You might ask, why did I take too long to get a Figuarts version of Goku? There was an issue that I ran into for a while: I couldn't decide what version of Goku to get first! I don't mean his super forms or any of his alternate appearances; I'm referring to a vanilla Goku to get myself into the classic era of DBZ that I am more familiar with (from what I have seen back then before I lost track). As I get back into this universe both to be more familiar as well as to prepare for writing Goku & his crew from Unit-E, I decided to look into what would be a good, streamlined Figuart of the character that is not flawed when it comes to articulation or aesthetics. The Saiyan Raised on Earth variant fits well as an entry point in collecting characters from this series, and I am happy to buy it for $40 while it's an official copy. So, 5-6 years late but still good, right?
Here we have Goku in-hand, and for those wondering, this is not the first time we've seen the character in Figuart form. He had his first ever release in either the late 2000s/early 2010s that was more outdated in terms of sculpt work and articulation cuts, so making frequent versions of the character is only logical. At the very least, this one has been used more often thanks to how easy it is to get fans an easier chance of obtaining a vanilla Goku (at least when it came out in 2021-ish). The figure itself showcases the simple yet effective nature of its iconic ji, from the prominent orange with the blue shirt underneath it, on top of the blue belt and the multicolored shorts. Goku's outfit is a bit baggy, yet it fits well with the way his character design is represented as a more rugged kind of guy. I mean, he has spikey hair for crying out loud!
His head sculpt captures the spikey hairdo he is best known for in the series, while the face captures a pretty cheery side to the character when he isn't fighting evil or training. With how soft the facial details look, this could pass for a somewhat teenage Goku look, at least mostly before the Buu arc. As far as accessories are concerned, his tray features an angry expression looking to the left as he gets his teeth, a neutral angry face, and a yelling face on the left side. The right side features his two finger pointing right hand, two clenched combat hands, two Kamehameha hands, and a right fist to go with the one on his left arm.
The articulation consists of 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.
As for the variants I want to go over, this is the Super Saiyan version of Goku, seen here with his hair flowing and in a vibrant shade of yellow (adding to it is a bit of dry brushing to make it glow to the top). The belt, boot line work, and the upper body are also modified, and the shade of orange is brighter in addition to lacking the logo on the chest and back. He has his own alternate faces with unique shapes for the plates to prevent part-swapping, though the differently-colored eyes and eyebrows prevent that anyhow.
Other variants include the following: Super Hero, Super Saiyan God, Goku Clone (from the FighterZ game), SSGSS Goku, Ghost Goku (Ghost-ku?) included in a 2-pack with Gohan, and Kaikouken 180,000. I don't know how soon I can catch up with these and some other other variants like Ultra Instinct, SSJ2/3, and Goku Black, but these at least use the same tooling for the most part.
As for a comparison with the "standard" versions of Goku out there, here we have 1.0 made in 2014, this year's event-exclusive Goku with lil Gohan, and the Daima version with a skirt and retooled parts to give us either a 3.0 or to match the aesthetics of the series. Idk how soon I'd get 1.0 because I'm fine with 2.0, but Goku & Gohan entices me because I like the faceplates on him better than on ASROE in addition to me wanting that version even more after getting the Masterlise statue. The Daima one will depend on how much I like Daima.
For a size comparison, here we have Goku along with fellow Toei anime superstar Sailor Moon (specifically the first anime color version), Renew Your Vows Spider-Man, and Action Comics #1000 Superman. Many people debate how scales should work between different toy lines, and I'd argue that while RYV Spidey works well with most McFarlane DC figures if you see him as bulked out as his 90s animated counterpart and remember Sailor Moon was a teen in the 90s anime. Goku, however, is definitely undersized by comparison. He wasn't a tall dude but he wasn't this short either. It almost works better as a scale for Vegeta while Goku should be in-between Spider-Moon and Sailor-Man. Wait what?
Overall, this makes for a great starting point into the Dragonball Z line of Figuarts, though you can get SuperHero for it's better faceplates. It depends on what you see fit, but I'd argue that even without any other accessories related to Goku's powers both ASROE and Super Saiyan are highly recommended if you want to have poseable versions of these characters if you see them at your local Target or Walmart. If Goku came with his training staff or if both came with their effect pieces, I'd make them perfect 5 out of 5 scores, but they are still given high scores regardless.
Final ranking (for both): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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