TPereZ
Rank: Frieza's Soldier
Ore.. SANJOU!
Posts: 285
Species: Saiyan
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Post by TPereZ on Apr 3, 2018 17:45:34 GMT -6
Does anyone else feel slightly upset/ offended/ frustrated with tamashii nations and dragon ball figuarts recently? I say recently, but this can be observed in the last couple of years.
I vividly remember when this line was newborn and quite frankly, grasping for air. Marveling at the quality and detail, as well as technical achievements of the figuarts line, my forray into serious (or organized) collecting began.
At that time, we were praying to get a release past manga gohan and the pictured gray ss vegeta prototype.
My mind was BLOWN when Figuarts SS Trunks was revealed....
With base AND SS hair, 4 faces for EACH form! removable sword/sheath! and 6 SETS of hands!
Not to mention purchased through prime for $35.99
It felt like we made it. We at last had all 4 main super saiyans.
Fast forward 7 years (Holy crap) and we finally have characters like Nappa, Yamcha and Tien.
In a way, now we really have made it.
However, those are 3 shining examples of current figuarts... There are many recent and upcoming releases that i cannot overlook as anything but a hasty and stingy disservice to the customer and character. Given the price point among everything else, each release deserves the care, detail and accuracy that past figures were given (which was during a much less favorable time for the company and line.)
I want to discuss the recent Decsions made, Graphic changes, manufacturing, sculpting and paint choices; as well as accessory inclusion and overall package content.
I felt compelled to create this thread as there are upcoming figures i was very excited for, but cant help but feel let down about:
Majin Vegeta's Hair Goku Black's hair and face selection Kid Goku's face selection and face sculpts Gotenks'... scale...pants...face....
The worst part is that i will very likely buy them all anyways. I love this line dearly, and it was a truly a dream to think of so many characters being made in this light.
Unfortunately, the reality of the price, as well inaccurate and updated figures is becoming not only expensive, but stressful and almost insulting.
I know business practices and profits will always rule, but I really wanted to vent about this!
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Post by Branjita on Apr 4, 2018 8:27:26 GMT -6
Personally, I'm just finally happy with the line, because Figuarts Yamcha and Tien were arguably two of the best releases in the entire line. We even got a pretty cool Shenron! But I can see your disappointment with the upcoming ones... we have an SS Gotenks that still looks dumb and out of scale... Goku Black with SS Rose hair that doesn't look right and faces that don't look sinister at all... Majin Vegeta's hair isn't proper... Kid Goku was released in a huge size... Master Roshi will be pretty huge too even though he looks great... and there's an upcoming Bulma in an outfit that really should have been skipped in my opinion. But... the upcoming Fat Buu looks freakin' amazing and the Goku 2.0 seems great! I'm excited about that one still.
I actually own Nappa and Vegeta and haven't ever taken them out of the boxes. I don't like that Nappa is manga colors. And I don't like very much at all about Vegeta. He's too big, he's too long limbed, etc. etc. etc. If I open either one of them, they will become projects I'd really rather not work on.
The lack of fancy paint jobs is disappointing, especially since the prices have continued to climb. But they still look nice enough. Just not worth $60.
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Post by Ascat on Apr 4, 2018 13:53:06 GMT -6
For the record I fully support this line... I mean traded my 5 inch collection for this line. but yes I do get disappointed from time to time with this line.
1) scale!!!!!! krillin is a giant, his head is huge...this line is all about details but yet fails on scales sometimes 2) does it hurt to provide a stand for every figure?? also whats up with the lack of effects lately? 3) sick of having multiple versions of vegeta, goku, trunks...but I get it saiyans sell.
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Post by dippergames420 on Apr 5, 2018 17:35:53 GMT -6
I honestly have to agree with you on this. As an owner of the original Trunks and many other Figuarts figures of the past, I have to say that the more recent ones have been pretty lackluster.
To put it in perspective, when Trunks was first released, he was about $30-$50, came with a ton of stuff, and was an all-around good figure. Majin Buu is $78 on BBTS and has three faces, three hands, and a chocolate bar. I've heard Buu's a large figure, but Broly is bigger than Buu and costed $9 cheaper when he initially released. That, and they have little to no shading whatsoever. That, and a few of the more recent faces (IE, 2.0 SS3 Goku's screaming face and BD Gohan's angry face) have weird eye position.
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Post by timone317 on Apr 6, 2018 3:55:08 GMT -6
Sorry about the wall of text, but...at this point, I'm trying to come up with reasons to keep my collection. Everyone always dismisses criticism of the line by saying "people will buy them anyway", but to be honest, I slowed down a lot since 2016. I'm still missing a lot of the figures that have come out.
