The best dragon ball villain was Ginyu to be honest.. he embodies a crazy and loyal gentleman with a fantastic move set, his willingness to serve frieza is funny to see as well
Cell is my favorite Dragon Ball villain so by default he's the best in my opinion of course (specking of Cell any chance you'll do a video about him in the future?)
Frieza is perfect as a villain because he's just like Emperor Palpatine: Not just evil but DELIGHTFULLY evil. He revels in his own evil. It's fantastic
That's why frieza is so good. He takes pure pleasure out of being evil. Only looking for his own gain. There is no manipulating him, no reasoning. If it benefits him hes in. If it doesnt he will go evil.
According to Ginyu, he's a nice boss though. He's generous with the pay and benefits for his army. He also provided armors and healing benefit for in-work injuries.
He's the kind of villain who prefers to persuade or coerce people who can be useful to serve him rather than destroying them on sight. At least in Namek saga, he consistently offers everyone who became worthy of his attention a job and only proceeded to kill them when they refused and insisted to get in his way.
That's why the Dark Knight's Joker is such a great villain. The writer does not apply pressure on him to reveal his true nature. The Joker himself applies maximum pressure on Gotham City so they will reveal their moral hypocrisy. He is both the villain and the writer of the story.
Yeah but my problem isn’t necessarily with Joker but Batman. Everyone knows Batman won’t kill and Batman still gives him the benefit of a doubt and Joker knows and uses that. The joker literally has no consequences because Batman is too much of a good guy to change him. Even bad people have to be out down in society today with lethal injection for the good of the public because otherwise all these sociopaths would be given the treatment as joker only for them to keep doing the same thing. Batman doesn’t want to kill Joker for himself not necessarily for the public. It’s literally a selfish desire so he doesn’t break a rule he won’t cross. But it’s not smart, it doesn’t even make sense. Just kill him and many problems will be solved. Obviously new issues would rise but there’s plenty of other villains to keep Batman busy. All Batman ever does is send his villains to the Arkham asylum but they all literally break out, leave, or just simply walk over the asylum to the point that it’s not even a useful place. I’m not saying he should just kill everyone but he can kill Joker because Joker is a straight psychotic maniac that cannot be Frieza. Technically the same is happening with Frieda but Goku is always there to stop him and so are gods so Frieza actually has to be careful unlike Joker who ,again, has literally no consequences even with other heroes being there
@@eli2210 outside of the dark knight Batman who has a great mentality of he’ll never kill you be he has no obligation to save you is prolly the best version of Batman’s no killing mentally. Your very right joker is literally just a road bump on every street but if you get rid of the speed bump there’s no issue for the people but with Batman (just an analogy btw) doesn’t remove those speed bumps because he just doesn’t want to cause if he does he’ll think he’ll go to fast and wild out on the road which is selfish of him.
common viewer they have polar opposite ideals, I hope freeza never becomes “good” because I feel his redeeming quality is his cunningness, you never know what he is gonna do unlike Goku because his motives are pretty much clear.
@@ratlosmappy Exactly! I feel as though his whole character is "Villian" and he is the very definition of "does as he pleases." He has one of the best chemistries with Goku because of his character traits. I however, how no issues with him working with goku.
Goku helped Freeza develop as a warrior, learning not to underestimate his opponent and a little bit of teamwork, but he definetly didn't leave as a better person. Though it may be the reason as for why he's nicer to his minions.
I think Freeza is so scared of Hell he'll play along. He realized he could achieve what he wanted without being labeled a villain. With what he went through in the tournament of power, having to be saved by Gohan, Goku and 17 over and over then saving them too... I think the writers are going to consider it as an excuse to keep him around in the series.
I love that change to his character. He's still vain, but realized that he has enemies that can rival him, so he changed his approach to the issue so he doesn't seem as much of a threat, and uses underhanded tactics to get what he wants. He got a taste of true struggle thanks to Goku and gang, so he learns to adapt with every attempt and failure to get a leg-up on the competition.
it perfectly fits his narcissistic personality. The original frieza wanted immortality so that he could rule forever he did not want strength because he thought of himself as the strongest creature in creation (acknowledge Beerus did not exist, and Freeza did not know of him at the time) Frieza character was so masterful written that he is still consistent in the "being 5cm taller" wish because you logically could attach him making that wish after being immortal. remember Frieza pointed out that he didnt want his change in size to be dramatic meaning he is/was willing make several 5cm taller wishes over a very long span of time.
He also knows that his wish can be easily undone since there are a lot of people with access to Dragon Balls. :) Back on Planet Namek he thought it's undisputedly the most strongest being in the universe by far (except Beerus and maybe Majin Buu) without the knowledge of the other versions of Dragon Balls. He would have first somehow find a way to wipe a lot of characters first before being able to wish immortality or else it would be meaningless. Besides, I think he likes all of the fighting and competition.
The real joy of watching an unsympathetic villain is that we can delight in their suffering, guilt free. This allows us to enjoy our sadistic side without feeling like we are evil. Watching Frieza getting his ass kicked or otherwise humiliated is hilarious.
Freeza is literally a Sociopathic Spoiled Brat. Yes he’s intelligent and Brutal but he DEADASS doesn’t care for anyone but himself. Not even his own father by the slightest and his most loyal henchmen Zarbon and Ginyu
Trump's pretty similar, only being different in paying some respects to people who cater to him... though he often doesn't even support loyal followers, as evidenced by the complaints of people who currently and formerly worked closely to him.
@@PoochieCollins Why can't Americans ever shut the fuck up about their politics ? You have no idea how annoying you guys are annoying online and IRL, it's impossible to talk to you without Trump coming up. If you took the time to enjoy stuff without thinking about him maybe you would be less perpetually butthurt.
Frieza is HANDS DOWN the best DBZ villain. His unapologetic behavior is so satisfying as a villain lover. His classy speech pattern reminds me of mafia bosses with money & power. Love Frieza as a villain
Finally someone touched on this. I don't mind a villain just being evil. There are people even irl that are simply evil and despicable people just cuz. Fiction to an extent is just an abstract exaggerated recreation of the real world. I don't see any issues with those characters, personally.
"There are people even irl that are simply evil and despicable people just cuz." There ARE, but... *Most* of the people society calls "evil" (militants, terrorists, conmen etc etc) are the ones that think that they are in the right. Only a minority of those "evil people" are sadistic douchebags who know they are in the wrong. Thus, it's far more realistic to have a villain that actually thinks that they themselves are the good guy. Whether you think being realistic is a good thing or not is up to you. jussayin
@@helloturkey1143 You have a point. Im not saying the villain market should be over saturated with psychopaths who are just born without a care in the world for others..making that character's reasoning for committing atrocious acts easier. I'm just saying that I don't have a problem with their presence, especially if they're done well like Frieza or Dio, from JoJo's Bizzare Adv.
+HelloTurkey Trust me people being evil for the sake of evil are all to real. You just haven't met enough people yet. and isn't the point of fantasy to show the eccentric/the shining stars and wierdos of socity that have equally eccentric adventures. Nobody likes to know the story of Bob down the street and even so he has to become a special most of us would never be by the end of the story. So showing these "minorty" is realistic as well. Whether it makes good writing is a whole different story.
@@Tomohiko_Tatsuno He only married her out of sympathy not because he really loved her, he didn't even remember who she was when they fought. You can argue that he grew to love her over time, but that relationship benefited her more than it did him.
The fact is there are some people who are bad and will always be bad. They may not have been born that way, but they made choices that led them to this life of villainy. That's the way the real world works too as seen with various dictators, murderers, criminals, and monsters throughout history. You don't always need a sympathetic or complicated villain with a relatable philosophy. The best explanation is often the simplest one and the simple fact is some people are evil and they like it that way.
infogalactic.com/info/Petar_Brzica alchetron.com/Petar-Brzica And brother, are they ever proud of it! The dude wore his fingernails to the bone cutting people's necks! Also let's not forget everyone's favourite cannibalistic world leader Idi Amin! My favourite story of his: he captured the ringleader of a coup against him and promised he'd personally see the guy home safely if he ratted out the rest. Invited him onto his private chopper after he did so, flew him back to his home village. Gave him a fancy Italian coat as a gift, then took off. Turns out the coat was sewn full of C4,as once he was about 500 feet away, the house exploded. "I never promised he'd still be safe after he got home!" Some truly admirable cartoon villainy right there!
