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Aura Ichadora
Joined: 25 Apr 2008
Posts: 2290
Location: In front of my computer
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 9:08 pm
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Darn, I was looking forward to Krauser at the end.
But anyway, hilarious review. I knew from just looking at the pictures of some of the figures in the Dragonball: Evolution Posterzine (hey, I needed something to look at while my mom was picking out my birthday card) that these were going to be bad. Seriously, it even showed the Goku one with the split arm!
Probably the only thing I liked about it was the Dragonball itself, but personally even from the old action figures I liked trying to get all the Dragonballs and just placing them all together and saying "Hey, I got all seven of them." =P At least these look like ones my cats wouldn't choke on (I would hope).
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Primus
Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Toronto
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:08 am
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I liked the movie, but even then I knew these toys were to be awful. The sculpts just look horrendous. But that still doesnt mean I wouldn't want a Goku figure. Alas though, it seems Canadian retailers don't like Bandai Toylines (for example I've only seen one wave of the Bandai DBZ figures at one single store chain that isn't Toysrus).
I hear that some company I've never heard of is planning on making hyper detailed expensive DBE action figures. I wonder if those will ever see the light of day.
And I liked those Irwin figures. They managed to pull off some of the better mold this franchise has got. Most of their in house stuff is leagues better then Jakk's stuff.
Otaku_X wrote: | Bought all seven of the small figures. would have rather had Chi Chi or Mai instead of Goku in the outfit from the first 13 Anime episods (which wasn't in the damn movie!). Used the altar for the glow-in-the-dark Dragon Balls I got with a Shenlong figure a while back. I kinda wish Oozaru looked like the toy in the movie itself. It would have made the one in the movie look less like "Crap, we need something else to make this seem more like Dragon Ball!", plus, it's wearing Saiyan armor.
So, like the movie itself, I like the figures. Don't love them, just like them. also need to get some gray paint for that Roshi figure... |
Actually Goku wears the Blue gi for most of the time he is training in the movie. He wears it when the reach the Temple with Siffu Norris and friends.
Also Ozaru was to be the fishfaced monster you see in that toy. But once a image leaked of him, and fan backlash insued. Fox decided it was best to make him a monkey. Obviously it was too late for Bandai to retool their figure to match the change. Yet Dimps was able to change their character model for the DBE PSP game.
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fighterholic
Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:26 am
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It's as if they were setting themselves up for epic fail. Fox will probably lose so much money over this hopefully they'll think twice before adapting anime again. EPIC FAIL!
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AoiHonou
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 49
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:21 am
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From the movie itself to a PSP game and then this...
Heck, I'm not surprised if kids prefer Bakugan or Pokemon toys over this.
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ikillchicken
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:55 am
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classicalzawa wrote: | Shocked Krauser didn't return for this one, are they too bad even for Krauser to be around? |
Even Krauser has some standards.
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vermilionone
Joined: 21 Feb 2009
Posts: 45
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:26 am
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The guy on page one is being hilariously facetious right?
Bandai is a company capable of making stunning technological advances, from polyvinyl joints that last longer to extraordinarily detailed and sharply sculpted figures. Not even exclusively in Japan, just look at the Navia Dratp collectible figures, no bigger than a chess piece but beautifully detailed. In Japan though, Bandai has the SIC series, gundam kits, and character toys of every sort.
So I guess what I'm getting at is that it's just sort of depressing knowing that some branch of Bandai can do all that, can revolutionize the toy industry, but the US branch...
C'mon, Thundercats toys from 20 years ago are more technologically advanced and better sculpted. Bandai has been making figures in close to that size since at least the Gundam action figures and definitely with their HCM Pro line, they have the technology and skill to make the six million dollar man, but all we ever get is a hobo with a peg leg.
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evilnekohilda
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Posts: 166
Location: Wichita, KS
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:54 am
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classicalzawa wrote: | Shocked Krauser didn't return for this one, are they too bad even for Krauser to be around? |
Even Krauser has standards, apparently ;) I bet the demons in hell look more attractive than these toys lol.
EDIT: ikillchicken beat me to the punch, lol XD
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BleuVII
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 672
Location: Tokorozawa, Japan
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:09 am
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B.Y.O.B. Kenobi wrote: | First of all Rob, you mention Hasbro, a company who has been in the 3 3/4" figure business for YEARS. They know how to make toys in this scale look good. The Dragonball: Evolution figures were made by Bandai, who have made their reputation on Power Rangers, not G.I. Joes. It's unreasonable to expect a first attempt to be on the level with the veterans.
A majority of the toys/statues you review are high-dollar imports aimed at collectors; these are forgettable, mass-market toys aimed at kids based on a summer popcorn flick. They aren't in the same league as, say, the Kingdom Hearts Play Arts... |
Okay, then let's judge these figures by their own standards. I actually owned the whole first line of Power Rangers figures, the ones whose heads spun around from normal face to "morph." They are over a decade old, and still better. In fact, I challenge you to go into a toy isle and find a contemporary figure that looks worse. Even the "insert strange gimmick here" Spiderman figures are better sculpted.
