Tag Archives: dragon ball daima

September 12, 2025

Dragon Ball Daima S.H.Figuarts Vegeta

By Joe
Not so mini Vegeta.

Dragon Ball Daima has come and gone, but we’re still getting action figures based on the limited series. When it comes to the Bandai/Tamashii Nations action figure line, that’s usually par for the course. It’s not like the classic movie tie-in toy line where product shows up in stores weeks before the movie hits theaters. That’s probably for the best as that’s how you end up with massive spoilers like the infamous Phantasm action figure released ahead of the Batman movie Mask of the Phantasm. For the Premium Bandai figure line, the spoilery figures were at least held off until the episode premiered (the Japanese dub, anyway) while a fairly generic figure of someone like Vegeta went up for preorder last year. And likely owing to the ever changing tariff situation in the U.S., it’s actually taken a little longer than initially expected for the figures to arrive in the U.S.

If you like your Vegeta short then this may be the figure for you.

Vegeta – Daima is just that, Vegeta from Dragon Ball Daima. He is still Vegeta, still in his blue and white Saiyan armor, only now he’s styled to reflect the artwork from the show. Dragon Ball Daima has its own distinct look. It’s not far removed from what we have seen out of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, but it might be just enough to give some collectors pause if they’re not interested in Daima figures specifically. Bandai has yet to give us a base Vegeta from the Cell Saga or from Dragon Ball Super so this Vegeta might catch the attention of some. It’s also an entirely new sculpt with some new approaches to engineering and it comes at the more budget friendly price of $35. That alone might get enough collectors to take the figure for a spin.

Narrow face, fewer lines, softened features, and a paler complexion kind of sums it up for the Daima style.

Vegeta from Daima is essentially a stream-lined take on the character. Compared to the 2.0 Vegeta sculpt we’ve been receiving variations on for the past 6-7 years it’s more slender and the proportions are overall just a little smaller this time around. Compare one body part on the new figure to one on the old and they’re almost all a little smaller save for maybe the feet. This Vegeta has got some big feet and ears. The face is a little softer compared to the more recent Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, but perhaps more defined than the original Super Saiyan Vegeta on the 2.0 body. He’s also a touch shorter at approximately 4.875″ to the top of his widow’s peek compared with 5″ on the Super Saiyan Blue version, which as the most recent edition on that body is the one I’ve decided to compare directly to.

The new engineering lets him kick quite high. You can even push it higher than this.

The engineering is almost all together different with this Vegeta. Like we’ve seen with other more recent figures in the line, Bandai is experimenting with soft, plastic, overlays instead of just sculpting everything in hard plastic. The upper part of the armor is made of the more rubbery material, though it doesn’t really impact anything as it’s glued down to a plastic chest. Doing it this way basically just allows Bandai to skip out on painting the blue portion of the chest. The crotch piece is also rubbery which should allow for better posing. This does mean there is less paint overall with this figure as it’s limited to the yellow parts of the armor and boots as well as the face and neck. The paint on the neck isn’t perfect, nor is it on the boots, but it’s not so bad that I’d consider either sloppy. The overall look of the figure is solid and there are no mismatched colors at least. Some may not like how the crotch looks with the new articulation, but I can’t honestly say it’s worse than before. The one eyesore is at least reserved for the rear of the figure where Vegeta has been gifted a long, flat, ass. Watching the show, it’s fairly accurate. Old Vegeta has never been blessed with buns, but the figure draws attention to it with a sculpted butt crack where as the show usually omits that detail. The figure probably should have just done the same.

These two are always up for some sparring.

The accessory load-out for this Vegeta is pretty damn good for a $35 action figure. We get a pretty typical spread of hand options including sets of fists, open, clenching, flat palm (i.e. Big Bang Attack), and his two-finger martial arts posed hands. He also has a crossed-arms piece, as many Vegeta figures have featured, which connects at the bicep. It doesn’t separate in the middle like some of the new versions of this piece, but it has some flex and isn’t as annoying to apply as past versions. For expressions, Vegeta has stoic, smirk, yelling, and an angry expression with his eyes looking down and to his right. There’s also a second hair piece. The first is a neutral pose and the second one has some bend to it like it’s being blown by the wind. The faces this time around also do not have any bangs attached to them, they just plug into the hair, and they all look pretty good. The only thing this figure is missing is a stand and an effect part. Bandai usually doesn’t provide either of those even in its more expensive offerings so it’s not a surprise, but Storm and Jada are out here making everyone look bad these days.

