Sanzo Damashii

This article is about a set of alternate forms in Kamen Rider Ghost.

Sanzo
Sanzo Ghost
Gender	Male
Ally Type	Rider Form
Affiliation	Kamen Rider Necrom (forced, later willingly after Alain reformed)
Homeworld	Earth (Main Timeline Continuity)
Series	Kamen Rider Ghost
First Appearance	Perfect! The White Kamen Rider!
Actor	Tomokazu Seki Makoto Okunaka ("Honami")
Sanzo Damashii

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"Kaigan! Sanzo! Saru! Buta! Kappa! Tenjiku o toppa! (Classical Chinese music)"

―Transformation announcement with Ghost Driver^[src]

"Tengan! Sanzo! Mega Ulord! (Chinese music) Saiyū road!"

―Transformation announcement with Mega Ulorder^[src]

Sanzo Damashii (サンゾウ魂, Sanzō Damashii, lit. "Sanzo Soul") is an alternate Buddhist monk based form of the Ghost Riders modeled after Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist monk who lived during the Tang Dynasty in the 6th Century. He was famous for a 17 year holy pilgrimage to India and back, with said accounts of the pilgrimage later serving as the inspiration in the Ming Dynasty for the Chinese tale Journey to the West centuries after his death, the other central characters of which are represented on the Damashii's shoulders and back and can be summoned out on command to aid the user. It also features the Gokourin (ゴコウリン, Gokourin) on its back, which can be hand-wielded or fly around controlled by the user's thoughts for offensive attacks. While it is mostly used by Kamen Rider Necrom, it can also be used by other Riders.

As one of the 15 heroic souls, Sanzo Damashii's power is also channeled through the Grateful Damashii which is accessed by Ghost via the Eyecon Driver G, appearing on Grateful's Armor Sublime as the SanzoLegger (サンゾレッガー, Sanzoreggā).

History

Reincarnation

In 2005, long after his death, Sanzo was reincarnated as a Parka Ghost by the Ghost Hunters with help from Sennin. Among the 15 luminary ghosts assembled by the lead Ghost Hunter, Ryu Tenkuji, who personally picked them with his reasoning being that these figures were people whose lives burned the brightest, their purpose was to counter the Gammaizers, the 15 deities of the Gamma World, in preparation for the Gamma invasion of the human world. Vacant Ghost Eyecons were prepared for each of the luminary ghosts, however, with the unforseen betrayal of Chikara Saionji leading to Ryu's death and the dissolution of the Ghost Hunters, all 15 ghosts were left sealed in unique objects which pertained to them each and would not be freed until the Gamma invasion finally arrived ten years later.^{[Reminiscence! Secret of the Mind!]}

War with the Gamma

Unsealing

The Sanzo Eyecon was collected offscreen by Chikara Saionji, but after Takeru’s wish to bring back Kanon, it was acquired by Jabel.^{[Magnificent! The Mysterious Eye!]} It was soon used by Alain, forcing it into working for him.^{[Reverse! Mysterious Science!][Explosion! Paint From Your Heart!]}

Under Necrom

However, as the series progresses, Alain has shown to have reformed and vowed to protect the treasures of the Earth. It is used by Takeru to transform into Ghost Grateful Damashii, but after Ghost deactivates Grateful Damashii, the Sanzo Eyecon, alongside the Grimm Eyecon, still decide to return to Alain instead of staying with Takeru, though he had lost the ability to force them into activating.^{[Intimate! The Giant Eyecon!]}

Sanzo was brought forth amongst all fifteen heroic Parka Ghosts when Ghost Grateful Damashii performed the Grateful Omega Drive kick to defeat the Shocker cyborg Siomaneking.^{[Ep. 7: Gho-Gho-Gho-Ghost Appears]}

Alain meets Sanzo's disciples.

Later, however, even after Alain had regained use of the Grimm Eyecon through his will to protect Kanon, Sanzo would still not activate for him. It possessed Honami while she was at the Daitenku Temple, telling Alain he had lost sight of his faith, but Takeru convinces him to let Alain prove himself, so Sanzo sends him to train with his disciples (Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing). Sanzo then instructs Takeru to help Honami before his Eyecon leaves her. In an unknown realm (perhaps inside the Sanzo Eyecon, but never stated), Alain meets Sanzo's disciples and faces them in a keep-away game with a box of takoyaki, finding himself completely outmatched.^{[Furious! Idol's Declaration!]}

Necrom Sanzo Damashii with the three disciples.

