Krillin


 * NOTE: This article is about the character from the original mainstream. For TeamFourStar's version, see Krillin (Team Four Star).

"Don't know why I'm getting back up again. It would be a hell of a lot easier just to stay down. I know back in the day, I so would have given up by now. Guess it's all Goku and Gohan's fault I'm like this. Thanks to those two, now I don't know when to quit, and do you know what? Someday, I'll get them for that."

- Krillin reflects on how much Goku and Gohan have changed him while fighting Cell

Kuririn (Krillin in the Funimation dub) is a character from the Dragon Ball Series. At first he was Goku's rival, but later he became his new friend (best friend). He is Goku's best friend along with Bulma and Yamcha. He eventually marries Android 18 and settles down, having a daughter named Marron. In the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Sonny Strait as a teenager and an adult while Laurie Steele voices him as a child. Strait reprises his role as Krillin in Dragon Ball Z Kai and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Resurrection of F as well as Dragon Ball Super.

Appearance
Krillin has six small dots on his forehead and a monk-like orange gi as a child. As an adult, he is still short, standing at only 5 feet tall.

Earlier on in the series, Krillin had eye whites. However, later on, they seem to have disappeared completely, making the inside of his eyes the same color as his skin. Krillin is not naturally bald; due to his original monastic training, he merely shaves his head and waxes it. During his training with Goku under Master Roshi, Krillin comments that "All who aspire to master the martial arts shave their heads in order to unfetter their ki" and seemed surprised to find out Roshi was naturally bald. After settling down with his new family, his hair grows out, although his original smooth crowned look is the most familiar to fans. The six dots on his forehead are scars from moxibustion burns, similar to the pattern that appear on the forehead of a Shaolin monk.

Personality
Krillin is often used as comic relief or cannon fodder by the author, and has been killed the most amount of times in the Dragon Ball series. As the most prominent full-blooded human character in the Dragon Ball series, Krillin also represents a sense of normalcy to Goku and Son Gohan, as well as often being the most identifiable. Often when things in the Dragon World turn bizarre, it is left to Krillin to shake his head in disbelief and crack a joke. Despite his reputation as being a weakling compared to his Saiyan comrades, he is considered to be one of the stronger pure-blooded humans in the Dragon Ball series, being thousands of times stronger than the average person (although this is largely due to the fact that he was afforded much greater opportunities to increase his strength, such as training under the Guardian of the Earth and having his potential unlocked by the Great Elder of Namek, things that no other human, such as Mr. Satan, ever had). Although he is not as strong as Goku or Gohan, his determination in helping his friends is a key asset. Furthermore, Krillin's ingenuity and talent for ki manipulation is far superior than that of most warriors, even those stronger than himself, and he has an ability to sense hidden powers.

At any rate, Krillin is brave and resourceful, and the audience identifies him as a good-natured underdog. Along with Yamcha, Krillin has also arguably adjusted to a relatively normal life better than many of his friends by seeking women in his life. He is among the more "normal" human of his friends, as he can be seen wearing normal clothes on days where he is not fighting, other than his typical martial arts dōgi, as well as engaging in other normal every-day activities such as watching TV, going to the beach, etc. In his role as Goku's best friend, Krillin was among the only humans to remain a main character for the majority of the series, even as Master Roshi, Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe, Chi-Chi and others faded into the background.

History
Originally a monk of the Orin Temple, Krillin came to Master Roshi for training and became a student of the Turtle School in his first appearance in the anime and manga, after he and Goku found a woman (Launch) for him. After a short arch-rivalry between the two, he becomes Goku's best friend.

Krillin had his dormant ki awakened by Namek's Great Elder, during the events of the Namek Saga (although it is possible that not all of his power was freed, due to the fact that Gohan still had more hidden power and that they both grew to be much stronger), and this helped keep him among the same level as his more naturally powerful friends, at least for a little while. Krillin has trained hard for 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 occasion, Yamcha says, during the course of the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, that Krillin is "the strongest human being in the world." Some fans feel that the mangaka, Akira Toriyama, uses Yamcha to state a fact on this scene, although as this was said to Krillin's daughter, context may be required.

Many fans immediately will connect Krillin with his signature move, the Kienzan (the Destructo Disc in the Funimation dub), a spinning razor-sharp disk of energy that has the power to cut through just about anything. Despite its immense power, it is extremely unwieldy and hard to control.

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 android and later had a daughter named Marron.

