Tag Archives: goku

March 27, 2026

Dragon Ball GT

By Joe
Step into the grand tour!

One of my Dragon Ball blind spots is the sequel anime series Dragon Ball GT. It’s not exactly a true blind spot as I had seen some episodes and experienced the bullet points of the series via video games, but I have never sat down and watched it from start to finish. And that’s largely due to the series having a rather poor reputation. When the Dragon Ball manga ended in 1995 it marked the end of a decade of nose to the grindstone work for series creator Akira Toriyama. The life of a manga writer and artist is a busy one and the guy was ready to take a break and move on. The only problem was the manga had been adapted into an anime series and was very successful. Toei, the company that produced the anime, wanted more and like they had done already with a series of Dragon Ball movies they decided to create a new series largely on their own. Toriyama, to his credit, was fine with that. He gave the company a concept, a name, and even provided new designs for his characters and then largely left the rest to Toei. Aya Matsui would write, Osamu Kasai would direct, Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, designed the new characters and power-ups, while Akihito Tokunaga composed the music for the new series which Toriyama had named Dragon Ball Grand Tour, or Dragon Ball GT for short.

Considering that we are in a bit of a holding pattern with Dragon Ball following the death of Toriyama, I figured now was as good a time as any to make some time and view all 64 episodes of Dragon Ball GT for myself. I have certainly been guilty in the past of dismissing it out of hand or referring to it as a lesser show, and while that may be true, it’s not exactly fair of me to pass judgement on something I’ve never actually sat down and watched. I did sit down and watch the English dub of the series which is presently available via Hulu. It is perhaps not the best version of the show because while the English cast is fine and comprised largely of the people you know and love from the past series, it contains a new soundtrack that I really did not like at all. I suppose it was similar in spirit to the original English broadcast soundtrack for Dragon Ball Z credited to Bruce Faulconer, but I strongly would have preferred the soundtrack from Tokunaga. This soundtrack is more guitar driven, but it’s a very synthesized sounding guitar like industrial music. There’s often a dissonance to it and it’s very plodding and I just found it exhausting. It might be the rare anime where if given the choice I’d just go for the subtitled option if it meant I got to enjoy the music. And considering it’s Dragon Ball, it’s not like there’s a ton of dialogue that I really felt I needed to pay attention to.

We have ourselves an ominous new dragon.

That said, what are some things that I found Dragon Ball GT did well? Well, for one, there’s the music and it extends to the opening theme “Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku” which was adapted for the English broadcast and adapted well. It does unfortunately contain vocals by a voice actor who was outed during the whole Me Too thing so I don’t feel like name-dropping him, but I’ll at least acknowledge that I enjoy the performance. The ending themes I enjoyed less so, but the initial one “Hitori Janai” was the best of them. That one was performed by Stephanie Young. The animation and artwork throughout GT is consistently good as well. It doesn’t have the same action set pieces of Dragon Ball Z, but it also never has episodes where the quality drops in an obvious manner. In this, it’s much closer to the consistency of the Buu saga. The voice actors also do a fine job and Stephanie Nadolny gets to reprise her role as Goku for plot reasons which is a treat to experience again.

As for that plot. While I like the setup, it does seem to quickly run out of steam. At the start of the series we find Goku (Sean Schemmel) and Uub (Sean Teague) engaged in a sparring match at Earth’s look-out. A few years have passed since the end of Dragon Ball Z where Goku abandoned his family to train Uub, the reincarnation of Kid Buu, so he could be Earth’s next defender. He’s apparently done now so Uub heads home while a familiar trio invades the lookout. Pilaf (Chuck Huber), along with Mai (Julie Franklin) and Shu (Chris Cason), have returned and are after the Black Star Dragon Balls. What are the Black Star Dragon Balls? They are apparently the Dragon Balls created by Kami before he purged himself of the wickedness in his heart which gave birth to Piccolo. They have apparently just been hanging out at the lookout this whole time and for some reason did not become inert when Kami ceased to be. Pilaf and the gang have little trouble in locating these balls, which look just like the regular Dragon Balls save for the stars are black instead of red, and they summon Red Shenron to grant their wish. Goku, noticing the changing color of the sky, investigates before a wish can be made and recognizes the now elderly Pilaf. Pilaf gets frustrated because Goku always messed things up for him in the past and, in a moment of frustration, wishes he was just a kid again. Shenron, hearing this, takes it literally and turns Goku into a child and then disappears scattering the Black Star Dragon Balls not across the Earth, but across the galaxy. This is apparently a big problem as King Kai (Schemmel) pops into Goku’s head to tell him that without the Black Star Dragon Balls the Earth will explode. Yeah, a pretty big deal and it sure seems like Dende should have taken better care of these things given that. It basically falls on Goku, Trunks (Eric Vale) and Goku’s middle school aged granddaughter Pan (Elise Baughman) to travel the galaxy in a Capsule Corp spaceship and bring those balls back before the Earth explodes.

I do like that it’s Pilaf that sets this whole thing in motion, even if it makes little sense.

What I like about this setup is it takes GT back to the roots of Dragon Ball and quite literally by turning Goku into a kid again. After that though things start to go down hill and rather quickly. The first dozen or so episodes are adventure focused, but the gang never really finds a worthwhile adventure I enjoyed watching. Pan is portrayed as an annoying character who is quick to get angry, especially when the crew takes on a little android named Giru (Sonny Strait). She is vicious to the sympathetic little robot and it’s like the show wants me to hate this kid. Goku, for his part, isn’t all that much better. He’s a bit aloof, but constantly complaining about being hungry. I know, we get it, Goku likes to eat and eat a lot. GT returns to that well far too often and it loses any and all comedic value. He also tends to forget how powerful he is and there were many moments where I just felt frustrated by what was going on because Goku should be able to handle it no problem. He just chooses not to. Sometimes the show will make a joke out of it, but not often. They do take away his ability to use his instant transmission maneuver as I guess they just found it was too powerful, but there’s no attempt to explain it. He just can’t do it as a kid for some reason. Trunks is more of a stabilizing presence and he’s fine in that role.

The show arguably doesn’t get rolling until we enter the Baby saga. While hunting for the Dragon Balls, the gang encounters a Dr. Myuu (Duncan Brannon) who is a total rip-off of Dr. Gero. He’s created an artificial lifeform called Baby (sound familiar?) which can absorb others and use them to gain power, but also requires a host body to reach his full potential. Baby (Mike McFarland) is born of the Truffle race, an alien lifeform that was eradicated by the Saiyans, which is a detail I actually do like. He wants revenge against all Saiyans which is what brings him to Earth. He there takes over the body of Vegeta (Christopher Sabat) and also infects almost everyone on Earth creating a sort of hive mind. It’s during this arc that we get introduced to the most memorable part of Dragon Ball GT: Super Saiyan 4.

If the show had stuck to the adventure theme it starts off with it might have been better, though it still might not have been very good.

As a concept, I like Super Saiyan 4. I don’t know if I would have designed the look exactly like the one presented here, but the idea of a Saiyan reverting to his primal ape form and then harnessing that into this new Super Saiyan form is a good one. However, I hate Super Saiyan 4 Goku. For some reason he gets extremely cocky in this form. He talks in a lower tone (think Goku Black if you’ve watched Dragon Ball Super) and just comes across like a dick. It feels so out of character for Goku who can display confidence, but not to this extent and not in this manner. He acts like the fusion character Vegito, just without Vegeta’s voice literally filtering into his speech. It was also during this arc that it really became apparent that Goku basically has one move: Kamehameha. You will get sick of hearing Goku say that long, drawn out word by the time you’re done with GT. The action is so uninspired throughout the series and seems to only get worse as it goes on. Almost every confrontation is between two fighters who are unmatched. Whether it’s Goku or the villain, someone is at an obvious disadvantage to the point where they don’t even have to take the other fighter seriously. It makes for a drama-free experience and the only thing that turns the tide of battle is basically a new power-up.

After the Baby saga comes the Super Android 17 arc which is quite brief. It’s also inexplicable because the show basically draws attention to how the character Dr. Myuu is just a Gero knock-off by having the two team-up! And their team-up occurs in Hell where for some reason they’ve been allowed to keep their bodies (it’s best not to think about continuity with this series) and create a carbon copy of Android 17 in Hell. Some how. He is apparently able to control the real 17 and get him to open a portal to Hell so all of the bad guys can escape and run amok like an episode of Animaniacs. It’s a bit of a rehash of the twelfth Dragon Ball Z movie, but without charm. It’s terrible, let’s move on.

Oh, look! Another Kamehameha!

The final arc is the Shadow Dragon one and, again, it’s a solid concept that is just not well executed. Goku (who is still a kid and will remain one the whole series) and the gang try to make a wish with the Dragon Balls only for them to break. Black smoke comes out and with it comes the Shadow Dragons. Earth has made too many wishes in a short period of time and they’re being punished for it. The writers are essentially punishing themselves for this easy get out of jail free card baked into the series. In order to set things right, Goku has to beat each Shadow Dragon and recover the Dragon Ball imbedded in them. A few have a gimmick to them that Goku has to overcome while the finale, Omega Shenron (Sabat), is just a really strong guy. It culminates in a battle that’s really drawn out and almost never interesting. It’s always one-sided. The writers also never figure out a new way to end a confrontation. It’s always a riff on something from before. They absolutely love having the other Saiyan characters lend their energy to Goku so he can power himself up which is something that only previously took place in the movies. It’s not a gimmick I have ever liked. There wasn’t one new wrinkle to come up with?

If you like Super Saiyan 4, save yourself some time and just get an action figure or learn to love it from afar.

Dragon Ball GT has the reputation of being the worst Dragon Ball series to date and it’s a well earned reputation. While I do think the people working on it had good intentions and tried their best, it just feels formulaic and too derivative of itself to be any good. There’s very little in the way of creativity and while Dragon Ball is certainly guilty of repeating itself quite a bit, it’s usually able to find some way to put a spin on things or at least be charming in the process. GT drops almost all of that charm in favor of a cookie cutter, disposable, experience. It’s ending is lackluster and just as unsatisfying as the ending to Dragon Ball Z, something I’ve never talked about in this space but is an ending I despise. I get that Goku is a bit of a dolt who just loves to eat and train, possibly in the opposite order, and we’re supposed to laugh when he just up and abandons his family to go train Uub. If Z had not created Pan and showed us how much she idolized her grandfather in those few episodes at the end of the series it might have worked for me, but instead it just makes me sad. I don’t like thinking of Goku as a selfish piece of shit, but he’s sometimes written that way. GT has a very similar ending, but since I was looking forward to the series being over it didn’t bother me nearly as much. This isn’t a good series. You’re actually way better off just experiencing it through the video games which basically gives you the Cliff Notes version of the series and lets you act out battles that are probably way more satisfying than what’s actually in the show. And if you love Super Saiyan 4, go buy an action figure or just watch Dragon Ball Daima which takes a lot of the concepts baked into GT, but actually does them well. Only watch the series if you’re like me and don’t properly value the 30 or so hours of your life it takes to get through all 64 episodes.

If you must hear more about Dragon Ball GT then here are some toy reviews you may find interesting:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Daima Super Saiyan 4 Son Goku (Mini)

It’s no great secret that the black sheep of the Dragon Ball universe is the anime Dragon Ball GT. Created in-house by Toei animation, Dragon Ball GT was a continuation of Dragon Ball Z without creator Akira Toriyama. While Toriyama had to grant approval to many aspects of the series, he wasn’t directly involved with…

Keep reading
by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta

We’re back with another action figure review from everyone’s favorite version of Dragon Ball: Dragon Ball GT! And really, the only thing people remember from Dragon Ball GT is the Super Saiyan 4 transformation. Designed to bring the Saiyans back to their more primal roots, the Super Saiyan 4 transformation is pretty much on an…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Goku

In the world of Dragon Ball, there are varying opinions on which version of the anime is superior. Dragon Ball Z is unquestionably the most popular, but there are people (like me) out there who swear by the original Dragon Ball that came before it. More recently, Dragon Ball Super has entered the fray and…

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by Joe

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March 12, 2026

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan Goku – The Games Begin

By Joe
Hey look! Another Goku!

