With all things considered who is the strongest human?

[nickzambuto]

Would it be such a bad thing to consider Krillin and Tenshinhan to basically be dead equals at this point? One of them had all of their dormant potential brought out all at once years ago, the other has been doing non-stop training to enhance his power normally. One of them remains one of the most clever and pragmatic tacticians among the cast, the other remains one of the highest trained and most versatile martial artists among the cast. And they both have tremendous will power, but for different reasons. I can easily picture them fighting to a complete stalemate.

[LightBing]

Kuririn without a doubt in my mind. He overcame Tenshinhan when Guru used the unlock potential, but like it was said here, the gap was very slim during the Saiyan Arc. The Yamcha quote is to say exactly that.
I feel like Kuririn grew on Mr.Toriyama, specially in the Namek Arc. He was some appreciation for Tenshinhan, he gave him a speech, where the character still showed his ambition to catch up to Goku. However, in the Android Arc he basically just spouts how the Saiyans are on a different dimension, resigned to his place; he even rejected using the RoSaT.

Arguing that Tenshinhan constantly trains, isn't exactly proven, people just extrapolate it from their perception of the character and even if he did: who is his training partner; Chaotzu. That doesn't result in big gains, fighting someone much weaker than oneself.

[Khin]

Pure Humans:
1. Kuririn
2. Tenshinhan
3. Yamcha
4. Chaozu
5. Kame-sennin(Judging by his performance in Revival of 'F')
6. Yajirobe
7. Tao Pai Pai
8. Chi-Chi
9. King Chappa
10. Tsuru-senin
11. Grandpa Gohan
12. Gyumao
13. General Blue
14. Namu
15. Bora
16. Pamputto
17. Ranfan
18. Videl
19. Mr.Satan
20. Jewel

If we inlude half,reincarnation and cybrogs:
1: Gohan
2: Oob
3: Trunks
4: Goten
5: Lapis
6: Lazuli
7: Kuririn
8: Tenshinhan
9: Yamcha
10: Chaozu
11: Kame-sennin
12: Yajirobe
13: Tao Pai Pai
14: Chi Chi
15: King Chapa
16: Tsuru-sennin
17: Grandpa Gohan
18: Gyumao
19: General Blue
20: Namu

[Lord Frieza]

Well Tien was able to hold his own against Frieza's soldiers while Krillin started to struggle at points along with Jaco and Roshi. With that in mind I'd go with Tien being stronger

[ekrolo2]

Well Tenshinhan was able to hold his own against Freeza's soldiers while Krillin started to struggle at points along with Jaco and Roshi. With that in mind I'd go with Tenshinhan being stronger

I believe Krillin is reiterated as the strongest human once RoF rolled around which is weird since he gets tired out just as you said. Could just be a case of him being a little rusty but not enough to severely affect his power.

[Kuririn Fan]

Kuririn is the strongest human. Toriyama confirmed it, twice.

[ZombieVito]

Well Tenshinhan was able to hold his own against Freeza's soldiers while Krillin started to struggle at points along with Jaco and Roshi. With that in mind I'd go with Tenshinhan being stronger

I believe Krillin is reiterated as the strongest human once RoF rolled around which is weird since he gets tired out just as you said. Could just be a case of him being a little rusty but not enough to severely affect his power.

It could just be that Kuririn fought the powerful mercenaries and Roshi did not.

[Son Edo]

Kuririn and I think it's bullshit too. But you have to go by what the author tells you.

[Battousai]

Tenshinhan. Confirmed by DBS last ending as he was seen in an independent shot after with the top tiers Vegeta, Gohan and Piccolo.
Kuririn is goofing around.

[rereboy]

Well, official sources claim Krillin is the strongest.

If I read the manga for the first time, however, I'd naturally believe Tenshinhan is the strongest human. And let's be real, everyone would except the people who would want Krillin to be #1, such as the above official sources.

If you read the manga, then you'd naturally believe Kuririn is the strongest human... considering Yamcha SAYS so. Let's be real here, everyone would except the people who want Tenshinhan to be #1.

Not at all. I've read the manga several times before hearing the notion that Krillin was stronger and I never really got the impression that Krillin was stronger from the manga. Even taking into consideration what Yamcha says in the Buu arc, what happens afterwards in the Buu arc, with Krillin being useless outside Badidi's ship and in Kami's lookout, but Tenshinhan having a significant intervention that manages to stop a Ki attack from Gotenks-Buu, seem to point to Tenshinhan being superior, like everything else in the series besides that one comment from Yamcha.

In short, the only thing even pointing towards Krillin being superior in the manga is that one Yamcha's statement and, even if we assume he has a valid reason for what he says, at most he can only be talking about the last time he was able to compare Krillin to Tenshinhan and not how they actually are in the Buu saga.

So no, it has nothing to do with wanting either one to be stronger. The manga simply gives off the impression, consistently, that Tenshinhan is superior, except in that one statement that can only refer to the last time Yamcha was able to compare the guys.

There's only a debate because Kuririn is perceived by the fanbase to be the useless little weakling character who dies all the time, while Tenshinhan is the stoic "badass" character. So, of course, that has to mean that Tenshinhan is the strongest, right? No, it doesn't.

Not at all. Tenshinhan simply seems to be more impressive in what he actually does, fighting wise. It's not just about their attitude.

I seem to remember him cutting Freeza's tail with his Kienzan, which is arguably more impressive considering it actually did damage to the villain.

Kienzan is shown to always work despite power differences. In the manga, everyone always dodged the Kienzan type attacks, no matter how much stronger they were.

