Krillin for the character ask :)
Give me a character and I will answer:
Why I like them: Itād be easy for me to say āheās just a good dudeā and leave it at that.Ā Ā I think people would agree with that statement, but I think it runs deeper than that.Ā Ā The thing that stuck with me about Krillin was when I was checking out the bonus features on the Movie 6 DVD I bought in 2002 or whenever, and they had an interview with Sonny Strait where he explained that Krillin only got into martial arts to impress girls, and that was the same reason Sonny got into voice acting.Ā Ā Ā Maybe Iām misremembering that, but it always stuck with me.Ā Ā Ā
Krillin wants things out of life, and unlike a lot of the other characters, heās not looking to get them by wishing on a magic dragon.Ā Ā He wants to become worthy of the things he wants, and he may not always be sure of how to get there, he knows that he has to become more than he is.Ā Ā
Recently, Iāve been seeing excerpts from Barack Obamaās book, where he talks about reading up on subjects to try, unsuccessfully, to get girls to like him in college.Ā Ā Ā I think the idea was that he was trying to be self-effacing, but it hasnāt gone over very well.Ā Iām not sure if the problem was that he wasnāt being self-effacing enough, or if thereās something more sinister about reading Karl Marx just in case it helps your odds of getting noticed.Ā Ā Ā Iām not going to wade into that controversy, except to say that it reminded me of Krillin.Ā Ā
Is it shallow to have self-serving reasons to improve yourself?Ā Ā Did I just answer my own question?Ā Ā The point Iām making here is that itās a useful motivator.Ā Ā Ā Krillin has self-esteem issues, and he joined the Orin Temple and then Kame House to try to overcome them.Ā Ā He thought āIf I just get really good at this one thing, then people will like me.āĀ Ā And we can say āOh, no, it doesnāt work that way, Krillin, people like you because youāre a such a good person, and besides, it doesnāt matter how good you are at martial arts.āĀ Ā
Okay, fine, letās assume thatās true, and Krillin deceived himself by training in martial arts.Ā Ā Ā Oh no!Ā Ā He put in all that work, and all he got out of it was... being the strongest human on Earth.Ā Ā Shoot.Ā Ā Ā He made himself a better person for nothing.
The reality is that I donāt think he would be as well-liked if he hadnāt gone down this road, simply because people wouldnāt have gotten to know him.Ā Ā Thatās really what itās about.Ā Ā Itās easy to say that youāre liked for āwho you are on the insideā, but what people really want is to be noticed long enough to be liked for who they are.Ā Ā Ā And sometimes you gotta take a long look at yourself and say āI need to do something to grab peopleās attention.ā
And sometimes, in order to motivate yourself into that kind of work, you have to play that trick on yourself.Ā Ā Ā āJust think, if I put in those extra reps in the gym, the ladiesāll be all over me!āĀ Ā And it never actually happens, but it gets you through that workout, and the next, and the next, and the next.Ā Ā
I think we can all relate to that.Ā Ā Iām writing this because three people asked me to, and Iām sort of hoping a few more will see it and like what I wrote.Ā Ā I try to get better, because I like the rush of validation that comes with it.Ā Ā And if I donāt get it, well, boo-hoo, I wrote a few hundred words about Krillin, a subject I enjoy writing about.Ā Ā Itās a no-lose situation, and thereās some non-zero chance that attractive single women might see this and decide to slide into my DMs.Ā Ā Ā Itās a tiny chance, hardly worth mentioning, but itās a lot higher than if I just sit in my apartment and stare at the wall.Ā Ā Ā
Why I donāt: Ocean Dub Krillin really rubbed me the wrong way, because they wrote and voice directed the character to be really nebbishy.Ā Ā That wouldnāt necessarily make him a bad character, but it definitely conflicted with what you see on the screen, where heās stepping to Nappa, Vegeta, Dodoria, and everything else he has to deal with.Ā Ā Ā Once Sonny got the role, everything turned out cool.Ā Mondo cool, if you will.
I suppose I should point out the flip side of what I wrote above.Ā Krillinās so focused on being worthy that he fails to recognize his achievements.Ā Ā Thatās admirable in its way, but it also makes you worry about the guy.Ā Ā Ā Like, he knows 18 is crazy about him, right?Ā Ā Wait, does Obama know people like him?Ā Ā Do I?Ā Oh I might have made myself sad there for a minute, excuse me.
