Moro

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Moro
モロ (Moro)
Manga
English Name(s)	Moro (Viz)
Manga Debut	Dragon Ball Super Chapter 43
Personal Data
Title	Planet-Eater Moro

Moro is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball franchise, debuting as an escapee of the Galactic Patrol and primary antagonist in the Dragon Ball Super manga-original "Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc". Moro first appears in chapter 43, originally published in the February 2019 issue of Shueisha's V-Jump magazine, released 21 December 2018 in Japan.

Biography

Moro arrives on new Planet Namek in Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 44

Moro speaking to Porunga through Esca in Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 48

Ten million years ago, the magician Moro battled against Universe 7's Dai Kaiōshin, attacking with comets and eating planets to absorb their life energy. The Dai Kaiōshin was forced to use the Kai-Kai Matoru, a technique of his own original creation, to seal away Moro's magic, allowing the Galactic Police (predecessors to the Galactic Patrol) to lock him away in the Galactic Prison for his various crimes (which included the destruction of the Iragi star system and bringing about mass extinction on 320 planets). Though Moro was sentenced to death, no one could actually kill him, so he was instead given life imprisonment.

In the present day, Merusu seeks out Majin Boo on Earth in an attempt to gain access to the Dai Kaiōshin, whom Boo absorbed five million years ago. After kidnapping Boo and inadvertently recruiting Son Goku and Vegeta in the process, the group receive a lock on Moro's location: passing through sector KT40. Goku attempts to lock onto Moro's ki signature, and is met with Moro sensing him back; Goku notes that Moro's ki itself was not large, but that it was terrifying, as if many people were screaming in pain.

Albeit at a greatly-diminished level, a bit of Moro's magic returned a few years back, allowing him to break free of his imprisonment. Moro travels through space toward the new Planet Namek with Cranberi, an ex-member of the Freeza Force, who explains the details of the Dragon Balls to Moro. Goku teleports to Namek with Vegeta just as Moro arrives. Moro uses telekinesis to take a young Namekian hostage, prompting Vegeta to jump into action. Moro's abilities appear to work against Vegeta as a Super Saiyan, who then uses Super Saiyan God to gain an advantage. Moro removes his cloak, revealing a far thinner figure than would otherwise be presumed, and promises to showcase his magical abilities to Vegeta.

Moro acknowledges that he can indeed absorb energy, and that his next technique will be a variation on what he just attempted with the Namekian child; from the safety of their spaceship, Merusu remarks to Jaco that Moro is capable to stealing energy from planets themselves. Moro begins to wield the planet itself as a weapon against Vegeta, flinging bands of rocks and blasts from underground left and right; the Namekians across the planet begin to feel the effects of these quakes. Vegeta stalls against Moro, feigning defeat and prompting Moro to reveal his intention to collect the Dragon Balls and wish for his power to be restored. Learning this, Vegeta begins to use Super Saiyan Blue to effortlessly fight back, dodging Moro's attacks and landing his own hits. Moro, however, has been draining the planet and its inhabitants (Goku and Vegeta included) of energy this entire time; he collects this energy into a massive ball, reduces it down in his hand, and eats it. Vegeta is no longer able to transform into a Super Saiyan, which allows Moro to then turn the tables once again.

Goku and Vegeta continue to fight back in vain, with Moro eating their ki attacks and continuing to grow stronger. Moro acknowledges their strength, stating that none like them existed back in his era, save for the Dai Kaiōshin that stole his powers. Moro grabs both Goku and Vegeta by the throat and absorbs their power further, resulting in an even more youthful look for himself (much to his own shock). With the two Saiyans unconscious, Moro turns his attention back to Cranberi and his search for the Dragon Balls. The two depart in Cranberi's ship, leaving Goku and Vegeta for dead. Over the next three days, Moro attacks three more villages. Arriving at the next, Moro surrounds the village in flames, demanding they hand over their Dragon Ball. The remaining Namekians have been holding out hope that their newly-assimilated super warrior will be enough to defeat Moro, but without so much as turning around, Moro impales the Namekian upon his arrival, killing him instantly.

Moro is able to sense the location of the Dragon Ball in this latest village, much to Cranberi's surprise, and the two depart to collect the next one. Now with six Dragon Balls collected, Moro directs Cranberi to fly toward where they first landed, which is where the final Dragon Ball is located. The two arrive to find Goku and Vegeta, very much alive and waiting for them. Merusu appears flying atop a Galactic Patrol ship and opens fire on Moro and Cranberi's own ship. As Moro escapes, Merusu uses the opening to capture Moro in an elastic-esque restraint wrapping. Moro watches as Cranberi escapes in the ship, and a new opponent — Boo — is dropped in. Boo speaks Moro's name, who recognizes Boo as the Dai Kaiōshin. Enraged, Moro escapes from Merusu's restraint, eager to settle the score. The two begin fighting, with Boo not only holding his own, but seemingly suffering no energy-draining effects from Moro at all.

Boo continues to dominate Moro in battle, with an impalement and head being blown off not so much as slowing him down. Moro continues to rage, lamenting the lack of his full magical power. Restraining Moro with his own detached, extra arms, Boo begins the process of sealing Moro away at Merusu's request. The sky suddenly grows dark as, elsewhere on the planet, Cranberi begins to make his series of wishes to Porunga using the kidnapped Esca. After wishing to restore his own power, Cranberi wishes for Moro's full magical power to be restored. Moro immediate bursts away from the group and flies off, arriving at Cranberi's location to impale him, preventing him from making his intended third wish; Moro has another wish of his own. Curious if Porunga will be able to grant it, Moro makes his third wish, which Porunga is indeed able to fulfill. Goku and Vegeta arrive, and though Moro confirms that one wish restored his full magical power, he refuses to divulge the additional wish, saying they will learn soon enough. Moro appears to depart, but actually hides behind a mountain above the group, watching from above briefly before dashing off for good. The planet begins to shake, clearly the result of Moro absorbing its power once more.