Incompetent? He did A LOT better against Nappa than Tenshinhan did. And that's the last time the two characters fought together.

I'm sorry but that's simply not true. In the manga, Tenshinhan took two blows from Nappa and still was in good enough condition to fight. Krillin went down at the first blow from Nappa that actually connected. Besides that, Krillin only managed to get in a couple of sneak attacks and dodge Nappa once (which was a punch that Nappa did while he was still recovering from a sneak attack).

One that's every bit as viable or legit as the one Tenshinhan's supporters would have, because without that line from Yamcha there's no definitive proof for either of them. Like I said, all of Tenshinhan's so-called "feats" demonstrate nothing about his strength compared to anyone else, only his personality and his repertoire of techniques. You've got both of them being practically equal in power against the Saiyans, then both have things happen to them that greatly increase their strength... then (sans Yamcha's line) they're never compared again.

Without that statement, even though there would be no definite proof, everything that actually exists in the manga would be pointing towards Tenshinhan being superior while nothing would actually be pointing towards Krillin being stronger.

But that's exactly my point. Based on perception, the majority of people reading the manga would assume Tenshinhan is stronger than Krillin. Toriyama did a bad job showing otherwise. One little bit of comedic dialogue, especially given the context, is not enough to override everything. The characters have been pretty static in terms of where they stand in power since the beginning of the series. For example, in Dragon Ball, Goku = #1. Piccolo = #2. Tenshinhan = #3. Krillin = #4. Yamcha = #5. This is consistent. Apparently though, the only two that shifted are Krillin and Tenshinhan, but this isn't really shown in any way. Krillin gets a boost from Guru, but Tenshinhan receives training from King Kai. Krillin is shown as, well, cowardly at times, but Tenshinhan, as you mentioned, is stoic. Krillin stopped training for 7 years and became a family man, exactly like Gohan, who was visibly shown to become weaker as a result, but Tenshinhan clearly continues to. Was the gap that large? Tenshinhan is a character who aspired to surpass Goku, but Krillin was always pretty chill about their rivalry. And yes, Tenshinhan pushed back Semi-Perfect Cell. Was this because of his technique? Possibly. But this happens. It's badass. Krillin is never shown doing anything like it against a major villain.

I just fail to see how anyone would assume otherwise until they read some external supplement that confirms Krillin's superiority. Before any of that, it was almost widely agreed Tenshinhan was stronger, at least from my experience. Mind you, Krillin is unfairly treated as a joke by a lot of people.

I agree. This is pretty much the case.

[B]

I really feel as if Yajirobe, Kame Sennin, and even Tao Paipai are stronger than Chaozu. I guess after receiving God's training for the Saiyans, Chaozu probably surpassed Tao, but the other two? That is the point where we do start giving out numbers to people, so, does Chaozu have a confirmed BP higher than Roshi and Yajirobe?

[Doctor.]

I really feel as if Yajirobe, Kame Sennin, and even Tao Paipai are stronger than Chaozu. I guess after receiving God's training for the Saiyans, Chaozu probably surpassed Tao, but the other two? That is the point where we do start giving out numbers to people, so, does Chaozu have a confirmed BP higher than Roshi and Yajirobe?

Higher than Roshi, by the Saiyan arc. Considering he trained with Kaio and then (presumably) trained decades alone with Tenshinhan, it's highly unlikely he didn't surpass Yajirobe too in the long run.

[fadeddreams5]

Mr. Popo is stronger than Goku at the end of Dragon Ball? O_o

Why didn't he just stop Piccolo Jr? lol.

[Lord Beerus]

Mr. Popo is stronger than Goku at the end of Dragon Ball? O_o

Why didn't he just stop Piccolo Jr? lol.

He was too busy making and buttering his toast.

[FoolsGil]

Seventeen is the strongest human, and Eighteen is the second strongest human. Based on official Pl information, I would concede that Krillin is the third's strongest human, but I doubt he could take Tenshinhan's Kikoho, which as an attack would kill anyone above him on this list if he staked his life on it.

[FutureProtagonist]

Tenshinhan. Confirmed by DBS last ending as he was seen in an independent shot after with the top tiers Vegeta, Gohan and Piccolo.
Kuririn is goofing around.

Boo was goofy, but stronger than Vegeta. What does goofiness have to do with power? I also have it on good authority that Krillin once stood next to Piccolo, Goku, Vegeta and Kaioshin with Tenshinhan nowhere in sight. Makes him stronger, right?

[DBZAOTA482]

Mr. Popo is stronger than Goku at the end of Dragon Ball? O_o

Why didn't he just stop Piccolo Jr? lol.

...And solve mortal affairs that don't need his involvement?

[dario03]

I like to think Tien is the strongest non android human. All those statements from Toriyama saying otherwise is because he forgot about this fact

[Soppa Saia People]

Mr. Popo is stronger than Goku at the end of Dragon Ball? O_o

Why didn't he just stop Piccolo Jr? lol.

Because that is not his job.

[The Monkey King]

If it weren't for Toriyama's statements I'd think Tien is stronger without a doubt:

Tien helps out with the battle against #17 and #18 while Krillin stands there shitting himself, showing just how useless he is in comparison to the rest of the Z-Senshi.
Tien manages to pin down Cell with his Kikoho while Krillin does nothing impressive for the rest of the arc.
Tien manages to intercept an attack from Buutenks
Krillin does nothing impressive for the whole of the Buu arc.
Tien joins #18 and Piccolo to put up some resistance against Beerus, while Krillin does nothing once again hinting at his uselessness in comparison to the others.
Krillin stopped training as hard post Cell saga
Tien trains non stop in the mountains.