In the waning days of Toys ‘R Us, I found myself at one of the nearby stores in need of something. What that something was, I don’t recall, but since everything was hitting clearance I had a look around the store. TRU had started carrying the Bandai/Tamashii Nations S.H.Figuarts line of action figures which, at that point, was a rarity. That brand was mostly an online only thing for US buyers, though GameStop was stocking them as well. And on that day, they had finally started marking them down. TRU marked them up to start with, so it wasn’t until the clearance price hit 40% off that it even seemed inviting to me to grab the Super Saiyan Trunks figure. I had recently purchased Vegeta, but I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to get sucked into an expensive toy line. This Trunks, depicted with his hair tied back and in his Saiyan battle armor, was in the neighborhood of 45 bucks after the discount. It was certainly better than the 70 or 75 they had wanted initially, but did I really want this version of Trunks?
It turned out, on that day, the answer was, “No.” I carried it up to the register, but while waiting in line I thought better of it and set the figure down and carried on with the purchase I had intended to make. I wouldn’t say I regretted that decision, but as I’ve gone much further down the rabbit hole that is DBZ figures I have questioned if I want that particular version of Trunks on my shelf. It turns out, my decision that day ended up being a very good one as Bandai decided to release that very same Trunks in 2023 with a revamped color scheme and at the budget price of $35. By waiting these years, I saved some money and got a better looking figure – not bad! I obviously didn’t plan it that way, but what really changed between now and then to make me want this figure? Basically, not a whole lot, it’s just harder to pass up at $35.
Super Saiyan Trunks is just a reissue of that older figure, but with a really exaggerated subtitle. I don’t really know what they’re going for with “Infinite Latent Power” since that’s not how I’d describe Trunks at all. I guess it’s a nod to the point in the story where Trunks was concealing what he felt was his true power, but in reality, it was the fan-named Ultra Super Saiyan form that’s similar in power to Super Saiyan 2, but is so slow that it’s all but useless in a fight. Though I did kind of wonder why Trunks couldn’t just boost his power and then, rather than engage in a fist fight, just channel it into a massive energy attack? I guess I shouldn’t be putting that much thought into it since that isn’t really the DBZ way, but I will say that Trunks sure did look pretty bad ass in that form. It’s one I’ve always wanted a good action figure of, but this figure is not that. It’s him before that moment when he’s just standing and watching Vegeta take-on Cell. The ponytail look is at least unique to Trunks and it’s fun to see the Super Saiyan hair restrained to some degree, but it does stink he has no signature moment in this look other than getting punked by Vegeta.
As for the figure itself, it’s Trunks in the Cell Saga battle armor. As I mentioned going in, I didn’t get that original release, but I had the Vegeta who followed the same color pattern so I can at least compare this figure to that. This figure is a much richer shade of blue while the previous one was more pale. The powder blue is probably more accurate, but I love this darker shade. It’s probably my favorite shade of blue and blue happens to be my favorite color. The other main difference is the hair which has a shiny, pearl, finish to it. It’s still more yellow than gold, but it has some gold shading in the center part and it looks really nice. Bandai has tackled Super Saiyan hair in a few different ways over the years and this might be the best. Like the blue, it’s not necessarily the most accurate look, but it’s the flashiest. It gives it that impression that it’s glowing and it’s definitely a great hair color for powering-up poses and the like.
Because this is a figure releases in 2023, that also means the face is improved. Bandai has changed-up how they print/paint the facial details on its figures which really helps to sell these reissues even if you have the original. The hair and suit color are more subjective and even if you prefer the new to the old, I can still see being happy enough with the original to pass, but the face? It looks so good as the details are so much sharper and less soft. Trunks is sporting his stoic look by default and the likeness is terrific. He also has a teeth-gritting face and a yelling face and both look equally great. The hair sculpt features one, thick, bang hanging over his face which looks fine, but I do wish we had an alternate set of banges for the yelling head that has this piece turned upward or something.
