If you collect Dragonball figures, chances are you have at least two Goku's in your collection. There's just so many of them, particularly for the Dragonball Z line, that place the character at a specific point in time. It's kind of like picking your favourite costume for Chun Li in Street Fighter 6. Some of these moments are so iconic that the figures ell out almost instantly, with the aftermarket prices doing stupid things shortly thereafter.
Such is the case of Shirtless Goku. I don't have a photographic memory of shows I've watched, but I don't think he's only done it one time. However, I do remember its most memorable application, namely the fight with Frieza on Namek.
As such, while it's not the Awakening Goku that everyone was scalping (from Cell Games), I figure I needed a battle damaged version in my collection and preordered it.
Retail price on this is $65 USD through Tamashii Nations/P Bandai, so at least it's still available, though admittedly I went through Japan as usual. As such, it's not priced as an entry level figure (understandable given the fact this isn't your standard body in a Gi situation) but at the same time it's not priced as high as the more exotic ones are.
Contents of the set are the usual mixture of old and new parts. From what I can tell, when it comes to the actual figure only the hair is recycled, and I believe the additional hair with no drooping bangs is new as are the faces. The hands and Kamehameha effect, well, I don't think I need to explain too hard that they've been used over and over again.
Right out the box, Goku looks like the beast he is. Of course, he was more swole those days as the Super Saiyan form meant Goku went swole. Battle damage looks good with some nice jagged edges for ripped clothing (no functional sharp points, so don't worry). Sculpting of the musculature is on point as always.
While Goku figures generally are the same size, it seems this particular figure is shorter than the next closest thing, SSJ4 Goku, and it's due to a smaller abdomen section, and strantely it seems to have a smaller chest as well. Having said all that, the arms didn't get smaller and as such Goku looks ridiculously swole, which isn't a bad thing.
So I like the faceplates and how well they turned out, but these photos should also illustrate the biggest flaw with this figure, namely how discoloured the chest is in comparison to the rest of the body. It's like the guy sunbathed while wearing a wife beater. I believe it actually get worse, but either way you should be prepared for this unfortunate shock when you open the box.
Overall Articulation is slightly less than the typical Dragonball release, and this can be directly attributed to the fact the pants don't use the standard hip system as well as having a fully back flap that prevents the legs from swinging backwards. Otherwise, the rest of the body is pretty much unrestricted with bulk being the ultimate limiting factor.
Paint Applications are slightly above average. The pants do have a bit of weathering on it, and you can probably visualize how there are paint apps on the boots. Not sure what happened to the Chest, as mentioned, but based on the colour of the joints it appears that all the other flesh parts might have a bit of black wash or something on it. Otherwise, it's the usual top coat on top of base plastic colours.
Build Quality wise, pretty solid. The biggest issue is with the new hair. For whatever reason, the face plates can be a bit tough to get aligned with the new hair properly. Otherwise, rock solid with regard to all other typically reviewed facets.
Another solid release, and one that from an overall design perspective, turned out beautifully, Great sculpt, faceplates, and strong articulation. It's really too bad about that chest, and it's like the most random thing that can go wrong with this figure. The more casual collector is probably not going to care too much, but super finicky collectors have already expressed their disappointment.
For Full Gallery, please visit:
Comments