Watagash

Watagash (ワタガッシュ, Watagasshu) is a parasitic criminal who feeds on the darkness in people's hearts to amplify their physical strength and malice. He appears as an antagonist in Dragon Ball Super.

Names	Watagash (ワタガッシュ, Watagasshu)
Gender	Genderless
Race	Parasitic Alien
Occupation	Galactic Criminal
Origin	Dragon Ball Super Episode 73: "Gohan's Plight! The Preposterous Great Saiyaman Film Adaptation?!"|悟ご飯はんの災さい難なん！グレートサイヤマンまさかの映えい画が化か！？|Gohan no Sainan! Gurēto Saiyaman Masaka no Eiga-ka!?|lit. "Gohan's Disaster! Great Saiyaman's Unbelievable Movie Adaptation?!" January 8, 2017
Alignment	Evil
Age	Unknown
Created By	Toei Animation
Height	Not Stated
Weight	Not Stated

Appearance

Watagash is a small, purple, amorphous creature with a fluffy, cloud-like body that resembles cotton candy. He has no visible legs, two small arms, and bright yellow, pupil-less eyes that stand out against his dark purple form. His appearance can change dramatically when he possesses a host, as he enhances their physical form based on the host’s negative emotions and evil nature, transforming them into monstrous versions of themselves.

Personality

Watagash is a purely malevolent entity, thriving on and amplifying the evil within his hosts. He is opportunistic, targeting individuals with dark emotions to exploit their hatred, anger, or jealousy. His parasitic nature suggests a cunning and manipulative streak, as he preys on people’s weaknesses to gain power.

While Watagash is dangerous, he appears to lack the ability to act independently in a physically threatening manner, relying entirely on his host to manifest his strength. He displays no empathy or remorse, caring only about spreading chaos and destruction through the people he infects. Despite his manipulative tendencies, Watagash shows no loyalty to his hosts, abandoning them the moment they are defeated or no longer useful.

Biography

Dragon Ball Super: "Future" Trunks Saga

• Watagash is initially captured by Jaco, but he escapes when Jaco stops for ramen.
• After fleeing to Earth, Watagash first infects a bank robber, who is defeated by Gohan as Great Saiyaman. Watagash abandons the robber's unconscious body and hides in the sewers, evading Gohan.
• Later, Watagash finds a new host in Barry Kahn, whose anger and jealousy toward Gohan make him an ideal vessel. Barry had been humiliated after his attempt to frame Gohan for an affair with Cocoa Amaguri backfired.
• Empowered by Watagash, Barry kidnaps Pan to lure Gohan out. As the fight unfolds, Watagash amplifies Barry’s inner darkness, transforming him into a monstrous form. Despite initially overwhelming Gohan, the battle turns when Gohan transforms into a Super Saiyan and separates Barry from Watagash.
• Watagash is recaptured by Jaco, but later escapes once more due to Jaco's negligence while eating cup noodles.

Attacks and Techniques

• Flight - Watagash is capable of flight, as shown when it flew to Earth. He can also imbue his hosts with the ability to use ki-based flight.
• Survivability - Watagash is capable of surviving in the vacuum of space.
• Infection - Being a parasite, Watagash is capable of taking control of whomever it chooses, it is lured by the darkness in people's hearts and infects them. It is then capable of powering them up, the more evil they are the greater the power up.
  • Pump Up - When Watagash infects a target it is able to massively increase their muscles mass in order to have greater combat capabilities.
  • Transformation - When infecting a host with a substantial amount of darkness in their heart, Watagash is capable of causing them to undergo at least two different transformations.
• Eye Laser - Watagash's primary technique in his giant monster form, he charges eye lasers in both eyes and then fires them together as one powerful beam. The beams are powerful enough to damage Gohan in his base state however upon going Super Saiyan the beam proved ineffective and was useless against the Super Great Saiyaman Beam with the attack being outright destroyed

Trivia

• Name Pun: His name is likely derived from "watagashi" (綿菓子), the Japanese word for "cotton candy," which references his fluffy, amorphous appearance.
• Similarity to Baby: Like Baby from Dragon Ball GT, Watagash is a parasitic entity that enhances its host's strength and feeds on their negative emotions. However, while Baby dominates his hosts entirely, Watagash operates symbiotically, drawing out and amplifying the host’s own darkness.
• Similarity to Naturon Shenron: Both Watagash and Naturon Shenron require hosts to achieve greater power, relying on their symbiotic/parasitic relationships to realize their potential.
• Venom Symbiote Parallel: Watagash bears a striking resemblance to Marvel Comics' Venom symbiote:
  • Both amplify the negative emotions of their hosts, boosting their physical abilities.
  • Both form a bond with a blonde-haired host (Barry Kahn for Watagash, Eddie Brock for Venom) after the host suffers public humiliation.
  • Their relationships with their hosts highlight a shared theme of corruption and revenge driven by personal grievances.