| “ | I can't... do anything right... even back then... I saved them... but nobody thanked me for it. Ah... I'm miserable... I'm jealous of that Human... I'm miserable!... It's always the same... only me... only I am miserable. | „ |
| ~ Zerofuku becomes jealous of Buddha, who managed to make Humans happy unlike him. |
| “ | So much... I went through so much... trying to take away their misfortune... Why... why... why... can't I make them happy? | „ |
| ~ Zerofuku blames his inability to help Humans. |
Zerofuku is an anti-villain in the manga/anime series Record of Ragnarok.
He is the secondary antagonist of the Sixth Round and a minor character in the Tenth Round of the Ragnarok Tournament.
Zerofuku is the God of Misfortune, as well as the original entity of the Seven Lucky Gods, before he split into them, and the God Beelzebub used for his experiments to bring Hajun back to life, to the detriment of Zerofuku himself. He is also the first Gods' representative of the Gods Fighters during the Sixth Round, where he faces Buddha as the Humans' representative of the Einherjar.
He is voiced by Ayumu Murase, who has also voiced Satan in Devilman Crybaby, Hikone Ubuginu in Bleach: Brave Souls, Joseph in The Ancient Magus' Bride, Nova in Azure Striker Gunvolt and Yuto Ijika in Twin Star Exorcists, in the Japanese dubbed version of the anime adaptation. In the English dub he is voiced by Meli Grant as an adult and as McKenzie Atwood and Alejandro Saab as a youngster.
Appearance[]
Zerofuku has the appearance of a young, muscular boy, with a hole in his chest located where his heart should be.
He has long dark purple hair with a horizontal streak of light hair down the middle of the length of his hair. His irises are bright while his pupils are black. The symbols on his cheeks are the Japanese kanji for luck (福), and the same symbol is also on his tongue. The seven beads that tie his hair are engraved with the Japanese kanji for the seven deadly sins. Ordered from left to right, they read: Envy (嫉), Sloth (怠), Greed (強), Wrath (怒), Lust (色), Pride (傲) and Gluttony (暴).
Before being corrupted by the misfortune absorbed by Humans, Zerofuku had a childlike appearance, short and thin, with long white hair and skin, and no hole in his chest. He also had the same tattoos for the Japanese kanji for luck (福) under his cheeks. At the end of the Sixth Round and before dying, Zerofuku reverts to this aspect.
Personality[]
Zerofuku was originally a kind-hearted deity, bringing good luck to those around him by absorbing all their misfortune. However, when Zerofuku witnessed the true depraved and hedonistic nature of mankind and when Buddha did a better job of spreading happiness than he did, Zerofuku began to feel jealous, and after crying over the humiliation he became enraged.
Zerofuku grew to hate Humanity and set out to destroy them, however it is probable that Zerofuku, even furious towards Humanity, never stopped loving them, as he refrained from killing a mother and her child. It has a significant amount of bloodlust for individuals it deems disgusting. Zerofuku is childish and throws a tantrum over the things he hates.
After Buddha helps him and warns him to love himself, Zerofuku returns to his normal form and decides to go back to helping others, to the point that, shortly before his death, he and the Seven Lucky Gods make peace with Buddha and perform Völundr with him to help him fight Hajun.
Biography[]
Zerofuku was born as a benevolent God, and decides to use his ability to absorb the misfortune of others to help Humans be happy. Starting in a small village, Zerofuku begins to travel the world absorbing the misfortune of Humans and reducing himself to a heap of misfortune, however returning to the first village he visited he realizes that Humans, without the misfortune, have become greedy and selfish. and they no longer recognize the one who helped them.
Soon after, Zerofuku notices Buddha who on the contrary manages to make Humans happy and asks him how he does it. Buddha replies that the secret lies within themselves and invites him to join them, but Zerofuku runs away filled with jealousy and, deciding to destroy Humanity, changes his appearance due to the misfortune accumulated over the years. However, he stops short of killing a mother and her child, splitting into seven and forming the Seven Lucky Gods.
The Seven Lucky Gods revert to being Zerofuku during the Sixth Round of the Ragnarok Tournament, where Zerofuku, representing the Gods as a member of Gods Fighters, faces Buddha, representing Humans after betraying the Gods, to take revenge for what happened centuries ago. Throughout the battle, however, Buddha humiliates Zerofuku and tries to help him become happy again, until the two remain unarmed and decide to clash with fists. Buddha emerges victorious, but Zerofuku attains enlightenment and returns to normal, deciding to help Humans again. At that point Zerofuku is absorbed and consumed by Hajun, who had been dwelling in his body for centuries due to Beelzebub, who planted Hajun's seed in Zerofuku when the latter was still united.
Buddha is overwhelmed by Hajun, but Zerofuku and the Seven Lucky Gods help him and perform Völundr with Buddha, thus managing to kill Hajun permanently. Just before dying entirely, Zerofuku and the Seven Lucky Gods make peace with Buddha.
Powers and Abilities[]
Divine Abilities: Zerofuku possesses enormous physical strength with which he can hold his ax, the Misery Cleaver, without any problem even when it becomes gigantic or changes shape into a sword or other blades. Zerofuku is capable of moving and attacking at great speed and is capable of twisting and contorting every part of his body in extreme ways and positions, making his body appear to be made of rubber.
Divine Physiology: As a God, Zerofuku possesses physical abilities far beyond those of any ordinary Human and his body cannot be harmed by deadly weapons. However, he can be injured and killed by physical attacks with superhuman strength or by Divine Weapons. Zerofuku is unable to die due to old age and is over 2500 years old, roughly the same age as Buddha.
Biokinesis and Manipulation of Misfortune: Zerofuku knows how to manipulate his biological composition, such as when he extended his spine and, together with flesh and blood, transformed it into his axe. As the God of Misfortune, Zerofuku has absolute control over misfortune, which he uses to constantly absorb the misfortune of others. However, this power has a great impact on his physical and mental health. His Misery Cleaver is also able to absorb his misfortune, growing larger and more destructive.
Soul Splitting: After absorbing nearly all of Humanity's misfortune, Zerofuku split all of its negativity into seven parts (along with his own soul), and each of them physically manifested as a individual God who embodies it. These seven Gods later became the Executioners of Heaven and the Seven Lucky Gods.
Common Destiny - Völundr: Allows a person to bring out their full potential by entrusting their destiny to another. Zerofuku is able to use this ability by entrusting his destiny to Buddha, who has access to the power of "Common Destiny" present in the world of Buddhism. Thanks to this, Zerofuku uses the Völundr to transform himself into a weapon, becoming the Great Sword of Nirvana - Zero, the ultimate Divine Weapon that only those who have achieved great Nirvana in the Pure Lands can create. This weapon takes the form of a Shichishito (seven-armed sword) with blade-like protrusions, each associated with one of the Seven Lucky Gods.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although in the series he belongs to the Buddhist Pantheon being directly related to Hajun (who represents Mara in the Buddhist Religion), Zerofuku is an original character from the Record of Ragnarok series and he does not exist in any real Mythology.
