Baron Ashura
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
. It is the main henchman of Dr. Hell
Dr. Hell
Dr. Hell is the main villain of the fictional robot anime Mazinger Z. He is a brilliant, cunning and evil scientist, obsessed with world domination through his creations, the armies of Mechanical Beasts.- History :He was a colleague of Dr...
, the antagonist of Super Robot
Super Robot
is a term used in manga and anime to describe a giant robot or mecha, with an arsenal of fantastic super-powered weapons, extreme resistance to damage unless the plot calls for it, sometimes transformable or combined from two or more robots and/or vehicles usually piloted by young, daring heroes,...
series Mazinger Z
Mazinger Z
, known briefly as Tranzor Z in United States, is a Super Robot manga and anime series created by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. In...
. 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
Super Robot Wars
is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Banpresto, which is now a Japanese division of Namco Bandai. The main feature of the franchise is having a story that crosses over several popular mecha anime, manga and video games, allowing characters and mecha from different titles to...
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
Mazinkaiser
is an anime OVA series, inspired by Go Nagai's Mazinger series. The OVA follows Kouji Kabuto, Tetsuya Tsurugi and the rest of the "Mazinger Team" as they fight against Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts....
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.Relationships
- Dr. HellDr. HellDr. Hell is the main villain of the fictional robot anime Mazinger Z. He is a brilliant, cunning and evil scientist, obsessed with world domination through his creations, the armies of Mechanical Beasts.- History :He was a colleague of Dr...
(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 beastMechanical BeastsThe Mechanical Beasts , also known as mechanical monsters or mechanical brutes, were the antagonist mecha from the Mazinger Z anime and manga series, created by Go Nagai. Almost all of them were created by Koji Kabuto's nemesis, Dr. Hell...
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 GorgonArchduke GorgonArchduke Gorgon was a villain who was seen primarily in the fictional giant robot anime Great Mazinger, but appeared several times in its prequel series, Mazinger Z, as well. He resembles a centaur somewhat, as from the waist up he is a green-skinned man, but below the waist has the body of a...
: 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 MazinkaiserMazinkaiser
is an anime OVA series, inspired by Go Nagai's Mazinger series. The OVA follows Kouji Kabuto, Tetsuya Tsurugi and the rest of the "Mazinger Team" as they fight against Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts....
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
Great General of Darkness
was a fictional character, a supervillain and warlord from the series Great Mazinger. He takes the form of a gigantic warrior wearing a helmet decorated with three horns, a long red cape and vaguely Roman-like armour. His true face is that of a bearded old man and is set into his chest.He also...
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 ShibataHidekatsu Shibata
is a Japanese voice actor from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. He is married to voice actress Akiko Sekine....
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 BergerGregg Berger
Greggory "Gregg" Berger is an American voice actor, who is known for his longtime role as Odie the dog from the Garfield franchise...
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
Mazinger Angels
-Releases outside of Japan:The manga was also released in Hong Kong and Taiwan by d/visual taipei and in Italy by d/visual.-Toys:Besides the manga, a series of toys from the Soul of Chogokin line from Bandai have been released. The main robots from Mazinger Angels are available as part of the GX...
manga. Notably, this time the character is represented by two separate individuals, a male and a female, instead of the classic merged character.