Dragon Ball is one of the most beloved anime of all time. It’s a shonen anime series that knows how to capitalize on action and consistently raise the stakes. As exciting as it is to see Goku and company achieve new levels of power, an anime like this is only as good as its villains. When it comes to the Dragon Ball Z’s villains, Frieza is likely the most memorable.
Frieza enters Dragon Ball Z earlier in its run, but he’s a powerful villain that the series can’t seem to say goodbye to. Accordingly, here are 5 anime villains who could beat Frieza in a fight and 5 who can’t.
10 Can Beat: Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)
Sosuke Aizen is a Shinigami and one of the major antagonists of the Bleach series. Like many of the characters in the anime, Sosuke has unbelievable control over spirit energy and is able to perform devastating attacks that would likely give Frieza pause.
Frieza and Sosuke may actually be fairly close in power, but part of what makes Sosuke so intimidating is that he’s spent over 100 years perfecting his revenge scheme and experimenting with spirit energy. It indicates a level of planning and discipline that Frieza lacks.
9 Can’t Beat: Raoh (Fist Of The North Star)
Fist of the North Star is a popular anime that's been able to endure through the ages. It still features incredible powers and humans that are able to go beyond what the human body should be capable of, but it's still considerably more grounded than something like Dragon Ball.
Raoh is the bane of Kenshiro's existence in Fist of the North Star. He's skilled in Hokuto Shinken and can eliminate people through the use of the body's pressure points, but Frieza could just lob energy attacks at him and he'd be toast.
8 Can Beat: Meruem (Hunter X Hunter)
Meruem is the major threat in Hunter x Hunter’s Chimera Ant Arc and he’s the king of the deadly colony and far more powerful than anyone else. Meruem’s strength is unprecedented and often it seems like a villain that’s actually impossible to beat. It’s also impossible for him to feel pain, which is another advantage for him. He’s incredibly confident in every category and he’s able to throw off other characters’ rhythms and reduce them to useless messes. Frieza has the ability to take out planets, but it still feels like Meruem’s intelligence could outwit him in the end.
7 Can’t Beat: Toguro (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Yu Yu Hakusho is a fantastic take on the shonen genre that features many fantastic characters with incredible abilities and some extremely satisfying battles. That being said, when it comes to the villains, Yu Yu Hakusho is lacking. Toguro is positioned as the main antagonist to Yusuke Urameshi throughout the series. Toguro's strength is mostly physical and his energy abilities are nothing compared to Yusuke, let alone someone like Frieza. Frieza may appreciate Toguro's ability to transform, but his bulkier version still wouldn't make a dent against Frieza.
6 Can Beat: Light Yagami (Death Note)
Light Yagami is an interesting anomaly here because he’s someone that’s not physically strong. Frieza could punch right through Light and it’s likely that even Yajirobe could beat him at arm wrestling. Light himself may not be powerful, but his strength lies in his nearly unparalleled weapon, the Death Note book. In battle Light wouldn’t stand a chance, but as long as he’s able to write Frieza’s name down in his little black book, then the tyrant is toast. It may not be a dignified victory, but it’d work.
5 Can’t Beat: Shishio Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin)
Rurouni Kenshin is mandatory viewing for any fans of the Samurai genre or epic sword fights. The anime keeps the battles relatively grounded, but as the series continues it finds ways to flirt with the supernatural. Shishio Makoto is easily one of the most disturbing villains that Kenshin faces. His mummy-like appearance is off putting, but he’s also able to use the life force of others to oil his blade and release flames as a result. He’s a definite threat to characters like Kenshin, but he wouldn’t really register to Frieza, even if he is jumpy around swords.
4 Can Beat: Tomura Shigaraki (My Hero Academia)
My Hero Academia is another anime that features tons of heroes and villains that have extravagant and powerful abilities known as Quirks. There have arguably been some more powerful villains from the series than the League of Villains’ Shigaraki, but if he properly applies his Quirk then he can basically take out anyone. Shigaraki’s Decay Quirk means that he can disintegrate anyone. It takes some time for his Quirk to evolve to this point, but he becomes extremely dangerous. Someone as arrogant as Frieza would definitely let their guard down long enough for Shigaraki to make contact and end him.
3 Can’t Beat: Blackbeard (One Piece)
Marshall D. Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard in the pirate community within One Piece may not be the ultimate villain in the series, but for a long time he was the biggest obstacle and a unique individual who actually wields the power of two Devil Fruits. Despite these advantages, if Blackbeard could ultimately be beaten by Luffy, then it seems like he could be beaten by Frieza, who fights much dirtier. Frieza’s strength still far outclasses the pirate and his fighting spirit is on a whole other level.
2 Can Beat: Diavolo (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has practically built a reputation for how it’s introduced villains with progressively crazy and powerful Stand abilities. There are many characters from the JoJo universe that can break reality with their powers, but Diavolo from Golden Wind is especially dangerous. Diavolo’s stand is tricky to completely understand, but he has the ability to erase time between moments, leaving others powerless and disoriented. Regardless of how strong Frieza is, Diavolo’s King Crimson Stand guarantees him the advantage. It even seems like Diavolo would take particular pleasure in taking out someone as cocky as Frieza.
1 Can’t Beat: Orochimaru (Naruto)
In Naruto, all of the Sannin are extremely dangerous and the trio of ninjas all pose major challenges to Naruto and company at various points. Orochimaru is arguably the strongest of the group and he’s one of the first real antagonists that Naruto has to fight. Despite Orochimaru’s intelligence, strength, and mastery over elements like wind, it’s still not enough to make Frieza sweat. Ninja skills and martial arts mean plenty on Earth, but Frieza operates on another level and has faced much more daunting foes. Snake magic means nothing in comparison megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur.