Dragon Ball has opened the manga and anime industry to the world. Akira Toriyama’s magnum opus has achieved worldwide fame, and every anime fan knows about its existence. One of the striking features of the franchise is the over-the-top transformations that always seem to headline the anime world. Through the Dragon Ball franchise, Akira Toriyama achieved an iconic status.
Not only the protagonists but the antagonists’ are also quite powerful and often give heroes a run for their money. But there is a certain villain that even the mangaka found unsettling. His cruelty and strength were on another level, and Toriyama sensei had to break his rule for the villain. The character in question is none other than the tyrannical ruler Frieza.
Frieza Forced Akira Toriyama To Break His Rules
The characters from the Dragon Ball franchise have certain aspects instilled upon them by the legendary mangaka. Akira Toriyama has a rule which he follows subconsciously. He refrains from making the villains too cruel or devious. There is a bar set by him for creating antagonists in his magnum opus. But Frieza crossed that limit, thanks to Toriyama sensei breaking his own rule for it.
During an interview, Akira Toriyama said,
“Like when drawing bad guys, I won’t make them so devious and underhanded that it leaves a bad taste in the reader’s mouth afterwards. Not because I’m particularly concerned for the readers, but rather because I personally hate drawing that kind of stuff. Well, Freeza was pretty underhanded, but I generally don’t draw things that are so unpleasant that it gets to you psychologically. Also, I paid a fair amount of attention to how Freeza talked. After all, villains pretty much always talk rudely. I thought the contrast between his polite speech pattern and his cruelty and strength was really unsettling.”
Frieza was introduced on planet Namek, and since his first appearance, he did not any sympathy for others. He saw himself as the strongest and made fun of the Saiyans by calling them monkeys. Even when he was speaking softly, it was his way of mocking other people. Whatever Frieza did was full of hatred, and due to his immeasurable strength, there was no one to stop him. For that reason, Akira Toriyama had to intervene.
Frieza Was The Exception Among All The Dragon Ball Antagonists
There have been several powerful villains in the Dragon Ball franchise. But Frieza is one of a kind. Villains like Perfect Cell, Majin Buu, and even Vegeta at one point showed fear on their faces, with the former even begging for mercy, but Frieza was the same throughout. All Saiyans are monkeys to him, and even after the Super Saiyan transformation his opinion about them did not change.
Frieza was a slimy character and could do anything to achieve his goals. There was no one to challenge his unrivaled strength, and as a result, his cruelty grew each day. Akira Toriyama did not want to leave a bad taste among his fans and had to lower Frieza’s villainy. But still, the fans were pretty shocked to see the extent to which it got.
Frieza returned to Dragon Ball Super as Golden Frieza and later transformed into Black Frieza. Even though his characteristics remained the same, he did become Son Goku’s ally during the Tournament of Power. Black Frieza might bring back his tyrannical days since the transformation is strong enough to knock out Son Goku and Vegeta in a single blow. Akira Toriyama’s once broke his rule, and the fans got to experience one of the greatest villains ever.
