The Most Important Character in Dragonball: Kurrurin
by Chris Anderson

Originally Posted: 20 March 2000

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Yes, Kurrurin. While Son Goku may be the main character of Dragonball, and arguably the strongest, it is Kurrurin who triggers many of the key events in Dragonball and without him, Goku would have never attained the heights which he later does. He is also the character to whom the audience can best identify with and he adds a very personal touch to the saga. Finally it is Kurrurin, more than any of the other characters, who best embodies the spirit and theme of Dragonball; that no matter how powerful your opponent is, no matter what the odds are against you, and no matter how much of a beating you take, never surrender.

From his first appearance in Dragonball, Kurrurin has a profound impact on the characters around him. We first see Kurrurin when he travels to Kame House to train with the old man and Goku. While Goku eventually surpassed Kurrurin in training, the training would have never begun had it not been for the monk. It is he who assists Goku in finding Lunch, thus fulfilling the requirement for disciple-hood. This begins one of the most important moments of all of Dragonball. It is here that Goku first learns to push himself to his limits and seriously train. The technique of training with weights, which Goku and other characters later uses in a variety of forms (weighted-clothes, gravity machine), is first developed here through the use of heavy turtle shells. Goku also learns about the world here and his ability to interact with it (however small it is) stems from his training on the island. And all of this would have been impossible had it not been for Kurrurin. The monk also serves another important role: he is the one who forces Goku to constantly get better. Although Goku constantly seeks out new opponents to fight, once he defeats them, that's it. The challenge is over. But Kurrurin is someone who gets better as Goku gets better and the reason Goku trains so hard is to keep himself one step ahead of Kurrurin because he knows that Kurrurin's training won't halt if his does. This is reflected in Goku's and Kurrurin's conversations every time they see each other with each commenting on how much they've tried to surpass the other. Although this particular role of Kurrurin's is replaced later in the series by people such as Piccolo and Vegeta, the fact remains that it is Kurrurin's influence which first pushes Goku to such intense training.

Kurrurin also defines two significant points in Dragonball both of which occur due to his death. The first is in episode 100 of original Dragonball. When Kurrurin is killed by one of Piccolo Damiou's servants, thus prompting Goku into a massive explosion of anger, the light heartedness of Dragonball ends and the seriousness of Dragonball Z begins. Up to this point, the series is basically a comedy with serious undertones to it. Now however, the tone of the series becomes much more menacing with comedic undertones to it. The bruise marks are replaced with blood spots, the actions of the characters are guided by serious emotions, and the battles have a much more intense atmosphere to them. While the full scale violence of Z won't occur for another 50 episodes or so, the transition point clearly lies in the death of Kurrurin. Also, Kurrurin's death forces the characters to begin learning the powerful ki attacks that are so prevalent in the later episodes. Kikouhou, Sokidan, the small energy balls that are so common in Z, none of the characters would have felt the necessity to learn them had it not been for the death of Kurrurin. While some may argue that it was simply the appearance of Piccolo Damiou that forced the characters to hone and refine their ki, the fact is that none of the Z-senshi would have felt such an urgent need to do so, had Kurrurin not died.

The second turning point (and this is the biggest of all) that occurs due to Kurrurin expiring is the introduction of the legendary Super Saiya-jin. When Freezer destroys Kurrurin on Namek, this prompts Goku to become so enraged that he goes Super Saiya-jin. The Super Saiya-jin stage is the most memorable point of Dragonball and is the saga's biggest storyline. All subsequent actions in DBZ revolve around the Super Saiya-jin level. Trunks appears and is a Super Saiya-jin which prompts Vegeta to become a Super Saiya-jin. Cell is defeated because Gohan achieves Super Saiya-jin 2. The most infamous DBZ enemy ever is (you guessed it) a Super Saiya-jin (Broli)! And this entire, incredible story arc all initially occurs because of Kurrurin. There are some who may argue that Kurrurin had no hand in Gohan, Goten, or Trunks achieving the Super Saiya-jin level and therefor he is not all that important, but this is wrong because the knowledge on how to achieve the level is first discovered because of the death of Kurrurin. It is his unique character and friendship with Goku, that causes the legend to come to life.

Aside from Kurrurin's major role in initiating key transition points, he also plays an extremely large role with the audience. Kurrurin is someone who we can most readily identify with. How many times have you ever been really good at something only to be surpassed just slightly by someone else? And how many times have you struggled on knowing that there is no real chance in you ever achieving the heights of your better yet you try anyways (I don't know about you but its happened to me)? Well, Kurrurin is like that. Kurrurin is an incredible martial artist but he is just slightly surpassed by Goku. And although he is constantly being beaten by him, he keeps going on, never really knowing when to call it quits. Although Goku is like this too, it's different with him because he is so incredibly powerful. He has an excellent chance at winning because he is so good. Kurrurin is not like this; Kurrurin is more like us. We know there are times when we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning but like Kurrurin, we go on and lose with a sort of dignity. His personality is also more realistic and well-rounded. While Goku, Piccolo, and Vegeta may be interesting characters to watch, we the audience can't readily identify with them. None of us are as naive as Goku or as psychotic as Vegeta or as damned as Piccolo. Kurrurin is someone who is more like us: not always sure of himself, scared at times, weak at times, but courageous and devoted nonetheless. And like him, we too have times of smug self-fulfillment over some minor point which is not really important in the overall scheme of things (Kurrurin's frequent comments to Bulma are evidence of this). So, Kurrurin is someone who the audience can identify with and laugh with even if the other characters are far more interesting to observe.

And finally, Kurrurin best embodies the overall theme of Dragonball; never surrender. This is best illustrated in one classic scene from original Dragonball. In the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, Kurrurin fights a losing battle against Ma Junior (Piccolo) and the fight ends with Ma unleashing an incredible attack upon the monk which cripples him to the ground. In a sure and arrogant voice, Ma Junior proclaims the blast has killed him. There are a few tense seconds and then, from the ruins of battle arena, Kurrurin arises, looks around and says, "I give up." No other where in Dragonball will you find a scene which more accurately or emotionally depicts the Dragonball theme of never giving up. It is a very poignant, true, and human scene that gives Dragonball its central spirit. While Goku too may never give up, we can't identify with him as readily as Kurrurin. Goku's dedication is too inhuman, too unrealistic (the fact that Goku is an alien kind of supports this) and above all, not nearly as desperate because there is always a chance he will win because he's so powerful. With Kurrurin, there is no chance. We know he is going to lose, he knows he is going to lose, and yet he battles on and though he does indeed lose, he does so with pride, honor, and a humble yet overwhelming spirit. Kurrurin is the most important character in Dragonball and it is his quiet involvement in matters that has profoundly shaped Dragonball into the emotional, spiritual, and absolutely stunning masterpiece that it is today.

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