Though Dragon Ball Z was the sequel to a much more grounded predecessor, it quickly ramped up the ante with increasingly powerful opponents. One of the strongest of these foes was Cell, a biological android that nearly defeated the Z Fighters. He was thankfully defeated by Goku’s son Gohan, but not until after he achieved his most powerful form. This transformation was brought about by none other than Krillin.
Cell turned into Perfect Cell after absorbing Android 18, whom Krillin had refused to kill. Though some might criticize Krillin for harboring a crush on the cyborg woman, his own morality and the existence of the Dragon Balls justifies his actions. Here’s why the diminutive Z Fighter wasn’t wrong in sparing the woman he came to love.
Krillin Spared Android 18 Because She Wasn’t Murderously Evil
For the most part, the villains of Dragon Ball Z are fiendishly evil, lacking much in way of morality or compassion. Such is the case with most Saiyans in the franchise, including the initially quite evil Vegeta. The Androids are a bit different in this regard, however, with three of the Red Ribbon Army creations having some capacity for good. Though Android 19 and Android 20 (actually an android version of the series’ creator Dr. Gero) were inhumanly evil, the same can’t be said for Androids 16, 17 and 18. This is due to the fact that the completely robotic 16 had some modicum of gentleness, whereas 17 and 18 were once humans.
Siblings 17 and 18 are never shown as engaging in the same deathly acts as the others, at least in Goku’s timeline. They would of course be killers in Future Trunks’ world, but this was a far different reality. The anime for Dragon Ball Z portrays them as engaging in an attack at a mall, but this is completely anime-original filler that has no basis in the manga. Thus, Krillin likely sensed the good within Android 18, with his already existing affection for her having nothing to do with it. This was backed up by her quickly joining the Z Fighters after the events of the Cell Saga, justifying his judgment of character. On top of this, Krillin himself had never fought, let alone killed an enemy in such a fashion, with foes such as Frieza and the previous characterization of Vegeta trying to kill him and/or his friends. 18 wasn’t in quite the same situation, explaining her survival — however brief it was.
The Victims of Perfect Cell Could Be Wished Back With the Dragon Balls
One element of the Dragon Ball franchise that can arguably hamper tension is the existence of the eponymous magical objects. Gathering all the Dragon Balls allows an individual to make a wish through the dragon Shenron. It’s through this method (not to mention the Namekian Dragon Balls and their respective dragon Porunga) that the heroes of the series have been able to come back from such disastrous defeats in the past, with the resolution of the Cell Saga being no different. Even though Cell gained his full power by forcibly absorbing Android 18, Krillin knew that, as long as the Dragon Balls were gathered, any casualties the villain caused could be undone.
Of course, this is a somewhat morose way to look at things, especially considering how abused the Dragon Balls’ power is throughout the series as a whole. Still, it was worth it in order to save Android 18’s life (if only temporarily) and convince her to come to the side of light. The idea of “killing one to save billions” is somewhat hard to parse in a world where problems — including deaths — can be simply wished away. This sort of thing happens a lot in the franchise, and the Cell Saga wouldn’t be the last time. Considering that all was well in the end and Krillin got a wife and child out of the deal, the little guy can hardly be blamed for trying to give someone a second chance.
