The noncanonical son of Frieza is introduced in the wacky Dragon Ball gag-manga created by DBZ's original author poking fun at his previous series!
Since its initial publication and anime adaptation, the world of Dragon Ball brought to life by Akira Toriyama has astonished fans with its creative characters and ever-expanding universe. In one of Dragon Ball’s wildest spin-off manga, it’s revealed that Frieza has a son who, as it turns out, is just as self-absorbed and entitled as his father. While this offshoot Dragon Ball story isn’t considered canon in the Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball Super mythos, there are a few familiar characters who stop by from time to time, and some of them seemingly know that they are guest-starring in gag-manga.
Frieza’s son, Kuriza, makes his first on-page appearance in the Dragon Ball spin-off manga Neko Majin Z. The series of one-shot stories seems to poke fun at the world of Dragon Ball rather than contributing to its lore. Kuriza and one of his henchmen named Onio travel to Earth to challenge Neko Majin Z in a fight after Onio hears word of Z’s power level. Throughout the chapter, Kuriza shows off his transformative and power-up abilities only for the story to end right before the battle, assuredly Toriyama messing with fans who are used to the epic action presented in Dragon Ball Z.
The payoff-less fight with Z isn’t the last time fans see Kuriza, in Neko Majin Z 2 by Akira Toriyama, Kuriza interrupts a game of soccer with Neko Majin Z for an apparent rematch when Vegeta, who is still under Frieza’s employ, arrives on the planet to bring Kuriza home to his father. Vegeta even powers up to Super Saiyan to prove his strength and complete his mission, proving Neko Majin Z exists outside of Dragon Ball continuity as Vegeta doesn’t reach that level of power until after Goku beats Frieza on planet Namek, a fight that has apparently never taken place. Despite the exposition of his power, Vegeta fails and retreats from Earth, saying in his pod, “I am never going to appear in another gag-manga…!” addressing his role as a fictional character in a non-canon universe.
Kuriza looks very much like the first form of Frieza, except without the horns, and later forms more or less gives Kuriza Lord Frieza’s final form look. The main difference in some iterations between their depictions is that Kuriza has brown coloring in the areas where Frieza has purple, while in others Kuriza shares his father’s purple color. While he first appears in Neko Majin Z, Kuriza also appears in another form of Dragon Ball Z media. In certain editions of the video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Kuriza is a playable character after Frieza is unlocked, somewhat cementing his role in Dragon Ball lore outside of the manga or anime series.
The Neko Majin Z timeline in the Dragon Ball universe seems to take place before Goku’s planet-ending fight with Frieza with Vegeta never having broken away from the tyrant’s service. The lack of continuity with the source material is just an example of its disjointedness, though apart from the similar characters appearing in both, the series never claims to be connected to Dragon Ball. In fact, Toriyama makes it clear that this is a gag-manga, filled with jokes and spoofs on his beloved previous creation. Despite the non-canonical implications of the series, Kuriza still intrigues fans as he provides the next stage of Frieza’s family line and the continuation of his reign of terror across the Dragon Ball multiverse!
