Frieza

, also known as "Freeza" in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, is a fictional character and villain in the "Dragon Ball" manga series created by Akira Toriyama. Frieza makes his debut in Chapter #247: , first published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" magazine on October 24, 1989, as a galactic tyrant feared as the most powerful being in the universe.
Despite not appearing until the manga's second half, Frieza is considered to be the most iconic villain from the "Dragon Ball" franchise. He effectively served as the catalyst of many of the events depicted in the story, due to the destruction of the Saiyan homeworld Planet Vegeta at his hands. The consequential events included Goku's arrival on Earth, the remnants of the Saiyans landing on Earth many years later, and the main characters' subsequent journey to the planet Namek. In his appearances within the series, he is also directly responsible for the murder of Goku's father Bardock, the genocide of the Saiyan species, the first death of Vegeta, and the second death of Goku's best friend Krillin, which triggers Goku's very first Super Saiyan transformation. This arguably makes Frieza stand out as Goku's most personal and significant enemy. The final confrontation between Goku and Frieza has been hailed as one of the most memorable manga and anime battles ever.
Frieza later appears as the primary villain in the theatrical film "" and as a recurring character in "Dragon Ball Super".
Creation and conception.
Frieza, a broker who forcibly takes over planets to resell them, often rendering the planet's population extinct first, was created around the time of the Japanese economic bubble and was inspired by real estate speculators, whom Toriyama called the "worst kind of people." Toriyama purposely does not draw bad guys so unscrupulous that it affects one psychologically, although he admits Frieza is close. Therefore, he paid special attention to how Frieza spoke; because villains typically speak rudely, he gave him polite speech making for an unsettling contrast with his cruelty. The character's name is a pun on freezer, and because of this, his minions and the members of the Ginyu Force are named after fruits and dairy products, items one would normally put in a refrigerator. The "Shenlong Times" issue #2, a bonus pamphlet given to some buyers of the "Daizenshuu 2: Story Guide" guidebook, says that Frieza was modeled after Toriyama's editor at the time, Yū Kondō.
Frieza so far possesses five transformation forms, each one being quite different and more powerful from the previous ones. It is implied that Frieza's fourth form is actually his basic one, with the other three being transformations that suppress his power in order to conserve it, while the fifth one unleashes his true power. Toriyama revealed that he did not think to have Frieza transform until about midway through. He said he has a habit of making characters gradually more tough and complex-looking, until finally making them very sleek, as it is a pain to draw them if their appearance is too complex. The author confirmed this is why Frieza's third and most intricate form is only shown for a short time, and joked that three transformations might be one too many.
Voice actors.
In the original Japanese version, Frieza is voiced by Ryūsei Nakao in every single piece of " Dragon Ball" media.
In English, Frieza was voiced by Pauline Newstone in the Ocean dub of "Dragon Ball Z."
In Funimation's in house English dub, Frieza was voiced by Linda Young in the original "Dragon Ball" series and continued playing him in all subsequent media up until the first episode of "Dragon Ball Z Kai". He has since been voiced by Christopher Ayres in all media. Due to Ayres being diagnosed with end-stage COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and requiring a double lung transplant, he was voiced by his understudy Daman Mills beginning with the Universal Survival Saga of "Dragon Ball Super". Following his treatment, Ayres returned to voice Frieza for the film "", while Mills continued to voice Frieza in subsequent video game appearances.
Appearances.
"Dragon Ball Z".
Before the start of the series, Frieza destroys Planet Vegeta, after Beerus' authorization, out of both fear of a potential uprising by the Saiyans due to their increasing power and the prophecy of the coming of the legendary Super Saiyan. Frieza spares only Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz, who were away on a mission when he blew Planet Vegeta up, after telling them it was struck by a meteor. However, when Bardock made a final stand when Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, he did not notice the Saiyan's second son being sent to Earth where he became known as Goku.
Frieza makes his official appearance in the story after Vegeta's defeat on Earth at Goku's hands, having traveled to Planet Namek to find the seven Namekian Dragon Balls to wish for immortality. He and his men massacre Namekian villages one after another, until Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta begin to hamper his efforts in their own way. Though Frieza manages to gain the Dragon Balls, with the Ginyu Force dealing with the interlopers, his inability to speak Namekian forces him to find the Great Elder of Namek. Frieza ends up fighting Namekian warrior Nail, whom he beats repeatedly until Nail reveals that their fight was only to buy time for Dende to give the words needed to activate the Namekian Dragon Balls, for the warriors from Earth. With his entire army killed by Vegeta and the Ginyu Force defeated by Goku, Frieza intercepts Vegeta and the others personally.
