Baron Ashura

Baron Ashura (あしゅら男爵, Ashura Danshaku^?) is a fictional character featuring in the works of Go Nagai. It is the main henchman of Dr. Hell, the antagonist of Super Robot series Mazinger Z. It plagues the hero Kouji Kabuto for much of the series' run, until finally being killed in one of the later episodes.

it is notable for being voiced by two simultaneous voice actors as well as being a disturbing half-man, half-woman combination. Mazinger's most persistent enemy, it makes regular appearances in the Super Robot Wars series as Dr. Hell's loyal underling.

History

Baron Ashura's origin began long ago with a man and woman who fell in love. 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.

The would-be world conqueror Dr. Hell stumbled upon the tomb. He sewed the two remaining halves together and then brought the composite being to life. The new being swore loyalty to Dr. Hell. Dubbing his creation Baron Ashura, Dr. Hell used it as his main henchman.

In episode 78, Ashura fatally wounded itself crashing the Bood into Mazinger Z in a futile attempt to destroy the robot. Duke Gorgon saw the dying Baron on the sea surface and tried to save it. Baron Ashura died in the arms of its enemy, who finally acknowledged its bravery. In the next episode, Ashura was homaged with mechanical beast Jetfire P1 resembling its face.

Baron Ashura appears again in every episode of Mazinkaiser until Dr. Hell transforms him/her into the mechanical monster King Gordon.

Personality

Baron Ashura is a sadistic and cruel creation with murderous impulses and genocidal lust. In the original manga, after a Mechanical Beast sinks a ship, Ashura surfaces its submarine and personally machineguns the survivors to death. In the anime, it 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 itself to help Hell to make his dreams of conquest come 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 its 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.

Relationships

• Dr. Hell (Dokutaa Herru): Ashura is extremely loyal to Dr. Hell and eventually sacrificed himself/herself in a last ditch attempt to destroy Mazinger Z in an effort to redeem itself in the Doctor's eyes. On the other hand, Dr. Hell treated Ashura very badly, punishing it repeatedly for its failures. Still, he was touched by Ashura's loyalty when it 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 Brocken: Ashura and Brocken had a fierce rivalry for Dr. Hell's favour, despising and backstabbing each other repeatedly. However, while witnessing Ashura's final battle against the hated Mazinger, Brocken expressed respect for his rival's determination.
• Archduke Gorgon: Ashura distrusted and disliked Gorgon, and the feeling was mutual. Like Brocken, however, Gorgon was impressed by Ashura's courage and determination during its 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 it 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 henchman.

Mecha

While not a pilot Itself, Ashura has commanded Dr. Hell's Salude and Bood submarines. In addition, in the Mazinkaiser OVA It has 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/she also is appointed as the pilot of Dayma U5 by Dr. Hell in chapter 27 of the Mazinger Z TV series.

Voice actors

Voice actor Hidekatsu Shibata voiced Baron Ashura's male side in both Mazinger Z and the Mazinkaiser OVA. His first wife and fellow voice actor, Haruko Kitahama, voiced the female side in both Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser.

Other versions

In Tranzor Z, the American adaptation of Mazinger Z from 1984, Baron Ashura was called Devileen. Although acknowledged to be dual-sexed even in this somewhat Bowdlerized version (the narration described Devileen as "not just half-man/half-woman, but the worst of both" and his underlings addressed Devileen as "sir-ma'am"), the double voice actor gimmick was not carried over. Instead, Devileen spoke with a single high, nasally voice. The character was voiced by Gregg Berger in this dub, who also voiced Tommy (Kouji).

In the Latin American version Ashura is renamed as "Barón Ashler" but retains the voice gimmicks of the original. Also in the Arabic version he is renamed as "Mozdawij" or "The Double".

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.