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This short analysis will focus on the humans and how powerful they ended up being at different points in the story. For clarification, this will include a short bit on Mr. Satan and Videl, but the main subjects will be Krillin, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Chaozu. Be warned, this passage is operating under the assumption that all of the aforementioned characters are considered "Earthlings," which will also be elaborated upon in the following reading.
Before I begin, I want to explain that this is not me forcing my opinion on anybody, or me making this to spite the opinions/beliefs of anybody else. As well as considering all of the characters earthlings, the following analysis will be running under P123's Guide to Battle Power Logic, namely rules #1, #2, and #5.
Alright, let's start.
1. PRE-SAIYAN BATTLE
Spoiler: click to toggle The first blatant indication of the humans' power that we get in the manga is when Bulma reads off the scouter numbers proceeding the battle with Raditz. The power levels are as follows:
Krillin: 206 Tenshinhan: 250 Yamcha: 177
There is no number given for Chaozu, but as you can see, Tenshinhan is clearly the strongest, with Yamcha taking up the rear. This follows the basic strength chain that was shown in the first part of the series (simply "Dragon Ball" in layman's terms). Mathematically, Yamcha is nearly 86% of Krillin (71% of Tenshinhan, rounded up), and Krillin is 82% of Tenshinhan.
Supporting Evidence Chapter: 209 (DBZ 15), P4.2 Context: trying out the converted scouter Bulma: “Kuririn is... Ah, incredible!! It says 206!!"
Chapter: 209 (DBZ 15), P4.5-6 Context: trying out the converted scouter Bulma: “...Eh?! About 3,000 km from here, there's someone at 250! Who could it be?!" Kuririn: “250?! I know!! It’s Tenshinhan!!!”
Chapter: 209 (DBZ 15), P4.7 Context: trying out the converted scouter Bulma: “A 177 over there.” Kame-sennin: “I’m guessing Yamcha!!”
2. SAIYAN BATTLE
Spoiler: click to toggle Tenshinhan, Krillin, Yamcha, Chaozu, and Yajirobe trained on the Lookout with Kami and Mr. Popo for one year. It is stated by Kami that they all surpassed him. Only Krillin's power level was given in the manga, and this was for his suppressed power. Yamcha and Tenshinhan arrived soon after, but their battle powers were never read off, though it's obvious by their defeat of the Saibamen that they're both above 1,200 at least. Daizenshuu 7 gives their full power levels, and an issue of Weekly Jump gives Yajirobe's. Tenshinhan - 1,830 Krillin - 1,083 (this is his suppressed power) Krillin - 1,770 Yamcha - 1,480 Chaozu - 610 Yajirobe - 970 Yamcha would be 83% of Krillin (80% of Tenshinhan), and Krillin would be 96% of Tenshinhan. Numerically, they would have gained 8.4x, 8.6x, and 7.3x (all rounded up), respectively. That would point to Krillin making the biggest gain with Tenshinhan making the smallest, and Yamcha making slightly less of a gain than Krillin. Chaozu's and Yajirobe's gains would be impossible to calculate due to the lack of stated battle powers for them earlier on. Despite making such large gains, their efforts were futile against Nappa. Chaozu's self-destruction did little more than scuff Nappa's armor. An on-guard Tenshinhan's arm was punched clean off by a bull-rushing Nappa, and his Kikoho that was fueled with every ounce of his remaining power, though it gave Nappa a scare, only managed to give the guy some cuts and break off his right shoulder pad. Krillin's assaults did nothing of worth either. Supporting EvidenceChapter: 211 (DBZ 17), P13.1 Context: after training under God God: “You have all surpassed me now. There is nothing more I or Mr. Popo can teach you. Return to the lower world and refine your skills until the final confrontation.”
Chapter: 214 (DBZ 20), P4.3-5 Nappa: “981... 1,220... 1,083... Idiots! Do you really plan on defying us with that level of battle power...?!" Vegeta: “These people change their battle power in response to the fight. Those figures can't be relied upon any more.”
Chapter: 218 (DBZ 24), P14.2-6 Context: after Tenshinhan fires the Kikoho at Nappa Nappa: “Phew…You really gave me a scare…!” Vegeta: “That idiot, he used up all his power and died pointlessly…”
3. FREEZA ARC
Spoiler: click to toggle This is when the humans began to become largely irrelevant, and battle powers were never given for anyone of them except for Krillin, who participated in the battles on Namek while Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Chaozu trained with Kaio on his planet. Assigning numbers to those who didn't get them in the manga or guidebooks would be complete conjecture, so I won't do that; from here on, I will be going by implications and statements by characters, and interviews from Toriyama. Krillin's power was initially read at about 1,500 by Zarbon, and then he had his dormant power brought out by Guru, putting him above 10,000, as Jeice mentioned. Later, he was able to fight just as well as Gohan against Ginyu in Goku's body, who had a battle power of 23,000. During the battle with Freeza, Vegeta considered him useful and said he required his help (along with Gohan's) to take down the tyrant, who had a battle power of 530,000. He was utterly no match for Freeza's second form, though, and admitted as much. Daizenshuu 7 lists his battle power at 13,000 for Jeice's scouter reading, and V-Jump lists him at 75,000 at some point after his fight with Guldo. Meanwhile, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Chaozu crossed Serpent Road quicker than Goku had, and had begun training with Kaio. Before the training, Yamcha noted that his body was heavy, making it hard to move, and Tenshinhan said he had to grasp the point of the training and improve his own way because he couldn't surpass Goku doing the same training; he also said he wouldn't accept the same kind of performance as last time (referencing the Nappa fight), implying he intended to surpass at least that level of opponent. Supporting EvidenceChapter: 247 (DBZ 53), P15.2 Context: talking about Gohan and Kuririn Zarbon: “The two large power readings that appeared a little while ago suddenly vanished, and haven’t returned.”
