King Yemma is the boss of all ogres, who judge the dead. In the English anime, his name is King Yemma. He is based on the Hindu deity Yama. A line of souls leads to his office where he decides whether a soul goes to Heaven or Hell. Compared to the other oni, he is of a different colour, he wears a beard, he has two
horns and a helmet (it is unclear whether the horns are his own or belong to the helm), and he is colossal in size: only his table is at least three times taller than Goku, who is able to fit in one drawer. King Yemma is strong enough to stay in control in any situation and can easily overpower Raditz. Later in the series, when power of the villains increases, this becomes less impressive.
Although traces of his existance can be found during Dragon Ball in instances such as when Grandpa Gohan was allowed to come back to life for a day during the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, King Yemma first appears early in Dragon Ball Z when Goku is killed during the Vegeta Saga and brought to the other world by Kami to receive training from King Kai. Until then King Yemma was the only person who has ever run all the way along Snake Way, but he grants Goku permission to give it a try. He is apparently skilled to some degree in fighting, as he claims he easily bested Raditz when the latter attempted to fight him while passing through his realm. Yet, according to Kami, King Kai is much stronger than he is. King Yemma heard Kami whisper this to Goku, and threatened to send him to hell when he dies, although in truth, he was just trying to scare him. When Kami thought to himself about all of the dangers that would come in one year, King Yemma finally lost his patience and ordered Kami to leave.
Later, when Demon King Dabura is killed by Majin Buu, King Yemma admits him into heaven on the basis that he would have enjoyed himself in hell; hence Dabura's punishment was to stay in Yemma's world. Later, it is revealed that after Vegeta's death, King Yemma allowed him to keep his body and had Fortuneteller Baba bring him to Earth so he could help Goku fight Super Buu. He also got a satellite television so he could watch the fight between Goku and Kid Buu.
King Yemma later makes a few cameo appearances in Dragon Ball GT, such as when he sent Piccolo to Hell during the Super 17 Saga.
King Yemma also appears in DBZ Movie 12: Fusion Reborn, where he is trapped in his office by Janemba by a barrier that Pikkon slowly destroys while Goku and Vegeta fight the monster.
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- King Yemma is similar in appearance and conception to Ox-King. They are both big with a beard, and have hats with horns. In conception, they both are students of Goku's masters. Also, both have king in their names.
- King Yemma is one of the few characters not to die in Dragonball Z.
- Before Goku came along, King Yemma is the only one who has ever beaten Goz,
*caught Mez in a footrace, completed the trip along Snake Way, and escaped from Princess Snake's palace.
- King Yemma is mentioned in a conversation between Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (specifically, during the Fusion Reborn arc).
- King Yemma is modeled very similar in the Yu Yu Hakusho manga and is named King Enma. He assumes the same role as he does in Dragon Ball, the role of lord of the check-in station in the afterlife.