The Mazoku (魔族?) are supernatural beings and a special type of Elite even among powerful demons inhabiting the Demon World.
Characteristics[]
In fact, the Mazoku are one of the strongest — if not the strongest S Class demons and they can be easily distinguished from other extremely powerful demons because they bear the mark of the Mazoku, which look like tribal tattoo patterns across some parts of their bodies. Only two known characters, Raizen and Yusuke, had been shown to possess the mark of the Mazoku up until the whole series ended. Raizen had the mark of the Mazoku on the left side of his face which seems to be permanently tattooed and also in his chest area (it shows up in the anime when he was charged). Yusuke had a more emphasized mark of the Mazoku which appears all over his face, shoulders, arms, and front upper body section.
Mazoku have a variety of aligments, but primarily their stated goal is to either rule over all other demons or to end existence. It's just how they were created. Oddly enough, if they're actually influenced by humans, can become morally ambiguous or of Chaotic Neutral nature. This moral ambiguity is a major point of Raizen's decision to stop eating humans, as told in the Three Kings Saga. Also, while they can be highly tempered or have a thirst for fight, a Mazoku can sometimes be friendly as in terms of a fighting relationship with others, as seen with Raizen's Friends.
List of known Mazoku[]
- Raizen
- Yusuke Urameshi, a Psychic turned into a Mazoku, because of the Atavism of the Mazoku.
Mazoku Form[]
This state is also known as Demonic Form. It first appeared when Yusuke entered his Mazoku Form when his ancestor Raizen possessed him during his battle with Sensui. The Atavism of the Mazoku is what enabled Raizen's possession of Yusuke. Yusuke utilized the Mazoku form again when he fought Yomi, after Raizen's spirit helped Yusuke's fighting spirit after he gave Yusuke words of encouragement, and reminding Yusuke what he trully fights for.
Abilities[]
- Increased Strength and Speed : After the transformation, Yusuke’s strength and speed increased so much that it over powered Shinobu Sensui who was a S Class human.
- Demon Energy: Yusuke can use Demon Energy while in his Demon Form and can also use Spirit Energy with it too.
- Demon Gun and Demon Gun Mega: In his Mazoku Form, Yusuke can use Demon Energy instead of Spirit Energy to fire a much more powerful version of the Spirit Gun, the Demon Gun and its full-power technique, the Demon Gun Mega.
- Demon Punch: This is a punch that requires Demon Energy. It has no name but it acts like the Spirit Punch but it's color is purple, not blue.
Trivia[]
- It is likely that the Mazoku are a superior race of demons, emphasized by the fact that only Yomi and Mukuro could be on par with a weakened Raizen due to starvation. If Raizen were capable of using more than 50% of his capabilities, the other two sovereigns could not be on par with him.
- It is unknown if any of Raizen's Friends are in fact part of the Mazoku.
- The name ma (魔, devil) suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku (族, tribe, clan, family) indicates that they are a family. So, Mazoku, in fact, means "Tribes Of The Devils".
- Moreover, Maō (魔王) is a term derived from Mazoku, suggesting a King (王 Ō - king, ruler) that rules the Mazoku.
In Japanese mythology and fantasy, mazoku (魔族) are supernatural beings, normally evil ones such as devils or demons. A maō (魔王) or maou is a ruler of mazoku, or in fiction more generically a dark lord or powerful monster.
Etymology[]
The name ma (魔 – devil) suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku (族 – tribe, clan, family) indicates that they are a family.
Maō (魔王) is a term derived from mazoku, suggesting a king (王 Ō – king, ruler) that rules the mazoku.
In mythology and legend[]
The term "mazoku" was used to describe the asura and yaksha in Hindu mythology, as well as Zoroastrianism's daeva. It is a general term for devils, demons and evil beings. In Japanese polytheism, it is an antonym of 神族 (shinzoku), "the tribe of gods".
A maō is a king or ruler over mazoku. For instance, in Bible translations, Satan is a maō. In polytheism, the counterpart of maō is 神王 (shin'ō), "the king of gods".
The Japanese feudal lord Oda Nobunaga also called himself a maō in a letter to Takeda Shingen, signing it with 第六天魔王 ("the demon king of the sixth heaven").
In fiction[]
In Japanese fantasy, the meaning of "mazoku" differs from work to work. Some works use the term for all evil beings that are enemies of humans or good beings, while others use it to specify a certain group of beings (not necessarily evil). The term 悪魔族 (akumazoku) may be used to designate evil mazoku specifically (the word 悪, aku, means "evil").[citation needed]
A maō may be a king of the mazoku, or more generally a king of demons, overlord, dark lord, archenemy of the hero or video game boss. The term is not gender-specific. For instance, "Erlkönig", by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, widely translated as "Elf King" in English, was translated as "maō" in Japanese. The term daimaō or daimaou (大魔王 – great demon king) is sometimes used to describe a very high-ranking or powerful maō. An example is Piccolo Daimaō, a villain from the Dragon Ball manga.