Chapter: 248 (DBZ 54), P12.2-5 Zarbon: “Lord Freeza… Concerning the reconnaissance we sent out earlier… It appears we’re facing more than ordinary beings. Their battle powers momentarily rose again, and after defeating our scouts, their readings disappeared once more…” Freeza: “I see. That is odd. It does not sound like Vegeta…” Zarbon: “The reading is quite different from Vegeta’s. Their battle powers were both about 1,500.” Freeza: “1,500…It won’t matter much if we just leave them alone, but their attitude doesn’t look so good. Wipe them out the next time you find them.”
Chapter: 260 (DBZ 66), P14.2 Context: Kaio points out that they arrived faster than Goku. Kaio: “It’s amazing! They cleared the Serpent Road and got here in a far shorter time than you did! And there are four of them!”
Chapter: 261 (DBZ 67), P2.8 Yamcha: “Anyway, I’ve really had it with the gravity here. My body’s heavy and I can’t even run easily.”
Chapter: 261 (DBZ 67), P8.4 Context: talking about Kaio’s training Tenshinhan: “I can’t surpass Goku doing the same training…I’ll have to just quickly grasp the point of the training and polish my techniques in my unique way…I just won’t accept the sort of pathetic showing as last time…”
Chapter: 265 (DBZ 71), P4.6, P5.1-4, P6.1-2 Context: Great Elder draws out Kuririn’s hidden power. Great Elder: “By the way, despite being an Earthling, you have outstanding power…But it’s a shame that you have power still dormant…” Kuririn: “Th-that can’t be…! I don’t have that sort of power or nothin’…! I’ve trained pretty harshly…I think even now I’ve already about surpassed my limits…[*the Great Elder draws his power out*] Aw…awawa…! Po…power…power…! Ehyaah! I’m bursting with power! Amazing! Unbelievable, I feel as if I’ve come back to life!”
Chapter: 265 (DBZ 71), P8.1 Context: Kuririn is flying to get Gohan. Kuririn: “Th-this is incredible!!! I never knew I had so much power…!!! At this rate I could bring Gohan in a few hours!!!”
Chapter: 266 (DBZ 72), P13.1-3 Context: Vegeta senses Kuririn flying overhead. Vegeta: “Hm?! A strong battle power…! Is it Zarbon?! No…! This battle power is inferior to Zarbon’s…!”
Chapter: 268 (DBZ 74), P13.4 Vegeta: “Hoh I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve raised your battle power quite a lot since when you were on Earth, haven’t you?…But even so, you’re still not at a level where you could fight on par with me…”
Chapter: 272 (DBZ 78), P9.5 Context: Ginyu’s scouter picked up Vegeta, Gohan and Kuririn. Ginyu: “But who are the two with him? It seems that they have considerably high battle powers…”
Chapter: 274 (DBZ 80), P8.4 Jheese: “This is unexpected. Those little squirts' battle powers surpassed 10,000."
Chapter: 288 (DBZ 94), P12.1-2 Context: Goku encouraging Gohan and Kuririn to fight Ginyu Goku: “Th-that’s Ginyu! Don’t hesitate, take him out…! The way you are now, you definitely can’t lose! Alright…?! Blow him away…!”
Chapter: 288 (DBZ 94), P14.3 Context: after Kuririn starts fighting Ginyu in Goku’s body Kuririn: “It’s true…! We just might be able to win somehow…!”
Chapter: 295 (DBZ 101), P9.1-5 Vegeta: “We can win! If the 3 of us fight together, we’ll be able to win somehow or another! [ ] It seems that even Freeza hasn’t noticed…These two’s battle power is steadily rising…”
Chapter: 295 (DBZ 101), P13.6 Context: after grappling with Vegeta for awhile, after Vegeta said they could win Gohan: “It-it’s true…! If we 3 fight together, we might really be able to manage something…H-he really is absolutely incredible, but we’ve gotten better too…!”
Chapter: 299 (DBZ 105), P8.4 Context: after cutting off second form Freeza’s tail Kuririn: “He’s not anyone I can oppose…! I’ve got no choice but to run around him!”
4. PRE-ANDROIDS
Spoiler: click to toggle Unfortunately, virtually nothing is given for the strength of the humans at this point in the story. It can be assumed that they had all been training, though due to the serious lack of evidence, we cannot say how hard or how much power they gained. Any assumptions for their exact strength at this point would be exactly that - assumptions. The only evidence we have is the three of them showing fear at Freeza and Cold's powers. It's also worth noting that Piccolo told the entire group that if they didn't think they could help against foes stronger than Freeza, that they shouldn't even bother coming.
Supporting Evidence Chapter: 329 (DBZ 135), P11.5 Kuririn: “Did you feel it, Gohan!? That absolutely incredible ki!”
Chapter: 329 (DBZ 135), P12.3 Tenshinhan: “It…it’s not just one…There’s another absurdly large ki…”
Chapter: 330 (DBZ 136), P2.3-4 Gohan: “Ku-Kuririn-san, did you notice it!? F-Freeza and ano-another large ki that resembles Freeza…!!” Kuririn: “Y-yeah…There’s no way I couldn’t notice…ki this huge and gaudy…”
Chapter: 330 (DBZ 136), P9.7 Yamcha: “So this guy called ‘Fr…Freeza’ has such terrible…ab…absurdly large ki…?” Gohan: “This isn’t it…he gets much, much stronger…!”
