A few weeks ago I was in one of my local comic book stores and I stumbled upon wave 2 of Bandai's Dragon Stars figures. A wave of nostalgia washed over me and I was reminded of watching Dragon Ball Z as a kid weeknight on YTV (the Canadian Opening was the best). I'm not a big fan of anime, but Dragon Ball Z will always hold a special place in my heart. The Frieza Saga was always my favorite so I was happy to find a Final Form Frieza along with a classic Goku. The Dragon Stars line feels like Bandai's answer to Marvel Legends, with similar packaging and scale, and no where near as expensive as some of the SH Figuarts. It's a pretty nice, moderately priced line of action figures.
These guys come PACKAGED in a modern window box similar to Marvel Legends or DC Multiverse figures, with some really attractive box art and even some foil inlays. There's even different finishes on the box, with some areas being matte and others glossy. The back of the box has a nice almost retro feel, showing off full images of the other figures in the wave. It also shows you the six total figures you'll need if you want to build your own Shenron. There's a really nice balance here, where as the Marvel Legends card backs lack information and sometimes the DC Multiverse cards are covered in text.
The SCULPTING on these guys is really great, and Goku's hair looks fantastic. I'm really glad they went with the classic Goku design with the blue undershirt and pointed boots instead of the newer look. All the folds in the costume look great, and they've done a great job translating his 2D design into 3D form. My only complaint would be the integration of the articulation into the sculpt. Some of the joints are really in your face and there are some really deep and obvious peg holes.
I think Goku fares better than Frieza, who does looks a tad disjointed. I do love his head sculpt though, and the facial expression is perfect. However, the biggest problem with Frieza is his tail. Most of the time characters with tails end of being back heavy so the tail is designed in such a way that it can reach the ground and act as a tripod with the legs. This helps keep the character stable and stops them from falling over all the time. Frieza's tail doesn't do this, which wouldn't be a problem if the feet had peg holes. They don't. Neither figure has peg holes in the bottom of their feet for a base. This makes Frieza very difficult to stand unless he's on a slight incline or in a deep, hunched forward stance.
You're going to start seeing a pattern here. Goku's PAINT is great, while Frieza's is alright. There's very little slop on Goku and some very clean cut lines. The paint on the face is excellent, and the eyes look great. Frieza's face is also great, the problem is the airbrush effect they used. Frieza's body is mostly white so to try and break it up they used a light blue airbrush effect but it got a little heavy handed in a few areas. The other problem is they didn't airbrush the pegs or inner joint pieces like on his arms adding to that disjointed look.
The ARTICULATION is pretty good between the two figures. I got a couple really loose joints in Goku's ankles and Frieza's hips, which made posing Frieza even more difficult. Everything that's there though works pretty well. Both figures arms have a great range of movement, and Goku has a great hidden waist joint. The hips on these guys is really intricate and a little difficult to explain. It's sort of like a ball joint on a lever with a hidden cut thigh. Frieza's shoulder have a similar system, while I believe Goku lacks the sort of lever action. So you can move the hips up and down, while also moving it forward, back, and out to the side. The articulated wrists are a little tricky to work with as well. They're basically like a Hot Toys wrist with a ball in the center and a peg that goes into the arm and one that goes into the hand. Frieza's tail is also ball jointed where it connects to his body, and there a cut joint about two thirds of the way down.
I feel like these guys are a little light when it comes to ACCESSORIES. Goku comes with 2 extra hands and 2 Build-a-Figure pieces, while Frieza has 3 extra hands and 1 BaF piece. I really would have like to have seen some energy effect pieces, such as a Kamehameha energy wave that Goku could hold. I do appreciate the extra hands though, and they allow for some unique display options. I love the Frieza pointed finger. They both come with closed fists, Frieza has fully opened palms, and Goku has semi opened palms like he's charging up and energy attack. The BAF pieces are really nice and fit together well, though it does feel maybe a tad undersized.
OVERALL, I think these figures could make for a really solid line with a few minor changes. The paint and the sculpts are there, just tweak the articulation a bit and toss in a few accessories and you're there. This is only the second wave so it'll be interesting to see how they improve and evolve over time. Though, I would buy and King Cold or Cyborg Frieza without a moments hesitation. Come on Bandai, make it happen.
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