Overall, Krillin is a highly-valued character in the Dragon Ball series: powerful, loyal, and brave. He is second only to Goku in the most appearances in the manga. In some more recent movies however, Krillin has been since demoted to a comic relief character. This is most prominent in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!, when he was beaten up by Chi-Chi, hit his head twice, had hot coffee spilled on him, had his face fried by a stray energy bolt, had a large pile of snow dumped on him, had Vegeta sent flying into him, slipped and skidded past the main villain when he was about to attack him and was humiliated in the hospital (he even remarks during the Vegeta incident that "why do these things always happen to me?").

Life in Orin Temple
Krillin trained at the Orin Temple since he was four. He was the weakest student and was frequently bullied by the senior students. When he was 12, he was getting tired of the bullying and he began to travel to Master Roshi's island when he was seeking training to surpass the people at the temple to defeat his bullies and to attract girls.

Training with Master Roshi
Krillin first appears on screen at the beginning of the Tournament Saga. He bribes Master Roshi with pornography in order to be accepted as his student. Krillin's initial desire for learning martial arts under Roshi was to become more popular with girls.

At first, he detests Goku, whom he finds unintelligent and childish. It is to Krillin's increased annoyance that he discovers that Goku is a more powerful fighter than him in every way (due to his Saiyan heritage). The only time Krillin is ever able to get the better of Goku is through trickery and deceit. Even then, his reward (dinner that evening) is unenviable when he eats fish cooked by Launch that gives him and Roshi food poisoning. Goku, in his characteristic naïveté, remains almost totally unaware of Krillin's one-sided rivalry with him. As their gruelling training progresses, however, Goku and Krillin bond and, by the time of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, are inseparable friends; this aspect of their relationship never diminishes. Goku is always there to offer the insecure Krillin confidence and support, as well as fighting tips, and Krillin is often on hand to offer a pragmatic perspective to the often overly innocent and idealistic Goku as well as clue him in on basic social knowledge that Goku missed out on growing up.

In his and Goku's first Tenkaichi Budokai, Kuririn fares very well, even defeating bullies from his old training school by kicking one of them straight through a wall. He easily advances as one of the eight warriors going on into the main event. He makes it past the quarterfinals, defeating the disgusting Bacterian, as due to him lacking a nose, Bacterian's stink has no effect on him: at first, Krillin is overwhelmed by the odor of Bacterian. However, Goku reminds Krillin that he does not have a nose. After realizing this, he is easily able to overcome his opponent. Unfortunately, however, Krillin is defeated in the semifinals, losing to eventual Budokai winner Jackie Chun, who is actually Master Roshi in disguise.

Adventures with Goku and Bulma
After the tournament, he trains under Roshi again, although he takes a break to aid Goku in his search for the Dragon Balls and fight against the Red Ribbon Army. Krillin, Goku and Bulma enter a cave to find some pirate treasure, but are followed by General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army, who confronts Krillin and defeats him in battle. During the battle, Krillin manages to kick Blue in the face and give him a nosebleed, which just makes the general much more keen to kill him even more. Krillin is almost killed when Blue uses his telekinesis to freeze him. However, Goku manages to save him and fights Blue. When Goku defeats Blue, the cave begins to collapse, but Krillin, Bulma, and Goku escape in a submarine, with Blue surviving as well. Later on, Krillin and Goku soon return to Kame House with the ruby Bulma managed to retrieve from the Pirate Cave, with the gem being stolen by Launch. Blue, who had found the Kame House, uses telekinetically-guided ropes to tie up Krillin and his friends and steal the Dragon Balls while setting off a bomb to explode soon. Luckily, Launch returns in her good state and unties Goku, as he throws the bomb away and chases after Blue on Flying Nimbus.

Battling Fortuneteller Baba's warriors
Later, Krillin competes with Goku and Yamcha in Fortuneteller Baba's tournament for Goku to get the location of a Dragon Ball in order to revive Upa's fallen father. He offers to fight first, and is met by Dracula Man, who does a very long "wai khru" dance of Muay Thai, greatly annoying him. Krillin eventually loses the battle by getting his blood sucked out of his head, causing him to lose consciousness and get kicked out of the arena. However, the cunning Krillin comes up with a strategy that allows them to later defeat Invisible Man. The motif of Krillin using his wits, rather than his strength, to his advantage is seen many times in both series, particularly as he becomes comparatively less powerful.