@@connorschultz380 While it's true that many Kenobi accounts exist (clones, what can you do?) there is only one true Obi-Wan Kenobi and he is me! The original. The genuine article if you will! ;-)
Came looking for this, it's crazy how short it feels I've followed mark but been doing so since his anatomy series, and all of that just to be gone with in a few hours hurts as a fan. Hell the fact even the UI goku speed draw and Kakarot cover redraw was taken down just downright shows he was targeted
The thing that makes an unsympathetic villain so great to me is because of how their unfettered cruelty makes them a more viable threat unlike the sympathetic villain who because of their more human quality means that you could try talking them out of committing evil acts and appealing to their humanity in a way that you could never do otherwise with the complete monster villain
I think the reason that frieza is so menacing is his intelligence, sophistication and indiscriminate menace, and his neutral evil character makes one of the greatest villains in not just anime history but in all of pop culture
The contrast between Goku, Vegeta, Broly and Frieza I really like. I’m really happy with what Toriyama has done with the character since his first revival (excluding RoF)
Considering he's worked off years of badass decay, Freeza's on fire! That being said, I'm still trying to figure out where Beerus, Freeza and Broly will be at in the future. Especially if the manga's ending is still canon...
They can't be your favorite villain type. You just like the narrative in which those types of characters fit in. They only work within a certain narrative; that's literally what the video was about.
Unapologetic, unsympathetic. The perfect villain who wants nothing but to gain for himself. No regard for life of anyone. He has no true allies. He rules by fear alone. During the first frieza arc I was worried he would be turned by goku and ruin the character. So glad they kept him true to his character. And mostly continued with it in super. In the end he respected goku and others and stayed true to his word, but only because it benefited him.
Basically flexing clout is what you would say if you have expensive clothes and are showing them off to other people. Thats why you picture Frieza wearing designer. 🎣💨
Freeza: The cold tyrannical villain who knows no sympathy Cell: The culmination of everyone’s strength being used against them and is evil only to the extent of hating those who are in his way Buu: A being of chaos made to only destroy without thoughts or feelings and used as a tool for Bibidi and Babidi Zamasu: Driven to evil from multiple outside sources in which he disproved of but was not allowed to interfere with until he snapped
@@ZeoSleeps no man, every buu is pretty much the same, kid buu is just the least rational but he's always trying to entertain himself. If he was only a destruction robot as described, he would've killed Vegita and the others in an instant instead of toying with them.
"Poits a finger at you" Bang! Gotta love Frieza. Even at his small stature he looks down on everyone. And he will destroy your world with his pinky raised, like a proper snob ^^
I think Vegeta is a fan favorite (including me ) because he is essentially the product of goku and frieza's flat arc. Vegeta is caught in between the maim evil and the main good. No wonder he has traits from both.
@@john-olivierlukama1548 Wait but- instead of being brought to the good like vegeta, what if he's brought to the BAD side? Man that would've been interesting
When you remove the tragic backstory, you can focus in making an evil character with style, charm, and mad swag. Frieza and dio are the best examples in anime.
Dio actually does have a pretty shitty backstory, the story just goes "fuck off" when he tries to play it towards people in the 2nd episode and he goes "lol yeah you're right actually" and then becomes a based gigachad.
@@micromints1735 hell no. Dio was literally saved by George Joestar and had all the opportunities to reinvent himself & heritage to be a great man and he squandered it being jealous of Johnathan. He makes me more frustrated than Freiza. Dio is literally a perfect looking man, perfect physique, intelligent, rich due to daddy warbucks adopting him, what else more does he want???
Also, just because a character doesn't make an entire 180 in terms of alignment doesn't mean they can't or don't develop. Despite Frieza being evil from the moment we first see him up until now doesn't mean he never changed. In fact, he has changed a lot, and that's demonstrated in the video. Notice how at the beginning, Frieza is incredibly cocky and uses brute force to get whatever he wants. In Super, Frieza has toned down his cockiness quite a lot as his defeat at the hands of Goku, Toppo, Broly and even seeing what Beerus and Zeno are capable of has forced Frieza to adapt to the reality that he is indeed not the single most powerful being in the universe. He more often relies on manipulation now, which is why he wants Broly on his side so bad because he KNOWS he probably can't beat Goku 1v1 and certainly can't deal with Goku if Vegeta is there backing him up. To an extent, Frieza respects Goku. Not as a friend, but as a formidable adversary. He knows Goku isn't a pushover and that if he wants to ever defeat him, he's going to need all the help he can get. In Super, Frieza relies less on being a bully and more on his cunning and natural talent when it comes to manipulating those around him to get to his goals. Frieza didn't change sides, but he definitely developed as a character - so much that he was even willing to fight alongside the one person he hates more than anyone in existence as long as it meant he could be brought back to life.