Those are what’s new and improved, what isn’t likely any better is the overall paint job. Maybe it’s the budget price on display, but the paint is a lot sloppier than usual. Not so bad that you’ll see it from a shelf, but unusual for an SHF release. The neckline is not smooth at all and pretty fuzzy. The gold paint for the straps and the abdomen and back armor isn’t any better. The straps stop short before they meet the chest plate and the right side of the abdomen piece doesn’t see the paint continue as far as it needs to. The same issue is repeated on the back of the figure at the upper limit of that gold section. Trunks comes with a crossed-arms piece that can connect to his shoulders and that isn’t painted very well either. It’s a shame, because yeah, even though this is a cheaper figure than usual these areas still had to be painted. It doesn’t cost anymore to make sure it’s done right. I don’t think Bandai should be lowering its standards to offer consumers a more budget-friendly option when we’re still dealing with old tools.
I already mentioned the three face plates and the crossed arms piece, the only other accessories are some optional hands. Trunks has fists, clenchy hands, and open hands. What he doesn’t have is a non-Super Saiyan head which the original release came with. That’s a bit of a bummer as it would have been cool if we got that here still, but with something other than a neutral portrait so we could mix and match with the Boy From the Future release from earlier in the year. I know, budget price and all that, but still a bummer to see that accessory cut even though I probably wouldn’t have used it.
Trunks doesn’t have any surprises when it comes to articulation, though I was surprised he’s not a lot of reuse from the Super Saiyan Vegeta. Thankfully, Bandai cares about scale to some degree so Trunks and Vegeta are almost entirely unique. Some stuff, like the feet and hands, are almost certainly the same, but just about everything else looks different as Trunks is both taller and leaner than his father. Even with the differences, they move the same. You get the double-ball jointed head which works okay, but the ponytail will get in the way. The neck is on a ball joint so that will help get more range looking down. Shoulders are hinged ball pegs with a butterfly joint. They’ll go out to the side better than horizontal and there are no restrictions with rotation. The butterfly joint is just okay, but it’s not ugly. Trunks doesn’t need to do a Kamehameha pose so it’s not a joint he needs to get a lot out of. In the arms, we get the biceps swivel, double-jointed elbows, and ball-hinged wrists and all works fine. The arms detach at the bicep to facilitate the use of the crossed arms piece. It’s still a pain to get the piece on flush on both arms, but it works okay. It does mean the arms come apart a little too easy sometimes when just messing with the figure, but I suppose it’s better than being too hard like the recently released Beast Gohan.
In the diaphragm, Trunks has a hinged ball joint so you can lift the chest up and crunch forward and back. This creates more room for the articulation and helps protect the painted parts, though it can lead to some gapping if you bend him too far. The figure can rotate and tilt to the side as well. The waist is a simple ball-peg attachment which is mostly useful for rotation. The hips go out to the side better than 45 degrees, but not quite to splits. The figure has some floating bits in this area and if you can maneuver the thigh piece to slide under them you can get more range, but it’s fickle. Kicking forward goes to about horizontal and he can kick back a fair bit too. There’s a thigh twist, double-jointed knees, and ball-peg ankles which only provide for mediocre range. There is a toe hinge, for good measure.
I’ve always been a little surprised that with this costume being so basic that the figure doesn’t have more range, but it is what it is. It’s not bad, I just think the legs could be better. The ankles are always an issue with the Saiyan boots as well as Goku’s boots. There’s no doubt that their approach here looks lovely, but I wish they did something to get the ankles more range of motion in every direction, including the ankle rocker. Even though Trunks moves well enough, I do find he looks best just standing there, arms folded across his chest, with a grim expression on his face. Pair him with a similar Vegeta (like the reissued one) and you get a pretty bad ass looking father-son duo for your shelf. This isn’t my favorite look for Trunks, but Bandai did this one just fine. And at the price they’re selling it at you really can’t go wrong.
Because you can’t have just one Saiyan on your shelf, here’s a look at a few more:
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