Krillin

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Krillin (克林)
Species/Race	Human / Earthling 12 22
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Formerly Orin Temple; Turtle School; Z Fighters; Galaxy Z Fighters 7 20 26 89 96
Occupation/Role	Martial artist; planetary defender; galactic peacekeeper 8 60 96 97
Status	Alive in the main timeline; his future counterpart was killed by the Androids and later appears on King of Worlds Planet 110 117
First Appearance	Mentioned in Goku’s plans 2; first shown directly training with Goku 6

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Improved Turtle School foundation	6	Eight months of competitive training with Goku make him substantially stronger than his original-story counterpart. He can withstand one hundred moves against Master Roshi without losing.
Korin-trained physical abilities	12	After climbing Korin Tower and training there, his speed, strength, reactions, and technique improve markedly. He can barely follow Korin’s movements and occasionally predict his landing point.
Improved Kamehameha	20	Following Korin’s training and further study under Roshi, he uses an improved Kamehameha against Tien Shinhan, but loses by ring-out.
Refined ki control	22	Mr. Popo’s training teaches him to calm his ki and combine positioning, timing, and energy attacks. Popo praises his tactics but finds his blast power insufficient.
Adaptation to 14× gravity	42	Completes fourteen-times-gravity adaptation while dodging projectiles and cutting them with the Destructo Disc; immediately requests fifteen times gravity.
Combat power: 12,000	43	Reports this level after a year of intensive Gravity Chamber training.
Yardrat-style Instant Transmission	55	Receives the technique with Goku’s training group through the Dragon Balls before traveling to King Kai.
Base combat power: 24,000; 48,000 with Kaio-ken ×2	58	Demonstrates the results of King Kai’s training. He identifies double Kaio-ken as the most efficient multiplier for conserving stamina.
Base combat power: 96,000	59	The Grand Elder unlocks his hidden potential, increasing his base power fourfold.
Kaio-ken ×5 demonstrated	82	Uses fivefold Kaio-ken during a coordinated attack on Frieza. His Destructo Disc severs part of Frieza’s tail.
Kaio-ken ×10 demonstrated	83	Leads the defense against Death Beam: Rainstorm, forming a shield reinforced by his teammates’ synchronized energy. The strain leaves him unable to move afterward.
Destructo Disc: Chain	94	Uses two discs in crossing arcs to kill Daiz despite fighting in a weakened state at only eighty percent of his strength.
Base combat power: 150,000	96	Tree of Might Fruit repairs hidden Kaio-ken damage and raises his combat power.

Background / History

Krillin previously trained at Orin Temple, where his seniors mocked his short-stature fighting style. He later became Master Roshi’s student and met Goku at Kame House. Their first spar ended with Goku knocking him ten meters away with one punch, but Krillin felt no jealousy: training alongside Goku soon produced faster improvement than he had experienced at the temple 7 8.

During their next eight months together, Krillin repeatedly increased his training to keep pace with Goku. Their routine included early-morning practice, nighttime ki meditation, and daily sparring. Roshi eventually entered both students in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament 6 8.

After the tournament, Krillin accompanied Goku to Korin Tower. He reached the summit on the second morning, exhausted and with injured fingertips, then trained under Korin. When Goku chose to drink the poisonous Ultra Divine Water, Krillin tried to stop him and repeatedly attempted to reach him through the uncontrolled ki. Once Goku survived, Krillin embraced him in tearful relief 11 12 13 14.

Following the 22nd tournament and King Piccolo’s defeat, Goku directed Krillin to Mr. Popo at the Lookout. Goku considered his solid foundation particularly suited to precise ki-control training. Popo emphasized the purity and endurance of Krillin’s Earthling ki rather than trying to imitate Saiyan ferocity 21 22.

Appearance

• Short stature: Jeice describes him as less than five feet tall; his compact build informs his close-combat style 8 74.
• Smooth, bald head: Repeatedly noted during training, tournaments, and reunions 6 8 117.
• Turtle School uniform: By the 22nd tournament, its “Turtle” character has faded from repeated washing 20.
• Gradual growth: He becomes slightly taller over the three years preceding the 22nd tournament 20.