Meeting Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu
At 17 years of age, Krillin enters the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. He forms a rivalry with Crane School student Chiaotzu during the preliminary matches. While the fighters are drawing lots for the fight order, Chiaotzu puts himself against Krillin using his telekinesis. Later on, during their quarterfinal match, after a one-sided match in Chiaotzu's favor, Krillin uses his cunning in order to defeat Chiaotzu and yells math problems at him in order to use up his telekinetic powers. Krillin manages to defeat Chiaotzu while the Crane student was trying to do basic mental arithmetic. Krillin then advances to the semi-finals where, after a long match, he is eventually eliminated by Goku who uses his stunning speed to defeat him.

First Death
After the 22nd Budokai, Goku realizes he left his objects behind, so Krillin goes back to pick them up. He is then killed by getting his neck broken by a kick from Tambourine, the son of King Piccolo, who was out to kill all of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai participants so that his father would go unchallenged and rule the world with no problems. Although dead, he played a large role in Goku's determination to avenge his death, as well as Master Roshi's. He is later revived by the Dragon Balls, following King Piccolo's death, along with the Namekian's many other victims.

Battle against Piccolo Jr.
Krillin joins Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu on a training journey to Karin Tower. Along the way, they save a village from the eruption of the Popo Poco Volcano. Krillin gets tricked into drinking an alcoholic beverage, which he later regrets but once again, provides comic relief. After they reach Karin Tower and receive their training, Krillin and the others train on their own until the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai.

After three years, when he meets Goku again at the Tenkaichi Budokai, Krillin hugs his best friend, saying he missed him. Eventually, Krillin battles a fighter named "Ma Junior". Krillin lands some decent hits and manages to surprise Ma Junior on several occasions, but quickly realizes Ma Junior is far superior than him in fighting. During the match, Kuririn reveals he has learned Bukujutsu (a hovering space technique). When Krillin falls for Ma Junior's After-Image technique, which landed Ma Junior a free hit on him, he eventually gives up. Kuririn watches Goku and Ma Junior, (who is revealed to be Piccolo Jr., the reincarnation of King Piccolo) spar out. When all hope for Goku seems lost when most of his limbs are broken, Krillin, along with Tien and the others, attempt to assist Goku, but are suddenly caught off guard by Piccolo. Now they know that they cannot help Goku, as the Namekian would defeat them easily. When Piccolo is defeated, Krillin greatly criticizes Goku's choice of giving Piccolo a Senzu bean to heal his wounds, and watches as Goku and Chi-Chi head off to get married.

Attack of the Saiyans
Five years have passed since Goku defeated Piccolo Jr. at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. Krillin, Goku and Bulma attend a reunion at Master Roshi's island, where Goku introduces them to his son, Gohan. While there, Krillin is as surprised as the others by the arrival of Goku's brother Raditz, who slaps Krillin into Kame House and reveals Goku's origins as a Saiyan before kidnapping Gohan. After Piccolo kills Raditz (along with Goku who sacrificed himself), Krillin arrives at the scene and goes to Goku's side as he is dying and watches his body disappear. He also witnesses Piccolo taking Gohan with him into Break Wasteland to train, which Krillin could do nothing about, as Piccolo was too strong for him. Krillin is left to break the news of Goku's passing and Gohan's disappearance to Chi-Chi, although he never actually does it.

As Piccolo told Raditz about the Dragon Balls, the Saiyan relayed that information to his comrades before his death. In the year that the Earth has before the arrival of Prince Vegeta and Nappa, Krillin, along with Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and Yajirobe train with Kami, the guardian of Earth. They do this in order to raise their power levels enough to be able to hold their own against the Saiyans. Like the others, Krillin's power grows exponentially during this year, until he is now far more powerful than Raditz ever was. When the Saiyans arrive, Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu and Yamcha join Piccolo and Gohan to hold Vegeta and Nappa off until Goku's return from Otherworld. The Saiyans then unleash cultivated creatures called Saibamen on them. When Yamcha is blown to smithereens by a exploding Saibaman, Krillin is enraged at his friend's death and unleashes his Kakusandan attack that obliterates three of the Saibamen. Piccolo, Vegeta and Nappa are all impressed with the sheer power of his attack, but it is not fast enough to work on the Saiyans. The battle with Nappa starts and Chiaotzu and Tien soon perish. Krillin, Gohan and Piccolo come up with a plan to grab Nappa's tail to weaken him and then blast him. However, the plan fails, as Nappa had already trained his tail from attacks. Eventually, Piccolo is killed by Nappa, taking Kami and the Dragon Balls with him and rendering Krillin and Gohan as the only ones left to fight the Saiyans. They are saved by a resurrected Goku, who shows his new power against Nappa, who is promptly executed by Vegeta for his failure to kill Goku. Krillin asks Goku to fight Vegeta somewhere else to make sure the corpses of their dead friends do not get destroyed. Goku has Krillin take Gohan away from the battle. On the way back home, Gohan has a change of heart, deciding they cannot let Goku face this danger alone. They go to the canyons (Krillin coming just so Gohan does not get hurt) and are able to help Goku with the Spirit Bomb he creates to defeat Vegeta; Krillin throws the ball, missing Vegeta, but Gohan bounces it back and it hits the Saiyan prince, damaging him.

