Karin (Dragon Ball)
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| Karin | |
|---|---|
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| Japanese | カリン仙猫 |
| Romaji | Karin |
| Anime Name | Korin |
| Manga Name | Karin |
| Alternate Name(s) | Whiskers The Wondercat (early dub) Sen'pyō Cat Hermit Balzar (Italian dub) |
| First Appearance | Issue #??? DB Issue#88 Sage of the Karin Tower DB Episode #??? |
| Appears in |    |
| Race | Animal |
| Family
Unknown
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| DB Character Listing - Category | |
Karin (or Korin as he is known in the English dub of the series) is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball/ (US only: Dragon Ball Z) manga and Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z anime series.
Karin is more than 800 years old. He is an albino cat who lives at the top of Karin-To (Karin Tower). The tower is located right underneath Kami's Lookout, which is a few hundred meters higher than Karin’s Tower and can only be reached by Son Gokū's Nyoi-Bo (Power Pole). It is a popular misconception to assume the towers are connected, however, as they are rarely shown together from a distance as separate towers. Karin is a deity just below the rank of Kami, and plays a large role in Dragon Ball when he trains Gokū during the Red Ribbon Army Saga of Dragon Ball; at later points in the series and in Dragon Ball Z, Karin lends his assistance periodically to Gokū and the other characters.
His tower, called the Karin-Tō (カリン塔), is a play on a type of fried dough cake called Karintō (花林糖), which fits the common theme of Dragonball characters being named after foods (Gohan being the Japanese word for rice for example).
[edit] Background/History
Gokū enters the Land of Karin searching for his grandfather's Sì Xīng Qiú (Sūshinchū / Four-Star Ball), which he soon discovers is held by the inhabitants; after fending off an attack by the Red Ribbon Army, they gratefully give the ball to him, telling him about the legend of the colossal tower, so high that not even airplanes can reach the top; if a person manages to climb to the top and drink the Super Holy Water held by Karin, the Master of Combat, their strength and speed will be tremendously increased.
Learning of their defeat, the Red Ribbon sends the hired assassin T'ao Pai-pai, who easily overpowers the boy and nearly kills him, if not for the Dragon Ball hidden in his clothing. After coming to, Gokū realizes his need to become stronger and begins the ascent, climbing throughout the day and into the night, sleeping with his tail clinging tightly to the handholds. After three days of straight climbing, an exhausted Gokū reaches the top and encounters the white Neko-Sen'nin, Karin, who is insulted at the boy's disbelief that he is the legendary Master. After reading Gokū's mind and finding his intentions pure, Karin tells the boy that he can have the Holy Water. Gokū leaps to grab it, but the cat immediately snatches it away, hooking it to his tail and declaring that the boy can indeed have it — if he can take it.
Even Gokū's superhuman agility is no match for the cat, as he leads Gokū on a chase around and around the tower, matching Gokū's zanzōken technique with his own, eventually becoming bored with the "workout" and calling an end for the day. An exhausted, yet curious Gokū asks if anyone has managed to reach the water; the cat responds that the only one who did was Gokū's old teacher, Muten-Rōshi, which shocks the boy. He is further shocked when, asking how long it took, Karin responds with three years. The next day, Gokū awakes to find Karin dumping "garbage" over the side of the tower--including his grandfather's Si Xing Qui! Furious, he immediately runs down the tower to retrieve it and climbs it again, while the old cat looks on with satisfaction; what took three days previously has now only taken one, a sign of the boy's growing strength. After 3 days of chasing and climbing, a determined Gokū finally manages to outmaneuver Karin and take the bottle of Holy Water from him; after drinking it, however, he doesn't notice any strength increase at all. Karin informs him that it is just ordinary water; it was Gokū's intense exertion that made him much stronger and faster than before. A grateful Gokū thanks Karin for the training, and climbs down the tower to face T'ao Pai-pai again, easily defeating him.
However, Karin does in fact have special water that unleashes the drinker’s inner power — the Super Kami Water; however, the water itself is so dangerous that he refuses to let Gokū journey to retrieve it until learning that the legendary Piccolo Daimaō had been released — tasting a single drop of the Super Kami Water nearly kills Yajirobe, sending him into spasms of agony. After a grueling trek and overcoming numerous obstacles (in anime only), Gokū reaches the Super God Water and drinks deeply, sending him into agony as well, but also giving him the power needed to defeat The Demon King Piccolo.
In addition to this, Karin is the only one who grows the Senzu (Holy Beans) which heal wounds and are equivalent to eating 10 days worth of food. Karin’s Tower is the only place in the world (and perhaps the universe) they are grown, and so these magic beans are quite valuable. The senzu are used frequently in Dragon Ball Z to restore energy in battle, and many a time they save the lives of the Z Fighters. The beans are limited in number and are difficult to grow, and so Karin only gives them to the Z Fighters in time of need or before a battle. Usually no more than 5 are carried at a time.
In Dragon Ball Z he shows up from time to time, giving Senzu to Gokū when he is revived, and training the Z Warriors. Yajirobe eventually ends up living with him in the tower. Karin makes a Cameo appearance in Dragon Ball GT, in episode 40, Piccolo's Decision and in the flash backs of episode 64, Until We Meet Again.
[edit] Trivia
- In the Piccolo Daimaō Saga, Son Gokū's Kintoun was destroyed, but when he climbed Karin Tower, Karin gave him a new one. However, for some reason, in the 3rd Dragon Ball movie, "Mystical Adventure", Karin is surprised to see a cloud like Kintoun.
-- It should be noted that the Dragonball movies, (as well as the Dragonball Z movies), do not actually "fit in" to the overall storyline and are closer to being an alternate reality because of how events fall into place. To those who have read the Dragonball manga or watched the Television series, and then the movies, this is fairly obvious.
- In the Son Goku vs. T'ao Pai-pai fight in the anime Dragon Ball, Tao Pai Pai climbed the Karin Tower. When he reached the top, Karin called and gave him a black Kintoun then he drank the holy water (which is plain water with Karin's booger on it) so that he can match Goku's power. In the manga, Karin called a kintoun (a huge one) five Tankobons after T'ao was defeated.
