Freeza
Encyclopedia
, is a fictional
supervillain
of the Dragon Ball
universe
created by Akira Toriyama
, who first introduced the character in his manga Dragon Ball, followed by its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z. Frieza also appears in the television special
Bardock: The Father of Goku, two Dragon Ball Z movies, the side story The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans, and in Dragon Ball GT.
Freeza is one of the supervillains in the series who possesses an entire range of transformations, each one being quite different than the others. It is implied by the character Vegeta
in the series that Freeza's fourth, most powerful form is actually his basic form, with the other three being transformations that suppress his power in order to conserve it. Freeza later confirms this while fighting the series' main protagonist, Son Goku
. Freeza is capable of amazing power and changing into a wide array of forms, looking more menacing each time. Although his fourth and Final Form looks scrawny and weak, he possesses
unbelievable power in that form. And in his final form he can undergo a huge power change, bulking him up and making him slightly weaker than a Super Saiyan. This form is known as his 100% Full Power Form.
, introduced in chapter #247 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on November 6, 1989. Here he is portrayed as a powerful galactic overlord on a personal mission for immortality and conquest. He is said to control seventy-nine or more planets. Frieza creates armies from the planets that he conquers, his most utilized race were the Saiyans. Frieza had heard about the legend of the Super Saiyan, a being with unrivaled power, but dismissed it as simple mythology; however, after several Saiyans emerged with rapidly evolving strength, Frieza began to fear that the legend would indeed come true, so as a result, destroyed the entire Saiyan race, along with their home planet, Vegeta. His actions and lust for power eventually bring him into conflict with the heroes of the series when he learns of the wish-granting Dragon Balls on Planet Namek from Vegeta's scouter and tries to take possession of them alongside his henchmen Zarbon and Dodoria, plus his special forces, the Ginyu Force. Frieza's fears were realized when he was defeated by Goku, who in turn had become a Super Saiyan.
His character would return shortly thereafter, having survived the encounter with Goku but had been left with multiple metal prosthetics as a result of lost limbs/organs. Though accompanied to Earth by his father, King Cold, Frieza is unable to avenge his loss. He is killed with relative ease by a newcomer to the series: the half-Saiyan time travel
er, Trunks. A blood sample
taken before his ultimate fate would later become a catalyst for the next arc's featured villain, Android Cell, a warrior genetically engineered
to be "perfect".
Toei Animation
would continue to make use of the character in their anime
adaptation, with Frieza making brief cameo appearances during later episodes of the series, animated features and Dragon Ball GT. He is last referenced in the manga as a measure of the strength of the Kaioshin, the supreme lords of the Dragon Ball universe, as "each of whom could have felled Frieza in one blow". In Toriyama's self-parody
of his earlier work, Neko Majin Z
, Frieza sends Vegeta
, serving as his henchman, on errand to retrieve his missing son, Kuriza, on Earth.
Aside from , Frieza has two other high-ranking henchmen: and . Cui is a rival of Vegeta and sets out to defeat him, but is killed. He is voiced by Kōji Totani
in Japan, Eiji Takemoto
in Dragon Ball Kai, Jason Gray-Stanford in the Ocean Group dub and Bill Townsley in the Funimation dub. Dodoria is a large, fat, pink alien with short spikes on his head and forearms who travels with Frieza to Namek in search of the Dragon Balls. There he encounters Vegeta. Hoping to save his life, he tells Vegeta the truth about the destruction of Planet Vegeta, but Vegeta still kills him.
unaided in volume 9. He also appears to have quick reflexes. He is also highly resistant to all but the hardest of physical blows.
Although in other media such as videogames, several techniques are
added to his arsenal, the techniques that Frieza uses in Toriyama's manga and its anime adaptation are , a sharp piercing beam from his finger, , a large energy sphere he used to destroy planet Namek, , its name is revealed in the videogames, but Frieza used it against Goku and , which he used to destroy planet Vejita.
