Kotarou Inugami

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 Amagasaki in Kyoto. While Kotarou is also the only supporting character who does not appear in either of the first two anime series, he does, however, appear in the OVAs Mahō Sensei Negima! : Shiroki Tsubasa Ala Alba and Mō Hitotsu no Sekai.

Appearance
Because he's a hanyō, Kotaro had been gifted with wolf-like features such as a pair of furry-triangle wolf-ears perched on the top of his head and a black fluffed tail that jutted from the base of his spine with a white tip; he had large-spiked black hair that fell in front of his face and down the sides of his cheeks, with narrowed mud-brown eyes that were filled with confidence in his power and loyalty for those he considered family. Kotaro wore what could be considered as a school uniform as it had standard navy-blue pants that were held up by a thick-leather black belt around his waist, a simple plain T-shirt that he wore beneath a navy-blue jacket over it and finally a pair of blue-white sneakers on his feet.

Background & Personality
Kotarou is a dog Hanyō, evidenced by his pointed ears and a furry tail. Despite being hotheaded, Kotarou is a chivalrous person and would never hit a woman unless she was a truly powerful fighter - and even then is so uncomfortable about the idea he never uses his full strength. He has a strong dislike of Western-style magic, with Negi being one of the few exceptions.

Kotarou 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.

Many aspects of Kotaro's character serve as foils to Negi's; more experienced fighters such as Kaede remark that Negi is in need of Kotaro's "straightforward" personality in a friend. He is energetic and outgoing, and likes to follow his gut rather than think through battles. He rarely places any doubt in his own abilities and plays down any failings he has in front of others. This is at a contrast to Negi, who is reserved, intellectual plans his battles and plays down his successes. In this way, Kotarou serves to show how atypical Negi is as an shōnen protagonist.

Though he is clearly not very "book smart" (unlike Negi) he is quite "street smart" and often understands/catches on to things that Negi does not. He does show good practical knowledge of strength and has more battle history than Negi.

In Chapter 261 it's been revealed that after his match with Rakan he has an interest in becoming a Magister Magi.

Kyoto Trip Arc
He was used by Chigusa to try to prevent Negi and Asuna from delivering a letter to the head of the Kansai Magic Association. To do this, he trapped Negi and Asuna inside a dimensional loop, 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, and was trapped in his own loop. 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 Kotarou while Negi continued on (although Kaede realized that Kotarou wasn't giving his best then).

Training/Wilhelm Arc
After the Kyoto Arc, he was placed under the custody of the Kansai Magic Association, where his abilities to transform and summon dog spirits were sealed. During this time, Fate approached him again, offering to free Kotarou if he would assassinate Negi. Kotarou refused and later escaped on his own to find Negi to have another rematch (he considered Negi a rival, being the only person he's met of his own age who can fight with him on even terms). When he arrived at Mahora, he ran into Graf Von Herman and The Slime Sisters, and learned their plan to attack Negi. He fought them, stole the bottle that Graf Herman 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 Herman tracked Kotarou to their dorm room, and attacked him in an attempt to retrieve the bottle, kidnapping Chizuru after she saved Kotarou from being petrified. Kotarou 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. Kotarou 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 Kotarou (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 Kotarou 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

The School Festival Arc
At the Mahora Legendary Martial Arts Tournament he quickly defeated Mei Sakura in the first round but was annihilated in the second by Albireo. This lopsided defeat causes him to question his ability as a warrior, and he fears that Negi will no longer acknowledge him. 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 learn a little more about how to treat girls than he ever wanted to. He seems to be somewhat over-protective of Natsumi.

Like Negi, Kotarou 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.

Kotarou did not appear after Chao had succeeded in revealing magic to the world. After the time jump back to the final day of the festival, Kotarou appeared to help Negi while fighting his way to Chao's airship.

Journey to the Magic World Arc
After the festival, he was brought in by Evangeline as a sparring partner for Negi's next level of training. 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. He does not join Negi on his journey to Rakan preferring instead to become stronger through tournament battles.

The Ostia Festival Arc
Later he has rejoined Negi at the grand tournament at Ostia. When Fate confronted Negi, Kotarou rushed off to help. Chisame, Nodoka and Haruna have gotten themselves in trouble with one of Fate's companions and Kotarou arrives in time for the rescue. He then brings Nodoka to the site of Negi and Fate's confrontation so that way she can use her abilities to find out Fate's real name. During the confrontation, Kotarou was partially petrified as he protected Nodoka from Fate's attacks. However, he was easily healed by Konoka after she and Rakan arrived at the scene.