It was around 8 years ago that Bandai released an update to their Goku body. Dubbed the 2.0 mold, the company has since created many action figures of the legendary hero since then. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the sculpt, but some aspects of it have become dated. When Bandai wanted to do an update to Goku’s legendary Super Saiyan form, the company opted to completely redo the body rather than kitbash something together. New molds have been created for the likes of Gohan, Trunks, Krillin, and others and many collectors were left to wonder when Bandai would turn its attention to the protagonist of the series once again – a 3.0 body that it could then utilize for another round of different Goku figures.

This new Goku represents an upgrade over the 2.0 body (left) by incorporating some of the design changes implemented with the Super Hero Gohan (right).

That 3.0 body has arrived. And to debut the look Bandai turned to a pretty familiar look for Goku – that of a Super Saiyan. Dubbed “The Games Begin,” this Goku is specifically from The Cell Games era of Dragon Ball Z, an era of the show and manga most would describe as the peak of the show’s art. Those rounded edges of Dragon Ball and early Z were gone, replaced with sharp angles and well-muscled super men. I’m not here to say that everyone thinks this is the best of DBZ or Dragon Ball as a whole, but if you encounter licensing art outside the show chances are it’s going to resemble this era of the anime. And the franchise has basically retained this style ever since with the most radical departures being the Broly film and Dragon Ball Daima. Perhaps coincidentally, we did get a Daima Goku prior to this one – a figure I didn’t seek out. Some of the articulation tweaks Bandai made for that figure have been carried over to this one and it seems likely that these are here to stay.

Quality control is, unfortunately, a problem here as the faces struggle to fit the hair piece leaving behind small gaps.

The main difference in stylistic approach for this Goku update is the move away from an all sculpt approach to one that mixes sculpted parts with overlays. We saw Bandai kick the tires on such a style with Krillin and the Super Hero version of Gohan. There’s basically a sculpted base body with a rubbery overlay laid over the top of that for the upper portion of the gi. It presents better, and it removes the obstacle of trying to match paints to colored plastic as they no longer have to paint the exposed flesh of the chest, but it does change how the figures articulate. The other big change is the move away from those pegged-in sleeve cuffs Goku used to sport. The portions of the gi that covered his shoulders were always plastic caps that pegged directly into the shoulder. It made articulating the arm easy, but it did look kind of odd. The biggest change though is the move from a double-jointed knee to a single-jointed one. That is basically completely new and it’s the element of this design we saw on the Daima Goku first. Goku’s baggy pants always made sculpting the double joint a little messy and the shape of the pants also limited how much range the figure could get at the knee. Someone at Tamashii Nations must have been looking at that joint and concluded “What’s the point?” If it can only achieve a slightly better than 90 degree bend then why not try a single joint that basically does the same thing and presents better?

The alternate hair is arguable worse when it comes to gaps, and mine has a defect on that center piece of hair as well.

We’ll tackle the presentation element first. This new Goku stands at approximately 5.5″ to where I estimate the top of his head would be under all of the Super Saiyan hair. He’s essentially the same height as the 2.0 Goku when the torso hinge is not extended. If you were someone who liked displaying Goku with his torso stretched to the max then this one is slightly shorter. The faces look enough like Goku while the hair shape is appropriate. The sculpt on the body is more muscled and bulky which is appropriate for this era of the show. It does give him a slightly stocky look though. When I look at individual parts and limbs, it all seems fine, but put together it just looks a little off. Maybe his legs need to be a little longer? Is the neck too thick? There is a hinge in the joint where the head meets the neck and if the head is seated all the way down it makes the issue worse. I definitely prefer it extended. The torso uses some mixed media. We have the soft, orange, overlay with hard plastic underneath it. The overlay has a softer appearance that’s slightly pale compared with the harder plastic parts. It clashes a little with the orange of the lower torso and legs as the two have a different finish. The overlay also doesn’t include Goku’s blue undershirt so Bandai still needed to paint the exposed portion of his chest. The neck, face, and arms are unpainted for the flesh tone, but Bandai got pretty close with the painted part as far as matching the bare plastic goes. Like the overlay, it just has a different finish and thus reflects light differently so there’s a noticeable difference, but it’s not as extreme as we’ve seen with past releases.

The new knees at least turned out well.

The belt is a floating piece while the wristbands are now separate and unpainted. All of the blues on the upper body are different hues which is a little strange looking, but not necessarily inaccurate. The crotch area is done the way we’ve seen Bandai do it with more recent releases like Future Trunks.. Those floating, spacers, are gone and instead we have legs with obvious thigh swivels. Bandai cuts them out on a curve and has the side of the pants run higher than the front which seems needlessly complicated. It looks better from a straight side angle, but from the front it looks worse than an old-fashioned thigh cut. The single jointed knees do present cleaner and the boots are similar to the Legendary Super Saiyan Goku. Most of the paint on this figure is reserved for the details on the boots which is clean. The rest of the paint is mostly shading on the front of the pants which is heavier near the boots and lessens as it moves up the figure’s legs. The hair is done with pale yellow plastic and shaded with a soft orange which is a nice look and probably my preferred approach for Super Saiyan hair.

It would have been nice to get an effect part. I had to take this from a past Goku.

Did Bandai knock this one out of the park in terms of a visual upgrade? Not really. The arms definitely look better without those plastic caps pegged in, but I don’t like the look of the mixed media on the torso. There’s more front-to-back bulk in the torso which was my biggest issue with the old design, but the chest sill comes across as a little flat. The knees are definitely an improvement, but the thighs are not. I really hate this approach Bandai has been using lately. He also has that weird, droopy, butt Daima Vegeta has. I’m pretty conflicted here, so let’s move on to the rest.

This new shin joint is pretty weird.
Range is better, but it can get pretty gappy.

The accessory load out is pretty basic for Goku, but considering he’s in that more budget price of $35-$38 that’s to be expected. We get four faces for this one: stoic, teeth gritting, yelling, and a smirk where his eyes have that rounded-off look to them. We also get two hair pieces in the form of a standard one and a windswept one. Unfortunately, the windswept hair I received has a chewed-up portion on the center piece of hair on the front attachment. It’s pretty awful and I don’t know if I’ll ever display this one as a result. The faces and hair also do not go together well. This is a figure out of the Vietnam factory and we’ve seen that one have issues with the finer details of its output. With this one, it’s a struggle to get the faces to fit flush on either hair piece and you should probably just try and heat the hair first to see if that helps. The spikey nature of the hair also makes trying to use force to fit them together a painful exercise. Swapping the hair is also a pain as the ball peg in the neck will likely pop out first. I was able to pull the piece out of the hair without heat, but it left my fingers in some pain thanks to those spikes. For hands, there’s a set of fists, open, two-finger pointing, clenching, and Goku’s martial arts posed hands and that’s the extent of the hands. They come off and go on with relative ease, at least.

He can at least do a pretty solid Kamehameha pose.

Perhaps even more so than the aesthetics with this figure is the articulation when it comes to its selling points. Bandai has all kinds of silly buzz words associated with it, but what you need to know is this figure articulates a lot like the Gohan figure with only minor differences. The head is one such difference as we do have a hinge in there. There’s a little room cut out of the back of the neck to help with range looking up, but it doesn’t help much and exposes a gap under the chin. He looks down well enough and I can’t tell if the joint at the base of the neck is even doing anything here. The shoulders, the biggest selling points, are hinged ball pegs that plug into a cup inside the shoulder. That cup is on a hinge as well which gets us the butterfly articulation. The arms basically pull out to the side in order to have enough clearance to come across the chest. And it works! Goku can do a fairly convincing Kamehameha. There’s also the usual bicep swivel, double-jointed elbow, and hinged ball peg wrists.

Attempts at a pair of classic Goku stances return mixed results.

In the torso, there’s a ball joint in the diaphragm and a hinge below it for an ab crunch. The range is quite good in all directions, but as we saw with Daima Vegeta it does create large gaps pretty easily. The floating belt can be manipulated to hide it some, but it only does so much. The legs can go out to the side nearly to a full split and kick forward just a hair better than 90 degrees while going back is imepeded by his long, flat, butt. The thigh swivel does what one would expect while the single-hinged knee gets better than 90 degrees of bend going back. In a pretty weird move, Bandai put a joint at the boot, but not what you would expect. Instead of a swivel, it’s a hinge of some kind. It bends maybe 30 degrees forward and I guess it’s for adjustment posing in certain stances. It mostly seems to make standing the figure harder than it should be as this joint is pretty loose. Not floppy, but there’s little resistance. The ankles are ball-hinged so they swivel, hinge forward and back, and rock side-to-side. The range going forward is pretty much nonexistent on the hinge, but the rest is fine. There’s also a toe hinge if you value that.

The Cell Saga has been pretty well represented in this line.

All in all, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. I had high hopes when it was first unveiled and visions of replacing a lot of the Goku figures in my collection with updates on this body, but now I’m not so sure. I don’t think I’ll be getting the base Goku and I definitely don’t need Super Saiyan 2 or 3 updates. I don’t really like my current Super Saiyan Blue Goku so I tentatively have the new one on preorder, but it may be one I seek out reviews on to see if some of the finer points are at least cleaned up. Overall, on the articulation front Bandai and Tamashii Nations mostly delivered here. I don’t see much reason for the odd shin hinge, but the shoulders work well and the torso has good range, even if it can get unsightly. I don’t like the head or the thighs and the thighs play a big part in the aesthetics, which I’m less sold on. The proportions and mixed media look best when posed-up, but then you have the gaps to contend with so there’s a feeling like you just can’t win with this one. The quality control issues are also not a point in its favor. The faces don’t fit together well and swapping the hair pieces is not a smooth process leaving a lot to be desired. This may be a budget release as far as the line’s standards are concerned, but it shouldn’t feel like one. And since this is undoubtedly a figure that’s going to be re-released many times over I can’t help but come away disappointed with the end result. If it’s one you want, I would recommend giving it some time. There’s a reissue going up in March and it’s possible some of the quality control issues will be addressed there like they were with Future Trunks. This is the one time where you should avoid buying from anyone who has stock at the time this post goes up and instead seek out a preorder. There are also three other Goku figures on this body due for release in 2026 (base Goku, Super Saiyan God, and Super Saiyan Blue) so maybe check those out to see if the quality gets better before committing to this one.

Interested in some of the figures referenced above? Then check these out:

Dragon Ball Daima S.H.Figuarts 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.…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Super – Ultimate Gohan Super Hero

As part of the promotion for the film Dragon Ball Super – Super Hero, Bandai released a wave of action figures from its S.H. Figuarts brand of characters from the film. The neat thing was, these releases were actually really cheap relative to other SHF releases with a MSRP of just $35. Of the four,…

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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.…

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by Joe

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

January 22, 2026

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Daima Super Saiyan 4 Son Goku (Mini)

By Joe
The little guy is back and furrier than ever!

It’s no great secret that the black sheep of the Dragon Ball universe is the anime Dragon Ball GT. Created in-house by Toei animation, Dragon Ball GT was a continuation of Dragon Ball Z without creator Akira Toriyama. While Toriyama had to grant approval to many aspects of the series, he wasn’t directly involved with its creation. I believe he contributed some broad concepts, but I don’t know the specifics or have long since forgotten them. Even though the anime is loved by few, some of its creations have endured. Namely, the Super Saiyan 4 transformation. Credited to Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru, the concept of the transformation was to return the Saiyan race to a more primal state. It’s sort of like the great ape or oozaru form seen in Dragon Ball and early Dragon Ball Z turned into its own version of a Super Saiyan. It was a drastic departure from the golden haired look of the prior Super Saiyan forms adorning Goku with red fur and returning to him his tail for the first time since early Dragon Ball.