A lot of people are under the notion that sympathetic villains are more "Realistic". I'm a school teacher and I firmly disagree with that. Freeza grew up raised by king Cold and was told he could do whatever he liked to the planets they conquered. I have personally met my fair share of little ingrates who adore the idea of being above their fellow classmates so much and then lash out in anger or even violence when challenged, corrected, or asked to do something they don't want to do because at home they get what they want. They're not dumb. In fact some are quite talented in certain areas. This is just how they think of the world around them. Meanwhile some writers just slap on a sob story where this one time before they became villains they had a really bad day and now they believe they are justified at giving other people really bad days. Sometimes that's written well other times it feels like the writer is just tacking something on. I think one of the best examples of this is comparing Disney's 1991 Gaston to their 2017 Gaston. In the animated one the town loved how talented and handsome a hunter he was and spoiled him with praise and that's why he felt he was entitled to the woman he thought was hot. In the live action one they bring up how he survived a war and that maybe he struggles with keeping violent tendencies in check sometimes and it doesn't really go anywhere. It's just added on.
That and some unsympathetic villains are so charismatic in their evil ways that they are considered as better villains than complex one, and there are a lot of them like Dio or Maleficient.
@@scipion3679 after watching Jojo and finally finishing the end of stardust crusaders, I can confirm that Dio is quite possibly one of the greatest villians of all time.
Yeah, totally. Freeza is raised to be a brat with no empathy. I was very happy that the new movie (Brolyl opens up to this why Freeza is the emperor and his father isn't. Its not that Cold Can't be the emperor, or Freeza usurped him. It's just that Cold WANTS to sit back in retirement and watch his merciless offspring make the shots. Because he has raised a powerful and unempathetic person. Not once in any movie or the series is it shown that Freeza disrespects or acts up to his father. In fact he obeys him, although he could probably and easily kill him. So there is Something there. I think it's the appreciation for his position, his bloodline and the the understanding of the contempt thwy both have for other races and weaker beings. His father allowed him to be this way.
Freeza reminds me a lot of the Joker( especially Heath Ledger's portrayal) The Joker never really had a definitive origin story, because that would make him too human. You're not supposed to feel sorry for the Joker because he's pure chaos.
That was a terrible portrayal of batman and joker, the best portrayals are the golden age rebirth and frank miller. Frieza and Goku are more similar to Superman and Darkseid kinda similar to their classic versions from the older versions.
I can't express my gratitude towards you Mark, for creating these amazing videos showcasing the deeper meaning of the franchise we love, without caring about recognition of your work, but by doing it for yourself and for fun. For us as well xD
Or maybe he is, he seems to be pretty smart when the time comes to it, I'd put a theory out there that Goku's probably the most manipulative character.
@@up5169 honestly you're not entirely wrong here. Sometimes but not in most of it, Goku isn't even being dumb. He just doesn't give a shit about the danger he puts himself in because that shit is fun to him
Anale Beads I mean can you call it character development if he went straight back to his old ways, I mean he did fight alongside Goku but that was because he didn’t want to be erased from existence. I think it’s safer to say his personality has been expanded even more, rather than development.
@Firelord86 Yeah, im not with the whole every evil person needs to develop or have a sympathetic backstory. Some people really are just evil just because they can be and Frieza is a representation of those types. Pure psychopathy
I just love Freiza's design, I think that his final form is another reason behind his popularity. He is a pure villain and his final form truly reflects that purity.
Not only that but frieza is the first one to put fear in goku’s heart in dbz. There was a scene where goku actually hesitated to attack when he had an opening because of friezas power
Say what you will, but the fact Frieza is pure evil just works so well with him. It is an awesome timeless classic to have him be the most evil thing ever. I hope he stays evil.
"True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure- the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature."
Frieza is honestly one of my favourite fictional villains of all time. He just oozes charisma. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't The Joker from DC kinda fall into the "unsympathetic villain" category along with Frieza?
Yeah. Im pretty sure either it was toei or toriyama in an interview saying they're trying to make freiza like joker, so goku would be batman and frieza joker.
The first introduction of Frieza where Gohan, Krillin and Bulma are hiding in that cave while Frieza and his forces fly past was probably one of the most intensely chilling moments in Z. IT was just so well executed.