Sanzo again briefly possesses Honami, telling Takeru of Alain's lack of progress. Exhausted, Alain soon finds the disciples practicing an acrobatics routine. Instead of fighting like previously, Alain asks to be allowed to join them in practice, the first step in correctly passing Sanzo's test. After many failed attempts, he finally manages to become a fourth link in their chain, being rewarded with a box of takoyaki, being sent back into the real world, but is quickly challenged by Jabel. Sanzo brings Takeru into his Eyecon, where Takeru tell him what he learned by helping Honami. Though the Eyecon is with Takeru, Alain uses it in his fight with Jabel, summoning the three disciples to join him in battle in the real world and calling the Gan Gun Catcher for the first time, proceeding to defeat Jabel with a new offensive variant of Sanzo's Omega Ulord.^{[Learn! All the Ways!]}

Sanzo was defeated alongside Beethoven by Adel Oscillation during the disastrous engagement against Adel and his 11 remaining Gammaizers by the 15 Heroic Ghosts and Ghost Grateful Damashii, having chosen not to rely on Mugen Damashii's power alone while facing the Gammaizers. Viewing themselves as now obsolete, the heroic ghosts would enter a brief period of unresponsiveness before soon enough returning to Takeru's side, as he asserted his faith in them, against Gyro.^{[Resurrection! Hero's Soul!]}

In a pinch against Adel and the Gammaizers, Necrom assumed Sanzo Damashii, utilizing his defensive Omega Ulord to cover his and his friends' escape. Later, Necrom assumed Sanzo Damashii again while engaging the Perfect Gammaizer one-to-one, performing his offensive Omega Ulord with the disciples only to be easily outmatched by the Perfect Gammaizers. Summoning his Gan Gun Catcher, Necrom persisted in trying to get through to Adel only to be forced out of his transformation and left badly injured.^{[Astonishing! Hermit's Truth!]}

Village of Heroes

Sanzo's human form

Attacked by Dark Necrom Blue, Necrom was robbed of his Eyecons which were taken as part of Argos' machination. When Takeru and his friends followed them to the Island of Eyecons, Sanzo was found to be living in harmony as one of 100 reincarnated historical figure within the Village of Heroes. When Argos' Gamma forces attacked the village, Sanzo was struck down and reduced back to an Eyecon which was recovered along with the others by Argos. Gathering all 100 heroic Eyecons, Argos used them as a sacrifice along with Darwin's power of evolution to convert Takeru's dead body into a vessel for the ultimate Eyecon, the Extremer Driver, which he intended to use to fulfil his ultimate agenda of converting all life on both Earth and the Gamma World into ghosts. Ultimately, however, Takeru was able to gain the strength of the 100 heroes along with his friend's spirits, allowing him to defeat Argos seemingly at the cost of his own existence only for the 100 heroes to use their power to restore his soul with the original fifteen heroes returning to his side as he came back to Earth.^{[Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie: The 100 Eyecons and Ghost's Fateful Moment]}

Endgame

^{[Conciliation! All Resolutions!]}

Sanzo is seen fighting Gammaizer Liquid and Gammaizer Wind alongside Ryoma.^{[Gather! Chain of Grief!]}

^{[Infinity! Power of Humanity!]}

The Dr. Pac-Man Incident

Necrom assumed both Grimm and Sanzo Damashii in his fight against the Next Genome Institute's Doral Bugster alongside Kamen Riders Snipe and Lazer. Later, while facing the Hatena Bugster, Ghost would bring forth all fifteen heroic spirits with the Eyecon Driver G only for the Bugster to repel even the God Omega Drive; Takeru would ultimately resort to a new power.^{[Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders]}

Tang Sanzang

As Tang Sanzang, he had met Skyrider in A.D. 630 during his journey to India in Space-Time Hero: Kamen Rider.

Record

Sanzo is among the historical figures who are featured in Stories of the World's Greatest People, the book passed down to Takeru Tenkuji by Ryu Tenkuji. He is acknowledged under The Travelling Monk: Master Sanzo (旅する僧侶 三藏法師, Tabisuru Sōryo: Sanzō-hōshi).

Sanzo's entry was ultimately left unseen on-screen, but was among those unveiled by Televi-Kun Magazine.

Users

• Kamen Rider Necrom (Ghost Episodes 18, 19, 37, 42, Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider)
• Kamen Rider Ghost (Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing)
  • Toucon Boost (Ghost Change)
  • Grateful Damashii (Ghost Episode 23, Zyuohger Episode 7, Ghost 38, Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider)
  • Mugen (Ghost Change)
• Kamen Rider Specter (Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing)
  • Deep Specter (Ghost Change)
• Kamen Rider Dark Ghost (Ghost Change)

Necrom Sanzo Damashii

Ghost Sanzo Damashii

Ghost Toucon Sanzo Damashii

Ghost Grateful Sanzo Damashii (exclusive to Ghost Change)

Ghost Mugen Sanzo Damashii

Specter Sanzo Damashii

Deep Specter Sanzo Damashii

Ghost Change

Sanzo Damashii was released as part of the Ghost Change set GC-10 alongside Grimm Damashii.