This Goku is little, but not as little as past Goku.

When Toriyama decided to return to the world of Dragon Ball, he basically cast GT aside. I would not read much into that as far as what Toriyama felt about the show’s quality. It felt more like a case of returning to the end of Z after the battle with Buu was just the most logical launching-off point for a new story. The fact that Toriyama didn’t have an emotional attachment to the events of GT certainly helped. In his return which first began with the film Battle of Gods but quickly morphed into a whole new series in Dragon Ball Super, Toriyama (together with his protege Toyotarou) basically made the events of GT impossible to have occurred. A lot of that is due to the creation of the new Super Saiyan God power-up and its offshoots. Even so, the legendary manga writer and artist must have seen something in GT he liked because he decided to basically take its premise and turn it into the non-canonical Dragon Ball Daima.

It’s like some kid hanging out with the cool uncles he idolizes.

Daima was basically Toriyama’s final gift to Dragon Ball fans before passing on. At least, as far as we know. Like GT, it begins with the premise of a villain using the Dragon Balls to return Goku to a child, only with Daima all of Goku’s friends suffer the same fate. From there, it’s basically its own thing as the plot involves Goku and friends traveling to the Demon World to rescue Dende and prevent the new lord of the realm from amassing enough power to become a problem for everyone. It takes place in between Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super even though there really wasn’t a whole lot of time separating the two to begin with. The series began in a mostly plausible manner as far as canon is concerned, but eventually became something that is clearly non-canon. And the most canon breaking event of the series is Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan 4.

For a 90s creation, Super Saiyan 4 does have a pretty 80s looking hairstyle.

If you have yet to watch Daima (and I recommend you do – it’s great), then apologies for that spoiler, but the mere existence of this figure is essentially a spoiler. Toriyama must have liked something about the form to use it himself in his new series, or he was just throwing a bone to the fans that did enjoy it. From what I have gathered, Toriyama is responsible for the look of Super Saiyan 4 in Dragon Ball Daima, but in truth it differs little from the version designed by Nakatsuru. Goku still regrows his tail and finds his body covered in red fur, only the shade is slightly more purple than the pinkish it was in GT. The hair on his head follows mostly the same shape, but now it changes to be the same color as the fur as opposed to black. His iris now turns red instead of gold and the heavy outline around his eyes is black instead of red. The most noticeable difference is the slight alteration in proportions. In GT, Goku basically retained his normal shape, but in Daima his hands and forearms become oversized giving him a slightly more ape-like appearance. He also remains a child when transforming while in GT he literally goes from a child to an adult by transforming. I’m not sure what the rationale for that was at the time, maybe because the oozaru form is basically the same size for an adult and child Saiyan, but it’s an odd quirk of the form.

You can’t touch this one.

For the toyline, Bandai opted to release this Super Saiyan 4 Goku figure via its Premium Bandai offshoot. Like other releases in the past, this largely means it’s just a more expensive, limited, version of a relatively standard quality figure for the S.H.Figuarts line. Because Goku does increase in mass with his transformation, none of the parts created for the other Goku Mini figures are reused here. He’s also taller than those releases at approximately 3″ where I envision the top of his head being and 4″ to the highest spike of his hair. Most of the figure is colored plastic with the paint hits reserved for the bare portion of the chest and abdomen as well as a small area on the forearms. The white laces on his boots are also painted and the details of the face. Bandai did a good job of matching the flesh colors between the painted parts and non, but the linework isn’t the sharpest as there’s some overlap on the chest. The faces look fantastic while the laces are just okay as it’s white over blue. The only cheap looking aspect of the figure are those orange pants. There’s no shading on them at all and it’s unfortunate. At least a little paint around the waist might have lessened the cheap look.

He’s got some big old paws on him. They’re not quite as big as adult Goku hands, but they’re close.

The sculpt and overall proportions are very good here. At first I wondered if the hands actually could have been made even a little bigger, but in returning to the anime it looks pretty accurate. The length of the legs and torso look good and the hair sculpt is great. Like many other releases in this line, the hair is quite sharp and pointy so do be careful when posing or swapping faces. I do enjoy the oddball nature of the Super Saiyan 4 transformation. I’ve always liked the concept of the Saiyan harnessing their primal side in a focused, contained, manner. The switch from black hair to red is also one I approve of as the black haired look of the old transformation always created a bit too much of a contrast for me with the reddish fur. The redesigned proportions also work well here, especially on the kid version of Goku. It actually adds a little cuteness to the design and it’s hard not to draw a comparison to the video game character Tomba.

Sorry Vegeta, I don’t have an appropriate bad guy for him to fight so you’re going to have to take one for the team.

The expressions included offer a nice range for this character. We get a cocky smirk, stoic, teeth gritting with a side eye, a yelling, and a more exaggerated yell. They all seem to serve a purpose and it’s hard to resist the cocky expression. The face-printing is all excellent with some nice linework between and under the eyes. The paint is clean on the teeth and inner mouth for the yelling expressions. For hands we get a mostly stand array with fists, chops, martial arts posed, open, and Kamehameha hands. There’s also a set of hands for the standard Goku Mini (which would also work with the Super Saiyan version) that have little, translucent, yellow, orbs in them like a blast about to be fired. There’s also an extra, right, Kamehameha hand with a flame effect molded into it. This effect is done with translucent orange plastic with a hit of yellow paint. It’s intended to connect to the effect part – a Kamehameha blast. The blast is made of translucent blue plastic with hits of white. There’s also two translucent, orange, flames encircling it for a neat look. There’s an included post in clear acrylic to help it stand and it keys into the effect hand in two ways allowing the hand to be on top or under. I found getting the hand onto Goku as well as the post into the blast difficult without heat pretty difficult, but keying the two parts together is simple and effective. It’s probably the nicest blast effect part I’ve yet received from Bandai topping Beast Gohan’s beam cannon.

He comes with two of these little ki blast hands for the previous Goku Mini.

Goku’s articulation is mostly the same as the prior mini versions, with some differences including one that was a bit odd. He has the usual joints in the usual spots: head, neck, shoulder, butterfly, bicep, elbows, wrists, diaphragm, waist, hips, thighs, knees, ankles, and tail. The very small size can make utilizing some of these joints tricky. The diaphragm, for one, is hard to work independent of the waist and the butterfly joint sometimes doesn’t move as far as it looks like it can. The head is pretty locked down by the hair, but he can turn his head some and look down. The two, lower, rear pieces of his hair do move, but it doesn’t really free anything up much. The front pieces that come over the shoulders are not independently articulated like they were with the GT figures. The tail is just a ball peg and loves to fall off which is annoying. The elbows are double joints, but they don’t bend past 90 degrees due to the forearm size. The knees are single joints. The wrists were the most surprising part as they are just ball pegs. There’s no hinge so the hands just move on that ball, and for the most part, only rotate. I haven’t really missed the hinge, but it was a surprise to see. Range at the hips is pretty typical of the line, but he does have a diaper piece now so there’s some restriction. He won’t do anything truly spectacular, but he seems to be able to hit the key Goku poses.

I almost hate it when an effect is this good – how could I possibly display him without it?

This release is a pretty typical Premium Bandai release. It’s a good sculpt with good enough articulation. The accessory load-out is slightly better than a general release item while the price is higher. This one was $70 plus $10 shipping so he was essentially an $80 figure. That’s pretty steep for a figure of this size. It’s not as if much more went into it when compared with the $35 Goku Mini so a value buy it most certainly is not. It was exclusive though so if you want it now it will likely cost you even more. I do like the figure and I like this look for Goku. That’s the main motivation for buying it. If you like this version, then you’ll be content with the figure. It won’t blow you away, and I feel like I say that a lot more often these days with Bandai, but it won’t really disappoint either. Unless you end up paying $130 for it or something, then it might let you down because it certainly isn’t worth that.

For more Daima and Super Saiyan 4 goodness, check these out:

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 GT Super Saiyan 4 Vegeta

We’re back with another action figure review from everyone’s favorite version of Dragon Ball: Dragon Ball GT! And really, the only thing people remember from Dragon Ball GT is the Super Saiyan 4 transformation. Designed to bring the Saiyans back to their more primal roots, the Super Saiyan 4 transformation is pretty much on an…

Keep reading
by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Goku

In the world of Dragon Ball, there are varying opinions on which version of the anime is superior. Dragon Ball Z is unquestionably the most popular, but there are people (like me) out there who swear by the original Dragon Ball that came before it. More recently, Dragon Ball Super has entered the fray and…

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by Joe

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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

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October 3, 2024

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

By Joe
The son of Goku who dresses like Piccolo.

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 of his entire race? It is said that Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama gave consideration to ending things there, but doing so would have meant not following through with Goku’s son, Gohan. Plus it would have meant giving up untold millions in future Dragon Ball related products.

They’re a posse.

The story did continue and is technically still continuing to this day, though that aspect is a bit more muddled than ever before with the passing of Toriyama. Goku would survive his encounter with Frieza and return to Earth to take on a new challenge: Cell. As for Gohan, he had been introduced at the start of Dragon Ball Z as a gentle child with an incredible power hidden within. It was the type of power that only surfaced when Gohan was driven to extreme bouts of anger usually as a result of his loved ones being put in a position of danger. Both Gohan and Goku are what one could describe as gentile souls, but both view fighting from very different perspectives. For Goku, fighting is a thrill and a challenge. He wants to be the best and always improve just for the sake of doing so. For Gohan, fighting is an obligation. It’s a tool and the sort of tool one only turns to when it’s needed. If Gohan did not have to fight in order to protect those he loved then he likely wouldn’t fight at all.

I don’t have a Cell Saga Goku so this will have to do.

During The Cell Saga of Dragon Ball Z, Goku decided to train Gohan in order to meet this new challenge head-on. And it was during that year long training session that Goku discovered that his son had the potential to become even stronger than he was. He kept this discovery to himself, but it manifested in an extreme feeling of confidence in his son’s abilities. He may have overestimated them a touch, because while Gohan may be even stronger than anyone he stands against, he lacks the polish of a seasoned fighter as well as the killer instinct to finish what’s been started.

To my surprise, these are two completely different figures.

This latest action figure from Bandai and Tamashii Nations depicts Gohan as he was when emerging from that training session with his pops. He’s attained the level of Super Saiyan and physically he’s matured quite a bit from the little kid he was on Namek. And even though he spent his time training with his dad, he opted to honor his first trainer in martial arts, Piccolo, by sporting his purple gi and white cape. This figure naturally lends itself to comparisons with the previously released Super Saiyan 2 Gohan from later in his battle with Cell. Bandai just re-released that figure last year with a new deco as one of its convention exclusives. If you expected this new figure to share parts with that one though you would be mistaken. Even though it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, this new Gohan is actually a little smaller than that one standing at around a tick under 4″ to the top of his face. His legs are shorter as is his torso and he’s a little more slender too. None of the parts from that figure have been recycled for this one. That’s both a good thing and a bad one as it means we get updated articulation with this figure, but you can’t swap heads and hands between the two.

Team Shorties.

As you probably have surmised based on that description, this Gohan is a bit of a dainty figure. He’s short and slight and one of the smallest overall figures in the line. Bare in mind, I don’t have the past Kid Gohan figures to compare him with, though I do have Kid Goku and Krillin. He’s taller than those figures, though they’re practically a different scale on their own. He’s most similar to Fourth Form Frieza as that’s a short, slender, figure. Krillin is similar as well, though even he’s a bit chunkier. Plus that dome is massive. The presentation is pretty typical though. The hair is a soft yellow with just the tiniest hint of shading. The flesh is pale, as Super Saiyans are often drawn, and the gi is purple plastic and it too has just a touch of shading on the front of the shirt and pants. It’s so faint that it’s barely noticeable. The only other paint is reserved for the face while the belt, wrist bands, and boots all appear to just be colored plastic.

