Bud

"Monarch of the Heavens! Zyuoh Bird!"

- Zyuoh Bird's roll call

Bud (バド), also known as the Bird Man (鳥男), is a Zyuman who gave the King's Credential to Yamato Kazakiri when he was a child. He was the one that stole the King's Credentials years ago, his hatred for Zyuland's mistreatment of humans, and for the death of his first human friend. He later became Zyuoh Bird (ジュウオウバード).

To the Human World
"You're okay now."

- Bud to the young Yamato Kazakiri

20 years ago in the Zyuland, Bud was promoted to Link Cube Guardian. Together with Larry, he studied human beings and their world. But on one fateful day, he discovered a young human male in a yellow jacket. He was stranded and badly injured. Feeling sympathy, Bud gave the human visitor shelter and personally tended to his injures. But fearing the consequences for his guest's unwarranted arrival in his land, Bud concealed the human's presence from Zyuland society; dreading the extent to which the Zyuland kingdom would go to prevent knowledge of their land's existence from being exposed. Unfortunately that night, Bud's cover was blown and his human friend was imprisoned on the orders of a turtle leader. Though Bud tried to free his friend, the man was surrounded during his escape and fell over a cliff to his death. Since then, Bud harbored contempt for his people and their mistrust towards humans. In retribution, he would steal one of his people's six King's Credentials from the Link Cube gateway, disabling it, as he left for the human world. Since then he has been branded a traitor to his homeworld.

5 years after arriving to the human world, humans found Bud and attacked him. Prepared for death, Bud was saved by Kageyuki Kazakiri.

During his ventures in the human world, Bud would come across an injured boy human. This boy was named Yamato Kazakiri. Bud saved young Yamato using the King's Credential to transfer his Zyuman Power. This would heal the human boy, but at the sacrifice of Bud's own life force, resulting in him aging rapidly. Years later, when the matured Yamato discovered the Zyumans in the midst of the Deathgalien's attack on Earth, Bud snatched the remaining King's Credential while Yamato used his own along with the four stranded Zyuman guardians to fight the Deathgaliens as the Zyuohgers.

Confrontation with the Zyuohgers
Bud later returned to rescue Yamato after the Zyuohgers were defeated by the Massacre Machine Gift, bringing the unconscious Yamato home before passing the four Zyumans in human form as he took his leave. Waking up, Yamato confided with his Zyuman friends that he had indeed met the Bird Man in human form, revealing that he was the man they saw earlier and that he possessed the missing King's Credential. The Zyumans were given a go by Yamato to track down the Bird Man and recover the King's Credential while he rested on his injuries while keeping an eye out for Gift. Catching up with Bud, the Zyumans were shocked to hear him speak of Zyuland with disdain as he revealed that he took the cube those years ago to sever the link between the worlds. When the Bud refused to hand it over, the Zyumans engaged him as he held onto it with force, matching the strength of all four single-handed. Transforming, the Zyuohgers were able to overpower the Bird Man, forcing the King's Credential out of his hand only to find that Gift had returned and was being faced by Yamato alone. Ultimately, the four chose to stand by Yamato and claim their way home later, leaving Bud with the King's Credential.

Following the encounter, the Zyuohgers began a search for Bud to the point of creating and distributing wanted posters bearing an illustration of his human form, choosing the depiction drawn by Sela as it was deemed greatly superior to that made by Leo. This led to Yuri Igarashi, who had seen Bud at the top of the hiking trail on Axe Rock Mountain, observing the axe-shaped stony outcrop that gave the mountain its name, to come forward to the Zyuohgers who took the hiking trail themselves in search for him only to face the Deathgalien Blood Game which was being executed by Noborizon on the mountain. Ultimately, having discovered the "Axe Rock" was infact Cube Kuma while defeating the Deathgalien Player, the Zyuohgers went to the spot at the end of the trail where Bud was spotted only to find that he had since left, leading them to wonder if he was aware that there was a dormant Zyuoh Cube waiting on the mountain.

Reunion with Larry
Evidently, Bud had taken to recovering the dormant Zyuoh Cubes on Earth. Digging up Cube Hyou, he was discovered by his old friend, the gorilla Zyuman, Larry, who realized that he was the bird man that Yamato had mentioned to him.

Becoming Zyuoh Bird
Bud witnessed ZyuohKing activate and combine with Cube Octopus in their fight against the Saguil Brothers, the Zyuohgers having been alerted to sight of a new Zyuoh Cube by Larry. Sensing another malicious presence, Bud took off and ultimately caught up with Yamato. Finding him at the mercy of another Saguil, Bud stepped in to defend Yamato but was soon overpowered. Producing his King's Credential, Bud pleaded for it to grant him the strength he needed to protect Yamato. Resonating with Bud's wish, the remaining King's Credential became the Zyuoh Changer Final, allowing Bud to transform into Zyuoh Bird for the first time.

He aids Yamato in battle with the two Saguil Brothers and they beat them together with a Riser Spinning Slash.