Chapter: 330 (DBZ 136), P10.3 Yamcha: “Wh-what are you going to do when you get closer?...!! They’re un-unbelievable monsters, aren’t they? An…and there are two of them!! It…it’s hopeless, isn’t it...?!!”
Viz Vol.12, pg.156 Piccolo: "If you don't think you stand a chance, don't bother coming! The enemy this time will be unthinkably powerful... We don't want anybody who's going to drag us down."
5. ANDROIDS
Spoiler: click to toggle After three years of training, we finally got to see the humans in action, and got some hints at their strength.
First up would be Tenshinhan, who didn't get much in the way of statements or feats that directly referred to him. As Krillin, Gohan, Goku, and Piccolo were approaching the cliff, Krillin stated he could sense two huge powers, one of which was Tenshinhan. As the group waited for the androids, Tenshinhan stated he left Chaozu behind due to the latter being unable to keep up with the battle, implying he thought he'd be able to (of course, he was proven wrong later on). After Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan to fight No.19, Tenshinhan was shown to be completely awestruck at the Saiyan's power. Later, after No.19's defeat, when the group wanted to chase after No.20, Tenshinhan said he wanted to at least see the androids be destroyed, and Piccolo told them not to even attempt to fight, that they wouldn't be able to handle him. When the group was defeated by the androids, he expressed concern that even Goku wouldn't be able to help, and brought Freeza into the comparison. His next strength comparison would come after Piccolo wanted to go fight the androids proceeding his fusion with Kami; he was told not to come as if it was obvious he'd be no help. His final strength statements came during the scuffle with Cell; he admits he can't do a thing to stop Imperfect Cell, and later is called "piddling" (in other words: weak) by Semi-Perfect Cell after the whole Shin Kikoho scene (which isn't a testament to his strength, but I'll get to that later).
Krillin had less in the way of statements and feats than Tenshinhan did. The same comparisons between him and the androids from Piccolo applied, so there's no need for me to repeat them. On the way to meet up with everybody, Krillin expressed his lack of confidence in facing opponents like the androids. Additionally, No.20 shrugged off seeing Krillin at the laboratory, reaffirming what Piccolo had told us up to that point. After the group had been thoroughly dismantled by Nos.17 & 18, Piccolo comforted Krillin by telling him it wouldn't have made any difference if he'd tried to help since even Super Saiyan Trunks was taken out with ease. His last few strength statements came after Cell had reached his perfect form. He attacked Cell to no effect, was called garbage by Vegeta, and admitted he was nothing special compared to the Saiyans.
Lastly, we have Yamcha, who did very little but is easy to place in comparison to the others. On the cliff that the group was meeting at, he expressed his sheer disbelief in the existence of the androids, explaining why he showed up in the first place. While searching for the androids in the city, Yamcha again expressed his disbelief that they existed. No.20 thought he had enough power to be useful for their absorption methods, and after that brief one-sided fight, Yamcha wanted no part of the androids and didn't want to go with Goku and the others to help fight. After No.19 defeated Goku, he volunteered to take Goku's body to Roshi's house, citing him being the least useful there.
Chaozu had one statement from Tenshinhan citing his definite weakness, and Yajirobe had nothing.
Supporting Evidence Viz Vol.12, pg.170 Krillin: "How happy can I be when I'm about to launch a battle to the death with a gang of androids? We're not all Super Saiyans, you know..."
Chapter 337 (DBZ 143), P4.2 Kuririn: “I sense two huge ki near that mountain…That’s probably Yamcha and the others.” Note: it’s Yamcha and Tenshinhan
Chapter 337 (DBZ 143), P7.4 Tenshinhan: “I left Chaozu behind. He trained, but frankly he couldn’t keep up with this fight…” Goku: “That’s for the best.” Note: Tenshinhan, of course, was totally able to keep up with the fight.
Viz Vol.12, pg.178 Yamcha: "I told you it was some kind of trick. He said around 10. It's only 10:17. Which I would group under 'around'. But I can't feel a single strong chi. If they're that powerful, we should be able to feel them no matter where on Earth they are!"
Viz Vol.13, pg. Yamcha: "Do they really exist?!"
Chapter 338 (DBZ 144), P9.6-7, P10.1 Context: the androids mistake Yamcha for Goku No.20: “A human with an unusually high energy rating is heading this way…Is the search system malfunctioning?” No.19: “It’s not a malfunction, No.20. I’m noting the same energy.” No.20: “It greatly surpasses human data…” No.19: “We’ve found him already…Son Goku.”
Chapter 338 (DBZ 144), P11.4 No.19: “No, it is not Son Goku…He doesn’t match the data. There’s a 96% chance this is the human known as Yamcha…” No.20: “At any rate, we’ll be able to obtain a large amount of energy.”
Chapter 339 (DBZ 145), P2.2 Context: as Yamcha gets stabbed by No.20 Tenshinhan: “A large ki went wild and is now falling…! Wh-who is it!?”
Chapter 340 (DBZ 146), P3.2 Yamcha: “Fra-frankly I don’t want to go…Sorry…Those guys…nearly killed me and I was helpless to resist…”
Chapter 341 (DBZ 147), P6.2-3 Context: as Goku fights No.19 Tenshinhan: ”In-incredible…What strength…S-so that’s a Super Saiyan…He’s in a completely different dimension than we are…Too different…”
Chapter 343 (DBZ 149), P4.3 Context: offering to take Goku back home Yamcha: “Pitiful as it may be, it looks like I’m the least useful one here…”
Viz Vol.13, pg.115 Tenshinhan: "Okay, I'm following him. I at least want to see those androids destroyed!"