Also, Frieza attacks using sharp energy razor discs called Death Saucer, similar to Krillin's Destructo Disc, or Kienzan.
were developed that limit his actual strength. While changing shape from his "first-form", each alteration builds on the previous. In all, Frieza demonstrated three transformed states, each with increasing power (some larger than others and each resulting in different physical attributes).
First form
In his weakest form, Frieza is a relatively short humanoid
, albeit with a large chestnut-shaped
skull with 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 (including the Saiyans) 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, stating during his battle with the Namekian fighter Nail that his power level is 530,000. While shifting to his next stage Frieza breaks his battle-jacket, revealing a natural white armor covering his chest and shoulders.
Second form
His second form is similar to his father King Cold, much larger, both in height and muscle mass, Frieza claiming to have at least doubled his power (of over 1,000,000) in this state. He also grows longer horns, which now instead of protruding sideways from his skull curve sharply upwards into near right angles.
Third form
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. His tail tip, which had been cut off by Krillin's Kienzan, did not regenerate, so it is not known if it would have appeared any differently. He now carries a slight hunch. Although his tail was surprisingly not regenerated, the rest of his wounds that were taken from Piccolo
, disappeared as if nothing ever touched him.
Final Form
Drastically differing from his previous transformations, in his final, true form Frieza instead regresses, becoming shorter and less bulky. His previous form shatters, causing his horns and spikes to disappear with his physique becoming entirely streamlined. The lines of color and stripes present on Frieza before completely disappear; 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. In this form he is able to use anywhere from 1% to 100% of his full power and was able to match Goku using only 1% in the English dub as this was never stated in the manga which is regarded as true canon. He later powered up to 50% full power in order to easily beat Goku, in which he did. He was powerful enough at this phase to survive a Large Spirit Bomb with few scratches, besides a damaged tail.
100% power
Frieza is also able to attain 100% power, his muscle mass becoming engorged compared to his previously sleek frame. This is literally the peak of Frieza's potential, and the maximum amount of power his body can output; at full power, he is able to fight Super Saiyan Goku on an almost even level. However, due to the strain on his body, Frieza can not fight at maximum strength for long, slowly weakening whether he is dealing or receiving damage.
Mecha Frieza
Physically ruined while caught in Planet Namek's explosion after Goku defeats him, what remained of the still-living Frieza was salvaged and rebuilt with cybernetic enhancements by scientists under the order of King Cold. 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 accouterments covering what little was left of his organic self. These enhancements allowed him to exceed the limits of power imposed by his fully organic form, and it is stated that he was more powerful than ever (however even with this increase in power, he was still no match against the power of a well trained Super Saiyan).
released "「F」" as part of an A-side of a music single on July 9, 2008. The entirety of the song references Frieza and his character's arc, with the single itself rising as high as number two on the Oricon
music chart
. In the manga Black Cat
, the character Sven Vollfied is often seen using his cell phone. At the top of the phone's wrist strap is a miniature-sized badge of Freeza's head. A caricature
of Freeza 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 Freeza, with a character clad in a refrigerator representing the latter. The Cartoon Network
staple Codename: Kids Next Door
had a parody of their own of the climactic fight and the Freeza character, with the Delightful Children From Down the Lane portraying him as a multi-headed monstrosity.
, though more frequently the latter. He is also usually able to transform into his many different forms, his mecha form being a separate character.
Frieza appears in the Famicom
game (and later Playdia
remake) Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku. 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 Freeza and his allies are easily dealt with. Other games highlight Freeza in alternate story paths, including those where he successfully attains immortality and goes on to threaten Earth.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Freeza and Android Cell are resurrected by Babidi and are transformed into Majin as a distraction for the player. During the Super Buu stage, if either are absorbed, Buu will take on their appearance.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Freeza is fought on planet Namek as a boss character in the "Dragon Universe" mode. He is also a playable character in other modes as well. Freeza starts out in his weakest form, but his other forms can be accessed by charging up, and going into "Hyper mode", once in this mode, activate Hyper Mode again, and Freeza will change into one of his other three forms depending on how many energy bars he has.