I like the expressiveness of this scared or worried look, though I don’t know if I’ll ever really use it.

For portraits, Gohan has a decent assortment. There’s the neutral expression he comes equipped with plus a similar one that just features large eyes. That one has almost a scowl for an expression and I’m puzzled why Bandai didn’t just go with a smile? It feels more appropriate for the larger pupils. There’s also a teeth gritting expression, a yelling face, and one where he looks alarmed. That last one features some battle damage and I think it’s supposed to represent the face he makes when the head of Android 16 winds up at his feet. It’s a solid assortment of faces, but it’s a bit surprising there isn’t a more exaggerated scream with his eyes closed and tears running down his face to capture the moment he transforms. There’s also two head sculpts for the hair: one that’s neutral and one that’s windswept. It looks nice, but part of me looks at it and thinks that if Bandai was going to give us two hairstyles, why not just give us Super Saiyan 2?

The cape is going to lock the head down, but it does make him look pretty cool…

Gohan also has an assortment of hands. For sets, we get fists, flat palm, wide open, clenching “Kamehameha,” and a more nuanced clenching set. I’m not really sure what that last set is going for, maybe a reaching out kind of expression? I like them though and subtle differences are nice for hands. Lastly, Gohan also comes with his shoulder pads and cape setup. Unlike Piccolo or the Super Hero Gohan version, this cape set uses soft goods in conjunction with plastic shoulder pads. The fit is a little snug, but manageable, and it mostly looks fine. It feels like it’s just cotton and there is a wire running all around the edge. It’s not a very large cape though so it won’t pose much. The difference in material is noticeable, but I suppose it’s better than the plated, articulated, capes, though I understand those who do not like mixing materials in their displays.

Come on, Gohan! Get mad!

Gohan is constructed in a manner similar to his adult counterpart from the Super Hero film. I guess this would be considered the 3.0 body? I don’t know, though it’s not entirely the same. The head is on a double ball peg, which is nice, though it’s a little floppy. He’ll hold his pose, but perhaps not as well as he should. The neck is on a ball joint as well and is slightly gappy, but not out of the ordinary for the line. Between the two joints, Gohan has solid range save for looking up which is typical of these figures. The shoulders are ball pegs and the setup is very much like adult Gohan and Krillin. It’s not a true butterfly, but the small nature of the figure means he has decent clearance coming across the chest, but not much going back. The sleeves are basically a floating piece. They get in the way sometimes, but it’s not too cumbersome. Bicep swivels, double elbows, and wrist ball-hinges all work as expected and do what they’re supposed to.

You’re going to have to provide your own energy effect or steal one from another figure.

At the waist is a ball and socket joint and that’s it for the torso. If there is anything under the gi I can’t tell. It rocks forward and back a bit, but Gohan is not going to move as well as some of your other SHF figures. He will kick forward extremely well and can also do splits out to the side. He does have the butt cheeks sculpted on so kicking back doesn’t work well. The thigh twist is setup like other recent figures such as Future Trunks and adult Gohan which isn’t a look I love. They stick out too far, though either it’s less an issue here or it’s just the smaller figure that hides it somewhat because it’s not as bad on Gohan as it is with Trunks. The double-jointed knee will bend a bit past 90 degrees and at the ankle is a twist, hinge, rocker, and toe hinge. The range on the hinge is pretty poor, again a repeated issue of the line, while the rocker is solid. The toe hinge is what it is.

If you’re a big time collector of DBZ figures then chances are your Cell Saga display is much larger than mine.

All of that is to say that this version of Gohan is a pretty solid figure, though maybe not the most impressive. It’s a simple approach of a character with a simple design. The accessory loadout is good, though it’s lacking an energy effect or a Super Saiyan 2 portrait (I know, they’re saving that for a likely future release). The only real issue I have with this figure is the asking price of $65. This is a general release item, not a P-Bandai release, and $65 feels a little steep. I even forgot that it cost that much and assumed it was $50 until I went back and checked it out before writing this up. I guess we’re paying for the soft goods? I don’t know, Bandai’s prices have been creeping up so maybe this is just their new, non-Target, release price. I guess if you like this version of Gohan you’ll probably get it just for that. Those looking to construct a smaller collection might prefer to wait for a new Super Saiyan 2 version.

We have more from Dragon Ball Z’s Cell Saga:

S.H.Figuarts Piccolo: The Proud Namekian

When the S.H.Figuarts line was launched years ago and Dragon Ball Z was at the forefront, it wasn’t Goku who got to be the first figure out of the gate. Nope, it was Piccolo. That figure caught my attention when it was announced even though I had not purchased a Dragon Ball figure in quite…

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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.…

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by Joe

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

September 26, 2024

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Full Power Frieza

By Joe
He’s a hard guy to get rid of.

Frieza is the villain from Dragon Ball who just refuses to die. His initial battle with the heroes of Dragon Ball Z spans a whopping 30 episodes! Thank goodness that DBZ was a weekday show or else it would have taken more than half a year to see Frieza get taken down. And that’s just talking about the actual fighting, he’s a presence prior to that with the show teasing that this diminutive, effeminate, character is the most powerful being in the universe. And if the confrontation wasn’t long on just a straight episode count, it felt even longer because Frieza has a series of transformations to undergo before reaching full power. I guess since his underling, Zarbon, had a transformation of his own Frieza couldn’t stop at just one. No, he had four distinct forms to cycle through and the one he spent the most time in is his ultimate form – his fourth form. It’s become the most recognizable form of Frieza ever since, and since DBZ action figure collectors want every version of every character, Bandai has cycled through all four for its S.H.Figuarts line.

My Frieza collection could easily be twice the size of this, but I think I’m good for now.

That is, all except for the unofficial fifth form. I say unofficial, but it’s very much official as he does this in both the manga and anime, it’s just not a transformation on the same level as the other forms. Frieza’s full power form is basically his final form during his battle with Goku and it’s a bulked-up version of his fourth form. The whole fight, Frieza keeps teasing his foes that he’s not even using the full might of his awesome power so this bulky version is basically meant to signify that, yes, Frieza is finally going all out. I don’t think it’s ever been retconned to be a suboptimal form similar to the super bulked out Trunks we’d see in later episodes, though when Frieza returns in Dragon Ball Super he’s rarely depicted in such a fashion. And he definitely fares better against the might of the newly transformed Super Saiyan Goku while fighting this way so he doesn’t appear to be sacrificing any speed, though he does ultimately fall.

“Oh Frieza, you’re so swole!”

Naturally, since Bandai has covered Frieza’s first four forms (and his golden one from later) it made sense to just do this Full Power Frieza and consider the villain complete. The figure was sold via the Premium Bandai website in 2023 and has recently started showing up for those who ordered it. This is the extremely buffed out Frieza that I suppose some have always wanted. There’s a part of me that finds this look for Frieza a bit ridiculous. I think the villain works best when he looks somewhat less imposing than most, but packs a lethal punch. I felt the sculpt on display in the renders looked pretty damn spot on though and I tend to like chunkier action figures. It also will pair well with the Legendary Super Saiyan Goku (and even includes an accessory for that figure) release from 2022 and as one of the most iconic confrontations in Dragon Ball Z it felt like a worthwhile addition to the collection.

Frieza has a terrific sculpt, but more shading and paint detail on the battle damage would enhance this figure so much.

Frieza in his full power form comes in the usual box which features a nice window and a bunch of product shots. This one comes courtesy of the Vietnam factory, which has had some hiccups in the past, but appears to be on-par with the stuff we see coming out of China at this point. Frieza stands a shade under 5.25″ which makes him taller than the Fourth Form Frieza, but not as tall as Goku. As promised, he is very bulky. The neck is wider than the head, the shoulders are massive spheres, and the upper body especially is huge. It’s an over-the-top character design that Bandai and Tamashii Nations have done a great job at bringing to life. The purple areas are very glossy, as one would expect, and the white areas have a hint of a blue wash for a little depth. There’s veins and battle damage sculpted all into the body in various places. The articulation is numerous, as is typical of the line, but this figure does as good a job as most in hiding it as best it can. There aren’t any weird spots or massive gaps. The base of the neck is perhaps the one area that could be a little less gappy, but it’s not as bad as the recently released Vegeta.

“Stand back, Goku! I’ll take care of this monster with my Destructo Disc!”

Aside from the blue wash, paint is fairly minimal. The faces are all printed on exceptionally well and nothing appears misaligned or sloppy. There’s black in the ears as well as the finger and toenails. The purple spots appear to mostly be inserts of colored plastic except for the shins. The right shin on my figure is perfect, while the purple on the left is a bit sloppy around the edges. It’s the only real blemish I can find across all of the parts. His tail has also been chopped off at the end and there’s paint on the stub. I like that there’s a slight wash applied, but I do wish Bandai would try painting the sculpted-in battle damage. In the show and manga, those hatch marks are always black or black and red. By leaving them unpainted in the sculpt they’re almost invisible from the shelf and only apparent in-hand. Their sculptors do such a nice job that it’s a shame to see such detail almost go unnoticed.

“What?! He…he…has two?!”

In typical fashion, we do get a large assortment of optional parts with Frieza. For hands, we have a set of fists, clenching, open, flat palm, and open hands with peg holes in the palms. The peg holes are for two, pink, disc effects that have a nice buzzsaw edge and are done on translucent plastic. They plug into the hands, though the posts on them are not glued in so don’t be surprised if the peg stays in the hands when removing them. It’s not really a big deal since those hands only exist to work the effects so as long as one end stays inserted in another it’s fine with me.

The pegs for the disc effects may start in the discs, but they’ll probably come to live in the extra hands.

For portraits, Frieza comes with his standard cocky smile as the default one. The other expressions include a grimace where one eye is more narrow than the other, a teeth-gritting expression, and a yelling head. I’m surprised the grimace doesn’t feature one eye closed entirely as I think that’s where he ended up during the course of battle. He also has a portrait for Legendary Super Saiyan Goku that’s meant to simulate him getting punched in the face. I wish we had the same for Frieza. There are also two clenching feet that can be swapped with his flat feet. The feet can be tough to remove and I had to heat them in water. Without that, the whole ankle assembly was popping out. The hands swap easy enough while the heads can be a little tricky. The factory went with a standard double ball post and it’s a bit of a snug fit for most of the heads. This means that when removing them you may find the neck comes off the figure instead. I’ve been able to manage by making sure I pinch the neck when pulling a head off, but it can be a little frustrating. If you’re having trouble, heating the head with some hot water first would probably do the trick.

Probably the only comparison that matters.

Articulation for Frieza is largely what one would expect, it was just always a question of how effective it would be given the design of the character. I mentioned the double ball for the head and the ball joint at the base of the neck. His neck is so thick that the joint at the base of it will do most of the heavy lifting. The joint at the head is mostly for rotation and a little nuance while the neck will provide your up and down. The ball joint in the torso is going to further help with getting the character to look up while also adding a little crunch, rotation, and tilt. The purple plate in the middle of his torso will limit the crunch a bit, but it is on a hinge so it can move out of the way to some degree while the ball joint at the waist allows for further crunch forward and back. The shoulders are on butterfly joints which have some decent range coming forward, but very little going back. More room could have been cut-out to do so, but I guess someone didn’t want to break-up the sculpt. There’s some play on the shoulders to move up and down and the hinge will bring them out about 90 degrees. Bicep swivel is fine and the double-jointed elbows go a little past 90 degrees before the bulkiness prevents more range. Standard ball hinges at the wrist work fine.

