Name: Rakshasa
Type/Title: Man-eater, shapeshifter
Origin: Hindu mythology

My first introduction to rakshasas didn’t come from an expected source. Surprisingly, it came from an even more surprisingly well-written Dragonball Z fanfiction, way back when I was in high school, in the early 2000s. But, rakshasas didn’t originate in Dragonball Z or its fanfiction. They originate in Hindu mythology, but they also appear in Buddhism, Islam, and even Dungeons and Dragons. According to Hindu mythology, rakshasas were created by Brahma, one of many creator deities in Hinduism. When Brahma became hungry, he created a body of passion and darkness. Not sure how that satiates one’s hunger, but my knowledge of Hinduism is pretty limited, so something probably got lost in translation. Brahma then created creatures that tried to eat that body, and those creatures became rakshasas. Typically, rakshasas are antagonists in many Hindu stories. Ravana, in particular, was the king of the rakshasas and the main antagonist in the epic Ramayana. However, like people, rakshasas are nuanced. Ravana’s successor, Vibhishana, was among the protagonist’s allies.