In Super Dragon Ball Z
, Toriyama took Mecha Freeza's original design and slightly remodeled it specifically for the platform version of the game. Toriyama's revamp included a mine belt around his waist, an RPG strapped to his back, and razor explosives down the length of his tail.
in all media. In the PlayStation
game Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
, he was voiced by Eddie Frierson
. In the Ocean dub of the Dragon Ball Z series he was voiced by Pauline Newstone
. In the Funimation
dub, Freeza is voiced by Linda Young
Linda Young continued to voice Freeza in the video games, and other media of the series over the span of 10 years, until the role was re-cast in Dragon Ball Z Kai (after episode 1), where he is voiced by Christopher Ayres
. Ayres confirmed he will voice Frieza in all future video games, Although in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
, there were some voice recordings of Linda mixed in with his.
Frieza was mentioned as one of the "most beloved characters" in an article by GamePro. Also on pages D1 and D3 of The Ledger
's December 8, 1999 paper, he is one of the reasons that DBZ was listed as a violent show for children back then 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." As well as opinions on his 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."
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
of the Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
created by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
, who first introduced the character in his manga Dragon Ball, followed by its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z. Frieza also appears in the television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
Bardock: The Father of Goku, two Dragon Ball Z movies, the side story The Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans, and in Dragon Ball GT.
Appearance
Freeza's design is an amalgamation of what Toriyama thought monsters looked like in his childhood.Freeza is one of the supervillains in the series who possesses an entire range of transformations, each one being quite different than the others. It is implied by the character Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
in the series that Freeza's fourth, most powerful form is actually his basic form, with the other three being transformations that suppress his power in order to conserve it. Freeza later confirms this while fighting the series' main protagonist, Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
. Freeza is capable of amazing power and changing into a wide array of forms, looking more menacing each time. Although his fourth and Final Form looks scrawny and weak, he possesses
unbelievable power in that form. And in his final form he can undergo a huge power change, bulking him up and making him slightly weaker than a Super Saiyan. This form is known as his 100% Full Power Form.
Character overview
Frieza is an alienExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, introduced in chapter #247 first published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on November 6, 1989. Here he is portrayed as a powerful galactic overlord on a personal mission for immortality and conquest. He is said to control seventy-nine or more planets. Frieza creates armies from the planets that he conquers, his most utilized race were the Saiyans. Frieza had heard about the legend of the Super Saiyan, a being with unrivaled power, but dismissed it as simple mythology; however, after several Saiyans emerged with rapidly evolving strength, Frieza began to fear that the legend would indeed come true, so as a result, destroyed the entire Saiyan race, along with their home planet, Vegeta. His actions and lust for power eventually bring him into conflict with the heroes of the series when he learns of the wish-granting Dragon Balls on Planet Namek from Vegeta's scouter and tries to take possession of them alongside his henchmen Zarbon and Dodoria, plus his special forces, the Ginyu Force. Frieza's fears were realized when he was defeated by Goku, who in turn had become a Super Saiyan.
His character would return shortly thereafter, having survived the encounter with Goku but had been left with multiple metal prosthetics as a result of lost limbs/organs. Though accompanied to Earth by his father, King Cold, Frieza is unable to avenge his loss. He is killed with relative ease by a newcomer to the series: the half-Saiyan time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
er, Trunks. A blood sample
Blood Sample
Blood Sample is the 10th studio album by the Finnish avant-garde progressive metal band Waltari.-Track listing:# "Helsinki" - 5:53# "Not Enough" - 3:35# "Too Much Emptiness" - 2:30# "Never" - 4:01# "New York" - 3:48# "I'm in Pain" - 4:38...
taken before his ultimate fate would later become a catalyst for the next arc's featured villain, Android Cell, a warrior genetically engineered
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
to be "perfect".
Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
would continue to make use of the character in their anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation, with Frieza making brief cameo appearances during later episodes of the series, animated features and Dragon Ball GT. He is last referenced in the manga as a measure of the strength of the Kaioshin, the supreme lords of the Dragon Ball universe, as "each of whom could have felled Frieza in one blow". In Toriyama's self-parody
Self-parody
A self-parody is a parody of oneself or one's own work. As an artist accomplishes it by imitating his or her own characteristics, a self-parody is potentially difficult to distinguish from especially characteristic productions .Sometimes critics use the...
of his earlier work, Neko Majin Z
Neko Majin
is a short series of one-shot manga chapters by mangaka Akira Toriyama, spanning eight total installments released from 1999-2005. It is most notable for its later portion, Neko Majin Z, which is a self-parody of Dragon Ball, the author's most famous work.-Introduction:Originally a one-shot bearing...
, Frieza sends Vegeta
Vegeta
is a fictional character and antihero in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appeared in the manga chapter #204 first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 19, 1988, and in episode 5 of its anime adaptation Dragon Ball Z...
, serving as his henchman, on errand to retrieve his missing son, Kuriza, on Earth.
Aside from , Frieza has two other high-ranking henchmen: and . Cui is a rival of Vegeta and sets out to defeat him, but is killed. He is voiced by Kōji Totani
Koji Totani
was a veteran seiyū born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Totani worked at Aoni Production. His nickname was "Totani-chan". On February 6, 2006, at the age of 57, he died from acute heart failure...
in Japan, Eiji Takemoto
Eiji Takemoto
is a Japanese voice actor. His name is sometimes mistranslated as and also sometimes credited as being Hidefumi Takemoto . Takemoto's nickname is Takepon...
in Dragon Ball Kai, Jason Gray-Stanford in the Ocean Group dub and Bill Townsley in the Funimation dub. Dodoria is a large, fat, pink alien with short spikes on his head and forearms who travels with Frieza to Namek in search of the Dragon Balls. There he encounters Vegeta. Hoping to save his life, he tells Vegeta the truth about the destruction of Planet Vegeta, but Vegeta still kills him.
Abilities
Frieza is first seen moving at superhuman speeds and flyingFlight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
unaided in volume 9. He also appears to have quick reflexes. He is also highly resistant to all but the hardest of physical blows.
Although in other media such as videogames, several techniques are
added to his arsenal, the techniques that Frieza uses in Toriyama's manga and its anime adaptation are , a sharp piercing beam from his finger, , a large energy sphere he used to destroy planet Namek, , its name is revealed in the videogames, but Frieza used it against Goku and , which he used to destroy planet Vejita.
Also, Frieza attacks using sharp energy razor discs called Death Saucer, similar to Krillin's Destructo Disc, or Kienzan.
Forms and transformations
Frieza's power, including his enhanced strength, became so great over time that his body could not comfortably contain it, and a series of physical transformationsShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
were developed that limit his actual strength. While changing shape from his "first-form", each alteration builds on the previous. In all, Frieza demonstrated three transformed states, each with increasing power (some larger than others and each resulting in different physical attributes).
First form
In his weakest form, Frieza is a relatively short humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
, albeit with a large chestnut-shaped
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
skull with 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 (including the Saiyans) 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, stating during his battle with the Namekian fighter Nail that his power level is 530,000. While shifting to his next stage Frieza breaks his battle-jacket, revealing a natural white armor covering his chest and shoulders.
Second form
His second form is similar to his father King Cold, much larger, both in height and muscle mass, Frieza claiming to have at least doubled his power (of over 1,000,000) in this state. He also grows longer horns, which now instead of protruding sideways from his skull curve sharply upwards into near right angles.
Third form
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. His tail tip, which had been cut off by Krillin's Kienzan, did not regenerate, so it is not known if it would have appeared any differently. He now carries a slight hunch. Although his tail was surprisingly not regenerated, the rest of his wounds that were taken from Piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, disappeared as if nothing ever touched him.