Personality

Krillin is fiercely competitive without resenting Goku’s greater strength. He wakes earlier, adds extra practice, and keeps challenging himself even as the gap widens. After losing their tournament match, he smiles, accepts Goku’s praise, and promises to continue improving 6 8.

His loyalty can outweigh his ambition. He angrily opposes Goku’s Ultra Divine Water gamble because of what Goku’s death would mean to his friends, then keeps trying to help despite being knocked away. Against Frieza, he similarly places himself at the front of the group’s defensive formation 13 14 83.

Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation briefly shakes his confidence. Goku’s reminder of their original motivations helps Krillin recognize that he trains because he enjoys martial arts and wants to protect those around him—not simply to catch up 53 54.

He also has a teasing, self-conscious side. He jokes with Vegeta after giving him a Senzu Bean, but blushes when Tien suggests saving a mission reward for marriage 95 97.

Abilities & Skills

Close-Quarters Martial Arts

Krillin uses agility, deceptive combinations, and changes in attack height to compensate for his small frame 6 8.

• Combines left-hand feints, right-hand strikes, and knee attacks into fluid sequences 6.
• Alternates low sweeps, midsection thrusts, and high feints to obscure his next target 8.
• Defeats an Orin Temple senior with a rapid dash and sweep kick 7.
• Identifies Daiz’s wasted ki during combat and exploits his poor control 94.

Ki Control and Perception

Mr. Popo teaches Krillin to stabilize his energy through mental calm. Popo describes his ki as weaker than Goku’s but purer, with an Earthling’s tenacity rather than a Saiyan’s ferocity 22.

• Uses positioning and timing to force an opening before launching an energy attack 22.
• Senses Goku’s distant Super Saiyan transformation 53.
• Produces more than thirty small, precise Destructo Discs during a planetary disaster-relief mission 97.

Kamehameha

Krillin develops an improved version of the Turtle School’s energy-wave technique 20 22.

• Uses it against Tien at the 22nd tournament, though Tien defeats him 20.
• Launches it after a sweep forces Mr. Popo into the air 22.
• Popo can split the beam with a hand movement, demonstrating the remaining gap between them 22.

Destructo Disc

Krillin condenses ki into a rapidly rotating cutting disc. Unlike Goku’s Qi Sword, it maintains its shape through rotation after being thrown rather than requiring continuous telekinetic restraint 49.

• Cuts training projectiles inside the Gravity Chamber 42.
• Severs part of Frieza’s tail during the group’s fivefold Kaio-ken assault 82.
• Destructo Disc: Chain: Sends two discs along crossing arcs, cutting Daiz into pieces 94.
• Uses miniature discs to open carefully selected cuts in a planet’s crust, releasing dangerous core pressure 97.

Kaio-ken

Krillin learns King Kai’s power-multiplication technique and later pushes it beyond his preferred efficient setting 55 58 82 83.

• ×2: Raises his pre-potential-unlock combat power from 24,000 to 48,000 58.
• ×5: Supports the coordinated assault on Frieza 82.
• ×10: Powers the shield against Frieza’s barrage 83.
• Limit: High multipliers inflict severe backlash and hidden bodily damage; Tree of Might Fruit later repairs these aftereffects 83 96.

Combined Energy Shield

Krillin forms a crimson shield and takes the forward position while the other fighters channel their energy into it 83.

• Blocks Frieza’s Death Beam: Rainstorm through synchronized tenfold Kaio-ken 83.
• The fighters’ energy fuses rather than behaving as a simple sum of separate attacks 83.
• The defense exhausts the group, leaving Krillin unable to resist Frieza’s next attack 83.

Instant Transmission

Krillin receives Yardrat-style Instant Transmission as part of Goku’s group training plan 55.

• The technique is granted through the Dragon Balls before the group’s training on King of Worlds Planet 55.