I feel like I'm the only one who thinks this but sometimes, I don't like the 2.0 designs. They are all visually appealing with amazing sculpts (which is what I've come to expect), but from a design standpoint, they have flaws that ruin the figures. The best example would be the new swivel sockets that hold the arms. Because of how short the sockets are, the arms are locked at a 20-degree angle on each figure. On the 1.0 figures, the arms could easily be placed parallel to the torso...on the 2.0 figures, the arm movement is limited since the sockets pull the arms so deep into the torso. It seems like every figure has arms that are stuck out to the side, and for the Goku figures, it's like they redesigned the bicep parts to lean towards the torso to try and make it look more natural (and it definitely doesn't, it just makes the biceps look lopsided). This design shouldn't be a problem - I think that butterfly joints are a good solution for extended shoulder articulation, but Tamashii has offered a bad take on the design. Has anyone noticed that when you move the arms, you're actually pulling the shoulder sockets out of the torso? I can't figure out how they came up with a perfect solution (cup sockets on the 2010 SS Gohan, Frieza, and Broly) and then stuck with something worse. As much as I care about aesthetic, I'm into the line mostly for the articulation...and what good are figures when it becomes difficult to move the arms?
Something I do like...the 2.0 legs are absolutely better than the 1.0 legs but the waist parts are terrible. I see the waist design of the Figuarts Body-kun and then I see the waist design of the Figuarts Vegeta/Trunks and I'm baffled (side note, the very first Figuarts release, Domon Kashuu, has the same waist design as the Body-kun figure, and the waist on the Domon figure is smaller than the Vegeta waist, so it isn't like it was an impossible design). Speaking of those figures, what the HELL were they thinking with the ankles? The 1.0 ankles were just fine, and if they wanted to improve the ankles, why didn't they finally introduce swivel ball joints? / The waist issue also exists on the Goku mold. Since it has a fraction of a waist, this means the 2.0 Goku figures are much shorter than the 1.0 versions and I really hate that, especially since it is the new standard and nothing can be done to change it. I thought the 2018 Goku finally fixed this but it still has a small waist and the waist parts were only extended to properly hold the new belt part. It helps the design a lot but it still keeps the figure short and likely won't be used on other Goku figures.
As much as I liked the fully sculpted faces seen on the old releases, I can live with the decal stamp eyes that Tamashii insists on using, and from a distance, they look good. However, they look ridiculous when they are applied to the flat surfaces of the modern faces. I find it very hard to believe that they can't sculpt tiny indents for the eye decals to give the illusion of depth, especially since one figure in the line has this kind of detail (the 2014 Goku).
Regarding the paint...as much as I appreciate a good paint job, I don't mind the colored plastic and shading combo that has become the standard, but I absolutely hate the color inaccuracies. With Figuarts, it seems like there's some sort of mandate in place that prevents any release from being anime OR character accurate. If that is truly impossible, I'd be willing to accept LINE consistency (like if every character had the same skin tone regardless of what outfit it has), but even THAT is out of the question. One Goku can have light pale orange skin, the next one can have salmon pink skin. I hate that so much and I can't stand that I'm the only one bothered by it, BECAUSE...
To me, the biggest appeal of the line is the part swapping. If they want to prevent people from putting a Trunks head onto a Goku body, I'm OK with that and would even support that decision, but they create new parts to prevent swapping between the same characters! It's just...why the hell would they do that? It isn't like it started with the 2.0 figures either - just look at Vegetto and Ultimate Gohan with the huge necks and slightly bigger neck pegs. I'd like to think maybe manufacturing issues prevent them from sticking with the exact same sizes, but reissues have proven that wrong. It is clearly a deliberate design choice and I can't figure out why it must be done. / Disregarding the pegs, sticking with the same skin tone for each character release creates an interesting opportunity. Make the 2018 Goku as it is, but then make a Dragon Ball Super variant of Goku that has the alternate sash (instead of the belt), the kanjis, the exact same skin tone as the 2018 Goku, and new alternate faces that also fit on the 2018 Goku head. Then, go even further. Make a basic release SS Goku. Then, release a damaged SS2 Goku with a ripped gi. Keep the same skin tone and just make new faces that ALSO work with the SS head. Two figures and eight alternate faces! That's something I would instantly buy. Just treat the "new" figures like expansion packs that happen to have new bodies. I mean, who wouldn't like that idea? Sure, some would call it a shameless cash grab, but I bet it's safe to say they make up 1/100th of the buying demographic. OF COURSE, this release idea would NEVER happen, and I have no idea why.
Above all else...I really hate that none of my feedback matters a bit...that much like every other pointless rant I've made, this will accomplish nothing. It isn't like I make ridiculous demands, and with as much money as I've wasted on these figures, I think I've earned the right to voice my dissatisfaction. Ultimately though, this is just another meaningless wall of text. This line doesn't seem to matter as much as it may have in the past. I'm well aware of this and more often than not, I find myself wondering how to stay interested in the line as it continues to drop in quality.
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Post by Branjita on Apr 6, 2018 10:43:37 GMT -6
It's extremely ridiculous that they keep changing the head and neck stuff on each figure, making the heads not swappable. It's kind of cruel. And the skintones not being consistent would drive me crazy if I was actually opening my Goku/SS Goku figures and such.
My biggest complaint will always be inconsistent scale though, especially since they charge different prices for every character. If they make a Krillin 2.0 I hope he's a lot smaller than the old one. And Piccolo 2.0 really should be a lot larger than the old one.
