Zuhl

**Zuhl** is a major antagonist of the anime series *Voltes V*. He is a one-horned, hunchback and toothless scientist of the Boazanian Empire, sent by Emperor Zu Zambajil alongside Duke Zaki to pretend aiding Prince Heinel in the invasion on Earth, but in truth to kill the prince if necessary in order to remove a possible threat to Zu Zambajil's rule.
He was voiced by the late Hiroshi Masuoka.

## Personality

Zuhl is a cunning and contemptuous person, always seeking to kill Prince Heinel if he has the chance. To this end, he conspires with Duke Zaki to have the prince killed. In addition, he's also careful, managing to capture Professor Kentaro Goh just before the latter returns to Earth and plans to use the latter in his plan to kill Heinel. He is also extremely over confident, thinking that his inventions are able to defeat the Voltes V only to be thwarted numerous times. Because of his overconfidence, he thinks that he can send Heinel to the latter's death via conspiracy, only for the prince to prove him wrong and execute him.

## Biography

At the start of the series, Emperor Zu Zambajil sends his nephew, Prince Heinel, to lead an invasion against Earth with legions of fleets. In truth, he wants to send Heinel away to remove a perceived threat for his rule. To ensure Heinel's death, he sends Duke Zaki and Zuhl to pretend aiding Heinel, but in truth to kill him if necessary. During the invasion, Zuhl has helped engineering multiple beast fighters to fight the Voltes V, but they fail every time. When Professor Kentaro Goh is about to return to Earth, Zuhl captures him and plans to use him to have Heinel killed. This once again fails.

Halfway through the war, Zaki conspires with Zuhl to send Heinel to his death by having the prince piloting a beast fighter while they leak information about its weak points to Big Falcon. However, Heinel's aide Ri Katherine overhears the plot and reports it to him, so Heinel orders Zuhl to reinforce the weak points. During the battle, Heinel destroys Zaki's ship with him inside.

Zuhl is eventually executed in a later plot to betray Heinel. Feeling that Zuhl has disgraced the Boazanian forces, Heinel orders all his portraits and things to be burned and memories of him to be erased.

## Relationships

### Prince Heinel

Zuhl is Heinel's subordinate, and while he was initially loyal to him, in episode 8, once he was told by Duke Zaki that Zambajil plans to have Heinel killed, Zuhl eagerly agreed to it, hoping to take Heinel's position once he was gone. He was oblivious to Katherine eavesdropping on the conversation, and when Zaki mentioned that the beast fighter they planned to send Heinel in had a weak spot (the armour on the side was unstable), she told Heinel off-screen, which resulted him in adjusting it.

In episode 22, it is revealed that Zuhl has an arsenel full of weapons ready to take out Heinel. While browsing security footage, he notices an unfamiliar figure, and has him shot. Upon examining his corpse, Zuhl realizes that he is an imperial investigator, implying that Heinel is aware of his assassination plot.

The scene cuts to Heinel slamming his fist, saying he doesn't believe it. When Katherine reads the investigator's message and tells Heinel there's clearly an assassination plot against him, Heinel groans angrily and says that Zuhl doesn't have the means to do it. He tells Jangal to bring Zuhl so he can interrogate him, but Katherine tells him that it is pointless because Zuhl could just deny it. She then says she has another plan, which is to use a truth serum on him. Heinel laughs and agrees. As they talk, Zuhl surveils them through a secret passage in the walls, and realizes he must strike tonight or he'll be found out.

That night, as Heinel was asleep in his bedroom, Zuhl entered through a secret passageway hidden behind a painting of Zambajil. Upon his arrival, Heinel woke up and noticed him, causing Zuhl to knife him through his bedsheets. However, his expression didn't change. Zuhl continued to stab Heinel, and in frustration, pulled off his sheets. He was then greeted with the sight of ripped pillows, and a model of Heinel's head. He realized that he had been tricked with a robot model of Heinel. Jangal then emerges from the same passageway and presses a sword to Zuhl's cheek, and Heinel and Katherine arrive with several armed soldiers. Heinel tells Zuhl he knew about the passageway long before he did, and Katherine tells him it was her idea to let him overhear their conversation. As Zuhl begs for mercy, Jangal announces that he should die, but Heinel stops him. As Zuhl calls Heinel compassionate and thanks, Heinel kicks him and tells him he will forgive him if he kills all of the members of the Voltes team. Zuhl is unsure, but when Heinel tells him his life depends on it, he agrees.

In the next scene Zuhl arrives at Big Falcon with shackled legs and a large, round weight. Though the guards originally assume he is an old man, the Voltes team recognize him as Zuhl. Zuhl begs for their mercy and tells them Heinel wants him dead.

Zuhl is then taken to their emergency room while a welder tries to dismantle the weight chained to his legs. Zuhl tells the Voltes team that Heinel always tortured him and one day, threw him in a cell. While Kou, Hiyoshi, Daijirou and Megumi listen intently, Ippei calls it "bullshit" and asks how he escaped so easily. Zuhl replies that he was helped by Boazanian rebels.

Back at their spaceship, Katherine praises Heinel for his plan of secretly attaching a bomb in the weight around Zuhl's leg, and Heinel remarks that Zuhl should be honoured to die in the line of duty. They laugh amongst each other.

After the weight is dismantled, Tako hears a ticking sound from it, and throws it outside of Big Falcon, saving them and Zuhl from its explosion. The Voltes Team laugh, but an angered Ippei confronts Zuhl and accuses him of setting them up to be killed. Despite Zuhl inisting that he is innocent, Ippei lifts his staff and says he ought to shaft him. However, Ippei then realizes the staff is ticking too. He realizes it is another bomb and throws it outside. Like the first bomb, it explodes.

Zuhl then realizes that Heinel hid bombs all over him without telling him, and swears to have Heinel killed. He tells the Voltes team where the Boazanian underground base is located. However, when they arrive, they are greatly outnumbered by Heinel's forces. However, they cannot leave as Ippei exited his machine to attack Zuhl for leading them into an ambush.

Heinel enters the room, and states that if anyone moves, Ippei dies. He then thanks Zuhl for bringing the Voltes team to him. Upon realizing that he can weasel into Heinel's good graces, Zuhl claims he deliberately led the Voltes team here, and Heinel tells him he will be rewarded. When Zuhl thanks him, Heinel angrily screams "Idiot! Do you think I can't see through your scheme? Zuhl! You led the Voltes team so you can kill them and use Voltes V against me! You traitor!".

Heinel then reveals that they aren't in the Boazanian base, and Zuhl deliberately misled them. Zuhl then pulls a knife from his clothing and hides it behind his back, before pleading for another chance. When Heinel rejects it and orders for Zuhl to be taken away, he throws it at him, only for Heinel to unsheath a short part of his blade, causing it to ricochet into the ground. Zuhl is then shot by Heinel's guards. While they're distracted, Ippei returns to his vehicle. The guards try to shoot the Voltes team as well, but they manage to escape. On their way out they cross paths with another beast fighter and win.

Afterwards, Heinel says death is too lenient of a sentence for Zuhl as he has dishonoured them. He then orders for the destruction of every memory of him, including his belongings and pictures of him. The guards oblige.

## Trivia

* Zuhl's appearance is likely a reference to Count Orlok from the movie *Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror* and Quasimodo from the novel *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*.