Why Do Majin Kuu and Duu Look So Different from Buu?

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Dragon Ball Daima, Episode 12, “True Strength”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.

For the longest time, Majin Buu has been the sole member of his species, but that all changed in Dragon Ball Daima episode 9, “Thieves” when Majin Kuu was born. And if that wasn’t enough, episode 11, “Legend” quickly followed up with another sibling(?) for Majin Buu: Majin Duu. There are similarities between them, but for there are also some big departures the two have from their pink relative.

In Dragon Ball Daima episode 8, “Tamagami”, it was revealed that a Majin witch named Marba created Kid Buu, and not Babidi’s father, Bibidi. That same Marba later went on to create other artificial Majins using Buu’s essence to serve Arinsu, a mysterious Glind who seemingly wants to take over Gomah’s role as the Demon King. Thus, the creation of Majin Kuu and Duu. It should be noted that, technically speaking, there are other members of Majin Buu’s species from Dragon Ball‘s non-canon media. Games like Xenoverse, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Dragon Ball Online feature characters who belong to Majin Buu’s species. However, Majin Kuu and Duu are the first canon characters to share Buu’s DNA.

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Majin Kuu and Duu Have Some Saibamen in Them

Yes, like the Creatures That Killed Yamcha

Despite being derived from Buu’s essence, Majin Kuu and Duu are also seemingly hybrids of other species. The main one mentioned in Daima is Saibamen, the same creatures the Saiyans used in the Saiyan Saga to warm up the Z Fighters. Their Saibamen DNA explains the green color they have, and Majin Kuu’s design even resembles a Saibaman more than it does Majin Buu. And though Marba doesn’t specify it, she does imply that there are other differences in how Majin Kuu and Duu are made compared to Buu. Marba considered Majin Buu a failure because of how chaotic he was, which is why she altered the recipe for her future creations to make them more loyal and obedient. The changes she made might also explain why Majin Kuu and Duu look different from Buu.

Majin Duu’s Closer Resemblance to Buu

Majin Duu’s appearance and personality are clearly closer to Fat Buu compared to Majin Kuu, but why is that? The reason is likely because more of Buu’s essence was used to create him. Duu shares Fat Buu’s figure, his wiggly antenna, and the steam holes around his head. It’s still unknown if Duu shares Buu’s bubble gum body, which he can regenerate and shape into whatever he likes, or if his antenna can also turn people into candy. There are still some clear physical differences though, such as Duu being green and having the classic Demon Realm Majin pointy ears as opposed to Buu being pink and having crater-shaped ears.

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Are Majin Kuu and Duu as Powerful as Kid Buu?

How Do the Newcomers Compare?

The short answer is, as of right now, no, they are probably nowhere near as strong as Kid Buu. However, Majin Duu, the stronger of the two, might at least be comparable to Good/Fat Buu based on his current showings. Duu is strong enough to beat a Tamagami with relative ease, and the Tamagamis are said to be stronger than the late Demon King Daburah. The only time Duu seemed to struggle was when he felt hungry and didn’t want to fight anymore, but even then, the Tamagami couldn’t land a decisive blow. Being able to beat someone stronger than Daburah without much effort would place Duu’s level at least at Goku Super Saiyan 2 during the Buu Saga. However, take that with a grain of salt because the Daburah that fought the Tamagami was likely one without Babidi’s power-enhancing mind control. But based on what’s been shown, Majin Duu’s true power has yet to be seen. Knowing Dragon Ball, it wouldn’t be surprising if Duu had a secret transformation up his sleeve or even special abilities similar to Buu, so there’s a good chance he might be at least close to Fat Buu’s equal.

Majin Duu’s greater strength might be attributed to how much of Buu’s essence was used and how the Saibaman seed was used to create him. In creating Majin Kuu, the Saibaman seed was buried five centimeters deep into the soil-like concoction in Marba’s cauldron, but in Majin Duu’s case, the Saibaman seed was buried twenty centimeters deep instead. Marba even warned Arinsu that planting the seed deeper would increase the risk of Duu being difficult to control like the original Kid Buu. Arinsu ignored her warnings though, because if the next Majin they created was still weaker than the Tamagami, then it would have all been in vain anyway, a gamble that, fortunately for her, paid off.

Majin Kuu, on the other hand, isn’t even in the same ballpark as Buu. Kuu didn’t even stand a chance against Tamagami Number One, which puts him at around Daburah’s power, and possibly even lower. Kuu isn’t completely useless though, because what he lacks in brawn, he seems to make up for in brains. After beating Tamagami Number One in combat, the follow-up test required Duu to solve for the sum of an incredibly long series of numbers that went by blindingly fast. Duu would have hopelessly failed that test if not for Kuu, who solved it all in his head in an instant and told Duu the answer.

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Dragon Ball Daima is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The release date for Dragon Ball Daima, episode 13, is set to be January 10, 2025, at 10:00 AM PT.

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Release Date

October 11, 2024

Studio

Toei Animation

Creator

Akira Toriyama

MyAnimeList Score

7.86