If you like seeing Goku get punched in the face then you’ll like this extra accessory for Goku.

The hips feel like the normal ball-hinge setup. They can just about hit full splits going out to the side while kicking forward is no problem. At about the 90 degree point, the leg will want to go out from the body a bit because the crotch piece, but it will keep going higher. Because of Frieza’s narrow butt, the legs can kick back, but out to the side. There is a thigh swivel and I think the sculptor did a very good job of keeping it tapered as much as possible. Some more recent figures have looked a little goofy in that area. It will pop out from under the crotch piece when manipulating it, but you can slide the top edge of the thigh swivel under that for a more streamlined appearance. The double-jointed knee, like the elbow, will only go a little past 90 because of the bulk. The ball hinges at the ankle work okay, but the shape of the ankle and feet can make the more nuanced stuff a little harder. The tail, which does not come on the figure, connects via the standard hinged ball. It will rotate and has some play on the hinge. It’s mostly for adjustment posing, but it can also function as a third support, if need be.

“I have finally triumphed over you, monkey!”

Frieza is probably going to pose well enough without knocking anyone’s socks off. The butterfly could have been done better, but I don’t know that I disagree with the approach. The accessories are pretty solid as well and it’s always a plus to get energy effects. I do think we needed at least one pointing gesture since that’s such a common way for Frieza to attack. I don’t remember the flat palm gesture playing a role in the fight, but I haven’t watched it in over a year. I do lament the missed opportunity to not include a stump for his left arm and a similar thing for the base of his torso. Frieza got all cut up while fighting Goku and it would have been pretty amusing to be able to display him as he was at the end of that confrontation. He would have required some kind of stand as well, but honestly, every Frieza should have a stand. He, more than most characters from DBZ, is often hovering or flying as opposed to standing.

If ordered last year, Full Power Frieza would have set you back $85 plus shipping (which is usually $10). That’s not a cheap price for an action figure, especially one with so little paint. It’s not grossly out of whack with S.H.Figuarts releases, though he’s definitely not one of the better values. Is it worth it? I like it enough, and it helps that I spent that money roughly 9 months ago so it’s been gone for awhile. What will suck is the cost to acquire the figure now that the sale has been closed. I guess if you just somehow missed this and really need a Full Power Frieza to complete your collection then you’ll pay what you have to. For anyone else, it might be better to admire from afar because I’m guessing the secondary market is going to want somewhere in the neighborhood of $125. If you can get it down closer to $100, it might just be worth it. It’s a fine figure. I love the sculpt, I like the articulation, and there’s some good display options here. With a little more effort and creativity it could have been a truly special release, but as-is it’s probably good enough.

If you want some figures to pair with Frieza, here are a few:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z – Mecha Frieza

When you have an action figure line as long in the tooth as the Bandai/Tamashii Nations Dragon Ball Z line from S.H.Figuarts, you tend to find some pretty obscure characters making the jump to plastic. Characters that may have existed for a blink and you miss it kind of moment, but when one’s collection already…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Vegeta 24,000 Power Level

When a toy line is as long in the tooth as Bandai’s S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z line, producers tend to start looking in all of the various crevices of the property for new material. We recently looked at a figure that did just that in Mecha Frieza, a version of the chief villain of the…

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by Joe

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April 8, 2024

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Super Son Goku Ultra Instinct – Toyotarou Edition

By Joe
Still Goku’s most powerful form.

It’s sort of interesting to me that the first Dragon Ball action figure I review after the passing of creator Akira Toriyama is one based off of the artwork of his protege – Toyotarou. Toyotarou basically lived the dream of fanfic artist and writer turned official. It’s rumored that he worked on the fan-fic manga Dragon Ball AF, though I don’t know if that’s ever been confirmed or refuted, and he was the artist and writer for Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission. All of this work within the Dragon Ball universe must have put him on Toriyama’s radar for it was he who selected Toyotarou to be the artist for the Dragon Ball Super manga.

This figure comes in a much larger box than usual.

As a celebration of Toyotarou’s contributions to Dragon Ball and to also celebrate 15 years of S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball releases, Bandai decided to release this special Toyotarou edition of the previously released Ultra Instinct Son Goku figure from Dragon Ball Super. The figure has been outfitted with new face plates to better reflect Toyotarou’s art style, which really isn’t all that different from Toriyama’s. The main feature seems to be narrower eyes which have a different sharpness about them. Toyotarou was also able to influence the expressions we have here and the figure received a slight re-deco to more reflect the colorization of the manga vs the anime. To cap it off, this release comes in an oversized box which also includes a book. Titled the Dragon Ball S.H.Figupedia, it catalogs all of the figures released in the line and also includes some short interviews and quotes from the people who are closest to the line. The only omission of note is Toriyama himself which is a bit of a shame. Maybe Dragon Ball action figures just weren’t his thing?

And the box is much larger than usual because it has this book all about the S.H.Figuarts line.

The figure itself is a reissue so it’s going to be pretty familiar to anyone who has the old figure. It’s also familiar to really anyone who has purchased a Goku from this line. For me, I never got the initial figure and there’s actually a lot more “new” here than I would have expected. He does share a lot of parts with one of the Goku figures I have and that’s the Super Saiyan Blue Kaio-Ken edition. Both figures feature the same legs and arms, though for this figure the hole for the sleeves in the shoulder has been removed. The belt piece is different since it needed to include the tattered remains of Goku’s blue undershirt and the torso is completely different since this Goku is bare-chested. Basically every Goku uses the same hands and feet while the heads are obviously completely different. I believe the main hair piece is the same as before too, though it may have been modified for these new faces as these key-into the sculpt in a unique manner from what I’ve been exposed to.

There’s certainly new stuff here, but from the waist down these two figures are the same
Ultra Instinct lends itself well to simple, calm, posing.

Goku stands at roughly 5.75″ to the top of where his head should be. The hair is a nice, pearl, silver and it’s an opaque piece of plastic, not translucent like some special edition figures we’ve seen. The ears on all of the faces are slightly larger as that is something Toyotarou feels is a part of his take on Goku and I honestly wouldn’t have noticed if he didn’t point it out in the included interview. The facial details are very sharp and crisp as this continues to be a real strength for the line. The torso and arms have sculpted battle damage, but no paint to bring them out. There is a slight wash to the torso and shoulders, a soft pink or orange which does give the figure a nice bit of warmth. It’s not on the rear of the torso which looks cold as a result. There appears to a hint of a dark wash to the pants which I mostly notice in the crotch and at the tips of the frayed parts. Otherwise, paint is mostly reserved for the wrist bands, boots, and some of the exposed flesh of the legs. The colors match well throughout and I am still quite fond of this torn gi sculpt. All in all, a nice looking version of Goku.

I’m really digging this eyes closed portrait.
They never stood a chance.

The different faces and hair help to bring this figure to life. Out of the box, Goku has the silver hair that most resembles the shape of his natural hair, but he also has a windswept version to swap to for action shots. Both look very nice and it will be hard to settle on a display for very long. His default face is a stoic one, but he also has a yelling portrait, side-eye, clenched teeth, and an eyes closed option. The eyes closed option is pretty damn cool and suits this form rather well, though it’s hard to turn-down how expressive the opened eyes are. I’m not normally into the side-eye options, but this one is like a glare. Whoever is getting the side-eye treatment from Goku is really pissing him off. For hands, the usual assortment is at play here: fists, martial arts posed, Kamehameha, and open. Nothing really special there and no effect part was included. That’s the only downgrade from the initial release which had a charging blast effect. It would have been nice to get one of those, though we have received quite a few of late. Really, a new aura would have been awesome as Ultra Instinct has this thick, almost syrupy, silver aura at times in the anime. It would have been fun to see Tamashii Nations attempt that.

The wind swept hair is a nice touch.
Maybe I should have grabbed Jiren after all so this Goku would have someone to battle?

The articulation for this Goku is virtually the same as the many other Goku figures we have received over the years save for the most recent Legendary Super Saiyan version which is on an all new body. I’ll link to some at the end of this entry if you want the full write-up, but suffice to say it all works just as well here, if not better. And it’s only better because there’s no shirt to have to deal with, but that was never a huge hindrance anyway. He actually can’t bring his arms across his chest any better than other figures and maybe a touch less. You just don’t have the sleeve flaps to fiddle with which is nice. I also can’t tell if there is a hinged peg setup in the diaphragm or if there’s just a little play on joint itself. It doesn’t lift as high as the other Goku figures, if so, but the clearance is fine and you get some forward and back articulation. It’s a well articulated Goku and the only things I dislike is the hinged ball peg at the head and the ball peg ankles.

Goku’s determined face.

The included book is basically the flagship accessory for this figure. Is that better than a blast effect? Yeah, kind of. Only because the book is unique and pretty well done. There isn’t anything truly revealing in it, no earth-shattering details about the development of the line or anything like that. It’s mostly just a celebration of the line and the product shots inside are all from the various solicitations we’ve seen in the past. I was hoping for a tease or maybe a reveal at the end of the book, but there’s nothing like that in it. It basically includes up to the Mecha Frieza figure, which is about to be released, and nothing beyond that. In terms of figures that have been revealed, it’s already out of date, but it probably would have been impossible for that to be avoided unless they had prototypes available for photography well in advance of the solicitations. Perhaps they could have done something to future-proof it a little via concept art or renders, but it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. It’s fun to flip through and the quality is pretty standard stuff. It’s 143 pages and in full color. There’s a dust cover on it, though it is a soft cover book. I like stuff like this so this was a selling point for me. Some people might not care and want more out of the figure for 80 bucks.

The book should be pretty fun for those who have been into this line for years.

The Ultra Instinct Son Goku – Toyotarou edition is a solid release for Bandai and Tamashii Nations. The figure captures the Toyotarou aesthetic rather well and I think it’s an improvement over the original release. It just stinks for those who missed out on that figure and wanted this one and had no interest in paying for the book. The figure doesn’t come with a whole lot and is basically like a 50 dollar release for the line meaning you’re paying about 30 bucks for the book and fancy packaging. When the first edition of this figure came out I wasn’t really sold on the Ultra Instinct design so I passed on it. I’ve warmed to it a bit since so I was happy about this new version as well as the included book. Yeah, I do wish there was an effect part or something else in the box, but I’m fairly content. I’m curious how many more Goku reissues on this body are to come. It feels like we’re on the verge of Bandai moving to a new body for the star of Dragon Ball and I’ll be curious to see if that does indeed happen. This figure was a Premium Bandai exclusive where the MSRP was $80. It’s sold out so if you want it you will have to track one down elsewhere. Maybe you’ll be able to get it for less if you don’t want the book? More likely, it will cost you more.

You like Goku? We’ve got Goku:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan 3 Son Goku

I believe I have touched on it before, and it’s also probably common knowledge among fans of Dragon Ball, that the story was supposed to end with Gohan’s triumph over Perfect Cell. Goku was dead and gone having sacrificed himself to save the world, but his son would carry on his legacy in his own…

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by Joe

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March 29, 2024

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan Son Goku – Legendary Super Saiyan

By Joe
At long last, the legendary Super Saiyan has shown itself!

I can remember a time in my life when I was just dying to see Goku, the hero of Dragon Ball Z, become that which was prophesized: a Super Saiyan! The seed for such a transformation wasn’t planted very early in the show and really only started being mentioned as the original version of the English dub was nearing its end, but it only took a cursory search of the internet to find out what a Super Saiyan was. Unfortunately, Dragon Ball Z wasn’t the hit FUNimation hoped it would be and that original direct-to-syndication order of a hacked-up 65 episodes was where it all ended for a long time. Only after interest was rekindled as we approached the new millennium did FUNimation go back to the localization process. Finally, on October 18th 1999, the legendary hero who was prophesized appeared on US airwaves (more than 8 years after doing so in Japan).

