To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Bandai/Tamashii Nations action figure line, S.H.Figuarts, Bandai turned to the fans. There was a large roster of releases eligible for re-release to mark the occasion, and anyone who wanted to could cast a vote for their five favorites. The winner was, not surprisingly, Vegeta. And in particular, it was the Super Saiyan God/Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (yeah, I know) version of the character that had been released with the film Dragon Ball Super: Broly. That movie actually marked the first time we saw Vegeta use the Super Saiyan God form in animation (he used it in the manga) so it made sense to finally do a figure of that version. Rather than make it a dedicated Super Saiyan God figure, Bandai included a second head so he could also show off his Super Saiyan Blue look.
When that movie and figure debuted, I was still feeling my way through this line. Did I need such a release? Yeah, I kind of did, but it took me awhile to figure that out. As a result, I never got it so this figure was indeed among the five I selected when I made my voice heard. It wasn’t my number one choice though (that would have been the Dragon Ball Super version of Future Trunks), but at least it was a choice. This was to be a special edition too, but all that meant is we were getting a fancy slipcover and a disc stand. For me, someone who never bought this figure before, it seemed worth it. Was it worth it for those who already had it? That’s a much harder question.
Vegeta comes in the standard S.H.Figuarts box with the usual assortment of artwork. I don’t know if the photography is the same or not, but the name printed on the box does acknowledge the anniversary edition. There’s also a slipcover that goes over it with an image of the figure posed on the included “stand” with a timeline in the background and “2019” in a larger font since that was the year this one was originally released. The font and printing on the sides is surprisingly plain though. Like bootleg plain. If you’re an in-box collector you may be underwhelmed. If you’re not then you probably don’t care.
The actual figure is basically the same Super Saiyan Vegeta figure that’s been released multiple times. This is my third version, personally. He has the same Cell Saga style of Saiyan armor only now it’s painted gray with a brighter yellow on the straps, abdomen, and lower back. The body suit is a very dark navy that’s almost black while the gloves and boots are more of an off-white. The only difference with this figure for me are the feet which feature a more rounded toe. I think they’re from the Resurrection F version of Vegeta? I’m not positive though.
It all means that this release of Vegeta has the same pros and cons as the other ones, only with more paint means more room for error. The paint on the abdomen, actually not a new spot to be painted, sucks. It doesn’t come all that close to the edges considering we’re dealing with a premium collectible here. At least the brightness of the yellow obscures that to a degree, but in-hand it’s pretty noticeable. The gray parts are okay and I like how it contrasts with the white piping. There is a scuff under my figure’s right arm and there are a few spots where it doesn’t properly fill the area.
The two portraits are the defining feature of this Vegeta. You basically get two hair pieces: one metallic magenta and the other a metallic blue. The sculpt is different from Super Saiyan Vegeta. It’s more narrow and less spiky, though still plenty spiky. I literally poked holes in the skin on my fingers swapping all of these heads as I moved them around the different bodies I have to figure out which combination I liked most since I intend to display all three versions. Nevertheless, I prefer the more full version of the Super Saiyan head’s hair, but this is fine. What’s not fine is the lack of options. Yeah, it’s great we get both the red and blue hair, but we only get one faceplate for Super Saiyan God (cocky smirk) while Super Saiyan Blue gets three expressions (stoic, teeth baring, and yelling). This is a re-release with 100% reuse sold at a fairly high price, why not just toss in more expressions? I feel like both looks need the cocky smirk, that’s just a Vegeta necessity, while the God head should at least have an angry look too. And perhaps more disappointing is that the face printing isn’t all that great. It’s not up to the new standards of the line and I don’t know if they’ve been improved at all since I don’t have the original release. Last year’s re-release of Super Saiyan Vegeta looks way better than the original release when it comes to the faces, it’s a shame the same can’t be said of the prestigious Premium Bandai 15th anniversary version.
Other than the heads, you get the usual assortment of Vegeta hands: fists, open, clenching, martial arts posed, and a lone right thumbs up hand. The crossed arms piece is also included and is just as annoying to fiddle with as it’s always been, but it does also look pretty good once you manage to get it into place. That’s it though as there are no effect parts or anything like that. You do get a special stand, but it doesn’t really earn that title of “special.” It’s just a black disc, the same that came with the event excusive stands a few years ago that featured Goku’s insignia as well as Whis and a Saiyan Space pod. Now it’s just all black with a 15th anniversary logo printed on it in metallic blue. It doesn’t say Vegeta or even Dragon Ball. It has slots that can be punched out for an action stand, but one wasn’t included.
The articulation for this guy is the same as the old one, so you can check the link down below if you want the full rundown. This figure is supposed to be a celebration of the line and it should have appeal to longtime collectors of the line because of that, but I don’t know if many would agree. Simply put, if you have the first release of this figure there’s really no reason to get this one. The extra stand sucks. It’s cheap and lazy. There are really no extra bells and whistles that I can see with the figure itself and the paint job is lackluster and not really reflective of the price point. If you’re like me and you wanted a version of Vegeta in these forms then it’s fine. It’s still a good figure despite the flaws, it’s just as a special release it seems phoned in. There’s nothing special about it.
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