DBS Makes Krillin Being Earth’s Strongest Human Very Unlikely Now

Krillin is commonly regarded as the strongest human Z-Warrior, but Dragon Ball Super's story makes the character still holding this title unlikely.

Dragon Ball Super makes it unlikely that Krillin is still the anime’s strongest human. For years, fans have classified Goku’s best friend as the most powerful Earthling in the Dragon Ball franchise. If that’s true, that would put him in a class above Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Master Roshi.

There was never much debate about the character being stronger than Chiaotzu and Roshi, as it was understood since the beginning of Dragon Ball Z that the best humanity has to offer are Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha. The three Earthlings obviously aren’t comparable to Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Future Trunks or even Piccolo, but they do boast high power levels that are impressive for humans. As for how the three stack up against each other, there seems to be a consensus that Yamcha is the weakest and Krillin is the strongest. Providing support for that claim is Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama himself, who once agreed with an interviewer who called Krillin the strongest human [via [via Kanzenshuu].

Whether Krillin was deserving of this distinction or not, Dragon Ball Super’s story casts doubt on the idea that Krillin still edges out all other human Z-Warriors. Prior to the Tournament of Power, the characters discovered that Krillin had slacked off in his training to a point where a bullet was able to bruise his skin. Apparently, it’s been years since he’s trained. He ended up deciding to get back into shape for the tournament, but this decision coming in Dragon Ball Super’s final arc certainly limits the amount of progress he could have made as a fighter. In fact, he may not be even stronger than Yamcha, who was said to be on par with him during the Buu Saga’s ending. The idea that Yamcha is the weakest is based primarily on the notion that he doesn’t train anymore, but since Krillin took a break as well, neither may be Dragon Ball’s most powerful Earthling.

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Krillin’s case is further weakened by what Dragon Ball Super did with both Tien and Master Roshi. Unlike Krillin, Tien has been keeping up with his training since Dragon Ball Z ended, which greatly increases the chances that he managed to eclipse Krillin offscreen. That’s not unfeasible, especially since there was never a huge gap between them in the first place (if there ever was one at all). Tien’s continued devotion to his training and performance in the Tournament of Power make him – and not Krillin – the best contender for Dragon Ball’s strongest Earthling.

As for Roshi, he made some huge, unexpected gains in Dragon Ball Super that could put him on Krillin’s level. In Dragon Ball Z, it seemed that the days of the Turtle Hermit being strong enough to fight alongside the Z-Warriors were over, but the sequel series shook things up in a big way by revealing that Roshi has been training in secret for years. Thanks to this retcon, he was able to overpower Tien (albeit with some magical help) and outlast both of his human teammates in the Tournament of Power. The anime never outright confirmed that Roshi is superior to Krillin, but his victories over fighters like Ganos at least make this a possibility.

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