Zyuohger vs. Ninninger
Bud witnessed the appearance of the Kyurangers' Shishi Red, who arrived for a fight with the Deathgalien.

Meeting Azald
Having found Cube Kamonohashi and Cube Fukurou, Bud finally recovered Cube Shimauma, making a total of four Zyuoh Cubes on his person. Observing the Zyuohgers' Giant Robos engaged in battle against the enlarged Players in the city from a distance, it was at this point that Bud was met by Deathgalien Team Leader Azald, who had been led astray by the machinations of Quval. Making note of Azald's cube-shaped body, Bud questioned as to what he was as the battlehungry Team Leader, recognizing Bud as the new Zyuohger, proceeded to engage him. During the fight, Bud questioned Azald, asking if he was on Earth, but the Team Leader denied ever being on Earth prior to the Blood Game. The fight caused Bud to drop a Zyuoh Cubes and damaged Azald, with cube body parts breaking off. After the general reconstructed himself and left, Bud noticed that the Zyuoh Cubes were reconstructed into Azald's body instead of some of his cubic body parts, recovering a fragment of Azald.

In the New Year, Bud caught up with Larry, showing him the cube left behind by Azald. Explaining what had happened, Bud voiced his concern to Larry that the Deathgalien Team Leader was not all that he seemed with a possible connection to the Earth, deducing that such a cube from his body was used by Ginis to bestow the Zyuman Power upon Misao Mondou in place of a King's Credential. Noting his surprise at Bud having flew off following his transformation as opposed to joining the Zyuohgers earlier, Larry, observing that Bud's King's Credential had taken a different form to the others, asked him if his reduced Zyuman Power could handle the fight. Before Bud could confront this question, however, the pair were set upon by Deathgalien Moebas. Handing the piece of Azald to Larry, Bud instructed him to go and take it to the Zyuohgers as he transformed and held the Moebas off, assuring Larry that he could still handle them.

Though Bud quickly destroyed the Moebas, they had succeeded in pinpointing his location for Azald while Bud, growing increasingly weaker, took flight and fled. He was ultimately intercepted and confronted by Azald, who demanded he return the piece of his body he lost, forcing Bud to transform and engage Azald once again. With Zyuoh Bird's withered strength putting him at a disadvantage, Bud was unable to keep up with Azald's regeneration ability and was soon forced out of his transformation. Fortunately, it was at this moment that the Zyuohgers led by Yamato arrived to assist him. Despite the distance he had set from his fellow Zyumans, Bud accepted a proposition from Tusk, who had been made aware of the situation by Larry, for co-operation and so all seven Zyuohgers transformed and engaged Azald and a further batch of Moebas. Bud informed Yamato that the Zyuoh Cubes he recovered were now in Azald's chest, leading Zyuoh Gorilla to break through and free them. This, however, brought the effect of revitalizing Azald by removing his internal disturbance, beating back Bud and the other Zyuohgers. When Yamato was disarmed of the Whale Change Gun by Azald, Bud took it upon himself to recover and wield the weapon originally used by the ancient Great King. Performing the Deep Lock, Bud succeeded in freezing Azald in place just before he passed out as his transformation negated. However, Azald, broke free soon after and, having remembered who he was, assumed his true form as it was finally revealed that he was the monster that Cetus and defeated ages ago as he ferociously defeated the remaining Zyuohgers.

Powers and Abilities

 * Zyuman Power (ジューマンパワー)
 * The natural energy of individual Zyumen, they can bestow this energy upon other lifeforms to heal them via a King's Credential, granting the potential to unlock Zyuman powers as a side-effect in humans. Bud performed this act to safeguard the young Yamato, granting him the power to later transform a King's Credential into his Zyuoh Changer, giving him access to the form of Zyuoh Eagle and by extension the Cube Eagle as a result. However, as later discovered by Yamato, this would come at the cost of the Zyuman's life force, thus presumably shortening the Bud's lifespan. The process is also evidently irreversible.


 * Sixth sense
 * As a Zyuman, Bud can sense malicious presences such as the Deathgaliens, which are signaled by his rear feather standing on end.


 * Disguise
 * Bud is seen to adopt his own human form, presumably a result of using the King's Credential.


 * Advanced Fighting Skills
 * Bud's fighting skills are well enough to handle all four morphed Zyuland Zyuohger's at once.

Portrayal
Bud is portrayed by Kohei Murakami (村上 幸平), who previously portrayed / in . In Zyuman form, he is portrayed by suit actor Kosuke Asai (浅井 宏輔), who also portrays Zyuoh Eagle. In Ranger form he is portrayed by Yasuhiko Imai, being the only Zyuman to be portrayed by two different Suit Actors in his Zyuman Form and Ranger Form, presumably because of Kosuke Asai portraying Zyuoh Eagle and Zyuoh Bird being morphed in some scenes Zyuoh Eagle appears, thus, not being able to portray two characters at the same time.

Etymology
"Bud" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word bird (バード) with the elongation kana removed.