Akira Toriyama was the mangaka of Dragon Ball. In the story, Son Goku has to fight against the most wicked opponents, including the alien Freezer. The villain can take on several forms, with Toriyama drawing inspiration from his own childhood.
What is Freezer based on? As the mangaka explained in an interview, Freezer is based on his own nightmares. Horrific creatures appeared in his dreams during his childhood, which we can all now see in the anime and manga.
You can take a look at his third form from the Dragon Ball Z anime here:
Especially the third form, where Freezer has a long head, and a headless doll, are said to have haunted him in his nightmares. When Toriyama created the design for Freezer, he recalled the dreams of his childhood.
The creator of Dragon Ball is said to have tried to evoke the same feeling in the audience that he had experienced in his nightmares. He wanted the fans to be afraid of Freezer as well.
Maybe Freezer will make an appearance in Dragon Ball Daima:
Freezer comes from Toriyama’s nightmares
What does Freezer’s form remind us of? Among all the forms, the third form stands out particularly. In his final form, he resembles a human; previously, his appearance, with the ring-shaped tail, reminded one of a reptile.
The third form looks similar to a xenomorph from the Alien movies. Even at the premiere, the audience ran screaming out of the cinema.
However, Toriyama was already 24 years old at the time of the release of the Alien movie. Since the nightmares occurred during his childhood, we do not assume that the design is derived from the xenomorphs.
According to Dragon Ball Fandom, his second editor Yu Kondo also contributed to Freezer’s appearance. His name Freezer (in German: Gefrierschrank) also relates to his design
Another source of inspiration were the events during the economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991. During that period, the real estate and stock market prices soared. Freezer was meant to look like one of the real estate speculators. Toriyama considered them to be the worst kind of people.
Nonetheless, Freezer is a villain against whom Son Goku had a hard time. The battle between them counts among the most legendary fights in Dragon Ball Z: The 7 most legendary fights in Dragon Ball Z
