His Character Design Is Based on Real Martial Arts History
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Series creator Akira Toriyama put a fair amount of effort into researching martial arts history in order to create Dragon Ball. The history of martial arts definitely played a part in the design of Krillin, and particularly in the design of his head. As the Dragon Ball series unfolds, we see Krillin shave his head and with six dots tattooed on his forehead. Both of these symbolic acts are supposed to reference real-life Shaolin monk traditions.