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Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise is full of mysteries and unanswered questions, dealing with both the most mundane and fantastical of topics. Questions such as how the Dragon Balls work and who originally created them fall in the latter, while less exciting aspects of the series' events and mysteries fall in the former.
One such mystery from the former category has to do with fan-favorite Krillin. Many fans are curiously unaware of the reasoning behind or origin for one of the most recognizable aspects of his character design at any point in the franchise’s many series - the dots on Krillin's head.
Dragon Ball fans incredibly curious on the seemingly unimportant origin of Krillin’s dots
The explanation for Krillin’s dots seen throughout Dragon Ball come from his origins prior to his first appearance in the series. This first appearance comes at the beginning of the original series’ Tournament Saga, where he asks Master Roshi to train him as a young boy. This is also where he meets Goku for the first time, beginning their lifelong friendship.
After initially being wary of taking Krillin on as a student, Master Roshi is convinced when the young boy is able to bribe him with a stack of dirty magazines. This then prompts Roshi to task him and Goku with bringing a beautiful woman to his island, which the two eventually do before being trained.
Prior to this training with Master Roshi, however, Krillin was a monk at the Orin Temple. He first arrived at the temple at 4 years old, training with the monks for eight years. However, after being bullied as the weakest student this entire time, he got sick of the situation at age 13, seeking out Master Roshi to train him instead.
It was at the Orin Temple where he received these dots, along with his shaved head and original yellow robe outfit. The dots were received by burning incense on his forehead, creating the 6-dotted pattern his character has become iconically synonymous with. The Orin Temple and all aspects of Krillin’s character design are inspired by real-life Buddhist and Shaolin monks.
The dot patterning is a real-life choice by these holymen, who have rejected all Earthly pleasures to become part of their respective monasteries. One of the biggest ironies in Krillin’s initial introduction, for those clever enough to catch it, is that the young monk has rejected Earthly pleasures as he desired to get stronger in order to become more popular with women.
While this aspect of his character has fizzled out somewhat since his initial introduction, the monk-like characteristics still remain. Krillin even keeps his head shaved when preparing to enter combat. Fans saw this during Dragon Ball Super when he was asked to join the Tournament of Power alongside Goku and others.
Although somewhat underwhelming, this is indeed the origin story of the dots on Krillin’s heads, one which many western Dragon Ball fans were likely unaware of.
Be sure to keep up with all Dragon Ball anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, flm, and live-action news as 2022 progresses.
