Dragon Ball Z: 15 Things You Never Knew About Zarbon

Dragon Ball Z has showcased a plethora of villains, each having their own powerful abilities. We could spend all day comparing power levels. However, when it comes to who is the most handsome villains, that title easily goes to Zarbon.

While he’s remembered mostly for his looks, there’s more to the handsome prince than he lets on. As the first of his kind, Zarbon became known as Frieza’s most trusted advisor. He is the first villain and character that defeated Vegeta in a one-on-one fight, and is strong enough to wipe out the Namekians with Dodoria. 

Zarbon is remembered as a B or C tier villain, but he is actually a capable warrior. His power level matches Vegeta in the Frieza saga, and much like the Saiyan prince, he is a capable leader who runs a tight ship.

Although Frieza destroyed his home planet, Zarbon follows Frieza’s orders– either out of respect or fear– acknowledging Frieza as the true ruler of the galaxy.

Frieza even acknowledges Zarbon’s competency in Dragon Ball Kai. Despite being dead, Zarbon resides in Hell with the rest of Frieza’s commanders and pops out occasionally for a cameo. With Dragon Ball Super still ongoing, it won’t be a surprise if the prince appears again with Frieza or another group of villains.

With that said, here are the 15 Things You Never Knew About Dragon Ball Z‘s Zarbon!

15 He Is Mistaken For A Prince

While the alien prince shares none of his lineage on screen, it’s presumed that he has the appearance of a regal ruler. In Tenkaichi Tag Team, Zarbon and Vegeta’s stage battle title is “A Prince From Another Planet.” Toriyama has yet to confirm whether or not Zarbon is actually a prince, but he does fit the foreign prince trope in anime.

Zarbon has the qualities of a flamboyant ruler, always searching for beauty and not accepting brutes. It’s one of the reasons why he never gets along with Dodoria.

It’s interesting that Zarbon and Vegeta were recruited as the best fighters worthy of Frieza’s ranks, since they both are opposites of each other. Vegeta betrayed Frieza, while Zarbon is undoubtedly loyal to him. It does put some perspective on Vegeta’s fight against Zarbon, though, even if Zarbon may not technically be a prince.

14 He’s the Strongest of his Race

It’s implied that Zarbon is the strongest of his race. Frieza, being a megalomaniac, would often annihilate planets, saving the strongest warrior of each planet and forcing them to join his army.

Zarbon proved his fighting capabilities, but more importantly, he joined the army because he admired Frieza’s strength. Zarbon is strong not only because of his transformation ability, but also because of his intellect. He’s Frieza’s closest general– he led many successful invasions and often advises Frieza on strategic moves.

There are other members of  his race who appear outside of the mainstream anime. For example, Mandarin is the second most powerful character on the planet. His power level is 22,000, which is just under Zarbon.

Various other characters from Zarbon’s planet also appear in side stories and video games of the franchise. Another example is Yuzu, who appeared in Gekishin Frieza.

13 His and Frieza’s Races Are The Only Ones With Transformation Abilities

Zarbon and Frieza’s races are the only ones with transformation abilities in the Dragon Ball Z series. In Dragon Ball Super, Zanos harnesses the transformation ability in the Tournament of Power.

There are differences between their transformation and other transformation. Transforming abilities vary from user to user. For Saiyans, the Great Ape transformation requires immense strength, whereas Super Buu can transform based on split personality.

Zarbon suppresses his beast form as it contains many powerful attacks, but his transformation power is categorized as a simple ability. Frieza’s transforming ability helps him to  contain his immense power within his bio-suit.

Frieza keeps a number of suits, which are categorized based on forms. His latest form, Golden Frieza, was created specifically for the Tournament of Power.

12 His Transformation Is A Reference To Beauty And The Beast

The names of both of Zarbon’s forms are a reference to Beauty and the Beast. When Zarbon made his first debut, he showed his second formed, a giant frog-like creature, or as Zarbon would put it, his “beast form” in his first fight.

Zarbon has two forms that are well known in the official canon. His normal form is know as “Beauty,” which depicts him with “handsome features,” while his second form is more ugly, known as “Beast.”

In his Beast form, Zarbon’s power level doubles in strength and is powerful enough to even endure hits from Vegeta. In return, he can deliver crushing blows and enhanced ki blast. His monster crush nearly killed Vegeta.

Zarbon isn’t a fan of this form, but it makes him far stronger. Zarbon’s Beauty form doesn’t have nearly the same amount of strength.

11 His Laugh is an Ability in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Just when Vegeta thought he won, Zarbon let out a chilling laugh right before he transformed into the Beast. Well, that infamous laugh is now a fighting ability in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. Yep, his laugh from the animated series ended up in a video game.

