Frieza's Elite (フリーザ様御一行, Furīza-sama go Ikkō) are a faction of soldiers representing the strongest members of the Galactic Frieza Army
under the command of Emperor Frieza. Frieza is the self-proclaimed
"lord of the universe" who spends hundreds of years controlling an
interplanetary empire.
Overview
Frieza and Zarbon
Frieza's Elite make their debut with the SaiyanRaditz, who is sent to Earth in "The New Threat" ("The Arrival of Raditz" in the edited anime) to investigate the planet's status and recover his brother Kakarot (now known as Goku
on Earth). However, Raditz makes no mention of Frieza, instead simply
citing that the Saiyans are responsible for planet broking. It is not
until the episode "Held Captive"
that the universal threat Frieza poses is first described. Frieza's
most esteemed henchmen and possibly those who he has collaborated with
the longest are Zarbon and Dodoria, who each act as his closest advisers and military commanders.
Frieza's aids; Dodoria and Zarbon, after escaping from Hell in Dragon Ball GT
and Dodoria participating in the extermination of one of the most powerful Saiyan platoon. Decades later, Vegeta executes both Dodoria and Zarbon on Namek, although initially a transformation used by Zarbon is able to defeat him and capture him for Frieza.
In the special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku,
both Zarbon and Dodoria oversaw the destruction of the Saiyan race,
with Zarbon suggesting the Saiyans be eliminated before they form a
rebellion, latter gets the best of the Saiyan.
The Ginyu Force
are also among the soldiers employed by Frieza, serving as a High-Level
Executive Class team, and are among the strongest of soldiers within
Frieza's empire - with their captain Ginyu acting as the right-hand man
of Frieza himself.
The Ginyu Force (ギニュー特戦隊, Ginyū Tokusentai; lit. "Ginyu Special Squadron") are a group of characters of elite mercenaries working for Frieza to conquer planets, and are part of the Frieza Force.
The members of the Ginyu Force were all special troops of a "High-Level Executive Class"[4] within the Galactic Frieza Army, with Ginyu himself acting as captain of the force and also Frieza's right-hand man.
Creation and concept
The Ginyu Force has some resemblances and references to Super Sentai teams (and by extension, Power Rangersteams): five color-coded warriors, tendencies to pose during battle, role calls and supernatural powers. However, because Akira Toriyama's works usually feature parody, the stances used by the Ginyu Force may be a parody of the stances seen Super Sentai. Some of the recent references to the Ginyu Force's stylistic forms of poses and colorful display comes from Super Sentai series. This resemblance to Super Sentai may be due to Toriyama's son interested in Super Sentai shows as stated by Toriyama in an interview.
The Ginyu Force members follow the tradition of Dragon Ball characters being named for puns; in this case, all manner of dairy products: Guldo is derived from "yogurt", Recoome from "creme", Burter from "butter", Jeice from "cheese", and Ginyu is derived from the Japanese word for "milk" (牛乳, gyūnyū).
History
Background
The Ginyu Force
The Ginyu Force is a team of super-elite and powerful warriors.
Unlike any others who serve the galactic empire, they are merely
freelancers greatly favored by the tyrant rather than forcefully subdued
slaves or servants.[5]
Despite being evil, ruthless and cold-hearted similarly to their
master, the Ginyu Force follows an independent mentality forged from
within the group and have a code of honor and fairness of their own.
These are features that set them apart from the rest of the Galactic
Frieza Army, and they are the only ones not threatened or disrespected
by Frieza.
Within the Frieza Force, the Ginyu Force are of "High Level
Executive-Class", with positions higher in rank than even Zarbon and
Dodoria who serve as Frieza's aids.[6]
It seems that Frieza is behind the formation of the Ginyu Force, as
Vegeta mocks Guldo in his flashback (back on Planet Frieza No.79) that
he only made it to the Ginyu Force because Frieza decided to place him
there, or as Frieza himself refers to them while returning from his
fight with Nail
as "warriors especially selected by him, that there was no chance
Vegeta and the 2 Earthlings could have overcome", as he's shocked to not
getting their scouters' signals.[7]
Burter and Jeice
Though physically some of the strongest in the universe, the Ginyu Force's arrogant members delight in coming up with strange poses, betting candy on fights, and playing Rock-Paper-Scissors
to decide the order they should fight in. Every member of the Ginyu
Force is a mutant member of their species, which explains their high
powers and special abilities, as mentioned by Jeice when discussing with
Ginyu why Goku
was so powerful. The strongest of them all is Captain Ginyu himself,
who, for a majority of his appearances in the series, occupies the body
of a horned, purple-skinned extraterrestrial, though he is capable of changing bodies at will. They have their own individual special or gifted abilities into which they can supplement their own ki: Guldo has psionic abilities, Recoome has high-endurance, Burter has incredible speed, Jeice is specialized in Ki Blast
techniques, and Captain Ginyu can transfer his consciousness. All their
special powers originated during their childhood. Guldo realized he had
psychic powers as a kid: he was a real brat, using his powers to lift
up girls' skirts and steal whatever toys he wanted. Recoome practiced
dance, which is how he got his agility and various battle poses. Burter's mother
was very strict, making him do all the household chores and slapping
him if he was late preparing dinner; because of this, he became the
fastest in the universe. Jeice was a pitcher in the Galactic Little League, and it was there that he developed the Crusher Ball
as his special technique. When Ginyu first learned of his Body Change
ability, he swapped bodies with the richest kid in his class, which made
him popular with girls but also stupid, and he soon realized that men
should compete in terms of strength rather than money.[8]
Prior to the creation of Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
all the textbooks and sources referred to the Ginyu Force as Frieza's
only soldiers to be higher in rank than his generals/advisors, Zarbon
and Dodoria, however this conception was altered with the
introduction/creation of Abo and Kado, an evil brothers duo who was described by both Vegeta and Tarble
to be elite soldiers who were once in the same tier as the Ginyu Force
and were not sent to fight on Namek due to being on another planet at
the time thus surviving for almost 2 decades into the future becoming as
strong as their master, Frieza, was in his first form.
Whilst in all the sources and materials prior to Dragon Ball Xenoverse
(2015) the Ginyu Force are stated to be Frieza's supreme fighting force
and highest among his soldiers in rank, this game has Frieza himself
stating that his newly introduced faction, Frieza's Honor Guard, are so strong that only to enroll the candidate (Future Warrior)
must be able to defeat the entire Ginyu Force while fighting them all
at once, before being examined by Frieza in a match. This game also
features a back in time mission which reveals that Guldo was the last
addition to this special fighting force and that in order to enroll he
had to fight in an entry exam match alongside a partner (the Future
Warrior) as any candidate is allowed against Burter, Jeice, Recoome, and
Ginyu in the following order before earning their respect and his place
among them.
