May 2022 was rough... real rough. Just when I thought I got things in order so I could carry on with my life, which included some quality time with some figures that had been sitting here. Then COVID hit... yay me. Recovery was fun, to say the least, and arguably its still not over yet. So this pile continued to sit there and mock me... taunting me. Now that more stuff is making its way here, it was time I took care of these before the pile got even bigger.
First up, SSJ4 Son Goku. The Dragonball GT series was not exactly beloved by the fandom, and to this day I've not watched a single episode of the series. I remember even back in the day, people from Hong Kong were telling me that GT was the biggest waste of time ever. Keep in mind, this is the series that made Toriyama come out of retirement and redeem the franchise, as it were. Still, the damage was done and you can't take some things back, such as the character designs from the series. Having said that, SSJ4 Goku was a highly anticipated S.H. Figuarts release, as it was the first entry of the GT series.
Content wise, no real surprises per se - you get the figure, some expressions, hands, though actually having an energy attack effect is nice. I'm not entirely sure this wasn't recycled from another figure, but I'll take it. I'm pretty sure the lower body and tail were reused from somewhere, and probably the face plates were likely repainted.
In terms of the final product, there's nothing outstanding out SSJ4 Goku in that it meets the generally high bar set by the modern Dragonball Figuarts body, Good, but not perfect articulation in the limbs (along with two points of articulation in the bangs, though strangely no middle of tail articulation). Build quality and Paint are of the usual standard for this line up, so no surprises there. All-in-all, it's just nice to see a very competent SSJ4 Goku figure, and based on the fact that Vegeta was just announced, I guess they're probably going to go ahead and do them all - this will be an interesting learning opportunity for me, as I'll probably get interested in a figure, and learn more about them and the GT series on the whole.
Next up, we have Krillin 2.0 - Earth's Strongest Man. I have yet to find a single Dragonball fan that doesn't like Krillin. The guy has been around since the original Dragonball series, and has accomplished many things, including surviving multiple battles and getting real friendly with Android 18. Truly impressive for an Earthling (especially by Dragonball standards).
This figure was highly anticipated because the only other Krillin, up to this point, was the original released back in the 1.0 line up, and prices were getting up there. Then Bandai announced this new release and nobody cared anymore.
In addition to the usual body, face, and posing hands, Krillin comes with his Destructo Disk energy effect, as well as a hand with Senzu Bean sack. Based on photos I've seen of the 1.0 release, I believe the contents of this set are superior, or at the very least, on par.
Much like SSJ4 Goku, Krillin is a solid release, embodying all of the strengths of this line. Unlike Goku, however, the glow up effect of being a 2.0 is very evident, in that if you compare this to the original figure, aesthetically and articulation wise, this one is far superior to the first one, where as for Goku, the best you could do was compare it to some very outdated figures or at best, the Dragon Stars release. As a collector, the release of Krillin was definitely something that was highly rewarding.
Finally, we have Kefla, a new character introduced in the Super series. Released as a Tamashii Web exclusive, she came with a fancy brown outer box. Kefla, as a character, is a Potara fusion of two Saiyan female fighters, Caulifa and Kale. First female Saiyan fighters, first all female fusion, I suspect they released her as an Exclusive in order to the raise the price and generate better returns.
Price point wise, it wasn't anything too exotic - $62 USD was what MSRP is. Content wise, you get about what I'd expect, with the loss of standard parts made up by the fact you not only get the one energy ball effect, but you also get the dedicated Gigantic Burst charge up effects. You also get a crossed arm effect, which is always nice to have.
Now, I wish I could go on the record and say Kefla too, met the generally accepted standards for Figuarts releases. She meets 2 of 3 of the criteria, namely she's built and painted to the level I'd expect from this line. The Gigantic Burst effects in particular look quite nice, and even the slightly loose shoulder joints (for the attachment of the crossed arm parts) doesn't bother me. What annoys me to no end, however, is the articulation. I don't understand why Tamashii Nations decided to skimp out on her hip joints, opting to preserve lines rather than adding a bit of bulk and allowing for the ability to actually pose her legs properly. Because of the design choices, you really can't get much more leg motion beyond what you see in that last pic, which is kind of annoying considering that this is a FIGHTER, and really ought to be able to pull off more dynamic poses with the legs.
So there you have it - short and sweet. With the exception of Kefla, all pretty much were what I expected, and that's not a bad thing seeing as how the line is overall, quite well made to begin with... presuming you can stomach the price. I really don't get why they'd shortchange Kefla in the hip articulation department.
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