Bandai recently released their latest addition to the S.H. Figuarts Dragonball Z lineup: normal, black haired, adult Son Goku. We’ve had multiple Super Saiyan Son Goku’s, but never a normal one. I held out for a normal one. Yeah, we all love blond-haired, powered-up Goku; he’s cool and powerful, but, let’s face it, regular, plain old Goku is the winner. And now that we have him, I have to start officially collecting these.
Goku is my second S.H. Figuarts Dragonball Z character. Last fall I lifted Piccolo off Indy for a pretty penny. I knew back then these were great figures, and now that I have Goku, I can confirm these are great figures, fantastic figures, maybe the best action figures ever made. OK, that’s going too far, but I like them quite a bit.
Back in college I would hit Keith’s Comics and Lonestar Comics and pick up these great vinyl and model kits of Dragonball Z. The vinyl kits were awesome to look at, but I wanted the articulation. When Bandai released their Full Action Kit Series in 1995, I was all over these! I loved the combination of model kits and action figures! Sure, the rubber clothes were funky, but who was I kidding! I got rid of them years ago, which is OK now that Bandai is releasing some of the best action figures ever!
There is nothing new to the sculpt of Goku. It’s been seen before on the Saiyan versions. The head sculpt is new and it’s great! The hair! The hair! We love the hair! And the faces! They are perfect. I’m really impressed with Bandai’s sculpt; it looks great vanilla, captures the anime and manga looks, and pops on a shelf. I love posing him with Naruto and Luffy.
The articulation is perfect. Holy crap, is it good. Goku can just about do any pose that you can think of, replicating all your fun manga, anime, or video game poses! I’m just gonna repost the Naruto articulation here:
Ball toes
Hinged feet
Ball ankles
Hinged ankles
Double knees
Swivel thigh
Hinged crotch
Ball hips
Ball waist
Ball abs
Double ball neck
Hinged jaw
Movable inner mouth
Double ball shoulders
Swivel bicep
Double-hinged elbows
Swivel forearm
Swivel wrist
Ball wrist
Swivel hand
Ball hand
Dragonball Z colors pop. There is something about that orange and blue color scheme that is simply fantastic to look at. It’s pleasant, pleasing, and happy. Whether posed or vanilla, these are great display pieces.
My son is playing Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z on the PS3 and is enjoying the hell out of it. So much so that we started watching the anime. And now he and his older brother want all of the S.H. Figuarts Dragonball Z figures. I gave them the “money doesn’t grow on trees” speech about it, and they looked at me quizzically, as though I were speaking some strange language. Then they proceeded to do the “It’s Raining Money” dance around me. *sigh*
Goku here is a winner and must have for any collection! You can pick him at:
