So I'm kind of thinking of picking up a couple of these figures. I'm hesitant to get into collecting these guys since I've missed out on a lot of the ones I would have liked. Such as the regular Vegeta, Frieza and Regular Goku. I would also love a Piccolo that didn't have the yellow pads, the whole SDCC exclusives seem weird.
Anyway I'm thinking of picking up the SS Goku Awakening Version and the SS Son Gohan. Are these good figures?
Hello, how are you?
Well, let's start:
- Missing all the past figures is not exactly a issue, unless you want them all of course (but I think it's not your goal).
- You would like the Piccolo without the yellow pads, yet he is one of these SDCC exclusives which you call wierd.
- One point to bear in mind is that the painting in the SDCC's look better and with higher quality (that's what me and a close friend noticed and believe), it seems superior than the regular releases and you can have your own conclusions by looking the pictures further in this post;
- Although you think the SDDC's exclusives are wierd, I can partially agree with you, because:
1) Goku SDCC SSJ (2011) is indeed somewhat a different conception of the SSJ Goku, a lot of debate around this one but he is still a good looking figure overall for me, but the Awakening SS Goku took the crown from him as the best SSJ Goku (in my opinion);
2) Gohan SDCC SSJ (2012) is far superior than the regular release in every possible way (in my opinion, of course). Just look at the painting job, use some reference such as Toyark or comparisons by Orbital Frame, as an example;
3) Piccolo SDCC (2013) just like you said yourself, doesn't have the yellow pads, but not only that, his clothes have a stronger and more beautiful painting, his "belt" is in the blue color. I consider him better because he is portrayed exactly as seen in the anime, it looks like he jumped out of the screen (my opinion again);
4) Arlian Vegeta Scouter (2014) has a lot of debate around (I think it could be called the most controversial figure in this whole line), I really dislike this one, I think it's pointless and not appealing at all for me. But yet, got pretty rare and expensive if you make some research around it, and we have to respect other people taste because there are some guys that literally love this figure, so we need to respect it since the collection is basically for everyone interested;
5) Son Goku Frieza Saga Version SDCC (2015) is my favourite personal figure, and to be really honest is one of the most good loking of the whole collection... I see this figure as a 10/10, I really like this one, and you should see the comparison by yourself:
Of course, this is what I think about it... I used to be a completionist and have almost all the variants a little bit before 16 was released... But I didn't buy 16, because he was the breaking point to me realize that I didn't want to buy expensive figures anymore only to the sake of owning it... So I decided to sell almost all the figures I had (that includes Goku SDCC 2011, and almost all the figures we talked about here), keeping only my favourite 3. Everything I said is based in my own opinion, but I think it's close to what most of people think overall.
And to answer your actual questions:
- Goku Awakening Version if by far one of the best (if not the best) figure in the whole line... I personally see him as a flawless release, his body built is really good, all the articulation and everything... You can't go wrong with this one, you should definitely go for it;
- SS Son Gohan (if you're talking about the Gohan about the Cell Games) is a good figure overall, but I really dislike the manga version (regular). I would recommend the SDCC one.
But that's all a matter of personal taste, I finish this answer with the comparison pics between the Regular X SDCC releases by Orbital Frame.
If the differences are not completely clear by these pictures, use the toyark guide as a reference, in this link:
S.H. Figuarts Dragonball Z Reference Guide - The Toyark - News
Hope this info helps!
though if we get SS2 Goku, maybe using clean for SS2 would be an idea. But indeed, Majin first!
