Bandai Namco have re-engineered the sculpts of their S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z line to offer new upgrades in the articulation, as shown during last months New York ToyFair. The new articulation is updated I the shoulders, neck, knees, wrist and shin, which gives the figure better posability. Son Goku is based on his appearance in the Cell Games, which as you know is a classic storyline in the series.
Thank you to BigBadToyStore for sending along Bandai Namco’s S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Goku (The Games Begin) figure for review.Â
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Availability: February 2026
Goku comes in the standard window box of the line, with logo’s and images on the front, sides, and the back includes more great images showcasing some of his poses, a description, and the inside flap shows the interchangeable hands. Goku comes packaged in a plastic tray for safe keeping, along with his face plates, hands and interchangeable hair piece.
Goku is given an entirely new sculpt featuring enhanced articulation as specified in the banner above, which was taken at New York ToyFair 2026 as Bandai had shown that to give you a better idea what to expect. As you can see in the banner, he is given improved articulation in the neck, shoulders, knees, wrist and shin, allowing better posability.
Goku comes in his classic orange and blue outfit as seen in the series, with sculpted wrinkles and folds, along with blue wrist bands, blue boots with red stripes, and yellow shoe laces. He is inspired by his appearance in the Cell Games, which is the first-time in the series Goku surrenders and allows his son, Gohan to take the lead in a fight.
Goku includes four interchangeable face plates, each with their own expression, and two sets of interchangeable hair pieces. The hair can be tricky to swap out and replace, as the ball joint moves around and it’s hard to snap it back into the joint in the hair, but the faces are easy to swap out and first you ned to remove the hair piece on top, then pull off the face. Just as this has always been done. The facial expressions look great as always, and each can be used for different poses, fighting techniques and display.
Goku includes five sets of interchangeable hands, including closed fisted, a set of kamehameha attack hands, a set of Instant Transmission hands, and sets of other attack and technique hands.
The articulation enhancements are a nice addition, and includes a ball jointed head and neck, ball jointed shoulders, butterfly shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, ball jointed wrists, ball jointed torso, swivel-hinged hips, double-hinged knees, hinged calves, ball jointed ankles, and hinged toes.
A comparison of Goku with some previous offered figures, with the now outdated articulation. The paint applications on the uniform are new, as well as the hair being a different shade of yellow for Super Saiyan.
Overall, Goku is an excellent figure and a nice enhancement over what’s been done before. You’ll definitely going to want to jump on board this new release as it’s an improvement all around. Make sure to grab him now at BigBadToyStore!
Purchase:
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