Zamasu facts for kids
Zamasu (ザマス), spelled Zamas in Viz Media's English localization of the Dragon Ball Super manga, is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball series. He is introduced as Goku Black (ゴクウブラック, Gokū Burakku) in the forty-seventh episode of Toei Animation's Dragon Ball Super anime series which first aired on June 12, 2016, and in chapter #14 "An SOS from the Future!!" from the manga.
Within the series, Zamasu is originally an apprentice Supreme Kai (界王神, Kaiōshin, lit. "World King God") from Universe 10. In the series' original, unaltered timeline, Zamasu hijacked the series protagonist Son Goku's mortal body by using the Super Dragon Balls as part of "Project Zero Mortals" (or "Zero Mortals Plan"). His plan is to attain supreme power and wipe out all mortal beings. He travels to an alternate future earth and encounters that timeline's version of Trunks. Zamasu proceeds to bring humanity to the brink of extinction. To complete his plan, he joins forces with that future timeline's version of Zamasu, who is made indestructible. The character has been positively received and is regarded as one of the best villainous characters of the Dragon Ball franchise.
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Character
Zamasu is depicted as a green-skinned humanoid with grey eyes and a white mohawk. He gains Goku's appearance after switching bodies with him, with only slight physical differences. Aside from a single gold and green Potara earring on his left ear, he also wears a Time Ring on his right index finger, which allows him to travel between different timelines at will without the need of a time machine, and also protects him from being erased by temporal paradoxes. After attaining the Super Saiyan Rosé (超サイヤ人 ロゼ, Sūpā Saiya-jin Roze) transformation, explained as a “Goku Black version of Super Saiyan” for the anime, his version of the Super Saiyan Blue form (Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan) in the manga, Goku Black's hair turns bright pink, due to Zamasu's status as a deity.
After Goku Black merges with his alternate future self via the use of a pair of matching Potara earrings, the result is the even more powerful Fused Zamasu, described as a mixture of incredible power with a deteriorating, yet immortal, body and unhinged mind. The resulting fusion is later revealed to be flawed as Fused Zamasu later degenerates into a grotesque appearance with the right half his body turning into purple sludge. In the anime, this is explained as a result of an unstable and uneven cellular regeneration as the fused being is composed of a mortal and an immortal. In the manga, this form was explained to be a temporary form that Fused Zamasu assumed when he resisted being split apart after the time limit of the Potara fusion passed.
Following the defeat of Fused Zamasu, he transcends into the even more powerful Infinite Zamasu form, though the character's depiction differs considerably between the anime and manga versions. In the anime, Infinite Zamasu is an incorporeal energy being while the manga version is an evolved form of Fused Zamasu, his regeneration ability becoming advanced enough to the point where he is capable of creating seemingly infinite fully grown clones of himself from each cell in his body within seconds, after both composite beings successfully and permanently merged at a cellular level.
Voice actors
Zamasu is voiced by Shinichiro Miki in Japanese media. David Gray is credited as the English voice actor for the FUNimation. Some sources speculated that David Gray, along with Sam Majesters who is credited as Zamasu's voice actor in Dragon Ball FighterZ, were in fact the aliases used by American actor James Marsters, who previously played King Piccolo in Dragonball Evolution. Sean Schemmel, who voices Goku and Goku Black, claimed in an interview that Funimation wanted to keep Marsters' involvement as a surprise. Marsters did not provide confirmation as to whether he is the English voice actor for Zamasu in Dragon Ball Super until a Fan Expo Canada event in October 2021.
Goku Black shares the same voice actors as Goku in all media. He is voiced by Masako Nozawa in Japanese, and Sean Schemmel in English. Kofi Outlaw from Comicbook.com noted that Schemmel's voice for Goku Black is very different in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ compared to his performance in the FUNimation dub, which was released after the video games. Schemmel indicated that he did not want to copy Nozawa's approach to portray Goku Black; instead, he wanted to emulate Marsters' performance, as he is supposed to embody the spirit of the same character, who happened to have taken possession of Goku's physical body. Outlaw described his voice in the anime dub to be very similar to his friendly, dulcet tones for Goku, but noted as more sinister and twisted.
Abilities
Both Goku Black and Zamasu possess several abilities including superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, and energy blasts, utilized by the use of ki. Zamasu and his various incarnations project an energy blade from their hand (神裂斬 (Kami Retsuzan, lit. "God Split Cut")) as their primary form of attack. As Goku Black, Zamasu is capable of growing stronger from near-death experiences due to the host body's Saiyan physiology, and is able to perform most of Goku's abilities, in particular his teleportation skill Shunkan Idō (瞬間移動, lit. "Instantaneous Movement", renamed "Instant Transmission" in FUNimation's dub) as well as a variant of his signature move, the Black Kamehameha (ブラックかめはめ波, Burakku Kamehameha, lit. "Black Turtle Destruction Wave"). As Goku Black, Zamasu has the ability to transform into a pink-haired variant of the Super Saiyan Blue form, Super Saiyan Rosé (超スーパーサイヤ人じんロゼ, Sūpa Saiya-jin Rozētto), after mastering his host body's power. This transformation also enhances his energy control, allowing him to refine his weapon forging skills, from creating a huge sword from his palm, to a long scythe capable of tearing holes in the fabric of space-time, summoning copies of himself.
Later on, both versions of Zamasu merge via Potara earrings, creating an indestructible being who can increase steadily in might. However, due to the conflicting natures of a combined mortal and immortal body, this combined form becomes deformed after taking too much damage, giving Zamasu a deranged, grotesque, monstrous appearance that grew larger in size upon hitting himself with the so-called "Light of Justice".
See also
In Spanish: Zamasu para niños