And honestly, here in Japan, Bandai is where it's AT for toy lines. At least on this side of the Pacific, they leave Hasbro in their dust. There's just simply no excuse for these figures other than, "we gave up after seeing the rough cut of this movie."
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Otaku_X
Joined: 25 Nov 2008
Posts: 298
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:13 am
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Don't confuse Bandai of Japan with Bandai of America. Just look at any Sentai mech compared to it's Power Rangers equivalent. Especially Boukenger/Operation Overdrive.
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ryogasasaki
Joined: 15 Dec 2008
Posts: 41
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:03 am
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Otaku_X wrote: | I kinda wish Oozaru looked like the toy in the movie itself. It would have made the one in the movie look less like "Crap, we need something else to make this seem more like Dragon Ball!", plus, it's wearing Saiyan armor! |
saiyan armor? are you serious?!
...wow -_-'
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CCSYueh
Joined: 03 Jul 2004
Posts: 2707
Location: San Diego, CA
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:15 am
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Yaoi fangirl that I am, that rear shot of Roshi made me think of the old 80's metal bands cutting the seats off their pants for it's unfortunate mis-matched brown being closer to the flesh color than the pants brown. So I scrolled up to the front shot & yeah, it could pass for crotchless if one's mind were in the wrong place. (If Roshi were really well endowed & the shirt blocked the full view)
But the big Goku isn't that bad. I have some really horrid Spideys & Hulks in bad frozen positions so they can perform their one function. My daughter won 2nd or 3rd place on the Funi DBZ giveaway at comic-con a couple years back so we also have 3 boxed of DBZ toys ranging from really cool to "what were they thinking".
The movie ISN'T all that terrible.
Everyone who thinks DB:E is terrible needs to sit down to an all-day marathon of horrendous stuff like Plan 9 From Outer Space, The Brain that Wouldn't Die, The Sentinel, & other similar dreck. Personally I'd start such a marathon off with Blair Witch Project which has to be the biggest waste of film & time yet it killed at the box office. Scale back & compare DB:E to the old tv movies of the 70's or 80's or some of those things that played at midnight on ABC & it's pretty good.
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LagannImpact
Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 574
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:28 am
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Why am I not surprised; that movie is like Negaverse Midas. Everything it touches turns to complete and utter sh*t.
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B.Y.O.B. Kenobi
Joined: 19 Apr 2009
Posts: 8
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:36 pm
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BleuVII wrote: | Okay, then let's judge these figures by their own standards. I actually owned the whole first line of Power Rangers figures, the ones whose heads spun around from normal face to "morph." They are over a decade old, and still better. In fact, I challenge you to go into a toy isle and find a contemporary figure that looks worse. Even the "insert strange gimmick here" Spiderman figures are better sculpted.
And honestly, here in Japan, Bandai is where it's AT for toy lines. At least on this side of the Pacific, they leave Hasbro in their dust. There's just simply no excuse for these figures other than, "we gave up after seeing the rough cut of this movie." |
Yes, let's judge these figures on their own terms.
- Well articulated.
- Decently painted.
- Dragonballs and Oozaru are an incentive for kids to buy them all.
- Every major character in the first wave.
Pay attention to Reason #3--KIDS. Like I said, these aren't high-end figures like HCM Gundams or Play Arts.
Hasbro knows kids AND adults buy Star Wars and G.I. Joe, so they put a little more effort into them. Bandai doesn't expect people who HATE the movie with a FIERY PASSION to buy these toys, so--like with their Power Rangers toys--their "it's good enough" attitude rears its head.
These figures were never meant to be admired as works of art of lovingly displayed in glass shelves; they were meant for kids to take outside and "fight" in the dirt with.
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Mad_Scientist
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Joined: 08 Apr 2008
Posts: 3011
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:50 pm
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B.Y.O.B. Kenobi wrote: | Yes, let's judge these figures on their own terms.
- Well articulated.
- Decently painted.
- Dragonballs and Oozaru are an incentive for kids to buy them all.
- Every major character in the first wave.
Pay attention to Reason #3--KIDS. Like I said, these aren't high-end figures like HCM Gundams or Play Arts.
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I assume you exempted Goku from your first point, unless having a single point of articulation makes him "well articulated." The Roshi figure does look like it has a fair amount of articulation, I'll give you that. Unfortunately...
Decently painted? Uh, the Roshi figure's unpainted joints don't look so good. And the fact that his shirt pattern isn't even painted on the back doesn't look so good. And his hair isn't grey, and... ugh. He's hideious looking. Goku does look better, I'll give you that.
The dragonballs and Oozaru pieces are actually a nifty idea, but the dragonballs are out of scale, the Oozaru statue apparantly is based on an old design that doesn't even appear in the movie, and neither of those things would make up for bad figures even if they were done right.
So the first wave is fairly complete... that doesn't mean much to me. If the figures are junk, having a complete line of junk isn't exactly a good thing.
And just because they are for kids doesn't mean they should be junk.
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britannicamoore
Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 2618
Location: Out.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:16 pm
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This is my second tie checking this column out, and I'm impressed.
Iit sucks you have to put up with such toys. I don't understand why the toys for this were bad, the least they could have aimed for was the kiddies who wanted to fight with action figures. (do kids still do that?)
Those toys look horrible.
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