#ESSAY: Krillin Isn't Just Dragon Ball’s Strongest Human, He's the Bravest

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“#ESSAY: Krillin Isn't Just Dragon Ball’s Strongest Human, He's the Bravest”

Krillin

There is a popular theory amongst Dragon Ball fans that claims Krillin is the strongest human. And while there is definitely merit to this theory, it often fails to address the factor that actually makes Krillin strong, as well as what makes him a great character: his bravery. Regardless of how involved he has been in the story or what his power level has been in relation to Goku or major villains, Krillin choosing to swallow his fear and fight or do the right thing in spite of that fear is a major throughline in the Dragon Ball franchise. He’s faced Frieza and his men with little chance of survival, he risked Cell destroying the world because he knew it wasn’t right to destroy the Androids, and he has time and time again fought even when he was shaking with fear at just how outranked he was.

This, in tandem with the factors that make him the strongest human, is why Krillin is one of the most underrated and impactful characters of the Dragon Ball franchise. In celebration of his birthday today, I wanted to take a deeper dive into what makes him so great. Krillin has managed to have an impact on Dragon Ball no matter the size of his role in the series or the level of his power simply by being brave in the face of danger — a trait he has had since his first tournament and one that has been interpreted in increasingly interesting ways as the series has rolled on.

Krillin

Goku’s Rival

Krillin’s original purpose was as Goku’s rival, and while remnants of this remained after their initial tournament matches, the role was abandoned by the time Piccolo and eventually Vegeta were introduced. But both during his time as Goku’s rival and after he shifted to more of a best friend (and everything beyond) Krillin served a rather interesting role as the audience surrogate. Or rather, where Bulma and other non-powered humans served as the every-person characters, Krillin was someone who could take part in the superpowered battles, but still have human, audience-identifiable grounding. Krillin is strong, and he served a big role in arcs like the Namek and Android sagas, but as the power levels escalated, he became more and more outclassed by each new villain. But he still refused to run away.

Before Usopp of One Piece was everyone’s favorite scaredy-cat, Krillin proved he was a great hero and a great character by standing his ground. As the humans of Dragon Ball became outmatched, Krillin didn’t let his comparably low power stop him from being a hero. He went to Namek and fought against Frieza and his army, he spared the Androids even with the fear of Cell’s power growing, and he bought his family time to run by facing Buu — the strongest opponent anyone had faced up to that point in the series. Gohan had his own arc of overcoming fear, but he eventually grew to be one of Dragon Ball’s strongest fighters, whereas Krillin’s bravery is the inverse, becoming more and more impactful as he fell behind the power curve of the strongest fighters.

Krillin and Goku

Goku Vs. Krillin

Perhaps the thing that really makes up Krillin’s bravery is how it contrasts to Goku — who is often unfazed and fearless in the face of danger. Goku sees the possibility of being outclassed as an exciting challenge — he’s not brave because he doesn’t really have fear to overcome in the first place. This doesn’t make Goku a less interesting or important character. His role is to positively change and affect the world around him for the better, so by being fearless, he is often giving characters like Krillin the courage to overcome their fears.

The contrast between the two characters’ approach to being outmatched is what fleshes out the Dragon Ball universe, what makes it real. Goku is just one type of warrior — strong, always wanting to get stronger, and seeing every fight as a chance to improve. Krillin is another, one who sees being outmatched for what it is — a dangerous situation that ignites fear within him. But Krillin has always faced his fears. Heck, he’s died multiple times because he did not run when he was scared, and it's this trait that truly makes him one of the strongest and best characters of the Dragon Ball franchise.

Conquer the Terrifying Foes!

In Dragon Ball Super, Krillin’s role decreased further — however, the series did make an effort to give nearly every character time to shine and prove their skills and power are still valued. Krillin took center stage in the Golden Frieza Saga and in the tournament of power, showing he was still a powerful warrior in his own right. What made Krillin’s depiction in Dragon Ball Super so interesting is how the fear he experienced when facing a warrior far stronger than him — as well as how often this happened following the King Piccolo saga — developed into insecurity.

Rather than overcoming the fear of potential danger, Krillin's bravery now formed from fighting his insecurities — he died three times at the hand of strong villains and has felt increasingly obsolete as his best friend blew past him and achieved god levels of power. It’s a character choice that makes sense and Dragon Ball Super managed to make Krillin even more interesting in the mini-arc that explored how he faced and overcame these insecurities. This arc is one of the only times in which Krillin actually runs away from a fight, but it’s not out of character for him. It makes sense, his insecurity and the opponents that killed him before are two of the scariest things he’s ever had to face — he has a moment of doubt, but once again faces adversity head-on and unlocks his sleeping fighting spirit. Later on, Krillin tells Goku he wishes he had his fearlessness, still unaware that he is actually Dragon Ball’s bravest character.

Krillin’s bravery has never been a focus of his character, it’s just been there. A matter-of-fact, more-or-less subtle character trait that shapes and builds his character in key ways and in key moments throughout the series. No matter how scared he is, no matter how strong his opponent is, no matter what dangers he might face, and no matter how far behind he falls on the ever-rising power scale, Krillin does the right thing and fights. This is why he stands as one of the most interesting, impactful, important, and often underappreciated characters in Dragon Ball.

Who's your favorite Dragon Ball character? Let us know in the comments!