Krillin

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“Those who pursue mastery in the martial arts shave their heads to brace their spirits!!”

—Krillin (Dragon Ball #25)

Universe: Viz Media
First Appearance: Dragon Ball #25 (May 21, 1985)
Created by: Akira Toriyama

Talented in martial arts, Krillin’s one of the most powerful Z-fighters on Earth. He is good-natured, faithful, and courageous. Albeit Krillin hated Goku initially, later in Dragon Ball, he and Goku started as rivals, but quickly they became each other’s lifelong best friends.

Krillin is first introduced at age 13, with a shaved head. He does not possess a visible nose, and has six spots, a reference to the practice of Shaolin monks.

Krillin was created to contrast Goku’s character, someone petty and mischievous, to add depth to the story.

It’s in a clash between Goku and Frieza, Frieza, unscathed from his Genki-Dama, detonates Krillin, triggering Goku’s first ever transformation into a Super Saiyan.

In the latter half of Dragon Ball Z, Krillin is infatuated with Android #18 after she kisses him, develops a soft corner for her, travels to the Kami’s lookout, and uses a wish from the Dragon Balls to remove the bombs from #18 and #17 (#18’s twin). Years later, Krillin settles down with Android 18 and fathers their daughter, Marron.

Krillin later works as a police officer, but later joins the fight against the resurrected Frieza in Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F.

In Dragon Ball Super, Krillin fights in the Universe Survival Saga’s Tournament of Power to save Universe 7.

Krillin appears in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero with his wife and friends, assisting Piccolo and Gohan against the monstrous Cell Max.

Krillin also appears in Cross Epoch, a Dragon Ball and One Piece crossover manga.

Powers & weaknesses

Krillin has many abilities, including super-strength, super-speed, and the ability to fly using his ki energy, known as Bukū-jutsu. His main techniques include the Kamehameha. Kakusandan or Scattershots is another chi attack, he knows. From Tien, he learned the Taiyōken orSolar Flare. Kienzan or Destructo Disk is one of his signature techniques. Krillin is the strongest Earthling and is recognized by Vegeta for having a great array of techniques.

In the later parts of Dragon Ball Super, Krillin improves and develops variants of his Kienzan and Solar Flare techniques, which help give him a tactical edge in battle.

Outside Manga

Other than the first flick, Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies, Krillin appears in the other two Dragon Ball flicks.
And other than Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, Krillin appears in 12 of 13 non-canon Dragon Ball Z flicks.
Krillin also appears in Dragon Ball Super: Superhero of the two Dragon Ball Super flicks.

Krillin sports a mustache in Dragon Ball GT.

Krillin appears, sometimes as a playable character, in various Dragon Ball related games. He also appears in Jump Superstars, the crossover game.

In June 1988, Krillin was one of the Dragon Ball characters, to feature in two public safety announcement shorts.

In 2003, Krillin appeared in the interactive feature entitled Kyutai Panic Adventure!

Krillin has performed in many songs throughout the years.

Krillin became a part of the US pop culture.

Voice actors

Mayumi Tanaka has been the Japanese voice of Krillin in most Dragon Ball media except Dragon Ball Daima, where Krillin was voiced by Aki Kanada. Once when Krillin and Yajirobe, both were voiced by Mayumi in the same scene, she gave the latter a Nagoya dialect.

Canadian actress-musician Wanda Nowicki gave the English voice of Krillin.

In Dragon Ball Z, by Saban Entertainment, Funimation, and Ocean Productions, Krillin was voiced by Terry Klassen. In another English dub produced by Harmony Gold, Wanda Nowicki was the voice of Krillin. In the Dragon Ball re-dub by Blue Water, Mike Thiessen voiced him. Dan Gascon voiced him in the Blue Water’s dub of Dragon Ball GT. Later, when Funimation took over the series’ full production, Laurie Steele voiced Krillin as a child in Dragon Ball and Sonny Strait as an adult in the US release.

Sharon Mann, Brian Beacock, and Julie Maddalena are the other English voice actors for Krillin.

Bonus:

Japanese fans voted him as the seventh most popular character in 2004.

Krillin was ranked No. 3 on the saikoplus.com list 10 Most Popular Characters in Dragon Ball Z, 2016.

Manga author Masashi Kishimoto, when creating the protagonist of his Naruto, said that Krillin was more influential than Goku, as he was more relatable and showed flaws.