Series: Dragonball / Dragonball Z / Dragonball GT / Dragonball Super / Dragonball Xenoverse
Company: Bandai
Year: 2009+
Size: +/- 16cm
Main distribution: Worldwide
S.H.Figuarts is a line of high quality collectable figures made by Bandai and aimed at adults. They have highly accurate details and are very poseable with interchangeable parts. They also have a high price tag. The toyline debuted in 2008 and since end 2009 also makes figures for Dragonball.
Almost 175 different figures are made for Dragonball since 2009, so I won’t be listing them all here. I’ll only list the ones I have.
I currently have 4.
Son Goku -A Saiyan Raised on Earth- (Dragonball Z)
Release: June 2018
Barcode: 4573102555403
Son Goku comes in a standard size box. The backdrop is yellow. In the bottom right corner is a nice shot of the figure posed, as well as detail shots on the right side of the box. An open window on the left hand side shows the figure and most of his parts well. Inside you’ll also find a little instruction leaflet with images in how to change parts.
The tray holds all pieces nicely. Goku comes with 4 faces, 3 sets of hands and 2 unique hands.
The figure is incredibly nice looking. The details are spot on, as well as his colouring and proportions.
Goku is wearing his trademark orange gi outfit, with the 悟 symbol as seen in the Frieza Saga. With his trademark blue boots, blue belt and wrist bands and blue t-shirt. His hair is black, its standard form.
The hands can easily be swapped by pulling them off and pushing them back on. The wrists have tiny ball joints.
The face is removed by pulling it straight off and pushing it straight back on, and is held in place by 2 pins. The pieces of hair in front will need to be removed first, in a similar matter and is also held in place by 2 pins.
He is very poseable with many points of articulation. He has a ball joint in his head and neck, ball joints for his shoulders which also move forward and backward for extra mobility, double jointed elbows, ball joints at the wrist, a moveable torso and can twist around the waist, moveable hips, double jointed knees, his ankles can twist and toes can move on a hinge. His belt pieces can also rotate.
This allows for quite some freedom in posing.
Combined with the facial expressions and hands a number of “classic Goku” poses can be made.
Due to the distinct faces various moods can be portrayed, from rage to joy.
This makes it quite a versatile figure.
However, without swapping hairstyles Goku will remain in his base form.
Overall this is a great character that is very expressive and works great as a fighter or for mundane poses. Many extra parts can be found with other sets too. Which makes this a great Goku to own.
Mr. Satan / Hercule (Dragonball Z)
Release: January 2019
Barcode: 4573102551481
Mr. Satan (or Hercule) comes in a slightly thicker box to accommodate for his cape. The backdrop is red. In the bottom right corner is a nice shot of the figure posed, as well as detail shots on the right side of the box. An open window on the left hand side shows the figure and most of his parts / accessories well.
The tray holds all pieces nicely. Mr. Satan comes with 4 faces, 4 sets of hands, 3 belts, a cape and the dog Bee. Inside you’ll also find a little instruction leaflet with images in how to change parts.
The figure is incredibly nice looking. The details are spot on, as well as his colouring and proportions. He is wearing his trademark brown gi, with cape and belts to swap out.
The hands can easily be swapped by pulling them off and pushing them back on. The wrists have tiny ball joints. The face is easily lifted out if pushing from underneath the chin.
The cape is harder to remove and requires pulling his neck off. This is again a small ball joint. It is also attached to his back, but this is easily pulled off then. Mr. Satan comes with a small piece of brown to fill up the hole for the cape, which is a nice touch.
The belt can be swapped by pulling his torso off. This is a small piece of hard plastic and looks incredibly fragile and prone to breaking, so do be careful when doing this.
He is very poseable with many points of articulation. He has a ball joint in his head and neck, ball joints for his shoulders which also move forward and backward for extra mobility, double jointed elbows, ball joints at the wrist, a moveable torso and can twist around the waist, moveable hips, double jointed knees, his ankles can twist and toes can move on a hinge.
The brown cloth covering his upper legs hinders his movement here somewhat though. When wearing the cape this also limits his movements somewhat due to the rigidness of the cape.
Mr. Satan is highly expressive and the figure reflects that. Especially the face with the bulging eyes, combined with the many different hands, can create quite funny poses and scenes.
Despite not being a main character or fighter this is a great figure to have and play around with. Pairing with Majin Buu would work well too.
And he comes with the dog Bee, which is a nice bonus. Bee can move his head too.
The branding is on the inside of the cape, which reads in grey ©B/S · T 2430852, the 4 dots of Bandai, BSP. CHINA.
Super Hero Vegeta (Dragonball Super: Super Hero)
Release: October 2022
Barcode: 4573102632371
Super Hero Vegeta is the Vegeta from the Super Hero film. Vegeta comes in a standard size box. The backdrop is yellow. In the bottom right corner is a nice shot of the figure posed, as well as detail shots on the right side of the box. An open window on the left hand side shows the figure and most of his parts well.
