Red Ribbon Army
The Red Ribbon Army 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, 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, marked a shift to a darker tone for the series and was a notable example of antiquated or politically incorrect attitudes towards real-world stereotypes and tropes in Japanese anime. Some of the group's members, including the Red Ribbon Androids, who appear as recurring villains in the franchise, have left a lasting impression on popular culture and have received commentary from media outlets.
Conception and creation
Dragon Ball series creator Akira Toriyama drew inspiration for the military organization, particularly its Muscle Tower base, from the video game Spartan X, 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 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, 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, 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 return as the main antagonistic force in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, with new characters serving as the 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.
Members
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. 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 and his subordinates. Silver is later sentenced to death by Red for losing to a little boy.
Though its leadership believes that Silver's defeat was an anomaly, Goku is increasingly seen as a genuine threat when he manages to defeat the forces under General White in their northern stronghold known as Muscle Tower. General White's forces include the android brute Sergeant Metallic, the ninja Sergeant Major Purple and his four identical brothers, and the large extraterrestrial monster Buyon. Other members include Colonel Yellow, an anthropomorphic tiger whom Goku defeated when arriving at the land of Korin; and Colonel Violet, the only known female operative of the army. A General Copper and the Brown Corps are mentioned in passing, but are never seen. The Red Ribbon Army occasionally recruits hired help to further their objectives, such as the assassin Mercenary Tao, and the anime-exclusive thief Husky.
During the Commander Red Saga, Black eventually discovers that Red's motivation to obtain the Dragon Balls in a bid for world domination is a ruse; Red, an exceedingly short man, secretly covets the power of the Dragon Balls to wish himself taller. Black turns on Red and attempts to take command of the army and rename it the "Black Ribbon Army", only to be killed by Goku after he wipes out most of the remaining Red Ribbon forces. Following the downfall of the organization, Doctor Gero continues his research and development work on his line of Android operatives to seek revenge against Goku.
General Blue
General Blue is the titular villain of the General Blue Saga arc in the original Dragon Ball series. One of the Red Ribbon Army's leaders and, seemingly, its most powerful member, Blue has special telekinetic abilities that allow him to paralyze others and control objects. He is a neat freak, and when he does not enjoy Bulma's attempts at seduction, she states that he is gay. He manages to steal the Dragon Radar during their final encounter; after returning to the army's headquarters, however, he is set to be executed for not obtaining any of the Dragon Balls after multiple failures. He is allowed to fight the hitman Mercenary Tao to redeem himself, though Tao easily kills Blue using only his tongue. He is voiced by Toshio Furukawa in Japanese, and Sonny Strait in the Funimation dub.Mercenary Tao
Tao Pai Pai, Mercenary Tao or General Tao in English anime dubs, is a hitman hired by the Red Ribbon Army to deal with Goku. He is the younger brother of Master Shen, or Crane Hermit, the lifelong rival of Master Roshi. He wears a custom-made pink gi with the kanji for "kill" on the front and the English phrase "KILL YOU!" on the back. He is first introduced in the series by being hired by the Red Ribbon Army to take out Goku and retrieve the Dragon Balls he possesses. He murders General Blue with only his tongue, slew Bora the guardian of Korin Tower with his own spear, and seemingly kills Goku. After succeeding in the initial battle and collecting most of the Dragon Balls in Goku's possession, Goku challenges him again with his newfound power from Korin. He gets caught in the explosion of his own grenade and is assumed dead. Master Shen later enters his disciples Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, and attempts to avenge his brother by ordering his disciples to hurt and kill Goku and Master Roshi's other students. It is later revealed that Tao survived and was modified into a cyborg using all the money he gained from his previous assassination jobs. He enters the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament with the support of Master Shen. Still, he is easily defeated by his brother's former student Tien Shinhan. In the anime, Tao makes further appearances in filler episodes of Dragon Ball Z during its fifth season.In Japanese, he is voiced by Chikao Ōtsuka in Dragon Ball and Yukimasa Kishino in Dragon Ball Z. In the Ocean dub, he is voiced by Scott McNeil, while in the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Kent Williams, who also voiced Dr. Gero.
Red Ribbon Androids
Android 8
Android 8 or Mechanical Man No. 8, is the first Red Ribbon Android operative seen in the series. Although he is deployed against Goku as a weapon, Android 8 turns out to be kindhearted and dislikes fighting; he befriends Goku, defects from the Red Ribbon Army, and later lives peacefully with the locals of Jingle Village and adopts the alias 8-Man as suggested by Goku. Android 8 is seen towards the end of the original manga series, giving energy for Goku's Genki-Dama to destroy Majin Buu. An alternate future timeline counterpart of Android 8 makes a cameo appearance in Dragon Ball Super.In the Dragon Ball anime, Android 8's creator is revealed to be Doctor Frappe. Later supplementary material suggests that Frappe and Gero developed the Red Ribbon Androids together as colleagues.
Android 8 is voiced by Shōzō Iizuka in Japanese, Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, and Mike McFarland in the Funimation dub.
Doctor Gero
Doctor Gero does not appear in the original Red Ribbon Army story arc, and is retroactively linked to the group when his motivation of revenge against Goku for the organization's downfall is revealed in the Android Saga arc. After creating a more advanced series of Red Ribbon Androids, he eventually implants his own brain into a replica of his body. He calls himself Android 20. He is initially encountered by Yamcha, who is nearly killed when Gero impales his chest with a hand and absorbs Yamcha's chi using a small device on his hand. Gero later flees back to his laboratory and releases Androids 17 and 18 to fend off Goku's associates, but 17 turns on his creator and murders him following a brief altercation.Doctor Gero is voiced by Kōji Yada in Japanese, Brian Dobson in the Ocean dub, and Kent Williams in the Funimation dub, who also voiced Mercenary Tao.