Enraged to find he is too late, as the Dragon Balls have become inert on Guru's death Frieza briefly battles Vegeta, with the Saiyan Prince goading him into transforming and revealing his true power. Frieza transforms into his second form, and during the battle he finally admits to be the one who had destroyed the planet where the Saiyans had settled. After defeating Vegeta, Frieza takes on Piccolo, who has at this point fused with Nail. Although Piccolo appears to be even with him, he transforms into his third form and dominates the powerful Namekian. Following a brief tussle with Gohan, Frieza decides to transform into his final form. He kills Dende to stop him from healing the others and mortally wounds Vegeta just as Goku arrives, who just recovered following his fight with the Ginyu Force. Frieza fights Goku and the two seem evenly matched, but Frieza powers up to 50% of his maximum power and brutally beats him; however, Goku manages to seriously wound the tyrant with a Spirit Bomb. In retaliation, Frieza critically injures Piccolo and kills Krillin, which sends Goku over the edge to assume Super Saiyan form for the first time. Goku takes the upper hand and viciously pummels Frieza, who damages the core of Namek in an act of desperation, knowing he can survive in vacuum. The tyrant then uses 100% of his power and briefly regains the advantage, but his power level begins to drop and he is again outclassed by Goku and ultimately sliced in half by one of his own attacks. Though Goku spares the crippled Frieza while leaving for his ship to escape the planet's destruction, Frieza attempts to blast Goku from behind, prompting Goku to retaliate with his own attack that apparently destroys Frieza.
However, Frieza survives both the attack and Namek's explosion, and drifts through space until he is found by his father , who has him rebuilt with cybernetic prosthetics, increasing his strength significantly. A year later, Frieza and King Cold travel to Earth in order to exact revenge on Goku and his friends, but they are confronted by Trunks, Vegeta and Bulma's son from the future. After a brief battle, Frieza is sliced to pieces by Trunks and his remains blasted into oblivion, with his father following shortly afterwards. Though finally gone, Frieza's cells are used as a catalyst for the future villain Cell. Cell is eventually destroyed by Gohan, thereby destroying every last bit of Frieza's biological tissue.
"" / "Dragon Ball Super".
Ending up in Earth's Hell after being killed by Future Trunks, Frieza spends the next fourteen years being tortured by playful antics of an overly saccharine cadre of angels and fairies while reliving the memories of his defeats at the hands of Goku and Trunks. But Frieza is resurrected by Sorbet, who saw Frieza's return as essential to restore the Frieza Force to its former glory, and his right hand, Tagoma. The two then bring Frieza's diced Mecha Frieza form to their ship, where they use their advanced medical technology to restore him to his full organic form. After learning that Goku defeated Majin Buu and fought Beerus to a stalemate, both being the two figures his father warned him never to cross, Frieza decides to undergo four months of intensive training. This led to him achieving a new form which he dubs "Golden Frieza" before setting off for Earth with his army. The Z Fighters hold back Tagoma and Frieza's minions long enough for Goku and Vegeta to return from their training session on Beerus's planet. Frieza executes his defeated army for their incompetence just as Goku, Vegeta, Beerus, and Whis arrive. Goku reveals his new Super Saiyan Blue form, although Frieza overpowers him yet lacked the stamina for a prolonged fight in his powered state. He then has Sorbet shoot Goku, forcing Vegeta to take up his place. Vegeta makes work of Frieza, who then destroys the Earth in retaliation for his defeat. but Whis rewinds time so Goku can quickly kill off Frieza. Frieza returns to Hell, where he is once more tormented by the angels. Frieza appears in the manga adaption omake alongside Sorbet and Susami in Hell.
