Zeno and Dufort
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Zatch Bell!, known in Japan as Konjiki no Gash Bell!! (金色のガッシュベル!!) is a manga and anime series by Makoto Raiku. Zeno and Dufort are two characters in this series, and two of the main villains of the story, although they do not come to prominence until the Faudo arc.
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[edit] Biography
Zeno (Zeon Bell in the Japanese version) is a mamodo who looks exactly like Zatch Bell, save for his pastier colors and purple eyes. His spells are the same as Zatch's, only more powerful and Zeno does not lose consciousness during the spells, therefore knows what he is doing when spells are cast. His cloak also has magical abilities, allowing him to protect himself and his bookkeeper if he gets in trouble. He is very powerful, malevolent and evil, and bears a strong hatred towards humans but more importantly towards Zatch.
Dufort (Dufaux in the Japanese version) is his bookkeeper. He's very silent and reserved, almost to the point of having no emotion, and he has psychic abilities.
Zeno is Zatch's twin brother and the cause of his amnesia. As it is revealed in the manga, their father is the king of the Mamodo world: an electric elemental who possessed the ultimate power known as "Baou". When twins were born to him and his wife, the "Baou" power was inherited down to the younger brother of Zatch, making them fear for what would happen to him when he finally awakens it...as well as the jealousy of his brother when he found out. To protect both brothers, Zatch was sent away to live like a commoner, forced into near servitude by his foster mother and consistantly teased and taunted by his classmates at a private school. Meanwhile, Zeno was forced to undertake a harsh, military training. When the silver-haired child found out about both his brother and the "Baou" power, he grew resentful, believing that this twin he never met would hold his father's ultimate ability without understanding the implications. With both children referred for the Mamodo Fight, Zeno continued his preparations, training his body as well as reading of certain items and artifacts that would assist him when sent to the human world.
By the time Zeno was sent to take part in the Mamodo Fight, he took action in order to guarantee both his own victory and his brother's ultimate misery. After finding his bookkeeper, he tracked down Zatch to a forest in England, where he was living peacefully with the local fauna. Without saying who he was, Zeno brutally attacked the golden-haired lookalike, both physically abusing him and using his own spells to smash him down. But instead of burning his book, where he would instantly go home to his family and live peacefully in the Mamodo World, he decided to remove his memories to force him to be stuck wandering around this strange, human world without any friends or any idea who he was. Shortly thereafter, Zatch was found by Seitaro Takamine, who eventually sent Zatch to Japan, so that Seitaro's son, Kiyo, could try to find out Zatch's origin, as well as to benefit Kiyo's personality.
As for Dufort, his life was a total mystery, until he told his story to Kiyo and Zatch.
Anime: According to Dufort's story, he had powerful psychic abilities. For this reason, he was confined to an asylum, experimented on and possibly abused throughout nearly his entire life. He vowed to destroy humanity for what they did to him in the past. That hatred is what took Zeno's attention and came to release Dufort from the asylum. This story may differ from the story that will be revealed about him in the manga.
Manga: Dufort's tale has also been revealed as slightly different in the manga: he had been sold to a mad scientist by his own mother for a price of ten thousand dollars. The scientist subsequently performed mental and emotional experiments throughout his childhood, culminating with the passage of his ultimate test leading both to his own freedom and the destruction of the lab, revealed to be located at the North Pole. Forced to wander in the snow and cold for his own survival, he eventually encountered Zeno, who took him and made him his bookkeeper.
The manga recently revealed that he possesses an ability known as "Answer Talker", which allows the user to understand how any attack is applied and how to defend against it. This awakens whenever a human "dies and then returns to life", such as Kiyo himself in the manga after he is killed by the Mamodo Riou and then subsequently revived within Faudo tower.
Zeno took interest in the immense tower of Faudo from the moment it first arrived in the human world, having done research on the locked away force within in the libraries of his home. After extensive preparation, he immediately took action, leading on Kiyo and Zatch towards the tower by use of a doll-like emissary that told them of the danger about to be revealed. However, while using his brother to help awaken the tower for Riou, all of his works was for his own ambition. Once Faudo was resurrected, Zeno challenged Riou in battle, upon which he immediately crushed him, sent him back and took over his control jewel. While he doesn't divert Faudo from its original mission (the destruction of Japan, as instructed by Riou), Zeno awakens the full capability of the beast, giving guardians inside new life and using its power to upgrade many of the Mamodo previously fighting under Riou. All of these would give the remaining Mamodo inside one difficult challenge after another as they moved upwards towards the destined showdown with him and Dufort.
