Kai

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The Kais (界かい王おう, Kaiō, lit. "Kings of Worlds") are deities that are the kings of an area of the universe in the Dragon Ball series. There are five Kais, with four of them controlling a particular quadrant of the universe and the fifth supervising them.

Quick Answers

What role do the Kais play in the universe of Dragon Ball?

The Kais in the Dragon Ball universe are deities, each ruling over a quadrant of the universe, with a fifth Kai supervising them. They influence events by providing wise counsel and training, rather than direct confrontation. King Kai, for instance, possesses potent telepathy and taught Goku the Spirit Bomb and Kaio-ken techniques. In Dragon Ball Super, King Kai and Moori employ the Namekian Dragon Balls to resurrect King Kai's planet.

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How many Kais are there in the Dragon Ball series?

The Dragon Ball series features four Kais, each symbolizing a cardinal direction. The Kais include North Kai, East Kai, West Kai, and South Kai. They make their appearance in the Shadow Dragon Saga of Dragon Ball GT, where North Kai is seen on Grand Kai's mansion roof, East Kai is occupied with gardening, West Kai is relaxing, and South Kai is busy training several characters.

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What are the responsibilities of the fifth Kai in Dragon Ball?

In Dragon Ball, Kais are deities ruling over the universe's regions. Five Kais exist, four managing a universe quadrant, and the fifth Kai supervises them, ensuring their quadrants function smoothly and stepping in when required.

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Are the Kais in Dragon Ball based on any real-world religious figures?

Indeed, the Kais in Dragon Ball, inclusive of the Supreme Kai, draw inspiration from real-world religious entities. They're modeled after deities overseeing cardinal directions in Hindu scriptures and Buddhism. Typically, these religions feature four primary guardians, paralleling the four Kais in Dragon Ball, each governing a universe quadrant, under the supervision of a fifth.

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Which quadrant of the universe does each Kai control in Dragon Ball?

The Dragon Ball universe is split into four quadrants, each governed by a Kai: North Kai, West Kai, South Kai, and East Kai. King Kai, a prominent figure in Dragon Ball Z Kai, is the North Kai in the Earth's local galaxy. A fifth Kai, the Grand Kai, supervises the four quadrant Kais. Supreme Kais, superior to the Kais, rule the whole universe, under the watch of the Grand Supreme Kai.

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Concept[]

The Kais and Supreme Kais seem to be based on the deities who watch over the cardinal directions in Hindu scriptures (guardians of the directions) and Buddhist faith (Four Heavenly Kings). There are generally four main guardians, sometimes eight, with two additional guardians who govern and protect space, for a total of ten gods (like the Kais and Supreme Kais).

Overview[]

Origins[]

The Kais originally come from a planet called Kaishin, which is basically a larger version of the planets that the four Kais call home (such as King Kai's Planet). On the planet, there are gigantic trees, the Glind Tree, and the Kais are all born as Glind from the fruit of those trees. Glind average life expectancy is said to be 75,000 years. They live leisurely lives, studying various things at a school-like castle, until one of the Kais passes away. Then, they will draw lots among themselves to choose who will take the dead Kai's place and become the new Kai.^[1] However North Kai apparently retains his position despite his death during the Cell Games. This may be due to the fact that he didn't die of natural causes.

Kings of the Universe[]

There are five Kais in Universe 7. Four of them are given the job of controlling a particular area of the universe and overseeing the local deities (Guardians) on each planet of their quadrant. They are called the North Kai (this position is held by King Kai in the local Earth galaxy), the West Kai, the South Kai, and the East Kai. The fifth one is a Grand Kai who oversees them all.

Above the Kais there are Supreme Kais who rule over the entire universe, with a Grand Supreme Kai overseeing them. While the lower Kais watch over the living world, the Supreme Kais watch over both the Other World and the living world.^[2]

The Kais live in the Other World; they are among the few living residents in Other World. They are considered immortal, in the sense that they refer to residents of the living world as "mortals," but can still die of unnatural causes (as King Kai does, when he is inadvertently killed by the self-destructing Cell), however since they are already in Other World it doesn't really affect them in the long run (however, King Kai did receive tons of laughter and bullying from his fellow Kais for being dead). The Kais are also known to have a love for fancy cars and each Kai owns one.

During the events in the series, Kais prove not to be strong enough to oppose the villains directly, though they seem to influence the process by giving wise advice or providing training. King Kai has amazingly powerful telepathy skills, being able to transfer his thoughts to the whole planets or even galaxies, and he also teaches Goku highly useful techniques such as the Spirit Bomb and the Kaio-ken attack.

In Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound, King Kai explains that in the past, he and the other three Kais (South, East, and West) took it upon themselves to stop the evil galactic thug Bojack. To do so, they combined their power and imprisoned Bojack and his followers on a planet (a star in the Funimation dub) at the far end of the galaxy. Bojack and his henchmen were later set free when King Kai's planet was destroyed, and King Kai was killed by the self-destructing Cell; this caused the seal which bound Bojack to break.

In addition to Grand Kai and the four Kais, both Chronoa and Zamasu have held the rank of Kai with Zamasu being the former North Kai of Universe 10. However, both were eventually promoted with Chronoa becoming Supreme Kai of Time while Zamasu became an apprentice Supreme Kai under Gowasu. This shows that Kais can be promoted to the rank of Supreme Kai.

The King of the Demon Realm is that portion of the universe's equivalent of a Kai.

Known Kais[]

Universe 7

• Chronoa (Formerly)
• Grand Kai
• North Kai
  • Future North Kai
• East Kai
• West Kai
• South Kai

Universe 10

• Zamasu (former North Kai; deceased)
  • Goku Black (former North Kai; "promoted")
  • Future Zamasu (former North Kai; "promoted")

Trivia[]

• Every Kai from Universe 7 has some form of eyewear: King Kai wears black Teashade sunglasses, East Kai wears red Jackie Ohh sunglasses, West Kai wears a blue monocle, South Kai wears white Jackie Ohh sunglasses, and Grand Kai wears black Wayfarer sunglasses.
  • However, this does not hold true for either Chronoa or Zamasu when they held the rank of Kai.
• North Kai and South Kai are the only two of the five Kais of Universe 7 that appear in the Dragon Ball manga.
  • Although not appearing, Grand Kai is mentioned twice in the manga, by Piccolo and Dende in Majin Buu Saga.
• Zamasu and his future counterpart are the only known Kais not to be native to Universe 7 as both were previously the North Kai of Universe 10 within their respective timelines.
• Chronoa is the only Kai known to wear Potara earrings even before her promotion to Supreme Kai.
• Grand Kai is the only Kai who wears clothing other than his formal attire as he is known to dress causally at times.

Gallery[]

Supreme Kai Gowasu choosing the Kai Zamasu as his successor in the Full Color Dragon Ball Super manga Chronoa as a Kai 75 million years ago in the GDM7 Trailer Grand Kai wearing his casual clothes Grand Kai wearing his formal Kai Clothes during the Other World Tournament East, West, and South Kais North, West, and East Kais The four Kais The Kais during the Other World Tournament The Kais The Kais The Kais North Kai and West Kai The Kais burned by Pikkon's Thunder Flash Attack North and West Kais burned by the Thunder Flash Attack South and East Kais burned by the Thunder Flash Attack North, West and South Kais The Kais The Kais The Kais The Kais West and North Kais The four Kais with Goku and Pikkon in Buu's Fury

References[]

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