With the conclusion of Dragon Ball I have seen the quintessential fight anime. While very light on actual plot, the spectacle of world shaking battles never lightened up as we were treated to one destructive event after another in an escalating series of arcs. From Frieza to Cell to Buu the anime world was treated to iconic villains with equally iconic transformations for the heroes. Tamashii Nations has made Dragon Ball Z the bread and butter of their S.H.Figuarts line and the Frieza Saga in particular has enjoyed a heaping helping of action figure support over the past few years. Despite the high output of figures every year there are still dozens of characters, transformations, and outfits still yearning to be made in the line and in this list I'll count down my top 5 most wanted Dragon Ball Z action figures!
Honorable mentions: Kid Buu and Future Gohan
Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love an official Kid Buu figure from S.H.Figuarts and I feel it is one of the most glaring omissions in the line thus far. At the same time, I was one of the fans who got the Adolescent Malevolence figure from TonsenArts so I'm not hurting for a Kid Buu at the moment, though he is surely a needed figure. Future Gohan is one of the most badass versions of the character, having waged war on the Androids from years and even losing an arm in the process. I'm a bit burned out though on the Dragon Ball figures wearing the usual baggy martial arts clothes. I like variety in action figures, and for the most part a future Gohan while an awesome depiction of the character would still be another figure of a guy in baggy martial arts clothes.
5. Videl
While I've given the Naruto line a hard time before about its lack of female characters I think Dragon Ball suffers from this even more. It has been a long while since we received a Bulma, Chi Chi has never received a figure, Android 18 is due for another release, and Cheelai from the Broly movie never even got released. Videl is one of my favorite female protagonists from the franchise. While the Buu saga forgets her pretty quick when the action starts really ramping up, prior to that she is a powerful personality and character that makes up for the constant uselessness of her father. Just like Chi Chi she is a central character to the lore who has never gotten a figure, making her due for one.
4. Evil Buu
Kid Buu is not the only other major form of Buu we are missing, as the evil Buu that is expelled from fatty Buu is another really cool design from the universe that is needing an action figure from Tamashii Nations. With big boned Buu coming out in a rerelease this year it is the perfect opportunity to see this guy released to pair against him, and icing on top of the cake would be if he includes round Buu in the chocolate cookie form he transforms him into.
3. Nail
The Saiyan/Frieza saga has seen a hefty amount of love over the past couple of years with nearly every single major character and design from those storylines picked clean. It has left fans of the Cell saga, Buu saga, GT, DB, and Super feeling a bit dry but it truly has been a blast seeing the Frieza saga so fully fleshed out in the realm of SH.Figuarts. One character who is sorely missing though is definitely Nail, prize Namekian fighter and total badass, despite not being of any help in a fight against Frieza. Despite this I found him very cool, and would love him in the line.
2. Cell Jr.
I had mentioned the third party Kid Buu earlier in this post, and the Cell Jrs are due for an immaculate looking third party set later on this year. I still hope to see S.H.Figuarts tackle these guys on their own at some point as I really dig their designs, especially the light blue coloring which pops so well with the Cell design. Tamashii has knocked it out of the park when it comes to miniscule figures recently so the time is now for Cell Jrs to join the pack.
1. Dabura
One of my all time favorite villain designs from all of Dragon Ball is no doubt Dabura, king of the demon realm. He just exhumes villain energy with his goatee, menacing form, and pointed ears. Not to mention the pink skin and bat-like cape that further lend to his outstanding design. He served a role no more fitting than a lackey during the Buu saga before being put down by Buu himself; however, he still made an impact during his time on the show and I would gladly pay for an S.H.Figuarts whenever Tamashii moves on from Daima and the Frieza saga.
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