Final Form
Drastically differing from his previous transformations, in his final, true form Frieza instead regresses, becoming shorter and less bulky. His previous form shatters, causing his horns and spikes to disappear with his physique becoming entirely streamlined. The lines of color and stripes present on Frieza before completely disappear; 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. In this form he is able to use anywhere from 1% to 100% of his full power and was able to match Goku using only 1% in the English dub as this was never stated in the manga which is regarded as true canon. He later powered up to 50% full power in order to easily beat Goku, in which he did. He was powerful enough at this phase to survive a Large Spirit Bomb with few scratches, besides a damaged tail.
100% power
Frieza is also able to attain 100% power, his muscle mass becoming engorged compared to his previously sleek frame. This is literally the peak of Frieza's potential, and the maximum amount of power his body can output; at full power, he is able to fight Super Saiyan Goku on an almost even level. However, due to the strain on his body, Frieza can not fight at maximum strength for long, slowly weakening whether he is dealing or receiving damage.
Mecha Frieza
Physically ruined while caught in Planet Namek's explosion after Goku defeats him, what remained of the still-living Frieza was salvaged and rebuilt with cybernetic enhancements by scientists under the order of King Cold. 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 accouterments covering what little was left of his organic self. These enhancements allowed him to exceed the limits of power imposed by his fully organic form, and it is stated that he was more powerful than ever (however even with this increase in power, he was still no match against the power of a well trained Super Saiyan).
Other media
Frieza has made numerous appearances in other media. The Japanese nu metal/punk band Maximum the HormoneMaximum the Hormone
is a Japanese nu metal band from Hachiōji, Tokyo.-1998–2001: Creation, early days and line-up change:Maximum the Hormone was created in 1998 by Daisuke Tsuda and Nao Kawakita. After a couple of regional shows, the band signed a contract with the Japanese rock label Sky Records. A.S.A...
released "「F」" as part of an A-side of a music single on July 9, 2008. The entirety of the song references Frieza and his character's arc, with the single itself rising as high as number two on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
music chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. In the manga Black Cat
Black Cat (manga)
is a Japanese Shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki. It was originally serialized in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. It was later collected in twenty tankōbon volumes from January 11, 2001 to October 9, 2004. The series was adapted into a twenty-four episode anime...
, the character Sven Vollfied is often seen using his cell phone. At the top of the phone's wrist strap is a miniature-sized badge of Freeza's head. A caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
of Freeza mixed with a grey alien was parodied as a mech pilot
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
in an episode of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. The anime Yakitate!! Japan
Yakitate!! Japan
is a manga, authored by Takashi Hashiguchi, serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday, which has been adapted into a television anime series by Sunrise. The manga has spanned 25 tankōbon volumes, as of January, 2007, while the weekly serialization of the manga has ended as of January 10, 2007...
featured a spoof re-enactment of the fight between Goku and Freeza, with a character clad in a refrigerator representing the latter. The Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
staple Codename: Kids Next Door
Codename: Kids Next Door
Codename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures in Santa Monica, California.. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and aired its final episode on...
had a parody of their own of the climactic fight and the Freeza character, with the Delightful Children From Down the Lane portraying him as a multi-headed monstrosity.
Video games
Frieza has been featured in nearly every video game covering Dragon Ball Z and further. Often, he's both a playable character and bossBoss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, though more frequently the latter. He is also usually able to transform into his many different forms, his mecha form being a separate character.
