#dodobon

I will start with the manga and anime however it doesn’t provide much context. The pair interact in discussion regarding power levels, Vegeta and the Namekians, however, beyond that there isn’t much to go off of during the Namek saga. I feel Dodoria had very little time on screen and in panels, so we don’t learn too much about him, on the other hand Zarbon had much more time. But that’s diverting from the question. Sometimes context comes from gestures and glances opposed to spoken words and the two men do share a few of those. Furthermore, I am sure at one point Zarbon quite comfortably called Dodoria an “imbecile” and the latter didn’t reactive negatively which is surprising seeing as Dodoria is very hot headed. I suppose there is the argument that this was said in front of Frieza, however, Dodoria loses his temper in front of Frieza not long after.

I am sure the two men were designed to be opposites and that is hinted at in even just their appearance. I am not referring to their sizes but rather their colours – please correct me if I am wrong but I believe pinks and blueish greens are opposites on the colour wheel. Again, please if I have this part wrong just let me know – I don’t pretend to be an expert on colour theory. The pair are opposites in other ways too as seen with their personalities – although they do overlap in areas.

(Attached colour wheel is from Proven Winners: https://www.provenwinners.com/learn/basic-design-principles-using-color-garden).

Now moving swiftly onto Xenoverse 2, just when I think I’m finished with this game I learn more about it. This game adds so more lore and content for side characters which is part of the reason why I love it, plus the Frieza Force kinda has its own substory with so much content which is quite easy to miss. Keep in mind I am exclusively talking about the English version, I would love to know what the Japanese interactions are one day. Now I want to open with saying the two are mentors who you can build friendship with – they talk a lot about each other and not very nicely either for the most part. Yet I want to direct your attention to three key interactions – one between Zarbon and Dodoria, one between the player and Guprei and the other between the player and Navel.

For context this interaction with Guprei happens once the player has picked a commander to serve under after enlisting in Frieza’s army. Most of the soldiers will talk about Dodoria and Zarbon and which member they support. Some give a little more information and this starts with Guprei as seen. The pair were getting along – which contradicts many of the other statements as there was insistence from those mostly on Dodoria’s side that Dodoria hates Zarbon’s guts. However, the ones who aren’t on a side or are on Zarbon’s side are the soldiers who seem to think with their heads rather than their fists. But this becomes more interesting when we look at the other two interactions.

This first interaction between Zarbon and Dodoria happens if they are both on a Parallel Quest together and Zarbon gets knocked out. Whilst the pair dislike each other for a chunk of this game it seems Dodoria is still at least worried about Zarbon, and this makes me want to jump over to the interaction with Navel as it's kinda related. This is by far the most interesting snippet of dialogue I seen, and I want to share it with whomever reads this.

Navel for context is one of the ‘intelligent’ low rank soldiers. He is in support of Zarbon but he gives us an insight here. Now I am sure the last part is just a throw away line – he wishes he wasn’t joking about wanting them to “kiss and make up”. Now there is two angles we can take here and I want to discuss both. Friendship being angle one – now given DBS Broly we know the two men have known each other for over maybe four decades? We will say four for this, although likely more – we don’t have ages nor do we know how their races age.

They both have high positions at Frieza’s side meaning they must spend plenty of time together as his advisor and enforcer respectively. It is likely that they have formed a friendship along the way despite their differences as they both know what it is like to be close to Frieza day in and day out. At least we can assume they are almost always together as any time we see the two on screen they are with Frieza with only two exceptions I can think of. One was a meeting Frieza has with Dodoria and Ginyu, and the other was during the Namek saga however Dodoria was not there because Vegeta had killed him at that point.