Chapter: 345 (DBZ 151), P6.6 Context: after Tenshinhan, Gohan, and Kuririn want to chase after No.20 Piccolo: “I understand…But don’t try and fight him. He’s not an opponent you guys could handle…”
Chapter: 349 (DBZ 155), P7.4-5 Context: when Kuririn stumbles upon the laboratory No.20: “Kuririn, huh? He can’t do anything.”
Chapter: 355 (DBZ 161), P8.2 Context: after Kuririn apologies for not joining the fight with No.17 and No.18 Piccolo: “Don’t worry about it. Even Trunks as a Super Saiyan was done in with basically one blow. It wouldn’t have made any difference if you had come.”
Chapter: 355 (DBZ 161), P8.3-4 Tenshinhan: “Th-this is the man who took down Freeza…And he was helpless before these androids…I’ll be frank…! No matter how strong Goku may be, he shouldn’t be that different from Trunks or Vegeta…”
Chapter: 366 (DBZ 172), P14.6 Context: as Piccolo goes to fight the androids Piccolo: “Don’t come, you guys. You ought to know that it would be pointless.”
Chapter: 370 (DBZ 176), P11.6 Context: as first form Cell beats up on No.17 and Piccolo Tenshinhan: “Our worlds are too different…Extremely so…There’s nothing I can do…”
Chapter: 374 (DBZ 180), P5.1-3 Context: after Tenshinhan uses the Shin-Kikoho Cell: “Why, you…! So piddling little Tenshinhan managed to get in my way…?! Looks like you’ll die even if I leave you alone, but…I’ll wipe you out anyway.”
Chapter: 382 (DBZ 188), P.12.5 Context: after attacking Cell to no effect Kuririn: “Th-this can’t be…”
Chapter: 383 (DBZ 189), P3.1 Context: after Cell defeats Kuririn Vegeta: “Are you happy to harass a piece of garbage like that?”
Chapter: 383 (DBZ 189), P4.8, P5.1, P6.1 Context: after saying Vegeta will be killed by Cell Kuririn: “It-it’s true that I’m absolutely nothing special compared to you Saiyans…B-but I can at least tell how strong my opponent is…”
6. CELL
Spoiler: click to toggle Moving onto the moment from when Cell created to the "Cell Games" to his defeat, we didn't get much else for the humans.
Tenshinhan was offered a chance to go into the Room of Spirit and Time, and despite witnessing the seemingly massive gains the Saiyans made, turned down Piccolo's offer, admitting he would never be able to reach someone of Cell's status. Krillin was virtually the same, though it wasn't shown that he turned down the chance to use the Room of Spirit and Time (it was never said that he used it either). Yamcha was completely overlooked. All three showed up at the Cell Games and were thoroughly beaten down by their respective Cell Juniors, but that was the only show of strength we got from them. Goku stated that if Gohan lost, nobody else would be able to compete with Cell. That's the closest we get to a strength comparison for the humans.
Supporting Evidence Chapter: 390 (DBZ 196), P14.4 Piccolo (to Goku): “Then use the Room of Spirit and Time again. We’ve got the time. We just decided on the order: I’ll go first, then Vegeta will enter alone…And then Trunks…You two can enter again after that.” Tenshinhan: “Sorry...But I pass…He’s absolutely not an opponent I could fight…”
Chapter: 403 (DBZ 209), P1.1-3 Context: Goku talking to Cell about Cell's next opponent (ie Gohan) Goku: “The Cell Games will probably end with this next match. Since if he loses, there won’t be anyone else who could win against you…[ ] But from fighting you just now, I think this guy really can beat you after all."
7. MAJIN BOO
Spoiler: click to toggle Seven years after Cell was killed, the group got back together for the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, minus Tenshinhan, who said they'd probably never see him and Chaozu again after Cell. For this arc, the humans were completely irrelevant, and the only two feats we got were from Krillin knocking out Puntar at the tournament and Tenshinhan deflecting one of Gotenks-Boo's blasts with his Shin Kikoho. Nonetheless, we do have a few statements. We first saw Krillin when Gohan arrived to tell him about the tournament. Gohan stated Krillin stopped fighting and that he stopped shaving his head because of it. No.18 forced Krillin to enter the tournament with her. Krillin responded by asking Gohan not to tell Piccolo, because then it would be difficult to make the top five and win some money. When the use of the Youth Division was enacted at the tournament, Krillin was visibly relieved that Goten and Trunks couldn't compete against him. During his match with Puntar, Maron was worried for her father's safety, and Yamcha consoled her by telling her that Krillin was the strongest, and then thinking to himself "among Earthlings" (which will be talked about later). He later left with Goku and the others to aid Kaioshin in stopping Babidi from reviving Majin Boo. When they got to Babidi's ship, he cowered in fear at Dabura and was allowed by Goku to leave, he was quickly dispatched of, being called trash by Dabura. After returning to his normal self when Dabura was killed by Boo, he took Goten and Trunks to the Lookout and did mostly nothing until he was presumably eaten by Evil Boo a while later. Once he was wished back, he gave his life energy to the Genki-Dama, and that was it for him. Tenshinhan was seen when Goku transformed to Super Saiyan 3, quivering in shock at Goku's power, and was later seen (with Chaozu) dodging one of Evil Boo's blasts aimed at obliterating every human on the planet. He showed up to deflect one of Gotenks-Boo's attacks with his Shin Kikoho, and then admitted inferiority