At the end of the battle, Krillin is the only one of the five survivors (along with Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Yajirobe) who still has the ability to walk. As Vegeta struggles to crawl to his spaceship to escape, Krillin picks up Yajirobe's katana and prepares to kill him to end his reign of terror. Goku tells Krillin not to and he explains that it is not right, as he believes that Vegeta can be redeemed. Krillin is understandably incredulous over Goku's compassion for the man who almost destroyed the planet and scoffs at the idea that Vegeta is capable of turning over a new leaf, but he ultimately and reluctantly decides to trust Goku's judgement and lets Vegeta escape.

Journey to Namek
With Piccolo and Kami dead, the Dragon Balls have been rendered completely useless and thus the Namek Saga begins, with everyone mourning the seemingly permanent deaths of Piccolo, Kami, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu. Fortunately, Krillin comes up with an idea. If the Dragon Balls were created by Namekians, then they could travel to Piccolo's homeworld, Planet Namek, to use the other set of Dragon Balls to wish Piccolo and Kami back to life. While Krillin recovers from his injuries in West City's hospital, Mr. Popo shows Kami's old spaceship and its incredible speed to Bulma. Afterwards, Bulma, Krillin and Gohan head off in the spaceship towards Planet Namek to start their mission. After a few detours on their way there, the trio arrive and discover that this peaceful planet is under siege by the self-proclaimed "Emperor of the Universe" Frieza, the employer of the Saiyans and destroyer of Planet Vegeta (Goku and Vegeta's homeworld). To make matters worse, Vegeta is on the planet as well. Both are also after the Dragon Balls for immortality, and Krillin and Gohan discover that there is much more at stake than the lives of their departed friends. After watching Frieza's soldiers butcher several Namekians, Gohan and Krillin rescue a young Namekian named Dende from Frieza's henchman Dodoria and have to outrun Dodoria himself, eventually escaping by using the Taiyoken. Afterwards, Dende takes the two warriors to the Grand Elder Guru, the guardian of Namek, who is able to release the hidden ki potential inside them, causing their power levels to raise exponentially once again. Newly powered-up, a complex three-sided game of "capture the Dragon Balls" ensues between Frieza, Vegeta, and the Z-Fighters.

Battle against the Ginyu Force
Eventually, Krillin and Gohan are reluctantly forced to team up with Vegeta, as Frieza has called upon Captain Ginyu and the Ginyu Force to intervene. The Dragon Balls that they collected are taken by Captain Ginyu to give to Frieza. Guldo is the first of the Ginyu Force to fight and Krillin manages to hit him with a few ki blasts before the psychic mercenary time-freezes both him and Gohan. Vegeta saves them by killing Guldo and Recoome is the next to fight. When fighting Recoome, Krillin kicks him in the back of the head to defend a defeated Vegeta from his attack, the Eraser Gun. Because of this intervention, Recoome's attack backfires, knocking out all but six of his teeth. Angered, Recoome retaliates by kicking Krillin in the back of the head, which nearly kills him.

After learning that his friends' lives are in danger, Goku (who recovered thanks to a Senzu bean) arrives to help and gives Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta Senzu beans to heal them. The four warriors' combined efforts lead to the deaths of Recoome, Burter and Jeice, but Goku is badly injured by a furious Captain Ginyu and is taken by Vegeta to be recovered in a healing tank.

Battling Frieza and Second Death
Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta recover the Dragon Balls, but Vegeta is unable to wish for his immortality without the password. Krillin leaves to get the password from the Great Elder Guru, but encounters Dende who informs him the password is "Porunga." They return and, with Vegeta asleep, they sneak off with the Dragon Balls and decide to just make their own wish now. In the Namekian language, Dende wishes for Piccolo to be returned to life as the first wish and the second wish to bring him to Namek. This causes Kami to return to life on Earth as well, and Master Roshi begins steps to gather the newly restored Earth Dragon Balls.