That being said, Frieza himself is one of the most wicked and despicable characters in all of the series, Frieza seems to have be made with the intention of being as hated and despicable as possible. which is especially notable when you consider the two largest threats after him, Cell and Majin Buu, were literally made to be evil, and yet Frieza manages to be as cruel and heartless , if not more, then they are. Frieza is a sadistic, depraved tyrannical genocidal dictator and tyrant who loves to inflict pain and suffering on others (children included), and while most villains usually have some form of he continuously refuses to be redeemed is also Ungrateful Bastard even when given mercy And unlike irredeemable main villains like King Piccolo, Cell and Super Buu, he doesn't even have the excuse of being born evil. He's this in-universe, as practically everyone who knows about him despises him in fact This become more interesting to note since Frieza is everything Zamasu claimed evil and repulsive of mortals frieza represented everything that Zamasu hate about mortals
@@Deathmare235 It is true that he was created for the purpose of killing Goku, but evil acts were required for him to grow stronger since he had to absorb a lot of humans. Even then, he would have failed if not for Vegeta letting him absorb 18. Plus, he was also willing to destroy the planet more than once after becoming Perfect Cell and kept going even after he killed Goku.
I find it rather amusing that Zamasu would point to Frieza and say "This is everything wrong with mortals." and I suspect Frieza's reply would be to name Zamasu as everything wrong with the Gods in turn... then list off a bunch of accurate descriptors for Frieza himself as his reasoning.
Honestly when I first heard Freeza would be coming back for the Tournament I was like "Ew why??" but ever since his resurrection I've been more and more on board with his involvement and character changes in the story.
Frankly, the more we learn of Saiyans, the more Frieza seems totally justified in wiping them out. If he ever wanted a stable Empire, these savage, warmongering nutjobs couldn't be allowed to exist.
There are wiser ways to do that. But then, Frieza's biggest weakness isn't even his arrogance, it's his inability to foresee and believe in personal consequences to his actions. When he destroyed Vegeta, he didn't follow through. When he went to earth for revenge, he didn't bring overwhelming force. When he was resurrected, he didn't do anything to gauge Goku's strength to determine if he had overwhelming force yet. I'm willing to bet this same mistake screws him in the Broly matter (haven't seen it yet) since it's a pattern of his.
@@mechwarriorny3798 He was right though; Nappa casually suggests exterminating earths men and raping all the woman. Vegeta only shoots it down because the results could be dangerous and instead decides to just blow up the planet. Mass murderers and rapists the lot of them; how exactly could they be seen as better than Frieza? Goku Is the exception, not the rule. #FriezaDidNothingWrong
Did you forget Bardock? He saw the visions of his future and tries to do the right thing, even if it meant he died trying. Not everything is black and white
At least he cares about his friends and wanted to avenge them. And killing people was a job. He didn't enjoy it but he did it because it was his job. And he tried to do the right thing after seeing visions of Goku and seeing the kind if msn he would become. He had more character development and growth than most of the cast in SU.
My favorite villain from DBZ was Bu, specifically, Kid Bu. The whole thing about being completely unrestrained and not caring about anything other than destroying things made him scarier than other villains.
The best villain was frieza. The scariest villain was kid buu. Unrestrained destruction coupled with a very lacking sense of self preservation. Buu comes off more as an amoral villain though, rather than cunning and manipulative. Buu in his pure form lacks regular mortal morals, and doesnt have an end goal (save destroying everything). In a way he resembles a doomsday from superman, a worthy opponent, but hardly the source of evil who wrought or summoned it. Not a bad villain by any means, but nowhere near the figure that freeza represents.
The best villain was frieza. The scariest villain was kid buu. Unrestrained destruction coupled with a very lacking sense of self preservation. Buu comes off more as an amoral villain though, rather than cunning and manipulative. Buu in his pure form lacks regular mortal morals, and doesnt have an end goal (save destroying everything). In a way he resembles a doomsday from superman, a worthy opponent, but hardly the source of evil who wrought or summoned it. Not a bad villain by any means, but nowhere near the figure that freeza represents.
You know I truly didn’t like Friezas final form as a kid, I think it was the simplicity of it, but now as an adult especially since he got his golden form I actually think he has the best final form design out of any DBZ villain.
Love coming back to these videos. An unsympathetic villain I immediately enjoyed was All for One. The way he conducts himself and uses others is a lot like Frieza. He carries every scene he is in.
Freeza is a great example, and I'm glad that someone talked about this. I am all about sympathetic villains, but it seems far too overdone in the modern age of writing. While only tangentially related, my favorite Dragonball character is Bardock. His interaction with Freeza, however brief, was pretty great character interaction.
