Aku no Keshin

The title of this article is official, but it comes from a Japanese source.
If an acceptable English name is found, then the article should be moved to the new title.

Aku no Keshin
Aku no Keshin's spiritual (left) and physical forms (right)
Species	Spirit
First appearance	Super Mario Kodansha manga (Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 3) (1994)
Latest appearance	Super Mario Kodansha manga (Mario & Wario) (1994)

“オレは邪悪じゃあくの化身けしん！今回こんかいはおまえ たちにやぶれたが 人ひとの心こころに悪あくがあるかぎりふたたび実体じつたい化かして だれかに とりついてやる (I'm the Embodiment of Evil! This time I was defeated by you. But as long that there is evil in people's hearts, I will return and I will possess someone!)”

—Aku no Keshin, Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 3

Aku no Keshin is the personification of evil that used Wario's body and appearance to ruin the world by possessing him in the Super Mario Kodansha manga. As a spirit, he appears as a black cloud shaped like Wario's face, physically it can manifest as a bunch of Tiny devil Warios. It thrives on the negativity of the people and claims that it will endure as long as darkness lingers in their hearts.

Though Wario's morality is questionable, in the manga he is not driven by pure evil intentions, but when possessed by Aku no Keshin, it brings out the darkest aspects of his character. Aku no Keshin only possesses Wario in the Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and the Mario & Wario arcs, in the rest of the series, Wario is shown to be capable of some mean acts, such as framing Mario of a bank robbery or cheating during a kart race, but as many characters describe him, Wario at his (own) worst is just a mean bully, not a villain. When freed by Aku no Keshin's influence the first time, Wario reveals that he was driven by jealousy of Mario and Luigi's relationship and so Aku no Keshin managed to control him.

Aku no Keshin first appears at the end of the main story arc in Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 3. When Wario is beaten, Aku no Keshin detaches from him and promises Mario that he will return. In the post-story chapter, Aku no Keshin keeps him promise and takes advantage of Mario and Luigi's quarrel about their royal duties and lures Princess Peach in the Dark Gate with the promise of helping them. This way, Aku no Keshin possess her and forces her to pretend to be a vengeful Wario, armed with a Bowser Missile he took by brainwashing the Toads, and threatening to use it against the Mario Land. Mario manages to redirect the missile against the faux Wario, but Aku no Keshin comes back into a bigger Wario form, now with the Dark Gate as an armor, but he is defeated by the combined forces of the Mario Bros. and Tatanga. The giant Wario pops like a balloon, freeing Peach (and the Toads), and from the remains of the giant Wario, tiny devil Warios form and flee.

In Mario & Wario, Wario is still free from Aku no Keshin and is transfomed into a kind and joyful peron, but much to everyone surprise, Wario is re-possessed by Aku no Keshin and thus begins another adventure in which Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and Wanda have to rescue Luigi from Wario, and also stopping him from destroying the world by awakening a dangerous Blargg. By the end of the story, Wario is saved by the demon's influence and returns to be the kind, joyful guy at the beginning.

In Super Mario: Wario no Mori, set in a different timeline, Wario is already a bad seed (and still is even after reincarnating following his first defeat), but this time another demon, Fauster, grants him magical powers to accomplish his evil deeds, as long as he helps him take over the world.

Gallery

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  Wario returns, but is actually Peach controlled by Aku no Keshin

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  Aku no Keshin uses the Dark Gate as an armor

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  Aku no Keshin is defeated

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	悪あくの化身けしん Aku no Keshin	Embodiment of evil
	邪悪じゃあくの化身けしん Jāku no Keshin