Freezer is one of the worst enemies in Dragon Ball Z. He is a cruel tyrant who takes on several forms during his battles with the Z-Team. Originally, there was supposed to be another base form for Freezer, which Akira Toriyama had thought up for him.
What would that form have looked like? In the publication of “Akira Toriyama – The World”, the mangaka discusses the concept phase of the villain Freezer. Several drawings of Son-Goku’s opponent can be seen in it. One of them is particularly striking because it never made it into the anime.
On the X account of JakIchanDB, there is a picture from 1989 showing a slightly chubbier Freezer:
The appearance resembles the base form that Freezer usually has. His horns have the same shape, and the rest of his body features the same armor plates. However, the Freezer that made it into the anime is slimmer than in the picture above. It is possible that the thinner form replaced the bulkier Freezer.
The variant of Freezer with a slightly heavier build looks somewhat like Dodoria, who is a subordinate of Freezer. It could be that the designs were too similar for Toriyama, leading him to adjust Freezer’s appearance. Alternatively, the mangaka may have decided in advance to change his look.
Did you know what the Z in Dragon Ball Z stands for? If not, the following video will enlighten you:
Freezer was based on the real estate sharks from Japan
What idea is Freezer’s design based on? Over time, Freezer was able to transform into several stages and delivered some spectacular battles. The idea behind the villain comes from a time when there was an economic bubble in Japan:
- From 1986 to 1990, there was a period of rampant financial speculation in Japan, mainly concerning real estate.
- Speculators could buy a piece of land and hoped to sell it for a higher price later. This allowed many real estate sharks to make immense profits.
- As real estate prices soared, the bubble burst in 1990, and Japan entered into an economic downturn.
The villain was created between 1989 and 1990, at the end of the economic bubble. Freezer’s attack on planets was meant to represent this real estate business. He was supposed to attack planets and sell them at a good price, similar to the practices of land speculators.
As Toriyama revealed in an interview in Daizenshuu 2 (via Kazenshuu), Freezer was meant to be the number 1 of the real estate sharks. Originally, the mangaka had a bulky villain in mind, which he later abandoned for a slimmer version.
However, Freezer is not the only one whose appearance does not match the original idea. Cell’s appearance also had to be revised. His original look was so ugly that Toriyama came up with a special ability for him: Dragon Ball Z: A villain has his strongest ability only because he is ugly
