Is Freeza the Most Iconic Anime Villain?

[Ripper 30]

After being a Fan of Dragon Ball for so many years and how so many People liked Freeza as a Villain and many Anime Villains are similar to him too in terms of Personality or goal so I really think he is the most iconic Villain, what are your thoughts on it ?

[ABED]

If we're talking pure villain, then sure. If not, then Vegeta.

[Polyphase Avatron]

No, Team Rocket is

[Saikyo no Senshi]

In Dragon Ball? I would say yes. A huge part of the reason why Toriyama and staff keep bringing him back is because of his popularity and iconic status.

In all of anime though? I don't know. He's definitely memorable. That's for sure. But, so are a lot of other villains. Unless, there's a poll or something there can't be a sure answer to this.

[Lord Beerus]

There's no way to tell. He's certainly Dragon Ball's most memorable villain in some parts of the anime and manga community, outside of the Dragon Ball fandom, to varying degrees.

[8000 Saiyan]

This is a hard question to answer. I don't know if he's the most iconic in anime, but he's definitely the most iconic Dragon Ball villain.

[Chuquita]

Internationally?...I don't know. Saint Seiya was/is(?) popular in Mexico and many countries in South America, but I know next to nothing about that series and couldn't even name who the villains are or if they had staying power.

If we're talking about the U.S. exclusively....I might have to echo the earlier comment about Team Rocket; more people watched Pokémon than they did Dragon Ball back then, I think. Sailor Moon had such an ever-rotating door of villains that I don't think any of them were around long enough to stick the way Team Rocket or Freeza did.

If we're talking about Japan exclusively, I think he'd probably tie with whoever the bad guy in Anpanman is (who I think is also voiced by Ryusei Nakao) and maybe Dio Brando from JJBA. Does Doraemon have a reoccurring villain? I don't think it does, but if so, probably them too.

[Kamiccolo9]

It's Team Rocket.

[ABED]

I know Pokémon is more popular than DB, but does that mean the villains are more iconic?

[Chuquita]

I don't follow the pokémon anime, but hasn't Team Rocket never really gone away? Like weren't they in every single iteration of the tv series? That's more staying power than Freeza who actually managed to be gone for a while.

I'd need someone with more pokémon tv series knowledge than I have to answer that.

[Kid Buu]

He's definitely the most iconic villain the series, and since DB is one of the more popular anime series in the US, I could buy into the idea he's the most iconic anime villain in the US.

But in Japan? I honestly don't know. From my understanding series like One Piece are leagues ahead in popularity, so it might be a villain from that series for example.

[Krillin1994]

I find that out of people who never really followed dragonball much in the UK, people always seem to know who Majin Buu was. That's what I seem to find as a fan over here in the UK.

I seemed to recall seeing the cell saga on a lot on toonami, then moving on to the Majin Buu stuff (when I truly got into the show). I feel that people knew who Buu was more so due to the sheer number of fights he had. I don't think I ever watched the Saiyan/Namek/Frieza stuff on toonami as a kid.

I also have no basis to this claim, but I feel that a stretchy pink blob is just more easy to recall for the casual viewer than the minimalistic final form Frieza.

To the clued in fan though, obviously Frieza is more iconic.

[LuckyCat]

If we're talking about Japan exclusively, I think he'd probably tie with whoever the bad guy in Anpanman is (who I think is also voiced by Ryusei Nakao) and maybe Dio Brando from JJBA.

Baikinman? Definitely, he's been iconic for around 50 years now.

[TheBigBoy]

In the west, it's kinda hard to tell as there isn't really anime villain as prolific and well known with the general public as say The Joker or Lex Luthor. But I would agree with Freeza being the closest thing to that...

As far as Japan...I have no idea. Isn't Raoh a big deal over there? I think I read somewhere that the evil chick from Yatterman was extremely popular.

[Bullza]

I'd say it was either Frieza or Team Rocket if it were just matter of being well known.

But Team Rocket were some of the worst anime characters of all time who made Pokemon a garbage and repetitive show. So you'd have to give the edge to Frieza.

[AloversGaming]

Team Rocket were the first name that popped into my head upon reading the title. Gotta give it to them.

[emi_b7]

I agree that it's either Team Rocket or Freeza.

Internationally?...I don't know. Saint Seiya was/is(?) popular in Mexico and many countries in South America, but I know next to nothing about that series and couldn't even name who the villains are or if they had staying power.

It's not as popular as DB IMO (pretty close though). Even if it were, the most popular villains in that series ended up being good guys later (think like Vegeta or Piccolo) so I don't think they would count.

But in Japan? I honestly don't know. From my understanding series like One Piece are leagues ahead in popularity, so it might be a villain from that series for example.

One Piece is really popular but I don't think any of the popular villains from that series (Doflamingo, Crocodile, Rob Lucci, Enel) is as iconic as Freeza. Maybe Blackbeard or Akainu (who seem like the 2 most likely final villains) will get there eventually, but so far they haven't done much.

[sintzu]

Team rocket as the most well known gag villains while Freeza the most well known serious villain.

[Shinda Forever]

Frieza is definitely the most iconic villain the series. No one is even close to him.

[ABED]

Frieza is definitely the most iconic villain the series. No one is even close to him.

Vegeta. Yeah he became a hero, but he started as a villain, so he counts.