when Boo created a planet buster. He was later knocked out by said Boo's lower half after it had been sliced away by Goku's Kienzan. Boo called him a "small fry" as well as saying he was "apparently quite a master." Yamcha decided not to even participate in the tournament, and admitted Krillin was his superior. He didn't go with Goku and the others to help Kaioshin, and was later eaten by Evil Boo. He also gave his life energy to the Genki-Dama to destroy Pure Boo. New to the fray would be Mr. Satan (Mark Satan, "Hercule" in the English dub) and his daughter Videl. Mr. Satan was at the Cell Games but played such a small role I didn't include him in that section. Like Gohan, he undoubtedly became weaker from not training over the years, and we know he didn't train for the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai; if we were to compare him at the Cell Games and him at the tournament, his Cell Games incarnation would no doubt be stronger, if by a small amount. His only feats would be that of breaking a stack of tiles at the tournament, and defeating the gunmen that shot Bee. Videl, on the other hand, did train for the tournament, and garnered the appreciation of Gohan. At first glance, Gohan worried for Videl's safety against some robbers due to Sharpener comparing her to her father; after she defeated the robbers, he thought she might be even stronger than Sharpener's claim, and later during her flight training, Gohan admitted that she had indeed become stronger than Mr. Satan. During her match with Spopovich at the tournament, her abilities were heavily praised by Gohan and Krillin. The feats performed by Mr. Satan and Videl don't compare to the feats performed by Goku at the beginning of Dragon Ball, who Daizenshuu 7 lists with a battle power of just 10, so we can safely put those two under him. Supporting EvidenceChapter: 424 (DBZ 230), P6.3-4 Context: after Videl goes off to fight robbers and Gohan is worried Sharpener: “Don’t you underestimate Videl. She’s a whole lot stronger than I am. Her true strength rivals Mister Satan…” Gohan: “Her strength rivals Mi-Mister Satan...Sh-she’s in danger, isn’t she…!?”
Chapter: 424 (DBZ 230), P11.2-3 Context: as big robber guy goes to fight Videl Little robber: “Don’t let your guard down! She’s supposed to be quite strong.” Big robber: “You idiot! Nobody’s stronger than me. I could even beat Mister Satan.” Note: Videl beats this guy up, of course
Chapter: 424 (DBZ 230), P14.2 Context: as Videl easily beats up the big robber Gohan: “Heh~~This is surprising! She really is pretty strong…She might just be stronger than Mister Satan.”
Chapter: 429 (DBZ 235), P11.6-8 Gohan: “Hey…do you have matches with your father a lot?” Videl: “Matches? There’s no way I could, he’s the world champion! Lately he won’t even give me lessons. I teach myself.” Gohan: “I knew it…Videl hasn’t realized that she’s already gotten stronger than Mister Satan…”
Vizbig Vol.7, pg.262 Context: Gohan talking about the tournament Krillin: "Hey! Don't tell Piccolo! Then it'd be really hard for me to make the top five!"
Chapter: 430 (DBZ 236), P14.1-3 Context: after Trunks is told of the youth division Trunks: “That’s alright! Let me fight with the adults” Tournament guy: “Eh!? No, no. Those are the rules.” Trunks: “Cheh!” Kuririn: “Phew!”
Chapter: 439 (DBZ 245), P3.2-3 Context: as Kuririn goes up against Punter Marron: “That person dad’s fighting is big and looks strong…I wonder if he’ll be alright?...” Yamcha: “It’s fine, fine! Someone like that doesn’t matter at all! Your father is the strongest in the world! Among Earthlings…”
Chapter: 440 (DBZ 246), P2.4 Context: : as Videl is about to fight Spopovitch Sharpener: “Ha, Videl will beat that guy easily.”
Chapter: 440 (DBZ 246), P9.2 Context: as Videl fights Spopovitch Goku: “How is she?” Kuririn: “She’s good!” Gohan: “Yeah, her abilities are completely above him. Her techniques keep connecting.”
Chapter: 447 (DBZ 253), P5.5-6 Context: after seeing Babidi and Dabra Goku: “Kuririn, you’d better go back. Things seem a lot more dangerous than we thought” Kuririn: “Wo-would you let me do that?...haha…It-it doesn’t look like things are at a level where I’d be very useful…”
Chapter: 447 (DBZ 253), P11.4 Context: talking about how Yamu and Spopovitch were followed by Goku and co. Babidi: “Get rid of the trash besides those 3 [Goku, Gohan, Vegeta], then return to the spaceship right away. That way, I think those 3 will fly into a rage and follow you inside for sure.”
Chapter: 501 (DBZ 307), P10.6 Context: after Tenshinhan arrives on the scene Boo: “Cheh…The number of annoying small fries keeps increasing…But of course, a small fry is a small fry…”
Chapter: 501 (DBZ 307), P12.6 Context: as Boo is about to blow up the planet Tenshinhan: “Da…damn it…! Our di-dimensions are too different…! I can’t be of any use…!”
Chapter: 502 (DBZ 308), P7.1 Context: Boo talks to Goku after knocking out Tenshinhan Boo: “…That guy just now was apparently quite a master, but he was reduced to that state in just 1 one kick...”
8. END OF Z
Spoiler: click to toggle At the end of the series, we have no statements, feats, or comparisons for the humans. They became so irrelevant that Akira Toriyama apparently didn't bother to even hint at how strong they'd become. Videl became a mother and so stopped fighting, and Mr. Satan likely never began training again based on his previous showing, so they both presumably became weaker over the years.