Vegeta is having a long ass day.
There’s more range this time around, but it gets gappy.

Whenever we do get a new sculpt from Bandai articulation is the prime driver of curiosity. With Vegeta, Bandai did a lot of what we’re used to while also doing some different things as well. The head is a double ball and the neck is on a ball as well so that all works as expected. He still doesn’t look up well, and for that you’ll need to engage the diaphragm joint. In there, he has some sort of ball hinge setup, but not like the old hinge that allowed the chest to literally rise. This one lets Vegeta bend back a solid amount, but it exposes a pretty large gap in the chest. Going forward is almost nil. There’s another ball joint set into a hinged joint at the waist and it does provide for solid range going forward and back, but like the diaphragm it leads to significant gaps when bent all the way. Rotation and tilt at both is good, but it’s a shame they didn’t extend some of these pieces to fill those gaps.

He’s got the expressions you would expect.

The shoulders are your typical ball-hinge set into a ball peg inside the chest. This allows the shoulder to move up and down and out for a butterfly joint. The butterfly isn’t significant, but it’s enough for Vegeta’s signature maneuvers. The rest of the arm is standard stuff: bicep swivel, double-jointed elbow, ball hinge wrists. The hips are likely standard ball sockets and can go out to the sides for full splits, something past Vegeta figures could not do. He does have those weird fillers Bandai inserts onto the inside of the thigh and I don’t get why they do that. It looks weird. Going forward and back is not a problem either as Vegeta can do those splits as well and even kick past 90 degrees. The crotch flexes plenty and gets out of the way. There are thigh swivels and they look fine, double-jointed knees, and hinged ankles. The ankles do rock side-to-side and there are toe hinges which aren’t great, but you can ignore them if you don’t like them.

“Step aside, worm, I’ll take it from here.”

The articulation is good and bad. That torso falls into the bad and it’s a shame Bandai didn’t do something better with it. On the other hand, comparing this Vegeta to the prior ones I would say the range in the shoulders is better, the hips are way better, and the ankles are superior as well. The head and neck area is basically the same as well as the elbows and knees. I’ll even give the waist to the new figure even if it gets gappy.

Classic Vegeta.

Removing aesthetics from the argument, I would say this Vegeta is an upgrade over the prior one, it just could have been even more of one with a little more tinkering. And if you want to get into aesthetics, I’d say that’s entirely subjective and based on what you think of the Daima art style. I personally like it. I don’t prefer this look to Z or Super Vegeta, but it’s fine. I no longer feel like I need a base Vegeta on the 2.0 body, this will fill that hole well enough. In fact, I would prefer to never buy another Vegeta on that old body. It’s a figure that looks nice, but the articulation shortcomings in the hips and ankles are something I don’t need. And I’ve bought that figure enough already. I suspect we’ll see more from Vegeta and Daima and I’m curious what Bandai will do for the body. I don’t think it would make sense to reuse this body on a powered-up Vegeta, we’ll have to wait and see. I’m also a little surprised we haven’t seen another adult Vegeta solicited yet, but maybe they want to deliver on some of the Premium Bandai offerings first. At $35, this is a good figure and I think most SHF collectors will be happy. It’s really fun to just mess around with and pose and I hope we continue to see more improvements with future figures in the line. I’m left feeling excited for that upcoming Cell Saga Goku due later this year which can’t get here soon enough!

If you like Vegeta and Dragon Ball Daima then we have plenty more for you here:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Daima Goku (Mini)

When Akira Toriyama sadly passed away in 2024 it shocked the world of manga and anime. While his passing was sudden to those confined to the fandom, he at least had one more adventure to deliver in the world of Dragon Ball that would be unveiled later in the year: Dragon Ball Daima. I’ll talk…

Keep reading
by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Vegeta – Older Style Battle Clothes

Vegeta is a character who has had a few looks throughout his time in Dragon Ball Z. Almost all of those looks are some variation on his Saiyan armor from his debut with minor tweaks and modifications. Since Vegeta has become one of the most popular characters from the long-running manga/anime, most of those looks…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Television, toys

May 29, 2025

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Daima Goku (Mini)

By Joe
Goku is back for a new adventure which includes a literal downgrade for him.

