| King Gurumes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 グルメス 大王 Gurumesu Daiō | |||
| Anime name | Gurumes | ||
| Alternate names | Glams King Horn King Gourmeth | ||
| Debut | Curse of the Blood Rubies (December 1986) | ||
| Appears in |  | ||
| Race | Human | ||
| Gender | Male | ||
| Family | |||
King Gurumes is a movie only character in the Dragon Ball franchise. He makes his debut in the 1986 film Curse of the Blood Rubies, the earliest film adaptation of Dragon Ball.
Biography[]
King Gurumes, cursed by the Blood Rubies
Gurumes is the king of his own land, the Land of Gurumes. Shortly after discovering that the deposits beneath his country harbored priceless blood rubies, he begins mutating into an obese horror with a virtually unsatisfiable appetite. This leads to his actions becoming corrupt in nature, as he continues ordering excavation of the blood rubies in order to fund a plethora of the world's greatest cuisines in a desperate attempt to cure his essentially painful hunger. Eventually, Gurumes comes to the conclusion that only the eternal dragon Shenron has the power "to wish [his] hunger away."
When the story of Curse of the Blood Rubies begins, Gurumes has four Dragon Balls in his possession. Early in the film, his two most esteemed henchmen, Raven and Bongo, confiscate Goku's Four-Star Dragon Ball from his home without his knowledge, leaving decent payment in its place. This causes Goku and Bulma, who is a passionate hunter of the artifacts, to seek out the two minions throughout the remainder of the film. During their adventure Goku and Bulma make several acquaintances, among them Penny, a girl native to the Land of Gurumes who seeks the assistance of Master Roshi in overthrowing the selfish tyrant to rescue her decaying land.
Gurumes, after clobbering Goku during his rampage
At the climax of the film, Shenron is summoned whilst the seven Dragon Balls are gathered inside Gurumes' stomach; the ray of light emitted by the Balls during the summoning process explodes through his mouth, destroying the upper floors of his castle. Penny requests that the Eternal Dragon restore her land's former peace and beauty, and thus Shenron removes the blood rubies from the deposits beneath the region (the dialogue between Penny and Shenron during the wish-granting sequence varies between the two versions of the film, but the result does not deviate between the two). It is also shown that Shenron's actions have re-granted Gurumes his human form, and ultimately his appetite is cured when Penny hands him a common apple, its simplicity shocking the king.
Voice actors[]
- Japanese Dub: Shūichirō Moriyama
- Ocean Group Dub: Gary Chalk
- FUNimation Dub: Jeremy Inman
Trivia[]
- The Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest movie villain Misokatsun bears some physical resemblance to Gurumes' mutated form.
- Gurumes is one of the few movie villains not to be killed (others include Abo, Kado, Men-Men and Lord Jaguar).