Favorite episode (scene if movie):
Probably the moment he tries to take on Super Buu all by himself.Ā Ā One of the cool things about Krillin is that heās taken on every major villain from Piccolo Junior to Buu, despite being outclassed. Ā Ā I think the Super Buu thing is the best one, though, because in that situation thereās literally no chance of anyone jumping in to save him. Ā Ā His entire plan is to hold off Buu for a few seconds and maybe buy a few minutes for the others. Heās doomed and he knows it wonāt even work as a diversion, but he still jumps in anyway.Ā Ā Ā It proves that this is who he is.Ā Ā Ā When thereās literally no one left to impress, and nothing left to gain, heāll still play things out the same way.Ā Ā
Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell Saga is probably his best material overall, just because of his conflicted feelings regarding 18, and the difficult choices he makes because of that.Ā Ā You can make a strong case for the Namek Saga, where itās literally just Krillin and Bulma and Gohan, so he has to take the lead by default, but Iām just not that into the Namek Saga.
Favorite line:
This is really more from one of the video games.Ā Ā I think Budokai 3, but Iām not sure.Ā Ā Piccolo demands custody of Gohan and Krillinās like āNo way, youāre probably gonna eat him or something!ā and Iām pretty sure this wasnāt in the Ocean Dub, so it completely caught me off-guard, like it was the last thing I expected Krillin to say.Ā Ā And then Piccolo comes back with āIām not going to eat him!āĀ like heās offended at the very suggestion.Ā Ā As a runner-up, I dig that part in DBZA 54, where Trunks and Vegeta are both reeling from their losses to Perfect Cell, and Krillin reminds them that they donāt have to posture around him, because itās just him... āKrillin.Ā Ā Ā Everyoneās friend.ā
Favorite outfit: Thatās easy.
Yeah, the Frieza Soldier armor looked mighty good on this dude, and the cop uniform does too, and the classic Turtle Hermit outfit is a signature look, but this, right here, is the Krillin for me.Ā Ā Ā My manās got the blue shirt under his orange shirt.Ā Ā Ā No more of the Yamcha slipppers.Ā Ā Those look great on Yamcha, donāt get me wrong, but Krillin needs those big chunky Goku boots, because theyāre perfect for stomping those pesky girlfriend-exploding remotes.Ā Ā Fellas, this is the ideal male body.Ā Ā Ā You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.Ā Ā Ā
OTP: Maron HAHAHAHAHAHA oh wow.Ā Ā No. Itās 18, obviously.
Brotp: Clearly Goku is his bro, but itās not surprising at all how effortlessly he gets along with just about everyone else.Ā Ā Heās bros with the entire world.
Head Canon: Iām pretty sure the Maron/Marron thing was just a coincidence in real life.Ā Ā Maron the girlfriend was a filler character, and Marron the daughter was introduced in the manga some time later, and both used the same naming convention to end up in the same place.Ā Ā However, I choose to believe that Krillin actually named his kid after his ex, and he somehow convinced 18 to go along with that idea.Ā Ā Ā
By that, I donāt mean he had to sweet talk her into it or promise a bunch of stuff in exchange.Ā Ā Ā I mean he must have discussed what to name their kid, and 18 was like āYour ex-girlfriend?Ā Ā Seriously?ā and he was like āYeah, I know sheās a ditz, but you gotta understand I was in a really low place and she helped me through it.āĀ Ā Or something like that, where once he lays out the whole reason 18ā²s like āYeah, you know what?Ā Ā Okay.āĀ
Or maybe Maron helped deliver the baby or something.Ā Ā Or she was the surrogate mother?Ā Ā Holy shit I might be onto something.
Unpopular opinion: Krillin clanks when he walks, due to the solid brass balls heās got.
A wish: They should do a movie where Krillin just fights Frieza and wins.Ā Ā Decisively, undisputably, irrevocably.Ā Ā Krillin is stronger than Frieza from that point forward.Ā Ā Ā I donāt care if that means nerfing Frieza or godmodding Krillin, but I just want it made plain that if they use Frieza from here on, it has to be with the understanding that Krillin can whip his ass at any time.Ā Ā
That might sound silly, and I guess it is, but you see what this accomplishes, right?Ā Ā It forces Frieza into a new character dynamic, so itās not just the same old shit with him.Ā Ā Ā Or Toei collectively admits that they canāt use him anymore, which was what they should have decided in 1995.Ā Ā Iām fine either way.
An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Donāt grow his hair back, okay?Ā
5 words to best describe them: Qualified to sell real estate.
My nickname for them: The Kriller.


