The cackle, which is known as Audacious Laugh, taunts opponents with an intimidating laugh that slows down their movements.  The Super Skill is exclusive to Zarbon, but the player’s Future Warrior can also learn it from training.

Zarbon’s movesets in the game are similar to his anime counterpart. He still has most of his iconic moves, such as Elegant Blaster, Super Beautiful Arrow, and even his Beast Super Skills as well.

On top of that, the developers included exclusive Super Skills in Xenoverse 2, which include Bloody Counter. Bloody Counter is an evasive skill that can be used with a set of combination kicks.  

10 He Can Transform At Will

We’ve mentioned before that Zarbon can transform into his beast form at will. However, fans probably didn’t know that Zarbon is one of the few villains, or characters, who has transformation abilities.

The only other villain who have this kind of ability in Dragon Ball Z is Frieza. As we know, Frieza has multiple forms based on bio suits that are able to suppress his power. 

Most fans know of his three forms from Dragon Ball Z, with the exception of his Gold Form, which can be seen in Dragon Ball Super. Zarbon is the only other villain with any kind of transforming ability.

Indeed, the Saiyans have the Great Ape form, which is a source of their true power. However, the Saiyans must have great control of their ability in order to control this form, since most transform against their will when a full moon is seen.

While Vegeta may have been able to transform into his Great Ape form at will at one point, he lost this ability once Krillin sliced his tail off.

9 He Is The First Villain To Single-Handedly Defeat Vegeta

Krillin, Goku, and the Z fighters may have won the fight, but they never actually managed to defeat Vegeta. Krillin spared Vegeta’s life, and Goku has yet to defeat Vegeta in a serious fight.

Vegeta’s first real defeat came when he battled against Zarbon. Zarbon was the only character who pulverized Vegeta and beat him so badly that he nearly killed him. The fight was decisive and left Vegeta incapacitated. If it wasn’t for Frieza’s quest for the Dragon Balls, Zarbon would have killed Vegeta, ending the Saiyan’s royal bloodline.

Zarbon, of course, would fall in their second match. Vegeta was able to grow stronger whereas Zarbon never bothered to obtain more power. When Vegeta defeated him, Zarbon tried to plea for his life, dtating that he and Vegeta should work together and bring Frieza down.

Knowing where his loyalties lied, Vegeta didn’t buy this and chose to kill Zarbon, sending him to the pits of hell. However, even still, Zarbon is the first villain who ever defeated Vegeta in a one-on-one match.

8 Bulma Fell In Love With Him

There is a trend among Bulma’s past exes and crushes, as they all appear to be villains or ex-villains. If you dig even closer, there are even more connections between the villains. For example, both Vegeta and Zarbon were close contenders. Bulma had a crush on Zarbon, as she was immediately infatuated by his good looks.

Before she fell in love with Vegeta, Bulma was into Zarbon, mistaking him for the handsome prince who chose to rescue them. Krillin had to knock some senses into Bulma, though and informed her that Zarbon was working for Frieza. Ironically, Vegeta ended up being the prince who saved her. However, Bulma’s fantasies were still shot down when Vegeta killed Zarbon.

Nevertheless, Bulma later go together with Vegeta after the Frieza Saga. She did, in some sense, get the prince of her dreams. Vegeta may not have Zarbon’s good looks, but he did turn out to be a caring and supportive husband.

7 His Earrings Resemble Potara

If you look closely at Zarbon’s character design, you probably noticed some similarities. For example, his earrings resemble the Potara earrings. Dragon Ball Z introduced these powerful earrings as a power-up item in “The Old Kai’s Weapon”.

Kibito and Shin used their Potara earrings and combined themselves for an enhanced fusion against Super Buu. The apprentices under Supreme Kai also wear the earrings to booster their skills. The earrings can bolster fusion attacks and characters who wear Supreme Kai’s earrings are allowed to use one of the time rings.

That is, until we see Zarbon’s earrings. Officially, his earrings are not Potara, and it’s implied that Toriyama merely reused the designs for anime series.

However, it would have been cool if Zarbon had Potara earrings, which were a source of his power. Unfortunately, in terms of plot, it wouldn’t make sense given the nature of the earrings and his role in the story.

6 His character in Dragon Ball Z Abridged Is Similar To his Canon counterpart

Team Four Star’s Zarbon, who appears in Dragon Ball Z Abridged, is pretty much the same as the canon character. The only difference is that the Abridged version has a lot more subtext surrounding his personality compared to the original Zarbon. 

In the parody series, Zarbon does let out a bunch of innuendos, often complimenting the other Saiyans in the series based on their appearances. Since Zarbon is portrayed as an effeminate beauty queen, the Abridged series plays into that a lot.

In the fight between Zarbon and Vegeta, Zarbon tells Vegeta, “Well, Vegeta, I hope you’ve enjoyed being top, because I’m about to put you back on the bottom.” This is right before Zarbon changes into his second form.