Goku’s initial Super Saiyan transformation was captured in plastic years ago by Bandai and Tamashii Nations. Dubbed “Awakening Super Saiyan,” it was one of the first releases in the S.H.Figuarts line to really catch my eye. I didn’t get it though, nor did I get the World Tour re-release of the figure which came out last year (or late 2022, I can’t remember). Unlike many of the convention exclusive releases in the line over the past few years, the World Tour edition of Super Saiyan Goku did not go up for preorder on the Premium Bandai website. It seemed an odd decision, but I think it was done because this particular figure we’re talking about today went up for preorder around the same time.

Not the proper Frieza to pair with this Goku, but give it time.

Super Saiyan Son Goku – Legendary Super Saiyan is a brand new release that features Goku from a bit later on in his fight against Frieza. The upper part of his gi has been obliterated at this point and his pants are in tatters. The more memorable aspect of this Goku though is just how damn big he got as that fight went on. He is positively jacked, similar to when he overdid it on the Kaio-ken against Vegeta, and his hair somehow seemed to get bigger too. I’ve always wondered if this is how series creator and artist Akira Toriyama envisioned the Super Saiyan transformation at first, then once he decided to make this something basically every Saiyan in the manga could do, decided to dial it back. With Goku as massive as he is against Frieza, there really wasn’t any other place to go with the Super Saiyan look when the characters needed to blow past that barrier. Vegeta in his ascended, buffed-out, state when he takes on Cell isn’t any bigger than Goku was against Frieza.

Look at that smug bastard.

Nonetheless, Goku looks pretty cool during the closing moments of his battle against Frieza and it’s high-time the look was captured in plastic. And since the base 2.0 Goku figure was feeling long in the tooth, it’s just plain nice to get a Goku that’s essentially all new parts. Even stuff like the hands and feet appear to be new tools. When Bandai revealed this figure in early 2023 it quickly rose to the top of my most anticipated figures for the year. I’ve had it for awhile now and since I’ve been buried under SHF releases ever since 2023 ended, I decided to let this one simmer. I didn’t want to review it when it was too new because maybe recency bias would play a large role in how I felt about it. It was even a bit of good fortune that I stumbled into that Super Saiyan 3 Goku because I got to go from this new figure, to an older Goku, and then back to this one. And after all of that I now feel pretty comfortable in declaring that this is one of my all-time favorite releases in the S.H.Figuarts line.

He even has optional bangs, more of a flying pose I think. They’re a bit gappy though especially around the sideburns.

Let’s start off with the details. Goku stands at around 5.35″ to the top of his face and roughly 6.75″ to the top of his hair. This puts the figure at about the same height as past Goku figures with the main difference being he seems to have a slightly shorter neck, but taller hair. It’s probably more accurate to say his neck isn’t any shorter, but that his traps are much bigger giving off the appearance that his head sits a tad lower. And bigger is definitely the name of the game with this Goku as every part of his body has been blown up for this release. Arms, chest, back, thighs – they’re all noticeably larger in size. Even his feet are bigger and there’s sculpted-in battle damage all over the figure. It’s in the form of lines, or cuts, but they’re only sculpted in. I’m surprised there’s no paint wash to bring them out as from a distance they’re hardly noticeable. Of course, if you collect this line then it’s not a big surprise as Bandai isn’t known for its paint apps. The paint on this figure is limited to light shading on the hair (my preferred approach to Super Saiyan hair) and shading on the pants which makes them brighten the further down the leg your eye travels. The boots have some yellow trim and red rope and the details of the face are painted. The paint all looks pretty good, the yellow on the boots could have been more saturated, but there’s not much to speak of.

He also has this alternate hair and bangs combo for when he’s really getting mad.

The sculpt is what is going to win people over with this figure. The hair is huge, but it’s appropriate for the character. The torso is rather messy to look at because of all of the articulation cut into it, but it’s not to such a degree that it’s an eyesore for me. Some may feel differently, but I like what I see. The belt is a floating piece and the tattered remains of the upper part of the uniform are part of the sculpt and it looks really nice. I love the gradient of the orange on the pants and how much it lightens near the bottom. It almost creates the illusion of a glow, an obvious necessity for a Super Saiyan Goku. And I mentioned it before, but it bares repeating, that this is my favorite approach to Super Saiyan hair. It’s molded in the same pale yellow we saw the Super Hero Gohan Super Saiyan head come in, but with some light air-brushing of orange on the front to give it depth. There are no metallic or translucent parts. My only complaint is that his sideburns aren’t part of the hair sculpt so you get an ugly seam with certain looks, but at least the standard bangs hide it.

He does look pretty nice with an aura behind him.

That’s not to say that everything is perfect with this version of Goku. You may have already noticed in my pictures that his chest is a different color than his arms and abs. Depending on your lighting, it’s going to be more obvious. I went with warm lighting waiting until the moment I had the maximum amount of sunlight I was going to have with a mix of white and incandescent light sources. It’s a bit more subtle, but if I had gone with pure white light it would have been even more noticeable. The issue is caused by the factory using a harder plastic for the chest, likely ABS vs the PVC we see elsewhere, which is a shame because I don’t think it needed to. It’s basically a hard overlay, so why not just use the same material as the arms, neck, etc.? My guess it’s a standard operating procedure to use harder plastic for this part of the figure, and no one bothered to try to something else. The other eyesore, for me, is that the pants are real busy around the crotch area. I like the torn parts, but they’re very poofy beneath that giving him a diaper look. Other figures of Goku taper in at the waist and the baggy pants don’t start to flow out from the leg until closer to the knee. This is largely caused by how Bandai has been doing its thigh twists recently and we saw the same with Trunks. I’d like them to stop as we’re not gaining better articulation with this setup, just poofy pants.

Here is where an actual blast would have been nice. Note how from a more head-on angle how the alternate hair also is hardly seamless along the hairline.

This figure also comes loaded with extra stuff. We’re used to getting a wide assortment of hands and 3 or four faceplates, but this Goku comes with even more. For hands, we get a set of fists, martial arts posed, open, clenching, Kamehameha pose, and Kamehameha posed with pegs. The hands all appear to be new sculpts. They have a sharper, more defined, appearance with more pronounced fingernails and bone structure which look really good. For expressions, we get four: smirk, stoic, clenched teeth, and yelling. In what is a unique turn of events, we get two hair options and two bangs options. The standard hair is how Goku looks throughout most of the fight with a collection of bangs hovering over his eyes. The secondary bangs piece has most of the bangs angled up except one piece. I could be wrong, but I think this is how he looked when flying or shooting off a blast. The secondary hair piece has all of his hair shooting up like he’s powering-up. It works great with the yelling face and any aura effects you may have, though the seams around his face are more pronounced with this option. The bangs do come off of this one as well, but they aren’t interchangeable with the others.

We now have a lot of charging Kamehameha effects, but few actual blasts. I only have the itty, bitty, one that came with kid Krillin.

Lastly, we get a charging Kamehameha effect. It’s pretty much the same effect part we’ve been getting a lot lately. For me, this is number four following Super Saiyan 4 Goku, Orange Piccolo, and the Super Saiyan 2 Gohan/Super Saiyan Ghost Goku set. This one is done in a very light, translucent, blue plastic with some white airbrushing on it. It has seven, acrylic, posts that clip in and it can be pegged onto either of the hands with the posts sculpted on. This version feels a little sturdier than some of the other ones I’ve received and plugging in the posts was a lot easier. It’s still a cool and appropriate effect, it’s just a little less special after the fourth one. I’m a little surprised we didn’t get an aura with this release, but recently Bandai unveiled a new aura effect that’s going to be sold with some other effect parts. There’s also a “getting punched” faceplate coming with the new Full Power Frieza so this is one of those releases that will get built out a little more in the future.

All of the extra stuff is wonderful to have, but I was really curious how this Goku would articulate. The older, 2.0 Goku has its issues that are getting harder to overlook as time goes on and this figure represents a chance to push the form forward. And in many ways it does, though it’s probably due less to new approaches to engineering than it is to the figure not having certain limitations to work around such as clothing. The head is on a double-ball peg and there’s a nice range of motion there. The hair isn’t as cumbersome as you may expect, and once combined with the ball joint at the base of the neck, you get all the range a Goku could want. The shoulders are ball-hinged and they peg into a ball and socket joint inside. This means you can raise the arms out to the side on just the hinge which will take the arm past 90 degrees, then use the ball peg inside the torso to raise the shoulders even higher. There is a butterfly joint which allows the figure to bring the arms inside the shoulders so the palms of the hands are practically touching, though it doesn’t let the arms go back very far. The biceps swivel, double-jointed elbows, and ball-hinged wrists all work as well as expected.

A gathering of Goku. Comparing the look of the torn pants on this release to the Kaio-ken version is like night and day.

The torso features a diaphragm joint. It may not be the prettiest in the world, but the joint at least works okay. It feels like a ball joint and it’s best at giving the figure a pivot point and some side-to-side motion. Going forward and back in a crunching motion is limited, but the ball joint at the waste at least helps there, but the ab crunch isn’t significant. At the hips, Bandai went with a soft, rubbery, overlay that goes over the crotch and above it. It’s almost too small to refer to it as a “diaper” because it doesn’t cover any of the thigh. This means it’s very flexible so Goku can kick forward past 90 degrees and also kick back and push on his butt cheeks for added range. Out to the side is no problem, though you may have to finagle the leg in such a way that the thigh slides under the overlay for full splits. The belt will sometimes pop off the sculpted indent on top of the pants, but it’s not too hard to get back into place if it’s even something that bothers you. The knot pegs into the belt and is able to rotate. There is a thigh swivel, though it’s more like a pivot as the range is probably in the neighborhood of 45 degrees. The knees will bend past 90 degrees, but not much beyond that due to the way the pants are sculpted. At the ankles, Bandai finally ditched the ball pegs it had been using for Goku figures and instead gave us nice ball hinges. They still attach via ball pegs so you can pop them out a bit to increase the range. They’re a bit more finicky when it comes to getting them in the best position for stances on your shelf, but much more rewarding than the old setup. The toe hinge is also still present and it’s fine.

This figure is just a couple tweaks away from perfection. The unfortunate thing is that such tweaks are not budget-related, just execution, illustrating how it could have been even better with just a little more effort.

I don’t know if there is anything on the older Goku figures that works better than it does here. I suppose kicking back, but that’s probably it. The articulation cuts in the torso are certainly cleaner on the past figures, but the added cuts here serve a purpose and it’s one they do well at achieving. I don’t think it’s on the level of an Amazing Yamaguchi release where the articulation is so plentiful that it’s ugly, but I can totally understand the person who doesn’t love the aesthetic of this one too. Best of all, the joints are nice and smooth. This is another release for Bandai’s Vietnam factory and it’s, by far, the best figure I’ve handled that has come out of there. The Super Saiyan Trunks – The Boy from the Future was plagued with quality control issues. Not the sort that ruined the figure, but the kind we’re not accustomed to seeing out of Bandai. This figure possesses none of those faults and if it wasn’t printed on the box I would have assumed that it came out of China.

After having this figure for about two months now I have to say I like it more now than I did when I first opened it. This is quite possibly my favorite figure in the line at this point. I’m not even sure which figure even comes close to topping it. Prior to getting this one, I hadn’t really given much thought to which release in this line was my favorite. I really like King Piccolo and I tend to enjoy the figures with more mass. Nappa may have been my favorite, though it’s definitely for the aesthetics and not the articulation as the shoulder pads on him are really cumbersome to work with. Super Saiyan 4 Goku and Vegeta were two that surprised me in how good they are, even if I find the look of that transformation to be so bad it’s good. This Goku however, hits it out of the park. It looks great, moves great, and comes with plenty of stuff. I mentioned an aura effect was almost expected, but I don’t mind its exclusion. If there had been a flight stand though that would have been awesome and really helped push it over the top. In the end, my only real gripes concern the fit of some of the hair pieces and the dis-colored chest piece which are both two things I can overlook. They basically bump it down from a 9.9 to a 9.5 if I were grading on a 10 point scale. If you collect Dragon Ball Z action figures, then this is definitely not the one to miss.