Frieza later returns in the Universal Tournament Arc as a replacement member for the Seventh Universe team after Majin Buu is ineligible to fight due to having fallen into a deep sleep from which nobody could wake him, revealed to have mentally trained himself to maintain his Golden form. When approached by Goku, who is arranging for him to be temporarily revived by Fortuneteller Baba for a day, Frieza accepts the offer on the condition of being fully resurrected by the Dragon Balls after the tournament. Upon being revived, Frieza slaughters a group of assassins hired by the deities of the Ninth Universe to kill him while trapping Goku in a Destroyer-based energy attack meant for him. He then attempted to offer his services to the Ninth Universe deities in return for a place in their universe until Beerus and Whis appear. Despite Beerus's reservations, Goku vouches for him as they join the rest of their team.
As the tournament commences, Frieza meets his Sixth Universe counterpart , a con artist who posed as a hero until a previous contest between the Seventh and Sixth Universes exposed his criminal activities and forced him into hiding. Frieza tricks Frost into believing they have forged an alliance to take out the Saiyans, proceeding to take out both the Ninth Universe's Roselle and the Tenth Universe's Murichim as the tournament commences. After eliminating Frost when he appears to commence their arrangement, Frieza eventually ends up being one of the four remaining combatants alongside Goku, Android 17, and Jiren of the Eleventh Universe. Frieza unexpectedly teams up with Goku to force Jiren out in a triple elimination with 17 declared the winner, resurrected soon after by Whis at Beerus's behest as a reward for his efforts. Frieza then takes his leave to begin rebuilding his empire but is warned by Goku that he will be destroyed if he ever torments the universe again.
During the events of the film "", Frieza starts to rebuild his forces while deciding to use Earth's Dragon Balls to make a wish to increase his height by five centimeters, having become disillusioned with the idea of eternal life. Frieza recruits the Saiyan Broly and his father Paragus, who accompany him to Earth for the last Dragon Ball, realizing the former's potential as he matched Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan Blue forms. This inspires Frieza to kill Paragus to force Broly's transformation into a Super Saiyan, only to be caught in Broly's rampage after the latter quickly defeats Goku. Frieza is saved at the last second by Gogeta, who thwarts his attempt to kill off his former subordinates Chilai and Lemo when they use the Dragon Balls to save Broly's life by wishing him off the planet. Frieza falls back while vowing revenge against Goku.
Abilities.
Frieza is capable of moving at superhuman speeds, flying, and has quick reflexes. Like most characters in the series, he can harness a supernatural energy known as "Ki" and manipulate it into powerful and devastating concussive beams of said energy, with which he is able to destroy planets with relative ease. Some of Frieza's signature "ki" techniques include the , a sharp piercing beam from his finger, and the , a large energy sphere he used to destroy planet Namek and previous to that, Planet Vegeta. He is capable of surviving in the vacuum of space, and also seems to possess some form of telekinesis, being able to lift opponents without touching them and cause them to explode.
Frieza's power was so great over time, that his body could not comfortably contain it and a series of physical transformations were developed that limit his actual strength. While changing shape from his "first-form", each alteration builds on the previous. In all, Frieza has three transformed states, each with increasing power, some larger than others and each resulting in different physical attributes, although the two transformed states (along with his first form) were merely to suppress Frieza's power, and that his third transformed state is actually his true form, while a fourth further transformation that he discovered after his four months of training actually increases his power drastically and lets out most of his latent strength.
In his weakest form, Frieza is a relatively short humanoid with a large chestnut-shaped skull and two horns. He also has a tail with a spiked end, as well as having three talon-like toes. Frieza wears the same upper-body armor and shorts that many of his subordinates are shown to wear, and while traveling, often gives the appearance of weakness by exclusively using his hoverchair for transportation, leaving his henchmen to do his "dirty work". Though frail in comparison with his succeeding forms, Frieza still boasts sufficient force to destroy planets. While shifting to his next stage, Frieza breaks his battle-jacket, revealing a natural white armor covering his chest and shoulders.
Frieza's 6th Universe counterpart, Frost, also initially appears in this form.
His second form is much larger, both in height and muscle mass. He grows longer horns, which now instead of protruding sideways from his head curve sharply upwards into near right angles. In this form, Frieza does not have any trouble taking out Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan. However, Frieza notices that Piccolo's power level is about equal to his own level, leaving Frieza with no choice but to transform again. This form largely resembles his father, King Cold.
Frieza's 6th Universe counterpart Frost also takes on a second form, however it bears a greater resemblance to Frieza's third form and is said to be the equivalent of it by Piccolo.