Ghost Eyecon

Sanzo Ghost Eyecon

Sanzo Ghost Eyecon (solid light gray before it became transparent)

Sanzo Ghost

Sanzo Ghost (Materialization)

Sun Wukong

Zhu Bajie

Sha Wujing

Top Sticker

Standby Time

Startup Time

Transformation Time

Move Invocation Time

Finisher

• Omega Ulord (Sanzo) (オメガウルオウド サンゾウ, Omega Uruoudo (Sanzō)): Necrom rides the Gokourin and attacks the enemy with the Gan Gun Catcher in a bright green flash.^{[Learn! All the Ways!]}
  • A variation to this Damashii's finisher is where the eyes of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing faces on the Damashii glow green, appear as soul like characters, and then all three turn into a cloud for Necrom to get a quick getaway.^{[Explosion! Paint From Your Heart!]} Necrom also performed this variation with Akari, Onari, Shibuya, Narita, Kanon, Makoto, and Ghost turning all of them into a cloud.^{[Astonishing! Hermit's Truth!]}
  • Another variation is when Necrom and Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing combine into a tornado cloud and strike the opponent one by one.^{[Astonishing! Hermit's Truth!]}

Omega Ulord (Sanzo) (With Gan Gun Catcher Rod Mode)

Omega Ulord (Sanzo) (Prelude: Cloud creation)

Omega Ulord (Sanzo) (Retreat)

Omega Ulord (Sanzo) (Tornado Cloud)

Behind the Scenes

Portrayal

As with the rest of the 15 heroic Parka Ghosts, Sanzo is voiced by Tomokazu Seki (関 智一, Seki Tomokazu). While possessing the body of Honami, Sanzo is portrayed by Makoto Okunaka (奥仲 麻琴, Okunaka Makoto), who is best known for her role as Koyomi in Kamen Rider Wizard. His human form in Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie: The 100 Eyecons and Ghost’s Fateful Moment is unknown.

Notes

• Sanzo and Grimm retain Necrom's Sweep Horn no matter if Ghost or Specter is using their Eyecons.
  • Houdini also shares his Strike Horns between Toucon Ghost, Specter, and Necrom. However, in the Ganbarizing game, Ghost retains his Wisp Horn while in his regular form.
  • Sanzo and Grimm are also the only Heroic Damashii whose original helmet and faceplate remains unknown.
• Grimm and Sanzo are the only of the 15 Heroic Eyecons that are transparent instead of solid colors, though they were shown as being solidly colored up through Magnificent! The Mysterious Eye! when Jabel collected them, first being transparent when Alain is holding them in Perfect! The White Kamen Rider!. Whether this is relevant to Necrom's possession of them or simply a switching of props, perhaps to promote special edition sparkly clear versions of the Eyecon toys, is unknown.
• One version of Sanzo Damashii's Omega Ulord finishing move being an escape instead of an attack may reference his nonviolent Buddhist philosophy (or at least that of his fictionalized representation in Journey to the West).

Appearances

• Kamen Rider Ghost
  • Episode 10: Gather! The 15 Eyecons! (as Sanzo Eyecon)
  • Episode 11: Magnificent! The Mysterious Eye! (as Sanzo Eyecon)
  • Episode 12: Heroic! A Man's Resolve! (as Sanzo Eyecon)
  • Episode 16: Perfect! The White Kamen Rider! (as Sanzo Eyecon)
  • Episode 18: Reverse! Mysterious Science!
  • Episode 19: Explosion! Paint From Your Heart!
  • Episode 23: Intimate! The Giant Eyecon! (Parka Ghost only)
  • Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger Ep. 7: Gho-Gho-Gho-Ghost Appears!
  • Episode 36: Furious! Idol's Declaration! (as Honami)
  • Episode 37: Learn! All the Ways!
  • Episode 38: Resurrection! Hero's Soul! (Parka Ghost only)
  • Episode 42: Astonishing! Hermit's Truth!
  • Episode 47: Conciliation! All Resolutions! (Parka Ghost only)
  • Episode 48: Gather! Chain of Grief! (Parka Ghost only)
  • Episode 49: Infinity! Power of Humanity! (Parka Ghost only)
• Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders

See also

• Gammaizer Liquid, Gammaizer counterpart