Akira Toriyama April 5, 1955 – March 1, 2024

Postscript: In between writing this and it going live we all received the stunning news that Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama had passed away at the age of 68. The entire manga/anime community mourns his loss and his impact can be felt across the globe. What a remarkable legacy. I have no doubt that the characters he created will live on in some capacity, but they’ll never be quite the same again. This must have been what it felt like when Walt Disney died. R.I.P.

I really enjoyed this release, but I also really liked these ones too:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball GT Super Saiyan 4 Goku

In the world of Dragon Ball, there are varying opinions on which version of the anime is superior. Dragon Ball Z is unquestionably the most popular, but there are people (like me) out there who swear by the original Dragon Ball that came before it. More recently, Dragon Ball Super has entered the fray and…

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by Joe

S.H. Figuarts Piccolo Daimaoh (King Piccolo)

Before there was the noble Piccolo, trainer of Gohan and ally of Goku, there was the evil King Piccolo. Known as Piccolo Daimaoh outside of the US, King Piccolo was the evil purged from the namekian Kame, who would assume the role of guardian of Earth in the world of Dragon Ball. Piccolo was the…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Nappa – Event Exclusive Color Edition

When it comes to my S.H.Figuarts collection, I’ve been able to largely keep to just Dragon Ball. And by Dragon Ball, I mean the original anime and manga that centered on a young boy named Goku. Even though that’s my favorite edition of the venerable series, it doesn’t mean my favorite is the one shared…

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by Joe

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February 26, 2024

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan Son Goku & Super Saiyan 2 Son Gohan Exclusive Edition

By Joe
Time to do this father-son style.

We are now past Valentine’s Day and I’m ready to close the book on San Diego Comic Con 2023. The last action figure exclusive to look at is the two-pack of Super Saiyan Goku and Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. Dragon Ball Z has been around for a long time and has given birth to many iconic images whether it’s Goku and Vegeta squaring off or Goku’s initial transformation into a Super Saiyan or any others. One of the top ones is definitely Gohan finishing off Cell with what has been dubbed the Father-Son Kamehameha. Gohan, bloodied and with his left arm just hanging limp at his side, summons the strength to muscle-up one last blast with his father urging him on from beyond the grave. Goku appears as a spirit behind him as if he’s providing his own blast alongside his son. Whether it’s to be taken literally or not has never been really clear to me, but it’s a dramatic moment and definitely a fan favorite.

Did you think I was going to make you wait until the end?

For Comic Con 2023, Bandai released a two-pack that has shockingly never happened before. A battle damaged Super Saiyan 2 Gohan and a “ghost” Super Saiyan Goku so collectors can essentially reenact that moment as part of their collection. It comes in an oversized box with a black and purple deco and the photography on the box makes it obvious what moment this represents. The window only shows Gohan which almost makes Goku feel like it’s a surprise, or a glorified accessory. Both figures are re-releases of past ones. We’ve seen this base Goku body many times before across several iterations of the character. Gohan is also a re-release, though it’s an older figure and one I’ve never interacted with before. Initially, I was only going to get the event exclusive Raditz, but this release just looked too cool and it earned my $95.

I’ve suddenly found myself with many Gohans.

Let’s talk Gohan first since, as I mentioned earlier, Goku feels more like an accessory here even though he’s a full-fledged action figure. Gohan is, as the box states, in his Super Saiyan 2 form and his purple gi is all tattered and torn. There’s some battle damage painted onto his flesh in places, but no blood. He’s a young teen so he’s much smaller than his father and stands about 4.25″ to the top of his face. He follows some past event exclusives by featuring translucent, yellow, plastic for his hair which has been brushed over with a pearlescent, gold, paint. It’s a pretty heavy coat of paint so it’s actually hard to tell that there’s any translucency to the plastic, but it’s there and it looks pretty nice. I don’t know if I prefer it to painted, yellow, plastic, but it’s fine. The face printing looks sharp and is likely updated from the original release of the figure. Bandai did a good job matching colors the rest of the way, and it helps that the upper body is cast all in flesh-colored plastic. The only painted flesh are the exposed knees. The rest of the paint is fairly minimal. The gi is painted and there’s a darker purple for the inside portions of the torn parts. There’s a little shading around the knees, and then there’s the battle damage. It’s limited to the chest, face, and left arm and I’m surprised there aren’t any cross-hatches on his right arm, but it looks good and at least it isn’t overdone.

I also now have a pair of Super Saiyan 2 boys.
Gohan is a wee bit small for the aura effect.

For optional parts, Gohan has four portraits: stoic, teeth gritting, yelling, and an even bigger yell. The two yelling are certainly pretty similar, but it’s hard to argue anything is missing. For hands, Gohan has a set of fists, open, relaxed, Kamehameha, and Kamehameha hands with pegs on them. And if you get those blast effect hands with pegs, that usually means you get some kind of blast effect and that is true of Gohan. He comes with the charging, Kamehameha, effect. It’s done in translucent, light, blue plastic and consists of a small sphere with slots in it to accommodate seven, acrylic, posts. It’s an effect we’ve seen a few times and it seems like it’s becoming a favorite of Bandai as I think I have four of them now. This one seems lighter in color from the one that came with Orange Piccolo and doesn’t feature any shading. It felt a little softer too and the posts are more finicky, but it’s still a useful accessory.

“G-Gohan?! Is that really you?!”
This Gohan has proven really fun to mess around with. Too bad he’s going to just occupy one pose on my shelf.

When I ordered this set I didn’t really think much about Gohan as a figure because, like I’m guessing most people, he only needs to hit one pose and that’s it. To my surprise though, this is a wonderfully engineered little figure. I’m finding myself really charmed by it and if I didn’t want him on my shelf in his iconic pose he’d make for a great desk figure to fiddle with. His head is on a hinged ball peg, which isn’t my favorite setup as you need to keep track of which way that hinge is going to make use of it. I didn’t mention it in the aesthetics, but I love that the faceplates do not include the sideburns so the fit is seamless. The heads get some tilt, rotation is fine, and there’s a joint at the base of the neck that lets him look up and down, though if you want him to look as far up as he can it will create a gap at the base of the neck. The shoulders are hinged ball pegs and the range is terrific. Gohan’s arms go up past horizontal. The ball peg in the shoulder allows for the arms to come forward and across the chest pretty far. It’s not a true butterfly joint, but since the figure’s chest is so small the clearance is fine. There isn’t much in the way of a floating piece or cap to hide the joint which might turn off some, but it doesn’t bother me at all.

He’s coming for you, Cell!

In the arms, we get the usual biceps swivel and double-jointed elbows which go past 90 degrees. The hands are on hinged ball joints and they work fine. The diaphragm has what feels like a single ball joint that lets Gohan tilt a bit to each side. It only pivots rather than provides for rotation and there’s no forward and back. The waist has a ball joint which rotates and goes forward and back enough. The legs will kick forward past horizontal and kick back almost as far. They don’t go out to the side for full splits, but it’s better than 45 degrees. There is a thigh swivel in each leg and the knees will go a little past 90 degrees. The sculpted tatters interfere a bit. The ankles are the only articulation point I dislike. I think it’s just a ball peg, but Gohan has these sculpted boots that Bandai apparently didn’t want to break up so they’re one, solid, piece except for the toe hinge. They’ll go forward a bit on the ball joint, but not back very far. The ankle rocker is pretty poor, but the toe hinge is at least done well.

Technically not the first dead Goku figure in this line. Or even the second.

That’s Gohan, which means we’re only halfway through this one because we still have to talk about Goku. This Goku is essentially the Super Saiyan Full Power Goku, only now he’s sculpted in blue, translucent, plastic. There’s some darker blue paint for things like his boots and shirt and his face is printed on as well. Some parts of the body are more transparent than others as there’s some air-brushing over his pants. It’s a cool looking figure though and puts any Marvel Legends Iceman to shame. The only parts that aren’t translucent are joints like the knees and the inner part of the butterfly joints, but they don’t stand out in an ugly fashion. He looks great. It’s a figure I never felt like I needed and I still feel that way, but if you’re going to do it it’s hard to imagine it being done better than this.

The translucent effect is pretty neat, but you will want to hide the few non-translucent parts, like the elbow joint, if it can be helped.
This Goku may look different, but he’s still plenty familiar.

Like Gohan, this is a figure that basically only needs to do one thing, but Bandai still outfit him like a full figure. Goku comes with three portraits: stoic, yelling, and teeth-gritting. The printing looks pretty good considering it’s on translucent plastic. If anything the white of the eyes are too opaque, but it’s good that they stand out. For hands, he has the usual Goku assortment: fists, Kamehameha, open, martial arts posed, and a set of Instant Transmission hands. All of the extras are probably good for those who want to have a little fun with their toy photography, but he only needs those Kamehameha hands for me. Articulation is the same as all of the other Goku figures. It’s fine, with some areas showing their age, but he can do what he needs to. The joints are all nice and firm, but not overly tight.

Don’t worry guys, Goku will be watching over you. Always watching…

Like I said, this set just needs to be able to hit one pose and it does. It actually does it even better than I would have expected. This is a great release as an event exclusive. It’s a variant of two of the most popular characters in Dragon Ball Z and it’s centered on an iconic moment. It’s a wonder that Bandai hasn’t done more of this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to come. There are plenty of other spots they could look to, and in a way they’ve already started by including certain extra parts and accessories with some figures. They orchestrated Vegeta defeating Android 19 by including a new portrait with 19 and the upcoming full power Frieza comes with a new face for Legendary Super Saiyan Goku. I’m curious to see how far they go with this and it’s a natural path considering they’ve released damn near every major character at this point. As for this release, it was an event exclusive that Premium Bandai put for preorder on its website. It’s been made and distributed, but they may unload extra stock on another retailer so keep your eyes opened if you missed out. I like it enough to recommend it even at a mark-up, but certainly don’t sleep on it because it’s only likely to go up.

We’ve got plenty more from the world of Dragon Ball to talk about:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Orange Piccolo

When Akira Toriyama set out to draft the plot for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero his original goal for the film was to take a favorite character of his and give him an upgrade. That character was Piccolo who had basically been left behind by the likes of Goku and Vegeta way back at the…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Son Gohan Beast

Last summer, fans of Dragon Ball were treated to a new movie: Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The intended purpose of the movie seemed to be to take two somewhat forgotten characters in Piccolo and Gohan and give them a makeover. The manga and anime Dragon Ball Super has basically been a story about Goku…

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by Joe

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February 19, 2024

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Event Exclusive Raditz and Son Gohan

By Joe
The beloved nephew and uncle duo.

I’ve been getting a little taste of July of late in the dead of winter as not one, not two, but three action figure exclusives from San Diego Comic Con have arrived at my door. That’s because the nature of the exclusive has changed over the years. Why make a limited number of something and sell it at one location when it’s something a lot of people want? As a company, you’re just denying yourselves more sales and letting resellers reap the rewards. That is why Bandai has been making its event exclusives available to non-attendees when it comes to most conventions. The lone exception thus far as been last year’s World Tour version of Son Goku Awakening Super Saiyan, a re-release of Super Saiyan Goku from the moment where he first transformed. And I think the only reason why that one was kept exclusive to the events and store fronts it was sold at is because shortly after a similar, but new, version of Super Saiyan Goku was put up for preorder (we’ll be talking about that one in due time).