Vegeta awakes a short time later and is enraged when the Dragon Balls turn to stone after the Great Elder Guru dies from a heart attack, leaving him unable to get his wish for immortality. However, a bigger threat comes with the arrival of Frieza, who has also been denied immortality by the Guru's death. Frieza transforms into his second, more powerful form, and attempts to kill Dende. Dende is pushed out of the way by Krillin, who is quickly skewered on Frieza's horn and left to die. He then turns his attention to Gohan and starts badly thrashing him. With Froeza distracted, Dende uses his healing abilities to save Krillin's life. Here, the Destructo Disc makes its most memorable appearance when the supposedly dead Krillin appears out of nowhere to deliver the attack on Frieza and save Gohan from certain death. Enraged that his tail has been cut off by the Destructo Disc, Frieza charges after Krillin, catching up to him easily. Krillin knew he needed to keep Krillin distracted long enough for Dende to save Gohan. He tricked and evaded Krillin for quite some time, eventually using a Solar Flare to temporarily blind him. This is another example of Krillin's tendency to outwit opponents that he can not outfight.

Piccolo shows up, having fused with the warrior Nail, and joins Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta in their fight. For a moment, it looks like the Z-Fighters have the upper hand, before Frieza transforms again, leaving them heavily outmatched. While Frieza is distracted, Vegeta urges Krillin to severely injure him, which would raises Vegeta's power further. Krillin is reluctant to attack Vegeta, but eventually sees no other option and shoots him through the stomach with an energy beam. He then asks Dende to heal Vegeta, but Dende refuses, worrying Krillin that Vegeta may die. Eventually, Dende is convinced and Vegeta is healed, becoming much more powerful than before.

Frieza transforms into his final form and gets wind of Dende's healing, and so the tyrant reduces him to a charred corpse before gravely wounding Vegeta. A fully-recovered Goku arrives on the scene, and after witnessing Vegeta being murdered by Frieza with a Death Beam through his heart, is enraged. Goku and Frieza then do battle, and although Goku puts up the best fight that Frieza has ever seen, he is still not able to defeat him. Enraged at how much of a challenge Goku has proven to be, Frieza, after surviving a Spirit Bomb, lashes out at Goku's friends, badly injuring Piccolo with a Death Beam through his chest and murdering Krillin by using his telekinetic powers to blow him to pieces The death of his best friend causes Goku to go berserk, as he believes that Krillin can never be returned to life as Shenron can not grant the same wish twice. Goku's built-up anger finally explodes and he transforms into a Super Saiyan for the first time, granting him the power to defeat Frieza. Not wanting to lose to Goku, Frieza attempts to destroy the planet, knowing that while he can survive in the vacuum of space, Goku cannot. Although Goku defeats Frieza, and Gohan, Piccolo and Bulma, along with Vegeta and Dende (who were revived by the Earth Dragon Balls), make it off Namek, Goku apparently dies when the planet finally explodes.

Using the Namekian Dragon Balls, which can grant the same wish more than once, Bulma wishes for Krillin to return to Earth alive and well. Unfortunately, Porunga says that he will come back and drift in the emptiness of space, because he can only return him to the place he died. Since Namek is no more, they use the Dragon Balls to transport Krillin's spirit to Earth, so he can be resurrected there, and then they wish him back to life. Krillin is returned to life, as are Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu, as well as everyone else killed by Frieza. Everyone is delighted to hear that Goku is still alive, but are shocked when he refuses to come home yet, saying he needs to do more training in space. Though he misses his best friend, Krillin settles back into life on Earth with his friends, thankful for another chance at life.

Garlic Jr.'s Return
During the one year period before Goku's eventual return to Earth, Garlic Jr. returns and Krillin joins Gohan and Piccolo in the battle against the immortal tyrant, as they are the only three Z-Fighters who avoid the Black Water Mist. During the battle, he fights the Spice Boys and is badly wounded twice during the fight first when he takes a blast from Salt and later when Vinegar beats him up badly.

During this time period, Krillin finally gets his first girlfriend, a ditzy blue-haired bombshell by the name of Maron (not to be confused with his future daughter Marron), the relationship is marked by Krillin's insecurity, and instead of proposing to her as he had planned, Krillin decides to break up with her because he thinks she deserves better than him. He is crushed when he discovers she would have married him, but by that point, it is too late.

Saiyan From The Future
Sometime after Garlic Jr.'s defeat, Krillin attempts to perfect his Kamehameha wave technique to get his mind off his breakup with Maron, but he realized that his Kamehameha techniques are still not good enough when he ends up causing a tsunami instead of splitting the waves. He also was not told off for it by Master Roshi because he was asleep during that time and thus missed it. He later sensed that Frieza and his father King Cold were approaching Earth, and after contacting Gohan, he left for a specific spot at the wastelands, close to where Frieza would arrive on Earth. After Frieza and King Cold's deaths, Kuririn learned of the threat of the Androids from the boy who killed them via Piccolo, who overheard his conversation with Goku. It was later revealed to him that the boy came from the future and was named Trunks.

