Kurama (蔵馬) is a demon thief who, after being fatally wounded, fuses with the unborn child of Shiori Minamino. He is born as Shuichi Minamino (南野 秀一, Minamino Shūichi), a human, though he retains his demon powers at a much lower level. Kurama had originally planned to return to his demon form after regenerating his powers. However, while he has an accident his mother saves him; injuring herself in the process. This forms a bond of love and loyalty which Kurama cannot bear to break and stays as Shuichi to keep Shiori happy. He attends the fictional Meioh Private Academy (私立盟王学園, Shiritsu Meiō Gakkō) where his grades are the highest in his year. He meets Yusuke Urameshi in the first season as a part of a trio of demons who steal three dark artifacts from Spirit World. However, he uses the "Forlorn Hope" (known as the "Ankoku-Kyō" (暗黒鏡, lit. Dark Mirror) in the Japanese version), a mirror capable of granting the user's desire at the cost of the user's life, to cure his mother of a deadly illness. Yusuke saves Kurama's life by offering up his own life to the mirror and thereby canceling the sacrifice. This act bonds Yusuke and Kurama as friends and allies. During the Dark Tournament Kurama is temporarily reverted back to his original form, "Yoko Kurama," the Demon Fox. Kurama uses his aura to control plants, including his signature weapon, a rose he keeps in his hair which he turns into a whip of thorns capable of cutting through steel. He also possesses a skill for analytical thinking which allows him to gauge his opponents' strengths and weaknesses and formulate effective strategies. As Demon Fox Kurama, his powers are far greater and he is capable of creating demonic plants which possess various attributes and highly formidable powers. At the end of the manga, he is shown working at his stepfather's company.
Kurama is voiced by Megumi Ogata (Shūichi) and Shigeru Nakahara (Demon Fox) in Japanese and John Burgmeier in English.As with Hiei, Kurama's name simply "popped into [Togashi's] head" when developing the characters. Kitayama finds Kurama to be the easiest of the main characters to design due to his well-proportioned features.Kurama is a popular character among fans of the series. In the Animage Anime Grand Prix, he was ranked as the third most popular male anime character of 1993 and the most popular male character in both 1994 and 1995. His alternate Yoko Kurama form was ranked sixteenth in 1994.Yoko Kurama additionally won About.com's "Best Supporting Character" in its 2005 Anime Award Show.Kurama was also ranked the third best male anime character of the 1990's by Newtype.
Kurama is voiced by Megumi Ogata (Shūichi) and Shigeru Nakahara (Demon Fox) in Japanese and John Burgmeier in English.As with Hiei, Kurama's name simply "popped into [Togashi's] head" when developing the characters. Kitayama finds Kurama to be the easiest of the main characters to design due to his well-proportioned features.Kurama is a popular character among fans of the series. In the Animage Anime Grand Prix, he was ranked as the third most popular male anime character of 1993 and the most popular male character in both 1994 and 1995. His alternate Yoko Kurama form was ranked sixteenth in 1994.Yoko Kurama additionally won About.com's "Best Supporting Character" in its 2005 Anime Award Show.Kurama was also ranked the third best male anime character of the 1990's by Newtype.
