Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball remains one of the biggest anime series of its kind, and even those who are completely oblivious to anime are likely still familiar with Dragon Ball. Toriyama’s exciting shonen series has steadily grown to become a more hyperbolic demonstration of power, and it’s ridiculous to consider how strong characters like Goku have become over time.
Dragon Ball is also known for its many entertaining villains, and it’s Frieza who has become Dragon Ball’s biggest and most persistent danger. Frieza has accomplished endless destruction, but he’s also someone who’s not a stranger to loss and defeat. Frieza is remarkably resilient, but he doesn’t always have the upper hand over his opponents.
10 A Child Pushes Him To Transform
It’s now common practice for the threats in Dragon Ball to reveal that they have multiple transformations to undergo before they’re finally at full strength, but Dragon Ball Z’s Frieza really establishes the trope. The combined efforts of Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin force Frieza to run through several of his forms until Goku appears to pick up the slack. Frieza is quite humbled to have to transform, but he’s especially frustrated that Gohan, who is only a child at this point, briefly holds his own against him. It’s a major insult to Frieza’s proud roots.
9 His Ginyu Force Reinforcements Fail To Meet Expectations
Another recurring element in Dragon Ball is that there are plenty of low-tier villains who the heroes need to conquer before they’re able to fight against the ultimate villain. Frieza is a tyrant who operates like royalty and views most problems to be beneath him. Accordingly, Frieza initially recruits the famous Ginyu Force to take out Vegeta, Gohan, and the other heroes who have arrived on Namek. The Ginyu Force members do not successfully complete their task and ultimately give Frieza more problems later on. If he just dealt with things himself, he might have been able to succeed on Namek.
8 His Combined Attack With Cell Isn’t Enough To Stop Goku
Dragon Ball GT remains a fascinating effort from the Dragon Ball franchise that’s become even more disposable after the debut of Dragon Ball Super. Dragon Ball GT has its issues, but it also does plenty of things right. One of the more exciting passages from the sequel anime involves a massive jailbreak in hell courtesy of Super 17.
This dilemma reveals that Frieza has teamed up with Cell in the afterlife, and they’ve perfected some new techniques. Frieza and Cell’s combined Hell’s Buster attack still isn’t enough to defeat Goku in his child form, which leaves Frieza in defeat.
7 He Gets Eliminated In The Tournament Of Power
Tournaments are a staple in Dragon Ball as an exciting way to prove who is the strongest. The most extreme example of this dominates the final arc of the Dragon Ball Super anime. The Tournament of Power assembles the strongest fighters from all of the universes and puts their erasure at stake. Frieza makes the cut for Universe 7, and even though he’s one of the final fighters, he still pales in comparison to Jiren and faces elimination. However, Frieza’s cooperation in the tournament still works to his advantage, which is why this failure isn’t a bigger loss for him.
6 His Failure To Brainwash Broly
There’s still a lot of debate and dissonance among the Dragon Ball fandom over Dragon Ball Z’s original movies are considered canon or not. Dragon Ball Super: Broly helped consolidate canon with its new take on the classic Broly narrative. Frieza is a crucial figure in Broly’s saga, and he cleverly attempts to manipulate Broly and Paragus’ trauma as a way to eliminate his larger problem of Goku and Vegeta. Frieza’s efforts fail, and it nearly costs him his life in the process. Frieza won’t get another opportunity like this and now he’s squandered it.
5 His Revenge Plan With His Father Is Literally Cut Short By Trunks
Frieza launches many unexpected revenge plans, but the first example of this comes as a major surprise and nearly costs the heroes their lives. Frieza’s initial defeat turns out to be not as absolute as Goku thought. King Cold is able to revive and rebuild Frieza, and the two of them arrive on Earth to make the whole planet suffer for Goku’s insolence.
It’s a thoroughly frightening moment, but one that’s immediately undercut by the arrival of Future Trunks who irrevocably destroys both Frieza and his father. It’s a failure that’s even more humiliating since it comes from a Saiyan.
4 His Unsuccessful Attempts To Assemble The Dragon Balls
Dragon Ball has gradually turned into a series where the strongest character and the newest transformation is often the key to victory, but the wish-granting orbs also remain important tools in the series. Frieza’s introduction stems around his desire to get Namek’s Dragon Balls, which is a plan that Goku and company ultimately interrupt. Frieza’s successful assembly of the Dragon Balls and getting several of his wishes granted could seriously change the character’s trajectory. Dragon Ball Super: Broly acknowledges that Frieza wants to use the Dragon Balls to become taller, which is something that he’s still not able to accomplish.
3 The Destruction Of The Earth Hasn’t Happened
The threat of Frieza always lingers in Dragon Ball, but the character returns to the series in a major way during the events of Resurrection ‘F,’ which also debuts his new Golden Frieza form. Frieza brings his renewed attack to Earth, and the combined and distracted efforts of Goku and Vegeta nearly lead to Frieza’s precarious victory. Frieza is able to subtly pull off a destructive maneuver where he triggers the implosion of Earth. Frieza technically pulls off this drastic act until Whis intervenes and marginally rewinds time. It’s an act that Frieza can’t retaliate against.
2 His Loss Against Goku On Planet Namek
The Dragon Ball franchise is full of epic battles, but Goku’s fight against Frieza still stands out as one of the series’ most important showdowns. This fight is iconic for several reasons, including how it gets drawn out over an inexcusable number of episodes, and Frieza’s resilience is prevalent at every moment. This is such a humiliating failure for Frieza because up until this point, he’s extremely unfamiliar with loss. All of Frieza’s strength still isn’t enough here, and the fact that a Saiyan orchestrates his defeat is the ultimate failure to him.
1 He Doesn’t Actually Eliminate The Entire Saiyan Race
Curiously enough, one of Frieza’s most prolific acts of destruction also doubles as his most significant failure. Frieza used the Saiyan race as his oblivious tools for generations up until his concerns over a mythical Super Saiyan led to him destroying their planet. Frieza attempts to wipe the slate clean and forget about any potential legendary Saiyans. Obviously, Frieza’s plan isn’t as thorough as he thought because not only do some Saiyans survive and continue their race, but they’re also expressly responsible for his own defeat.
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