Goku, who came back from Planet Yardrat, showed him and the other Z Fighters the Instant Transmission technique, taking Roshi's sunglasses and giving them to Krillin.

Android Invasion
During the events of the Android Saga, Krillin, along with the other Z-Fighters, trained hard after Future Trunks' grim tale of events soon to unfold. When the day of reckoning did arrive, Krillin was right on the scene with his friends, ready to defend the Earth. When Goku battled Android 19, Krillin watched in horror when a fearsome heart virus began to take its affect on the Saiyan. After Vegeta arrives and destroys 19, Dr. Gero (Android 20) attempts to escape, knowing that both Piccolo and Vegeta could easily kill him. The Z Fighters give chase, and Krillin is the first to find him near his laboratory. Krillin quickly realizes that he is outgunned, and Gero attacks him without any restraint and beats him up. Shortly after, Krillin watches Gero enter his lab and releases his ki to give word to the other Z-Fighters. Piccolo and Tien are first on the scene, proud of Krillin for finding it. Just as they begin their assault, Krillin informs them that Gero beat him to it, which concerns Piccolo. While inside, Gero releases Android 17 and Android 18. They then kill Gero and release another of his creations, Android 16. While the Z-Fighters fall to the powerful machines, Krillin stands back in horror, knowing that he would be no match for them. The androids defeat the other Z-Fighters with relative ease, and head off to assassinate the bed-ridden Goku. Krillin attempts to talk them out of it, but fails. However, 18 walks up, wishes him good luck, and kisses him on the cheek.

The Horror of Cell
A short time later, Krillin and Future Trunks destroy Dr. Gero's laboratory along with the timeline's early stage of the the evil Cell. Meanwhile, after merging with Kami, Piccolo gave chase to a Cell from a future timeline, knowing that he must stop the creature from absorbing 17 and 18 and reaching his perfect form. Tien and Krillin join the hunt, and once again, Krillin is the first to find the enemy. In an anime filler, he saves a woman and her younger brother from Cell, just as the monster was about to absorb them. He gives them enough time to get onto an airplane, and uses a Solar Flare on Cell to escape with them, but Cell catches up. Krillin then proceeds to attempt and fight Cell only to be smashed through the airplane. Just before Cell nearly kills Krillin, Piccolo and Tien arrive, and Cell flees once again.

Battle against Cell
After Cell is successful in absorbing #17 and reaching his second state, Bulma creates a remote that can shut down 18 so that she would be rendered useless when Cell absorbs her. She instructs Krillin to be the one to do it, but upon arriving at the battle scene, he sees how frightened she is, and he remembers the kiss she gave him. He then throws the controller to the ground and smashes it, revealing that he had fallen for her. Cell then uses a Solar Flare to blind everyone within sight and starts absorbing 18. Krillin begins attacking Cell head-on, attempting to save her, but it was too late, and Cell reaches his perfect form. Out of anger, a heart-broken Krillin foolishly attacks Cell, only to be smashed away in seconds. However, he did manage to sense a large bulk of Cell's power that he kept hidden a split-second before being kicked away by Cell, causing him to warn Future Trunks about his hiding his overall power upon being fed a Senzu bean.

The Cell Games
Cell then defeats both Vegeta and Trunks, and goes on to announce a tournament he calls "The Cell Games". The Z-Fighters then spend the remaining 10 days preparing for the games, as does Krillin. He also spends time with his best friends, Goku and Gohan, who decide not to train.

When the day finally arrives, Goku is the first to battle Cell. After a long and intense battle, Goku forfeits, and tells Gohan that it is his turn to fight. In order to unleash Gohan's anger, Cell spawns seven Cell Jr.'s. They then proceed to attack the Z-Fighters, including Krillin. With all this, and Cell killing the peaceful Android 16, Gohan's anger explodes and he transforms into a Super Saiyan 2, and causes Cell to revert back to his semi-perfect form and cough up 18 after being kicked in the stomach by Gohan. Krillin immediately tends to her, much to Vegeta's objections and surprise (presuming Vegeta was still bitter about his first fight with 18). Cell later attempts to self-destruct, only to be teleported away to King Kai's planet by Goku. Cell manages to kill both Goku and King Kai in the resulting explosion, before regenerating and returning to Earth. Krillin, Piccolo, Tien and Yamcha all join forces to help Gohan against the newly empowered Cell. Krillin, like the rest, is brushed off by Cell's energy multiple times. Finally, after Vegeta provides the distraction needed, Cell's rampage is ended once and for all after a Kamehameha wave struggle.

