DSC_6638
Everyone gets introduced to the concept of the Antihero through various properties. The former nemesis of the hero that becomes a trusted ally or even close friend is a theme that is pretty common in literature and other forms of entertainment, and it's something that still being used.
For me, perhaps the first and most prominent Antihero ever will be Picollo from Dragonball.
Now, don't kill me as I'm not a walking encyclopedia of Dragon Ball, but if memory serves me correctly originally Kami, overseer of the Earth, decided that in order to better serve his role he decided to split himself into to halves - the good and the bad. The bad half became known as Picollo and I believe was introduced in one of the story arcs of the original Dragon Ball, and if not there, very early on in the Dragon Ball Z series.
After getting the crap kicked out him by Goku (and lets be honest, who in the show HASN'T had their ass handed to them by Goku), for some reason Picollo reforms, going from "guy who loses an arm and will Special Beam Cannon to kill Raditz even if means sacrificing Goku" to "guy who basically makes up for the fact that Goku is a dead beat dad".
Seriously.. a former mass murderer was a better father to Gohan than Goku ever was. What's next? Maybe Freeza will become Godfather to Krillan and Android 18's kid!
As time went on, Picollo's role as Goku's most powerful ally has slipped, with the Goku-Vegeta bromance going full tilt and showing no signs of stopping, and thus as a result he's not in the spotlight a whole lot anymore.
However, the flip side is that I don't have to worry about too many new Picollo figures coming out.
Presenting the Figurarts Picollo, all the way from 2009 when Dragon Ball Kai was in full swing, which in case you weren't aware, is the Dragon Ball saga retold (I think Z series only) without all the mood killing slow paced parts.
I have to say, for a figure that was released almost a decade ago that it holds up pretty well and, thank goodness, seems a lot better than the various Saiyans that came after him.
First off, lets talk toys, as it were. While stands and effects parts were not a thing even back in the day (sadly), Picollo comes with an assortment of hands, three head sculpts (turbaned, general grimace, focused), a set of crossed arms (something that took two releases for Vegeta to get right), and his tradmark cloak with two chest pieces, one of which is for dedicated use with the crossed arm pose.
Not bad for a set that came out 3 years before Vegeta did.
While I have Picollo displayed in pre Super Beam Cannon pose, for me his most iconic look will always be with his cloak and turban on, or as usually put it, before shit gets real and he takes off his physical inhibitors. Of course, Picollo can be displayed without the cloak on, which, if you're going for dynamic posing, is a requirement.
Unlike Vegeta and all the other Saiyans that came out along side him, they did not screw up the face of Picollo. The expression, decal work, everything looks spot on, or at least much more spot on as compared to the Saiyans. Fantastic to see in general, and considering there hasn't been a new Picollo in ages, was definitely a nice to have feature.
Sculpting on the whole looks really good, with no real complaints from me. Paint work is nice and sharp, especially on the yellow paint apps on his arms. Articulation, with the cloak off, is pretty much standard for a Figuarts, I suspect if Picollo were to be remade with more modern Figuarts technology like the fighting body developed for the Street Fighter line, the joints might be better hidden and range of motion would be even greater. But for your general posing needs even this version should be sufficient.
If there is one thing I find kind of odd looking with this figure, it's the lower torso. I think the proportions are off here, making it seem a bit long. That combined with the arrangement of legs makes it look like he's wearing diapers. Now that I think about it, Vegeta has this problem too.
I really do enjoy the character of Picollo, and am quite happy with this rendition of him. Sure, there are some improvements that can be made, particularly to the lower body, but for now this will happily suffice.
So if you're a fan like me, I'd definitely seek out this figure, probably the best action figure version of the character at this point in time.
DSC_6638
Everyone gets introduced to the concept of the Antihero through various properties. The former nemesis of the hero that becomes a trusted ally or even close friend is a theme that is pretty common in literature and other forms of entertainment, and it's something that still being used.
For me, perhaps the first and most prominent Antihero ever will be Picollo from Dragonball.
Now, don't kill me as I'm not a walking encyclopedia of Dragon Ball, but if memory serves me correctly originally Kami, overseer of the Earth, decided that in order to better serve his role he decided to split himself into to halves - the good and the bad. The bad half became known as Picollo and I believe was introduced in one of the story arcs of the original Dragon Ball, and if not there, very early on in the Dragon Ball Z series.
After getting the crap kicked out him by Goku (and lets be honest, who in the show HASN'T had their ass handed to them by Goku), for some reason Picollo reforms, going from "guy who loses an arm and will Special Beam Cannon to kill Raditz even if means sacrificing Goku" to "guy who basically makes up for the fact that Goku is a dead beat dad".
Seriously.. a former mass murderer was a better father to Gohan than Goku ever was. What's next? Maybe Freeza will become Godfather to Krillan and Android 18's kid!
As time went on, Picollo's role as Goku's most powerful ally has slipped, with the Goku-Vegeta bromance going full tilt and showing no signs of stopping, and thus as a result he's not in the spotlight a whole lot anymore.
However, the flip side is that I don't have to worry about too many new Picollo figures coming out.
Presenting the Figurarts Picollo, all the way from 2009 when Dragon Ball Kai was in full swing, which in case you weren't aware, is the Dragon Ball saga retold (I think Z series only) without all the mood killing slow paced parts.
I have to say, for a figure that was released almost a decade ago that it holds up pretty well and, thank goodness, seems a lot better than the various Saiyans that came after him.
First off, lets talk toys, as it were. While stands and effects parts were not a thing even back in the day (sadly), Picollo comes with an assortment of hands, three head sculpts (turbaned, general grimace, focused), a set of crossed arms (something that took two releases for Vegeta to get right), and his tradmark cloak with two chest pieces, one of which is for dedicated use with the crossed arm pose.
Not bad for a set that came out 3 years before Vegeta did.
While I have Picollo displayed in pre Super Beam Cannon pose, for me his most iconic look will always be with his cloak and turban on, or as usually put it, before shit gets real and he takes off his physical inhibitors. Of course, Picollo can be displayed without the cloak on, which, if you're going for dynamic posing, is a requirement.
Unlike Vegeta and all the other Saiyans that came out along side him, they did not screw up the face of Picollo. The expression, decal work, everything looks spot on, or at least much more spot on as compared to the Saiyans. Fantastic to see in general, and considering there hasn't been a new Picollo in ages, was definitely a nice to have feature.
Sculpting on the whole looks really good, with no real complaints from me. Paint work is nice and sharp, especially on the yellow paint apps on his arms. Articulation, with the cloak off, is pretty much standard for a Figuarts, I suspect if Picollo were to be remade with more modern Figuarts technology like the fighting body developed for the Street Fighter line, the joints might be better hidden and range of motion would be even greater. But for your general posing needs even this version should be sufficient.
If there is one thing I find kind of odd looking with this figure, it's the lower torso. I think the proportions are off here, making it seem a bit long. That combined with the arrangement of legs makes it look like he's wearing diapers. Now that I think about it, Vegeta has this problem too.
I really do enjoy the character of Picollo, and am quite happy with this rendition of him. Sure, there are some improvements that can be made, particularly to the lower body, but for now this will happily suffice.
So if you're a fan like me, I'd definitely seek out this figure, probably the best action figure version of the character at this point in time.