Equipment / Items

• Turtle School martial arts uniform — Worn during training and tournaments 8 20.
• Senzu Beans — Carries a bag at his waist during the Frieza battle; Frieza steals it after the group is immobilized. Krillin later gives Vegeta a bean after the Turles fight 83 95.
• Tree of Might Fruit — Consumed to repair Kaio-ken damage and increase his combat power 96.
• Rare-metal mining rights certificate — Awarded after helping stabilize a planet’s core. He privately stores it in his suitcase after Tien’s marriage joke 97.

Relationships

• Son Goku — Closest training partner and friendly rival. Krillin credits their competition with his rapid growth, while Goku regards him as an important companion and wants him capable of fighting independently 6 8 83.
• Master Roshi — Turtle School teacher who praises his determination and recommends further training at Korin Tower 6 11.
• Master Korin — Mentor who improves his physical abilities and intervenes when he tries to approach Goku’s dangerous potential awakening 12 14.
• Mr. Popo — Demanding instructor in ki control, tactics, and bodily discipline 21 22.
• King Kai / North Kai — Kaio-ken teacher and later coordinator of the Galaxy Z Fighters’ missions 55 58 96.
• Tien Shinhan — Tournament opponent turned teammate. They cooperate on disaster relief, with Tien identifying safe cutting points for Krillin’s discs 20 97.
• Yamcha — Fellow Z Fighter assigned to protect western Namekian villages alongside him 60.
• Piccolo — Teammate whom Krillin catches after his exhausting battle with Frieza; later supervises the group’s Android preparations 82 110.
• Vegeta — Former enemy turned ally. Krillin initially questions the decision to spare him, but later aids his recovery and exchanges jokes with him 49 95.

Story Role / Major Arcs

World Martial Arts Tournaments

• 21st tournament: Defeats his Orin Temple senior and advances to the semifinals. Goku’s Kamehameha knocks him out of bounds, but he remains upbeat and warns Goku that Jackie Chun seems suspicious 7 8.
• 22nd tournament: Loses his opening match to Tien despite using an improved Kamehameha; vows to win next time 20.

Preparation for the Saiyans

• Learns that his tested power is below the Saibamen’s 1,200 and joins the group’s intensive Gravity Chamber training 42.
• Reaches 12,000 combat power before Vegeta and Nappa arrive 43.
• Questions whether sparing Vegeta could create a future threat and studies Goku’s explanation of the Qi Sword 49.

Namek and the Frieza Force

• Trains under King Kai, receives the Grand Elder’s potential unlock, and joins Yamcha in defending western villages 55 58 59 60.
• Defeats and kills Jeice, whose 94,000 combat power is slightly below his own; Guldo’s covert psychic assistance fails to secure Jeice’s victory 74.
• Catches the collapsing Piccolo, then suffers severe injuries when Frieza attacks the remaining fighters 82.
• Helps cut Frieza’s tail and leads the combined shield defense. Goku intercepts the Death Beam aimed at the immobilized Krillin and heals the group with Senzu Beans 82 83.

Galactic Peacekeeping

• Kills Daiz by exploiting his unstable ki control rather than relying solely on numerical power 94.
• Accepts Tree of Might Fruit to heal his Kaio-ken injuries and reaches 150,000 combat power 96.
• Joins missions against galactic villains and cosmic disasters. On one unstable planet, his precision cutting helps avert a catastrophe threatening over a million residents 96 97.

Android Warning

• Witnesses Future Trunks’s arrival and is shocked by his effortless defeat of Mecha Frieza 103 104 105.
• Supports Goku’s decision to help the future world, treating their alternate selves as comrades 109.
• Remains in the main timeline to prepare for the Androids under Piccolo’s supervision 110.

Future Counterpart

• Trunks reports that the future Krillin was killed by Androids 17 and 18 alongside the other Z Fighters 105 110.
• After Trunks defeats the Androids, he reunites with the deceased fighters on King of Worlds Planet. Future Krillin greets him first, delighted to see how much he has grown 116 117.

Notable Quotes

“Because that’s the only way I feel like I’m managing to catch up to you.” 8

“You only ever think about getting stronger! Have you ever thought about... thought about us, your friends?!” 13

“Get behind me, everyone!!!” 83

“Fine control like this is what I’m best at.” 97