Returning to Kami's Lookout, the Z-Fighters summon Shenron and ask for Goku to be revived. However, Goku reveals that he wants to stay dead, so that Gohan can become the new protector of Earth. With one wish left, Krillin asks if Shenron will remove the bombs from inside the androids' bodies, another show of compassion towards 18. She sees this while hiding, and is surprised by Krillin's actions. She then reveals herself and tells Krillin that it was a very nice thing he did for her, showing that she may have a soft spot for the monk after all. She leaves, as do the rest of the Z-Fighters, off to continue their lives.

Seven Years Later
Seven years later, Krillin is shown to have grown a head of black hair, married 18, and has had a daughter named Marron and lives with his family at Kame House, Master Roshi's home.

When Goku announced his return to Earth for the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, Krillin is ecstatic to see his best friend again. Krillin enters the Tenkaichi Budokai along with Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, 18 and Videl, and wins his first match up against the boastful Punta without exerting himself. During the events of the tournament, the evil Majin Buu's origins are revealed, and the danger the Earth now faces becomes apparent. Krillin flies off with Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Videl, Kibito and the Supreme Kai to the wizard Babidi's spaceship in hopes of stopping Buu. Upon arrival, Dabura kills Kibito, and using his magical spit, turns Krillin and Piccolo to stone.

The Terror of Majin Buu
A while later, Dabura is killed by the newly released Majin Buu, and Krillin and Piccolo turn back to normal. Shortly after, Vegeta (having been possessed by Babidi) arrives and blows himself up in an attempt to kill Boo once and for all. It fails, and Boo miraculously regenerates himself. Piccolo and Krillin flee with the unconscious Goten (Goku's younger son) and Trunks back to the lookout tower. Goku soon arrives a while later, and introduces his idea of fusion. While training the boys, Buu and Babidi head towards West City, the location of the Dragon Radar and the Z-Fighters' only shot at reviving the dead. Goku intervenes, and transforms into a Super Saiyan 3 in order to buy time. He is quickly able to gain the upper hand on Buu, and after a short fight, teleports back to the Lookout, before Buu rebels and kills Babidi.

Super Buu and Third Death
A day later, Buu, having transformed into his Super Buu form, finds Kami's Lookout and allows everyone on there to survive for a short time. While on the Lookout, Buu uses his Human Extinction Attack to kill all the people on Earth except for those on the Lookout. Due to Goten and Trunks' fusion, Gotenks, failing to kill Buu inside the Time Chamber, the monster manages to escape (even despite Piccolo blowing up the door, the only way out or in). He then decides to turn everyone on the Lookout into chocolate and devour them. Krillin sacrifices himself to buy time for the others to escape, but his sacrifice is rendered moot when Buu proceeds to murder 18, Marron, Videl and everyone else on the lookout except Dende (who is saved via a heroic sacrifice by Mr. Popo).

Battle against Kid Buu
After Kuririn was killed by Super Buu, he was in the afterlife training with King Kai until Buu, now in his Kid Buu form, appeared, using Instant Transmission to try and locate Goku and Vegeta. Boo overwhelmed Paikuhan and Olibu quickly, and Krillin attacks from behind with his Destructo Disc, only to find that the attack has no effect at all (Yamcha remarks at how, "it would have worked on anyone else but him"). He was then thrashed around by the monster, before Buu was drawn away by Goku and Vegeta to the Kais' faraway planet.

During the battle with Kid Buu, Dende uses the Dragon Balls to wish all those killed by Buu back to Earth (which was also just brought back after being destroyed by Kid Buu). Krillin and his family, as well of all of Earth's people, transfer some of their energy to Goku's Super Spirit Bomb. Soon after, Goku launches the bomb and vaporizes Kid Buu, destroying him once and for all. The people of Earth and the Z-Fighters then continue on their lives, all together at last.

End of Dragon Ball Z
Around ten years later, some of the Z-Fighters attend the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai. Krillin had retired from fighting years prior, but attends to see Goku and his granddaughter Pan participate. After Goku leaves with Uub (Kid Buu's good reincarnation) to train, Krillin is not seen again until Dragon Ball GT.

Dragon Ball GT
Years later, Krillin appears briefly in Dragon Ball GT. He is seen with Android 18 and Marron several times through the series. Still true to his role in comic relief, these brief intermissions often see 18 and Marron ordering him around.