Vegeta: ”I’m surrounded by idiots.”

When I first got into Dragon Ball action figure collecting I intended to only get my favorite characters. This was back in the early 2000s when Irwin Toys had the license. One of their earliest figures was Raditz, and since he wasn’t a favorite of mine on par with the likes of Vegeta and Piccolo, I passed. Then as more figures came along I got caught up in the frenzy and just started buying everything and only passing on the figures I felt turned out exceptionally poor. I regretted not getting that Raditz in the end and for some reason I didn’t consider that when it came time for Bandai, via the Premium Bandai route, to do its own Raditz. I hemmed and hawed, but at the time I was (stop me if you’ve heard this) just getting my favorites. Fast forward a few years and my collection is bigger than I intended. While I have never gone full completist or anything, I do have my favorite arcs and such from the manga/anime and Raditz represents a hole. The same was true of Nappa and thankfully he got a re-release via the convention route. Now, it’s Raditz’s turn.

Raditz is a pretty big boy. Here he is between some Piccolos.

Raditz comes in the event exclusive packaging which is just the standard package, but with a two-tone approach. In this case, it’s orange on black. This version also comes with a buddy, or rather a foe, in nephew Gohan (more on him when we get to the accessories since that’s essentially what he is) though it isn’t a moment specific release since at that point in the fight Raditz had some battle damage. And since Premium Bandai is intended to be a one and done affair, Bandai couldn’t just re-release Raditz with some new accessories. No, he necessitated a new color scheme. In both the manga and anime, Raditz had black armor with dark brown shoulder pads. When Bandai made its first Nappa figure, it featured the same color scheme as that’s how he appeared in the manga and his first appearance in the anime. When the event version came around, it meant Nappa could have his anime colors from when the Saiyans land on Earth. Raditz, unfortunately, has no real other look so he’s recolored to have light brown shoulder pads. It’s not accurate to the show or manga, but beggars (i.e. me) can’t be choosers.

Raditz could really mess with some folks if he dyed his hair blond.

Raditz stands a tick over 6″ to the top of his portrait and considerably taller when you factor in that giant mass of hair he’s got going on. He has his scouter, which features a blue lens now, and the muted brown shoulder pads and other plating over dark navy, almost black, armor. The scouter is removable, but only so you can swap the faces. There’s no replacement ear if you want to go without the Scouter look since Raditz never took it off. The hair is pretty damn huge, as expected, but done in a more simpler manner when compared with Super Saiyan 3 Goku. It’s thinner and lighter so it isn’t the impediment to standing that it is with Goku, which I guess is why we don’t get a flight stand for Raditz. In addition to the color change on the armor, the bands Raditz wears on his left arm and left thigh are now silver instead of red. It does pair well with the white piping of the armor, though I wish they had just left it red. One advantage this release has over the original is that the faces are using the new printing process recent DBZ figures have featured so they look very nice. My lone complaint is that they didn’t do the portraits in the same manner as they’re done for Vegeta with much of the front hair part of the face. This means there is an unsightly gap between the hair and sideburns. It’s a small thing, but we are talking about an $85 figure.

I think this cocky expression is going to wind up being my preferred look.

As is customary with S.H.Figuarts releases, there isn’t a ton of paint on Raditz. There’s basically no shading and the paint is reserved for the trim work on the armor and the bands on his arm and leg. What’s there is pretty clean. His skin tone is on the pale side, but I think that is to differentiate it once more from the first run of the figure. It looks good, but it’s also a bit of a shame for those with the old one since I think these faces are a slight improvement, but probably would look off when placed on the old figure. The joints are colored pretty well and don’t feature any extreme differences from the softer parts, a problem we’ll be talking about on another SHF release in the not too distance future.

This face, on the other hand, is definitely the worst.

For accessories, Raditz gets a solid complement of faces. We have a stoic/grumpy face, a smirk where he’s giving a side eye, a yelling face for when he’s angry, and a perplexed/surprised face for when he spies an unexpected power level on his scouter. Unfortunately, my stoic face is not aligned properly and his eyes (in particular, his left eye) is printed partially over his eyebrow which makes his pupil all but disappear. I reached out to Bandai about a potential replacement, but they send the error essentially wasn’t “bad enough” to warrant any action on their part. I guess they don’t take the “Premium” part of their store too seriously. For hands, he’s got a set of fists, open, and clenching. His left hand was a bear to swap as the joint kept coming apart at the forearm, not the wrist, so I had to hit just the fist to get it off. The other hands are also tough to get one snug and may need some heating up.

I like the idea behind the crossed-arms piece, but it just doesn’t work with this figure.

We get two versions of his tail. There’s the “belted” version that goes around his waist and an extended version. The extended version has a bend to it and I suspect that’s so Goku can grab it, provided you have a Goku with gripping hands (I don’t think I do). He also has a crossed-arms piece like many a cocky fighter before him. The arms can disconnect at the bicep and the crossed arms piece can be inserted. It’s a piece that’s never fun to put on, and with Raditz the shoulder pads and his incredibly spiky hair cause some issues. I mentioned that Raditz is easier to stand than Super Saiyan 3 Goku, but he’s still not as easy to stand as other figures in the line. For that reason, he actually has a panel on his back that can pop off and there’s a replacement part that features a port for a stand. We saw something similar with Piccolo, though Raditz required the adapter so it can get around the hair. You basically take any stand, remove the claw, and it can slot into that for easy posing.

This is easily the most paint I’ve ever seen on a SHF figure.

The big accessory Raditz comes with is, of course, his nephew Gohan. Gohan is a mostly static figure and it’s depicting him when he emerges from the Saiyan pod to confront his dear uncle. Unlike Raditz, this little guy is fully painted because he’s basically a slug figure. The paint is done quite well as the emblem on his shirt is clean and there’s even little tears under his eyes. Gohan has an angry expression, but he also has a second faceplate which features his eyes closed like he’s smacking into Raditz. There is a tiny bit of articulation at the head which is on a ball and the ponytail is as well. Now, I lamented that Raditz doesn’t come with a flight stand like Super Saiyan 3 Goku, but there is one in the box. It’s here for Gohan though. Yeah, it probably would have been a little greedy to expect two, but it is what it is. Gohan needs the stand because he literally can’t stand on his own given the sculpt. It would have been cool if he was supplied with a second lower half that you could pop out so he could stand, but if such a thing were at the expense of the stand then I guess I’m fine. If you don’t value the Gohan much, you can just leave him in the box and give the stand to Raditz, but I personally can’t see myself doing that.

Take that, you mean old space man!

Raditz being a bulky character in Saiyan armor isn’t the most poseable of figures. He’s pretty similar to Nappa when it comes to restrictions, only now you have to deal with that big mass of hair. The head is, like SS# Goku, on a hinged ball peg and there’s another ball joint at the base of the neck. This gives the figure solid range at the head looking in all directions, and since the hinge is behind the face plate, you’ll always know which war it’s oriented. The hair curves away from the body in such a way that it provides for more clearance than one might have expected. There’s also a joint maybe a third of the way down the hair to give it a little nuance. The shoulders are hinged ball pegs and they lift out to the side beyond 90 degrees as the shoulder pads are on hinges and lift out of the way. Those shoulder pads are a nuisance with the crossed-arms piece though and getting them to stay flush with the chest armor is damn near impossible (even the glamour shots feature a gap). The biceps swivel and that’s all good while the double-jointed arms are a bit too beefy to go much past 90 degrees. The hinged ball joints in the wrists are pretty standard, but the design of the Saiyan armor restricts the range pretty severely.

If you switch to the extended tail you technically gain another point of articulation.

In the torso, we get a ball joint. I’m not detecting a hinge in there so it just goes forward and back a bit. There’s some rotation and tilt, but do be mindful of paint rub on the abdomen when doing so. The waist does rotate a little bit, but it’s pretty minimal, while the armor bits down here are all hinged as well. There’s a decent chance they’ll pop off repeatedly when fiddling with this guy, but try not to get too frustrated. The hips go out to the side maybe 45 degrees, so no splits for Raditz. They kick forward nearly 90, and go back a bit. There is a thigh swivel and it’s incorporated into the sculpt rather well and the double-jointed knees, like the elbows, only go a little past 90 because of the chunky anatomy. It’s one of the better looking knee joints as a result since there’s no gapping present. The ankles are restricted like the wrists, but you get a bit of a rocker and they’ll move forward, but not much back. There’s also a toe hinge, if that’s something you value. It’s not a good one though as it doesn’t stay flush with the sole of the boot.

“Ah hahahaha! Need a hand, green man!”

Raditz is a bulky figure and mostly moves like one. His biggest issues from an articulation standpoint stem from the design of the Saiyan armor. Bandai hasn’t really come up with a good way of doing it as the hinges just don’t work very well. Yes, they’ll get out of the way for certain poses, but it looks stupid when there’s this big gap between the chest and shoulder. They almost need to be on a track instead so then can slide back and create the illusion that the armor is bending. Or, Bandai should just supply different shapes that plug in. That would probably be the most aesthetically pleasing approach, but it would probably be more expensive. Though given the amount of characters that wear this style of armor, I think they’d be able to make their money back. It would also provide for a reasonable excuse to reissue the Ginyu Force, and since they’d be a little different from the original P-Bandai releases, it’s something they could do without betraying the intent of that service. My figure did have a fairly loose left hip joint. I popped the leg off and found it was drowning in some kind of a lubricant. It wasn’t a clear oil, but more like Crisco as it was a milky color. I ran some dry Q-Tips through the hip and leg and it’s much better now. If yours is loose you may want to take a look for yourself.

“What?! His power level is rising?!”

Despite some qualms I have with this figure, I do mostly like it and I think it’s a great representation of Raditz. Yes, the colors are no longer anime accurate, but they’re close enough. If the armor had been a carbon copy of Nappa’s then it would bother me more, and really the only thing that bothers me are the red bands now being silver. Everything else looks great and the little, in-scale, Gohan is a fun inclusion. I wish we could get more of these slug style figures for the various kids and little guys in the show because the articulated figures of Kid Goku, Krillin, and others are way too big. The bad portrait is a definitely a bummer though. Some could wave it off as not a big deal since he has other display options, but we’re talking about an $85 release. That shouldn’t happen, and for a company in this business to just throw their hands in the air over it does not engender much consumer loyalty. For whatever reason, I’ve always been drawn to the design of Raditz so I’m glad I finally gave in to my own wants and picked up a figure of the character. Maybe this means we’ll now get a new Goku from this fight with a special, snap-on, Special Beam Canon to reenact one of the most iconic shots from the anime? I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t happened yet, but we also still haven’t received a Kamehameha Goku vs Vegeta’s Galick Gun style of release so there’s still plenty of iconic moments left wanting and it wouldn’t shock me if Bandai gets to them all some day.

If you’re interested in more S.H.Figuarts releases then I got you covered:

S.H.Figuarts Piccolo: The Proud Namekian

When the S.H.Figuarts line was launched years ago and Dragon Ball Z was at the forefront, it wasn’t Goku who got to be the first figure out of the gate. Nope, it was Piccolo. That figure caught my attention when it was announced even though I had not purchased a Dragon Ball figure in quite…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Nappa – Event Exclusive Color Edition

When it comes to my S.H.Figuarts collection, I’ve been able to largely keep to just Dragon Ball. And by Dragon Ball, I mean the original anime and manga that centered on a young boy named Goku. Even though that’s my favorite edition of the venerable series, it doesn’t mean my favorite is the one shared…

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by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan 3 Son Goku

I believe I have touched on it before, and it’s also probably common knowledge among fans of Dragon Ball, that the story was supposed to end with Gohan’s triumph over Perfect Cell. Goku was dead and gone having sacrificed himself to save the world, but his son would carry on his legacy in his own…

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by Joe

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