Freeza Has a Son Named Kuriza

In the alternate world of gag manga, Freeza does indeed have a son! Akira Toriyama’s Neko Majin (and later Neko Majin Z) manga series began as an obvious parody and homage to the Dragon Ball series, but ultimately began incorporating actual characters from said series toward its middle and end. In Neko Majin Z 2, Toriyama introduced a new villain to the series: Kuriza! Looking very similar to Freeza’s first form, but with a chestnut-shaped head, Kuriza seems to be just a spoiled brat of a son, sporting the same ego as his father. Kuriza ultimately transforms (into a form similar to Freeza’s final form) in his battle against Neko Majin Z. To poke even more fun at the series, Vegeta is called to pick up Kuriza and save him from Neko Majin Z’s amazing strength.

Kuriza (クリーザ; Kuriiza) takes his name from kuri (“chestnut”, identical to the pun source in Kuririn’s name), the shape of his head, combined with the overall sound and structure of his father’s name, Freeza (フリーザ; Furīza). You may see a transliteration of “Kreeza” for the character’s name; we feel the “chestnut” comparison and pun source is important, and therefore spell the name as “Kuriza”.

The Japanese release of Budokai 2 (simply titled Dragon Ball Z 2 — be sure to see that entry in our “Rumor Guide”, too!) for the PlayStation 2 was the next stop in Kuriza’s brief tour. In the game, players are able to choose alternate costumes for characters by simply pressing “up” or “down” while highlighting a character on the character select screen. Most characters have two outfits, with some (such as #18) having up to three. Surprisingly, Freeza’s third “outfit” is none other than Kuriza! Complete with his trademark chestnut-shaped Death Ball for a final move, Kuriza is a fully playable character in the game (albeit only as an “alternate outfit” for Freeza). There is even an extra stage in the “Dragon World” mode that contains characters from the Neko Majin Z series.

After a long absence, Kuriza made a triumphant return in the all-encompassing, ever-expanding, long-running Dragon Ball Heroes card-based arcade game in Japan beginning with the game’s “Evil Dragons Mission” update series.

It remains to be seen if Kuriza will show up in any more official Dragon Ball merchandise or stories, but he has certainly not been forgotten!