| Krillin | |
|---|---|
 Krillin | |
| First appearance |
Dragon Ball chapter #25 Dragon Ball episode #14 |
| Created by | Akira Toriyama |
| Debut | Dragon Ball Goku's Rival |
| Profile | |
| Aliases | Bongo (Harmony Gold dub)
Kuririn Krillen Kurilyn Kulilin |
| Notable relatives |
|
Krillin (クリリン Kuririn) is the best-friend of Goku and a Z Fighter who is short and bald (with the exception of later years) and provides comic relief during tense moments. He is a good-natured, outgoing and competitive martial artist. His only true vice seems to be his interest in women, though as the series progresses his intentions lean more romantic, and in dangerous situations he sometimes despairs about possibly dying unmarried. Once a fierce rival of Goku, he quickly became his best friend while training under Master Roshi. He also is close to Goku's son, Gohan. He eventually marries Android 18 and settles down, having a daughter named Marron. Krillin is known for being very cunning during his fights often relying on tricking his opponents to defeat them.
Appearance, personality, and history[]
Originally a monk of the Orin Temple who came to Master Roshi for training, Krillin is Goku's best friend and is the student of Master Roshi in his first appearance in the anime and manga. He is often used as comic relief or cannon fodder by the author, and has been killed a number of times in the series. As the most prominent full-blooded human character in the series, Krillin also represents a sense of normalcy to Goku and Gohan, as well as often being the most identifiable. Often when things in the Z World turn bizarre, it's left to Krillin to shake his head in disbelief and crack a joke.
Despite his reputation as being a weakling compared to his Saiyan comrades, he is considered to be one of the stronger pure-blooded humans in the Dragon Ball series, being thousands of times stronger than the average person (although this is largely due to the fact that he was afforded much greater opportunities to increase his strength, such as training under the Guardian of the Earth and having his potential unlocked by Guru, things that no other human, such as Mr. Satan, ever had). Although he is not as strong as Goku or Gohan, his determination in helping his friends is a key asset. Furthermore, Krillin's ingenuity and talent for Ki-manipulation is far superior than that of most warriors, even those stronger than himself, and he has an ability to sense hidden powers. Krillin had his dormant Ki awakened by the Namek Elder, Guru, during the events of the Frieza Saga (although it is possible that not all of his power was freed, due to the fact that Gohan still had more hidden power and that they both grew to be much stronger), and this helped keep him among the same level as his more naturally powerful friends, at least for a little while. Krillin has trained hard most of his life, becoming extremely powerful and proving it in combat with many foes. Unfortunately, he is quickly outclassed by many of the other characters in the series, such as Piccolo and the Saiyans; though among all the full-blooded humans he faces in combat he is one of the strongest. On one occasion, Yamcha says, during the course of the World Tournament in the Buu Saga, that Krillin is "the strongest human being in the world." Some fans feel that the mangaka, Akira Toriyama, uses Yamcha to state a canonical fact on this scene, although as this was said to Krillin's daughter, context may be required.
At any rate, Krillin is brave and resourceful, and the audience identifies him as a good-natured underdog. Along with Yamcha, Krillin has also, arguably, adjusted to a relatively normal life better than many of his friends by seeking women in his life. He is among the more "normal" human of his friends as he can be seen wearing normal clothes on days where he's not fighting other than his typical martial arts dōgi, as well as engaging in other normal every-day activities such as watching TV, going to the beach, etc. In his role as the protagonist, Goku's best friend, Krillin, was among the only humans to remain a main character for the majority of the series, even as Master Roshi, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe, Chi-Chi and others faded into the background.
Many fans immediately will connect Krillin with his signature move, Destructo Disk, a spinning razor-sharp disk of energy that has the power to cut through just about anything. Despite it's immense power, it's extremely unwieldy and hard to control.
Consistent with the theme of redemption in the series, he spared Android 18's life when presented with the chance to activate her self-destruct sequence because he found her to be redeemable. In a bit of ironic fortune, he later married the beautiful android and later had a daughter named Marron.
Despite popular fan belief, Krillin is not naturally bald. Due to his original monastic training, he merely shaves his head. During his training with Goku under Master Roshi, Krillin comments that 'All who aspire to master the martial arts shave their heads in order to unfetter their ki' and seemed surprised to find out Master Roshi was naturally bald. After settling down with his new family, his hair grows out, although his original smooth crowned look is the most familiar to fans. The six dots on his forehead are probably scars from incense burns, based on the similar pattern that appears on the forehead of a Shaolin monk.
Overall Krillin is a highly valued character in the Dragon Ball series: powerful, loyal, and brave. He is second only to Goku in the most appearances in the manga. In some more recent movies however, Krillin has been since demoted to comic relief character. This is most prominent in Dragon Ball Z Movie Seven: Super Android 13! when he was beaten up by Chi-Chi, clonked his head twice, had his face fried by a stray energy bolt, had a large pile of snow dumped on him, had Vegeta sent flying into him, slipped and skidded past the main villain when he was about to attack him and was humiliated in the hospital (He even remarks during the Vegeta incident that "Why do these things always happen to me?").
Quotes[]
- "Did someone get the number from that bus? I've never felt anything so painful in my life, it's as if all my bones... are totally crushed. But don't worry about me, no sir, I'm going to be totally fine. I hope I'm not being rude, but I'm gonna take a little nap. (Falls down on the ground)" — "Vegeta Must Pay"
Gallery[]
