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What Was the Most Effective Krillin Death?

What Was the Most Effective Krillin Death?

  • Tambourine Kick

    Votes: 43 18.0%

  • Getting Impaled By Frieza, He Didn't Die, but That was Gnarly as Fuck

    Votes: 22 9.2%

  • Getting Exploded by Frieza

    Votes: 166 69.5%

  • Krillin Getting Done In in the Future

    Votes: 1 0.4%

  • Sacrificing Himself to Buu so the Other Could Try to Run

    Votes: 2 0.8%

  • Sigh ... Super 17

    Votes: 5 2.1%
  • Total voters
    239
Derbel McDillet

Derbel McDillet

▲ Legend ▲
Banned
Nov 23, 2022
16,145
The first death in Dragon Ball. Effective as hell when they found him, less effective when they showed the fight.

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I'm including that time Frieza impaled him with the horn because goddamn. And he pretty much would've died if Dende didn't heal him. I'm counting it.

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Frieza blowing him up and sending Goku into a rage that made him become a Super Saiyan.

Krillin-Death-Dragon-Ball-Z-Frieza.jpg


Future Krillin Dying to the Androids

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Super Buu turning everyone at the lookout into candy and eating them. Krillin tried to be a distraction, but that didn't last long.

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Whatever it was that happened with Super 17 in GT.

543
 
Tagyhag

Tagyhag

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,722
In general, it's him blowing up because of what that led to.

But personally? That Tambourine Death really affected me because it was the first animated death that I can remember, and I was like 6.
 
Anth0ny

Anth0ny

Member
Oct 25, 2017
47,650
I like his first death. That shit was sad. Of course Freeza making him go kaboom is legendary too.

That damn Ryusei Nakao >:(
 
Pein

Pein

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,309
NYC
I saw the blowing up first but looking back how tambourine killed him, it's more brutal.
 
Moara

Moara

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,015
The first one of course. It was the first major death in the series and stakes felt high
 
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Derbel McDillet

Derbel McDillet

▲ Legend ▲
Banned
Nov 23, 2022
16,145
The first death is still genuinely sad to this day. The impalement I saw when I was 7ish so that really messed me up.
 
JdFox17

JdFox17

Member
Oct 26, 2017
451
Tambourine was more effective from a pure emotional point of view. The explosion death was more impactful from a narrative and cultural point of view. It's a draw.
 
lvl 99 Pixel

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,985
The first one was the most real and sudden. I think after the Frieza saga death started to feel more weightless/cheap.
 
MinerArcaniner

MinerArcaniner

Member
Oct 29, 2017
6,352
His first death in Dragon Ball...in the manga, when it just came out of nowhere.

The anime ruined it by telegraphing everything. Might as well have put "KRILLIN IS FUCKED" in bright neon letters.
 
Daingurse

Daingurse

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,778
The Frieza death has definitely stuck with me the most. Krillin was visibly scared and pleading for help. It also looked like an incredibly painful way to go. The way his diaphragm expanded before he exploded is seared in my mind. Yeah, that was a rough death.

His original death in OG Dragon Ball was really shocking though, I have to admit.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
117,674
Tagyhag said:
In general, it's him blowing up because of what that led to.

But personally? That Tambourine Death really affected me because it was the first animated death that I can remember, and I was like 6.
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Pretty much. His initial death is more shocking because it was the first time in Dragonball that the stakes really became ENTRENCHED. People can die, and it's not played for a laugh. It was the series growing up, in some regards.

By comparison, the Namek death probably meant more to the franchise overall on a business level by introducing Super Saiyan, but it was also at a point in the story where death had already formally been trivialized with resurrection wishes, so its impact outside of triggering SSJ was...lessened.
 
Virtua King

Virtua King

Banned
Dec 29, 2017
4,026
The Frieza one is iconic, but his first death in Dragon Ball is so sad. Goku doesn't even eat after the tournament because he senses something is wrong, and his fears turn out to be true.
 

Muetsch

Member
Oct 27, 2017
520
As a kid I wasnt familiar with animes in general or Dragonball but that first one fucked me up something fierce back then! Absolutely devasting to 8–9 year old me

But looking back now it's probably from Freezer
 
Ultimate Bear Cub

Ultimate Bear Cub

Member
Mar 30, 2019
9,180
Yeah I think it's the first one with Tambourine. Even though I couldn't watch the whole of Dragon Ball before it transitioned to Z initially.

