Kuririn
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| Kuririn | |
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| Japanese | クリリン |
| Romaji | Kuririn |
| Anime Name | Krillin |
| Manga Name | Kuririn |
| Alternate Name(s) | Kulilin Kliliyn Kullin Bongo Kririn |
| First Appearance | Chapter #25 DB Episode #14 |
| Appears in |    |
| Race | Human |
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| DB Character Listing - Category | |
Kuririn (クリリン), Kulilin, or Krillin in the English anime is a fictional character in the manga Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z, and the anime Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT. In the early Harmony Gold English Dragon Ball dub from the 1980's, he is known as Bongo. His seiyū is Mayumi Tanaka. In the English dub he is voiced by Sonny Strait and Terry Klassen (as an adult) and by Lauri Steele (as a kid).
A short, bald warrior monk, loyal Kuririn provides comic relief during tense moments. Like Chaozu, Kuririn doesn't have a nose. He is a good-natured, outgoing and competitive martial artist. Once a fierce rival of Son Goku, he quickly became his best friend while training under Muten-Rôshi. He also is close to Goku's son, Gohan. He eventually marries Android 18 and settles down, having a daughter named Marron.
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[edit] Name Pun
Like most Dragon Ball characters, Kuririn's name is a pun. In his case, it is made up of two parts. The first two syllables come from 栗 kuri, which means "chestnut" in reference to his shaved head (the "chestnut" pun is also carried over to his daughter, Marron). The second part of his name comes from 少林 Shōrin ("Shaolin" in Chinese), as his early character designs were closely modeled on Shaolin monks.
[edit] Character Information
Originally a Shaolin monk who came to Master Roshi for training, Kuririn is the best friend of Son Goku and 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 several times in the series.
Despite this reputation as being a weakling compared to his Saiyan comrades, he is considered to be the strongest, non-mystical, pure-blooded human in the Dragon Ball series, being thousands of times stronger than the average person. Furthermore, Kuririn's ingenuity and talent for Ki-manipulation is far superior than that of most warriors, even those stronger than himself. Kuririn had his dormant Ki awakened by the Namek Elder during the events of Freeza, but this has been his only "enhancement". Kuririn 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 ocassion, Yamcha says, during the course of the World Tournament in the Buu Saga, that Kuririn is "the strongest human being in the world". Some fans feel that Akira Toriyama uses Yamcha to state a canonical fact on this scene.
Still, Kuririn is brave and resourceful, and the audience identifies with him as a good-natured underdog. He has also, arguably, adjusted to a relatively normal life better than most of his friends.
A running joke in the anime is Kuririn's poor luck with women despite his enthusiasm. 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 cyborg and later had a relatively normal daughter named Marron.
Overall Kuririn is a highly valued character in the Dragon Ball series: powerful, loyal, and brave.
[edit] History
He trains under Muten Rôshi alongside Goku in preparation for the 21st Tenka'ichi Budôkai (World Martial Arts Tournament). In it he fares very well, easily advancing as one of the eight warriors going on into the main event. He is defeated in the semi-finals, losing to Jackie Chun.
After the tournament, he trains under Muten Rôshi again, this time alongside Yamcha. He enters the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budôkai and again makes it to the semi-finals, this time defeated by Goku. After the Budôkai, he is killed by Tambourine, a servant of Piccolo Daimaō, who was out to kill all of the greatest martial artists so that Piccolo would go unchallenged. He is later revived by the Dragon Balls.
He plays a key role early in Dragon Ball Z, as he is one of the few fighters to survive the battle with Nappa. He accompanies Gohan and Bulma to Planet Namek where he gets his hidden powers unlocked and fights alongside Gohan against Freeza's forces. He often underestimates himself and his powers, however, so often it seems as though he could have done a lot more that what he had done, when instead he does nothing, doubting himself. At the same time, however, he accomplishes what may well be his impressive feat during the Freeza saga, managing to singlehandedly hold off through cunning and clever techniques Freeza in his second state while buying time for the others. Considering that Freeza was widely believed to be the strongest being in the universe at that time, it was quite an accomplishment.
