| Overview |
Leopardon Purio, known as Leopardon Papipurio (レオパルドン・パピプリオ, Reoparudon Papipurio) in the Japanese version and Lupa (ルーパー Rūpā) are supporting characters and minor antagonists in the anime and manga series Zatch Bell!. They are one of the longest-lasting teams in the series. Despite lasting to the top ten they are not very strong. Purio placed 8th in the battle overall. Purio utilizes "Special Slime," which involves Acid and Gas Magic.
Appearance[]
Part I[]
Purio is a Mamodo with a pompous and eccentric appearance. He is short with an exaggerated, smug expression often marked by half-lidded eyes, a wide smirk, and a self-satisfied gaze. His light blonde hair is neatly parted and slicked to the sides, topped with a tiny blue-and-yellow crown. His outfit resembles a royal jester or prince, featuring a tight blue-and-white vertically striped romper with frilly ruffles at the chest and sleeves. A teal belt with a gold buckle cinches the outfit, and he wears matching blue shoes and white tights. Purio's outfit was given to him by his mother, who said, "May you become king," hoping for his success.[1]
Lupa is an older black woman who is a homemaker. She is tall and slender with a dignified bearing. Her most distinctive features are her large, perfectly round afro, and large nose. Lupa wears a modest and elegant long-sleeved navy dress with a high white collar and white cuffs. A golden clasp with a floral motif fastens her dress at the waist. She completes her look with navy-blue shoes.
Part II[]
Lupa has a more hefty appearance in the sequel series.
Personality[]
Purio is a bratty, arrogant eight-year old Mamodo child. Purio is vain, melodramatic, and obsessed with appearances—especially his own. He views himself as a “beautiful prince” and often speaks in an exaggeratedly refined or boastful manner, regardless of how others see him. He frequently misjudges his own strength and status, placing himself on a pedestal while looking down on others with a comically inflated sense of grandeur. Despite his arrogance, Purio isn’t inherently evil. He’s deeply insecure and becomes easily flustered or frightened when things don’t go his way. His tendency to flee or throw tantrums when overwhelmed reveals a cowardly side, though he can show surprising moments of courage or loyalty, especially toward Lupa or allies he respects.
Purio admits that he is a weakling and that his spells may not be strong enough on their own to win the king tournament. Thus, he decides to be a front for various other Mamodo he teams up with, speaking on their behalf and trying to use his egotistical, me-first personality to show a strong front compared to his weakness. Purio easily becomes jealous at things other people have and usually tries to take them for himself while taking advantage of the motherly nature of his bookkeeper to do so. (even to the extent of growing a beard similar to the bookkeeper of one of his former allies) However, he does care about his bookkeeper Lupa and will do anything to help her, even with her smothering, caring love. His comedic antics, vanity, and emotional outbursts make him both entertaining and oddly endearing.
Lupa is calm, composed, and nurturing, often acting more like Purio’s caretaker than an equal partner. She rarely speaks out of turn and maintains a poised demeanor even in stressful or absurd situations. Her patience with Purio’s theatrics suggests a deep sense of duty or compassion, and she often guides him with a quiet wisdom rather than confrontation. Though she appears reserved, Lupa is not weak-willed. She’s fiercely loyal and shows great resilience and emotional strength, especially when supporting Purio through difficult situations. Her partnership is defined by silent understanding, quiet strength, and a kind-hearted spirit—serving as the grounding presence that keeps Purio (somewhat) in check.
Although Purio is primarily her partner in the Mamodo fight, Lupa also sees him as a replacement for her son, who died of a heart condition not too long before the two met each other by his gravesite. Seeing this Mamodo boy as a replacement for her own son, Lupa does whatever she needs to in order to love and protect him from both the evils of the tournament and from his own stupidity. Lupa spoils Purio to make sure he gets what he wants (even if it means using spells to help him in this manner) and sometimes she uses his powers for evil and selfish reasons like breaking into houses, responding to Purio's demand to destroy an amusement park ride without thinking about the people on the ride, torturing Zatch and Kiyo with Purio's then-new powers and firing enough acid on the mamodo Rein to fatally burn a human being. She is also willing to go in the line of danger to protect him from enemies. However, there are many times where she is found to be as cowardly as her Mamodo, using his spells as a means to escape and survive for another day.
Biography[]
Background[]
Purio was a child who was loved by his parents.[2]
Part I[]
Purio working with Zoboron
When Purio and Lupa are introduced in the series, they are shown to be a weak duo who attempt to win the fights on their own until they realize how far behind they are compared to other Mamodo. During a journey in the Himalayan Mountains, they encounter an offensive Mamodo duo: the lizard Mamodo Zoboron and the gigantic bearded Hige, and end up trying to eliminate them from the tournament. But as the two teams realize their own weaknesses, they realize that the only way to survive the Mamodo fight is to become a team. Spending the next two months training in the Himalayas, Purio and Lupa learned to work coordinated with their spells and their abilities with Zoboron and Hige until they were ready to go off and use their teamup to stop other Mamodo partners. Their first stop: Mochinoki Amusement Park in Japan, where the two teams encounter Zatch and Kiyo on a day off and use a two-on-one strategy to eliminate him from the tournament. However, things take a turn for the worse when Tia and Megumi (arriving at the park a tad late) join in the fight creating another duo team and making quick work of the opposing Mamodo. But while Zoboron was sent back, Purio and Lupa's fear of going back releases a new spell, Mokerudo, which allows them to make a smokescreen for a quick escape.
