Anime Transformation Debate #1: Zazan vs. Zarbon, Who did it Better?
Re-watching Hunter x Hunter and a number of other shonen anime I really find myself noticing interesting parallels between them. Namely the transformations of Zazan (Hunter X Hunter) and Zarbon (Dragon Ball Z).
Zazan being a scorpion inspired Squadron leader of the Chimera Ant Queen's Army, she's vain, pompous, has massive tits, and is prone to turning her enemies into subservient mutated slaves. The impotence in the story at large is rather significant in a indirect, given the fact that it was through her capturing Pokkle leading to
the chimera ants gaining a general knowledge of the nen system. As a character she has many parallels to Zarbon from Dragonball Z, vain and obsessed with his appearance.
Who is Stronger?
However if there is one thing I feel Zarbon definitely has over Zazan is his plot significance and overall understanding of Intergalactic commerce. Both Zazan and Zarbon have transformations with similar abilities. Both increase their stamina and durability as well as their overall strength. Zarbon definitely outdoes Zazan when it comes to destructive capabilities given the fact that he could tussle with Vegeta who was at that time a planetary level threat in the series. With Zazan's form being absolutely obliterated with Feitan's attack that has no clear cap of strength, but by Seth the Programmer's stats still aren't on the same level as a planetary or star level threat. This is because the building where Zazan was destroyed was still in tact for the most part with the pillars nearly charred and not obliterated. Dragonball Z characters out the gate dwarf most other anime/manga franchises and series from jump, outside of gag manga.
Relevance In their Respective Stories:
Putting strength aside Zarbon's transformation has more plot significance in comparison to Zazan, at least within their respective arcs. In the Frieza arc Zarbon was fighting against Vegeta and was one of the major contributors Vegeta's zenkai boost later on in the arc. Zazan only plays a role in an off shoot moment, that goes a long way in the realm of world-building. Establishing the far ranging effects of the chimera ant crisis. While this does add a layer to the overall setting it doesn't do much in way in terms of progressing the plot in the Chimera Ant arc and has no impact on the main characters whatsoever. The varying abilities Zazan has to her disposal while not making her a threat in a series like DBZ it contributes to the theme of exploring humanity and how terrifying it is to forcibly change a person's identity. The heart breaking moment at the end of the Phantom troupes invasion of her palace spoke volumes to this by having her henchmen wallowing in the shame of their own mental enslavement. Taken away from who they were and forced to be something else. However, because of the fact that throughout the segment the Troupe members are kicking ass, and given the fact that this segment was merely to showcase their capabilities, the tension of Zazan's transformation is non-existent. We know the Phantom troupe just showed up to kick everyone's ass and therefore the investment in this segment didn't go further then seeing Feitan do something cool. Compare this to Zarbon's transformation in this arc. After having slight difficulty with Vegeta, Zarbon decides to activate it in order to quell the threat. Now if you're a first time viewer you don't know what is going to happen and the tension is spiked through the roof because we've seen how dangerous transformations can be as displayed in the Saiyan Saga. After Zarbon finally transforms there is this moment where the suspense increases into a crescendo before dragging Vegeta and the audience into despair as he is quickly defeated. This transformation serves 3 major roles by doing this:
1. Establishing the Frieza force as a more tangible threat
2. Expanding on the lore of transformations and further reinforcing a central theme explored in the previous arc, that of natural combat ability vs. hard-work and training.
3. Creating a moment of empathy for Vegeta, a guy who in the previous arc was depicted as a pompous scumbag.
Hence why I would have to say that Zarbon has a superior transformation, not just from a power-scaling and uniqueness standpoint. But how his transformation contributes to the overall story and development of the characters. And plus it's epic as fuck!
P.S. Addressing the character design dilemma:
Now I don't know if this is just me or did Zazan's character design get worse over the course of the series? Honestly, looking at her very first depiction in the anime and even in the manga the simple approach of having that star themed bikini was inherently stylish. In the anime seeing the bright yellow colors of the bra and thong, juxtaposed to the red star and her purple skin and hair was not only titillating it was elegant. The purples vary but not too much to the point where their variations are unrecognizable and there is a general cohesion and flow to the design. She seemed fun and inviting which was in contrast with her cruel nature exemplified in her ruthless attack on Pokkle. It didn't go to far off the deep end into the hell that was the design in her reappearance against Feitan. I have no idea why in the actual FUCK she needed that hideous brown dress. Was it to cover up her thong underneath that was unbearable to look at given the fact that there was no stylistic flair to it? Maybe, I don't fucking know. All I can say is that I hate that design choice almost as much as I hate her bra. Sure it's a very hot sight to see boobies flopping around for alot of people but the design just seemed distracting and incoherent. No color choice agreement at least in the way I would like.