His book was burned by Zatch, but under radically different circumstances in the manga than in the anime, although in both versions the book is burned as a result of a struggle between Zatch's Bao Zakeruga and Zeno's Jigaridasu Uruzakeruga. He is resentful of Zatch to the end in the anime, breaking the jewel that controls Faudo out of spite. In the manga, Zeno becomes aware that Zatch had as hard a childhood as he did, and regrets his own foolishness. The jewel breaks due to the strain of their fight, and Zeno loans Zatch some of his power to help defeat Faudo.
Although Dufort's fate is not determined at the end of the anime outside the escape from Faudo, he ends up wandering off in the manga after Zeno goes back, trying to find a purpose after being used for so long. Eventually he uses his "Answer Talker" abilities to help others whether he wants to or not, finally appreciating everything both Zeno and Zatch had done for him.
In the original Japanese version, Zeon is voiced by Urara Takano and Dufaux is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa. In the VIZ Media dub, Zeno is voiced by Debi Derryberry (who also voices Zatch) and Dufort is voiced by Dave Wittenberg.
[edit] Trivia
- Zatch Bell has an easily recognizable signature laugh in the English version, and Zeno (who has the same voice actress) uses a slowed-down, sinister version of this laugh. Gash does not possess this feature in the original Japanese and neither does Zeon.
- During the last episodes, Zeno uses his most powerful spell, "Jigadirasu Uru Zakeruga" against Zatch in an ultimate showdown. The episode of the anime aired in late March 2006, when the manga was at a completely different point far from a showdown between Zatch and Zeno. However, the same exact spell was revealed to be Zeno's ultimate in the manga in early September of the same year, as the battle finally occurred in the original. Although there was a great space between the revelation of this spell, it is believed that the manga writer shared the information regarding Zeno's ultimate spell to the anime creators to make their showdown more spectacular, even though it would be months before he would reveal the same spell in his manga.
- Dufort is based on an early design of Kiyo Takamine, as shown in bonus pages drawn by Makoto Raiku featured in volume 1 of the Zatch Bell manga.
[edit] Statistics
Japanese names: Zeon Bell (ゼオン・ベル Zeon Beru) and Dufaux (デュフォー Dyufō)
Spellbook color: Silver
Spell power: Lightning
- Zaker: Zeno shoots a powerful bolt of lightning from his hand. (Attack)
- Zakeruga: A concentrated beam of lightning fired from the palm. (Attack)
- Teozaker: The technique which creates a powerful thunderbolt from Zeno's hand. A powered-up version of Zaker. (Attack)
- Jauro Zakeruga: Shoots an enormous ring of electricity with many Zakerugas emenating from it. (Attack)
- Barugirudo Zakeruga: Tremendous burst of lightning from above that fries the enemy. (Attack)
- Sorudo Zakeruga: A huge sword with a blade made of lightning is summoned, which Zeno can hold and use as a physical weapon. This attack is only seen in the manga. (Attack)
- Ganreizu Zakeru: A multi-turret gun is summoned, allowing for several small blasts of lightning to be thrown out at the same time. Manga-only attack, revealed in chapter 259. (Attack)
- Rēdo Deirasu Zakeruga: Zeno summons a huge circular object with many blades sticking out like a buzzsaw and is controlled by a small lightning bolt like a yo-yo. He is able to manipulate the electric yo-yo through the string to slice and smash through anything.
- Jigaridasu Uruzakeruga: Zeno's strongest spell which summons a massive, winged thunder god. Said entity fires five thunderbolts from the holes/cannons on its body which merge into one tremendous Zakeruga blast. (Attack)
- Raajia Zakeru: Creates a shockwave of electricity. Manga-only attack, gained in chapter 263.
First appearance in anime: 21 (Dufort is shadowed in this episode, and first appears fully in 42)
Episode appearances: 20-21, 42, 102, 111, 125-127, 139, 143, 147-150
Book burned: episode 150 (anime), chapter 272 (manga)
[edit] Spellbooks they burned
- Baltro (episode 20)
- Rops (episode 42)
- Zaruchimu (episode 147 anime only)
- Riou (episode 147)
- Riya (episode 148 anime only)
- Cherish (chapter 265 manga only)
- Rodeaux (chapter 269 manga only)
[edit] Navigational System
| Major Characters: | Zatch Bell | Kiyo Takimine | Tia | Megumi Oumi | Sherry Belmont | Brago |
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| Supporting Characters: | Parco Folgore | Kanchomé | Ponygon | Suzy Mizuno |
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| Encountered Mamodo: | Wonrei and Li-en | Zeno and Dufort | Zofis and Koko | Kiees and Berun | Zatch Bell! characters | Ancient Mamodo |
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| Minor Characters: | List of Zatch Bell! minor characters |
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| Games: | Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury | Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles |
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| Media: | List of Zatch Bell! episodes | List of Zatch Bell! cast members | Konjiki no Gash Bell!!: 101 Banme no Mamono |
