History Main / Kirin

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'': Yoshitaka Mine, the FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 3}}'', has a tattoo of a kirin on his back which exemplifies his view as himself being Daigo Dojima's rightful successor as chairman to the Tojo Clan and his UndyingLoyalty to Daigo. The Kirin is also said to be one of the only creatures that can kill a dragon, and Mine proves to be one of the tougher bosses both physically and emotionally for Kiryu to face off against.

** Another popular use of kirin in the fandom was to define them specifically as [[InterspeciesRomance the children of pony/dragon pairings]]. As such, any future generation story that has Spike (a dragon) and Rarity (a unicorn pony) as a couple would inevitably have one or more of these as their children. However, these hybrids rarely share any of the mythical kirin's traits beyond a mix of draconic and equine traits.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Kirin is the name of a jutsu used by Sasuke in which he summons natural lightning and [[ShapingYourAttacks shapes it]] into the head of a giant Kirin (the beast) before crashing it down to the ground.
* In ''Manga/PetShopOfHorrors'', the Kirin is a being who grants the wish of its sovereign through the blood of others. [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith Like with other creatures that appear in the manga]], it appears to their masters in a human form. In the Kirin's case, their chosen form is that of a [[AnimeChineseGirl young Chinese girl with bound feet, wearing a lavishly ornate outfit, flowered headdress, and imposing makeup.]]
* ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'': Kirin resemble horned or antlered horses that can take human form, among many other magical properties. They're also so pure that they are greatly weakened by the smell of blood, even their own, so they have a special servant monster that acts as a bodyguard/parent/older sibling. It's complicated since the monster in question is born literally ''minutes'' before the kirin, and yet immediately knows the name of its charge. A kirin also chooses each kingdom's monarch and then becomes his or her principal counselor.

* The ''Literature/BookOfImaginaryBeings'' describes the Unicorn of China, or k'i-lin, as a creature with an deer's body, an ox's tail and a horse's head and hooves, as a well a short, fleshy horn in the middle of its forehead, and sometimes hair and sometimes scales. It is one of the four animals of good omen alongside [[TheFourGods the dragon, the phoenix and the tortoise]], it never harms any living thing -- it even avoids eating live grass -- and its appearance heralds the birth of a righteous king. Killing one, or seeing its dead body, brings terrible luck. Borges describes a number of incidents involving these creatures:

* ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', the mighty and powerful Grand Tutor Wen Zhong rides on the back of a massive black qilin, who's actually loyal enough to him to take a fatal blow intended for his master. Another character, Huang Tianhua, rides a jade-colored qilin in combat.

* ''VideoGame/ArabianMagic'', despite its ArabianNightsDays setting, have a kirin showing up as the steed of the sorceror Baruantess. It momentarily turns the final battle into a DualBoss, but after it's defeated Baruantess goes back to fighting you alone.

* The Qilin from ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'' mostly resembles a unicorn, but it has scales, cloven hooves, and an association with purity.
* ''VideoGame/MysticalFighter'', a game set in ancient Japan, has a kirin as it's first boss.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', Dialga and Palkia, the dragon gods of time and space respectively, gain Origin Formes made to resemble Arceus while keeping many of the draconic traits of their base forms, thus resembling other depictions of the kirin that are more draconic.
* The fangame ''VideoGame/PokemonUranium'' has Kiricorn, a Fairy-type Pokémon that evolves from a Western unicorn and resembles a deer with a thick mane, a long hairy tail, a single blue antler and an additional pair of curving horns. Its own evolution, Oblivicorn, keeps most of the same motifs but with a darker and more malevolent appearance.

[[IHaveManyNames Kirin (or qilin, girin, ghilen, kylan or others, depending on the translation and language of origin]]) (the first name is pronounced as "chee-leen"), also called "Eastern unicorns," are a type of mythological creature found in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese folklore, and which have since percolated into Western media as well. They typically resemble ungulates -- usually horses, deer or oxen, sometimes giraffes -- with draconic traits such as fangs, reptilian scales or dragon heads. They may have a single horn or antler in the center of their foreheads, or they may have two in the usual arrangement. The term "Chinese Unicorn" used to describe them however is often misleading, as Qilin are often depicted with two sets of horns and antlers. The proper Chinese Unicorn would be another mythical animal, the "Xiezi".

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter2004'': Kirin is an Elder Dragon resembling a large, scaly-skinned {{Unicorn}} with powerful electric attacks.

* ''Film/BuddhasPalm'': Long Jian-fei's CoolPet and companion is a winged kirin that appears to have borrowed traits from Western griffin, including having eagle-like wings.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': Kirin is an Elder Dragon resembling a large, scaly-skinned {{Unicorn}} with powerful electric attacks.

[[IHaveManyNames Kirin (or qilin, girin, ghilen, kylan or others, depending on the translation and language of origin]]) (the first name is pronounced as "chee-leen"), also called "Eastern unicorns," are a type of mythological creature found in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese folklore, and which have since percolated into Western media as well. They typically resemble ungulates -- usually horses, deer or oxen, sometimes giraffes -- with draconic traits such as fangs, reptilian scales or dragon heads. They may have a single horn or antler in the center of their foreheads, or they may have two in the usual arrangement.

* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'': Shishigami (the Forest Spirit) possesses the vaguely ungulate feet and antlers of a kirin, albeit with a primate-like face, and a fur coat instead of scales.

* ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheSecretsOfDumbledore'': A pair of Qilin twins are a central part of the conflict of the movie as the turmoil of wizarding world means that they'll be central for a pivotal election in the International Confederation of Wizards.

** Another popular use of kirin in the fandom was to define them specifically as [[HalfHumanHybrid the children of pony/dragon pairings]]. As such, any future generation story that has Spike (a dragon) and Rarity (a unicorn pony) as a couple would inevitably have one or more of these as their children. However, these hybrids rarely share any of the mythical kirin's traits beyond a mix of draconic and equine traits.

* In the ''Literature/TalesOfTheOtori'''s fifth book, ''Harsh Cry of the Heron'', a kirin is gifted to Lord Takeo. However, as the books are very light on fantasy elements and the creature displays no supernatural powers, it is very likely just a normal giraffe perceived as exotic by the populace.

* ''Mysterious Ancient Beasts'': The titular beasts in this Chinese Direct-to-Video movie are Kirins, which the protagonist, a healer-in-training, must seek to find a mystical ingredient. During one penultimate fight, the kirin is shown to have an OverlyLongTongue that it use to ensnare the heroes.

[[folder: Film -- Animated]]

** [[{{God}} Arceus]] has some kirin-like traits as well, including any even more deer-like figure and head with a backward-pointing protrusion.