Frieza's third form is again more brutish, with an extremely elongated skull (like an Alien). His facial features contort and change, with his nose melding into his mouth to form a crude beak. His original horns recede and are now white in color, erupting in pairs along the length of his head. Despite his increased bulk, Frieza's speed is significantly higher in this form, easily outpacing Piccolo even after the Namek fighter removed his weighted training clothes. His tail tip, which had been cut off by Krillin, did not regenerate and he now has a slight hunch. Although his tail was surprisingly not regenerated, the rest of his wounds disappeared as if nothing ever touched him.
Drastically differing from his previous transformations, in his final, true form, Frieza's third form (being more like a shell for this final form) cracks and shatters open, revealing a shorter and less bulky appearance. His horns and spikes disappear with his physique becoming entirely streamlined and his skin is now a pure, solid white with purple sections on his head, shoulders, forearms, chest and shins. All injuries taken in other forms are healed. This is the form that allows him to release his full potential. Frieza is also able to attain 100% power of this form, his muscle mass becoming engorged compared to his previously sleek frame. This is the peak of Frieza's natural potential, and the maximum amount of power his body can output. This form gives Frieza enough strength and speed to make even Super Saiyan Goku struggle; however, to obtain such power, Frieza's body is subjected to a muscle strain, which slowly lowers his energy, reducing his speed until he cannot compete with Super Saiyan Goku anymore. This transformation is therefore not suitable for prolonged combat, with Frieza trying to finish the fight as quickly as possible by destroying Planet Namek.
Frieza's 6th Universe counterpart, Frost, also briefly uses this form during the Tournament of Power.
After being cut in half by his own attack and being caught in Namek's huge explosion, what remains of the still-living Frieza is salvaged and rebuilt with cybernetic enhancements by scientists under the order of King Cold; this form is referred to as in video games. The whole of the lower half of his body and right side of his face are replaced, as is his left arm from the shoulder down, with scarring and metal accoutrements covering what little was left of his organic self. It is stated that these enhancements have made him even more powerful. However, he was never able to unleash his full power in this form, since he was quickly destroyed by Trunks.
Frieza attains another transformation in the 2015 film "" and "Dragon Ball Super". According to Frieza, his sixth transformation is achieved after undergoing intensive training for four months, enabling him to gain the strength to progress even further beyond his previous transformations by drawing out all of his latent power (as he had never trained a day in his life beforehand). In this form, Frieza's physique is similar to his previous fourth form except his skin is now a golden color as opposed to white, with purple sections on his head, chest, forearms and shins, thus he is known as in this form. In this form at peak power, Frieza is able to overpower Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form with relative ease. But the power-up drains his energy much like when he used 100% of his power in his sixth form, due to him not training himself further to become accustomed to the form, and thus is also unsuitable for prolonged combat, as he soon finds himself unable to compete with Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan Blue forms. After his second revival in the Tournament of Power Saga, Frieza reveals he mastered his Golden form due to intense meditation while in hell. This "True Golden Frieza" can be used indefinitely without any drain on Frieza's stamina or even while he is barely conscious. Frieza's Japanese voice actor, Ryūsei Nakao jokingly placed Golden Frieza's power level at “one hundred quintillion” (or 1.2 billion times stronger than the Fourth form). In Dragon Ball Heroes there is a version of Golden Frieza called "Rage Golden Frieza" which is an empowered version of Golden Frieza fuelled by Rage which also appears in Super as well.
Appearances in other media.
In numerous filler episodes of the anime and "Dragon Ball GT", Frieza makes numerous cameo appearances, usually as comic relief, causing trouble in Hell, having somehow been permitted to keep his body despite his wrongdoings. In Hell, he is defeated and sent to prison by Goku and Pikkon along with Cell, his father and the Ginyu Force, and he is later seen watching Goku's final battle with Majin Buu in a crystal ball, comically hoping for Goku to lose (this appearance is later contradicted in "Resurrection "F"" and its "Dragon Ball Super" adaptation, where Frieza is depicted as unaware that Goku fought and defeated Buu, although for flashback sequences and such, "Super" alludes to "Dragon Ball Z Kai", where most filler material has been cut). In ', Frieza briefly escapes from Hell with an army of villains to attack Earth, but he is swiftly defeated by Gohan. In "Dragon Ball GT", when Goku is sent to Hell by accident, Frieza and Cell confront him, their bodies having been rendered temporarily immortal due to the unbalance between the two worlds. Using a joint attack, Frieza and Cell send Goku to a lower level where he is frozen by a witch, but the two villains end up frozen themselves when they foolishly venture downwards to gloat at Goku. Goku accidentally breaks the ice holding Frieza and Cell and it shatters to pieces, implying that Frieza and Cell have been erased from existence. However, in a future scene, Frieza and Cell are seen being taken away in a jail cell with tape over their mouths and appear in the live action GT show where he and Cell gained new forms to track down Goku. He appeared in a TV ad for ', as he makes a non-speaking appearance in the film.