Super 17 and Fourth Death
Krillin is seen at the 31st Tenkaichi Budokai with Gohan and the others as they observe Goku, Pan, Majuub (a fusion of Good Buu and Uub), and Mr. Satan competing in the tournament.

Some months later, Krillin is confronted and killed by Android 17 after Krillin stops him from brainwashing 18. After seeing her husband being killed by her brother, 18 viciously attacks 17 with everything she has in an attempt to avenge Krillin. After being defeated, 18 holds her husband's hand and tells him she loves him before she falls unconscious. After 18 and Goku defeat Super 17, the seven Dragon Balls (which are now cracked due to their constant misuse) are gathered to revive Krillin and everyone who was killed by Super 17 and the Hell Fighters, but the Shadow Dragons appear after they attempt to make the wish.

The Shadow Dragons
After defeating Omega Shenron, Goku wishes to revive everyone who was killed during the Super 17 and Shadow Dragon sagas, which brings Krillin back to life. Before departing with Shenron, Goku asks him to stop at Kame House to say goodbye to Krillin and Master Roshi. In his final appearance, Krillin has an emotional final meeting with Goku on Muten Roshi's island home along with Roshi himself. They reminisce over old times, and Krillin and Goku have a friendly sparring match, which Krillin wins, much to both his and Goku's joy. After this, Goku suddenly disappears, leaving Krillin very confused.

Techniques and special abilities

 * Flight – The ability to fly with the use of ki.
 * Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
 * Rengeki – A rush attack used in Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans. Krillin can combine it with Yamcha's and Tien Shinhan's rush attacks to form the Earthling Strike. Krillin's High Speed Rush in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai is the Berserk Fist/Valiant Fist, and he also uses the Zanku Fist and the Jackhammer.
 * Kamehameha – Krillin learns the move by just watching Goku and Yamcha use it, and he uses this move for the first time in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament against Chaozu.
 * Tokudai Sokidan – Used by Yamcha in the anime. Krillin can perform this homing technique in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2.
 * Full Power Energy Blast Volley – Used in the Butōden series (named Renzoku Energy Dan) and the first Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi.
 * Double Tsuihikidan – A move where Krillin fires two energy waves that target his enemy. Krillin used this technique against Piccolo Jr. in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai. It was named Homing Energy Wave in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.
 * Kakusandan – Krillin uses this move after witnessing the death of Yamcha.
 * Destructo Disc– An attack invented by Krillin that has very sharp edges that can cut through just about anything.
 * Dual Kienzan– A team attack used by Krillin and Android 18 in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2.
 * Chain Kienzan Barrage – A rapid-fire version of the Kienzan used by Krillin against Freeza.
 * Chou Kienzan – A more powerful version of the Kienzan used by Krillin in Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit.
 * Solar Flare– An attack that can blind anyone who is facing the user unless their eyes are closed.
 * After-Image – An attack that leaves multiple false images of the user. The After-Image Strike is one of his Blast 1s in the Budokai Tenkaichi series.
 *  Shishin no Ken  – Used against Nappa along with Piccolo to create three versions of himself that could fight. Krillin uses this technique only in the anime.
 * Yaburekabure da – Krillin jumps in the way of an incoming ki blast to save Gohan. Used during the Garlic Jr. Saga.
 * Photon Bomber – An energy sphere used by Krillin as a final attack to destroy Dr. Gero's laboratory.
 * Sokidan – Krillin can use the attack in Supersonic Warriors 2.
 * Spirit Bomb– It is the ultimate technique that North Kaio taught Goku. Krillin is able to use it when Goku gives it to him to try and defeat Vegeta. In the video game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors, after dying of the heart virus, Goku comes back for a day to teach this technique and the Kaio-ken to Krillin.
 * Senkouken – A dashing punch used in the Butōden series.
 * Shockwave Kick – A turn around kick used in the Butōden series.
 * Gariou Kick – A dashing slide kick used in the Butōden series.
 * Diving Kick – A diving double foot stomp. Named in the Butōden series. He also uses it as his diving smash in the Budokai Tenkaichi series.
 * Reverse Kamehameha – Krillin uses the Reverse Kamehameha in the Butōden series to perform attacks like headbutts or knee smashes. He also uses the Knee Drop in Super Dragon Ball Z.
 * Meteor Irritation – His meteor attack in Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22.
 * Flicker – Krillin jumps and rolls past the enemy. Used in Super Dragon Ball Z.

Power ups

 * Unlock Potential – Krillin's potential or hidden power is unlocked by the Namekian Great Elder.