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[ previous review ]

The Legend of Saiyan series is a line of three-inch figures that comprise the near-entirety of the Saiyan race shown in the series — named and un-named alike! It is the follow-up to the Freeza's Force line, which did the exact same thing with Freeza and his various minions. The figures have been released in small batches at a time, usually with at least some amount of relevance and connection within individual lines (for example, Bardock alongside his four subordinates). As a subset of the line, larger figures have also been released under the "DX" label. This particular review will focus on the "mini-figures". As-of this review's publication, thirty total figures from six lines have been released.

QUICK DETAILS
Figure Line:
Legend of Saiyan
Characters Reviewed:
Bardock, SSJ Gohan (Cell era), SSJ Gohan (Future), Bio-Broli
Maker:
Banpresto
Release Date:
2011
Price:
Roughly $6 Online

The review of these figures was made possible by your referral purchases on Play-Asia. If you are interested in contributing to the site, please visit our "Donate" page.

Review By: Mike LaBrie (VegettoEX)

After enjoying the Freeza's Force line so much, this was one I could not pass up! A sub-$10 price point with a wide array of characters to choose from, allowing me to sink even deeper into my moderately-unhealthy fascination with obscure characters? Let's rock.

PACKAGING

Similar to the Freeza's Force line, each of the series of figures come in a box that is hued in a slightly different way (such as green or red), which has been taped shut along three sides. The front of each box has a complete image of the figure superimposed over top an image of the other characters from that same subset. Along the bottom, the character's name is listed underneath the specific line within Legend of Saiyan that it belongs to, along with its individual number. The entire series is branded with the DragonBall Kai name.

Inside each box, each figure is contained within a plastic wrapper, which itself has another section for the base which the figure stands on.

Your shipping and packaging type may vary depending on how and where you pick up a Legend of Saiyan series figure.

CONSTRUCTION

Unlike the Freeza's Force figures previously reviewed, all of the Legend of Saiyan figures reviewed here came fully intact, instead of separated into a few limbs and torsos here and there.

The figures have an interesting sheen to them. Gohan's cape in particular is especially silver (as opposed to the standard white from the series). The colors are extremely bold and bright, making for some great showcase pieces to spread across a shelf. With some direct light on them, the colors and sheen really stand out.

While extremely light and a tiny bit soft if you press hard, these are very solid PVC figures. Each of the figures are about three inches tall — I say "about" three inches because they do slightly vary from character to character. There is a bit of self-consistency within the line, with the younger Gohan significantly shorter than the adult characters, but acceptably so. The width varies depending on the character and their stance, though they do not extend past the width of the two-inch base. The six-sided bases can all be placed next to each other to form some pretty lovely displays.


Above Image Courtesy Chibi Gohan

There is no articulation with the Legend of Saiyan figures. The characters stand on their base with no room for any movement. Each foot has a tiny hole that plugs into a piece on the stand.

The figures certainly look best from a distance, but still hold up nicely at close examination. Bardock's face in particular has an incredible amount of detail, right down to the clear scar on his left cheek. Where applicable, everyone also has the right amount of grit, as well.

I did notice what appears to be a painting error, however, on my Super Saiyan Future Gohan — there is a tiny, blue dot on his right-side chest. I noticed it immediately upon taking him out of his box, so it is not just a minute detail that can be overlooked.

There really is not a whole lot more to say about the construction and appearance of the figures — when you consider the price being paid for them, the build quality and paint job is pretty satisfactory. The faces do not look quite as nice as what we saw in the Freeza's Force line, but it still works.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Much like Freeza's Force, the Legend of Saiyan series of figures dips into the obscure, dishing out figures of the "Illusion Saiyans" from early DBZ filler alongside over-exposed characters such as Broli. There is pretty much something for any type of fan, provided you like at least one character that has even the slightest amount of Saiyan blood in them.

Hopefully there is a bit of life left in the line of figures — they have yet to dip into the Majin Buu story arc at all, which would bring us Super Saiyan 3 Goku, the kids, even more forms of Gohan (possibly even Great Saiyaman)... the list goes on and on. It goes even further if they wish to dip into DragonBall GT with its Super Saiyan 4 form!

There is still a little bit left to go the other way, too, though. How about some more obscure characters? The un-named characters were some of my favorites in the Freeza's Force line, and I cannot imagine anyone turning down a figure of this badass ancient Saiyan lady:

For the price (somewhere around $5-6), these figures are well worth it for the slightly-"hardcore" fan — obscure characters with moderate detail are always a fun romp. The same price range typically gets you much smaller figures, so a guaranteed character that looks pretty spiffy and stacks nicely at the base with all of his companions makes for a particularly cool arrangement.

PURCHASE THIS ITEM

The Legend of Saiyan figures (along with their "DX" counterparts) are available for purchase online via several retailers (some still available via Play-Asia). These are the types of figures that quickly come in and out of stock, so keep your eye out for them.

LEGEND OF SAIYAN (MINI-FIGURES)
#
LINE
CHARACTER
IMAGE
1
Series I
Son Goku
(Super Saiyan)
2
Series I
Vegeta
(Super Saiyan)
3
Series I
Future Trunks
(Super Saiyan)
4
Series I
Son Gohan
(Super Saiyan, Cell Game arc)
5
Series I
Son Goku
(Kaiô-Ken)
6
Series II
Vegeta
7
Series II
Vegeta
(Child)
8
Series II
King Vegeta
9
Series II
Raditz
10
Series II
Nappa
11
Series III
Bardock
12
Series III
Toma
13
Series III
Totapo
14
Series III
Selypa
15
Series III
Pumbukin
16
Series IV
Son Goku
(Super Saiyan, Battle-Damaged)
17
Series IV
Future Gohan
(Super Saiyan)
18
Series IV
Future Trunks
(Child)
19
Series IV
Vegeta
(Ôzaru, Battle-Damaged)
20
Series IV
Bardock
(Ôzaru)
21
Series V
Son Goku
22
Series V
Son Gohan
(Freeza arc)
23
Series V
Tullece
24
Series V
Onion
25
Series V
Brocco
26
Series VI
Broli
27
Series VI
Broli
(Legendary Super Saiyan)
28
Series VI
Broli
(Super Saiyan)
29
Series VI
Bio-Broli
30
Series VI
Paragus