Cui's Race

Cui's race consists of humanoid aliens who lack visible noses and feature peculiar holes on the sides of their heads in place of conventional ears. Purple is the most common skin color, though teal and green variants have been observed. They stand at roughly average Earthling height and are sapient, capable of complex thought, speech, and military service. Their homeworld exists somewhere in Universe 7 but has never been named in the series.

What sets this species apart from the many other races conquered by the Frieza Force is the severity of their subjugation. Frieza did not simply conquer them; he wiped out the entire species, sparing only a few individuals to serve as soldiers in his army. This near-total genocide makes them one of the most thoroughly oppressed races in the franchise, reduced from a civilization to a handful of survivors kept alive purely for their usefulness.

Cui was a high-ranking general in the Frieza Force and Vegeta's rival for years. The two served under Frieza simultaneously, maintaining a competitive dynamic fueled by their roughly equal power levels. Cui enjoyed needling Vegeta and reporting his activities to Frieza, playing the role of the tyrant's loyal informant while Vegeta increasingly chafed under Frieza's control.

When Vegeta departed for Namek to pursue the Dragon Balls, Frieza sent Cui to eliminate him. Cui confronted Vegeta on Namek confident in his chances, believing they were still evenly matched. He was catastrophically wrong. Vegeta's power had increased dramatically after his battles on Earth and his recovery in a healing pod. When Cui realized the gap between them, he attempted to flee and then tried a desperate trick, pointing behind Vegeta and shouting that Frieza was there. Vegeta did not fall for it. He destroyed Cui with a single blast, scattering him across the Namekian sky. It was one of the Namek Saga's earliest demonstrations that the old power dynamics of the Frieza Force had been permanently shattered.

Other members of Cui's race appeared on Planet Frieza 79 in anime filler scenes that revealed the species' complicated relationship with its oppressor. One soldier openly expressed happiness at learning Frieza was being defeated, celebrating the potential downfall of the tyrant who had destroyed his people. A higher-ranking member of the same species, Commander Gonma, ordered the disloyal soldier's execution, stating that he owed Frieza for elevating his family's social position. This exchange captured the bitter internal dynamics of a genocide's aftermath: some survivors hate their oppressor in silence, while others collaborate, finding personal advantage in serving the power that destroyed their world. Gonma himself died when the equipment monitoring Frieza and Goku's battle on Namek overloaded and exploded. Additional members appeared in the Resurrection 'F' manga, confirming the species continued to exist within the Frieza Force even after the empire's collapse and reconstitution.