Zant (Twilight Princess manga) (2024)

Shadow King Zant is the secondary antagonist of the 2016 manga series, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, by Akira Himekawa, which serves as an adaptation of the 2006 video game of the same name.

The aide to the late King of the Twilight Realm, Zant sought to use his death to fuel his ambitions over ruling, but was passed over in favour of the Shadow King's daughter, Midna. When she refuses his offer of marriage, Zant asks for power from Ganondorf to usurp Midna and invade the Light realm to rule both worlds.

What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]

• While ultimately a pawn for Ganondorf, Zant is still presented as a being vicious in his own right and is equally culpable for all the suffering that occurs in the series, being the one who lays the groundwork while Ganondorf is sealed.
• Is an absolute creep on his relationship with Princess Midna, who he helped raise as a child, trying to forcibly marry her while dedicating his plans of conquest for a disturbing desire to finally control her. His motive for a marriage is solely to be King of the Twilight Realm and he curses her to be an imp out of spite for his rejection, ranting about how he "trapped me in your charms".
• Upon being bestowed power by Demon King Ganondorf, Zant uses such power for a bloody coup against the Twilight Kingdom, killing the Elders as well as numerous others and curse Midna to become the Shadow King.
• Channeling Ganondorf's dark power, Zant spreads it across the Twilight Kingdom and Hyrule, turning countless humans in both realms to be monsters who are aware of their enslavement to Zant's will but any attempt to resist will see Zant subverting their own individuality further.
• Using his monster horde, Zant unleashes them onto Hyrule, spreading death and destruction as multiple villages are all burnt to the ground. These includes:
  • Bulblins nearly destroy Ordon Village and Kakariko Village
  • Zant personally turning the soldiers protecting Anika's village into his army of monsters, using them to destroy it and leave Anika as the sole survivor, forced to bury everyone else who had lived in the village.
  • His Shadow Beasts then spread the dark magic to the Zora Kingdom, killing its Queen and then seal everyone to slowly die upon being frozen in ice.
  • He personally invades Hyrule Castle, holding many soldiers hostage to drill in his threat to Zelda to wipe out every last being in Hyrule should she refuse to surrender. He then has her imprisoned in her own castle.
• Uses his powers to sad*stically toy with Link's emotions.
• Inflicts a huge blast of his magic to trap Link in his beast form.
• Seeks to use Ganondorf's power and become the King that rules both light and shadow, furthering his plan to merge Hyrule with the Twilight realm and transform most life into monsters, and use them to wipe out all that remains of humanity, so that he can remain on top.
• For all his self-righteous rants of saving his people from oppression by Hyrule and help them strike back, both Link and Midna call him out as just a greedy, power-hungry tyrant who made his people suffer more than they ever did before for the sake of satiating his own ego as the man who dominates all existence.
• While ultimately Zant admits his motivations is some insecurities due to his own self-worth and dismayed that he doesn't live up to it, Zant destroys any potential sympathy from the audience when he rejects Link's pity and offer of redemption, doubling down that he only cares about the throne he feels entitled to while boasting about how all reality will fall to him and Ganondorf. This prompts Midna to promptly disintegrate Zant point-blank without much fanfare.

External Links[]

• Zant on the Villains Wiki

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