When Akira Toriyama sadly passed away in 2024 it shocked the world of manga and anime. While his passing was sudden to those confined to the fandom, he at least had one more adventure to deliver in the world of Dragon Ball that would be unveiled later in the year: Dragon Ball Daima. I’ll talk more about the series when I finally finish it (I had to wait for the English dub so I could enjoy it with my kids), but I definitely don’t need to see it all before I can talk about the toys. Daima figures were unveiled well before the series debuted and some of them have actually been out for a little while. I wasn’t sure how deep I wanted to go with the toy line, but when I saw the subject of today’s post on sale at a discount I figured “Why not?”

He’s a little fella.

The only thing you need to know about Dragon Ball Daima to enjoy this figure of a wee little Goku is that in the very first episode a wish is made that turns all of the main cast into children. If it sounds a little like the beginning of Dragon Ball GT then just you wait until you get deeper into the series. The inaugural wave of figures from the show in the Bandai/Tamashii Nations S.H.Figuarts line is three of the main characters in child form: Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo. The Saiyan boys were released at the wallet-friendly price of $35 while Piccolo was a much more expensive $60 (I guess that’s one expensive cape he’s wearing). I was pretty smitten with the Goku, but not entirely sure I needed it. I figured I’d hold out for Bandai to revisit Dragon Ball era Goku with a similar approach as this new figure is far more appropriate in size, but obviously things changed.

This just makes me really want a new Dragon Ball era Goku.
His head gets smaller the taller he gets.

This version of Goku is titled Goku (Mini) and he sure lives up to it. He comes in a standard sized box and there’s a lot of blank space around him. Take him out and he stands at approximately 2.75″ to the top of where his head likely is and only stretches to about 3.325 at the highest point of his hair. This is a little guy, but make no mistake about it this is still an SHF release. The styling is very much evocative of Daima so if you did want this Goku for a Dragon Ball display it won’t exactly work unless you’re willing to overlook the differences. His gi is a pale orange and the top extends past the sash in the middle which is atypical for Goku (his end of Z attire is similar, but that’s in blue and gray). The boots are a bit simplified as well as they’re now all blue with rope around the lower part which is now white instead of red. The faces in the show are illustrated in a slightly different style. To me, it looks more like a conventional “toon” approach and the figure reflects that. All in all, it’s a fine looking figure it’s just very much pulled from Dragon Ball Daima so if you’re not into the look of that series then it might not do much for you.

I love this little scrunched up expression. He looks like a toddler who just had his juice supply cut-off.

In typical Bandai fashion, paint is kept to a minimum with Goku. It’s basically reserved for the details of the face, the blue undershirt, the blue wristbands, the white ropes on the boots, and the soles of the boots. The paint is cleanly applied and the blue painted parts match well with the blue plastic parts. There’s no shading on any of the orange parts of the figure. While that does mimic the show fairly well which is bright in its approach, it can’t hide the fact that the orange plastic has a cheap appearance to it. Now, maybe one might argue that it should since this is a relatively inexpensive action figure for the line, but a low price does not mean it need look like a cheap product. It would be nice if they just hit the figure with a matte coat to cut down on that plastic look. The boots have a nice, almost satin, finish and if the pants did too that might improve the look of the figure. Given that it’s so small, the cheap appearance isn’t as detrimental as it would be on a five or six inch figure, but it’s not something that’s completely unnoticeable.

The power pole is back!

The low price point does not equate to a low accessory count. And even though this Goku is quite tiny, he has some pretty familiar accessories when it comes to the hands. Goku has a set of fists, gripping, martial arts posed, and Kamehameha hands. They may be tiny, but they aren’t hard to swap, just don’t drop one on a carpeted floor or you may have a hard time finding it. Goku also has four different portraits to swap between: smile, yelling, side eyed teeth gritting, and a frowny face that is kind of adorable. In atypical fashion, this Goku also comes with a second hair piece. He has his default look and a wind swept look which is becoming a little more common. Super Saiyan Gohan came packed with the same, though he wasn’t $35, and the new Lowest Born Saiyan Goku also has a windswept option. Since Goku goes back to his roots, so to speak, with Daima he also decided he needs to arm himself with his trusty Power Pole once again. Similar to the Dragon Ball Goku figures, this one comes with a sling and holster for the Power Pole that can be easily equipped. He also has a little nub of the power pole to slot into the holster, or you can remove it and arm him with an extended version. It’s shorter than previous Power Pole accessories and is kind of cheap looking since it’s just a red cylinder of plastic, but it gets the job done. It’s about 3″ and I think it could stand to be a bit longer, but I guess he can always wield an older model if you have one. Lastly, there’s an optional lower shirt piece that’s more dynamic and should give the hips more range when it comes to articulation.

