My Thoughts on Zarbon

My Thoughts on Zarbon
By: Kyley Serunne


I have nothing against homosexuality. I am not biased or narrow-minded. However I do believe that it is wrong to make rash and ignorant decisions just because something or someone is not what you perceive as normal. This is why I have always defended Zarbon when everyone says that he’s gay. I have my own little reasons and theories for this defense and if you are to ignorant to continue reading, then well, I have nothing to say to you. Not only is this essay about why I think Zarbon isn’t gay, but it’s also my thoughts on the character as a whole.

There are many reasons that lead me to believe that Zarbon isn’t gay. After watching the original version of Dragonball Z, I have come to realize that Zarbon is considerably different. He is a character of fewer words. The way he speaks is very formal and dignified. In the dubbed version, Zarbon is portrayed as this ‘hot shit pretty boy’ that only does things because he feels like it. In reality though, Zarbon is terrified of Freeza. Hell, I would be scared to if someone could just kill me without lifting a finger. In the Japanese version he expresses this fear of dying many times. Like any person, I’m sure he is afraid of dying. This also give me reason to believe that Zarbon is not and was not lovers with Freeza. Why the hell would anyone want to be lovers with someone if that person threatened their life constantly? Besides, Zarbon is found of beautiful things and personally I really don’t think that he considers Freeza beautiful.

So why does Zarbon work for Freeza? Here’s my theory. I believe that Zarbon’s race was a peaceful one. I think what happened is that Freeza found Zarbon’s planet and intended to use it for something (technology, or minerals maybe). This is how I think he found Zarbon whom I assume was the prince of the planet. Freeza believed that Zarbon had great fighting potential and probably ordered him (Zarbon) to join him. I think that Zarbon refused Freeza’s order, so out of anger Freeza destroyed Zarbon’s planet and forced him to join him. (hmmm…sounds like a good fanfic idea ^_^) I think it makes perfectly good sense, and if you pay enough attention, you can tell that Zarbon really doesn’t enjoy following Freeza’s orders; he just does it because he has no other choice.

So why do I think that Zarbon is a royal prince and not just ‘fruity’? Just think about the way he acts and such. First of all, the way he speaks is so dignified and formal. It’s like he was raised to be respectful and polite, even if he prefers not to be. It’s just in his nature. Also he HATES to transform. Take this quote for example. “I prefer beauty. That is the most humiliating thing you can say to me.” Zarbon says this when Vegita tells him to transform for a second time. I think it is taken wrong when Zarbon says he likes beauty. If in fact he is a prince then it makes perfect sense. Most princes don’t like getting dirty or being considered ugly. Transforming makes Zarbon ugly, so It’s only natural that he would be so offended when Vegita said that his other for was ugly. This is not just because he is gay, it’s only because he is vain, just about like any other Prince. Vega, from Street Fighter or Hotohori from Fushigi Yuugi are also very vain characters. Does that make them gay now? I’ve also heard other people say, “well he has eyelashes. That means he’s gay.” My only response to that comment is; you have eyelashes, are you gay?

Another thing that Zarbon gets bashed about is his clothing and jewelry. So can someone please tell me why a guy that wears earrings is automatically gay? His clothes are another example. Someone once said to me, “normal guys don’t wear pink.” So tell me now, since Vegita wore a PINK shirt is he gay now too? So now we’re left with the small jeweled head thing Zarbon wears across his forehead. My thoughts on this are that it’s either his crown or a reminder of his home planet, or something to that effect. Also remember he’s an alien, and not of the human race. So like I said, it’s could be some piece of jewelry that royalty wear on his native planet.

On a final thought, I also think that Toriyama-sensei didn’t intend for Zarbon to be thought of as gay. I have seen and read most of DB-Z-GT and I know that if Toriyama-san wanted a character to be homosexual then he would have done something to signify this. It’s the same for just about any other series. Being homosexual is not considered terrible in the Japanese society, and if a manga-ka intends for their characters to be homosexual then they will make them homosexual.

Like I said at the beginning, I really have nothing against homosexuality. I just really don’t like it being used as a derogative term. I just hate it when people flame me about liking Zarbon and don’t even bother to even get to know the character. And I’m also willing to guarantee that any of you people that actually take the time to send me hate mail have never seen any subbed episodes with Zarbon in it. I hope you have enjoyed reading this essay and are now possibly a little more informed about this interesting character and perhaps even enlightened and will think differently about Zarbon from now on.
Disclaimer: The Character Zarbon is copyrighted by Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Bird Studios. These are mearly my opinions on the character Zarbon. This editorial however, is owned by me, and no copies may be made and or published without my consent. Thank you for reading. if you have any further comments then please e-mail me at the address below.

Email: saiyajingoddesskyley@yahoo.com