So I was most affected by the horn impalement by Freeza first. That one stuck with me longest. Then I caught the explosion/ssj triggering later because of irregular viewing times. Which I then conflated with the impalement as the death that triggered Goku into Super Saiyan.

It wasn't until later that I sat down and watched the whole thing in proper order that the Tambourine death stood out. There is proper dramatic pacing going on there in that video. Been a while. I sometimes forget how the DB world felt before the faster space-faring pace of Z.
 
Luigi87

Luigi87

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,117
First death. It was what caused Goku to really lose it for the first time.
 
Soapbox Killer

Soapbox Killer

Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,717
Man I remember watching Dragon Ball Z in 2000 when I was still in the Navy and the people I watching it with never saw it before. This was on Cartoon Network. When he died during the Freiza fight...the whole room just went DEAD! Bunch of grown-ass sailors just silent.
 

hopeblimey

Member
Sep 23, 2023
650
The impaling and then him flopping around still attached the horn was crazy.

But his explosion is the winner.
 
mrmickfran

mrmickfran

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
27,486
Gongaga
I'm one of those filthy ones who experienced DBZ first so Freeza killing Krillin had more of an impact on me

Edit: I think it was in DBZ Budokai when I first saw it, my mouth went 😱
 
Zemoco

Zemoco

Member
Jan 12, 2021
694
In terms of effectiveness as in the death itself? Tambourine easily. It was definitely shocking at the time, something so visceral.

Krillin's death against Frieza was more of a plot device to pay off the buildup of SSJ.
 
TheEchosOfTheCyborg

TheEchosOfTheCyborg

Member
Feb 24, 2018
5,405
The Tambourine Kick because of the consequences of it.

Not only does it result in Goku going full blood thirsty and leading to the cycle of the Demon King Piccolo arc, but it had consequences years after it happened.

We're all probably familiar with this:
dude-got-injured-and-hit-the-yamcha-death-pose-v0-8k9zapm37jxc1.jpg

What's often not discussed (besides how people seem to assume the T4S is how it actually happened) is WHY it happened.

Yamcha stopped Krillin from going first because he knew Krillin couldn't come back via the Dragon Ball's again and didn't want him to take that risk. What's often forgotten is that Yamcha HAD won the fight and only died because the Saibaman suddenly did the self-destruct attack that none of the heroes saw coming; had Yamcha not stepped in, Krillin would have been dead for good and it's VERY clear Krillin is aware of that fact throughout the rest of the arc and Freeza arc because he clearly suffers from survivor's guilt afterwards.
 
Skeeter49

Skeeter49

I wish Jim Ryan would eat me
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,311
You can argue teh Tamborine one almost got Goku killed. Instead of a power boost it led to him going to his death, luckily surviving thanks to Yajirobe.
Super Buu didn't achieve much either.

It's Frieza.
 
INST

INST

Member
Nov 2, 2017
2,654
In-universe it's Freeza blowing him up.

But for the viewers it really should be Tamborine, for me it was. Because by the point Freeza blows him up, we've gotten used to death as a minor inconvenience. Like he was there to wish his other death friends back in the first place. So Freeza killing him was essentially just transporting him to another planet.
 
skeezx

skeezx

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,441
OG death for sure

after the Saiyan saga I knew "death" didn't mean shit, although I was pretty well aware he wouldn't stay dead after Tambourine either
 
RagnarokX

RagnarokX

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,859
INST said:
In-universe it's Freeza blowing him up.

But for the viewers it really should be Tamborine, for me it was. Because by the point Freeza blows him up, we've gotten used to death as a minor inconvenience. Like he was there to wish his other death friends back in the first place. So Freeza killing him was essentially just transporting him to another planet.
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skeezx said:
OG death for sure

after the Saiyan saga I knew "death" didn't mean shit, although I was pretty well aware he wouldn't stay dead after Tambourine either
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The rules they established were that you can only be wished back once and only if your body was in tact, though. Krillin being blown up by Frieza was his second death and his body was destroyed.
 
zashga

zashga

Losing is fun
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,258
It's gotta be when Frieza blew him up. I can still see and hear that in my mind, decades later.
 
Kiyamet

Kiyamet

Member
Apr 21, 2024
466
We're voting for effectiveness so it has to be him blowing up

Its the precursor to SSJ which changed the game forever

As far as the most gnarly I dont know what you guys are talking about but the Tambourine death was a joke - I literally couldn't believe it. Even though he didnt die getting impaled by Frieza's horn is second only to Goku getting worked by Piccolo a the end of DB.
 
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