Despite that, myself and those of you that dabble in battle powers come to our own conclusions on how powerful the humans got. For myself, I don't see any of them surpassing 100% Freeza's power. This is based on Tenshinhan's use of him as a marker for the strength of the androids, and Krillin ending up superior to him (Ten, not Freeza) even after seven years of not training, which I will also address later on.
8. THE MEANING OF "EARTHLING"
Spoiler: click to toggle Like I mentioned before, this article was written under the sense that the main three (Krillin, Tenshinhan, Yamcha) are Earthlings. What that means is that they are born on Earth, and are not from any notable lineage such as the Saiyans or Namekians. They are what we would consider especially gifted humans. For what it's worth, here are Daizenshuu 4's definitions: - Daizenshuu 4
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The Earthling martial artists that came to fight alongside Goku throughout the long story. There are those who challenge their limits, those who fight for honor, and the like.
- Daizenshuu 4
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Earthlings largely divided into three varieties: human, animal, and monster. There exist sharp-minded people, people who have unique attacks, people with distinctive abilities, and the like.
- Daizenshuu 4
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Human-type Earthling: The most numerous kind of Earthling, the general human type. They mostly have no unique powers, but there are also some who have acquired exceptional abilities. There are those like Bulma and Dr. Brief who possess brilliant intelligence, those like Yajirobe who have great battle potential, those like Uranai Baba who have mysterious powers, and the like.
9. ARGUMENTS & COUNTER-ARGUMENTS
Spoiler: click to toggle As with any analysis like this, there will be those who oppose parts of it or even the entire thing. That's to be expected, which is why I make these sections when I do these. This section is, of course, to address the arguments those people will likely try to use to dismiss what I've gathered here. I will probably continue to edit this section as more information is accumulated, so keep an eye on it. 1. Tenshinhan isn't an Earthling. He's got alien blood in him, so he shouldn't be compared to Krillin and Yamcha, and Yamcha's statement to Maron shouldn't count him. Counter-argumentActually, he is. You may be thinking of Daizenshuu 7 where it is stated that he is a descendant of the Three-Eyed Tribe. This is also commented on in Daizenshuu 4, where it states the same thing. But there is no evidence of this in the manga. On the contrary, he is never fingered as anything but an Earthling like Krillin and Yamcha. In fact, when him, Piccolo, and Krillin are searching for Gero's lab, Piccolo calls them both Earthlings - not just Krillin, but Tenshinhan as well. Piccolo: "Earthlings are so...inconvenient." (in response to Krillin saying he's cold) Keep in mind that even though Daizenshuu 4 claims he is a descendant of the Three-Eyed people, it also classifies him as an Earthling with Krillin and the other usual suspects. The only blatant indication of Tenshinhan's race in the manga is the aforementioned Piccolo scene, and there he is considered an Earthling. The only indication that Tenshinhan isn't 100% human is the Daizenshuu entries. The manga always takes precedent over anything else, so if it says Tenshinhan is an Earthling, then he is an Earthling, not an alien. There is also the interview by Toriyama where he's asked by a fan why Tenshinhan has a third eye, and Toriyama answers that it has to do with enlightenment. - Quote:
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What's up with the third eye on my main man Tenshinhan? Is Tenshinhan human? - Charles Moyer, California; Evan Coltin, Via Internet T: In certain parts of Asia, beings with a third eye on their forehead are thought to be godlike and are said to possess the power of true seeing. It seems that Tenshinhan, who was raised by the evil Tsuru-Sen'nin [Crane Hermit], lost the ability to use the myriad powers of his third eye for good purposes.
So there you have it. The Daizenshuu makes one claim and contradicts itself in the process, while the manga doesn't support this claim and actually says differently, with Toriyama himself at least not backing up the Daizenshuu entries. Tenshinhan is indeed an Earthling. That should be all you need. 2. Yamcha's quote was just to comfort Maron. It shouldn't be taken literally. Counter-argumentThat's a flimsy argument, to be honest. Even if it was said as comfort, it's still Toriyama speaking through his characters. Not to mention that Yamcha thought the Earthling part to himself, so Maron wouldn't have even been able to hear it, making the entire argument invalid. 3. Yamcha's quote shouldn't be taken seriously. He hasn't seen Tenshinhan in years. How would he know how strong he was? Counter-argumentWhile that is true, ignoring that Toriyama is speaking through him, it would simply mean that Yamcha was making the comparison between them at the Cell Games, the last time they were all together. That would indicate that Krillin was stronger at the Cell Games instead of during the Boo arc, if you truly wanted to spin it that way. 4. Tenshinhan went with Piccolo to track Cell while Krillin went to get the remote from Bulma, implying Piccolo would rather have had Tenshinhan around then Krillin, thus implying Tenshinhan was the stronger of the two. It also just seemed like Tenshinhan was stronger in general. Counter-argumentIf Krillin was stronger, he would also be faster, thus he'd be able to get the remote quicker than Tenshinhan. Not to mention he volunteered to get the remote; Piccolo didn't designate that task for him, so the argument wouldn't have legs to stand on in the first place. "Seeming" and "being" are also two very different things, so that wouldn't be evidence either (see: Kaioshin). Chapter: 369 (DBZ 175), P7.5 Context: talking about getting the android shutdown controller Kuririn: “I-I’ll go fly and pick it up! If I fly all-out, I’m definitely faster than Bulma’s plane!”5. Tenshinhan got much stronger than Krillin training with Kaio, and then he trained before Freeza came back, and then he trained even harder than Krillin during the three years before the androids showed up. How could he still be weaker than Krillin after all of that? Counter-argumentThis may be a disappointing answer, but the true reason would be plot. Whatever Toriyama wanted, that's what he wrote, regardless of what we as fans think. Toriyama didn't ask us to approve/disapprove of anything when he was writing the manga. The gains Tenshinhan made training on Kaio's planet, and before Trunks's arrival, and before the androids' arrival, are all assumptions. We simply don't know how big they really were. He could've only been a mere 10,000 by the time Trunks showed up for all we know. Likewise, we don't really know how strong Krillin got on Namek. It was made clear that he was stronger than someone with a battle power of 23,000, and his power was needed to beat Freeza's first form, but that's about all we know. We don't know the specifics, and would only be guessing if we tried to figure it out. 6. Okay, I can accept that Krillin was stronger before the Boo arc, but then he stopped training while Tenshinhan kept training. How in the blue hell could Tenshinhan not surpass him then? Counter-argumentAgain, it's whatever Toriyama wanted. We don't know how big Tenshinhan's gains were during those seven years, but according to Toriyama, they weren't enough to surpass Krillin. 7. No way is Tenshinhan weaker than Krillin. Just no way. He always trains, and Krillin stopped training after the Cell Games. It's only logical that Krillin would be the weaker of the two. It's common sense even! Counter-argumentUnderstandable, but not so. In the guidebook Dragon Ball Tenka’ichi Densetsu, Toriyama is interviewed alongside Masako Nozawa and Takao Koyama, the series organizer for the anime. In the interview, he and Koyama both agreed that Krillin was the strongest Earthling. - Quote:
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Speaking of women who fight, there is No. 18.
