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Red Ribbon Army
The Red Ribbon Army (レッドリボン軍, Reddo Ribon Gun) is a fictional antagonistic faction featured in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball anime and manga series. The many operatives of the Red Ribbon Army, led by Commander Red (レッド総帥, Reddo-Sōsui), serve as opponents for series protagonist Goku during his second quest for the Dragon Balls. In the aftermath of the Red Ribbon Army's defeat by Goku, a surviving member known as Doctor Gero continues the group's legacy and creates a series of powerful artificial humanoids known as Androids as part of his vendetta against Goku.
The group was generally well-received by reviewers. Commentators noted that the Red Ribbon Army arc, in which the group is presented as the first legitimate threat to Goku, represented a shift to a darker tone for the series, as well as a notable example of antiquated or politically incorrect attitudes towards real-world stereotypes and tropes in Japanese anime. Some of the group's individual members, including the Red Ribbon Androids who appear as recurring villains in the franchise, have left a lasting impression on popular culture and have specifically received commentary from media outlets.
Dragon Ball series creator Akira Toriyama drew inspiration for the military organization, particularly its Muscle Tower (マッスルタワー, Massuru Tawā) base, from the video game Spartan X (known as Kung-Fu Master internationally), in which enemies tend to spawn at a rapid rate while the player character ascends a tower; the game itself was based on two Hong Kong martial arts films, Jackie Chan's Wheels on Meals (known as Spartan X in Japan) and Bruce Lee's Game of Death. Some of the Red Ribbon Army members wear uniforms reminiscent of the Hitler Youth, the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, albeit without their signature swastika armbands.
One of the group's major characters, General Blue (ブルー将軍, Burū-Shōgun), is coded as a stereotypically homosexual character, and is similar in concept to the Sturmabteilung co-founder Ernst Röhm. Blue's Japanese voice actor, Toshio Furukawa claimed said it was a difficult role to play due to the character's sexuality. The North American English releases of the manga by Viz Media edited the lips of Adjutant Black (ブラック参謀, Burakku-Sanbō), Staff Officer Black in English anime, by shading them in; D.F. Smith from IGN remarked that the character is a "ridiculous caricature of a black man".
Toriyama created Androids 17 and 18 after Kazuhiko Torishima, his former editor, expressed his disappointment with Androids 19 and 20 being depicted as the villains of the Android Saga arc. When Torishima complained about the youthful duo as well after they were incorporated into the story, Toriyama decided to develop and introduce Cell.
It was decided that the Red Ribbon Army would make a comeback as the main antagonistic force of the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, with new characters serving as the main driving collective behind its revival. On bringing back the Red Ribbon Army, producer Akio Iyoku said that bringing the organization back as the main villains would be interesting for the story, as an organized group of people who band together against the heroes of the Dragon Ball series would have their own differing agendas and personal motivations in doing so. He also said that there could be something going on with the organization's new Android creations.
The Red Ribbon Army's membership comprises humans, anthropomorphic animals, monsters, and Androids. Its hierarchy is organized like a pyramid structure: its supreme leader is Commander Red, followed by his second in command and adjutant Staff Officer Black, who is in turn followed by commanding officers such as General Blue, and so on. Doctor Gero, creator of the Red Ribbon Androids and Cell, is the chief scientist of the Red Ribbon Army.[ch. 335] The organization functions as a military dictatorship where orders from a superior officer are absolute, but each member may conduct themselves according to their respective ambitions.