Although Purio seemed to vanish from the Mamodo fight for a while, he soon re-emerged deep within the jungles of Southeast Asia attempting to get the giant bear Mamodo Rein to join their side. Although initially merely appearing to show off a new beard and a few new spells, he soon shows himself allied with the demonic Mamodo Rodeaux, who himself was working as part of the Faudo Cult a group preparing to resurrect the Mamodo Faudo on Earth. After failing to defeat Rein and a protective Zatch, Purio and Lupa followed Rodeaux to Faudo Tower. Although the duo mostly find themselves as auxiliary assistance within the group, the two of them go through their own ups and downs while members of the team. After Zeno takes control of Faudo for himself, Purio attempts to upgrade himself with the power offered to the members of the cult, but his own stupidity and the care of Lupa prevented him from taking the new power. For the remainder of their time in Faudo, Purio and Lupa assisted in one way or another as a means to saving themselves, including guiding the Mamodo Ted into Faudo. Yet in the end, Purio became one of the few Mamodo who survive the Faudo incident, to the chagrin of a couple bookkeepers who wondered how he could last so long in the tournament.
By the time only ten Mamodo remain, Lupa began to realize that while Purio had made it this far, he isn't strong enough on his own to survive the final stage. However, she had a plan to help him: after finding out about his potential as a musical star from an agent, she had him audition (while shaving off his beard) and he eventually became a worldwide phenomenon! Lupa's ultimate plan: to use all proceeds from Purio's new stardom to save up for a special shelter that the two of them would hide in for ten years, allowing for all the remaining Mamodo to send each other back and, ultimately, make him the new king. But for added protection, she decided to go to Milan where the two of them would be protected by the Mamodo Kanchomé and star Parco Folgore. Soon after, the duo are finally tracked down by one of the remaining powerful enemies: the beetle Mamodo Goomu. Realizing their spells did nothing to the opponent, the duo attempted to flee until Lupa attempted to sacrifice herself, for the sake of protecting Purio and his book both as a Mamodo and as her son. Yet the duo appear to be saved by Kanchomé and Parco Folgore, who use their own new set of spells to stop Goomu and save them. But just as one opponent appeared to be stopped, the evil Mamodo Clear Note discovered them and fired a homing attack at all the humans and Mamodo. In a last-ditch effort to save everyone, Folgore steals Lupa's book and throws it, along with his own, against Clear's beams, destroying both of them. Watching in sorrow, Lupa and Purio embrace each other one last time as he is sent back due to the actions of the true enemy.
Along with all the other Mamodo, Purio appears to help Zatch in the final battle against Clear. His last appearance shows him enjoying himself with Kanchomé and Gorm at their school.
Part II[]
Lupa is reunited with Zatch Bell and Kiyo Takamine when Vino gathers surviving allies at Dr. Riddles’ residence. At first sight of Zatch, she tackles him to the ground, mistaking him for Purio, a heartbreaking sign of how deeply her partner’s death still weighs on her. Her first words to Zatch and Kiyo are about Purio and Ted, asking if they are safe. Zatch assures her they are okay, but when he explains that Purio was actually the first to die in the invasion, Lupa is devastated.
Spells[]
Unlike many Mamodo, who use a variety of offensive, defensive and assist spells, nearly all of Purio's spells are of an assist variety, causing a particular status change to whomever it is fired at from his mouth. However his Acid spells (Joboido, Gigano Joboido etc.) are sometimes considered offensive spells, and indeed, are the most offensive/aggressive ones.
Other Media[]
Video Games[]
Purio and Lupa are a playable team in the following video games:
| Game | Japanese Release | English Release |
|---|---|---|
| Konjiki no Gash Bell!!: Friends of Eternal Bonds |
Trivia[]
- Purio's first name, Leopardon, was revealed on the author's blog.
- Purio's Japanese name, Leopardon Papipurio, is a reference to the american actor Leonardo Dicaprio.
- Lupa's appearance is based on the american actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg, specifically her role in Sister Act.
- Purio and Gorm are the only two participants of the Clear Note Arc who are not able to use a Shin-class spell.
- Purio has the distinction being the second male Mamodo to have a female partner, (the first being Brago).
- Purio's partner, Lupa, is shown to have perverted tendencies. (e.g. In the manga, when Zatch and Kiyo were trapped by Amireido, she grabbed some crabs on the beach and made a comment about how the crabs would attack their penises.)
- The death of Lupa's son is hinted at on the cover of Volume 8.[3]
- In chapter 232, after Ted and Jido show up in Faudo, Lupa told them that she is an alien, reshaping her neck and face into something similar to E.T. from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[4]
- Purio's starting location in the Human World was in USA.
References[]
- ↑ http://raikumakoto.com/archives/5649664.html
- ↑ http://raikumakoto.com/archives/5649664.html
- ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 67, title page
- ↑ Volume 24, Chapter 232, page 7