Great King Yama

"He was supposed to go below, but he would have enjoyed that so I gave him my stamp of approval and admitted him up here."
— Great King Yama in "Return to the Other World"

Great King Yama (閻魔 大王, Enma Daiō; FUNimation "King Yemma", Viz "Lord Enma"; Literally meaning "Enma Great King") is the boss of all Ogres and the judge of the dead.

Biography

Dragon Ball Z

A line of souls led to his office where he decided whether a soul went to Heaven or Hell. Compared to the other Ogres, he was of a different color and had a beard, two horns, a helmet (it is unclear whether the horns are his own or belong to the helm), and was colossal in size. His mahogany desk was at least three times taller than Son Goku, who was able to fit in one drawer. Yama was strong enough to stay in control in any situation and could easily overpower Raditz. Later in the series, when the power of the villains increased, this became less impressive.

Although traces of his existence can be found during Dragon Ball in instances such as when Grandpa Son Gohan was allowed to come back to life for a day during the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, Yama did not first appear until early-Dragon Ball Z when Goku was killed during the Saiyan Saga and brought to the Other World by Kami to receive training from North Kaio. Until then, Yama was the only person who had ever run all the way along Snake Way, but he granted Goku permission to give it a try. He was apparently skilled to some degree in fighting as he claimed he easily bested Raditz, when the latter attempted to fight him while passing through his realm, using his Yemma Lock technique. Yet, according to Kami, King Kai was much stronger than he was. Yama heard Kami whisper this to Goku and threatened to send him to Hell when he died, although in truth he was just trying to scare him. When Kami thought to himself about all of the dangers that would come in one year, Yama finally lost his patience and ordered Kami to leave.

When Dabura was killed by Majin Boo, Yama admitted him into Heaven on the basis that he would have enjoyed himself too much in Hell, hence Dabura's punishment was to stay in Yama's world. Later, it was revealed that after Vegeta's death, Yama allowed him to keep his body and had Fortuneteller Baba bring him to Earth so he could help Goku fight against Super Buu. He also got a satellite television so he could watch the fight between Goku and Kid Buu.

Dragon Ball GT

Yama made a few cameo appearances in Dragon Ball GT, such as when he sent Piccolo to Hell during the Super 17 Saga.

Films

Yama appeared in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn. He was trapped in his office by Janemba's barrier that Pikkon slowly destroyed while Goku and Vegeta fought against Janemba.

Video games

Yama appeared in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku, Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, and Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai.

Voice actors

• Japanese dub: Daisuke Gori
• FUNimation dub: Chris Rager
• Ocean Group dub: Don Brown
• Portuguese dub: João Loy (I); António Semedo (II)

Trivia

• Yama is based on the Hindu deity Yama.
• Yama is similar in appearance and conception to Gyumao. They are both big with a beard, and have hats with horns. In conception, they both are students of Goku's masters. Also, both have king in their names.
• Yama is one of the few characters to not die in Dragon Ball Z.
• Before Goku came along, Yama was the only one who had ever beaten Gozu, caught Mezu in a footrace, completed the trip along Serpentine Road, and escaped from Princess Snake's palace.
• Part of this is contradicted in the anime filler of the Next World Tournament where North Kaio is shown to have other students. The only way they could have received his training would be to make the trip all the way down Serpentine Road to King Kai's planet.
• Yama is mentioned in a conversation between Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (specifically, during the Fusion Reborn arc).
• Yama is modeled very similar in the Yu Yu Hakusho manga and is named King Enma. He assumes the same role as he does in Dragon Ball, the role of lord of the check-in station in the afterlife. The name King Enma is also used as his name in Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai.
• Yama shares the same voice actor as Mister Satan in the Japanese, FUNimation, and Ocean Group dubs.