Goku's protracted struggle with the Red Ribbon Army begins when he resumes his search for his Grandfather's Dragon Ball following the conclusion of a martial arts tournament he participated in. At the same time, Commander Red directs his forces to raid several settlements throughout the world in search of the Dragon Balls, ostensibly on a quest for world domination. Goku initially encounters and defeats Colonel Silver (シルバー大佐, Shirubā-Taisa) and his subordinates. Silver is later sentenced to death by Red for losing to a little boy.[ch. 55, 56]
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Red Ribbon Army
The Red Ribbon Army (レッドリボン軍, Reddo Ribon Gun) is a fictional antagonistic faction featured in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball anime and manga series. The many operatives of the Red Ribbon Army, led by Commander Red (レッド総帥, Reddo-Sōsui), serve as opponents for series protagonist Goku during his second quest for the Dragon Balls. In the aftermath of the Red Ribbon Army's defeat by Goku, a surviving member known as Doctor Gero continues the group's legacy and creates a series of powerful artificial humanoids known as Androids as part of his vendetta against Goku.
The group was generally well-received by reviewers. Commentators noted that the Red Ribbon Army arc, in which the group is presented as the first legitimate threat to Goku, represented a shift to a darker tone for the series, as well as a notable example of antiquated or politically incorrect attitudes towards real-world stereotypes and tropes in Japanese anime. Some of the group's individual members, including the Red Ribbon Androids who appear as recurring villains in the franchise, have left a lasting impression on popular culture and have specifically received commentary from media outlets.
Dragon Ball series creator Akira Toriyama drew inspiration for the military organization, particularly its Muscle Tower (マッスルタワー, Massuru Tawā) base, from the video game Spartan X (known as Kung-Fu Master internationally), in which enemies tend to spawn at a rapid rate while the player character ascends a tower; the game itself was based on two Hong Kong martial arts films, Jackie Chan's Wheels on Meals (known as Spartan X in Japan) and Bruce Lee's Game of Death. Some of the Red Ribbon Army members wear uniforms reminiscent of the Hitler Youth, the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, albeit without their signature swastika armbands.
One of the group's major characters, General Blue (ブルー将軍, Burū-Shōgun), is coded as a stereotypically homosexual character, and is similar in concept to the Sturmabteilung co-founder Ernst Röhm. Blue's Japanese voice actor, Toshio Furukawa claimed said it was a difficult role to play due to the character's sexuality. The North American English releases of the manga by Viz Media edited the lips of Adjutant Black (ブラック参謀, Burakku-Sanbō), Staff Officer Black in English anime, by shading them in; D.F. Smith from IGN remarked that the character is a "ridiculous caricature of a black man".
Toriyama created Androids 17 and 18 after Kazuhiko Torishima, his former editor, expressed his disappointment with Androids 19 and 20 being depicted as the villains of the Android Saga arc. When Torishima complained about the youthful duo as well after they were incorporated into the story, Toriyama decided to develop and introduce Cell.
It was decided that the Red Ribbon Army would make a comeback as the main antagonistic force of the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, with new characters serving as the main driving collective behind its revival. On bringing back the Red Ribbon Army, producer Akio Iyoku said that bringing the organization back as the main villains would be interesting for the story, as an organized group of people who band together against the heroes of the Dragon Ball series would have their own differing agendas and personal motivations in doing so. He also said that there could be something going on with the organization's new Android creations.
The Red Ribbon Army's membership comprises humans, anthropomorphic animals, monsters, and Androids. Its hierarchy is organized like a pyramid structure: its supreme leader is Commander Red, followed by his second in command and adjutant Staff Officer Black, who is in turn followed by commanding officers such as General Blue, and so on. Doctor Gero, creator of the Red Ribbon Androids and Cell, is the chief scientist of the Red Ribbon Army.[ch. 335] The organization functions as a military dictatorship where orders from a superior officer are absolute, but each member may conduct themselves according to their respective ambitions.
Goku's protracted struggle with the Red Ribbon Army begins when he resumes his search for his Grandfather's Dragon Ball following the conclusion of a martial arts tournament he participated in. At the same time, Commander Red directs his forces to raid several settlements throughout the world in search of the Dragon Balls, ostensibly on a quest for world domination. Goku initially encounters and defeats Colonel Silver (シルバー大佐, Shirubā-Taisa) and his subordinates. Silver is later sentenced to death by Red for losing to a little boy.[ch. 55, 56]