Toriyama: Ah, that’s right. No. 18 becomes Kuririn’s wife in the end.
Nozawa: Ah, I was surprised at that, too! All the voice actors wondered, “Why did she choose Kuririn?” (laughs)
Toriyama: Kuririn was originally supposed to be just a minor role, so to have him become Goku’s best friend in the blink of an eye…
Koyama: Well, he is the strongest Earthling male.
Toriyama: You’re right, he is the strongest among the Earthlings. But in spite of that, he tends to end up in a bad way, so I thought, “once in a while, I have to let him be happy,” and had him get married. (laughs)
In Toriyama's eyes, Krillin is the strongest Earthling. 8. Toriyama probably forgot all about Tenshinhan when he was doing that interview. Counter-argumentThis is another flimsy argument. When asked about his favorite fights from the Tenkaichi Budokais in a Daizenshuu 4 interview, Toriyama responded that it was Goku's fight with Tenshinhan at the 22nd. Him forgetting about the guy altogether when it's been established that he had a certain level of fondness for one of his meaningful fights, and put the effort in to sprinkle appearances of him throughout the last arc of the manga, seems highly unlikely. Not to mention that even if you were feverishly adamant that he forgot about the guy at that point in time, you wouldn't be able to use such an excuse for Battle of Gods. Toriyama said he had read over his manga and gotten back into the hang of things. Why is that important? It's important because the promotional material for Battle of Gods repeats Toriyama's 2004 sentiment that Krillin was the strongest Earthling. Denying the 2004 interview and the promotional material from a "fresh" (so to speak) Toriyama is ill-advised. 9. I still can't believe that someone who always trains can't surpass someone who completely stopped training. Tenshinhan got, like, 7x stronger in one year! How can he not surpass Krillin considering that? It doesn't make any sense. Counter-argumentNone of the gains made in the manga make much sense. They're all determined purely by plot. Assuming Tenshinhan always made gains like he did training for the Saiyans is extreme conjecture, and cannot be proven. 10. There's nothing that says how strong Tenshinhan was after the Cell Games. I say he was much stronger than Freeza. Maybe even as strong as No.18. Counter-argumentThat would be conjecture on your part, and a logical fallacy. Lack of evidence is not evidence. It's implausible for him to suddenly reach that level of power when nothing supports it. 11. What says Krillin wasn't stronger than Freeza? He went with Kaioshin knowing they'd be facing opponents stronger than Freeza, after all. Counter-argumentAh, an understandable argument, but when you think about who Krillin is, it doesn't hold up. Tagging along doesn't indicate a certain level of power. A fellow forum-goer named Kaboom came up with a fantastic response to this argument, so I'll quote him instead of trying to rephrase it. - Kaboom
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Just like how he jumped in and went mano-a-mano with Nappa to save Gohan. Or how he followed Gohan back to help Goku against Vegeta. Or how he decided to follow Freeza and his whole posse to the Namekian village. Or how he stayed behind to stall Vegeta so Gohan could get his dormant power unlocked. Or how he attacked Recoome to save Vegeta. Or how he attacked and distracted 2nd-form Freeza to save Gohan. Or how he and Gohan attacked Freeza so Goku could finish the Spirit Bomb. Or how he showed up when Freeza arrived on Earth despite knowing how powerful he was. Or how he likewise showed up to help against the Androids. Or how he went ahead to catch up with Goku and the Androids when Yamcha was chickening out. Or how he flared up his ki, essentially painting himself as a target, so the others could track him to Gero's lab. Or how he berated and questioned the Androids after they just kicked the snot out of Super Saiyans. Or how he went along with Trunks right to where Piccolo was fighting Cell. Or how he infiltrated the site of Vegeta and Cell's battle with the Android-deactivating remote (which, keep in mind, wouldn't have deactivated Sixteen). Or how he attacked Cell after Eighteen was absorbed. Or how he helped Trunks by getting the unconscious Vegeta to safety. Or how he ignored stupid Trunks and his suggestion to heal Goku and gang up on Cell. Or how he tried going on the offensive against his Cell Junior.
