, known as kuririn in funimation's english subtitles and viz media's release of the manga, and kulilin in japanese merchandise english translations, is a fictional character in the "dragon ball" manga series created by akira toriyama. he is introduced in chapter #25 , first published in "weekly shōnen jump" magazine on may 21, 1985, as goku's fellow martial arts student under kame-sen'nin. as the series progresses, krillin becomes goku's closest ally and best friend as he fights every villain along with goku or before him and is often depicted as the comic relief.