Zarbon appears to be interested in men, until we learn that he has a girlfriend. Zarbon asks Frieza if he can use the computer to Skype call his girlfriend. Frieza is shocked, suspecting that Zarbon’s girlfriend is probably named Chuck.

5 Christopher Sabat Voiced Him and Vegeta

US Voice Actor Christopher Sabat voiced both Vegeta and Zarbon. The whole fight scene between Vegeta and Zarbon involved Sabat quoting lines alone in a sound booth.

Given that early anime dub actors were limited, popular anime shows often had voice actors portraying multiple characters. For example, Veronica Taylor voiced Ash, Delia, and May in English dub of Pokémon.

Sabat lent his voice to a number of characters within the shown. Before he took on the role of Vegeta, Sabat voiced Yamcha in the original series, Grandpa Gohan, Piccolo, and the Turtle.

Ironically, Sabat voiced all of Bulma’s love interests: Yamcha, Zarbon (who was technically a crush), and Vegeta. The only time he didn’t voice Zarbon was in Dragon Ball Kai.

Sabat still voices Vegeta and Piccolo in Dragon Ball Super and has accumulated other Dragon Ball roles, which have been added to his filmography. This includes Shenron, King Vegeta, Kami, and the ape characters.

4 He Doesn’t Appear In Dragon Ball Super… Yet

When Frieza returned back from the dead, we wondered if all of the villains would return, similar to Dragon Ball GT’s plotline. Though Zarbon hasn’t made an appearance yet in Dragon Ball Super, he and Dodoria are mentioned. When talking about them, Vegeta compared Zarbon and Dodoria to their respective fruits and recalled their fight on Earth.

In the Gold Frieza Saga, Sorbet recounts the time when Frieza and his elite generals, including Zarbon, were a fearsome threat to the galaxy. Sorbet compares Tagome, a retainer under Frieza, to Zarbon, but when Tagome tells Frieza to ignore the Saiyans, Frieza blasts him off, calling out Tagome’s cowardice.

Frieza then told them that his former generals were no cowards and saw Tagome’s cowardice an insult to their names.

3 He Has Several Brief Cameos In Movies And Games

While he’s only minor character compared to the main villains, Zarbon still pops up outside of the main series. In the main video games, he even appears as a playable character.

Often times, he appears together with Dodoria. In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, he is seen chasing Krillin in an altered timeline. The Time Patrol then sends reinforcements to help Krillin against Zarbon and Dodaria.

In Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Zarbon is part of the What If saga. Titled “Beautiful Treachery”, the story focuses on a What If scenerio  where Zarbon and Goku team up to battle Frieza. The quest is unlocked only if Krillin defeats Dodoria.

He also appears in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – the Father of Goku as member of Frieza’s army. He serves as Frieza’s retainer and close advisor, warning him about the Saiyan’s threat.

2 He Remains Loyal To Frieza Despite Everything That Frieza Did To Him

Despite everything that Frieza did to him and to the other planets that were destroyed becaise of Frieza, Zarbon is undoubtedly loyal to Frieza.

His relationship with Frieza is due to a combination of both fear and respect. Despite his overwhelming power, Zarbon learned to respect Frieza’s power and came to terms with the situation.

He is Frieza’s closest advisor and it’s no coincidence that both of them share the some of the same abilities, though in comparison, Zarbon’s strength is a tiny fraction of Frieza’s power.

Even Vegeta saw through Zarbon’s bluff. He pleaded to Vegeta, telling him that he would switch sides if Vegeta spared his life. However, Vegeta saw through this.

The scene was even more obvious in the original dub, as Zarbon pleaded for his life and called Frieza by the Japanese honorific equivalent to Lord Frieza. Long after the Frieza Saga, Zarbon is still remembered as Frieza’s mosttrusted advisor.

1 His Name Means Pomelo

If you’re going to include a vide variety of characters who are named after vegetables, you might as well add in characters named after fruits and the five other groups of the food pyramid.

The Saiyans are named after vegetables and they come from Planet vegetable. The name Zarbon is Japanese word for the pomelo fruit. Some fans wonder whether Dragon Ball creator Toriyama named Saiyans and warriors after vegetables to encourage kids to eat more vegetables… and play the Piccolo.

Because Toriyama names his characters after fruits and other foods, so it’s no surprise that Zarbon and his race were named after fruits.

Zarbon isn’t the only character named after a fruit, tohugh. Dodoria is named after Durian, which is a Southeast Asian fruit notorious for its smell and aphrodisiac taste. Yuzu is also named after a fruit, and Mandarin is, obviously, named after a mandarin orange.

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Can you think of any other facts about Dragon Ball Z‘s Zabron? Let us know in the comments!