He also appears in a chapter of Toriyama's "Neko Majin" manga, published in August 2003, which also introduces Frieza's son, . He briefly appears in the 2006 "Dragon Ball" crossover chapter, , of Osamu Akimoto's manga "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo". Frieza appears in Naho Ōishi's 2011 "Dragon Ball" spin-off manga ', but it predominately features his ancestor . He also appears in Toriyama's 2014 ' special.
Frieza has made numerous appearances in other media. The Japanese nu metal/hardcore punk band Maximum the Hormone released the song "F" as part of a double A-side single on July 9, 2008. The entirety of the song references Frieza, with the single itself rising as high as number two on the Oricon music chart. The song was the source of reference used by Toriyama for the title of the film "Fukkatsu no F" and is featured in the movie. Seikima-II frontman Demon Kakka wrote and performed the song that appeared in two episodes of "Dragon Ball Kai" and on the 2009 "Dragon Ball Kai Song Collection" album.
In the manga "Black Cat", the character Sven Vollfied is often seen using his cell phone with a wrist strap of a miniature-sized badge of Frieza's head. A caricature of Frieza mixed with a grey alien was parodied as a mech pilot in an episode of "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi". The anime "Yakitate!! Japan" featured a spoof re-enactment of the fight between Goku and Frieza, with a character clad in a refrigerator representing the latter. The Cartoon Network show " had a parody of their own of the climactic fight and the Frieza character, with the Delightful Children From Down the Lane portraying him as a multi-headed monstrosity.
Video games.
Frieza has been featured in many of the video games based on the series. Often, he's both a playable character and boss, though more frequently the latter. He is also usually able to transform into his many different forms.
Frieza appears in the Famicom game (and later Playdia remake) '. Frieza seems to be somehow resurrected, and he and other past villains start attacking Goku and his friends. Once it's revealed these are merely ghost-warriors meant to distract the heroes, however, the false Frieza and his allies are easily dealt with. Other games highlight Frieza in alternate story paths; including those where he successfully attains immortality and goes on to threaten Earth such as ', and " where Frieza and Cell are resurrected and controlled by Bobbidi as a distraction for the player.
Frieza also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting games "Jump Ultimate Stars", "Battle Stadium D.O.N", "J-Stars Victory Vs" and "Jump Force".
Reception.
Yū Kondō, Toriyama's second editor from the Saiyan arc until the appearance of Perfect Cell, and Fuyuto Takeda, his third editor from Perfect Cell until the end of the series, said that "Dragon Ball" hit its peak in popularity during the Frieza arc. In a one-thousand ballot popularity poll held in "Weekly Shōnen Jump", "Dragon Ball" received 815 of them. In 2004, fans of the series voted Frieza the ninth most popular character for a poll in the book "Dragon Ball Forever". Frieza topped a poll of "Dragon Ball" antagonists by fan vote, the results of which was published by the March 2018 issue of "V Jump". 
Frieza was mentioned as one of the "most beloved characters" in an article by "GamePro". The casting and direction of his English voices has often been criticized over the years, with IGN's Ramsey Isler writing that, coupled with the ambiguous physical features, the "old lady" voice lead to some gender confusion with fans. "The Ledger"'s December 8, 1999 paper names him as one of the reasons that "Dragon Ball Z" was listed as a violent show for children, stating, "In one recent episode, beads of sweat form on the brow of a character named Vegeta, as he is nearly strangled to death by an evil foe named Frieza. In another, Frieza uses the horns on his head to impale a good guy named Krillin through the chest." The paper also comments on Frieza's appearance: "Little Gohan is abruptly in the icy metallic grip of one of his arch-nemeses, Frieza, a silvery androgynous giant who looks like a cross between the monster in "Alien" and Batman's Mr. Freeze." 