Goku, Vegeta, and Boo (now taking the form of the Dai Kaiōshin) arrive in the planet's atmosphere to find Moro absorbing Namek's energy. Though they attempt to attack, Moro continues his absorption from further out into space, leaving only the Dai Kaiōshin able to attack (as neither Goku nor Vegeta can survive in the vacuum of space). The tables have turned, with Moro now able to handle the Dai Kaiōshin with ease, including calling the bluff of the sealing attack. As Moro continues his assault, he is able to read the memories of Boo and the Dai Kaiōshin to see the Pure Boo's destruction at the hands of Goku on Earth. Merusu flies out into space with his restraint wrapping once more, distracting and temporarily blinding Moro just long enough for the Dai Kaiōshin to find an opening to teleport them back down to the surface of Planet Namek. Once there, Goku and Vegeta teleport down themselves to face Moro, who still has one ace in the hole: the third wish.

Name

While an underlying pun or reference source with Moro's name (モロ Moro) has not been formally revealed, モロ (moro) and サガンボ (saganbo) are both names for shark-cutlet dishes in Tochigi Prefecture in Japan. A character named "Saganbo" serves as one of Moro's primary henchmen.

Production

Toyotarō's November 2018 teaser image of Moro from the official V-Jump website voting campaign

Toyotarō's custom sheep/goat models used as a reference while designing and working on Moro

Colored artwork of Moro from the twelfth collected volume of the Dragon Ball Super manga

Alongside the publication of the Dragon Ball Super manga series' 42nd chapter in November 2018, as well as in promotion of the then-forthcoming Dragon Ball Super: Broly theatrical film, the official V-Jump website held a voting campaign for Goku's greatest battle, where visitors could read a brief synopsis of the upcoming arc and had a chance at receiving Toyotarō's special image of the prisoner.

Goku vs. the Mysterious, Formidable Foe: "The Escaped Prisoner"
A mysterious foe who appears in the new chapter, the "Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc"! Just what is it about this felon who escaped from the Galactic Prison...?
— V-Jump Official Website

Dragon Ball Super manga artist Toyotarō provided a pre-written comment on the arc for Jump Festa 2019, in which he noted his collaboration with original Dragon Ball author Akira Toriyama on the manga-original "Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc":

At last, the "Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc" has begun! It's a story that takes place after the Broli movie. Naturally, it's a completely new work that hasn't been animated, and can't be read except as a comic. The prisoner Moro, who has been locked away in the Galactic Penitentiary for 10 million years, has escaped. Will Goku and Vegeta, who have become Galactic Patrolmen, along with the Elite Patrolman Merusu, be able to capture Moro once more?! For the "Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc", I'm tag-teaming with Toriyama-sensei, producing it to great acclaim! I'd like it to be an enjoyable story that can give you all excitement and suspense, so by all means, please look forward to it.
— Toyotarō

In a December 2019 interview posted on the Dragon Ball Official Site (in conjunction with the eleventh manga volume's release), Toyotarō went into more detail regarding the designs of Merusu and Moro:

ーー新キャラクターのメルスとモロはどのようなイメージでデザインされたのでしょうか。
ジャコや銀河王のデザインが古典的な宇宙人のイメージなので、メルスもちょっとレトロな雰囲気にしました。銀髪のオカッパヘアーでレトロっぽさを出しつつ、人気が出てほしいのでビジュアルは美少年風。耳をとがらせると宇宙人っぽくなるんですけど、銀河パトロール隊員は耳が隠れてしまっているので、その分、鼻をちょっと尖らせて異星人感を出しています。ジャコのスーツは実は素肌ということになっていますが、メルスはちゃんとスーツを着ています（笑）。スーツの横にジャージっぽいラインを入れることで、あえて古臭いデザインにしました。

モロのデザインは完全なる悪をイメージしました。「銀河パトロール囚人編」の敵は、後で仲間になる感じの敵ではなく、絶対に倒さなくてはいけない敵にしたかったんです。初代のピッコロ大魔王のように、見た目からしてみんなが「倒さなきゃ！」と思うような敵を作りたかったので、西洋の悪魔のモチーフであるヤギをベースに考えていきました。服装も死神っぽいイメージを出しつつ、とにかく悪いやつという方向に振り切るようにして考えたキャラクターですね。

ーーモロを描くときに気をつけていることは？
ポイントは角ですね。普通のヤギの角ではなく、先端がクルッと曲がった複雑なデザインになっています。自分でデザインをしたものの、描いてみるとすごく難しくて、ちょっと後悔しています（笑）。立体物を参考にしないと、細かい部分でバランスが取れないので、色々なヤギの模型を探したんですけど、しっくりとくるものがなくて。これはもう、自分で作るしかないと思い、角の部分を自作しました。最初は買ってきたヤギの模型にねり消しで角を足したんですけど、結局、パテを使って本格的に作りました。この角が完成してからは、角の作画が安定したと思います（笑）。

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English translation needed

Performance

Thus far, Moro appears exclusively in the Dragon Ball Super manga; as such, no voice has been assigned.

Notable Appearances

Thus far, Moro appears exclusively in the Dragon Ball Super manga.

Notes

TBD