S.H.FiguArts Dragonball Z figures!!!

[Silrian]

NP man, was just surprised to suddenly see you poppin up.^^

The info you gave us along with interviews etc make me think Tamashii is at the least quite consistently and orderly run. So that in and of itself is a blessing for us consumers I'd say, because it makes them more predictable after a while.

Have you by any chance asked how they gauge the japanese market? Like, do they keep tabs on Japanese forums etc to gauge interest? Because maybe it's smarter for us to actively start looking into what's popular in Japan instead of US/EU. Just with regard to predicting chances of seeing something happening.

 

[PwnStar511]

I didn't really ask about how the Japanese market works for them but from what I gather it definitely plays a big role in whether or not a figure is made. I know the DBZ line is much larger/popular in the western market but the line still holds major interest in Japan which I think is very important. We have to remember that Bandai Tamashii Nations is a Japanese company so it's very important for them to sell products successfully in their hometown first and foremost.

 

[Silrian]

Yeah that's what I figured (pun unintended).

We need a japanese DBZ fan on this thread.

Btw Pwn, you mentioned at one point a big while ago that they had many prototypes in their labs, that we don't know about yet, which was a fun discovery. Do you know or assume/estimate that those are mainly what was listed on their last sdcc survey? Or is your guess as good as ours on that?

 

[PwnStar511]

No idea what those prototypes are. Xavier (Derringer) just said they already have tons of prototypes made; it's just a matter of figuring out which ones they want to proceed with.

 

[crisis]

I'd imagine they made a Raditz proto, since he is the very first villain of DBZ. Maybe even Ginyu.

 

[Big Deano]

Welcome back Pwnstar!

If they have tons I would imagine most if not every major character and form would be made at this point. Really interested to see what they show at sdcc.

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[blood]

This. I remember when I was asking about why they haven't made a Dragonzord yet, they told me they weren't confident that they could sell at least 10,000 units which I guess is the minimum number they look for in the success of a figure. Especially as a more expensive, diecast figure. I have a hard time believing they would sell 10,000 units of Puar/Yamcha. The only people asking for that are a few on a message board. Use that to convince the heads at Tamashii Nations.

well then, it's simple. we kill all the humans that have no interest

 

[crisis]

I would hope they would eventually tackle the Dragon Ball and GT series, once they release all of the "popular" DBZ characters (i.e. Saiyans), then what's next? They're just gonna ignore the rest of the DB saga?

 

[KPman]

This. I remember when I was asking about why they haven't made a Dragonzord yet, they told me they weren't confident that they could sell at least 10,000 units which I guess is the minimum number they look for in the success of a figure. Especially as a more expensive, diecast figure. I have a hard time believing they would sell 10,000 units of Puar/Yamcha. The only people asking for that are a few on a message board. Use that to convince the heads at Tamashii Nations.

Wow. 10K seems like a lot for a collectors line

 

[Baneofdemon22]

Hey it's great to see you Pwnstar! Thanks for the "10k" info!

In regards to the pack in figure, I'm against it. I don't want to pay anymore than I have to. I'm against another Krillin head, being packed in with 18 if it affected the price, but I don't think it did. I'm never going to use it. It would just take up more space and crowd things more. If they did a separate Dragon Ball line it might work better for me, like if there was a Master Roshi and it came with his turtle, being that he is the Turtle Hermit. The only pack in I think should be included of another character is that advertised smiling SSJ Goku face, because that should have been included. The only other thing I would say is Piccolo's Makankosappo, being that it's so iconic for his character and the series, and it's being re-issued.

I think it's a great idea to use iconic overall series, not saga specific, scenes as a method to deduce character choices.

 

[Silrian]

well then, it's simple. we kill all the humans that have no interest

I feel that historically we Europeans should know this approach has design flaws.

 

[Atamsk]

bleh, they should forget about GT entirely and focus on other DBZ characters like Yajirobi, Videl, and I always wanted a Bulba figure

 

[Big Deano]

End of the day, ive said it before, they will make figures that sell only, pwnstar confirmed that with the 10k comment. That being said, characters like roshi and bulma most definitely wont sell well, so dont get your hopes up.

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[Silrian]

How do you know that about the japanese market though? I can see Roshi being a LOT more popular there because of Dragonball... I suspect he's a lot more popular than Broli.

 

[crisis]

I could see characters like Hercule, Roshi, Kami/Dende, etc. being made as Figuarts Zero... or maybe not.

 

[Big Deano]

Thats fair, it was an educated guess lol; japan likes the main characters more than anyone else, makes sense that other characters arent as popular.

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[Baneofdemon22]

There must be a reason for using the manga colors. They didn't have to re-sculpt anything on Goku, and you'd think they'd go for the most popular look, and they went with the manga coloring. I still want to know why they made that choice over the anime coloring. I think Broly is popular in Japan though. At least he was, being that he got three movies, before Funimation got a hold of them, and Broly's been used on the cover of new video games and has made various new figures of him that don't make it to the West. I keep bringing up Bardock, because I think he's huge in Japan. He's almost always used as a special incentive in the video games, getting multiple forms, got a new special that was never dubbed, got new manga adaptions recently that never were translated, new Japan exclusive figures, and new info is coming out expanding on his mythos, so their pretty interested!

By the way guys, did you see that yesterday the extended Battle of Gods movie aired on TV? It was only 20 minutes more content, but I saw a list of things they added and it seemed like a lot. Hopefully if Funimation gets it, we get the extended cut. I think the use of those characters, might give a bit of an idea of whose popular in Japan right now. Heck, being that Toei created filler to extend the anime, and make money, the use of the characters in filler or movies might also help. Fat Boo even got his own full episode over Tien and Yamcha.

 

[Big Deano]

Goku using manga colours is most likely:

1. To match with his ssj figure since the normal release is manga coloured.

2. Cost saving; they already have the colours ready from the original proto.

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[Silrian]

Yeah it almost seems spiteful, as I feel they aren't so happy being pushed by fans into releasing him. Almost like "Fine, here, whatever." *chuck*

But yeah still don't know about the manga thing. Krillin made things weird being a hybrid.

 

[nick_clark]

Small side characters would be a great addition to the figures, just as Luna and Artemis are in Sailor Moon Figuarts, just to express my opinion about this subject.