S.H. Figuarts Super Saiyan Gohan & Trunks review

The sons of famous Saiyans Goku and Vegeta are equally as impressive as their fathers; Gohan, despite being somewhat of a side character nowadays, represents the potential of being the new main character had it not been for the importance of his father, but he also has more going on in his life as a scholar and part time superhero (on top of being named after the adoptive grandfather of Goku). Meanwhile, Trunks is both a character who would later grow up with Goten, the younger brother of Gohan, and a fighter from the future who once fought against the Androids and later Goku Black. Both of them now join the collection as I finally get to review these surpassing sons. Also fun fact: I bought Gohan at a nerd culture store within a mall way up North from where I live during a hotel stay. 

Here we have Gohan in-hand, representing his teen era from when he started to train more regularly under the wing of Piccolo. Wearing a gi similar to his then-mentor and later closest friend, he is proportioned somewhere between the bucks used for Kid Goku and the adult versions (though a somewhat leaner young adult version from the final saga of classic Dragon Ball. His proportions are less chibi or childlike, and he has a good amount of muscle for his age. While a non-Super Saiyan head option would be nice, it is at least complimentary to the color of his clothing. I also appreciate that in addition to the creases in the fabric, there is some dry brushing to accentuate his clothes so he looks less plasticky. The only oddity I fine with the figure is that because of the cuts in the hip joints, it makes the legs appear as if they're sticking out much more than they should be. However, it's just from the design of his outfit and not like Hasbro giving DP&A Wolverine birthing hips.

His head sculpt captures the then-changing life of the character, with hair closer to his father's in addition to a yellow fade that accentuates it without being translucent or one color. His alternate accessories include three alternate plates, an alternate hair piece with hair flowing that also includes another face plate, four pairs of hands, and a cape similar to the one worn by Piccolo.

The articulation is the same as with most versions of Goku, Vegeta, etc. There is a double ball jointed neck, ball joints for the shoulders with a small bit of gaps for range similar to a McFarlane DC figure's rotator cuffs, while the biceps swivel and the elbows bend at two points. The wrists rotate at the base where they connect to the arms and the ball jointed ends allow for easier part-swapping. The joint overall can work where the wrists can hinge in and out or up and down. There are two ball joints for the diaphragm and abdomen, hips can kick front and back with added pieces to complete the look of the clothing, in addition to doing the splits without them intruding on the pieces. You have a small bit of thigh rotation as well as double-jointed knees, while the feet can rotate, hinge, and pivot with added toe-ticulation.

His cape is not only made of cloth goods, but it is also wired, allowing the versatility to be more dynamic than what Piccolo has with his plastic cape! Sure, his looks more regal for the sculptwork, but it doesn't look anywhere near as natural as what Gohan has.

As for Trunks, he is seen wearing the Saiyan battle armor commonly worn by his father and briefly by Goku and Gohan. The proportions are closer to what Goku's where near the end of original Dragon Ball, which is a muscular build yet not one as tall as he usually is in Z-onwards. As far as I can tell, the paint is mostly reserved for the straps and the stomach guard, back plate, and toes on his boots, which means that he doesn't have much else in terms of shading and the like. The plastic for the blue at least has a good finish, but the grey-white parts appear unpainted. I know some could say that he should have more bulk in the legs, but given he was still an older teen than Gohan, this works for him.

His head sculpt gives him a fairly glossy paint job for his hairdo, and while has a whole lot more of his father in him than his mother, he still has the trait of changing his haircut up every once in a while like Bulma does. That and he has a ponytail in the back, while one of the hair strands covering part of his face thankfully isn't frail. His accessory count is much smaller than Gohan's, as he only has two faceplates, two pairs of alternate hands, and a set of crossed arms. Lot of pairs this time for a guy named Trunks.  

Articulation is mostly the same, so I should mention that the arms and hands, despite being on a somewhat taller body, might be reused from Blood Awakening Vegeta...it's hard to decipher without getting into extreme scrutiny for detail as with the hands on Figuarts Mario and Luigi.

Here we have all 4 Saiyans together. They're lined up like on my DBZ shirt, and while they each have varying height differences, they still make for a force to watch out for. Add Piccolo and it's even better! Before I close out, I should mention that their hair coloring may not be 100% consistent in terms of shading or metallic-like elements. Regardless, both sons make for a good set of characters to own in the Figuarts collection, especially Gohan and his various accessories. Trunks is still good, but being how much fewer hands and faceplates he has than most versions of Goku, it sucks how he doesn't have as much value for money. One thing that needs to be mentioned is that some owners of Gohan have had their legs break off at the hips, so be warned if you fear any potential fragility.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Gohan)

 ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Trunks)