For many, Frieza is one of the characters who defined Dragon Ball Z, and a key factor in the continued success of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise. Throughout the course of anime history, there are only a few antagonists whose impact on the medium are felt even in the present day, long after the conclusion of the story arcs they starred in.
Undoubtedly, Frieza is one such character, and his legacy in shonen anime is nearly unparalleled, when looking at how many antagonists he has influenced in the decades since he debuted during the Namek Saga. In more ways than one, Frieza’s introduction changed Dragon Ball Z forever, and here is a look into why he may be Dragon Ball’s best villain.
5 Preceded By His Reputation
A Fearsome Aura Built Up Over Time
Every good antagonist needs some amount of build up to seem intimidating, and Frieza’s introduction was an effective application of this approach on Toriyama’s part. While he had done something similar with Vegeta in the preceding Saiyan Saga, Toriyama chose to slow things down and take his time with Frieza, providing only hints of his power along the way.
From revealing his role in the Saiyan genocide, to placing the focus on his powerful subordinates, Toriyama used Dragon Ball’s power scaling to his advantage without giving too much away about Frieza’s strength until all of his soldiers were out of commission. Seeing Goku and his allies struggle against the Ginyu Force as well as Frieza’s right-hand men made Frieza seem even more menacing by comparison, which made the prospect of an eventual battle against him all the more foreboding.
4 An Instantly Iconic Design
Multiple Forms That Released His Explosive Power
Having an antagonist undergo several transformations to unveil their full strength was not entirely unheard of at the time, but this trope has become a staple in shonen anime and manga since Frieza. Beginning with his impish base form, his gigantic Second Form, the Xenomorph-esque Third Form, and his most memorable Final Form, Frieza’s transformations helped enhance the sense of escalation which pervaded the battle against him on Namek.
Toriyama has since applied this concept in a less obvious manner in both the Cell Saga and the Majin Buu Saga, with a clear precedent emerging in the Frieza Saga, which laid the template for it. Frieza’s Final Form is a now instantly-recognizable element of the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole, and it has since served as the basis for the later transformations he unlocked by the time of Dragon Ball Super.
3 The Power Of A True Prodigy
Might Befitting The Emperor Of Universe 7
In contrast to Goku having spent a lifetime honing his martial arts prowess, Frieza was said to have never really trained much at all purely due to his monstrous innate strength. While the extent of his power had already been foreshadowed by his underlings, nothing could prepare viewers for how much they had underestimated his might in relation to Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of Dragon Ball Z’s main cast.
Once he entered his Final Form, it seemed as if none of the Z-Fighters stood any chance against him, with even Goku struggling to gain the upper hand in the battle for a long time. In fact, it took multiple rounds of fighting, followed by the awakening of the Super Saiyan form, for Goku to trade blows on even terms with Frieza. At the time of the Frieza Saga, his strength was every bit as terrifying as it was touted to be, embodying the greatest threat that the Z-Fighters had faced till then.
2 Menacing Wit And Charisma
A Malignant Narcisisst With A Dark Sense Of Humor
Looking past his immense strength and iconic design, Frieza’s characterization was among the best seen in any antagonist across the Dragon Ball franchise. At a surface level, he was a tyrant who believed himself to reside at the top of the universe’s hierarchy, reducing all other beings to insects when pitted against him. This manifested in his deplorable views towards different races and planets, where he saw all other life as worthless and disposable.
Moreover, Frieza’s sadism and psychopathic tendencies were embodied in his dark humor, where he would direct twisted jokes and cruel insults towards his enemies before relishing in the fear they showed towards him. He also fully embraced his propensity for violence and brutality, never downplaying these traits when confronted about them. That being said, his confidence in his own abilities, and his royal upbringing saw him primarily employ a formal and refined manner of speech, which complemented his composed demeanor while contrasting everything else in his personality.
1 The Embodiment Of Pure Evil
A Worthy Foe For The Super Saiyan Of Legend
Throughout the time he was featured in the Namek Saga and Frieza Saga, Frieza’s character was portrayed as the incarnation of pure evil, representing all the ills of the world. From destroying planet Vegeta and effectively wiping out the Saiyan race, to forcing a similar fate on the Namekians, Frieza was presented as the polar opposite of Goku, and this was what made him even more important in the long run.
Perhaps Frieza’s single greatest contribution to the Dragon Ball franchise, is the role he played in triggering Goku’s first ever transformation into a Super Saiyan. While this transformation inspired a long line of others which have come to define the franchise over decades, Frieza was the ideal person for this form to debut against, given everything that had led up to the point where it was finally revealed. This fact alone might be enough to single him out as Dragon Ball’sbest villain, since he was the obstacle that Goku needed to awaken the warrior of legend within him.
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