme given by Rumiko Takahashi on the front-cover of volume 17 of the manga's Wide ban edition.
  • In the mobile card game, Inuyasha: Journey to Seek the Jade, Abi is an obtainable character and gained stat advantages when paired with Hiten or Jūra.

Media appearances[]

Notes[]

  1. Naraku explicitly referred to her as The Bird Master Abi as they first met in the end of Chapter 301
  2. Naraku killed Tekkei by beheading her in Chapter 316, she finally died in Chapter 317.
  3. Naraku mentioned Abi by her name in Chapter 301.
  4. This was first mentioned in Chapter 301 and first seen in Chapter 302.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 InuYasha manga; Chapter 317
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 InuYasha manga; Chapter 302
Naraku
Incarnations KannaKaguraGoshinkiJūrōmaruKagerōmaruMusōInfantHakudōshiByakuyaAkagane
Rejected parts Unnamed incarnationHair monsterEye monsterOnigumo (reabsorbed)Kugutsu
Allies SaimyōshōSesshōmaru (formerly)TsubakiHakushinShichinintaiAbiTekkeiMōryōmaruMirror demonMagatsuhi
Enemies KikyōInuyashaKagome HigurashiMiyatsuMiroku's fatherMirokuSangoKiraraKohakuKōgaSesshōmaru (currently)KaguyaMōryōmaruHitomikoKansukeKaedeMidorikoRinJakenA-Un
Miscellaneous Shikon no TamaKazaanaOnigumo's caveNaraku's castleMount Hakurei
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