Zazan being a scorpion inspired Squadron leader of the Chimera Ant Queen's Army, she's vain, pompous, has massive tits, and is prone to turning her enemies into subservient mutated slaves. The impotence in the story at large is rather significant in a indirect, given the fact that it was through her capturing Pokkle leading to
the chimera ants gaining a general knowledge of the nen system. As a character she has many parallels to Zarbon from Dragonball Z, vain and obsessed with his appearance.
Who is Stronger?
However if there is one thing I feel Zarbon definitely has over Zazan is his plot significance and overall understanding of Intergalactic commerce. Both Zazan and Zarbon have transformations with similar abilities. Both increase their stamina and durability as well as their overall strength. Zarbon definitely outdoes Zazan when it comes to destructive capabilities given the fact that he could tussle with Vegeta who was at that time a planetary level threat in the series. With Zazan's form being absolutely obliterated with Feitan's attack that has no clear cap of strength, but by Seth the Programmer's stats still aren't on the same level as a planetary or star level threat. This is because the building where Zazan was destroyed was still in tact for the most part with the pillars nearly charred and not obliterated. Dragonball Z characters out the gate dwarf most other anime/manga franchises and series from jump, outside of gag manga.
Relevance In their Respective Stories:
Putting strength aside Zarbon's transformation has more plot significance in comparison to Zazan, at least within their respective arcs. In the Frieza arc Zarbon was fighting against Vegeta and was one of the major contributors Vegeta's zenkai boost later on in the arc. Zazan only plays a role in an off shoot moment, that goes a long way in the realm of world-building. Establishing the far ranging effects of the chimera ant crisis. While this does add a layer to the overall setting it doesn't do much in way in terms of progressing the plot in the Chimera Ant arc and has no impact on the main characters whatsoever. The varying abilities Zazan has to her disposal while not making her a threat in a series like DBZ it contributes to the theme of exploring humanity and how terrifying it is to forcibly change a person's identity. The heart breaking moment at the end of the Phantom troupes invasion of her palace spoke volumes to this by having her henchmen wallowing in the shame of their own mental enslavement. Taken away from who they were and forced to be something else. However, because of the fact that throughout the segment the Troupe members are kicking ass, and given the fact that this segment was merely to showcase their capabilities, the tension of Zazan's transformation is non-existent. We know the Phantom troupe just showed up to kick everyone's ass and therefore the investment in this segment didn't go further then seeing Feitan do something cool. Compare this to Zarbon's transformation in this arc. After having slight difficulty with Vegeta, Zarbon decides to activate it in order to quell the threat. Now if you're a first time viewer you don't know what is going to happen and the tension is spiked through the roof because we've seen how dangerous transformations can be as displayed in the Saiyan Saga. After Zarbon finally transforms there is this moment where the suspense increases into a crescendo before dragging Vegeta and the audience into despair as he is quickly defeated. This transformation serves 3 major roles by doing this:
1. Establishing the Frieza force as a more tangible threat
2. Expanding on the lore of transformations and further reinforcing a central theme explored in the previous arc, that of natural combat ability vs. hard-work and training.
3. Creating a moment of empathy for Vegeta, a guy who in the previous arc was depicted as a pompous scumbag.
Hence why I would have to say that Zarbon has a superior transformation, not just from a power-scaling and uniqueness standpoint. But how his transformation contributes to the overall story and development of the characters. And plus it's epic as fuck!
P.S. Addressing the character design dilemma:
Now I don't know if this is just me or did Zazan's character design get worse over the course of the series? Honestly, looking at her very first depiction in the anime and even in the manga the simple approach of having that star themed bikini was inherently stylish. In the anime seeing the bright yellow colors of the bra and thong, juxtaposed to the red star and her purple skin and hair was not only titillating it was elegant. The purples vary but not too much to the point where their variations are unrecognizable and there is a general cohesion and flow to the design. She seemed fun and inviting which was in contrast with her cruel nature exemplified in her ruthless attack on Pokkle. It didn't go to far off the deep end into the hell that was the design in her reappearance against Feitan. I have no idea why in the actual FUCK she needed that hideous brown dress. Was it to cover up her thong underneath that was unbearable to look at given the fact that there was no stylistic flair to it? Maybe, I don't fucking know. All I can say is that I hate that design choice almost as much as I hate her bra. Sure it's a very hot sight to see boobies flopping around for alot of people but the design just seemed distracting and incoherent. No color choice agreement at least in the way I would like.
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