Akira Toriyama’s famed Dragon Ball manga/anime series returns to print in glorious color. With the Saiyan arc fully colored, it’s now time for perhaps one of, if not the greatest arcs in the series’ history; the Frieza arc. Rumored to have been written as the final arc in the series, Dragon Ball’s Frieza arc features a number of key moments that cemented it in the hearts of Dragon Ball fans across the globe;  Vegeta’s rise and fall, background information on Piccolo & Kami’s alien race, the reveal of long-running villain Frieza, and the epic introduction to the first use of the Super Saiyan transformation.

Dragon Ball is an 1984 shounen manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, it is published by Shueisha, and licensed by Viz Media. It is currently available in print and digital in English, with a colorized remake currently in production.

Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma head to the planet Namek.

The Frieza arc of Dragon Ball is one of the greatest, if not the absolute most phenomenal of the franchise, maybe even  the best manga arc ever for it’s time of release. The arc provided background info on races that previously were scarce in information (Saiyan and Namekian), the villain Frieza felt like a truly evil “final” antagonist, Vegeta received some key character development, as did Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan, and we can’t forget about the Ginyu Force.

Vegeta vs Zarbon.

THE GOOD: The Frieza arc is perhaps the most critically acclaimed arc in Dragon Ball part II, mainly due in part to it’s huge amount of backstory, character development, and big moments. This arc is also memorable for it’s introduction into Super Saiyan. The colorized version of Akira Toriyama’s classic manga, is reminiscent in style to the anime series that helped make the franchise iconic.

Gohan & Krillin attack Frieza’s army.

THE BAD: Nothing

The evil tyrant, Lord Frieza arrive.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The Frieza arc is absolutely gorgeous in color, due to the many colors used for the characters, attire, and planet Namek itself, the manga is illuminated so perfectly in drawn form, you’d think you were looking at screenshots of the anime series. Otaku Dome gives Dragon Ball Frieza Arc Volumes 1-2 an 85 and an 88 out of 100 respectively.