Now if we take this further, could the pair have actually held a more romantic interest in each other? I don’t think it’s impossible, even if they both go against what the other stands for, it could be a play into the idea of “opposites attract”. Now I am sure this is more headcanon territory as “kiss and make up” is just a saying when friends squabble and fall out, however for these I’m not so sure in this context. Sure, this theory and headcanon could be contradicted by Frieza saying the pair had always hated each other or Raspberry saying they can “barely keep it together” in front of Frieza, but the pair have known each other so long that they may fight “like an old married couple”. I don’t think it would be hard for this pair to get mad at each other, Zarbon is petty and Dodoria is hot headed and although it’s not explicitly stated I think the argument is possibly about Namek. I get I might be reading into this too much; however, I analyse what I read to try and give everyone something that may be a headcanon but its also placed in facts to back it up.

Now as for why I’m saying Namek and not about the player? Why Namek at all? Now, I played as a Majin for hours on end as you all know and was therefore under the impression that this substory with the Frieza Force occurs sometime between the destruction of Planet Vegeta and the Namek Saga but I was very wrong. I want to bring attention to something said if you’re playing as a Namekian and talk to Frieza after enlisting.

He already knows about the Namekian dragon balls. Now I though this maybe put it at a point between the Saiyan and Namek sagas until I spoke to Nabana.

Frieza had already attacked Namek. This is a different timeline – so did they all die still? It’s already clear that Frieza isn’t immortal and therefore hadn’t gotten his wish so what had happened? There seems to be no indication so let’s assume everything panned out similarly, to a point. Perhaps the pair are blaming each other for this failure? At first I assumed they were fighting over who is getting to have the player under their command but dialogue contradicts this as the feud had been bubbling for a long time between the men.

Back to Nabana, he insists Dodoria tries to solve problems with force. This may implicate why the two fight shortly after the player joins either of them. Dodoria is keen to fight but Zarbon is seemingly at his boiling point with Dodoria. Yet it seems the animosity levels out to just how it is in the rest of the game and the feud is barely mentioned after that from what I can tell. So, whether its plain hatred, friendship, or love? It’s up to interpretation, I think. Personally, I don’t think its outright hatred – rivalry yes, but with at least some form of partnership to accompany it. These two men need to see each other everyday whilst in the middle of space with no exit from one another – especially if they are at Frieza’s side. They are going to clash, no matter how much you like or dislike someone there comes a point where you need a break from each other.

Besides, it’s the Frieza Force – Frieza is going to love chaos, isn’t he? I am sure he would show favour to one or the other to create further animosity. We know Frieza isn’t above being chaotic – take his killing of Paragus to enrage Broly for example – and of course he passes that blame onto another. This idea I am getting into is supported by Monrei.

Which brings me to theory number two on why they are fighting: the wrestling organisation. Full disclaimer that there is very little evidence for this, and it’s based on two lines of dialogue from Dodoria - this is a very loose theory.

This is a line Dodoria can say to the player, and he already states he had spoke to Frieza about this. Opposed to turning Dodoria away perhaps its possible that Frieza had said Zarbon had petitioned against it? Now understandably neither Frieza nor Zarbon ever mention this idea of Dodoria’s but is it possible? It creates more animosity and if Frieza wants to cause tension between his two best men, why not? It would be believable that Zarbon would say ‘no’ to this as he fights from a distance, however Dodoria would just see red if Frieza had said this as a reason to not go forth with it. Sorry for the grainy old screenshot - its just to backup my point about Zarbon preferring to fight at a distance.

At the end of the day their canon relationship is definitely professional. However, we know there’s rivalry, and possibly something deeper. I believe it’s up to each individual to decide for themselves. This is two side characters in a rather large series, but I will always be thankful for Xenoverse 2 in expanding the lore about them individually and as a pair. I won’t speak on the other games as I don’t have screenshots to backup points. All I can add is that neither are interested in Bulma – Hero Colosseum! Dodoria calls her a hag and the general consensus with Zarbon’s dialogue with her is that he was only flirting with her to get more figures for Frieza. Plus, this is further backed up with him being oblivious to her flirting and attraction on Namek. Again, this is all up to individual perception. I am gonna end this here but to reiterate my point – at minimum rivals, at most friends or lovers. Nothing is explicitly said but they are at least close to an extent.