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TPereZ
Rank: Frieza's Soldier
Ore.. SANJOU!
Posts: 285
Species: Saiyan
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Post by TPereZ on Apr 8, 2018 9:49:59 GMT -6
timone317 , you said so many things i wanted to touch and expand upon and i have to thank you. Writing my initial post was draining enough, lol. As you mentioned, there are just so many design choices i'm confused with as well. For one is the vegeta diaper crotches.... its just ridiculous when that area looks way more natural and works about 95% as well on the original release from 2011. And the same goes for the torso joints. I may be in the minority here but i HATE THEM!!! i like the idea of ab crunch, and on figures like warrior awakening and tien its great. But with Gi's and other stuff it ends up completely breaking up the figure for me with an ugly line right through the middle of the chest. The old way worked toally fine for things like saiyan armour vegetas body. on the super vegeta and armour 2.0 figures, it just totally takes me out. Its like they were okay with sacrificing the immersion and sculpt of the figure for 7% more articulation. Accessories have gone to crap too. Remember when Cell came with a freaking ground ripping up, piece of earth to hold his long ass beam dong. it even had the trail in the ground and waves rippling with little rocks stuck in them. Now we get crap like adult gohans mini, lifeless, dildo, and blacks burnt plastic mit... like you know they could have made an energy sword look so much sicker, ala Dragonball fighterz. and then its like, ok.... so you're telling me Black gets a completely new SSrose hair sculpt that we've never seen, presumably made for the figure, but you couldn't then at least make it accurate or look distinctly like the character? and then what in the world would posses you to not include evil, smirking, smiling faces for the fan favorite rose form!? all i can think is that we're gonna see that hair sculpt in yellow on a brand new SS SON GOKU 2.0 edition! and im gonna freaking explode.
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Post by timone317 on Apr 11, 2018 18:16:01 GMT -6
It's especially annoying that other 2.0/renewal Figuarts releases have had much better waist designs, particularly the Kamen Rider figures. Here is one that was released in January. I just can't figure out why the Vegeta figures couldn't have had something like this. Going back to the Goku mold...I came across this recent pic of the new 2018 Goku and as far as I can tell, it looks like they just may have updated the shoulder sockets and the arms can be placed parallel to the torso. Promising but I'm not getting my hopes up until I see the final release. As far as effects, as cool as I think they are, I would much rather prefer more faces added to each package.
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Post by timone317 on Apr 11, 2018 18:16:15 GMT -6
Keeping this separate as it's pretty long...I wanted to expand on what I said about interchangeable parts. I think the 2015 Frieza Saga Goku was a great release because of the additional face plate that was added and the fact the skin tone was pretty close to the original 2014 Goku. If it were up to me, I would design further releases to make them closely compatible. This is exactly what I want to see... The 2018 Goku with potentially unrestricted arms, possibly a perfected 2.0 Goku. The follow up, hopefully a regular release and not an exclusive...a Dragon Ball Super variant colored to match Goku's appearance in the anime, but it has the exact same skin tone as the 2018 version and new faces that can also be used on the 2018 version. Technically a new figure but also an expansion pack for the old one. This can also be done with a potential 2.0 SS Goku, but for the second release, they could create a damaged SS2 Goku. Same deal, identical skin tone and faces that work with the SS Goku. Instead of creating new parts to prevent part swapping, they should capitalize and really make something cool.
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Post by Ascat on Apr 11, 2018 19:21:26 GMT -6
id love to have a ssj 2 goku to go along with the majin vegeta
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Post by timone317 on Apr 11, 2018 20:08:31 GMT -6
Specifically why I mentioned a damaged variant, I would think this is how most people remember SS2 Goku anyway. They could create another damaged Goku and the SS2 form just by making the variant in the picture above.
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Post by Ascat on Apr 11, 2018 20:41:26 GMT -6
Specifically why I mentioned a damaged variant, I would think this is how most people remember SS2 Goku anyway. They could create another damaged Goku and the SS2 form just by making the variant in the picture above. as long as the head is switchable to the first goku im good (probably wont be though).
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Post by RedRanger on Apr 12, 2018 8:01:16 GMT -6
I'll still get them since they're the best DBZ figures we've ever had, but it does annoy me that the quality is going down and prices are going up.
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Post by nickclark89 on Apr 12, 2018 8:40:02 GMT -6
With so many non-saiyan releases, a Bulma no less I'm very happy right now. It's true that nowadays we pay more for less that sucks
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Wave
Rank: Cooler's Squadron
Even the greatest can die.
Posts: 1,070
Species: Human
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Post by Wave on Apr 13, 2018 17:55:55 GMT -6
For me, the single most annoying thing is the change of scale with the DB line. For ages I really looked forward to the possibility of original Dragon Ball figures, but making them out of scale has taken so much joy out of them.
Everyone's heard me complain about it before but still. It's probably not even that bad in person lol.
The main line figures have been kind of hit or miss lately. I've been skipping a lot of releases though (not always willingly), so I don't have too much right to complain.
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