That’s a better charge pose than a lot of adult Gokus.
He can get his arms extended pretty effortlessly too.

The accessories are plentiful and Tamashii Nations also tried to make sure the articulation was up to par as well. Mini Goku has the standard double-ball setup in the head that lets him look around in all directions except for up. This is a bit of an issue for a little guy and it’s one largely caused by his hair. The shoulders are done pretty well as they’re ball pegs inside the figure giving him a butterfly joint then the usual ball-hinge on the outside. The small torso means the butterfly works pretty well and it also looks good as it’s similar to how they did Krillin and Super Hero Gohan. There’s a bicep swivel at the end of the sleeve and then single-hinged elbows that bend a little past 90 degrees with typical SHF ball-hinge wrists.

Kicks are a bit of a challenge since we’re dealing with tiny parts here.

The torso is where the figure feels more limited. Goku has a ball peg at the waist that lets him rock back a little, but not much forward. You also won’t get much tilt, but it rotates freely. The hips are ball pegs and even with the more dynamic lower shirt piece the figure can’t go out to the side for full splits. He is largely unimpeded kicking forward and back while the single-hinged knees allow for a 90 degree bend. The ankles have the hinge and ankle rocker combo we’re used to seeing on newer figures from Bandai. The hinge is pretty restricted, especially going forward, but the ankle rocker is surprisingly generous. There’s also a toe hinge for good measure.

He’s surprisingly easy to stand even with these tiny feet.

The articulation is probably enough. The single-hinged joints in the knees and elbows are not as restricting as one may expect and they do come with the added benefit of being more aesthetically pleasing than most double joints. I do wish the figure could look up better and I don’t see a good reason as to why it can’t raise the legs out to the side all the way. The shirt hides the hips so the designers were able to go bare bones in that region and yet the articulation is still impeded somewhat. A little tweaking there to give the figure more dynamic kicks would have really helped sell this one, but even so, it’s pretty good.

This is a fun little figure, I just wish I didn’t have to buy Goma to get Goku’s power pole effect piece.

Goku (Mini) is a fun little figure to mess with. It comes with a lot for the price point and those who like Daima and want a kid Goku from the show will likely be pretty content here. I do think some articulation tweaks would have gone a long way, and given that he’s so small, a flight stand feels almost like a necessity. If you want him posed on your shelf fighting adults or larger beings you’re going to need to get him on a stand. Given the $35 price tag, I’m not surprised at the lack of a stand, but I would have paid another 5 bucks to get one. Or rather, I wouldn’t have waited for a discount. Like I said though at the start, my initial pass on the figure wasn’t because I thought it was a bad deal, I just wasn’t sure if I needed anything from Daima. What i really want is an updated kid Goku from Dragon Ball as the ones Bandai already released are just way too big. A new one in this size with some styling evocative of the original manga/anime is quickly shooting up to the top of my personal “Most Wanted” list. Even if that never comes to be, this tidy Goku figure is still pretty damn good all on its own.

There’s plenty more Dragon Ball around these parts if you’re interested:

SH Figuarts Kid Goku

I was so happy with my Super Saiyan Vegeta from SH Figuarts that the very next day I purchased a second figure:  Kid Goku. Now I’ve mentioned more than once here that I prefer Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z. It’s just a tighter and more fun series with better action sequences. The characters become…

by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man

My Dragon Ball collecting was once simply focused on the original series, Dragon Ball, but has been expanding over the years. I’ve definitely leaned more towards Dragon Ball Super of late, but one of my Dragon Ball Z purchases last year was the event exclusive Nappa. I don’t know why I like Nappa so much.…

by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Super Saiyan Son Gohan – The Fighter Who Surpassed Goku

When Goku shattered his ceiling and became the Super Saiyan of legend to topple the seemingly unbeatable Frieza, the story could have come to an end. Where could the hero go after attaining this awesome power and vanquishing the ultimate evil? The being responsible for not just the death of his father, but the destruction…

by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Television, toys