All photos by Michael Fahey

Bandai America’s Dragon Ball Super Dragon Stars action figures have been flying off the shelves since the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ earlier this year, as fans and collectors scramble to pick up their favorite characters. I got hold of the first three waves, tore them open, and made them do stuff. Fun stuff.


The Dragon Stars line borrows a lot from Hasbro’s popular Marvel Legends series. Both feature highly poseable six-inch figures. Both run about $20 a pop. And both series bundle parts inside each package to build a bigger, more intricate figure.


What you see here is the first three waves of Dragon Stars. Waves one and two come with parts to build the legendary dragon, Shenron. Waves three and four are bundled with parts to build Fusion Zamasu, but since wave four isn’t out quite yet, we’re going to have to wait to complete that one.

But hey, Shenron isn’t anything to sneeze at. He’s a glorious, massive dragon with the power to grant wishes. So huge. So majestic.


Okay, maybe he could be a bit bigger. It’s the thought that counts. And look! It’s Goku. No Dragon Ball action figure series would be complete without Goku.

Legendary Dragon Balls, or glitter bouncy balls I found on clearance at Walgreens.


In fact, why stop at just the one Goku? So far, all three waves of Dragon Stars figures have featured the spiky-haired hero of the series.

Super Saiyan Blue Goku ruins everything.


Never to be outdone, the series also features two Vegetas, regular and Super Saiyan. Toss in the GameStop exclusive video game repaint, and you’ve got a Vegeta party that lasts all night.


The most accessorized character award goes to Super Saiyan Future Trunks. He comes with two swords, probably to make up for his stupid hair.

Seriously, the hair is stupid.


The reason I started down this figure-collecting road is a little cat named Beerus. In my quest to have as much Beerus as possible, I wound up picking up the $50 SH Figuarts version (below on the right) before the Dragon Stars version. A Bandai America representative told me the company was initially worried that the newer $20 Dragon Stars line would cannibalize sales of the more articulated and fancy $50 line. As it turns out, there’s not much overlap between the two.

Beerus seems like the kind of cat that would dig having a double around.


Let’s see, which characters have we not touched on? Oh, what about this guy?

Pokemon Crabrawler not included, but it should be.


Hit! Everybody loves Hit. He’s one of the most sought-after figures of the series so far. It’s probably the trench jacket.

And who could forget Final Form Frieza, pictured below with his lifemate, Alolan Vulpix. They are the cutest couple.


They’re getting married.

I love the shading on this figure. It makes it look like there’s something going on beneath his skin. Probably boasting and/or whining.


I seriously do not know where all of these Pokemon figures came from. They just show up when they are needed most.


As you can see, I’m having a lot of fun with Bandai’s Dragon Ball Super Dragon Stars figures. Yeah, they look great in the box, but they’re begging to be opened and played with. They’ve got got great expressions, wonderful articulation and expressions that lend themselves quite well to mixing it up with the rest of my collection.


Oh it is on.

Even if the battles don’t always go in their favor.