Kuririn tagging along with Kaioshin and the others is, get this, not a feat or indication of power. It's an indication of character. Kuririn does this kind of stuff because he's brave, not because he's powerful. 12. But the humans all showed up to fight the androids, knowing they'd be even stronger than Freeza. That has to mean they were all at least on par with Freeza. Counter-argumentIf you still think this, you might not have actually read my analysis. I will also add a point made by a colleague named Super Gohan. - Super Gohan
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The human role is for support, no one there expects them to take Goku’s place and fight individually. If there is a grave threat to the planet, they will group together for the sheer fact that they cannot escape their doom. Freeza’s arrival on Earth demonstrated that. 13. Hold on! Krillin and Yamcha were beating around Olibu and Paikuhan on the Grand Kaio's planet. Paikuhan was at least as strong as Goku was at the Cell Games, and Olibu was almost as strong as Paikuhan with his weights on. How can Krillin and Yamcha be weaker than Freeza considering that? Counter-argumentAnime filler. 14. Krillin fought decently against Imperfect Cell on the airplane. He can't be weaker than Freeza. Counter-argumentAnime filler. 15. Tenshinhan held off Semi-Perfect Cell with his Shin Kikoho. He can't be weaker than Freeza. The Shin Kikoho doesn't have that big of a multiplier. Counter-argumentTenshinhan admits himself that he isn't on Freeza's level, and you'd have to prove the Shin Kikoho doesn't have a huge multiplier, so good luck with that. 16. Uh, Tenshinhan managed to hold back Semi-Perfect Cell. Krillin didn't do anything that awesome, so he must be weaker. Counter-argumentThat's a flawed argument. The only way we could compare the two would be if Krillin used the same attack in the same situation; otherwise we'd only be making baseless assumptions. 17. Gotenks-Boo used Tenshinhan's defeat to intimidate Goku. There's no way he'd do that if Tenshinhan was weaker than Freeza. Counter-argumentBoo knew Goku had three transformations, and he had Fat Boo's memories, so he knew how powerful Goku was at his strongest. In order to use this argument, you'd have to believe that Tenshinhan was at least as strong as Super Saiyan 3 Goku, which is baseless. 18. When Krillin was talking about making it into the top five in the tournament, he wasn't including Tenshinhan. Counter-argumentWhy wouldn't he include Tenshinhan in his assessment? It's only brought up when they're actually at the tournament that Gohan couldn't find Tenshinhan, implying the guy was going to be invited. That means Krillin would've had no problem with Tenshinhan being there. 19. Sorry, but Tenshinhan always trains. It's logical to assume he made big gains between Cell and Boo, and if he wasn't stronger than Krillin beforehand he surely was afterwards. I could see him getting as strong as No.16 or even higher. I just can't believe he would still be weaker than Krillin after seven years of training with Chaozu. Counter-argumentWell, nowhere in that was any evidence put forth to support those claims. Regardless, Tenshinhan making big gains is conjecture, as is the assumption that he could get as powerful as No.16 or even stronger than that. Plot determines the power of every character. No character gets much stronger just because. It hasn't, doesn't, and never will work that way, at least in regards to DBZ. Saying Tenshinhan got that strong simply because you think so is a silly "argument." 20. Shouldn't Tenshinhan have made bigger gains than Krillin due to him being able to train with Chaozu? Counter-argumentThat would be a logical assumption, but it would only work up to a point. Chaozu was blatantly painted as too weak to be of use in fights anymore, and never became useful again after the battler with Nappa; his strength was clearly not up to par with Tenshinhan. When Goku wanted to train Gohan in the Room of Spirit and Time, Gohan asked if he would just get in his father's way, and Goku's response was that he would until he achieved Super Saiyan, indicating that two sparring partners should ideally be similar in strength to really be beneficial toward each other. Chaozu and Tenshinhan were not close in strength, and thus Tenshinhan wouldn't gain much of anything from training with him. It's possible Chaozu gained a lot training with Tenshinhan, but not the other way around. 21. You're just a Krillin w***er/Tenshinhan hater! This whole thing is biased! Counter-argumentActually, I don't hate Tenshinhan, but that's besides the point. That accusation is an ad hominem, a logical fallacy of attacking the person and not the argument. That type of accusation is not evidence. 22. Goku told Krillin to take Yamcha to safety while he, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan battled the androids. Doesn't that mean Goku thought Tenshinhan was stronger than Krillin? Counter-argumentNot necessarily. When No.20 threw Yamcha's body, it landed nearest to Krillin. Wouldn't you tell the guy nearest to your dying friend that he should be the one to get him to safety? [1] http://web.archive.org/web/20111007082605/http://kanzentai.com/bp.php?id=guide [2] http://web.archive.org/web/20111007082605/http://kanzentai.com/bp.php?id=guide [3] http://web.archive.org/web/20110925040604/http://www.kanzentai.com/trans-daiz07.php?m=03&id=character_s-u#tenshinhan [4] http://web.archive.org/web/20111104071121/http://kanzentai.com/trans-daiz04.php?m=02&id=race#link [5] http://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/tenkaichi-densetsu-toriyama-koyama-nozawa/ [6] http://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/daizenshuu-4-akira-toriyama-best/ [7] http://www.kanzenshuu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=20803&p=603804&hilit=Kuririn#p603796 [8] http://dbzf.co.uk/single/?p=8689405&t=8406750 [9] http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem.html
Edited by Pyrus, Aug 25 2014, 11:45 AM.
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