The tray holds all pieces nicely. Vegeta comes with 4 faces, 4 sets of hands and an extra thumbs up right hand. Inside you’ll also find a little instruction leaflet with images in how to change parts.
The figure is incredibly nice looking. The details are spot on, as well as his colouring and proportions.
He is wearing his trademark blue training outfit, with white gloves and white boots with yellow tips. His hair is black, its standard form.
The hands can easily be swapped by pulling them off and pushing them back on. The wrists have tiny ball joints.
The face is easily removed by pulling it straight off and pushing it straight back on, and is held in place by 3 pins.
He is very poseable with many points of articulation. He has a ball joint in his head and neck, ball joints for his shoulders which also move forward and backward for extra mobility, double jointed elbows, ball joints at the wrist, a moveable torso and can twist around the waist, moveable hips, double jointed knees, his ankles can twist and toes can move on a hinge.
This allows for quite some freedom in posing.
Combined with the facial expressions and hands a number of “classic Vegeta” poses can be made.
Apart from all the fighting poses more neutral or downright funny poses can be made, despite the lack of such faces.
The seriousness of the character lends easily to funny situations.
Vegeta only spars with Goku in the Super Hero film, so most expressions are based on him fighting. He also remains in his base form the entire film, so there’s no accompanying Super Saiyan head.
Despite that the character remains quite expressive and is a great Vegeta to own.
The branding is underneath his left boot, which reads in grey ©B.S/S ©2020DBSFP 2606096, the 4 dots of Bandai, BSP. CHINA.
Super Saiyan Vegeta –Awakened Super Saiyan Blood- (Dragonball Z)
Release: April 2023
Barcode: 4573102641861
Super Saiyan Vegeta -Awakened Super Saiyan Blood- is the Vegeta from the Android Saga. Vegeta comes in a standard size box. The backdrop is blue. In the bottom right corner is a nice shot of the figure posed, as well as detail shots on the right side of the box. An open window on the left hand side shows the figure and most of his parts well.
The tray holds all pieces nicely. Vegeta comes with 3 faces, 4 sets of hands and an extra thumbs up right hand, as well as crossed arms. The inside flap of the box has instructions on how to change parts.
The figure is incredibly nice looking. The details are spot on, as well as his colouring and proportions.
He is wearing his trademark Saiyan Armour that Bulma made him; blue with the chest armour, white gloves and white boots with yellow tips. His hair is yellow, with a pearlescent paint to show off that Super Saiyan shine.
The hands can easily be swapped by pulling them off and pushing them back on. The wrists have tiny ball joints.
The face is easily removed by pulling it straight off and pushing it straight back on, and is held in place by 3 pins.
To swap to his crossed arms the arms have to be pulled off by the shoulder. They are small ball joints. The crossed arms then have to be pushed on them straight and at the same time. It looks quite fragile and prone to breaking, so do be careful when doing this.
He is very poseable with many points of articulation. He has a ball joint in his head and neck, ball joints for his shoulders which also move forward and backward for extra mobility, double jointed elbows, ball joints at the wrist, a moveable torso and can twist around the waist, moveable hips, double jointed knees, his ankles can twist and toes can move on a hinge.
Apart from all the fighting poses more neutral or downright funny poses can be made, despite the lack of such faces.
This Super Saiyan Vegeta may not have that many expressions or a base form head but the character remains quite expressive and is an excellent Vegeta to own.
The branding is underneath his left boot, which reads in grey ©B/S · T 2655577, the 4 dots of Bandai, BSP. CHINA.
These S.H.Figuarts figures always looked like the best action figures you could get of Dragonball in my opinion. But they are also quite expensive and look a bit fragile. And not all of them I love. Still, I wouldn’t mind owning a few of my favourites. But I held off.
Until Super Saiyan Vegeta -Awakened Super Saiyan Blood- got announced. It was the most beautiful, expressive, poseable and best Vegeta I had seen. He looks spot on compared to the anime. And for some reason was quite reasonably priced. And although I never pre-order anything, I did a pre-order on this one. I had to have him.
I joined a FB and Discord group focussed on S.H.Figuarts that gave me great tips and where best to order. I had to wait quite a bit for him to release in the UK, but I finally got him. In the mean time I had started looking into others, and through the same group, found Super Hero Vegeta and Mr. Satan second-hand for a great price. I later found Son Goku – A Saiyan Raised on Earth- for a decent price on a games market, so bought him too.
I have so much fun posing them! They are so expressive and true to character.
But I am terrified of breaking them at the same time, and I don’t have the space to keep them on display. So afterwards they go back in their box (I love you can put them back in the box). I might put them in a cabinet on display at some point, maybe if I have a bunch of them to pose together.
I’d love to get more of them, in particular Trunks, Bulma and Gohan.
If you like high-end, detailed, Dragonball action figures, these are probably the best. Keep in mind they are expensive, and easily damaged.
If you like prefer cheaper action figures or statues, you might give these a miss.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own these figures? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!