Funny thing is that people were complaining about characters like frieza back in the 80's and 90's. Now we have an over saturation of sympathetic villains, maybe we'll go back to these type of characters.
I thought it was twist villains that were overdone. Sympathy is too, but Disney twist villains make me sick. Schaffrillas Productions made me realize that
@@Jar0fMay0 It seems to be a long standing cycle. Oversaturation of one type, leading to the good examples of another other getting notice... leading to oversaturation of the other type, 2 goto 1.
I know it's two years on, but I think that this is yet another thing team four star understood as seen from Frieza's short monologue in their new video "Cell in a Hell"
Love your videos, and I love to add that both of these characters, who have contrasting influence over others, ultimately caused them to influence one another over the course of SUPER. Frieza realising he could reach new heights in terms of power(Golden Frieza) and Goku in becoming more of deviant or schemer (bribing Frieza to join his team & persuading Zeno to start universal tournament) sparked and threatened the fate of not one universe but 12! a literal paradox founded solely by their characters it really does shape their world!
I really miss classic villains like Freeza. Despite what I say in one of my video series, I do enjoy tragic villains and sympathetic ones such as Ardyn Izunia but feel they have become the norm and oversaturated. I think they need. Villains who are plain evil can be just as interesting characters, they just need a colorful personality sometimes.
Frieza is an unapologetic, sociopathic and manipulative bastard and I LOVE him for it. This idea that villains need to have these complex motives and personalities to be good villains is utter nonsense. Frieza is evil and he delights in every minute of it and that in itself is to me what makes him fascinating. I'm not against characters being complex and heck in recent developments of Super Frieza seems to have undergone a few interesting minor changes but there's something equally interesting about a villain who does what they do without shame.
You mean enslaved them to do his bidding, Frieza is not in any sense of the word a hero. The Saiyan race may have done some messed up stuff but that doesn't suddenly change the fact Frieza is a genocidal, racist, cruel, selfish and apathetic tyrant.
Not every member of the Saiyan race was as horrible as Frieza though just for the record but yes the Saiyans were responsible for countless acts of cruelty e.g. the extermination of the Tsufarians/Tuffles.
This was actually a wonderful video. I’ve been with dragonball for the long haul, but I left with a deeper appreciation for Frieza after watching this. You showcased just why we like him, even if we didn’t exactly know why ourselves explicitly. I feel like I learned something about story from this. Well done.
The unsympathetic villain. Toei knows what they're doing and they know how it reflects them to a T. Their message of disdain on Mark is abhorrent. Both RU-vid and Toei are at fault and I only hope that RU-vid will take the right action, even if only just to protect their self-image, as it would be good to right the wrong that Toei has done regardless. Edit : WE FUCKIN WON
One of the few videos not taken by Toei that is based on DBZ, let's hope it stays this way and we even get the others back. I and many others support you Mark.
I think that is "F", but here I am imagining the Riki-Oh song "Jesus Jesus" as "Freeza Freeza"... Fah-Fah-Fah-Fah-Freeza!!!! (I guess I had that song on my mind recently!)
As much as I enjoy sympathetic villains I strongly believe there needs to be more cruel and heartless villains like Frieza. No backstory that brings a villain to who they are, just a character that has a evil nature. Let it be called the Frieza effect
Story-wise, putting 17 and Frieza together multiple times in the TOP when things were super intense was a stroke of genius. 17 had become the perfect example of the way interaction with Goku makes a character better. He has the same hero mentality Goku has, but he’s more intelligent and logical, and therefore likely less repulsive to someone like Frieza. Like you said, Frieza is the perfect example of someone who doesn’t change as a result of his interaction with Goku. In fact, he despises him more and more and even spurns Goku’s trust because of his naivety. But 17 is just like Goku, only more relatable to Frieza. Because of this, I think 17 was the most influential person to him in this whole arc. He gave a realistic representation of what it looks like to have been a villain who can change. 17 also is one of the only characters who doesn’t judge Frieza (likely because he has had no prior experience with him). I think that goes a long way in influencing someone’s character for the better too. I would argue that even though Frieza has seemingly reverted to his old ways, his interactions with 17 and Goku have begun to change him. It’ll be interesting if this gets explored over time, like it was with Vegeta back in the day.
I would prefer if Frieza stayed evil, but the idea of him and 17 being vitriolic deep-space pen pals after the Tournament of Power because 17 is the only member of the Earth crew he can stand would be funny
8:48 "TRUE CHARACTER is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure - the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature." Robert McKee