He started to training with Negi with the help of Theodora, Seras, Ricardo and "the fake" Eva to beat Rakan in the tournament. He has also made a pactio with Natsumi under Haruna's persuasion, despite originally thinking the idea was "creepy." There was reluctance from both parties, but when Kotarou admitted he loved Natsumi, the two finally become partners. Natsumi admitted she had feelings for Kotarou as well, but she ran away before he could understand what she said. When Fate attacked the Governor's Ball, he and Natsumi witness the death of Chief, who watched over Natsumi, Ako, and Akira while they were slaves.

Assault on Cosmo Entelecheia Arc
Kotaro, along with Natsumi, Yue, and others, is on a mission to rescue Anya and Asuna from the Gravekeeper's palace. When they encounter Fate, Kotarou believes he has the opportunity to finally defeat him out of revenge. However, Kotarou realizes the power difference between Fate and him and decides not to attack -- believing that provoking Fate would only result in a quick death. When Negi gets taken over by the darkness and is unable to move as well as turn to stone, as a result, everyone else comes up with a new plan to take out fate and get Asuna back. This plan somewhat succeeds as they did get Asuna back even if only temporarily and fate seemed to have been defeated by Chachamaru's artifact but survived the attack and quickly attacked them. Kotarou battled fate as a means of stalling and allowing others to escape but was defeated. He was found by Kaede later.

Return To Old World Arc
After saving the world they went back to Mahora. The trio went on a date with the cheerleader from class 2A, after they met. They went to a karaoke place to sing. While everyone was having a good time meanwhile Madoka went to the bathroom, she was thinking about how Kotarou was still acting like a child. She bumps into two thugs in the hallway, after that Kotarou rescues her from the thugs, and she realizes she has fallen in love with Kotarou.

Powers and Abilities

 * Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Kotarou's fighting style is based on the Garyū Inugami-ryū, which is a self-taught school that employs various skills that range from being able to summon Inugamis (Dog Spirits), which can be used for ranged attacks, restrain foes and/or fly using them through forming them into spinning wheels on his feet; he is also shown to be quite skilled in ninjutsu, as well as being able to travel/move between shadows as shown when he saved Haruna, Nodaka and Chisame, then escape with them as shown in chapter 227.
 * Chi (Ki) Abilities: Besides her fighting skills, Kotarou also has some ability to manipulate chi as part of his combat style rather than using magic to fight from a distance.
 * Shikigami: Kotarou is also skilled in using shikigami and paper charms, being able to create monsters when he first fought Negi and Asuna.

Movement Techniques

 * Shundō (瞬動術, Instant Movement): This is a movement technique. By focusing ki or mana into the feet, he can cross a limited distance in a burst of extreme speed enough to appear almost to be instantaneous.

Ninjutsu Techniques

 * Kage Bunshin (影分身, Shadow Clone): A technique taught to him by Kaede it allows him to make multiple shadow clones of himself.

Garyū Inugami-ryū Techniques

 * Kuuga (空牙, Vacuum Fang): A long-distance attack used by Kotarou against Wilhelm. The attack shoots a blast of ki from a distance in the form of a fang.
 * Kuon Bakusai Ken (狗音爆砕拳, Howling Burst Knuckle): Kotarou focuses a massive amount of his dog spirits into his hand to release a highly destructive burst-like punch. This technique is able to rival Negi's Oukahouken and Raika Houken.
 * Shikkuu Kokurouga (疾空黒狼牙, Black Wolf Rapid Air Fang): Kotarou fires a large amount of power dog spirts off at high speed to attack his enemies.

Transformations

 * Partial Transformation: Kotarou can transform parts of his part into beast form. He usually does this for his hands to increase their power.
 * Kuzoku Juuka (犬族獣化, Dog Tribe Beast Transformation): In this Form, he invokes his beast powers. Though still looking human he gains a beast like an appearance. All of his abilities are greatly increased while in this form.
 * Kuon Eisou (狗音影装, Howling Shadow Cloth): A secret technique among his Garyū Inugami-ryū and is also possibly his strongest form, where he transforms into a black dog that has a glowing symbol on his forehead. In this form, Kotarou gains enhanced strength and is able to travel as a shadow, as well as firing shadow spheres from his mouth.

Friends/Allies

 * Negi Springfield: Kotarou and Negi are rivals, but also best of friends. Kotarou was originally an enemy of Negi in the Kyoto Arc, where he appeared as a mercenary responsible for disrupting Negi's mission. After his defeat, he is imprisoned but eventually escapes to Mahora Academy to warn Negi of an impending attack. After fighting alongside Negi against Graf Hermann, he decides to stay at Mahora and has been friends with Negi ever since. Kotaro's street smarts are a perfect balance to Negi's intellect, and he's not afraid to call out Negi on his brooding or negative feelings. When in his dream world from the Magic Lantern Circus, his dream world has him locked in combat with Negi. The two are constant tag team partners, fighting together in both the Mahora Festival and Ostia Festival tournaments. However, Kotarou appears jealous of Negi's rapid power development. Kotarou himself admitted to Kaede during the Mahora Festival is afraid that if he is too weak, Negi would no longer like him.
 * Fate Averruncus: Fate was originally Kotaro's partner during the Kyoto arc. Chapter 303 reveals that when Kotarou was imprisoned after the events in Kyoto, Fate was willing to release him if he assassinated Negi. Kotarou refused but escaped anyway in order to warn Negi. He still holds a grudge against Fate but realizes he is no match for his power.
 * Natsumi Murakami: Natsumi originally met a wounded Kotarou when he first came to Mahora, when he was initially disguised as a dog. They got off to a rough start (Kotarou attempted to hold Natsumi hostage) but Chizuru forced Natsumi to pretend Kotarou is her brother, so their other roommate, Ayaka Yukihiro, would not get suspicious. Natsumi eventually develops feelings for Kotaro, although she is reluctant to admit it. She follows Kotarou to the magic world because she is worried, eventually learning about magic and pactios. She is constantly confused about her feelings for Kotaro since he alternates between his child form and disguise form -- a handsome teenager. Kotarou eventually realizes Natsumi's feelings for him, as well as his own affection towards Natsumi as family, and the two form a pactio together. Recently, Kotarou proposed that Natsumi should accompany him on mercenary missions since her artifact is ideal for stealth. They end up getting married at the future-based conclusion of the series.
 * Chizuru Naba: One of Kotaro's other roommates. Kotarou originally was defiant against Chizuru, but she threatened him into obeying, eventually forcing him to assume the role of Natsumi's brother. A recurring gag is that Chizuru wants to shove a leek up Kotaro's anus, a folk remedy for curing colds. Chizuru appears to frighten Kotaro, although his reluctance to talk about Chizuru is misinterpreted as a sign of love, not fear. Despite her overbearing traits, Chizuru's nurturing personality makes her a mother figure to Kotaro, and two appear to have a familial bond. Out of pure fear, when asked, he rates her 400 points.
 * Kaede Nagase: After Kotaro's embarrassing loss to Albireo Imma, Kotarou becomes upset over his lack of power. Out of sympathy, Kaede offers to train Kotarou. As a result, Kotarou has developed a student-teacher relationship with her and is seen using ninja techniques like shadow cloning that she had taught him. Kotarou has great respect for his master, even offering to dance with her at the Governor's Ball during the Magic World arc. However, their relationship appears to be strictly platonic, and no romantic feelings are apparent. When asked, he rates her 120 points.
 * Yue Ayase: Although she and Kotarou have a bit of a rivalry (during the Mahora festival, Yue intimidates Kotarou with her intellect), Kotarou appears to have respect for her -- especially during the Magic World Arc, which showcases Yue's great development in skill. When asked, he rates her 60 points.
 * Mei Sakura: Mei and Kotarou originally fought against each other in the first round of the Mahora tournament. Despite Kotaro's vow to not hit women, Kotarou was able to defeat her with some creativity. Ever since her defeat, Mei appears to idolize Kotarou to a certain degree and is eager to bring up her training and improvement to him. During the Magic World arc, Mei has a similar respect for "Kojiro", Kotaro's teenage alter-ego, even asking for his autograph, though she is aware that Kojiro and Kotarou are indeed the same people. Natsumi is quick to notice Mei's possible crush on Kotarou. When asked, he rates her 60 points.

ANIME FINAL
Kotarou appears in the Anime Final movie, reading the manga living room at the night. When Kotarou reading the manga, Chizuru asks him to gives coffin to Natsumi, After Kotarou gives coffin to Natsumi, she wants to talk with him about the erase memories stuff.

UQ Holder!
Kotarou makes a cameo appearance in the flashbacks of Chapter 129. It's revealed by Dana that Kotarou joined with Negi and Fate to fight against the Mage of the Beginning in the Mars at 2009 in an alternate timeline.

Trivia

 * As stated above Kotarou 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 he appears twice in the Summer OVA, first in a group picture from the manga of some of the contestants of the MahoraFest Tournament that is shown during the opening credits, and at the end, when his face is on a fan Chizuru is holding, he is not actually present). However, Kotarou makes appearances in Negima!? Neo from chapter 16 onward.
 * Kotaro's concept and characterization are possibly driven from the title character of InuYasha, as Ken Akamatsu admits to being a fan of that series -- Kotarou shares Inuyasha's rough language, bluntness, and body language, both are dog hanyō and his Beast form also bears a minor resemblance. When Asuna witnessed Kotaro's transformation for the first time, she mentioned about seeing it before in some manga, or, in the English manga, claims that he was in the wrong manga.
 * In Chapter 339 when Kotaro saved Madoka from the bullies, he called them "Level 5 small fry". This is most likely a reference with Farmer with a Shotgun from Dragon Ball Z where he is referred it by Raditz.