Krillin's death is still sad

[Netter75]

The thing that made that death the most sad for me was that it was at the conclusion of the 22nd TB arc. The gang (Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Bulma, Puar, Oolong, Roshi, Launch, and even the turtle) just reunited for the tournament after a long period of only seeing each other sporadically, so Goku basically returned to his family. There were so many good moments of the group interacting off of each other in that arc as well, it just gave off a very warm vibe. They even added two new members with Tien and Chiaotzu.

That's another reason why the death strikes so hard; the warm feeling of togetherness that peaks in the tournament is totally shattered when Krillin is killed. He was Goku's closest friend and symbolized everything about how tight the original cast had become. Tambourine essentially took all of that away with that kick. The group even totally splintered after that, with Goku and Tien splitting off on their own, Roshi and Chiaotzu being killed, and the rest of the gang doing nothing of relevance.

That is why Krillin's first death is really the only one that ever affected me on any kind of emotional level. It broke up the cast.

But then again it is also why the reunion for the 23rd TB is so effective as well Out of that darkness they all managed to get back together one last time before Z took over.

[ABED]

It's a common storytelling technique to go from the highest of highs to ripping the rug from under the protagonists.