Frieza appears in the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
game (and later Playdia
Playdia
The was a video game console released exclusively in Japan in 1994 at the initial price of ¥24,800. It was intended for a young audience with anime quiz software and edutainment making up most of the game library. The Playdia uses a single infrared joypad with simple controls...
remake) Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku. 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 Freeza and his allies are easily dealt with. Other games highlight Freeza in alternate story paths, including those where he successfully attains immortality and goes on to threaten Earth.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Freeza and Android Cell are resurrected by Babidi and are transformed into Majin as a distraction for the player. During the Super Buu stage, if either are absorbed, Buu will take on their appearance.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Freeza is fought on planet Namek as a boss character in the "Dragon Universe" mode. He is also a playable character in other modes as well. Freeza starts out in his weakest form, but his other forms can be accessed by charging up, and going into "Hyper mode", once in this mode, activate Hyper Mode again, and Freeza will change into one of his other three forms depending on how many energy bars he has.
In Super Dragon Ball Z
Super Dragon Ball Z
Super Dragon Ball Z is a cel-shaded 3D fighting video game, based on the manga Dragon Ball written by Akira Toriyama. It was originally released in Japanese and European arcades running on System 246 hardware, and later for the PlayStation 2...
, Toriyama took Mecha Freeza's original design and slightly remodeled it specifically for the platform version of the game. Toriyama's revamp included a mine belt around his waist, an RPG strapped to his back, and razor explosives down the length of his tail.
Voice actors
In the original Japanese version, Freeza is voiced by Ryūsei NakaoRyusei Nakao
, known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor, singer, and voice actor from Tōkyō Metropolis, Japan. He is attached to 81 Produce. He has also worked under the name of ....
in all media. In the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
game Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout, known in Japan and Europe as , is a fighting game for the PlayStation. It was produced and released by Bandai in Japan, parts of Europe, and North America in 1997. The game would reissued in Europe in 2002 and in North America in 2004...
, he was voiced by Eddie Frierson
Eddie Frierson
Edward Davies "Eddie" Frierson is an American voice actor and stage actor who is also known as Christy Mathewson, Ted Richards, and Eric Frierson Edward Davies "Eddie" Frierson (born November 22, 1959) is an American voice actor and stage actor who is also known as Christy Mathewson, Ted Richards,...
. In the Ocean dub of the Dragon Ball Z series he was voiced by Pauline Newstone
Pauline Newstone
Pauline Newstone is a voice actress.- Voice credits :*Beast Wars - Airazor *Dragon Ball Z - Frieza *Class of the Titans - Medusa*Hamtaro - Kaitlin Endo*Inuyasha - Mistress Centipede...
. In the Funimation
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
dub, Freeza is voiced by Linda Young
Linda Chambers-Young
Linda Chambers-Young is an American voice actress who voices characters in Japanese anime series, usually in voice productions produced by FUNimation Entertainment, arguably her most notable roles being Frieza in Dragon Ball Z and Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho.Her son is John Burgmeier, who works...
Linda Young continued to voice Freeza in the video games, and other media of the series over the span of 10 years, until the role was re-cast in Dragon Ball Z Kai (after episode 1), where he is voiced by Christopher Ayres
Christopher Ayres
For the journalist, see Chris Ayres.Christopher Owen Ayres is an American voice actor ADR Director and Script Writer, who works for anime series at FUNimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, New Generation Pictures and OkraTron 5000. He has provided voices for a number of English...
. Ayres confirmed he will voice Frieza in all future video games, Although in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi
Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, known in Japan as , is a video game based of the manga and anime franchise Dragon Ball. It is developed by Spike and will be distributed by Namco Bandai beginning in late October of 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gaming consoles.The game is a 3D fighter...
, there were some voice recordings of Linda mixed in with his.
Reception
The casting and direction of his English voices is often criticized; with that and various features in his character design like his dark colored lips leads to some gender confusion with new fans.Frieza was mentioned as one of the "most beloved characters" in an article by GamePro. Also on pages D1 and D3 of The Ledger
The Ledger
The Ledger is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida and the Polk County area. It is owned by The New York Times Company. Jerome Ferson became publisher of the newspaper on July 30, 2007....
's December 8, 1999 paper, he is one of the reasons that DBZ was listed as a violent show for children back then 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." As well as opinions on his 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."