Baron Ashura
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| Baron Ashura | |
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| Mazinger character | |
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| First appearance | Chapter 01 (anime version) |
| Created by | Go Nagai |
Baron Ashura (Ashura Danshaku) is a fictional character featuring in the works of mangaka Go Nagai. He is the main henchman of Dr. Hell, the antagonist of Super Robot series Mazinger Z. He plagues the hero Kouji Kabuto for much of the series' run, until finally being killed in one of the later episodes.
He is notable for being voiced by two simultaneous seiyuu (long before the gimmick was made famous by Dragonball Z's fusion characters like Gogeta and Gotenks) as well as being a disturbing half-man, half-woman combination. Mazinger's most persistent enemy, he makes regular appearances in the Super Robot Wars series as Dr. Hell's loyal underling.
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[edit] History
Long ago, a man and woman fell in love. However their love was forbidden and upon discovery, the lovers shared a terrible fate: they were mummified and buried alive. Many years later, a cave in collapsed the roof of the tomb. A huge chunk of rubble landed between the two corpses, destroying the man's right half and the woman's left half.
Eventually, would-be world conqueror Dr. Hell stumbled upon the tomb. Somehow, he sewed the two remaining halves together and then brought the composite being to life. Dubbing his creation Baron Ashura, Dr. Hell used him as his main henchman. In response, Baron Ashura swore loyalty to Dr. Hell.
Ashura fatally wounded him/herself crashing his submarine Bood into Mazinger Z in a fruitless attempt to destroy the robot.
[edit] Personality
Baron Ashura is sadistic and cruel. In the original manga, after a Mechanical Beast sinks a ship, Ashura surfaces his submarine and personally machineguns the survivors to death. In the anime, he confronts the Kabuto family's maid Rumi and murders her in cold-blood when she is unable to tell him where Juzo Kabuto is. On the other hand, Ashura is extremely loyal to Dr. Hell since he created him from the mummies of the tragic lovers, devoting himself to help Hell to make his dreams of conquer true.
While normally speaking in a simultaneous male/female voice, when shown from one of his sides Ashura will speak in a male or female voice, depending on which side of his face is shown. Ashura is also apparently an excellent disguise artist, fooling the entire Photonic Research Laboratory's staff (including Kouji) when impersonating Dr. Yumi.
[edit] Relationships
- Dr. Hell (Dokutaa Herru): Ashura is extremely loyal to Dr. Hell and eventually sacrificed himself in a last ditch attempt to destroy Mazinger Z in an effort to redeem himself in the Doctor's eyes. On the other hand, Dr. Hell treated Ashura very badly, punishing him repeteadly through his failures. Still, he was touched by Ashura's loyalty when he died, so he resolved to honour his servant by building a tomb over the flattened remains of the Photonic Research Institute. He also built the Jet Fire P1, a Mechanical Beast created in Ashura's likeness.
- Count Blocken: Ashura and Blocken had a fierce rivalry for Dr. Hell's favour, despising and backstabbing each other repeteadly. However, while witnessing Ashura's final battle against the hated Mazinger Blocken expressed respect for his rival's determination.
- Archduke Gorgon: Ashura distrusted and disliked Gorgon, and the feeling was mutual. Like Blocken, however, Gorgon was impressed by Ashura's courage and determination during his final battle with Mazinger Z and praised his demise in battle.
- Kouji Kabuto: Ashura hated Kouji and Mazinger Z for being the only ones to stand in Dr. Hell's way. Likewise, Kouji hated Ashura with a passion and held him responsible for the death of his grandfather. After Ashura's death, Kouji was greatly relieved as he had avenged his grandfather and robbed Dr. Hell of his right hand.
[edit] Mecha
While not a pilot himself, Ashura has commanded Dr. Hell's Salude and Bood submarines. In addition, in the Mazinkaiser OVA he piloted the captured Mazinger Z (renamed Ashura Mazinger after modifications by Dr. Hell) and nearly destroyed the Photonic Research Institute before the arrival of Mazinkaiser. Towards the end of the OVA, Ashura is built into a gigantic mechanical beast called Hell King Gordon (several times larger than Mazinkaiser itself). In this form, Ashura provided the only true challenge to Mazinkaiser and managed to damage the powerful Super Robot, a feat even the Great General of Darkness was unable to duplicate when he faced Mazinkaiser.
He also is appointed as the pilot of Dayma U5 by Dr. Hell in chapter 27 of the Mazinger ZTV series.
[edit] Seiyuu
Veteran seiyuu Hidekatsu Shibata voiced Baron Ashura's male side in both Mazinger Z and the Mazinkaiser OVA. His first wife and fellow seiyuu, Haruko Kitahama, voiced the female side in both Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser.
[edit] Other Versions
In Tranzor Z, the American adaptation of Mazinger Z from 1984, Baron Ashura was called Devleen. Although acknowledged to be dual-sexed even in this somewhat Bowdlerized version (the narration described Devleen as "not just half-man/half-woman, but the worst of both"), the double voice actor gimmick was not carried over. Instead, Devleen spoke with a single high, nasally voice. The character was voiced by Gregg Berger in this dub, who also voiced Tommy (Kouji).
In the latinamerican version Ashura (Barón Ashler) does speak with the simultaneous male/female voices. The voice change according to the displayed face side is also respected.
Ashura also appears in the Mazinger Angels manga. Notably, this time the character is represented by two separate individuals, a male and a female, instead of the classic merged character.
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