In terms of deaths, Kuririn has been struck in the head by Tambourine, blown up by Freeza, and eaten by Buu. He is also killed by the androids in Future Trunks' alternate timeline, as well as Cell's version of that future. In Dragon Ball GT he is again murdered by Android 17, though he is restored to life and survives the rest of the series until the end of the last episode, where he has died of old age, along with all major characters except Pan and (possibly) Goku. He has died more times than any other character. This is probably due to the fact that he is, among all other characters, the closest friend to Goku and his family, or characters in the situation where he died (he is Goku's best friend throughout all three series, he is also one of Gohan's best friends [the other being Piccolo] for the most part of DBZ, is married to 18, making it all the worse when 17 kills him, etc).
[edit] Trivia
Despite popular fan belief, Kuririn is not naturally bald. Due to his original monastic training, he merely shaves his head. During his training with Goku under Master Roshi, Kuririn comments that 'All serious martial artists shave their head' 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 smoothcrowned 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.
It is sort of a running joke in Dragon Ball Z that, whenever Kuririn decides to forget his self-underestimation and confront an enemy, his efforts have almost no effect (note his fights against Reacoom and Cell (after 18 was absorbed), or, when Buu was turning them all into chocolate, his fight against Buu lasted less than 10 seconds, and then 18 and Marron, who he wanted to save the most, were the next to die). Last, in "The World's Strongest", as they are making their attack Kuririn is the only one who is hit and not able to land a punch. However, he often has better success as well, such as his confrontations with Nappaand the Saibamen. Notably, Kuririn was the only one to deliver any significant damage to Freeza before Goku's timely arrival. (A surprise Kienzan managed to sheer off Freeza's tail and would have been capable to killing him, had he not dodged Kuririn's subsequent attacks. In a turn of poetic justice, Freeza is eventually defeated by his own style of Kienzan, the Tsuibi Kienzan, being used against him.) Kuririn also proved very valuable during the Garlic Jr. Saga and the Cell Saga.
[edit] Dragon Ball GT
Kuririn appears briefly in Dragon Ball GT. He is seen with his wife Android 18 and daughter Marron several brief times through the series. He is killed in Super 17 saga by Dr. Myū's Android 17 but is later revived by the Dragon Balls. In his final appearance, Kuririn has an emotional final meeting with Goku, who is still a child, on Roshi's island home along with Master Roshi himself. They reminisce over old times, and Kuririn and Goku have a friendly sparring match. Kuririn wins, to both his and Goku's joy.
[edit] Special abilities
Nijū Tsuihikidan
Kuririn shoots a fairly weak ki blast out of each hand and guides them towards his opponent. He used this move in the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budôkai when fighting against Piccolo as a distraction.
Kakusandan
Kuririn fires two blasts, one from each hand, and merges them. He then directs the blast above his opponents where it breaks up and rains down on them. Kuririn used this technique to destroy the Saibamen when Vegeta and Nappa first arrived on Earth.
Kamehameha
A powerful energy wave, Kuririn is able to use it in its most basic form.
Kienzan
Kuririn's most powerful attack, the Kienzan is a razor sharp disk of energy that can slice through nearly any opponent. Its main drawback is its lack of accuracy. Kuririn can create and launch several of these discs at once. This attack is called Destructo Disc in the English series.
Taiyoken
Kuririn creates a brilliant flash of light that temporarily blinds and stuns those in close proximity. This is known as the Solar Flare in the English series.
Zanzo-ken
Kuririn moves very quickly over a short distance that it leaves an after-image of where he stood. Called the After-Image technique in the U.S. and just in video games in the UK. Kuririn has only used this move once in the anime only when he was a young competitor in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.
[edit] Videogames
Kuririn has been a playable character in:
- Dragon Ball Z: Chou Saiya Densetsu
- Dragon Ball Z: Buyuu Retsuden
- Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butouden
- Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
- Dragon Ball Z: Indainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
- Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai
- Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure
- Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors
- Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors 2
- Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22
- Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors
- Dragon Ball Z: Sagas
- Super Dragon Ball Z
Kuririn can also be fought in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II.
